The student council, having started school earlier than others, was bustling with activity.
Dustin returned late after the break, while Elly, who had already been working at school, dealt with paperwork without a moment’s rest.
“The broken window in the second-year dormitory still hasn’t been replaced. The one that got shattered by the Sky Whale’s wing flap.”
“What’s the Craft High Merchant doing about it?”
“They say the route for air shipments has changed due to the migration of flying creatures. They can do an emergency delivery, but they’re demanding additional payment because they can’t honor the original contract.”
Elly frowned, looking tired.
“Tell them to either fix the window immediately or find another merchant. One or the other.”
“Got it.”
Dustin nodded and began drafting a notification. The quill moved, carefully inscribing each letter in black ink.
But if you had to pick the busiest person in the student council, it wouldn’t be Elly or Dustin.
“I’m busy, busy! Waaaah!”
The girl with pink hair flitted around in the middle of the student council. Every time she moved, her autumn dress, adorned in white with hints of pink, swayed gracefully.
“Flap-flap! Hustle-hustle!”
Pastel swung her arms wildly, darting between desks. It seemed like she was holding something, but no, she was just aimlessly buzzing around.
“Busy, busy!”
As Elly rummaged through papers for a new agenda, she suddenly stopped.
“A leave of absence request from Melissa Camelot? There’s a letter too. Isn’t Camelot supposed to start school soon? Which side did this come from?”
Dustin thought for a moment before replying.
“It came through an airship that arrived yesterday. It’s a demon realm airship, sent through a merchant they encountered. But that merchant ran into pirates along the way, and apparently, most of the letter got lost.”
“Let’s see. It says some airships got damaged and need repairs in the demon realm, so it’s difficult to return in time for the start of school. Thus, she’s applying for a few days of leave.”
“Waaah! So busy!”
Pastel swung her arms again, rushing past Elly’s desk. There wasn’t any particular reason for her urgency; she just rushed by busily.
While reading the leave request, Elly tilted her head in thought, chewing the end of her quill before turning to Dustin.
“Have you finished drafting the notification for the merchant?”
“Not yet.”
“Let’s stop that for now, and check the status of the dormitory windows. It’d be good to check the areas the merchant is responsible for too.”
“Make sure to warn them properly?”
“Yep. Time’s running out, so borrow Leonard Tyler’s help and let’s handle this quickly.”
“Understood.”
Dustin tidied up his desk and hurried out of the student council room.
Elly watched him go, then walked toward the door, checking the hallway before locking it. The sound of the door locking echoed quietly.
Pastel, the white-and-black demon girl who had created a secret chamber, looked at her with a peculiar gaze.
Pastel continued to swing her arms, darting around the student council. She seemed a bit unsteady this time.
“Ahh! I feel like I might collapse from overwork!”
She could feel her arms aching from how hard she had been working.
Was this muscle pain from stressing her arm muscles too much due to all the office work?!
How hard have I been working?!
Ugh!
Overwork addict Pastel…!
She had become the busiest person in the world!
Elly approached Pastel, holding Melissa’s leave application.
“Pastel, look at this.”
Pastel jumped in surprise.
“Huh? What’s up, Elly?”
Elly pointed to a specific item in the leave request.
“The student council merchant, that is, the Craft High Merchant, obtained a permit to the demon realm for securing materials for constructing dormitories. But they haven’t returned since the construction finished. It’s as if they had another purpose.”
“Hoh.”
“Interesting! Isn’t it?”
Elly stared intently.
A gaze that could be compared to one directed at a criminal~.
Eh?
Confused by this intense gaze, Pastel’s eyes suddenly widened with realization.
Oh no!
Did I get caught in smuggling?!
Eek!
Chains clanking.
My life is getting darker.
Please see it as a necessity for survival…!
Shiver shiver.
Elly brought over another set of documents related to the student council budget.
“The budget for the second semester is completely empty. We created the student council merchant, and while the figures exist on paper, the actual amount is missing. It’s like someone embezzled it.”
As Elly said that, her gaze became more piercing.
A gaze directed at an even more serious criminal~.
Oh no.
I’ve been found out for turning the remaining budget from establishing the Craft High Merchant into smuggled goods!
Trembling twice as much!
Pastel shook violently, to the point that her pink hair vibrated.
A buzz buzz buzz.
Then suddenly, she paused as a thought hit her.
“No, no! Elly’s wrong about the budget!”
“Huh?”
Pastel dashed over to grab the new second-semester budget and proudly displayed it.
“Look!”
She pointed to the income section.
The figures increased by plus, plus, plus thanks to the capture of the Sky Whale!
“The student council suffered a loss due to unavoidable and coincidental incidents, but not anymore! It’s all thanks to my efforts!”
Pastel placed her hands on her hips and lifted her chin.
“I actually deserve to be praised!”
Yay!
She raised her arms triumphantly.
“The hero who saved the student council!”
Pastel pointed at herself.
“That’s me!”
The magician of the budget!
The hand of Midas!
Oh yeah, oh yeah!
She bounced around joyfully.
I’m a hero!
Elly stared blankly at her, too dumbfounded to even argue back.
Her conscience should be embarrassed, beam~.
Oh no.
Suddenly feeling embarrassed!
As Pastel jumped around, she slowly shrank back down.
She averted her gaze and awkwardly whistled.
“The Vice Student Council President, General Affairs Head, Planning Head, PR Head, and Community Service Head knows nothing~.”
“That’s a long title, but you can’t just not know.”
Oh no.
Is that really true?
Now that I mention it, it sounds like I just confessed?!
Shock.
Chill.
Pastel froze in place.
She had become Ice Block Pastel.
Since autumn is almost winter, that makes sense.
Elly stared at Pastel and, knowing it would be like this since it was Craft, started putting away the budget-related papers with a peculiar attitude.
Then she handed Pastel Melissa’s leave request and letter.
“This letter is addressed to you, so take a look.”
Gasp.
Since autumn isn’t winter at all, Pastel, who had stealthily regained her composure, looked over the leave application.
Excluding the introduction, the main body and conclusion were mostly lost due to rough handling. The letter that arrived was merely a single page.
A single page might be enough content, but since it was originally quite lengthy, the actual content that arrived was just formal greetings.
“Wow.”
Noble people write formal greetings that take up an entire page, huh?
“Are there no other letters?”
“Nope.”
Elly replied somewhat dismissively as she returned to her seat.
Hee.
So in the end, all of Melissa’s letter was just a page full of polite greetings?
As her best friend, Pastel felt an overwhelming sense of regret. She meticulously read the cordial greetings that had actually arrived.
It was a poignant letter filled with feelings of wanting to see her friend, and the carefully pressed quill marks seemed to indicate the weight of those emotions. The long phrases and idioms felt like a shyness trying to hide her true feelings.
Wow wow.
Nobles really write like this.
Just by reading it, I can tell how much Melissa likes me!
Then, the silent demon spoke up.
“I sense anger in her handwriting.”
Huh?
“It seems she tried to remain composed while suppressing her emotions, but ultimately couldn’t control the pressure in her hand; she wrote like she was scratching the letter paper with the quill. There’s immense anger present.”
Pastel’s eyes widened.
“Furthermore, in traditional manners, one should only write good things in polite greetings, but she seems to dislike doing that, brilliantly utilizing irony through long phrases and idioms.”
Huh?
Pastel stared intently at the letter. She re-read it carefully and rubbed her eyes to peer through her blurry gaze.
Hmm.
Umm?
I have no idea!
“Noble traditions and history must be understood to comprehend the irony. For instance, when she called you a tulip, she was referring to the foolish nobles who gambled their entire fortune during the tulip price surge.”
The demon explained matter-of-factly.
“It seems the trade is quite weary. Smuggling is gambling, and you’re being criticized as a gambler. You’ve spent your life as a fool, so you wouldn’t catch such nuances.”
Huh.
Is that so?
Pastel crossed her arms, falling into deep thought.
Deep thought, deep thought.
Then she suddenly smiled and reopened the letter.
In any case, just by reading it, I can tell how much Melissa likes me!
Wow wow!
Oh yeah!
Singing, she rummaged through her desk drawer for paper.
I need to write her a letter too!
I’ll fill a page with greetings, all noble-like!
She busily wrote her letter.
When the hour hand of the clock moved, Elly approached her with a stack of documents.
“Sign this.”
“Oh, just a second.”
Pastel pushed the letter to one side.
“Were there any special issues I needed to look out for?”
“This.”
Elly pointed to the top document.
It was about transfer students for the second semester.
Students who couldn’t enroll in the first semester due to personal issues would be transferring this semester.
Having heard about it already, Pastel tilted her head.
“Were there any students among the transfer students that we should be particularly cautious about?”
She didn’t remember seeing any major issues on the existing list.
The documents were flipped over and her finger pointed to the updated list.
“Apparently, a duke’s second daughter suddenly applied to transfer despite her family having issues while pioneering the northern mountains.”
Huh?
Pastel stumbled over the unfamiliar term.
Duke.
A simple hierarchy popped into her mind.
Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquis… Duke.
Oh no.
Higher than me.
How do I handle higher nobility?!
The cold reality of the social hierarchy envelops the naive child…!
Shiver shiver.
Seeing her reaction, Elly hesitated slightly.
“Plus, since the duke’s daughter is a semi-knight even though she’s in the same first year… wouldn’t the authority of the student council get a little shaken once she enrolls?”
Semi-knight.
Pastel’s mouth dropped open.
First-year strongest Pastel → Just plain fool Pastel.
Eeeh?
Eeeeh?
