Surviving a Cruel Fairy Tale

14 – Act 1. Little Red Riding Hood’s Forest – Mother Tree (2)

After the situation has been sorted out to a certain extent, quickly get out of your seat before the woodcutter returns again. Headed forward

It was a short battle, but the area around it was already devastated, making it difficult to recognize its shape.

If I head further inward from there, I return to the usual dark and damp forest, but my mind is still imagining the battle that took place just a moment ago.

That literally fits the expression of being out of standard.

Yes, I knew that this world itself was outside the realm of cognition, but the battle just before was enough to set off an alarm to myself, who was somewhat complacent.

The woodcutter stopped just before reaching me.

One step from there.

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No, if I had just swung that axe, I would have died there without much resistance.

Is there a mystery powerful enough to bridge this gap in this forest?

The more mysteries you get, the stronger you get.

It was a very simple thing to hear in words, but no one knows how much the accumulation will be reflected.

“…… Excuse me.”

That’s why I thought about it while walking down the street.

Lumberjacks and hunters.

If both of them were set on the stage of a forest, they were each unique, but how should we deal with them if we turned them all into enemies?

If the efficiency that comes from obtaining the mysteries is lower than I thought…….

“Over there.”

“…… Huh?”

“What are you thinking about so intently?”

I didn’t even know it was called.

If you slightly turn your gaze from the front, you can see a red cloak with a slightly uncomfortable expression.

“I have something to think about.”

“It’s fine anyway, but don’t let go of your nerves.”

It was right after I was attacked by the Tin Woodman.

I know, but I’m sure it’s something to reflect on because I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn’t even know that Little Red Riding Hood was talking to me.

“I’ll be careful with that, why did you call me?”

So, I nodded in affirmation first, then looked at Little Red Riding Hood, who should have talked to me.

“What are you going to do after you reach Mother Tree?”

“What happened?”

“You said you would accumulate mysteries, but exactly how? Can we just get there?”

Think about her question first.

An accumulation of mysteries.

First of all, Rumpelstiltschen said that my body is like a vessel, so I naturally assimilate to the mysteries around me and acquire them.

I could actually feel the strength building up in my body little by little while walking around this world.

However, that is limited to cases that can be encountered on a daily basis, and I myself do not know what happens when I go to a place where that power is concentrated.

“I’ll have to go to find out the details, but as for the method, I’ll just have to get there first. After that, the mystery will naturally dissolve in your body.”

“Naturally?”

At that point, Little Red Riding Hood furrowed her eyebrows as if in doubt.

“Isn’t that what it used to be?”

In this world, mystery is like oxygen dissolved in the earth, the sky, and furthermore, the world itself.

The original source of the fairy tale world.

I heard that any resident can naturally possess and enjoy the mystery, but Little Red Riding Hood’s reaction was very strange.

“…… Those who touch the mystery melt into its power. That’s common sense, of course, but it’s a little different when you take the initiative of that wandering power.”

“Is that so?”

“I can’t be certain. It’s hard to make a decision without seeing it first.”

I thought this was common sense until now, but wasn’t it actually?

However, it didn’t seem to matter much right now, so I just nodded my head appropriately and moved on.

A considerable amount of time has passed since I left her house.

I think I walked for several tens of minutes after the Tin Woodman’s attack, but no matter how much I walked, it seemed to be hovering in the same place.

In the first place, it is difficult to get a sense of direction because the trees have grown so thick in this forest.

The front and back are all covered with dense forest.

In the sky, it was difficult to find a direction relative to the sun because the tree branches became a roof and blocked the light, and the only thing to trust was Little Red Riding Hood and the wolf she had tamed.

“Is this the right direction?”

“We are almost there.”

“That doesn’t seem to have changed.”

Isn’t it a giant tree that is called the mother’s tree?

If you say you’re almost there, you should be able to see some traces of it, but it’s a little strange that there’s no sign of a tree of that size, even if you don’t suspect it.

“Isn’t it normal for a tree that big to be seen from nearby?”

“I think you’re misunderstanding something, but my mother’s tree isn’t particularly tall.”

I naturally imagined a gigantic giant tree because it was said to be the root of the forest.

“You’ll probably know when you see it.”

Little Red Riding Hood speaks for granted, as if he couldn’t understand.

Honestly, those words didn’t really resonate with me, but I nodded and hurried my steps.

So how much longer did he have to walk?

“…… Now, hold on.”

I raised her hand and called to her, feeling her sudden change.

As she goes forward, she barely holds on to the pressure on her shoulders with her hands on her knees.

I don’t know if that’s the only thing, but it seems that the oxygen has been running low since a while ago. It was painful to breathe, but my body was gradually getting heavier, so even taking a step was a struggle.

“Be patient. Because it’s right in front of you.”

Little Red Riding Hood slowly walked forward, supporting my arm over his shoulder.

The other side that I walked forward with so much difficulty.

Clearly, until just before that, it was a gloomy and dark forest, just like usual, but after going a little further, an open field spread out in front of my eyes as if my vision had changed.

“…… Well, I can’t help but know this.”

Withstanding the pressure that seemed to crush his body, he finally opened his mouth.

I know now what Little Red Riding Hood said.

There’s no way you wouldn’t know. The center of this wide open space. I see a dwarf tree in front of me that seems to have barely grown there, and that is the very source of this forest.

“You said you would know, right?”

“This is all… ….”

“Mystery. It is the place where the deepest and densest mysteries are accumulated in this forest that you have been looking for so much.”

The power that transcends cognition is intimidating by itself.

As if what I had felt until now was a child’s play, my brows were naturally furrowed at the concentrated power that seemed like it was about to explode by squeezing this body.

Feel the warmth rushing into your body just by breathing.

Just inhaling the drifting stuff, the amount that had stayed in my body until now was flooded with a ridiculous amount of mystery.

“You really are absorbing the mystery.”

“…… Now, hold on.”

“Why?”

“This sounds, a little, dangerous… ….”

No matter how ignorant I am, I can understand the country.

My heart throbbed at this force that penetrated my body as if it was just violently driven.

A lot of information rushes through my head at once, enough to clearly feel each blood vessel. The warmth that was warm eventually turned into hot heat and started digging all over my body, and my face was hot as if it were going to cook.

A few seconds.

Not long after I witnessed my mother’s tree, my body was already screaming in all directions as if it was overloaded.

Was I too complacent?

I thought I would just have to reap the mysteries, but I never thought that I could not stand it and my body would creak.

It’s dangerous.

This is really, really dangerous.

“Is it out of control?”

“That’s because… ….”

“It’s surprising that she absorbs unrefined power, but it’s even more surprising that she does it without realizing it.”

That, don’t just look at it as if you were analyzing it…….

“Are there limits?”

“…… No, if you have time…… !!”

Please help me.

“Yes. If you leave it like this, it will explode with a bang.”

The last thing I saw was Little Red Riding Hood nodding her head as she opened the book.

Looking at the countless sheets of paper surrounding her at her hand gestures, her vision turned black at once.

* * *

Little Red Riding Hood looked over at the fainting man.

Fortunately, he did not die, but the mystery felt in his body had changed so much that he could not be recognized.

“…… Just inhaling beyond the limit, la.”

Mystery is power.

There are many people who think this way, but this is half right and half wrong.

This world is a fairy tale world.

Therefore, mystery was just one element that made fairy tales remain fairy tales, and furthermore, made the members of the fairy tale world more distinct.

In other words, mystery was a force that could be called life. Then, what was this man who absorbed it to the fullest?

Dorothy, her teacher, said that this man was a stranger from outside.

In short, the observer.

He said that he could be called a reader, and he added that it was a singularity that did not correspond to the standards of this world.

“…… I don’t know.”

A fairy tale cannot exist unless someone reads it.

Phrases transmitted from mouth to mouth.

In short, if it is the reader who makes a fairy tale come true, then who is this man who is actually an observer but shares the mystery of this fairy tale as he walks with him on the stage?

After thinking for a moment, Little Red Riding Hood shook his head.

It was meaningless to think about this man’s temper and his characteristics.

I had a lot to think about, but the most important thing right now is, as Dorothy said, whether this man can solve the accident in the forest.

Although now he was so weak that he collapsed just by touching the forest base, he was not sure how it would change if he gradually raised the bowl.

“…… Dorothy.”

She frowned at the thought of her mentor, who left so quickly, entrusting him with such a complicated matter, but she sighed and stood by the man who collapsed on the floor and groaned.