“Should I write it like this…?”
Dori dori.
“I think it would be better if this part unfolds like this…”
Nod nod.
While the children play in the yard, Bada and I are quietly creating a fairy tale together in a cozy room.
Just like Lena practices her singing and then performs it in front of the children, Bada also creates tales that the kids can enjoy reading.
This time, Bada came to me first and suggested that we create something together.
Her small eyes were full of anticipation. I was swayed by the impossible-to-refuse look and agreed.
I offered advice to help make Bada’s world even more interesting.
“I think it would be good to do it like this. This should be removed,” etc.
I gave my best possible advice.
Her small hands moved busily, filling the blank white paper with black characters.
One page, then another. The papers piled up.
Thus, a new world was being created by the small girl’s hands.
Bada frowned in concentration, trying to make it a better world.
When a good idea struck her, her eyes sparkled, and when a satisfying result appeared, a smile would bloom.
Usually, Bada is a child with calm emotions.
But at this moment, just like when she’s reading a book, her small face showed emotions that fluctuated, causing me to unconsciously smile.
Seeing her bangs obstructing my view, I reached out my hand to her forehead.
I carefully brushed her blue bangs aside with my fingers.
“Whoa!”
Startled by my touch, Bada jumped up with a loud voice.
The pen she had been holding fell to the floor, and she covered her forehead with her hand.
“What was that all of a sudden…?”
Bada’s face turned bright red.
I touched her forehead to check if she had a fever, thinking perhaps fatigue had made her warm. It felt a bit hot. She might have a slight fever.
Come to think of it, since she’s been working hard on her creation lately, it wouldn’t be unusual for her body to weaken.
While working hard is important, resting is equally important.
Especially for kids with weaker immune systems, they need to pay more attention to their health.
I held her hand and moved to another spot.
I laid her down on the sofa, brought a blanket, and gently covered her.
“Eh? What’s this…?”
I wrote on a piece of paper and showed it to her.
[Take a little break.]
“I’m fine, though…”
Dori dori.
I raised my index finger and brought it close to Bada’s face.
She made a reluctant face, expressing her dislike, but I shook my head with arms crossed.
Absolute rest.
Even when Bada protested, I firmly rejected her and forced her to rest.
I placed my hand on the blanket covering her and gently patted her.
I wanted to sing a lullaby, but since I couldn’t sing…
I hoped this was enough.
Bada’s face grew even more troubled.
For now, following my instructions, she closed her eyes.
Of course, she occasionally peeked to see how I was doing, but whenever our eyes met, she hurriedly shut them again.
I won the silent duel with Bada.
Before long, she was peacefully breathing and had fallen asleep.
I carefully slipped away so she wouldn’t wake up. I returned without making a sound.
‘It’s a bit messy… Should I tidy it up?’
I neatly organized the pile of papers and picked up the trash scattered on the floor.
Once I somewhat finished, I stretched my body and arms.
Then, I sat in front of the table and picked up the pen this time.
I read the fairy tale Bada wrote and drew illustrations that suited the situation.
To make Bada’s world shine even more.
My drawings gradually piled up.
Just as I was nearing the last page, I sensed a small presence.
“Wow~~ Did you draw all of this…?”
I didn’t notice when she woke up, but Bada stood behind me, gazing in awe at my drawings.
When I glanced back, I saw her wide-open eyes and half-open mouth, mesmerized.
Perhaps moved, she had small tears welling up in her eyes.
“Thank you…”
Bada hugged me tightly from behind.
Ack?!
She hugged my neck tightly, making it hard to breathe.
Relax a bit!
I tapped her little hand to signal her. But perhaps misunderstanding my intention, she squeezed tighter.
Ugh, I can’t breathe…
Just as my face was about to turn blue, I finally managed to escape from her arm.
After that, I put in the final effort to finish my work.
It might have taken quite a while, but finally, I had produced the result.
“I’m done.”
Bada raised the completed work with a joyful voice.
Her face was filled with a bright smile, and she truly looked happy.
Bada, who was looking at the work with shining eyes, turned her head towards me.
Still hugging the book tightly, she had a worried expression.
“…Do you think the kids will like it…?”
Of course.
I nodded vigorously in response to her uncertain voice.
Bada’s face brightened again at my reassurance.
After all, I borrowed stories from famous fairy tales known to Earth, so at least it wouldn’t fail.
…Probably?
To be honest, I’m anxious about whether this adaptation will work in this world, but I chose not to reveal that.
The next day, in a dim room where all the lights were turned off and the curtains were drawn tight.
The children were sitting, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Behind the children, adults Red and Rene brought chairs and sat down.
The protagonist of the day, Bada, seemed unable to maintain her composure once we were about to start, fidgeting nervously and shaking her legs.
I placed my hand on Bada’s shoulder and gently patted her.
Her stiff expression relaxed a bit at my encouragement. After taking a deep breath, she stood with me in front of the children.
Today was the day to present our work.
Clap clap clap.
The sound of clapping surprised Bada.
To help ease her tension, I patted her back.
Bada cleared her throat, greeted the audience lightly, and introduced our work.
Then she placed the book into a small mechanical device.
The machine made a sound, and light shone from the lens, illuminating the wall.
Bada and I returned to our seats.
That machine is a device that converts books into videos.
Just as there are audiobooks on Earth, in this world, there exists a machine that automatically plays videos of books.
It’s a very expensive item that was easily obtained with Red’s money.
As the numbers on the screen gradually decreased, the story began.
[Once upon a time, during the times when tigers smoked cigarettes…]
The mechanical voice began narrating the story.
The machine adapted my drawing style, presenting it from the screen.
[In a certain city, there lived a wealthy dragon king of the Yonggung clan…]
The children watched the video with excited eyes.
The story begins like this.
The dragon king fell ill and ordered his trusted solver, Zel, to bring him the rabbit’s liver, which is a gem.
Zel went to the promised place and met a rabbit beastman who had the gem.
Zel provided a bag full of money as promised, but the rabbit beastman refused.
Claiming he wanted more money.
Even though the promised amount was right, he demanded a larger sum.
The children whispered their dissatisfaction at the rabbit’s unreasonable behavior.
“There’s no reason for that.”
“That was bad, rabbit.”
The two of them engaged in a heated argument, and then the rabbit pretended to be generous and proposed.
[If you challenge me to a racing contest and win, I’ll give you this gem for free. But if you lose, you have to leave that money behind.]
Zel accepted the challenge.
The racing course was quite dangerous. It was full of perilous machines, and it wouldn’t be odd if someone got seriously hurt.
While Zel’s face hardened, the rabbit wore a sly smile.
“This is an unfair contest.”
“Yeah, look at that rabbit’s face.”
The children whispered quietly.
Bang.
At the sound of the starting signal, the children held their breath.
The rabbit was predictably fast. But Zel surpassed it with an even faster speed.
Zel emerged victorious.
“Damn it. This can’t be happening.”
The rabbit refused to accept the outcome and tried to turn back.
The children quietly fumed at his cowardice.
“That’s cowardly. You have to keep your promises.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
But Zel unleashed the shell on his back into the sky, expanding his territory and created a space around him.
The rabbit could not escape.
Reluctantly, the rabbit drew two daggers and charged, while Zel swung his fists.
The clash of daggers and fists began.
As the fierce battle continued, the children watched with intense focus.
“Go, Zel!”
“Yeah, you’re doing great!”
Meanwhile, from a distance, the brother sun and moon were watching the fight.
As the rabbit found itself in a disadvantageous position, it hurriedly contacted the clan of Heaven.
“What’s that?”
“What are they up to?”
The children were curious about the actions of the two brothers.
Anyway, Zel won the fight.
The children clenched their fists, their faces filled with joy.
But.
[That’s as far as you go.]
From afar, three hundred rabbit fairies arrived and launched an attack on Zel.
A life-and-death crisis.
The children watched anxiously.
I can hear whispers of “What now?”
Some children were even clasping their hands together in prayer.
In response to their expectations, Zel joined his palms together and stomped the ground.
Then, a gigantic door appeared behind Zel.
Through the door, Zel’s comrades gradually emerged one by one.
“““Oooooh.”””
The children silently cheered.
Thus, the two factions clashed in battle.
Buildings crumbled, the earth split, and the sky shook.
From nearby, I could hear the sound of someone gulping.
As the unending battle wore on, both sides began to tire, when something fell from the sky and landed.
As the dust settled, a lion beastman appeared.
[I’ve come to end this fight.]
That beastman resembled Red.
“Sister!”
“Big Sis!”
The children showed fervent reactions.
And the adults behind them too.
“Oh my, Red has appeared.”
“Hehe….”
The war between the two factions concluded with the appearance of Lion Red.
The rabbit was beaten up.
Zel returned with the gem, and the dragon king got his illness cured again.
Lastly.
With [Everyone, you must always keep your promises.] as a warm lesson, the video concluded.
The lights came on.
Thunderous applause erupted from the children.
Bada bowed her head, seemingly embarrassed.
It was worth the effort.
The two adults who watched quietly together remarked.
“The content was quite spectacular for a fairy tale.”
“As long as the children are satisfied, it doesn’t matter.”
That’s right.
While there were some excessive aspects for a fairy tale…
As long as the children were happy, that’s what mattered.
Hmm.
Should we try to expand this kind of Isekai literature widely?
Gray sat in a pew in the church.
He was looking at the materials in his hand.
It was a list of main characters created at Isaac’s request and information about a masked little child.
Since Isaac returned from the zoo, he had been obsessed with this child.
He even tried to kidnap the child, borrowing the power of the Cult of the Grim Reaper.
Isaac said.
This child is different.
Isaac had tried to uncover Lily’s secret but ultimately learned nothing and ended up dead.
“Hmm….”
There’s no need to listen to the words of a man who merely used someone.
Ignoring it and discarding all the materials would be fine, but…
Gray was slightly bothered by the masked child.
Why was Isaac so obsessed with Lily?
What did this child possess that could be so significant?
He had a hunch that revealing that secret could be quite beneficial.
But it was overwhelming to figure out how to approach it.
Red was right there.
If he approached the situation carelessly, he might get eaten before fulfilling his grand ambitions.
While worrying about who to entrust the job to…
Heavy footsteps approached.
“Seems you have a lot on your mind. Why not leave it to me?”
Gray didn’t bother to turn his face toward the familiar voice.
“Oh? You’re going to do it? What kind of feeling does a man who usually doesn’t move unless there’s a profit in it have to take action now?”
“I’ve heard. You’ve recruited the Seven Great Transgressions that fell due to prophecy.”
“And so?”
“I want to prove I’m better than the Seven Great Transgressions. To simplify, I want to overlap my goal with yours while we’re at it.”
Gray fell into thought.
The man beside him was a calculating individual who weighed his gains and losses, even though they were in a cooperative relationship.
It was suspicious that a person who never wants to incur losses would reach out first.
A suspicious smell was wafting around.
But.
“Sure, you should be able to handle that well.”
Gray did not refuse the man’s offer.
