Demonic girl.
Slightly pointed ears.
Black hair, black eyes.
A large backpack that swayed and a scholarly gaze.
“How did you end up falling behind?”
Pastel tilted her head.
The demonic girl gulped down her soup hurriedly.
“Phew. I took a short-term request because they said there was a problem with the scoff and needed a new one. But in the meantime, everyone else left without me.”
Oh, wow.
Is it like that moment when you go to the restroom during a school trip and they leave without you?
Whoa.
She handed over a new soup bowl.
“Eat more! Eat a lot!”
“Thanks. But you really cook well.”
The demonic girl looked at her with respect. A lavish spread of food was laid out between the demonic girl and Pastel.
Proud.
“I’ll do it!”
She puffed her chest.
“Wow.”
Hehe.
Pastel lifted the pepper shaker with a relaxed grin. As she turned the shaker over the soup, magic stone powder fell with a soft sound.
“What’s that?”
“A secret recipe!”
Pastel continued playfully.
“I can’t even tell my friends!”
Spoonful after spoonful, she savored it.
A nutty, deep flavor filled her mouth.
Wow, wow, the demon really cooks well.
Finishing the soup, she tore into a roasted chicken leg. The tender meat easily pulled apart. The brown skin ripped away revealing the white flesh. Juices flowed out.
Wow.
She dipped it generously in the magic stone powder and bit into it. A moist chewiness filled her mouth. An explosion of oily flavor.
Wow.
“I adjusted the seasoning to match the sweetness of the magic stone powder. What do you think?”
Pastel answered instead, taking a big bite from the chicken leg.
“…Eat a lot.”
Dinner continued without a word. The situation of both the homeless demonic girl and the girl who had to exchange gold bars for a meal was fundamentally the same, leading to a mutual understanding.
Plates were emptied one by one. A spoon was placed on the last empty plate.
“Phew.”
Pastel, with a full belly, slumped in her chair.
I’m full.
No, I’m hungry but I’m full.
Clearly, there was no more physical space in her stomach. A sense of satiety filled her being.
Yet, the feeling of hunger did not go away. A void in her soul whispered that something lost needed to be consumed.
She pinched some magic stone powder with her fingers and put it in her mouth. A candy-like sweetness. The sensation felt reminiscent of junk food.
Hmm.
Better than not eating, but this doesn’t feel like what I should be eating. There’s no thrilling spark to stimulate my senses.
“Why is that?”
Pastel shook her head.
“It’s nothing.”
The demonic girl, still sprawled out, looked over.
“Speaking of which, I didn’t properly introduce myself. I’m Eli.”
After a moment’s pause, no surname followed.
Oh.
To break the silence, Pastel raised her hand with a bright smile.
“I’m Pastel Love Craft! You can just call me Pastel! Nice to meet you, friend!”
Eli nodded, looking somewhat surprised.
“I’ll do that.”
A cool voice.
Oh yeah.
Finally, a friend I can talk to.
Pastel blushed slightly.
“What kind of weapon do you use, Eli? Are you a wizard? Do you go swing-swing with a staff? Or bang-bang boom?!”
Magic special?
Eli tilted her head.
“I don’t know how to fight.”
Huh?
“I enrolled for academic research.”
Huh?
Oh.
Right, it’s not a soldier training facility but an academy.
Pastel smiled brightly.
“Then we’re a perfect match! I’m smart! I’m the top of this semester!”
“Really? You’re smart then?”
“Of course!”
Hehe.
“What’s your major, Pastel?”
Major?
Her mind went blank. What have I learned so far? Since I’m the top of the class, I must have learned something smart.
Hmm, I don’t know.
In that case, my major is…
She raised her magic sword high.
“Power projection!”
Wow.
I’m so good at it.
Eli stared at her blankly.
Then nodded.
“I see. My major is myth and legend. Specifically, the legend of the Demon King.”
“Demon King legend?”
Such an impressive title?
“It’s about the Demon Lord.”
Eli turned pale for a moment and changed her words.
“There’s a legend that the wicked Demon King’s legacy is sleeping on Sky Island. It’s the site of the last great battle of the Great Demon War.”
Eli’s finger twisted her black hair.
“Of course, legends are just legends. But there might be some dirty schemes involved. We can’t let a human slaughterer with a shattered psyche emerge again, so I’m researching and reporting it to the Empire.”
Magic?
Huh.
“What do you mean by schemes?”
The demonic girl swallowed dryly.
“…Lowly and disgusting methods to create a new lunatic. A barbaric and crude way of patching up inferior talents and bodies with magic and magic stones.”
Magic stones?
Her heart raced.
“B-but you mentioned Craft as a combat major? Did you prepare well for practical combat? Isn’t it hard for a swordsman?”
Pastel’s eyes grew wide.
“Oh right!”
She jumped up.
“I need to prepare for practical combat! Thanks, Eli! You reminded me! I’m sorry, but I’ll be training alone for a while! I love solo training!”
With the demon.
Eli wiped her forehead with a handkerchief.
“But if you’re here, shouldn’t you not be?”
Huh?
“I have to take the academic practical. Won’t practical combat start even if we don’t arrive? It’ll begin as soon as the late demon realm scoff arrives.”
Is that…
“Ah?!”
Pastel grabbed her pink hair.
“I’m late!”
Ahhh!
Run, Bumbum…!
Bumbum is the name I just gave to the scoff.
#
In the middle of the forest on the outskirts of Sky Island.
“Craft is?”
The professor looked over the group of examinees from the podium. The pink essence that should have stood out was nowhere to be seen.
A senior answered from the side.
“She borrowed the scoff with student council authority. Due to the incident of a fallen examinee in the matter of transportation to Sky Island.”
“She borrowed it? What kind of honorific is that for a child?”
“Oh, they borrowed it with student council authority. Regarding the fallen examinee.”
“Student council? An examinee?”
The professor squinted as if thinking. He tapped the podium with his finger.
“Wasn’t she the top of the written exam?”
“Yes.”
“Show me the file.”
Pastel’s file was handed over. The combat practical item was opened.
A crossroads of pass and fail.
The professor’s quill moved.
Suddenly, a horn blared through the forest.
“Terror!”
All gazes turned to the sky. A small scoff rushed down like it was falling. A girl’s voice echoed briefly.
The scoff crashed into something transparent in the air. Shattered glass fragments filled the sky.
“First barrier breached! How reckless!”
“It’s demons, inferior beings. I knew this would happen. We should have wiped them out earlier.”
What are the knight corps doing to allow a demonic scoff to pass through?
The cold-faced professor withdrew a wand. The wand pointed at the scoff. Numerous wands followed suit.
Cannons on the ground aimed at the target.
“Prepare for anti-air fire! Target the demonic scoff! Fire—!”
A pink head flew from the scoff’s railing.
“Bumbum! It’s too fast!”
The professor’s mouth dropped open.
“Y-Your Excellency the Viscount?!”
The professor shouted in a hurry.
“Change the target! Aim for the second barrier!”
“Huh?”
“It’s Craft! Smash everything except the final one! Fire before it collides and gets hurt!”
The senior, who had been reprimanded for using honorifics towards the young lord, opened his eyes wide.
The professor, without a hint of embarrassment, shouted back.
“Fire!”
The ground cannons fired. Projectiles filled the sky. The surface of the projectiles formed magical patterns with magic stone powder.
The magic circle glowed and formed magic. Flames shook. A tremendous sound roared. An explosion engulfed the sky.
Numerous glass barriers shattered.
Before the authority and influence of the noble, all threats had their wings clipped.
Piercing through the flames, the scoff plunged down.
“Wow!”
The pink head fluttered.
The scoff collided right next to them. A deafening sound rang out. Dust rose, and the wind howled. The dazed examinees’ heads and clothes flapped in the gust.
“Lord Craft!”
The professor ran.
“Medical team! Now!”
People followed behind.
Wands flicked. The wind stirred, and dust settled. A half-destroyed scoff was revealed.
A pink girl sprawled in the wreckage murmured.
“I-I’m alive…”
Pastel stumbled to her feet and vacantly surveyed the surroundings.
Professors, seniors, medical personnel.
Behind them was a group of examinees wearing dumbstruck expressions.
Examinees?
She raised her arms high.
“I made it on time!”
Failing, starving, barely surviving.
Oh yeah.
Suddenly, the leading professor exhaled roughly.
“Phew.”
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His expression shifted to one of intelligence and calmness.
Oh, wow.
“Craft has arrived. Everyone is here now. Since nothing happened, let’s restore the barrier and continue the exam.”
Ahh.
A ruthless death game.
There’s no consideration for the latecomers.
The professor glanced at the senior who had followed.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and restore it. Finish within the hour. Thoroughly and precisely. The intruder prevention system is still operational, so the rest should be quick.”
The senior screamed silently.
#
“Walk left, to the river.”
Pastel walked through the forest, looking at the map. The sound of the river reached her ears.
She ran hurriedly.
The river flowed gushingly.
“Ah! This must be the place! Arrived at the location!”
“It seems so.”
The merciless entrance exam proceeded without any recognition.
Tremble, tremble.
The practical combat was about hunting golems. After going to designated positions, they needed to capture the golems scattered in the forest. It was an absolute assessment.
Thank goodness.
With the demon lord alongside her, Pastel felt untroubled as she scanned the forest with meaningful eyes.
“Demon lord, demon lord! Did you hear?”
“What about?”
“They say it’s the legacy of the Demon King!”
Wow.
“They absorb magic from the atmosphere, and they replicate magic stones!”
I don’t know what it is, but isn’t that possible?
The demon let out an incredibly long sigh. It felt like the sound was coming from her soul.
“You have no connection at all. Because of the Craft clan.”
Huh?
What on earth did our clan do again?
“The throne of the Demon King can only be obtained through the threads of fate. Likewise, the legacy and schemes for it. Discoveries are not coincidences but destiny. That is why the Empire cannot find it even though they know where it is.”
“Oh, it’s not just a legend!”
Wow.
The demon paused.
“…Think what you like. After all, the Craft bloodline and the legacy of the Demon King have no connection whatsoever. I can assure you of that.”
What on earth did our clan do to be so certain?
So disappointing.
Pastel sighed and continued walking.
Then suddenly, her foot caught on a tree root.
Huh?
Her vision tilted, and she fell over.
Thud.
Her hand brushed against the ground, hitting a stone. The stone hummed and revealed a magical pattern that glowed.
Boom, boom, boom.
The ground opened up, revealing ruins.
Pastel looked down the stairs of the ruins with a blank expression. A cold, underground scent wafted up.
Huh?
In the stillness, the demon muttered belatedly.
“This, this can’t be happening.”
Could it be?
Could it really be?
“Is this possible?!”
Pastel jumped to her feet.
She raised her arms high.
“Pastel’s life is easy…!”
Wow!
Oh yeah.
Oh yeah, oh yeah.
Rustle.
Footsteps were heard from behind.
Huh?
Pastel turned her body.
Her blue eyes met another’s.
A blonde girl dressed in a wizard’s robe.
Melissa Camerott.
“You’re tangled up in something.”
The demon said with determination.
“We need to eliminate the witness first.”
Huh?
#
Dear mother,
I always think about your words and teachings.
But lately, I’ve had a few questions.
Is it really right to ostracize a person just because of our family’s ill repute?
Is that truly classy behavior?
Is that really noble?
…I’m sorry.
I’m at the age where I should be entering the academy. I want to insist on my own thoughts at least once.
Is it so wrong to ask a peer who came out of a crashed scoff if they’re hurt?
Even if that person is someone from the Craft clan, whom I shouldn’t even step on their shadow?
Melissa, having inferred Pastel’s exam location, pushed through the underbrush.
As she pushed aside the branches, a pink scene filled her view.
In the sunlight, pink hair shimmered. Pink eyes reflected the light, sparkling beautifully.
Mother, esteemed mother.
Such a beautiful person can’t be wrong.
If there is justice in aesthetics and principles in art, doesn’t this girl hold some truth?
Couldn’t there be a hidden heart within her breast that is devoid of betrayal and schemes?
Like how sunlight shines on clouds and dew envelops the leaves, could this girl have any deceit?
So, I want to check on the injury…
Yes, that’s right.
I’ll be honest.
I want to be friends with this child.
Because that’s what it means to be a noble who loves art.
I shall live as a noble.
Like you, Mother.
Melissa respectfully placed her hand on her chest. She bowed her head lightly.
“Craft, I came to apologize for my previous rudeness.”
The pink girl approached.
And suddenly erupted towards Melissa with both hands outstretched.
“Sorry, friend! Let’s talk later!”
Melissa’s body was pushed away. She spun around, and the river filled her view.
“Aaaah!”
Splash-!
The river surged violently.
Melissa struggled as she was swept away.
Mother! Mother!
As she flowed, her robe got caught in the tree root. Melissa flailed her arms desperately. She grabbed the tree root.
Panting, she crawled out to the riverbank.
Water streamed from her tangled golden hair.
Her weary eyes looked down at the ground.
Mud fell from her head.
Mother…
I’m sorry.
You were right.
The Crafts are bad.
So very bad.
Melissa fell into despair.
