“Is it a cult?”
『Yes.』
The demon, who was inspecting items in the scoff storage, brushed off their hands. They pointed to well-processed herbs and powders in glass vials.
『These are the intermediate products of the magic stone awakening agent. They’re kept in a state just before completion for convenience of preservation and distribution. If you transport them like this and reprocess them, they become the magic stone awakening agent.』
The female figure turned serious.
“I thought it was a suspicious mercenary group, but it’s actually a really suspicious cult.”
She made a gesture as if stabbing the air with her sword.
Thud!
In the softest whisper possible, she vowed, “I don’t know what purpose you have for getting on the skywhale, but now that I’ve discovered you, I’ll do everything in my power to sabotage your plans!”
Seeing the captured monsters, she thought that liberating the captured beast friends would surely please the cult.
The female figure walked over to the baby bird cage.
“Baby bird friends!”
―Peep.
The baby birds looked up curiously.
“You have a very important mission!”
Namely, to rescue their kind!
“Can you do it?”
The female figure had a deep conversation with the baby birds and freed them. Although the bars were locked, the key was conveniently placed nearby.
While the birds trapped in the cage might not have been able to escape, the free female figure could certainly open it easily.
The baby birds stretched their wings as if yawning. They let out a refreshing shout with their freed beaks.
―Peep!
The female figure quickly placed her index finger to her lips.
“Shh! Shh! It’s a stealth mission!”
Whether they understood or not, the baby birds closed their beaks. Instead, they began swaying their bodies left and right, wobbling around.
“That’s right, that’s right!”
The female figure mimicked their wobbling.
“It’s a stealth mission! You’re smart, aren’t you?”
Among the baby birds, there was one that was clearly of a level equivalent to the female figure!
―Peep?
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the storage.
Ah?
The startled female figure turned to look at the demon. The demon transformed into a sword in her hand. She hurriedly shoved the baby bird friends back into the cage and hid among the wooden crates. The darkness concealed her body delicately.
The door opened, and light illuminated the deep storage. The silhouette of a person entered.
“It’s obvious that if you leave the baby birds in the forward hold, they’ll get vicious, so why the hell put them here?”
A cult member approached the hidden box.
The female figure gripped her sword tightly. Her heart raced, and her vision spun.
Oh no, oh no.
Is this a situation where I have to kill?
To murder with a clear head?
Well, it is a cult, and if they find out the baby birds have been freed, there will definitely be a commotion, so it’s better to handle this beforehand…
Hormonal friend? It’s your time to shine. Come out now.
The female figure prayed tightly gripping her sword. But the hormonal friend didn’t respond at all. If she really wanted to call it, she felt like she’d have to break the stealth state and throw herself into danger.
Oh no.
This isn’t good.
Really not good!
Her heart raced fiercely. It felt like her heartbeat was shaking her fragile body. Her mind was getting tangled, and her breathing quickened.
The cult member passed by the box where she was hidden. They moved toward the baby bird cage, reaching out as if to move it, but then stopped abruptly.
“Huh?”
They reacted to discovering that the cage was open.
The female figure, holding her sword, hesitated intensely, then quickly glanced around.
She noticed a stone weight resting on a wooden cover. It was just the right size to hold in one hand.
She grabbed the stone.
“Why is this open?”
Swiftly, she ambushed from behind.
Ancestors of the clan!
I’m sorry for calling you evil all this time! Please bless your foolish descendant just this once!
She raised the stone high.
I will manifest your wisdom and experience here!
The stone seemed to shine.
The traditional game passed down through the Craft clan!
Back-of-the-head whack-!
“Ha-ya!”
The clan’s secret was enacted by the true heir. The stone moved elegantly and struck precisely at the back of the head. A heavy thud echoed.
“Oof!”
A brief cry was heard, and a few drops of blood splattered. The cult member collapsed with a thud.
The female figure, holding the bloodied stone, gasped for breath. Her shoulders heaved with each inhale and exhale. Her heart beat with abandon.
Phew, phew.
Is this the traditional game of Craft?
Blood flowed down from the stone.
The female figure’s gaze was unfocused as she looked down at the fallen cult member. The member, with blood flowing from their head, showed no sign of movement.
“Are, are, are they dead?”
Oh no!
Please don’t do this!
Please stay alive!
Gwah!
A calm voice rang out.
『They’re unconscious. You did very well with the strength control.』
Ah.
Oh, I see.
The female figure let out a sigh of relief. Rubbing her trembling body with her hands, she looked back at the cult member.
To be absolutely sure they weren’t dead, she shook their body roughly, and it seemed to work; the cult member opened their eyes.
“Uh, what…?”
The cult member held their head, rising their upper body.
The female figure’s eyes went wide.
I didn’t mean to wake them up!
Oh no!
“Please don’t do this!”
She struck again with the stone.
Thud-!
“Oof!”
The cult member slumped back down again.
『No…』
The demon was bewildered.
While the female figure had struck out in surprise, she was horrified to see the cult member fall once more. They were completely motionless, like a corpse.
Gwah!
“Are, are, are they dead?!”
Oh no!
Please don’t do this!
Please stay alive!
Shivering.
『…They’re unconscious. However, they’ll need a long recovery.』
Ah.
Oh, I see.
Phew.
The female figure patted her chest. She slowly calmed her shocked heart.
Then she alternated her gaze between the not-dead body and the stone.
“Could this be a situation of getting a good item…?”
『What do you mean by that?』
While staring at the stone, the female figure raised it triumphantly with both hands.
“Stone!”
The non-lethal weapon everyone wanted.
It’s a conversation tool for pacifists!
The stone friend spoke up.
Stone: I don’t kill anyone.
A reliable statement.
The female figure felt filled with courage.
I feel like I can condemn the cult without the hormonal friend!
She took the stone and freed the baby birds from the cage once more.
“Baby bird friends! Pacifist Pastel is ready! Let’s go save your kind!”
Hooray, hooray!
Pastel walked carefully inside the scoff. The baby birds followed closely behind.
『Taking the scoff means taking control of the navigation itself. We need to get to the control room.』
“More importantly, I’ll rescue the baby bird friends’ kind first. If a fight breaks out, they could be swept away still trapped in the cage.”
Whisper, whisper.
『Hmm, do as you wish. At any rate, if you get swept up with the hormones, it’ll mean killing everyone, so taking control of the control room doesn’t really matter.』
“Really?”
If someone heard, they would misunderstand that pink is washing out blood stains and turning lighter.
She alternately avoided and incapacitated cult members.
Stone friend!
“Oof!”
“Oof!”
“Oof!”
Wails echoed down every path. The demon instructed her on how to bind the incapacitated foes’ clothing, completely subduing them, then dragging them to a corner, repeating the process.
Before she knew it, Pastel had arrived on the deck. She saw the sunset. It was dawn after the night.
Most of the cult members were probably asleep in their cabins due to nighttime cargo transport, so there were hardly any visible around, allowing her to easily make it to the deck.
She cautiously approached a few who were dozing on the deck and incapacitated them one by one.
Stealthily.
Swiftly.
The traditional game of the Craft clan!
Thud-!
Thud.
Before long, she had completely conquered the deck.
“Awesome!”
Pastel cheered with her arms raised.
For some reason, it felt right to strike the back of the head?
Using the keys obtained from incapacitating the cult members on the deck, she opened the cages of the monsters.
The beasts flew up into the sky.
“Don’t get caught ever again~!”
Pastel waved her hands cheerfully.
It felt liberating to turn the efforts of the cult into mere bubbles.
Uh-oh, at this rate, I might become addicted and turn mean.
“Why did they capture and tame the beasts anyway?”
『We need flying means, but if there are ruins where the scoff can’t enter, the beasts would be useful. They can be ridden.』
“Hehe.”
Pastel looked at the monsters tied with leashes instead of in cages. They had been tamed by the cult. There were surely saddles on their backs.
Wow.
I’d like to try riding them at least once.
“What about these guys? Since they’re the cult’s property, I’d prefer if they flew away freely.”
Even when she released the leashes, they didn’t really try to escape.
『You can kill them.』
Ah.
So that’s it.
She glanced sideways at the baby bird friends.
―Peep?
“Let’s send them away first! Can you fly? Or maybe your wings are still too short to manage it?”
The baby bird tilted its head.
“Can you flap flap?”
Pastel flapped her arms.
Flap flap.
The baby bird tilted its head even more, then made eye contact with another baby bird and let out a long cry toward the sky.
―Peep-!
The sharp cry spread across the sky.
The baby bird looked confidently up.
Huh?
『They called for their parents. There’s no need to worry now.』
Knowing that their parents were coming provided immense reassurance, and the baby birds became more relaxed.
Hehe.
They call their parents with just one cry?
Pastel looked beyond the sky. As the freed beasts flew away, a familiar beast flew against the current.
A huge shadow of a bird sliced through the sunset.
They really are coming.
“How nice.”
Pastel mumbled softly, crossing her arms.
She smiled as she looked back at the baby birds.
“I’m so glad you weren’t hurt! Your parents are worried, so don’t get caught in places like this anymore!”
―Peep!
The two baby birds nodded their heads.
“Three siblings? Three sisters? Anyway, get along well with each other!”
Pastel paused mid-sentence.
Huh.
She counted the number of baby birds.
“One, two.”
There were exactly two of them.
Huh?
“There were originally three of you!”
The two baby birds looked at each other, their beaks open in shock.
Gasp.
“Hey, demon, where’s the other one?! It seems to have dropped out along the way?!”
『Hmm, sorry. I didn’t pay much attention.』
Eek?
Pastel looked around the deck, but indeed could not find the missing one.
Instead, the scoff began to gradually accelerate. It tilted upward, then started ascending vertically.
“Oh?!”
Pastel clutched the railing.
―Peep!
The two baby birds fell.
Whoa!
“Guys!”
The giant bird swiftly swooped down and caught the baby birds.
Phew.
Pastel hung on to the railing in relief.
The scoff continued to soar skyward, tilted vertically. Pressure wrapped around her body. Clouds parted, and cold droplets of water cascaded over her skin.
“Is this a situation where we’ve been discovered?!”
The demon remained silent for a moment, as if assessing the situation.
『This isn’t normal acceleration. This indicates an engine malfunction. The engine accelerated on its own, adjusting the navigation direction upward to avoid a ground collision. Did something happen in the engine room?』
“Huh?”
Sounds of multiple explosions echoed from within the scoff. The shockwave shook the vessel.
The demon spoke calmly.
『This isn’t good.』
“I know that too!”
Pastel clutched the railing tightly, flustered. The continuous explosions and relentless shockwaves were gradually cracking the scoff.
A massive explosion occurred. The hull split open, breaking apart into several large fragments. Dozens of cult members emerged from the wreckage.
The scoff’s run came to a stop, and for a moment, a sensation of floatation enveloped them.
“An attack!”
Someone declared, and eyes began roaming to identify the source. All gazes quickly converged on the pink girl.
Eek?
Pastel, now holding onto the broken railing, was left speechless.
The floatation ended, and the descent began.
The wreckage of the scoff started to plummet.
“Whoa!”
Gravity was pulling her down, and the wind roared. The white clothing and pink hair whipped through the air.
Whistling sounds filled the air as trained monsters flew and snatched cult members. The cultists skillfully mounted the backs of the beasts.
“Eliminate the intruder first!”
A group riding the beasts swooped down.
Crossbows and magic aimed at the plummeting girl.
Ah!
Hormonal friend!
