I’m here~.
“Governor, Your Excellency, arriving without notice~.”
What are the chances that there are no suspicious double books in a branch far away from the headquarters on a continental scale?
Huff.
Pastel, being naive, doesn’t really know.
All our staff are kind, so maybe there’s about a 50% chance!
Pastel skipped along happily. Her companions followed, and the employees, who were also former Knights, stampeded behind her.
The crowd filling the main street disorderly pushed aside and split to the left and right. As more space was created than the steps she took, a wide view opened up. At the end was the demon realm branch building of the Craft trading guild.
“Wow~!”
The observant ones!
They say that a word without legs travels a thousand miles; it seems the rumors will spread faster than my arrival!
“Hurry, hurry!”
Pastel jumped ahead.
Suddenly, a laborer carrying nearby goods looked this way, turned pale, and started running toward the branch building. Thanks to the split crowd, the sight of him running alone was very clear.
Huff.
What suspicious behavior he’s displaying…!
Pastel covered her mouth with both hands in surprise.
What to do! What to do!
“What to do! What to do!”
The former Knight member trailing behind sprang forward like a flash. The wind whipped around them as he ran, striking Pastel.
“Waaah!”
The run of a squire-level Knight!
The frail Pastel swayed and nearly fell!
She spun around with the wind. Then, she abruptly stopped, placing her hand on her brow as if to inspect the distance. She saw the laborer captured and subdued in an instant.
Her pink eyes widened.
“Huff, I didn’t give any orders, but he got caught.”
So surprising.
The security here is apparently very good!
Pastel skipped back towards the branch building.
As she approached, she noticed the flustered guild members, and finally, the branch manager burst through the branch door, hurriedly coming out to greet her. He looked completely flustered.
Oh no.
“Governor Craft? How did you arrive so early…?”
“Yes, it’s Craft, but it’s Pastel~.”
Pastel said as she spread her arms wide. The former Knight and the guild soldiers surrounded the branch personnel so they couldn’t flee.
“Your Excellency?!”
The branch manager was taken aback.
Hehe.
Pastel clasped her hands apologetically.
“I met pirates on my way here! Just in case there might be another attack targeting the excellent Governor, let me prepare for a moment!”
She felt eyes on her from behind. It was Melissa and Eli. They gave her a look that seemed to ask what kind of pirates she encountered, since all the pirates fled after seeing the warship, arriving earlier than planned.
Huff.
It seems I was the only one who met pirates.
In my dreams…!
Shiver shiver.
Pastel walked with big steps, passing by the branch manager who seemed to want to say something.
La la la.
As she entered the building, the chilly early winter air dissipated, and a warm atmosphere greeted her. She listened attentively to the sounds within the building.
There’s no sound of anything being smuggled. No sounds of suspicious ledgers being burned. No sounds from clandestine escape routes that would be suspicious and suspicious.
The branch manager quickly chased after her.
“I will take you to the reception room. I heard late that Your Excellency was coming, and both the interior and exterior are still in disarray.”
“Huff, the reception room! Are the cookies in the reception room delicious?”
“Uh? Ah, yes, they are. We’ve already prepared cookies that should satisfy your excellency. However, it may take some time for the baker to arrive.”
“Wow. But, dear demon, you said not to eat anything given by others. It would cause a stomachache. Isn’t that a bit too much? You think I can’t manage magic stone pepper? How rude.”
“Uh?”
Pastel nodded, empathizing with herself.
Then, recalling the architectural plans she had seen before, she headed for the branch manager’s office.
“Your Excellency?!”
The branch manager’s office door burst open. The scene of business documents scattered and disarrayed unfolded. A secretary, who was in the midst of organizing some, was shocked to see the arriving governor.
Pastel took a deep breath. A strong scent of power was palpable within.
It felt so familiar.
It was as if she could proudly state, “Even though the Emperor is above me, in the distant Sky Island, I’m the best!” like Governor Pastel!
Although the owner of the Craft guild is the great Governor Pastel, in this secluded demon realm, I am the king! It was the type of scent!
Pastel narrowed her eyes and scanned the suspicious parts of the branch manager’s office.
The most suspicious thing first…
Even with the arrival of the Governor, the secretary remained in the office alone, tidying documents!
Puh! Puh! Puh!
Detective Pastel’s gaze is unavoidable!
Pastel could deduce immediately with empathy.
If the branch manager were Pastel, before the Governor’s arrival, he would have been reviewing the double books and pondering how to cover it up.
Then, if the Governor suddenly arrived ahead of time, he would surely greet the Governor while stalling and instruct the secretary to quickly hide the double books!
A perfect empathetic deduction.
“Evidence captured!”
Pastel snatched the suspicious business document the secretary was collecting.
This familiar weight!
It was clearly the double book.
Like a detective, she spread it out and peered at the document with a sharp expression.
-Report on the status of lobbyist training and bribery.
Oh?
It included details on bribing members of the demon realm alliance and their aides to bring them over to the Craft guild’s side. The main objective was to emphasize the public nature of railroads and receive subsidies from the alliance.
However, recently, perhaps because of the radical railroad terrorism by the demon race, an additional aim surfaced to use the alliance’s forces for free and then quietly privatize them, with this report being the primary content.
Just ordinary documents.
It meant my deduction was wrong.
The detective was flustered. She returned the document to the secretary and crossed her arms, adopting a serious expression.
That my deduction was wrong…
“Please wait a moment. I will clean it up soon.”
“I’ll help you.”
“Thank you, Princess.”
With the branch manager, Eli, and Melissa’s help, numerous lists of bribes and documents started getting organized.
Pastel felt a chill at the branch manager’s extremely calm face.
Huff, what is this sensation?
The sensation of a detective facing a perfect crime!
Thinking about it, there’s no way he would leave the double book out in the open. If it were Pastel, she would have hidden it tightly, memorizing its contents in her head.
That’s right, that’s right!
Instead, she must have drawn attention to the suspicious secretary to create a sense of relief at one point! It’s human psychology; when someone is suspicious, if they find out it’s not true, they tend to suppress any larger suspicion out of apology!
Oh no.
Chills ran down her spine.
I almost got caught!
But the indefatigable detective Pastel sharply scanned the branch manager’s office. A bookshelf that filled one wall caught her eye.
Puh puh puh.
Found it.
There’s no one in the world who finds joy in reading within a workspace.
Then, those bookshelves must serve as decoration or for secret storage purposes.
Pastel hurried over and quickly examined the books. She discovered a suitable book at a proper height.
Due to their nature, books can’t be washed, so the top layers would naturally gather dust; yet, one book was slightly cleaner. Even if a little difference, it was a significant difference beyond the eye of a seasoned professional. Cleanliness can only be achieved by frequent retrieving and placing back.
This is it!
“Evidence captured!”
Pastel swiftly pulled the book out.
The book clicked as it was removed, and the gears behind the bookshelf began to turn. The nearby books slid into the back of the shelf, revealing a single safe.
A wicked safe…!
Oh no!
What kind of gruesome double book was created to necessitate a safe…!
Could it be that the demon realm branch, already facing massive embezzlement and business failures, has been hiding it all along?
Now, does the headquarters have to deal with the aftermath of that!
A shadow of a person loomed over the pink girl.
Huff.
Turning quickly, it was the branch manager, holding a pile of documents.
Could it be that a murderous attempt is in motion…!
The branch manager bowed his head.
“Thank you. To find it by eye estimation, as I’ve heard.”
He reached out, and the dial of the safe was manipulated. The empty safe opened. A pile of bribery documents filled the space. The safe closed, and the bookshelf returned to its original state.
The branch manager dusted off his hands.
“Everything is organized.”
As he said, the group was already seated on the couch. The secretary brought them green tea.
“Thank you. The tea leaves are nice.”
Melissa said with a smile and politely.
What is this?
Pastel’s expression became serious. She sharply scanned the branch manager’s office once more.
After a while, when she obtained the ledger and began examining it for accounting issues and contradictions, her expression grew even more severe.
“No abnormalities…?”
That can’t be.
In a branch so far from the headquarters, especially one where smuggling is the main business, are you telling me there are no double books to deceive the headquarters or massive embezzlement?
There were some petty embezzlements at the employee level. However, that was truly at the level of pocket money, and there was no significant embezzlement that absolutely had to appear in the ledger.
Why?
Why didn’t they?
My wallet is crying out for food!
As she was immersed in confusion, Eli, who had stayed up reviewing the ledgers with her for two nights, rubbed his eyes and mumbled.
“Unlike humans, our demon race is generally quite honest.”
“Huff, really?”
Her pink eyes widened. The princess, being a close aide and brother to Eli, looked at him.
“Generally.”
The princess covered her mouth and stifled a yawn.
“It seems so since Eli is like that. More than that, Pastel, since the verification is done, how about enjoying some gastronomy tomorrow? We definitely arrived early, but looking at paper for two days straight doesn’t seem quite right.”
When Melissa said this, Pastel shook her head vigorously.
“No, no! It can’t be like this!”
She sprang to her feet.
“I will do a site inspection tomorrow!”
Until the last day, thoroughly!
There’s definitely a satisfying and plump embezzlement present at the site!
If it were Pastel, it would have been just like that…!
