Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Kindhearted Shipping Under Temporary Inspection
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"I'm Max. I'm in charge of this subjugation operation."
A man wearing leather armor reinforced with iron plates bowed his head.
"It's an honor to meet you, Marquess."
The head of the Grace Merchant Guild pointed at him with her fan.
"I won't be joining the fight myself. If you need anything after we set sail, just tell Max here."
Pastel nodded.
"Looking forward to working with you!"
"The pleasure's mine."
They shook hands.
"He's also the one who'll be in charge of escorting the Craft Merchant Guild's forces from now on."
Oing.
This guy's a key piece in the automated smuggling operation?
If all her assets sent via smuggling got hijacked by pirates and the airship lost, Pastel would starve flat broke.
Bonus points if she couldn't restore the student council ledger in time and got caught embezzling.
Max here was super important!
"Looking forward to it even more!"
Pastel shook his hand vigorously.
Make it a hundred times!
She shook it even harder.
Make it a million times!
The gripped hand went whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Hand breeze incoming!
Max looked flustered as his hand flailed wildly.
"Y-Yes, yes."
Pastel caught his reaction and her eyes went wide.
Whoa, right.
"This isn't the time for this! Just shaking hands on a first meeting is a total waste! Max! Isn't the iron plate in your leather armor heavy?! Should I hold it for you?!"
『Why ask that now? What kind of brain damage leads to that?』
Doesn't the demon know about icebreakers? You melt the mood to get closer. No wonder he wears those drab suits. He looked friendless.
Max looked stunned. He patted his leather armor. The iron plates stood out.
"It is heavy, but it's fine. It's my lifeline. Without it, I'd be too exposed to gunfire."
Whoa.
Total pro!
Qualified to double a starving kid's fortune through righteous channels!
Pastel's cheeks flushed pink.
"The Craft Merchant Guild runs on a performance-based system, so let's all get rich together!"
Hooray~!
Rich, rich!
Pastel spun around with arms raised high.
You rich.
Me rich.
All of us rich.
Whoa.
Would that make a world where everyone's smuggling?
Oiiing.
Max and Grace whispered as they watched the girl startling herself.
"Is she always like this?"
"First time seeing her today, so I'm not sure. She's like Craft but different, different but similar. Though she seems the same on the surface."
"Craft-like, you mean?"
"Not quite yet. Probably more like Pastel."
"What's that?"
Pastel turned to them with a smile.
Grace shook her head.
"Nothing. My apologies. Max, introduce the troops to her."
"Yes."
Pastel followed Max's lead to inspect the guild's forces.
"These are the guild's escort troops. Think of them as the core that guards the caravans in peacetime. We hire extra mercenaries sometimes, but we're the backbone."
Soldiers stood in neat rows, uniformed in crisp leather armor. At Max's gesture, they saluted Pastel in unison.
Whoaaa.
Pros!
Oing oing, Pastel couldn't match that expertise!
Oing oing.
『Ho, not bad for a civilian guild. Strong soldiers that could handle even quasi-knight levels in coordinated attacks. Impressive.』
"Looking forward to working with you all! The Craft Merchant Guild runs on performance pay, so let's all get rich together!"
Wooo, wooo.
"Pardon?"
Max looked puzzled.
"We'll only be borrowing some of you for the Craft Guild. We still have to run our own operations."
Pastel froze mid-cheer.
Eh.
True.
She felt the soldiers' eyes on her.
Uwaaaah.
Said something weird in front of everyone.
This is totally, totally...
Hilarious!
Pastel burst out laughing.
Hahaha.
"Embarrassing slip-up! So shameful! Too bad we can't all join our guild! But let's get some of you rich anyway! Count on your participation!"
Oh yeah.
After meeting the soldiers, they headed to the mercenaries.
"I've warned them, but they're rough-mouthed. They might say something rude. I'll handle it right away, so please bear with it, Marquess."
"Nah, it's fine! People are all different! I don't take that stuff to heart!"
Master of letting things slide.
A genius who even brushed off the demon's whispers.
The mercenaries gathered in the clearing. Unlike the soldiers, their gear and outfits varied wildly. Some looked annoyed at being summoned.
Yeah yeah, mercenaries.
A disheveled mercenary scratched his neck with a hungover face.
"That girl's the Marquess? Looks like just a kid no matter how you slice it. Raised in a greenhouse, learned some swordplay, got delusions of grandeur?"
Oof.
Hungover slip.
Max panicked and bowed to Pastel.
"Sorry. They're rude ones."
The mercenary raised an eyebrow.
"Rude? That's harsh, ain't it?"
Max signaled abruptly. Soldiers swarmed, kicking and stomping the mercenary.
Whoaaa.
Wake-up violence!
Screams rang out.
Pastel's eyes went wide.
No, that's man-hunting violence!
"Wait! It was rude, but I get why my looks don't inspire trust!"
"So you did find it rude."
The soldiers who'd paused stomped harder.
Screams grew louder.
Aaah.
Slip of the tongue!
Feels like pouring oil on a fire as an evil boss!
Evil boss Pastel...!
Pastel flailed her arms.
"Stop! Stooop!"
Evil boss Pastel is dooooomed.
The Marquess's firm command settled things quickly.
The mercenary was carted off on a stretcher. His limp arm dangled and swayed.
Eek.
"Is he okay?"
Max flinched, then whispered with eyes saying he'd braced for this against Craft.
"Want me to make sure he's not?"
Whoa.
Unhinged remark!
Max is straight-up sinister...!
#
The guild alliance's airships took off.
Sky whales mimicking real ones swam through the skies, evoking a pod of whales.
Just as whales swallow plankton to aid nature's cycle, the airships devoured cargo to fuel commerce's flow—perhaps not so different at root.
Especially this time.
The alliance emulated whales, acting for nature's balance: severing pirates' lifelines to feed the fish.
"Whoa."
Pastel leaned on the railing, eyes wide.
"Whales! Super huge whales!"
A massive flagship led the way.
『A warship. They wouldn't hand even a decommissioned one to civilians normally. Must've pulled strings. Or has the Empire rotted militarily too?』
Pastel tuned out the dour comment.
"Super huge whale!"
Whoaaa.
Drooling.
They flew on. The fleet split, taking different sky lanes.
"We'll stand by at a chokepoint instead of hitting the lair, ambushing stragglers fleeing the main force."
Totally legit.
Pastel gulped.
At some indistinguishable sky spot, the airships halted in formation.
『A narrow sky lane midway through swordfish territory. Tough for many ships to hide here. Plenty of pirate stragglers headed this way.』
Sky swordfish?
Those spear-nosed fish bigger than people?
Pastel's eyes widened.
"Swordfish just fly around the habitats on either side? For no reason?"
『Yep. Run into one, won't end well. Could see airships punctured.』
Eeeeeek.
Sky mackerel were as thick as her head—how big were swordfish?
Definitely Pastel-kebab size.
Pastel kebab.
Shiver shiver.
I'd rather eat chicken skewers.
Soldiers and mercenaries checked weapons tensely on deck.
Uwaaaah.
Pastel, who'd handed off command and wandered to the rail alone, joined in by drawing her magic sword and polishing it with a handkerchief.
Shiiiine.
She inspected the blade.
Sparkle sparkle.
Whoa, mirror-level.
Footsteps approached.
"You really planning to fight?"
She turned. The mercenary who'd been rude and carted off limped up slightly.
Battle-ready in leather armor, fully geared. A hefty axe slung over his shoulder.
Ah.
"You okay?"
Your ankle?
He raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, I take care of my own body."
Eek.
Seems I pissed him off.
Pastel pouted.
"Pirate ship!"
The scout yelled through his spyglass.
Eyes turned skyward. Several pirate ships sped full throttle. Guild airships reacted, moving to intercept.
Whoaaa.
Battle time!
Pastel's hands shook.
Shiver shiver.
Here to smite evil pirates for automated smuggling gains, but facing the real deal, Pastel fidgeted uncontrollably...!
Fidget fidget.
Panic panic.
Flail flail.
Pirate ship closed in. The mercenary adjusted his axe, glanced between it and Pastel, frowning.
"Grip the rail tight."
"Huh?"
"Rail! Tight!"
Obedient Pastel gripped hard.
The airship slowed and turned by tacit agreement, sideswiping the pirate ship. Whale-like hulls collided in roars.
"Eeeee!"
The pink girl floated up, clinging to the rail.
"Save Pastel!"
Eeeee.
The shock passed.
Planks bridged to the pirate rail. Guild troops drew weapons.
"Loot the pirate ship! Haha!"
Cheers erupted from the alliance.
Eh?
Pastel watched dazedly, hair mussed, slumped down.
Sinister Max pointed at the pirate ship.
"Loot to your heart's content!"
With roars, guild troops boarded like pirates themselves. The pirate crew screamed like pitiful victims. Fighting broke out.
Uwah?
Suddenly feeling like the aggressors switched roles?
Whatever anyway.
She sprang up, sword in hand.
"Woo! Charge!"
Charge! Charge!
She crawled across the plank (scared of falling) onto the pirate ship.
Clangs of weapons everywhere. Gunshots now and then. People died, blood flowed.
Uh uh.
Pastel whipped her head around. Every sweep showed dozens fighting. She hugged her sword tight.
Too real.
Wrong place vibe.
Footsteps. She turned—a pirate charged. Pirate sword raised.
Eeeeek.
The mercenary blocked her front.
"Dunno what honor a greenhouse flower seeks in this hellhole."
Axe swung. Clashed with pirate sword, crushed resistance, cleaved the pirate.
Merc slung axe on shoulder, turned.
"Folks like you Marquesses hang back till victory, slip out then—no one complains. Get outta here, dangerous."
Pastel's eyes widened.
Rough words, but kind guy.
New pirate charged.
"Argh! I'm talking!"
Merc scowled, turning. Axe rose, foot stomped.
Sudden jolt—ankle twisted, stance crumbled.
"Uh."
Axe sliced air. Pirate sword targeted him.
Pink hair whipped.
Faith for faith.
Swords clashed.
Hormones surged.
Pink eyes glazed.
Girl's hand moved indifferently.
Mana stone knife rose from her bosom.
This was the trajectory of the weak's contempt.
Striking all directions.
Silver arc battered mercilessly.