NOVEL NEXT WORLD I tied up the senior I had subdued with ropes.
“Senpai! How could you commit such an evil act? I’m disappointed in you, junior!”
Pastel was let down by a senpai whose name she barely knew.
The senior, tightly wrapped like a mummy, looked incredulous.
“What evil act have I done?”
“Are you still trying to deny it?!”
Ugh.
A typical demeanor of a wicked criminal!
Immorality was overflowing with shamelessness.
Pastel opened her mouth with a resolute face.
“Senpai, you’ve done something evil, um….”
Gasp.
I had no idea what this senpai had done.
I glanced at the first-year, who was peeking in. The first-year hurriedly replied.
“I found a secret storage. It just so happened that the senpai in the storage ran away.”
Gasp, secret storage.
Just hearing the name sounded evil.
“That’s right! An evil secret storage! I’m so disappointed in you, senpai! In an evil secret storage!”
Trembling, an evil secret storage, huh.
I wonder how many Gem awakening potions are in there? My mouth watered at the thought. I quickly swallowed and declared firmly.
“I will seize everything on the spot!”
I moved the senior to the secret storage. It seemed the ropes were too tight, as the senior couldn’t even walk, so I loosened the bindings around their feet.
“Is this it?”
“That’s right.”
Pastel arrived at what didn’t look like a secret at all. It was a cramped storage room behind a shop.
How can it be this exposed?
“How did you find the secret storage? Was it some covert lobby? A crime syndicate linked to the shops?”
“I just rented the storage.”
The senior tied up with ropes looked sheepish.
Eh, no way….
Somehow disappointed, Pastel searched the storage.
A desk piled high with wooden boxes and bags of awakening potion pills came into view. One wall was filled with completed awakening potion boxes.
“Wow.”
This is a perfect scene for the commercialization of awakening potions.
Food like this?
My salivary glands tingled.
Pastel hurriedly wiped her mouth before anyone saw.
And quickly shouted.
“Seize all of it! Seize all of it!”
Depending on my mood, my arms flailed about.
Everything into my belly!
Awakening potion friends would want that too.
Oh yeah.
The senior groaned in agony.
“Isn’t that a bit excessive? I bought this at a high price.”
“There’s also a punitive element to it!”
“Can’t you let it slide just this once?”
“No exceptions! Right, friends?”
Friends who had already been seized nodded their heads.
Pastel confidently stared down the senior.
“Senpai! Everyone makes mistakes at least once. But skills are built on honest effort. You shouldn’t rely on drug doping! It prevents you from honing your essence!”
Ahem.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“While that’s true, listen.”
The senior started pointing things out.
“There are no side effects, and it’s not addictive. But the effects are certain. The only downside is the price; it’s perfectly fine otherwise. Professors have already verified it.”
Hmm, is that so? Is it actually a decent product?
“Of course, it’s a product stemming from the Cult’s expertise. It feels off.”
The senior shrugged.
“But what does that matter? After all, the Cult has collapsed. Isn’t it someone with the technology who survived to sell the awakening potions? This product is promotional.”
The logical voice echoed.
“Isn’t selling awakening potions a minor concern? Should we really be on guard against something so trivial after the entire cult has collapsed? No way. In battle situations, should we avoid using a non-addictive, side-effect-free substance? That doesn’t make sense either.”
Uh oh.
Thinking about it, that makes sense.
Uh oh.
Am I moving forward with a misunderstanding of the culture and history of this world?
In this world, is drug use not such a serious issue?
Is naïve Pastel just shocked at the term “drug”?
When I think about it, cigarettes and alcohol are also drugs.
I quickly tapped the Demon Sword.
Demon Lord! Demon Lord!
『That’s quite right.』
Gasp.
『Even the royal elite use Gem drugs. They use them very well. Even if you’re a student who should focus on achievements, it’s worth considering in battle requests. There’s little more important than life.』
Uh oh.
Pastel’s eyes trembled fiercely.
What’s wrong with this world?
Am I the one who’s wrong?
『However, underestimating the Cult’s dangers is a mistake. The generation born after the Cult collapsed has a different perspective. Seizing awakening potions is a reasonable response. This is related to the Cult.』
Oh.
As expected of the Demon Lord.
You support, “Everything into my belly!”
Pastel regained a confident expression.
“Senpai, you’re wrong!”
I may not know what the Cult is, but I echoed the Demon Lord’s words like a parrot.
Chattering along.
Ahem.
I shrugged my shoulders.
The senior, upon hearing this, lowered their head.
“Well, it is a decision from the faculty meeting. Take it, sigh.”
This is the persuasive power of the top student.
Hehe.
“Friends, gather everything! It’s all a seizure! A seizure!”
The first-years bustled about.
Pastel smiled as she turned to the senior.
“But what’s your name, senpai?”
I need to know to properly write the report.
The senior, bound tightly by ropes, shifted their gaze.
“My name?”
Suddenly, the rope fell off. The senior moved their hands as if fine and produced a black sphere from their pocket.
“Of course, I can’t tell you. Why would I want to get scolded?”
Eh.
The sphere hit the ground. Smoke exploded forth.
Wow.
Startled, Pastel was taken aback by the overpowering smell of onion.
Ew.
My eyes began to sting suddenly. Tears welled up. Breathing made my nose tingle.
“I’ll give you that, but take it out of the report!”
The voice echoed and faded away.
The smoke filled the storage.
Aaaah.
What kind of onion smoke is this?
I flailed my arms and hurried out of the storage.
Fresh air hit my face. I immediately began coughing. My eyes watered, and my nose tingled.
Onion!
Unconsciously rubbing my eyes, I suddenly jolted in shock. The residue of the smoke touched my eyes.
Pain shot through.
“Waaah!”
Pastel screamed like never before.
“Waaaaah!”
Chaos ensued.
The smell of onion wafted through.
From somewhere, a calm voice was heard.
『It’s a good experience. You’ll occasionally encounter this in real life. Experiencing it safely beforehand is quite special.』
Unfeeling, merciless advice continued.
『Calm down and hold your breath. Since you’ve transcended human limits, you don’t need to breathe. And the ingredients will have no effect on you anyway. Calm your mind. It’s not dangerous.』
What advice does that even apply to right now, while I’m in an onion coughing fit?
What a wicked Demon Lord!
A demon through and through!
Pastel, amidst her tears, shouted as hard as she could.
“Cold-blooded! Shameless! Zero empathy!”
Completely demonic!
The very essence of a demon!
The Demon looked flustered.
『Ahem, I apologize. It’s a bit much to ask you to endure pain in a non-real situation. Don’t rub your eyes; spread your arms. That will blow the residue away with the clean air. It should pass soon.』
Pastel spread her arms.
Wind, blow!
Then, in a frenzy, she began to flap her arms.
Flap flap flap flap.
Aaaah.
Unable to hold it in, she twirled her body in circles.
Spin spin spin spin.
Wow, the world is spinning!
Pastel is spinning too!
Her balance lost, she collapsed on the ground.
Pastel lowered her dizzy head. Her eyes and nose were red.
The onion smell still lingered heavily.
I absolutely hate onions.
The worst ingredient of my life.
“I won’t eat onions.”
Forever.
Please leave it out of my cooking.
『Hmm.』
The Demon pondered for a moment.
『That will be tricky to cook with. You can’t just avoid it; you need to eat a balanced diet. Fussy eating isn’t good.』
Aaaah, cold-blooded.
Someone who would secretly grind up anchovies into a hamburger steak!
Someone who would shamelessly force you to eat after getting caught!
Gasp, what a demon.
A little while later, the situation settled down.
Dustin, who rushed over, organized the first-years while cleaning up the storage and retrieving the awakening potions. He of course kept a close watch to ensure no one pilfered any.
Freshened up, Pastel coldly assessed the situation at the scene. After a recheck, she exclaimed in amazement.
“Wow! Impressive clean-up!”
Unlike Elly, who was good with paperwork, Dustin was suited for the field.
“Dustin! Dustin!”
Munching on the chicken skewers she purchased while washing up, Pastel spoke.
“You really have a knack for taking care of others! You have so much talent!”
Munch munch on the chicken skewer.
Dustin’s expression became complex.
I guess he doesn’t like compliments.
Is he bashful?
Understanding me, I’ll give him some grace!
“Considerable amounts of awakening potions were seized. Most of them got wet and had to be disposed of during the raid on the storage, though.”
Pastel reported with the lingering taste of expensive candy in her mouth.
Professor Carlo looked up from the report he was reading.
“Did you get the department’s cooperation?”
“Yes, since we need a joint response to catch any under-the-table dealings. I want to root this issue out before it becomes habitual. I request the support of the professors in this matter.”
The report he had been reading was laid on the desk.
“The student council doesn’t need to go that far.”
“Huh?”
“Upon reanalyzing the awakening potions, I found there are still no issues with the components. We can afford to let the under-the-table dealings slide.”
Pastel was taken aback.
Uh, is that right?
Professor Carlo pulled out documents from a drawer.
It was data on outside commissions from the entire student body.
After the drug distribution, the quality of commissions had increased, and the completed quantities had risen significantly.
Oh.
“While reliance isn’t good, there’s no reason to stop someone spending their own money. There are no side effects, after all.”
The academy chose performance over student health and institutional achievements.
Oh?
“What about the Cult? Isn’t it dangerous?”
“You seem to care about Craft. We will discuss that in the next faculty meeting. It’s not dangerous since it’s a collapsed organization anyway.”
Professor Carlo pulled out a new document.
“More importantly, the Magic Tower sent an official letter. It’s an informal exchange, so no need to worry too much, but the student council should be informed in advance.”
Pastel received the letter and returned to the student council.
Ugh.
Reality is so cold.
I sprawled on the couch and skimmed the letter.
It was a simple message saying the Magic Tower would visit soon, as it did regularly before.
Hmm.
“Elly! Elly! The Magic Tower is coming! Do you know what they’ll be doing specifically?”
Elly, who had been fiddling with her quill, looked up.
“Probably a new student exchange. Last year they couldn’t do it due to the lack of new students, but it seems they’re planning to this time. It’ll be simple; we’ll just gather in the auditorium and watch.”
Heh, I see.
Pastel, secretly taking out a pill, popped it in her mouth.
Instead of swallowing, she chewed, and a sweet candy flavor burst in her mouth.
Wow.
The chef’s Gem cocktail.
It’s on a whole different level from raw gems.
Her lips curled in a smile.
Elly, while pondering with her quill, opened her mouth again.
“Pastel, instead of just watching, you’ll be representing the new students in front of the current students. It’s going to be tough for you.”
Eh.
Performing in the auditorium?
Heh, that sounds fun.
“What do I have to do? Sing a song?”
Wow.
I’ll go for a song.
“I’m the top student, after all?”
“That’s right!”
Hehe.
Elly said coolly.
“Then it’ll be an academic debate.”
An academic debate?
Pastel pondered on the term that had just reached her ears.
An academic debate.
Gasp.
An academic debate?
She jumped up from the couch.
“W-What’s the topic?!”
Surely, a topic that competent Pastel can answer smoothly?
Administrative tasks, or practical administration, maybe.
Uh oh.
That isn’t a topic suitable for a debate in the auditorium.
“It probably won’t limit itself to a particular field. Just like the written tests.”
Elly rummaged through the student council drawer. She found the topic from two years ago.
– Discuss the impact of wild boar habitat shifts on the rainforest ecosystem from a defensive perspective.
Aaaah.
I have no idea what that’s about!
Top student Pastel, crisis mode activated…!