Surviving a Cruel Fairy Tale

7 – Act 1. Forest of Little Red Riding Hood – Village of Twilight (1)

After Little Red Riding Hood left, the noise around them also began to subside.

As if it were true that she commanded a wolf, the survivors of the beast’s attack began to appear one by one with her cry that the she-wolf was running away.

“…… Did you say you were on my side?”

In the meantime, I chewed on the words Little Red Riding Hood left behind in a remote place.

The Little Red Riding Hood that was on my side.

But it was clear that her actions were threatening the villagers.

Thinking for a moment, Little Red Riding Hood poked into her bosom and looked at her liver paper.

The texture is slightly tough for paper.

I saw letters written in unreadable characters inside, but I couldn’t interpret them, so I focused on the paper itself first.

A mysterious feeling of warm warmth.

Little Red Riding Hood here says she is a witch, so is this magic, or mystery?

“Hey! You were in a place like this.”

After thinking about it for a while, I heard a voice coming from behind me, so I folded the paper that Red Riding Hood passed over and hid it in my bosom.

“Oh, yes.”

“Didn’t I tell you to stay home?”

“I heard screams outside and came to check. I wanted to help if I could.”

At that, the hunter slightly frowned.

“That’s enough for me to do. You just need to listen to what I have to say.”

The tone is somewhat strange.

I know you’re worried, but behind the scenes you could feel the reprimand for not listening to him.

If this man is in charge of order in the village, I can understand why he doesn’t like unexpected actions, but for me, I still saved someone, but hearing these words made me very uncomfortable.

“My body moved first.”

But, judging that there was no need to argue over such a thing, the hunter nodded in agreement, and the hunter finally relaxed his expression and held out his hand.

“…… I’m sorry. I was a little nervous about the sudden thing.”

“I understand. Other people…….”

“Many have died and been injured. First of all, I told everyone to gather in the plaza, but I don’t know exactly how much since there are many people who have been bitten by wolves.”

Maybe we haven’t figured out all the damage yet.

It’s true that you can’t completely trust Little Red Riding Hood’s words when you look at them like this.

In reality, no matter what her intentions were, there were people here who actually lost their lives because of her actions.

“…… That b*tch. That life is so pitiful that I kept it alive, and then, somehow, this kind of accident happened.”

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“What do you plan to do next?”

“This much blood has been shed. I have to show that no one can just close their eyes without paying the price of their lives.”

Is it the price of blood?

Is that the kind of thing that can put a price on it?

No, because of that, he seemed to be plotting even more desperate revenge. He had an unbelievably ferocious look on his face for a man he had made a good impression on since he met him.

Maybe it would be better for me from now on.

I already knew that the stage where Little Red Riding Hood and the hunter could unite was far away.

A story that takes place in this gloomy forest.

The rivalry between Little Red Riding Hood and the Hunter. Whose hand am I raising here, is it the right ending?

If you think of common sense, of course it’s right to raise the hunter’s hand.

To sing dreams and hopes, the development of evil that harasses the innocent must be overthrown and good people rewarded.

Just…….

“The sin of daring to touch me. I’m thinking of making it pay off.”

How far can I trust this man?

I don’t know why.

Unpleasant feeling in the middle of the day. A soggy feeling that is hard to explain in words rises little by little every time you talk to this man.

A favor for no reason?

It is ambiguous to say that it is unpleasant to be wary of. I couldn’t come up with a clear answer rationally, but something was bothering me nonetheless.

You feel uncomfortable. Maybe you can’t hide feelings like anxiety.

As I was contemplating the situation of the village and the hunters, I saw the man I had helped earlier approaching.

“…… Hmm? What is it?”

“That, I have something to tell you… ….”

“I see. If you are a traveler. Excuse me for a moment.”

After staring at the back of the hunter for a while, he turned his head and looked around the village.

In the thick darkness, only the flames of the torches are barely shining, making it so dark that it is impossible to see except for some areas.

But the darkness couldn’t cover everything.

“My legs, my legs…… !!”

“This way, this way! I’m still breathing!”

A tragedy caused by wolves.

No, it would be more correct to call it the tragedy of Little Red Riding Hood.

She pointed to herself and said she was on my side, but looking at this scene, it was hard for her to think of the woman as her ally.

Furthermore, saying that Little Red Riding Hood is an ally means, in other words, that the inhabitants and hunters of this village are my enemies.

“…… This is unfounded.”

I felt uncomfortable in some places, but looking at the flow so far, they were clear victims.

Little Red Riding Hood is a witch.

The hunter certainly said so, and Little Red Riding Hood did not deny that he was hostile to the humans of this forest.

Is now the time to gather more information?

It was a bit ambiguous now that the situation was like this, but the hunter said that he would look for a building where I could live.

That means it is the same as allowing me to stay here, so it would be a wise decision to make this village a base first.

But I keep thinking about the meaningful words left by Little Red Riding Hood.

She spoke as if she knew me, which in many ways continued to cloud my judgment.

A piece of paper handed over to call him in case of danger.

It was still folded tightly in his arms, radiating warmth.

Coming to think of it, that remark made it all too natural for me to conclude that danger would come to me.

So what are my immediate threats?

Little Red Riding Hood didn’t hurt me.

And Little Red Riding Hood and the hostile villagers and hunters. Putting together the information revealed at face value leads to the conclusion that the village is a danger, but this conclusion is still premature.

“…… It’s complicated.”

If Little Red Riding Hood had been a complete villain, I wouldn’t have had such worries.

I didn’t believe everything she said, but I didn’t really like the current situation where a lot of information was jumbled together.

Little Red Riding Hood is incredible.

Then what about this village?

In fact, apart from the fact that they appear to be victims, it is also true that less than a day has passed since I entered this village.

There are so many things I still don’t know.

With a little more information, I think I’ll be able to get a rough idea of what’s going on in this forest, but expecting that in less than a day would be overkill.

First of all, let’s spend a little more time.

Then surely…….

“The Traveler.”

I stopped the accident that had been going on all along and turned my head.

A hunter who said he had something to say tapped on my shoulder before I knew it, and around ten villagers followed him.

“Are you done talking?”

“Sure. It was a pretty interesting story. I didn’t know that something like this could happen when the village is in crisis.”

Somewhere, I feel the chill in my voice.

Suddenly, when I turned my gaze to those who followed the hunter, I could see a strange degree of hostility in each of their expressions.

“What is it?”

“There was a witness who saw you having a close tryst with that witch.”

A tryst?

Wait, no way…….

“Wait a minute.”

“I-I saw everything! That man with that witch, that…… , I saw her laying on her body and having s*x!”

Isn’t that man the one I helped before?

I’m sure he sent it to the hunter’s house, and I even confirmed that he was running towards it…….

“This is a misunderstanding.”

“It’s strange when you think about it. The night I brought you into town, the witch came. And while we were being attacked by wolves, you came back safely after encountering a witch who hates humans.”

…… There’s nothing strange about it, even if it’s certainly suspicious.

I never imagined that the scene would be seen by someone.

No, actually, he had too many things to worry about before that, so it would be fair to say that he didn’t pay attention to that.

Anyway, if things go on like this, it will be difficult.

Even so, the village was immediately after seeing casualties.

In such a situation, if you have a close relationship with Little Red Riding Hood, or if you are accused of being an accomplice, ruin is unavoidable.

“I will explain everything.”

“…… Personally, I want to believe in you. To be honest, I liked you quite a bit. I had a good impression, and I thought he was a pretty up-to-date young man.”

But this can’t be the case, the hunter sighed.

Then take a step forward.

He whispered in a voice so low that I couldn’t hear the people around me.

“…… First of all, I speak well to people. But I cannot give you freedom right away. Do you know what this word means?”

I understand what you mean.

Well, it’s clear that you can’t release me right now. But what I’m curious about here is why did the hunter do me such a favor?

It’s been less than a day since he and I met.

If you ask me if I have been gracious, that is not the case either.

Rather, it was in the form of a hunter helping me when I was dealing with wolves, so if there is silver, it’s over there, at least I haven’t done anything to him.

Then why is this man so kind to me?

“Answer quickly.”

Is it okay if I entrust my recruits to him?

No, there are no options here.

If you say you can’t give up your freedom right now, there’s a risk that it will lead to a battle right away, but the hunter was already armed with a shotgun.

There is anxiety.

The uncomfortable feeling that hasn’t been resolved.

But.

“…… Yes.”

“Wait a little. Everyone is just angry, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow when it’s bright.”

Now this is the only way.

Fortunately, the hunter doesn’t know that I have mystical powers and that I have the ability to modify or reorganize things.

The information gap exists, but it is not limited to me.

There are means in case of emergency.

In that case, I nodded my head, deciding that it would be right to observe the situation according to their words.