“I’m all set by now.”
The demon scraped the bottom of the cauldron with a spatula. A sticky, purple dye began to rise, resembling melted rubber in its gloppy form.
“Glass bottle.”
“Yes.”
Elli, who had been nervously glancing at the demon, handed over the glass bottle. As the spatula tilted, the dye splashed in, releasing plumes of hot steam.
“If you don’t prepare the dye soon, it will cool down quickly.”
“Wow!”
Pastel looked at the shimmering glass bottle with sparkling eyes.
“Dye dye!”
Surely, the demon is amazing!
There’s nothing they can’t do!
Hee hee hee.
Pastel giggled and poked the demon in the side.
“Master Demon! Master Demon! What’s the source of this dye recipe?”
The demon, pouring the cleaning liquid into the cooled cauldron, looked a bit reluctant.
“It’s a dye recipe passed down in the Craft family. The hair color is too distinct, making disguise difficult, so a recipe suited to their lineage was created. Although it’s outdated compared to the latest alchemy trends, it’s still a classic recipe.”
“Wow wow!”
A recipe from the Craft family!
But how does the Master Demon know about it?
Pastel, who was hopelessly unaware of romance, couldn’t figure it out!
“How did you find out?!”
It’s extremely important to check if the vision was leaked as the clan leader!
Not asking just because of curiosity!
Elli, awkwardly fanning the glass bottle, shot a look her way. It was a look that said, “How could you ask such an impolite question?”
The demon pretended not to hear and scraped the bottom of the cauldron with the spatula, mixing the clingy purple dye with the clear cleaning liquid.
Pastel leaned over the cauldron and got a good look at the Master Demon’s face peering down. The pink eyes sparkled.
The demon ignored her and moved the spatula.
The pink eyes sparkled even brighter.
Sparkle sparkle.
With a sigh, the demon gathered the pink hair that was swaying dangerously close to the cleaning liquid.
“What are you so curious about?”
“It’s just amazing that the Master Demon knows the Craft family recipe! This is insider information! I can’t just sit idly by as the clan head!”
“Speak frankly.”
“What happened between the Master Demon and my mother?!”
Oh wow wow!
Pastel’s heart raced with adolescent excitement over the romantic topic.
But it’s unrequited love!
That makes her want to hear more…!
The red eyes looked a bit reluctant.
“It’s nothing much. When infiltrating the cult, the pink color stands out too much, so I just listened to the recipe and made it.”
“Huh.”
Pastel gasped, covering her mouth in shock.
“Alone together…!”
Oh no!
“It’s not like that.”
The demon pressed a finger against Pastel’s forehead.
“Wow~.”
Pastel stumbled back and fell from the cauldron.
“It wasn’t just the two of us. The crown prince was there, and there was a serious atmosphere, so whatever you imagined didn’t happen.”
The demon scratched the cauldron with the spatula. It felt strangely emotional.
Ahh~.
Was this too hard of a topic for an unrequited love?
What are they going to do!
It’s such a big deal!
Pastel, finding it amusing, had a big grin on her face.
Hehe.
Elli awkwardly stared at the demon. As she fiddled with the glass bottle, testing the temperature of the dye, she hesitantly spoke up.
“Um, are you perhaps Lord Demonius?”
The demon chose not to answer.
Instead, Pastel’s eyes widened.
“How did you know?!”
Elli is so smart!
Elli looked somewhat taken aback.
“I can tell just by looking.”
No way!
This was supposed to be confidential!
The story of the fallen girl who broke the seal of the great demon shouldn’t leak out like this!
That sort of thing happens only at the end of fairytales!
Pastel was overwhelmed.
“Master Demon! Master Demon! What should we do? Should we take irreversible measures?!”
That’s the last thing she wanted to do!
“Huh?”
Elli flinched.
“Don’t speak such things in front of the person involved. It’s not polite.”
The demon sighed.
“From the moment you started calling me Master Demon, it was a given that you’d be found out. Those who should know already do.”
Elli, slightly pale, added, “Melissa might suspect too. The way she treats him is quite different from how she treats a servant—cautious and trying to act like she doesn’t know.”
Smart Elli used her top friend ranking as a shield.
It was effective. Pastel was immediately shocked.
“Even Melissa?!”
This means that irreversible measures can’t even be considered! She never planned to in the first place!
Pastel paused for a moment, suddenly recalling something.
Wait a minute.
Does this mean they found out about her cheating on her studies too?
She broke out in a cold sweat.
She quickly retraced her memory. Had Melissa ever been suspicious of genius Pastel’s existence?
No, not at all. Rather, there was always a look in Melissa’s eyes that analyzed just how far this Pastel intended to be greedy with her good brain.
Phew.
Model student Melissa probably never imagined that smart Pastel would cheat.
It seems that what she’s been doing has been quite helpful for her reputation?
Surely, one must live honestly!
“It should have cooled down by now. Young Craft, come sit here.”
“Yes!”
Pastel skipped over to sit on a wooden chair, swinging her legs. The demon approached with the glass bottle in hand. A butter kn*fe scooped some purple dye.
“Extend your hand.”
“Why my hand?”
Pastel extended her hand. A tiny bit of dye touched her hand.
“Alchemy deals with intricate harmonies. If it’s for a person, you must check for any possible reactions. The skin is particularly sensitive.”
“Aha!”
“I mentioned this when teaching about alchemical toxicology last time.”
Oh no.
She completely forgot.
While waiting for the reaction on her hand, the demon examined the alchemy lab’s floor. Then, as if collecting cat fur, she picked up stray pink hairs.
The hair landed in the glass bottle. Once stirred with the butter kn*fe, the dyed strands swayed gently. In the sunlight streaming through the window, they shone in a mystical shade of purple.
“Wow!”
So pretty!
Ancestors, how did you create such a dye recipe! Truly stylish! Even if the intention was to maintain a beautiful appearance to deceive!
“There’s no problem with the performance.”
Elli, who had been awkwardly silent, glanced over.
“Isn’t this quite noticeable as well? I’ve never heard of the Craft family using dye for disguises, but a demon who dug deep into the Craft family history would certainly notice.”
“No problem. This recipe is only passed down to the clan leader and the final heir. Different recipes exist for each color, and any color that someone has used gets discarded to prevent the later generations from being caught due to historical records.”
“So thoroughly. If only that effort allowed them to live a little more decently.”
Elli sounded slightly fed up.
“However, just because it’s thorough doesn’t mean it’s inconspicuous, does it? How strange.”
“The Crafts folks have naturally assumed it’s expected to be noticed to gain attention. They probably enjoy it and wouldn’t want to give it up.”
“If only they lived a little more decently with that mindset.”
“Indeed.”
The demon and Elli shared a mutual understanding, dishing out criticisms of the Craft clan.
The current clan leader didn’t know how to respond, so they pretended not to hear.
“Wow! Purple purple!”
After trying the dye, anyone who didn’t know Pastel’s face wouldn’t mistake her for someone with distinctive pink hair, such as a Craft!
Pastel welcomed a smuggling airship at the docking station. The shouts of the crew echoed, and countless goods were unloaded.
“Economic freedom! Economic freedom!”
Living the magic stone life!
Guild Master Grace was pleased.
“Hiring former knights has drastically reduced operational losses. With gossip spreading, the number of pirates approaching the airship has decreased tremendously. It was more effective than expected.”
“Wow! That’s great!”
Well, no one would want to meddle with the Craft Guild, especially since they operate similar to a state-owned enterprise on a sky island!
Guild Master Grace unfurled her fan.
“If the mercenaries learn about the safety of this trade, hiring soldiers will also become easier. Your Grace, what do you think about increasing the forces?”
“Sure! Let’s expand the airships and borrow funds for a larger scale operation!”
We could temporarily borrow the airship owned by the academy and the sky island’s administration, and utilize the incoming tax revenue for next year’s budget before it’s captured.
I need to talk to Chancellor Horace!
“That’s an excellent plan.”
Guild Master Grace was satisfied.
Her fan fluttered gently.
“By the way, have you resolved the friction with the royal family? I trust you handled it well, but as a person responsible for the guild, I can’t help but feel concerned.”
“Huh? What’s that about?”
What royal family?
Pastel tilted her head.
Guild Master Grace looked perplexed.
“You disrupted the royal family’s plans to restrain the demon realm and seized the rights to railway construction for just one gold coin.”
“Huh? That was the Imperial Bank, not the royal family.”
“The royal family operates the Imperial Bank, right?”
“Oh come on.”
Pastel waved her hand dismissively.
“How can a bank, which needs to be separate from the government, be manipulated by the royal family? That would lead to a credit collapse and a bank run! Guild Master, your jokes are quite something!”
This is common sense!
Such foolish jokes won’t work on smart Pastel!
Hahaha!
Guild Master Grace turned pale.
“That’s the principle, but the royal family hasn’t respected the market this much until now, has it?”
Ew?
Ew ew?
Suddenly, commotion erupted in the docking station.
Turning her head, Pastel saw a very flashy, fast airship flying in from the sky over there.
Guild Master Grace gasped.
“The royal family’s airship?”
Ew?
Pastel was soon face-to-face with a messenger.
A knight clad in black armor, clearly belonging to the royal knight corps, unfurled a scroll.
“Pastel Love Craft, heed my words! His Majesty the Emperor commands you to appear at the palace at the earliest convenience!”
Aaaah!
I didn’t do anything wrong!
