Surviving a Cruel Fairy Tale

32 – Act 2. Eternal Neverland – Maggot Cave (2)

A small pub located in the center of the Maggot Cave.

It’s an old bar that sells only rum and offal, but even in such a place, many people gather, drink, laugh and talk.

Among them, the man sitting in the center wearing a black hat is Captain Hook.

He would mark the end of the day by laughing and chatting with a cheerful expression and drinking a lot of cheap rum.

In such a situation, the man who entered this maggot den with a fairy tale writer and a red cape cautiously approached Captain Hook.

“Captain.”

“Huh? What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing else, it’s because a new pair of men and women came in this time. Even though the woman has become a child, the man is fine.”

“Is that so? Then, as usual, give them a decent place to stay and explain the rules of this neighborhood.

At that, the man shook his head.

“That’s what those friends said, it seemed like they ran away from the shepherd boy.”

The bad guys who are in charge of Neverland’s fighting power.

It is natural for adults living in this basement, and even those who are good at fighting among them were opponents who only ran away.

“Hmm.”

Certainly, it’s safe to say that it’s a special skill.

“Is it true?”

“It was exciting. Something must have happened since those little kids aren’t going to make a fuss about anything.”

At that, Captain Hook pursed his lips.

The power shortage in this underground is great.

Tinkerbell who rules the land is water, and those bad guys who work like her minions.

In order to do anything against them, it was essential to have people who could fight, but after thinking for a moment, Captain Hook shook his head.

“All right. Just treat it like normal.”

“Are you okay?”

“If we force them to fight, will they become our people? Besides, suppressing freedom…….”

Captain Hook, speechless, gazes at the ceiling of his tavern.

Exactly beyond that.

On a huge island called Neverland, Captain Hook stopped talking for a while as if staring at the ground, then snorted.

“Isn’t it the same as the kites who reign over there?”

“Okay.”

“But, treat me appropriately. Fight if you feel like it, or else you’ll try to escape from this hellish island somehow.”

Nothing will change.

It is true that one person is regrettable, but Captain Hook’s keynote was that it was not necessary if he would not become his own person.

Feeling sorry for his words, but admitting it, the man nodded and sat down.

“What is it?”

“I wonder if it would be too much of a loss to come all the way here and not have a drink.”

“Yes, yes, what is the need to complicate things?”

This is all about troublesome things.

Captain Hook slams his glass down on the table, attracts everyone’s attention, and sings.

A song full of vulgar jokes. We pray for safety on the voyage and happiness in the future, and shout out the lyrics that we want to be buried in the breast of a virgin today.

* * *

A day passed in an underground canal that was embarrassing to even call it a village.

A waterway runs along the side, and the small space next to it is somehow used to form a shabby shantytown, where no sunlight shines through day or night.

In this respect, it is similar to the twilight forest, but I couldn’t feel the laughter from the people gathered here.

Dark air.

I wonder if it’s because of the musty smell and humid environment, but I realized that something is fundamentally different.

“Umm… ….”

“Good morning.”

As I was looking around for a while, the red cloak that had been buried in the blanket peeked out.

“…… What were you doing?”

“Looking around.”

“Anything unusual?”

That question is a bit difficult to answer.

I couldn’t even meet the main character, Captain Hook, in the first place.

Therefore, I was extremely limited in what I could answer, but I only talked about what I inferred from the lifestyle and atmosphere of this place.

“Unstable in many ways. Imbalanced I don’t think the term “Extreme” Would be bad either.”

“Really?”

“If you look at the place of residence, it doesn’t make sense. But on the other hand, if you look at the food we were given or what they ate, it was pretty luxurious.”

From bread with a lot of sugar to soft cream soup.

It’s funny to say that this is a luxury, but it’s strange that people are constantly eating this kind of food in a shantytown where they are almost homeless.

Extremely biased lifestyle.

In terms of food, clothing, and shelter, clothing and shelter were extremely below average, but only dietary life felt stable.

Inferring only this, it is unlikely that it was produced on its own here, so it is reasonable to assume that there is a place where it can be supplied periodically.

“Look at this moisture in the first place. No matter how easy flour is to preserve, it’s not in this environment.”

If the round trip to and from the ground is free, that restriction will be relieved to some extent, but looking at their reactions, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

The earth is a child’s paradise.

The basement is a shelter for adults.

In Neverland that was separated like that, everything, including their diet, was heterogeneous.

“Then what are you going to do now?”

“…… This is what I found out while looking around. The rest need a little more information.”

I’d love to meet Captain Hook in person if possible, but the problem was we were outsiders.

A seemingly closed environment.

Those who live in hiding tend to avoid outside gaze by default.

The man who guided us seemed extroverted, but it would be hard to expect that from the whole group.

First of all, since this problem doesn’t show any signs of being resolved quickly, I decided to put it off for a while, and more importantly, it was Little Red Riding Hood.

“Little Red Riding Hood. Are you okay?”

“What?”

“The body.”

At those words, she came out of her blanket and clasped her tiny, changed hands.

“Um… ….”

Then silence.

I couldn’t get a sense of her expression, which was more dazed than usual, but then she shook her head and changed to a somber expression.

“I’m weak.”

“You mean that?”

“It seems that the mysteries inside the body remain the same, but it seems that the body has weakened. This won’t help you…….”

I see.

No, more than that.

“Don’t say anything unhelpful or anything like that.”

“But.”

“It’s okay.”

What has already happened can’t be helped.

Besides, as I say every time, I didn’t just extend my hand to her in hopes of helping her with her powers.

It’s a feeling that can’t be explained well with words, but I just hated the way she laughed at her self-help with her dead eyes as she said everything was over.

“Let’s solve everything up to that part. There’s no law telling you to stay a child forever, right?”

“…… If you are, then so be it.”

“No, this is an important matter for you as well.”

“Because you said you would be fine.”

That easy?

It was Little Red Riding Hood that turned into a child, not me. Even so, she nodded her head as if there was nothing wrong with her usual expression.

Should I be clear about this?

Until now, I thought she was that kind of personality, but this is maybe Little Red Riding Hood to herself…….

“Whew. You were still here.”

After thinking for a while, the man who had guided us to this underground culvert the day before came over, waving his hand.

“How was it last night? Wasn’t it cold?”

“Thanks for caring.”

“That is fortunate.”

A blanket in a sleeping bag, and even a space where the wall was blocked by patching up boards, albeit rather crudely.

This should be enough for those of us who have nothing, but we also got enough food for dinner and breakfast.

To complain about this would be an act without conscience.

“Then we can get to the point.”

“The body?”

So he nodded and explained the circumstances of this underground canal.

As you can see, it is a run-down area with no proper buildings.

He went on to say that the place that could accommodate a large number of people in the basement of Neverland was only gathered in this huge waterway plaza, and there were still many problems to be dealt with.

“So we are taking on various tasks and solving them. Each person solves a task that will benefit the group according to their abilities.”

That makes sense.

With such a large group of people gathered, there’s no way they’re stuck underground and relying on daily food distribution.

Then why are you telling us this…….

“If you intend to stay here, do you mean anything?”

“I won’t ask for anything too demanding. It’s okay to clean the plaza right away, or the role of distributing food isn’t bad either. We might treat you a little better if you have a specialty that can help.”

Treat those who are competent.

From noble mtl dot com

If it’s natural, it’s natural.

I had a lot of thoughts, but if they come up with these words first, I’ve decided what I’ll say.

“I can use my strength.”

“Strength?”

“I can fight to a certain extent, and I like carrying heavy loads. Don’t you need someone like that to periodically move food for this many people?”

And you’re probably moving through the waterways, getting a massive food supply from somewhere.

At my words, the man raised his eyebrows.

“…… Yes, I need someone like that.”

“Then it won’t be bad. If it’s power, you can still use it to some extent.”

There is no space to grow wheat or sorghum around here.

Then it will surely travel a long distance via ship, and the captain of that ship must be Captain Hook.

To face it head-on, this is the only one.

“Isn’t it okay?”

“No, it’s not impossible. However, this is decided by the captain himself, so it will take some time.”

“As much as you like.”

Looking at the situation here, it seems that there will always be a shortage of manpower.

If you still won’t accept me, then I’ll think of another way, but I don’t know. It didn’t seem like there would be enough space here.