The next day.
Pastel found herself in a weird spot, wedged between two awkward girls.
Ugh.
To her right, Melissa was unnecessarily checking the map made of parchment. She looked serious, fussing with her quill like she was deep in thought, but given that they hadn’t done anything during their walk, it was clear she was just fidgeting out of awkwardness.
To her left, Elshire was blankly trudging along, carrying three backpacks. Her expression hinted at a slight existential crisis—zero friends detected.
Ugh.
Bad Melissa.
Usually sweet and flexible, she was being all stiff towards Elshire. Is this what being a goody two-shoes, obedient to parents, looks like?
Seeing their reactions made Melissa glance nervously, seemingly feeling sorry, though she couldn’t bring herself to apologize.
Wow, it seems like a pretty dire situation for you two. Both want to get along but are just terrible at it.
Pastel was in deep contemplation.
How can I help them get closer?
Given Melissa’s character, she’d apologize first, anyway…
“Melissa! Show me the map!”
“Oh, here!”
Pastel took a serious look at the map.
“Whoa.”
This is a huge problem.
“Is there something wrong with it?”
“Right now, our investigation speed seems slow!”
“Weren’t we headed directly to the second floor for that?”
“No, no! It’s not that! I think we should split up a bit. Since we’re all together, the investigation is dragging.”
Melissa looked puzzled.
“Isn’t that dangerous? We’re an odd number.”
Tap tap.
Like someone disagreeing, she shook her index fingers side to side.
“Pastel counts as two, so we have two teams!”
What a revelation.
“Well, you have a point, Pastel.”
Melissa paused mid-sentence. Realizing that this meant she and Elshire would team up, she flinched.
“But going alone isn’t good. It’s a matter of attention. Even you could make a fatal error when alone.”
Ugh.
That’s too reasonable.
“If Elshire is just carrying bags and doing nothing, shouldn’t we divide roles for efficiency?”
“Wasn’t that how we were able to infiltrate here? The Knight Order probably thought the same while overlooking the ruins. But having backup is always important.”
Pastel realized it was futile to argue with a straight-A student’s logic.
Examples can show themselves in real-time, making it hard to counter.
As a Craft Lady, she really wanted to speed up the investigation of the Cult, but momentarily hesitated.
Should I just ask seriously?
But thinking about the misunderstanding of her having a dual personality, it seemed it would only give a weird impression.
Ugh.
“Isn’t that holy text over there?”
Elshire pointed to a wall at the end of the passageway. A short sentence was written.
“Oh! You’re right!”
Pastel dashed towards it.
“Whoa!”
“This says there’s a falling trap ahead!”
She looked ahead. It was a wide, empty corridor. A peaceful sight. If they hadn’t known about the holy text, they would have definitely fallen into it.
Pastel stepped forward and warned, “Hey, be careful! Especially you, Melissa!”
She turned to point at her friend.
“Once you become a Grand Mage, they say you’ll be able to fly! The fragile body of a magician is really, really vulnerable to traps like this, so be super careful!”
A sound clicked from somewhere.
Uh-oh.
That must be the sound of a trap.
“Everyone, be careful!”
Pastel spread her arms. First, she checked on Melissa and Elshire to see if they were okay—thankfully, they were unharmed and not close behind.
Instead, they stared at her with stunned expressions.
Aren’t they all fine?
Where did that sound come from?
Suddenly, Pastel felt a weightlessness. The open floor below her gave way, and she began to fall.
“Waaaaah!”
An endless empty space extended below her.
Pastel, save me!
“Waaaaah!”
Her pink hair flailed wildly in the air.
“Calm down and pull out your Knife.”
Pastel fumbled and pulled out her Knife.
“Soft landing! Soft landing!”
The Knife helped her fly gently, bridging the distance until it finally touched the ground. Her weight made her wobble a little, before she came to a complete stop.
She was floating somewhere in an abyss.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
She watched as a paralyzed potion slipped from her hands, falling into the depths below. Moments later, she heard the shattering sound.
So deep!
I’m going to die!
“Oh Demon Lord, I almost died!”
I was about to become a flat pancake!
『That shouldn’t happen. Even if there was a cage trap directly below, you would have handled it well.』
Ugh.
Still, I think the Hormone Friend would have done well, but as a guardian, can you please show a little more intense concern?
Wiping her cold sweat, she looked up. The original entrance looked tiny, far above her.
“Pastel! Are you okay?!”
Melissa peeked over, her upper body leaning out, looking extremely worried.
She waved her arms.
“I’m fine! I’m fine! I’m all good!”
“Thank goodness!”
Melissa seemed relieved.
“But did you just hear a sound?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The sound of a glass breaking. When I hear the resonance, it seems there’s an open passage below.”
Whoa.
Pastel looked down again. The endlessly deep pit yawned before her.
A hidden space that would be hard to find with normal means?
It seemed like a place that shady characters would absolutely love.
Pastel looked up at Melissa.
“Let’s split up! I’ll investigate down here and meet at the existing base tomorrow night!”
“Pastel?!”
Ignoring the horrified exclamation, she dove down.
“Knife Friend! It’s your time to shine! Prove that you’re more capable than the Broom Friend!”
Whoosh whoosh.
She continued going down.
Moments later, she landed on a white ground, where paralysis gas had erupted. It oddly looked like a holy white corridor.
“Oh wow?”
Dismounting from her Knife, Pastel took a look around. Mystical torches flickered on the walls. Focusing on the sound, a serene calmness washed over her.
『Hmm? This presence. This is truly a sacred place. Is it somewhere a deity took care to create?』
“Is it really sacred?”
What makes it different from the original area? There sure seemed to be a lot of visual differences.
『Look at the Demon Sword. Because of the sanctity, the seal on the Demon Sword isn’t functioning properly.』
Whoa.
Pastel lifted the sword. Upon closer inspection, she realized something significant.
But still, I can’t understand it at all!
“This is a secret, but Pastel’s a doofus, so I really don’t get it—whoa!”
Pastel jumped, startled by a suited Demon standing right in front of her.
Then she got a double shock when she saw the Demon Sword still in her hand.
“Two Demon Lords?!”
The Demon opened and closed its fist.
『Not two, but the seal has loosened. The body that was forcibly bonded with the Demon Sword has separated.』
Her pink eyes widened.
“Did you evolve from a sealed Great Demon to a loosened Great Demon?”
The urgency hit her like a drum.
The chilling sensation of having unleashed a Great Demon sent shivers down her spine.
At this rate, I might turn from Pink Pastel to Purple Pastel!
“I always thought you’d react like that.”
The Demon looked incredulous. It reached out and ruffled Pastel’s hair.
“Ah! My hair!”
If it weren’t for the fact this was a Demon, I’d be seriously upset!
“Since I made it, I can do as I please.”
Such a total Demon!
Pastel ran off to tidy her hair.
“But if the Demon Sword is about to break in a sacred place, it wouldn’t be good for you to stay here, right?”
『Not at all. In fact, since the origins are the same, I should be able to exert some power here.』
The Demon approached and tidied her hair. Pastel felt a tickling sensation as her hairstyle was adjusted.
『Now, that’s a relief. I was worried if I’d be able to escape if I ran into Knight-level threats.』
Ugh.
I can’t take it when you talk like that.
“Should I just become Pastel, who’s all flaunting her connections?”
Wow.
That sounds totally fun!
“Why does that mindset come first?”
The Demon ruffled her hair again.
“Waaaah!”
Bad Demon!
“Is this a library?”
The Demon took a book and examined it.
『It seems more like a record vault. The temple would love it.』
Pastel wandered around the sacred place.
Like the previous ruins, the sacred place was infinitely vast. With no sign of life, it was hard to distinguish if it was because of the spaciousness or just a total absence of people.
With an area this large, it felt like the size of a city.
Even if the Cult was hiding, it would be a challenge to encounter them in a city this large without a preset meeting.
“The temple loves it, but I don’t like books!”
『That’s not a boast.』
As she accidentally stepped into the library area and only continued to find white bookshelves, she started to feel fed up.
“Raspberry, apple pie, cheddar cheese, cream rolls, fried chicken.”
Mid-sentence, Pastel suddenly shocked herself.
“Fried chicken?!”
That’s a troublesome thought to suddenly have pop up!
『Hmm?』
The Demon rubbed its chin.
“Are you craving chicken?”
Now that she thought about it, maybe she was a bit hungry. Beyond the white bookshelves, she saw something reminiscent of a mirage.
A baby bird, the size of a person, was walking between the shelves.
Peep peep.
“Oh my gosh! A chicken is walking around!”
How hungry must she be!?
—Peep?
The baby bird turned its head.
Whoa.
So it wasn’t a hallucination!
—Peeeaak?!
The baby bird looked confused, tilting its head as it approached.
Whoa!
Pastel also tilted her head in response. Somehow, this chicken friend looked familiar.
“Do we know each other?”
Did we meet at the table or something?
—Peep?
The baby bird tilted its head further.
『That’s the baby bird we met on the Sky Whale during the break.』
“Oh! I remember now!”
Pastel pointed at the baby bird.
“You’re that baby bird we met on the Sky Whale during vacation!”
—Peep?!
The baby bird’s beak opened in surprise.
Why are you here?! it seemed to shout.
Pastel gasped in return.
“Why are you here?!”
Didn’t you get kidnapped by the bad Cult, then rescued, leaving with your mother for a happy ending?!
