The smacking fairy crossed her arms and pondered seriously, “This doesn’t seem like a good idea!”
“Really?”
Pastel shrugged it off and started warming up. She twisted her waist side to side and reached for her toes before stretching tall.
“The fairy wasn’t born to be a hammer! You’re not supposed to swing and bash it around!”
The fairy shook her head vigorously, so much so that her upper body swayed along.
Her pink eyes sparkled.
“That’s right! I wasn’t born a hammer hero either! But I’m ready to be reborn as a hammer hero to overcome the adversities that come our way!”
Pastel pointed to her own legs.
“Look! They’re shaking like jelly!”
Wobbling.
“There’s an awful carnivorous plant lurking just outside, making brave souls like me terrified! To take on such a powerful enemy, a complete revolution is needed!”
That meant transforming immediately into a hammer hero!
Bam! Bam!
“No way!”
The fairy clutched her head. After a moment of spinning her eyes, her face brightened as if she thought of something.
“Listen! A hammer fairy doesn’t match the fairy’s image! Fairies are supposed to be gentle, kind, and grant wishes, something to be cherished! Not a hammer-wielding, weak fairy!”
Pastel snatched up the flying fairy like she was capturing a pesky fly, resolution etched on her face as she stood by the door.
“There are moments when pink-haired heroes have to lead, even when everyone says not to! It may be hard for our kind fairy’s gentle heart to wield her partner as a weapon, but I’ll take the guilt!”
Pastel beamed warmly at the fairy she held in her hand.
“Though it might be tough for me, we’re partners!”
Thud.
“No, I’m the one being forced here! You feel the guilt!”
“But if I’m not pink-haired anymore, I’ll lose my identity, and then the Demon Lord will just hold onto my dead mom!”
Pastel mumbled as she grabbed the fairy’s ankle, stretching forward, and the fairy floated and flopped around.
“Ah! You’re not actually going to do it, are you?! No way?!”
“I can tell you’re worried! But if we’ve overcome all sorts of adversities together, we can absolutely handle this one!”
Pastel kicked open the temple door.
A corridor covered in dark red plant branches and vines appeared. While prey turned into a tight spot, the passage was densely packed with it.
Countless leaves on the branches twisted toward the door as if they were reacting.
The grotesque sight suddenly made Pastel want to go home.
Ugh.
But thinking of the fairy’s voluntary sacrifice, she held on tight.
When she closed her eyes and opened them again, a determined glint sparkled in her eyes.
“Bad carnivorous plant! There’s more I haven’t said! You’re so slow that you aren’t scarier than a turtle! The reason I ran away earlier was because I had to chop wood with a sword, not because I was afraid of your slow-moving branches!”
“That was slow?!”
The carnivorous plant gasped in shock alongside the fairy, its branches writhing around. Rocks trembled and the dirt mixed with gravel revealed itself.
Dozens of branches shot up from the soil. The writhing branches jabbed forward.
“Ahhh!”
The fairy in Pastel’s hand wriggled in a panic.
Since they were fast, it was absolutely like boasting, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.
With a focused expression, Pastel thrust the fairy hammer ahead. The branches created dozens of trajectories, blocking her view.
She aimed the leading dark red branch, and as it lunged, the side of it crashed against the top of the fairy’s head.
“Bam!”
Cough!
For an instant, moisture evaporated around where they made contact. Cracks appeared as it dried up. In a flash, it withered, crushed, and scattered.
New branches charged in through the wreckage. The targeted fairy position was delicately adjusted as the side of her head got knocked again.
“Bam!”
Crack!
The branch rapidly decayed. The dark red remains expanded and scattered. Sensing vulnerability, the branches wriggled and attacked simultaneously.
Pastel patiently thrust the fairy hammer forward, her pink eyes examining the pathways of all the branches.
Some were to be let through, and some predicted for removal to create space to dodge as she stepped sideways.
The hammer moved with a light motion.
The fairy reached out and tapped the branches with her head.
“Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!”
Ugh! Ack! Cough! Hack!
Some branches grazed the girl’s side and penetrated the ground. Her pink hair fluttered. Exploding debris filled the corridor. The wind swept through.
In the middle of it all, the fairy hammer, with a bitten tongue and a tearful face, wailed desperately.
“Stop bonking my head!”
The fairy stretched her arms above her head.
Wow!
When they fought, the reach upgraded special weapon!
“Fairy’s self-sacrifice! I’ll rise again!”
Swinging what seemed like a special weapon capable of being a dagger, the newly swinging fairy screamed. The dark red stem and fairy dagger crashed into each other but stopped short right in front of the fairy.
“Ahhhh!”
The fairy panicked. Her small flailing hands slapped the plant stem. The stem started crumbling like it was infested.
The plant stems all around wriggled as if screaming. The ceiling of the ruins collapsed. Falling debris made a huge noise. Dust flew as the girl dashed through. Rotten plant debris rained down.
Gueh-hack!
The downed fairy vomited onto the ground. But with her gem-eating fairy stomach, nothing came out, so only air fizzled from her mouth.
“Are you okay?”
Pastel asked, worried as she patted the fairy’s back with her finger.
The fairy was panting heavily.
“It was one of the worst experiences in my long fairy life.”
Wow.
A long fairy life? It felt like it could span millions of years, but was it really that awful?
No way!
You rotten carnivorous plant!
Pastel’s expression darkened. She glared at the empty crater debris that the decaying plant had left behind as it fled.
“You bad plant friend! Making the kind fairy have the worst experience! I will definitely take my revenge!”
Determined! Again, determined!
The fairy stared at her in silence.
Staring blankly.
Staring blankly.
Oh?
Pastel felt her conscience prickling for some reason.
Prickling.
Ugh.
It wasn’t something wrong, but she couldn’t meet her gaze.
Though she hadn’t done anything bad, she felt like she should have a ‘bad kid’ title over her head.
She stared intensely.
Fairy gaze beam~!
Ziiing.
Pupu~.
“Hehe.”
Pastel clasped her hands together and winked playfully.
“Just let it slide this once, okay?”
The fairy silently puffed out her cheeks, blowing air so forcefully it felt like it might burst.
Ugh.
Looks like her cuteness didn’t get her through. She probably looked rough and disheveled from all the wandering. What to do?
Pastel fidgeted, stretching her finger out. The finger poked the fairy’s cheek, blasting out the air.
The fairy looked dumbfounded.
“Hehe.”
“You know I really like you, right, fairy?”
Of course, I do!
“I’ve got very few people I mess around with this much. You’re a special being!”
Wowww~.
Pastel being a special being for her.
It’s a title everyone wants~.
So envious~.
The fairy pursed her lips.
“Does that mean you bully those you like?”
Huh?
Oh?
Now that she thought about it, maybe that was true.
“That being said, considering how you treat the Great Demon…”
The fairy sighed heavily.
“I guess there’s no helping it! This kind and generous fairy lady has no choice but to forgive you!”
Wow.
Pastel clapped her hands excitedly.
“You’re the best, fairy!”
“Now you understand? Do well going forward!”
With a moment of reconciliation, they explored the ruins. The giant plant had created such a mess that it was hard to tell whether it was a ruin or a garbage dump. Thankfully, thanks to the compass, they could find the treasure chest.
“Wow! Sparkle!”
Pastel rubbed her treasure chest friend. She felt the cold metallic texture unique to it.
The excited fairy floating above looked down curiously.
“Is there a power gem inside?”
“Probably!”
“Great! Let’s get it back and earn some praise from the fairy spirit!”
Heart racing, Pastel opened the treasure chest. There was a single power gem sitting there.
So, what kind of power is this gem?
As Pastel contemplated, she suddenly halted. The Demon Lord who was supposed to explain it wasn’t here.
They’d have to go back to find out.
“Fairy, let’s head back—”
“Wait!”
The fairy’s eyes widened.
“This power can alter the divine power of the god in this place, which is spread in the atmosphere, and materialize it into gems!”
Oh?
Pastel scooped up the gem. After thinking about how to use it, she simply pressed it down against the ground with her palm out.
“Gem bam!”
The wind howled. A white energy condensed and gradually crystallized. In the midst of the crystals, suddenly a murky energy sprouted. The black energy caused the crystals to rapidly turn dark.
The completed gem plopped down.
Ugh.
Isn’t this the golden gem power I’ve been dreaming of finding every time I discover the Demon King’s legacy?
“Wowww!”
Pastel felt elated.
With this, she wouldn’t have to smuggle anything and could live without starving!
Wow!
Wowww.
Wow?
Pastel’s heart raced for another reason.
“Why are you giving this to me now…!”
If they’d given her this during the entrance exam in the ruins, she wouldn’t have had to endure such hardships just to earn money!
Give me back my happy, happy, student council power life!
Waaaah!
