Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Combat Practice Isn't Scary
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Combat practice isn't scary.
Demon girl.
Slightly pointed ears.
Black hair, black eyes.
An oversized backpack that made her wobble, and scholarly eyes.
"How'd you end up falling behind?"
Pastel tilted her head.
The demon girl slurped down her soup in big gulps.
"Phew. There was trouble with the airship, so they told me to wait for a new one. I took a short-term job in the meantime... but everyone left without me."
Oh, ooh.
Like coming back from the bathroom at the school trip terminal and everyone's gone except you?
Uwuu.
She handed over a fresh bowl of soup.
"Eat more! Lots more!"
"Thanks. But you really cook well."
The demon girl gave her a look of respect. Colorful dishes were spread across the table between the demon girl and Pastel.
Proud.
"I'm pretty good."
Shrug, shrug.
『Oh dear.』
Hehe.
Pastel picked up the pepper shaker with loose lips. As she twisted it over the soup, mana stone powder rained down.
"What's that?"
"Secret recipe!"
Pastel continued coyly.
"Can't tell even friends~."
Scooped it up with a spoon. Nom.
Nutty, deep umami filled her mouth.
Wow, wow, the demon lord really cooks well.
She devoured the soup and tore into the roasted chicken leg. The tender meat pulled apart. The crispy brown skin peeled back, revealing white flesh. Juicy fat dripped down.
Wowww.
Dipped it deep in mana stone powder and took a big bite. Moist chewiness filled her mouth. Exploding oil flavor.
Wowww.
『I adjusted the seasoning to match the sweetness of the mana stone powder. How's it taste?』
Pastel chomped down hard on the chicken leg in lieu of an answer.
『......Eat lots.』
The meal continued in silence. The enthusiastically homeless demon girl and the gold-bar-per-meal Pastel were in the same boat, so they saw eye to eye.
Plates emptied one by one. The last spoon clinked onto an empty plate.
"Haa."
With her belly stuffed, Pastel slumped over her chair.
Full.
No, hungry but full.
Physically, there was no more room in her stomach. Satiety filled her body.
But the hunger wouldn't fade. An emptiness like a void in her soul whispered that she needed to devour what was lost.
She poked a finger into the mana stone powder and popped it in her mouth. Candy-like sweetness. Junk food vibe.
Hmm.
Better than nothing, but this doesn't feel right. No zing to stimulate the mind.
『What's wrong?』
Pastel shook her head.
Nothing.
The equally sprawled-out demon girl looked over.
"By the way, I never properly introduced myself. I'm Ellie."
She waited a moment, but no family name came.
Aha.
No awkward silence—she brightly raised a hand.
"I'm Pastel Love Craft! Just call me Pastel! Nice to meet you, friend!"
Ellie looked surprised for a second, then nodded.
"Got it."
Cool voice.
Yay!
Finally, a friend I can actually talk to.
Pastel flushed pink.
"What weapon do you use, Ellie? Mage? Staff pew-pew-pew? Or bang-boom-boom?!"
Magic special?
Ellie tilted her head.
"I don't know how to fight."
Eh?
"I got in through academic research."
Eh?
Ah.
Well, it's an academy, not a boot camp.
Pastel beamed.
"Then we'll get along great! I'm smart too. I'm the top scorer on the written exam!"
"Really? You're smart, huh?"
"Yup!"
Hehe.
"What's your major, Pastel?"
Major?
Her mind went blank. What had she even studied all this time? She was top written scorer, so definitely something smart.
Oing, no idea.
Then her major was...
She flashed her demon sword.
"Brute force!"
Wooang.
Totally good at it.
Ellie stared blankly.
Then she nodded.
"I see. My major's myths and legends. Specifically, Demon King legends."
"Demon King legends?"
Amazing name?
"The Demon King's."
Ellie paled for a moment, then rephrased.
"There's a legend that the evil Demon King's legacy sleeps on Sky Island. The final great battlefield of the Human-Demon War."
Ellie's finger twirled her black hair.
"Of course, legends are just legends. But what if there are dirty contingencies? We can't have another demonic energy-crazed human killer. I'm researching to report to the empire."
Demonic energy?
Oing.
"What's a contingency?"
The demon girl swallowed dryly.
"......Vile, disgusting ways to create new lunatics. Barbaric, crude methods of patching inferior talent and bodies with demonic energy and mana stones."
Mana stones?
Her heart pounded.
"A-anyway, you're combat major, right, Craft? You prepared well for the practical? Tough for swordsmen?"
Pastel's eyes went wide.
"Oh yeah!"
She jumped to her feet.
"Gotta prep for combat practical! Thanks, Ellie! I remembered thanks to you! Sorry, but I'll be training solo for a bit! I like practicing alone!"
With the demon lord.
Ellie dabbed her forehead with a handkerchief.
"But then you can't stay here, right?"
Huh?
"I'm doing the academic practical. Won't they start combat without us? Right when the late Demon Realm airship arrives."
That means...?
"Uwaaa?!"
Pastel clutched her pink hair.
"I'm laaate!"
Uwaaa!
Run, Bungbung...!
Bungbung was the name she'd just given the airship.
#
The heart of the forest on Sky Island's outskirts.
"Craft?"
The professor scanned the group of examinees from the podium. No bright pink standout.
An upperclassman answered from the side.
"Rented an airship with student council authority. For transporting the stranded examinee to Sky Island."
"Rented? Don't use honorifics on a kid."
"Ah, rented one with student council authority. For the stranded examinee."
"Student council? An examinee?"
The professor furrowed his brow thoughtfully. He tapped the podium with a finger.
"Top written scorer, right?"
"Yes."
"Hand over the file."
Pastel's file was passed over. The combat practical section was open.
The fork between pass and fail.
The professor's quill moved.
Suddenly, a horn blared through the forest.
"Terror attack!"
Eyes shot skyward. A small airship came charging like it was crashing.
A girl's voice rang out faintly.
The airship slammed into something invisible in the air. Shards of shattering glass blanketed the sky.
"Broke the first barrier! So brute force!"
"Demons, those inferiors. Knew it. Should've exterminated them ages ago."
What were the knights doing letting a Demon Realm airship through?
The cold-faced professor drew his rod staff. He aimed it at the airship. Countless staffs followed suit.
Ground cannons tracked the target along with the staffs.
"Anti-air prep! Target: Demon Realm airship! Fi-!"
Pink hair whipped from the airship's railing.
"Bungbungaaa! Too faaaast!"
The professor's jaw dropped.
"Ma-Marquess?!"
The professor shouted urgently.
"Target change! Second barrier!"
"Pardon?"
"It's Craft Marquess! Smash everything but the final one! Before she collides and gets hurt!"
The upperclassman who'd been scolded for honorifics went wide-eyed.
The professor yelled without a shred of shame.
"Fire!"
Ground cannons fired. Shells blanketed the sky. Mana stone powder on the shells formed magic patterns.
The magic circles glowed and shaped spells. Flames roiled. A roar echoed. Explosions engulfed the sky.
Countless glass barriers shattered.
Before the authority and influence of a great noble, all threats sheathed their blades.
The airship plunged through the inferno.
"Uwaaaang!"
Pink hair flew.
The airship crashed right beside them. A boom rang out. Dust billowed, winds howled. The stunned examinees' hair and clothes whipped around.
"Craft Marquess!"
The professor ran.
"Medics! Now!"
Personnel followed.
A staff swung. Winds rose, dust cleared. The half-destroyed airship was revealed.
The pink girl sprawled in the wreckage mumbled.
"S-survived......"
Pastel staggered to her feet and blankly surveyed her surroundings.
Professor, upperclassmen, medics.
Behind them, a gawking crowd of examinees.
Examinees?
She threw her arms up high.
"Made it on time!"
Fail, hunger, narrow escape from trickery.
Yay.
Suddenly, the lead professor exhaled roughly.
"Huu."
The professor wiped cold sweat from his brow. His expression turned scholarly and cold.
O, ooh.
"Craft's here too. Everyone accounted for. No incidents—restore the barriers and proceed with the exam."
Uaa.
Ruthless death game.
No mercy for the tardy.
The professor glanced at the trailing upperclassman.
"What are you waiting for? Restore it fast. Done in one hour. Thorough, no gaps. Intruder system's intact, so the rest should be quick."
The upperclassman screamed silently.
#
"Head left, to the river."
Pastel checked her map as she walked through the forest. She heard rushing water.
She dashed over.
The river roared.
"Ah! Gotta be here! Location reached!"
『Looks right.』
The merciless entrance exam proceeded without pity.
Gulp.
Combat practical was golem hunting. Head to your assigned spot, then take down the golems scattered in the forest. Absolute grading.
Lucky.
With the great demon along, Pastel had zero worries as she eyed the forest meaningfully.
"Demon lord, demon lord! You heard, right?"
『Heard what.』
"Demon King's legacy!"
Excite.
"Somehow absorb demonic energy from the air. Mana stones—yap yap! Duplicate 'em."
Dunno the details, but sounds possible?
The demon let out an enormously long sigh. Like it came from his soul.
『You have zero fate with it. Craft family and all.』
Oing.
What'd our family do this time.
『The Demon King throne is reached only by fate's threads. Same for its legacy and contingencies. Discovery is fate, not chance. That's why the empire knows the spot but can't find it.』
"Oh, so it's real—not just legend!"
Excite.
The demon paused.
『......Think whatever. Craft bloodline and Demon King legacy have zero connection. I can assure you.』
Why so certain?
Shame.
Pastel let out a huge sigh and took a step.
Then her foot suddenly snagged on a tree root.
Eh?
Her vision tilted, and she faceplanted.
Thud.
Her hand brushed a stone on the ground. It hummed, revealing a magic circle pattern that lit up.
Rumble.
The earth parted, exposing ruins.
Pastel stared blankly down the ruin stairs. Cold underground air wafted up.
Oiiing?
The demon mumbled belatedly in the silence.
『Th-this can't be.』
No way?
No way no way?
"This is it, isn't it?!"
Pastel jumped up.
She threw her arms high.
"Pastel's life is easy......!"
Wooang!
Yay.
Yay yay.
Rustle.
Footsteps from behind.
Eh?
Pastel turned.
Blue eyes met hers.
Blonde girl in mage robes.
Melissa Camelot.
『Things just got messy.』
The demon said firmly.
『Eliminate the witness first.』
Yes?
#
Dear respected mother.
Your words and teachings are always in my heart.
But lately, I have a bit of doubt.
Is it right to shun people just because of our family's infamy?
Is that truly dignified?
Truly noble?
......I'm sorry.
I'm academy age now too. I want to stick to my own thoughts just once.
Asking if a peer from the crashed airship was hurt isn't that wrong, right?
Even if that person is a Craft, whose shadow we shouldn't even tread.
Melissa, having inferred Pastel's test location and headed there, pushed through the bushes.
She parted branches, and a pink sight filled her vision.
Pink hair strands sparkled under the sunlight. Pink eyes shimmered iridescently in the light.
Mother, dear mother.
Such a beautiful person can't be bad, right?
If there's justice in aesthetics and morals in art, doesn't this girl have truth?
No betrayal or schemes, but honest heart hidden within?
Can there be lies in a girl who descended like sunlight gilding clouds or dew embracing grass leaves?
So let me ask once if she's hurt...
Yes, you're right.
I'll be honest.
I want to be friends with this girl.
Because that's what an art-loving noble does.
I'll live as a noble.
Like you, mother.
Melissa politely placed a hand over her chest. She bowed lightly.
"Craft, I came to apologize for my rudeness last time."
The pink girl approached.
And suddenly thrust both hands at Melissa.
"Sorry, friend! Let's talk later!"
Melissa's body was shoved. She spun, and the river filled her vision.
"Kyaaak!"
Splash-!
The river current battered her.
Melissa flailed as she was swept downstream.
Mother! Mother!
Her robe snagged on a tree root mid-flow. Melissa floundered wildly. She grabbed the root.
Panting, she crawled onto the riverbank.
Water streamed from her tangled golden hair.
Her limp eyes looked down at the ground.
Mud dripped from her head.
Mother......
I'm sorry.
You were right.
Craft is bad.
Totally bad.
Melissa grew gloomy.