The suspicious mercenary group’s airship arrived deep in the secluded mountains. An artificial clearing covered with makeshift tents came into view.
Pastel began to move when the faint campfire in the clearing became visible. Grabbing the sword dangling from the airship, they leaped toward the tall trees below.
Safe landing~!
The trees quickly approached. Their feet touched the branches, which swayed heavily.
Whoa.
As Pastel steadied themselves, the tree gradually stabilized.
Pastel shook off the twigs and leaves from their body and peeked through the branches.
The airship flew on and landed on the designated landing area set up on one side of the clearing. Armed mercenaries from the tent in the clearing came out to greet the airship.
“Totally suspicious, right?”
They arrived at a hidden refuge, flying low to avoid detection—a group with no affiliation?
It would be disappointing if there wasn’t something up.
『It does seem suspicious, but considering it’s a merchant group, it could be a tax evasion organization. It’s common to underreport yields and hide some to pay less tax.』
“No way, no way.”
Pastel shook their head, wearing a serious expression.
“The king of tax evasion is smuggling, right? As someone who deserves to be called the king of kings, that doesn’t seem like tax evasion to me! I don’t smell money at all!”
They took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh mountain air.
“Rather, this has the scent of wicked crime!”
Fresh air = anyway, wicked scent
Whoa, it’s super evil.
Smuggler Pastel could easily imagine a heinous crime lurking beneath.
The Demon Lord was bewildered.
『I don’t know how to respond to that. And seriously, don’t proudly bring up your smuggling experience. When did you start calling yourself the king of kings?』
Pastel ignored the scolding and leaped toward the branch tips. They hopped over to a nearby tree, repeatedly jumping their way toward the clearing.
Hop hop.
Bunny Pastel…!
When the clearing was near, they stopped moving and gathered branches, covering themselves with leaves while inspecting the ominous clearing.
Aside from the makeshift tents, there were monster birds tied up or caged on one side of the clearing.
The caged ones were wild, but those tied up curled up and slept without causing a fuss.
『Oh, they’ve been tamed. How did they manage that? I thought only noble demon clans, who travel on sky whales to visit sacred lands on sky islands, could do that.』
“Demon clans?”
Pastel tilted their head.
“Are those suspicious people demon races?”
Their ears, which should be slightly pointed like Elly’s, were ordinary.
『Those immediately visible don’t seem to be, but considering they’ve tamed monster birds, it’s likely some are demons or in collaboration with them. Taming such creatures is a rare skill.』
A suspicious group holding a rare skill?
Whoa, this is genuinely super suspicious.
“As the King of Tax Evasion, I’d say those people are definitely not here for tax evasion! A legitimate tax evader would never act like that! I know!”
『I really don’t know how to respond to that.』
“That means there’s a highly suspicious conspiracy at play! We can’t let this slide! Let’s sneak in carefully!”
Pastel leaped down from the branch of a high tree. They landed on a mid-level branch before jumping down again, their pink hair trailing in the air as they landed softly.
Hiding among the bushes and shadows, they swiftly moved, concealing themselves behind a tree right next to the clearing.
They whispered very softly.
“Monster birds are bound to bark if we get too close.”
『Hmm.』
The Demon Lord replied calmly.
『A bird is not a dog.』
Right.
Pastel thoughtfully acknowledged and then hesitated.
Wait, was I just treated like a fool?
Am I, Fool Pastel now…?!
Whoa?!
『However, it will get noisy. Be careful not to approach too closely to the awake monster birds.』
Despite secretly feeling like they weren’t being treated as a fool, Pastel was quite suspicious but didn’t probe further.
They stealthily glanced at their demon sword and crept into the clearing.
Using the cages of the monster birds as blind spots, they moved cautiously or swiftly. They hoped to overhear the conversation of two individuals who seemed to be watching the monster birds. Maybe by eavesdropping, they could figure out what kind of group this was.
But perhaps because the conversation was near sleeping birds, they spoke so quietly that it was hard to hear even if they got relatively close.
Pastel approached a nearby cage, ensuring they wouldn’t be spotted, and listened intently.
I can’t hear anything…
This makes it truly hard to determine whether this group is bad or not.
The Hormone Friend’s disappointment played out in Pastel’s imagination.
In that imagination, they firmly declared,
Don’t be disappointed!
What if I end up accidentally killing someone?!
No, no, no!
I won’t let ‘hormone’ turn into ‘homicide’!
They took a deep breath, focusing back on the situation.
Demon Lord, Demon Lord, can you hear anything?
What about some evil evidence that’s so bad it’d make the Hormone Friend gasp— GRAAAAH-!
If the Demon Lord doesn’t know, the best course is to sneak into the airship or approach the tents in a noticeable way.
『It may be a misunderstanding, but didn’t we see those young birds a few days ago? That nest we passed, remember?』
I wasn’t asking that!
Telepathy wasn’t working at all.
Pastel darted their eyes to the side, irritatedly.
What the Demon Lord pointed to came into view.
In a cage two cages away, they recognized familiar shapes.
Three baby birds with beaks tied shut were hopping around. The baby birds, roughly the size of Pastel, gazed up with their little eyes. They looked like giant chicks.
Oh?
Pastel’s eyes widened. They opened their mouth in a triangle shape, mirroring the baby birds’ gaze.
Silence filled the air.
Pastel cautiously peeked around the guard and crossed over to the front of the cage. The baby birds looked at them with soulful eyes.
Why are you here?
What about your nest? Where’s the mother bird?
The baby birds seemed to try to respond but their beaks were tightly bound in leather muzzles.
Only the sound of stifled cries came out.
—Peeeee…
The pitiful gaze struck Pastel’s heart.
What happened to you?
Just a few days ago, you were living in a cozy nest!
You were making good memories with me…!
Fond memories flooded back.
On the airship deck, boldly squawking at the mother bird.
Falling from the nest and getting pecked by three baby birds surrounding me.
We cleared up the misunderstanding and became friends, but instead of a farewell, I ended up decorating the nest with my torn pink hair.
When a jaguar pack came, I received a help call and chased them away, only to end up being given cold shoulder afterward.
Oh?
Why are they all bad memories?!
Pastel gasped, their expression swiftly becoming complicated.
Aren’t we friends?
Even the popular Pastel knows how to get angry.
Like a determined celebrity against paparazzi and stalkers.
Feeling the shift in atmosphere, the baby birds whimpered with their stifled beaks. They shrank back, avoiding eye contact and curling up.
Pastel crossed their arms and sighed deeply.
Is this how it feels to see a mischievous kid in trouble?
A calm voice spoke.
『They’re coming.』
Huh?
I definitely heard that voice from the Demon Lord when I was getting pecked by the birds!
Pastel jumped, quickly looking up, but it wasn’t a bird. The sounds of human footsteps and voices approached.
“When are we moving all these before dawn?”
“I guess we’re not getting any sleep today.”
Whoa?!
They’re coming, they’re coming!
Pastel frantically searched for a spot to hide. There were not many good options in the area where the monster bird cages were grouped.
Whoa!
Total crisis!
Great danger!
Mega crisis!
The baby birds looked up at the noise.
—Peeeee!
The baby birds waddled around, and soon squeezed into the cage, creating some space.
A zone surrounded by fluffy baby birds.
Oh?
Pastel’s eyes widened.
You guys…
—Peee!
A light gleamed in the baby bird’s eyes.
Baby bird friends…!
Oh, my goodness!
Pastel dove into the cage. The metal bars were large enough for her to fit in.
As she nestled amidst the three baby birds, they moved to encircle her entirely. The soft, fluffy feathers enveloped her warmly.
However, it was a bit excessive, and Pastel felt like she was being squished.
Whoa!
Cuddle-Pastel…!
The sounds of footsteps drew nearer to the cage.
Whoa.
Shiver, shiver, shiver.
“Didn’t they just cry? Did the muzzle come loose?”
“If the muzzle came loose, we wouldn’t have perfectly fine ears.”
Oh?
They totally had no idea the girl was hiding there.
Is this a triangle position?!
A bond of friendship triangle…!
Pastel overcame the situation with the power of friendship.
Oh yeah.
It was a flawless outcome, but the situation didn’t completely improve.
The two individuals stood frozen in front of the cage, gossiping. Their chitchat about how many cages needed to be moved or how the workload should be handled at night continued unabated.
Moving them at night?
That’s suspicious, to say the least.
But still, I have no clue what kind of group they are.
After a bit, the two finished their chatter, but the situation stayed the same.
Were they telling the truth about moving? The people lingered around the cage, starting their work.
The cages were shifted one by one, creating quite a racket.
The cage containing the baby birds wasn’t an exception. Using wheels under it, they pushed it, tying it up and lifting it using something akin to a pulley.
Whoa?
Pastel felt a sense of weightlessness, her eyes wide open.
What’s happening?
The cage moved with a dull noise and landed onto the airship deck. People approached.
—Peeeee! Peeeee!
The baby birds cried pitifully.
“Shut up!”
The cage was kicked. The baby bird’s cage rattled, growing frantic.
Whoa!
“If they cry, the mother bird will fly away, so to the forward deck!”
The cage was shoved. The wheels screeched loudly as they moved through the deck and into the airship interior.
Oh?
As they entered the storage area, darkness enveloped them. It repeatedly opened and closed noisily for some time before settling down.
As the airship ascended, Pastel felt the weightlessness return, only for it to calm down. Signs of sailing had begun.
Pastel glanced around to gauge the atmosphere and poked her head out from the space between the baby birds. She could see the dark storage. No one was there.
Oh?
She completely exited the cage and looked around.
There’s really no one here?
She raised her arms victoriously.
Pastel, mission accomplished!
In her imagination, a trumpet blared.
Ba-bam~!
Pastel danced excitedly, spinning in circles. Then she covered her mouth in shock.
It’s this easy!
Could it be that I’m a sneaking genius?
Whoa.
I’m a stealth genius…!
What an incredible revelation!
