Pastel sat atop a white broom, watching the clouds.
“Wow wow! It seems like a nice day today! There are so many interesting clouds!”
She pointed her finger at the clouds.
“That one looks like a puppy! That one looks like a chick! And that one looks like a puffball!”
Oh dear.
As she spoke, Pastel’s eyes widened in surprise.
Gasp.
Thinking about it, clouds are originally puffball shaped.
No way!
This can’t be…!
That wasn’t a puffball-shaped cloud; it was just a regular cloud!
Shock.
Pastel opened her mouth in amazement. Then she hesitated and changed her thoughts.
Even if it’s just a regular cloud, if I call it a puffball-shaped cloud, won’t it become a puffball-shaped cloud?
She pointed at a regular cloud.
“That one’s a puffball-shaped cloud!”
There are so many fascinating clouds today!
“Hmm…”
The girl with pink hair perched on the white broom delighted in the clouds.
Many people could smile happily in this peaceful atmosphere.
However, looking down at the ground revealed a scene that seemed entirely different.
“Graaaah!”
A glass bottle was thrown again, and yellow gas erupted. Leonard, enveloped in paralysis gas once more, screamed.
He was waiting for the declaration of disqualification from the fair judge, but having inhaled the gas, his body wouldn’t move properly. He was being completely helpless.
He barely blocked the incoming sword strike with a one-handed shield.
“Dustin, you spineless worm! Are you still aspiring to be a knight while relying on biased judgments like this?!”
Dustin, who was pushing Leonard’s shield with his two-handed sword, flinched.
“I didn’t want to either, but Pastel kept insisting that we need to protect the honor of the student council, staring at me with pleading eyes…”
“It’s quite a badge of honor to be swayed by seduction! Why don’t you spread the rumors around town?”
Taking advantage of the opening created by Leonard’s verbal provocation, he swung his shield at Dustin’s two-handed sword. The sword bounced off, exposing Dustin’s body, which Leonard targeted with his one-handed sword.
However, despite being a seasoned attack, it was a slow movement made by his paralyzed body.
Dustin deftly stepped back to dodge the strike and then swung his sword at Leonard’s thigh.
“Ugh!”
Leonard knelt down, collapsing. He yelled in agony.
“Hey! Judge! Is this right?!”
It was a desperate cry, but that judge was currently lost in another world.
“Wow! That one’s really a puffball-shaped cloud!”
“Ah, indeed. While it’s a type of cumulus cloud, the edges really look like a puffball scattering.”
“Therefore, you’re Puffball Cloud No.2! But since it looks even more original than the original, I’ll call you Puffball Cloud Cloud, especially!”
Hello, Puffball Cloud Cloud!
Wow!
“Hey, you…!”
Leonard’s face turned red. He averted his gaze from the shameless judge who wasn’t communicating and looked around.
He spotted a professor awkwardly waiting at the edge of the training area to mediate if the match became heated.
Startled by the intense gaze, the professor broke a cold sweat as the attention of the tournament audience turned toward him, slowly raising both hands.
A clapping sound echoed as both hands collided gently. Then, as he got used to it, the clapping grew gradually faster.
“The winner, Dustin Wild!”
The professor, having sold his conscience, said with a bright face.
“Excellent skill! According to the regulations, you were allowed to prepare combat supplies at your discretion that the academy couldn’t provide!”
What?!
Leonard’s eyes widened.
“Utilizing alchemical knowledge in battle! This is a prime example of Lord Viscount’s foresight in relaxing regulations to discover talent!”
The professor waved his hands.
“What are you all doing?! The winner has been decided, so start the performance!”
The musicians who had been waiting began a grand performance.
As the background music blared, the audience cheered wildly.
It was not because the esteemed Viscount had prepared chicken skewer sets for the audience to enjoy, not at all.
“Graaaah! Don’t be throwing bribes around with that innocent appearance!”
Leonard pulled at his hair.
#
I was just sitting still!
I was really just sitting still!
Leonard and Dustin were fighting over me!
Ugh.
Is this the original sin of popularity?
I’m so sorry for being so popular…!
But still.
I’m really curious about the outcome.
Who will win?
Who is stronger?
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
Thump-thump, Pastel swung the magic sword. The sword strike hit Dustin’s blade. A tremendous sound resounded. The sword couldn’t withstand the shock and bounced away.
The girl twirled lightly. Pink hair flew around as a spinning kick struck Dustin’s upper body. With tremendous force, it produced a heavy impact sound.
“Ugh!”
Dustin flew out of the training area as if hit by a bomb. His body slammed against a wall and then fell.
Who’s stronger, huh?
“The winner, Pastel Love Craft!”
Pastel raised her hands in a joyful cheer.
“Yay! I’m the strongest!”
Phew!
I’m the strongest~!
She danced lightly, stepping around.
“Oh yeah! Oh yeah!”
As she exited, she took the trumpet left in the hallway and stuck it in her mouth.
“Bee-dee-bee!”
The victory proclamation rang out cheerfully.
Leonard, watching from the hallway, laughed at the exhausted Dustin following behind.
“What does it matter if you win?”
Dustin gazed at Leonard with a weary expression.
Their eyes exchanged words without needing to say anything.
Then Leonard slowly stopped his sneering, perhaps empathizing with some mutual feeling.
He patted Dustin’s shoulder.
“You’ve had a tough time too.”
Sigh.
#
“Indeed, Melissa and Aelcier have effortlessly defeated their friends and now face each other.”
Pastel was swinging her legs as she perched on her broom.
Down on the ground, Melissa and Aelcier faced each other from a significant distance.
Holding a staff, Melissa glared at Aelcier. She was faithfully following her mother’s advice not to associate with the cursed Belamont.
Aelcier swept her silvery hair back, smirking provocatively. She had the expression that Melissa was no challenge at all.
Melissa immediately reacted, aiming her staff at her.
Huh?
Pastel tilted her head.
“Even though the clans are enemies, don’t they seem to get along well?”
The devil was bewildered.
“Where do you see that at all?”
“You may not know, Mr. Grumpy Devil, but friends can become close through fighting.”
Pastel swayed her legs back and forth.
“I think Aelcier just doesn’t know how to make friends. She seems to handle friends clumsily?”
Every time they meet, she antagonizes Melissa on purpose, engaging in arguments typical of someone who doesn’t know how to start a gentle conversation.
With only Melissa as her acquaintance, she greets her with joy but is not used to talking with peers, so her only responses are provocations.
It seems like that has been the case since before they even entered school, which makes Melissa react sensitively.
“Is there no one of similar age in the north?”
“Even if there are, no northern clan is bold enough to be close with a princess born of royalty. Since the north was once royal territory, those clans likely feel a strong connection to the royal bloodline.”
“Heh.”
Pastel thought for a moment and then clapped her hands with a bright expression.
“Then I should become best friends with them!”
I’ll link arms with the blonde Melissa on the right and the silver-haired Aelcier on the left!
Huh?
Gold and silver?
Pastel’s mouth dropped open.
Isn’t this the ultimate good fortune?
A sign that I’ll be a super ultra-rich person!
I can become rich just by making friends!
“The show is about to begin.”
“Ah.”
Pastel focused and looked down at the ground.
The professor announced the start of the match.
Let’s observe a knight-level battle.
Aelcier traced the ground with her lance. The training area floor was neatly sliced away.
As she stomped her foot, a shockwave erupted. The ground cracked, and a massive chunk of it lifted.
She struck the boulder with her lance. A tremendous sound echoed. The boulder hurtled towards the magical girl like a cannonball.
Pastel’s eyes widened.
“Oh dear.”
Melissa, having completed her spell, aimed her staff. Countless light bullets shattered the giant boulder, sparkling as the light burst into fragments.
The situation continued with Aelcier shooting the ground like cannonballs and Melissa calmly blocking them.
“Ugh.”
Pastel shook.
“With the power of consuming magic stones to strengthen her body, Pastel can fly like a feather!”
Is this knight-level?
“That’s your misconception. That girl doesn’t have a physique superior to yours. Besides, right now, your body isn’t even human. Who can rip iron with pure strength alone?”
The devil chuckled.
“When the essence reaches a certain level, knight-level beings easily interfere with natural objects. The world itself materializes their will. They can slice iron with a wooden sword and crush the ground with a foot cloud. What she’s doing is magic with a heavy weapon.”
Huh?
“So when Melissa shoots magic from her frail arms, it explodes like a scarecrow? That’s something that couldn’t happen with bare fists!”
“Exactly. Geographical features become compliant with the world, making it absurdly easy to break, but actual humans are hard to interfere with from will alone, so it’s a struggle.”
“Wait a second.”
Brain spinning~.
“So, let’s think about facing a person in armor with a wooden sword. A wooden sword could definitely cut through the armor in one stroke, but the body inside cannot be cut, so it just becomes a simple hit, right?”
“Exactly. People, as independent worlds, resist. Attempting to slice a body with a blunt wooden sword is akin to trying to slice a small world. The opponent’s resistance means you’ll get the same outcome as just hitting with the wooden sword.”
Pastel’s eyes spun.
“Mr. Devil, if you suddenly speak of painful metaphysical matters, I might become a dummy.”
“When you actually clash swords, you’ll feel it. Even if they look like that, you’re stronger by a lot, so if you just make contact with the sword, it’ll be easy to push it through with close combat swordsmanship. Even if you can’t slice iron, a person dies if a sword is lodged in their neck.”
What is that?
Pastel crossed her arms as she watched the scene of the boulder and light bullets colliding.
I don’t really get it, but is that what it’s saying?
Yeah, yeah!
“I believe in you, Mr. Devil!”
I’m going to defeat Aelcier and keep the title of the strongest first-year student!
“Right.”
Then Pastel noticed a guard in the audience raising a red flag.
An emergency signal.
Huh?
She quickly flew over to the guard to hear what was happening.
“A non-affiliated scoffer is approaching without slowing down. The intent is unknown, but there’s a high possibility of a terrorist attack.”
Oh dear.
