Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Student Council Enforcement is Completely Fair
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"I'm capable~."
Pastel skipped along.
Hop, hop.
In one hand fluttered the documents bearing cooperation signatures from every shop around the academy.
"Pastel is capable~."
She swung her magic sword with the other hand.
Demon! Demon!
Hurry and praise Pastel!
Praise me for securing cooperation from the headache-inducing shop alliance in one shot!
Praise me, perfect for Vice Student Council President, General Affairs Director, Planning Director, Publicity Director, Volunteer Director, and Guidance Director all in one!
The demon hesitated, then played along.
『Young Craft, you are capable.』
"Wow, wow!"
Squeeze.
Pastel hugged the magic sword tight to her chest.
"I finally get it! Melissa called me sly, and she's right! I'm totally capable and sly!"
Pastel narrowed her eyes slyly.
"Sent eyes like this to the shop rep."
Sly eyes~.
"And the shop rep was all, 'Whoa!'"
Gasp.
The sly eyes of the Vice Student Council President, who also served as the General Affairs Director—and held several other positions besides!
Impossible to refuse cooperation!
"So I was like!"
Pastel struck a charismatic pose.
"Then let's settle it with arm wrestling."
The overwhelming proposal from the Vice President, who also held multiple other positions.
"So like! The rep couldn't beat the overwhelming charisma! And then, and!"
『Yeah, I get it. You're capable.』
Pastel flushed pink-cheeked, words spilling out before she stopped. Her mouth corners slackened.
Squeeze.
She hugged the magic sword tight and spun in circles.
"Oh man, praising me like that—I can't deny it!"
Hehe.
Pastel capable!
She returned to the student council room.
She flung the door open to reveal two haggard-looking staffers.
Ellie and Dustin!
"Friends! Friends! Good news!"
Pastel, the only one looking fresh, fluttered the cooperation papers.
"Got full cooperation from the surrounding shops! I'm totally capable!"
Praise me quick!
She pointed both hands at herself.
Quick, quick!
She flapped her hands like wings, urging them on.
Ellie took the papers and skimmed them carefully. Her expression brightened, and her dark circles seemed to fade a bit.
"Good job, Pastel. With official cooperation from the shop alliance, the workload of handling each shop individually will drop sharply."
"Really? Work really decreases?"
Dustin shuffled over, his face drawn.
Oy?
Pastel's eyes went wide.
"You guys sick? Someone bullying you?"
Gazes locked on her. Gazes loaded with meaning and unspoken words.
Huh.
Huh?
What's with this look, like they're watching a superior goofing off alone?
Bad person! I'll scold them.
Pastel shaded her eyes with her hand and sharply scanned the room, hunting for the culprit.
Huh.
No one there.
Must've been my imagination.
Hehe.
The gazes grew even more intense.
Pastel whistled awkwardly.
Dunno~.
Finish the work manual, hand it off, handle approvals and rejections cleanly—isn't that all a superior needs to do?
Gasp.
Wait, thinking about it, I'm totally capable!
Sure, I borrowed a tiny bit of the demon's help for note-taking since I know zilch about this world's knowledge or culture from my ditzy days, but student council work is all my own power, right?
I'm really capable!
Pastel quit whistling. Confidence surged.
She narrowed her eyes and stared straight at Ellie.
"Sly eyes~."
Ellie flinched under the overwhelming charisma. She hesitated, averted her gaze, and fetched new papers.
It was a workload increase chart.
Workload had exploded after the festival. Prepping the shop crackdown had it punching through the ceiling.
Whoa.
Ellie so meticulous, charting it all!
"We can't keep going like this. Too much work. To handle on-site shop crackdowns too, we need more personnel."
Ellie ventured cautiously.
Stung to the core, Pastel agreed enthusiastically.
"Right! Right!"
Of course we expand.
Personnel boost is essential.
But there's one teensy problem.
The Vice Student Council President is embezzling the budget to buy smuggled goods. Embezzling? Just refill it!
Gasp.
As General Affairs Director, I can't forgive the Vice President's crime!
But as Planning Director, I get the unavoidable circumstances. He's hungry, y'know. As Publicity Director, maybe overlook it once? Volunteer and Guidance Directors nod along.
The student council brass consulted, but expanding it means more eyes watching, which is a burden.
What if someone snitches?
Shiver.
The law's blade closing around her neck.
Will the tax evasion end like this?
But capable Pastel had the answer!
Pastel shouted brightly.
"Outsource the manpower!"
The professor meeting subcontracted the shop crackdown to the student council, so why can't the council subcontract it out?
Oh yeah!
The shady alley behind the dorms.
First-years surrounded the pink girl.
"So, me?"
Leonard shot her a fierce glare.
Pastel, who'd beaten him twice and feared him not at all, nodded.
"Confiscate all our awakeners, then make us do the crackdown? Wow, you think we're pushovers?!"
Leonard tousled his bangs and glared.
Pastel pondered briefly, then nodded.
"Yeah!"
Hehe.
Leonard was stunned.
His minions stared blankly at the boss.
"Boss, that's what she said."
"I heard him!"
Boss? Oh, right.
"How about changing your title? Not 'boss,' 'leader'! 'Boss' confuses me!"
With our Demon Realm ally, Boss Preston.
"Why're you butting in?"
Leonard looked exasperated.
His minions stared blankly at the boss.
"Leader, that's what she said."
Leonard's jaw dropped.
"You idiots! Don't just switch like that!"
They get along great.
Good, perfect!
Pastel shot one hand high in the air.
"Friends for Pastel! Gather here!"
Gather! Gather!
"Hey! Hey! Don't raise your hands! Don't!"
Leonard urgently glared at his minions. They started to raise hands, then hesitated.
Oh no.
But I'm more popular, right?
"First come, first served! First come!"
Pastel flailed both arms.
"Chance to snag the Pastel friend-friend title is now only! Not just friend title—friend-friend!"
Her bubbly voice rang out like a secretive whisper.
"You guys know? Friend-friend has twice the letters of friend! Twice!"
Gasp.
Twice the letters!
Huge opportunity.
The girl's expectant gaze swept the crowd.
Don't you want a friend-friend title?
Every face she met blushed.
Hands shot up like a forest.
"Gahhh!"
Leonard roared alone.
As expected, I've got tons of friends!
The sun blazed.
Friend-friends marched proud.
Pastel strode the shop streets like a mafia boss, friend-friends trailing behind.
"Dustin! Split into teams like planned and sweep! If anything suspicious, bail and tell me! No need for you guys to take risks!"
"Yeah! Let's go!"
Dustin, freed from paperwork, bolted off with a bright face. Friend-friends followed.
Oh, Dustin's got solid leadership chops?
Suits him, bossing guys around!
Praise him when he gets back.
Pastel, left alone on purpose, stretched grandly.
"Yaaawn!"
Busy, busy.
Finish quick and fly some paper airplanes. Gotta show off the flight skills honed endlessly in the student council room to Ellie.
La la la~.
She slipped into an empty alley.
Drew her magic sword.
"Demon! Demon! Human form! Human form!"
『Why suddenly.』
"Just! Just!"
『No.』
The sword dissolved, and the demon appeared.
『So why human form—』
Yes!
Pastel snatched the demon's arm and took off running.
"Shop crackdown, start~!"
Yahoo.
Unlike her sunny, upbeat mood, work was work—so she headed first to the shop rep.
She got a direct rundown of the situation the shop alliance had investigated and reported.
"Suspicious black robe in suspicious night alley doing suspicious deals? Every time?"
"Yes."
Totally suspicious.
Anyone could see it was shady, but some upperclassmen had risked buying bulk awakeners. Now it spread through student-to-student trades.
She stepped out of the building.
"No more black robes showing up—did they quit dealing? Nah."
The demon strolled beside her like a servant.
『They've secured enough buyers already. No need for the seller to risk it. Probably shifted to external deals with buyers as proxies or whatever pretext.』
Oh.
"Shop crackdown won't cut it. Better to crack down on shady internal academy deals. Can't be just student council—gotta round up the department reps."
Nice folks who united for arm-wrestling handicaps to let first-years win—they'll cooperate great.
Suddenly, a thin water stream jetted from the sky way off. It vanished, then jetted again.
Friend-friend signal?
"Demon! Demon! They found something!"
Pastel dashed into a back alley, turned the demon back into a sword, and bolted.
『Told you, why human form.』
"Different vibe! Vibe!"
That's why you wear that stuffy suit!
She reached the signal spot.
A chase scene unfolded.
An upperclassman fled down the street's center. A stall smashed, fruits tumbling everywhere. First-years pursued. Fruits squished underfoot, debris flying.
Oy.
A robed first-year chanted in a panic, swinging a wand stick.
"......Thus! Dew that wets the air, touch the fierce boundary! Rank 2, Stroke 3—Droplet Assault!"
"......Hear me! O droplet that soaks the air, strike against the raging boundary! Second Tier, Third Form—Droplet Surge!"
⟨ Droplet Assault ⟩
Suddenly, a stall's flowerpot shattered. Water sprayed, droplets scattering.
Three droplets hung motionless in the air.
The wand roughly targeted the upperclassman.
Water bullets surged forward.
Pastel's jaw dropped.
Whoa, solo gunfire!
Magic cheat!
The upperclassman, mid-run, leaped in an instant. His body spun, naturally facing back.
Water bullets closed in. Short sword whipped from his waist, tracing a sword path. Bullets got sucked in and burst. Water debris splashed.
Leap ended; he landed on a stall. Successive leap sounds rang out. He grabbed nearby building trim, scaled to the second floor in a flash.
Pastel's jaw dropped further.
Ehhh?
Upperclassman cheat!
This the weight of age's experience?!
This the super-elite academy student?!
The upperclassman peered down from the second floor.
"Heard your whole chant, freshmen! Study instead of pointless crackdowns!"
"Y-yeah. S-sorry!"
The pursuing first-year apologized on reflex.
Uwaaa.
Upperclassmen brutal.
No mercy for first-years.
The upperclassman who'd stopped his pursuers with words alone turned away.
『He's escaping.』
Huh.
"Pastel, charging!"
She kicked off the ground. Feet hammered pavement in chain. Distance shrank explosively.
Pastel replayed the scene, leaped onto a stall. Leap sounds echoed. Pink silhouette soared.
View cleared; rooftop spread out. Fleeing back in sight.
Presence startled the upperclassman; he whipped around.
"Which punk are you! If third-year, no mercy...!"
Longsword and shortsword drawn roughly. Mid-stance brimming with killing intent, he froze.
Pink hair whipped.
"Sennniiior, sorry!"
Upperclassman's eyes bulged.
"First-year?!"
Pastel closed the gap fast.
"Junior committing insubordination!"
"W-wait a sec!"
The upperclassman panicked, fumbling to sheathe his blades.
"Yaaah!"
Pastel leaped without pause, hurling her full body, legs extended straight.
Insubordination kick—!
Dropkick slammed his gut. Impact rippled. Upperclassman's waist buckled.
"Guhk!"
He flew back, rolling across the rooftop. Weapons clattered away.
Pastel rolled too but popped up quick. She jabbed a vigorous finger at the fallen criminal.
"Charge, friend-friends!"
First-years clambered onto the roof and piled onto the upperclassman. He tried to rise, panicked.
"First-years, let's negotiate...!"
"Pin him down!"
One first-year mounted his back. More piled on; he was buried.
"Aaaagh!"
Bodies stacked high.
Pastel watched, arms crossed.
Majestic.
Then she thrust one arm sky-high.
"Landslide victory!"
Boom.
First-years win!
Yay.
But why'd we catch him?
Dunno.
Criminal anyway, right?
Hehe.