Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Fate of the One with Many Friends
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"Squeak friends, you can go home now!"
Pastel shouted from atop the sword hilt.
"Thanks to you all, I was able to win!"
Yahoo.
Hooray hooray.
"So you guys can head back now!"
She shouted with all her hopeful enthusiasm.
The squeak friends on the ground looked up at her. But instead of leaving, they just stared blankly from below the sword hilt.
Their front teeth, gnawed white from chewing bones, looked downright terrifying.
Tch, friends...?
Pastel trembled.
"Y-you can go home..."
The ground was crawling with giant rats.
Swarming.
After devouring all the bones, most of the rat horde had dispersed. But dozens remained, gathering beneath the sword hilt and peering up, as if waiting to see when she'd come down.
Eek.
Am I too popular?!
Is this the downside of natural charisma?!
Uwaaaah.
Pastel flailed her arms.
Flap flap.
"Friends! I'm fine! No need to worry, so everyone go home!"
Really really.
The squeak friends squeaked back. Their bloodstained front teeth twitched.
Twitch twitch.
Pastel broke into nervous laughter, sweating bullets.
Ahaha.
My friends are such worrywarts~.
I'm totally safe~.
She glanced down at the rat horde. Predatory gazes stared back.
Uwaaaah.
"Demon! Demon! My friends are way too obsessed!"
Is this the fate of a popular girl?!
This is super super bad!
"What do we do? Should we throw down with our friends?!"
Splash splash?
She looked down at the giant rat horde. Rats up to knee height blanketed the sewer floor without a gap.
Whoa, there are so many.
Probably a million times more than me.
『Combat doesn't seem like a good choice. Taking down small-bodied creatures is tricky.』
Even the demon acknowledges this as a crisis?
『If surrounded by people, you could sweep several down with a horizontal slash. But with bodies so close to the ground, it's hard to hit multiple at once. You can't exactly slash horizontally at the floor.』
Gasp.
『When small, predatory creatures swarm like this, avoidance is the best policy. If you want to fight, you'd need to be at knight level for any guarantee of survival.』
Uwaaaah.
Pastel trembled.
"Tch, friends, I don't know what I did wrong, but I'm sorry! Let's make up!"
Of course, reconciliation was impossible.
They're too obsessed!
Giving up, Pastel gauged the jumping distance. She eyed the rat-filled ground, wondering if she could leap over them and escape, then shook her head. Seemed too risky.
Uwaaaah.
Shiver shiver.
"Save me, Demon!"
Pastel chirped like a baby bird.
Demon~.
Demooon~.
The demon replied.
『Use the Demon King's legacy. Look at the treasure chest.』
"Legacy?"
She turned to the snake corpse, now just a pile of bones. Inside the skeletal remains lay the undigested treasure chest on its side. A gem and a knife had spilled out.
"What's that?"
『The authority of mana stone control and a mana stone knife.』
Huh.
『Try moving your hand as if reaching for the gem.』
She reached out, and the gem flew into her hand.
"Whoa!"
She rummaged in her pocket and pulled out the Fate Compass. Opening the compass lid revealed the internal gem slot.
Currently equipped: Authority of Mana Stone Ingestion.
The more mana stones you eat, the stronger your body becomes.
Whoa.
She slotted the new gem into the empty spot.
Added: Authority of Mana Stone Control.
Whatever it is, whoa whoa.
She lifted the gem compartment.
"Two gems now!"
Sparkle sparkle.
『Yes, two authorities. Now try the same with the knife. Will it to lift. It's a mana stone weapon made for this authority, so it should be easy.』
"Whoa, is this telekinesis?"
Gasp.
Super ultra superpower?
Finally, Pastel's life cheat has arrived?
No envy for the automatic rifle mage!
She reached out. The knife on the ground rattled. Focusing her mind, it slowly floated up.
"Uwaaaang!"
Superpowered Pastel...!
『You're doing very well. Now use it to resolve this-』
"Sorry, squeak friends!"
Pastel swung her hand like a psychic. The knife shot through the air. Its sharp silver blade flashed.
The knife pierced a giant rat in an instant, tracing a path. Silver trails etched countless curves across the ground. The silver swept through the horde. Blood sprayed. Giant rats collapsed. Blood soaked the floor.
The girl reached out. The bloodied knife flew back into her hand. She slashed the air a few times to shake off the blood.
She raised the mana stone knife triumphantly.
"Remote-control knife!"
Specialized for mass slaughter!
The epitome of picking on the weak!
Just like Pastel herself...!
Oh yeah.
Savoring the thrill of loot, she lowered the knife.
"Got the legacy, so let's head back!"
Pastel jumped down from the sword hilt. Her feet splashed in the blood. Giant rat corpses filled her view.
O-oh.
"Sorry, squeak friends..."
But honestly, they were pretty obsessive.
Popular people have to be cold to clingy friends, you know.
Otherwise, you hurt the other friends.
Grabbing her magic sword and oil lantern, she moved on. Careful not to run into another rat horde, she exited the sewers.
At the entrance, dazzling sunlight greeted her.
"Hi, sun!"
She greedily breathed in the fresh air, replacing the foul sewer stench.
Huuu.
She stretched grandly.
"Adventure over~!"
That was tough.
#
After resuming dorm construction and catching some solid sleep, Pastel lounged on the sofa in perfect shape.
She twirled the mana stone knife between her fingers.
"Strictly speaking, it's mana stone control, right?"
『Yes.』
The demon neatly rolled up a pair of clean white knee socks she'd been folding.
『Not the knife itself, but the processed mana stone inside. That knife is a weapon crafted for the authority. Simple-looking, but it's a precision-engineered item designed with durability and versatility in mind.』
"Heh."
Pastel spread her hand. The knife floated up and spun above her palm. The sharp blade sliced through the air this way and that.
『Don't play with it too much. You'll hurt yourself.』
"I'm a genius, so I'm fine!"
She flicked her finger toward the ceiling. The knife glided in that direction.
Whoa.
『Useful in group fights. But don't expect much against strong foes. Since you're controlling it one-handed, better to focus on two-handed swordplay.』
"It's fine! Weak-on-strong Pastel doesn't fight the strong! She just runs!"
Me, weak-on-strong.
Totally realistic.
Can't help but feel proud!
『Says the one who charged a snake.』
Ah.
Hehe.
That was a family head's revenge journey, so it's a bit different~.
Just fulfilling my duty~.
She hummed and flicked her fingers. The knife danced across the ceiling.
"But what powers it? Mental energy?! Is Pastel actually a superpowered being?!"
Super ultra superpower!
Fantastic and great superpower!
『Mana stone energy. Touch a mana stone to the knife, and it'll absorb the energy.』
Huh.
Mana stone energy?
Pastel mulled over the words.
Mana stone energy.
Mana stone?
That mana stone equivalent in value to a gold bar of the same size?
Gasp.
Her fingers froze. The knife halted and plummeted. The sharp blade stabbed into the sofa right next to Pastel's face.
The demon flinched.
『Are you oka-』
"Uwaaaah!"
Pastel bolted up. She yanked the knife from the sofa, hands shaking.
"Gold bar! Gold bar! This thing costs a gold bar!"
Uwaaaah.
"Sorry, Knife-sama! You're so precious, and here I was playing with you using my fingers! No good! Let me give you a proper flight!"
She placed the knife on her palm and dashed around the room.
"Zwoooosh~!"
The erratic motion bumped the table. A pile of laundry wobbled and spilled. The neatly washed and folded clothes scattered across the floor. Footprints stamped over them one after another.
"Zwooosh~!"
The demon, who had nearly finished folding the laundry and was rolling up the last pair of knee socks, stared blankly at the footprints.
The footprints seemed to whisper to the demon.
Perfectly ironed clean clothes.
Super ultra evolution!
Freshly soiled laundry~!
Pink hair whipped around.
"How's the ride, Knife-sama? Comfortable flight fit for your precious self?"
The demon pressed her forehead and picked up the new laundry.
『...When it comes to upkeep costs, you're the expensive one.』
A sigh escaped.
Pastel froze.
Gasp.
M-my upkeep is expensive?
Come to think of it, I live off mana stones?
Whoa.
"The demon's right! No need to hold back on Knife's price tag!"
Me, expensive body.
Oh yeah.
Calmed down, Pastel headed back to the sofa.
Then she spotted the pile of clothes on the floor and tilted her head.
Huh?
Why are the clothes the demon was sorting like this?
Did the demon make a mistake in the meantime?
Gasp.
Pastel was surprised, then burst into laughter alone.
"Even the demon makes mistakes!"
Ahaha.
Too busy playing to notice the slip-up.
Totally disappointing.
"Humanity! No, demonity!"
Pastel playfully poked the demon.
"Demonity! Demonity!"
Poke poke.
The demon muttered while picking up the last of the laundry.
『Upkeep costs are high, really...』
Upkeep costs?
Pastel nodded vigorously.
"Right! Exactly! The demon thinks just like me! No need to hold back on Knife's price tag!"
Pastel, expensive body.
"Demon! Demon! Our minds are so in sync—priest-demon duo is perfect harmony!"
Ahaha.
For some reason feeling great, Pastel spun around laughing.
Then she lalala'd to the sofa and flopped down, dangling her feet off the edge.
"If mana stones are fuel, I gotta earn more money. Got a family member to support now."
Family member.
Family head responsibility rising.
Pastel looked at the knife with a serious face.
"I'll earn money for you. I won't let you starve."
I won't let you go hungry like me.
Never ever.
Vowing this, Pastel crossed her arms and pondered.
Business mode, business mode.
Got the legacy, and no need to oversee dorm construction constantly. During the remaining break, gotta earn money thriftily.
Money, money.
Current income structure has issues.
Smuggling doubles assets per run—super high profit—but Pastel has to personally spend time going back and forth to the Demon Realm.
Huh.
Totally bothersome.
Can't someone else do the smuggling automatically?
The student council's Demon Realm access is key anyway. Military won't block official business.
What if we make a trading company under the student council name?
A kind, helpful company just assisting council duties.
Delegate unavoidable official business to the subsidiary company to handle the Demon Realm trips...
Huh.
Mobile games have auto-farming.
So real life can have auto-smuggling, right?
Huuuh.
Auto-smuggling.
Pastel, touched.