Chapter 7

I spilled everything that had happened so far to Captain Hook and Ariel. About how I chased some weird black rabbit and ended up here, met Elise, witnessed a gruesome scene, and ran all the way to this place. I recounted every single detail with heartfelt frustration, adding that all I wanted was to go home.

The two of them looked utterly shocked. Captain Hook stroked his beard three times per second as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Unbelievable! That legend was true… And you actually encountered that crazy Elise?”

[Shock! Shock! The legendary Black Messenger was my Prince all along!]

Ariel covered her mouth with both hands and widened her eyes in disbelief.

“So, what exactly is this ‘Black Messenger’ thing? Elise also kept mentioning it while obsessing over something. I just came here because of the black rabbit!”

“Ho ho ho ho! If even the infamous Elise said that, it’s definitely true. There’s a legend in this Fable World: A chosen Black Messenger comes to kill the never-ending story. And the one guiding the Messenger is none other than the black rabbit.”

[Confirmed! The black rabbit exists! Shocking indeed!]

As I recalled the black rabbit mocking me and provoking me, I stared blankly at the two and asked:

“So, are you saying the black rabbit chose me as the Messenger who kills stories?”

“That’s right! You’re the Messenger! Finally, everything makes sense! Ho ho ho ho!”

“Eh… I don’t understand anything. What does ‘killing stories’ even mean?”

“In this world, there are countless stories that never end. Take Elise for example — she was accidentally dragged into this world as a child and searched for the white rabbit to return to her original world, much like you. But no matter how long she waited, not only did she fail to find any clues, but she couldn’t even deal with the Heart Queen hiding inside the castle. Eventually, she became a lunatic who freaks out at the sight of anything white. But think about it, Siyoo. According to what you said, didn’t the Heart Queen come out of the castle AND Elise killed her?”

I shivered as I remembered Elise laughing maniacally while mutilating the Heart Queen.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Ho ho ho! Exactly! This means your very existence is ending these stories! Because you were chosen as the Messenger and were around Elise, her story progressed toward its conclusion! That’s what a Messenger does—someone who moves stagnant stories forward and brings them to an end by any means necessary! Someone who leads stories to their death! That’s why changes have occurred to Ariel and me too!”

[Kyaah! Amazing! My Prince is truly extraordinary!]

Ariel hugged me tightly and rubbed her face against my school uniform. I was confused. So, the strange situation in this fairy tale land is that the stories are stagnant, but now that I, the legendary Messenger chosen by the black rabbit, have appeared, the stories surrounding me are progressing again?

What the heck is going on!

“Ho ho ho ho! You look incredibly confused!”

“Ugh, I just want to go home…”

“Do you have something specific you want to do when you get home?”

At his words, I hesitated for a moment. Then, I gently stroked Ariel’s red hair, which felt soft despite being damp from tears. It felt nice.

“Not particularly, but I still need to go home.”

“True. Home is important. I want to find my way home too. Maybe, in a way, we all just want to go home.”

[What’s he talking about? Captain Hook seems off…]

I agreed with Ariel’s unspoken question. His words were incomprehensible, like those painful high school literature questions where you have to guess the narrator’s intent.

“Ho ho ho ho! Young ones like you wouldn’t understand! Anyway, Siyoo, we saw the black rabbit you mentioned. Though we didn’t know it was a black rabbit at the time.”

“Really!? Which direction did it go?”

Captain Hook grinned and pointed toward the horizon. Though his lips smiled, his eyes glimmered with a madness similar to Elise’s, filled with years of resentment.

“It went straight that way. I was astonished—it dashed across the sea!”

[Agreed! Incredible speed! Never seen anything like it!]

It seemed endless. Did it really cross that distance? As I frowned and gazed toward the horizon, Captain Hook grabbed my shoulder and spoke.

“Siyyoo, you want to meet the black rabbit, right? To do that, you’ll have to cross the sea in the direction it went, won’t you?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Ho ho ho ho!”

Captain Hook laughed wildly, his eyes gleaming with insanity. On the surface, it seemed like a cheerful laugh, but beneath it lay an indescribable whirlpool of emotions.

“Then, how about we make a deal? I want to end my story—I want to retrieve my daughter from that damn Peter Pan. If you help me get her back, I’ll gladly lend you my ship and take you to the continent where the black rabbit might be. What do you say? Besides, you can’t possibly cross this ocean alone anyway. Even if you tried, Peter Pan would spot you and kidnap you.”

He’s right. There’s nothing I can do here. Swim across the sea alone? I’d drown instantly since I can’t swim. And there aren’t any usable boats nearby either.

In other words, I’m in a position where I have no choice but to accept Captain Hook’s offer.

“No thanks.”

“What?”

The hand gripping my shoulder twitched. Though his expression remained smiling, his eyes told a different story. They burned with an unquenchable flame of hatred directed at me.

“Why…”

“Because obviously, I intended to help you anyway. How could I just ignore a story like this? Besides, just being able to rest on your ship has been a great help to me. And since you said I’m the Messenger who ends stories, I’ll somehow help conclude your story too. So, I’ll help you without making it a deal.”

“You… Ho ho ho ho ho!!”

Captain Hook’s eyes regained their sparkle as he suddenly stood up and burst into hearty laughter, looking up at the sky. Ariel smirked and watched him, her eyes glinting in the sunlight.

[Captain Hook. Crybaby. My Prince is truly kindhearted.]

“Ho ho ho ho! Stop it! You’ve got a good heart, kid! More mature than me!”

He continued looking at the sky as he spoke. I smiled faintly at his figure. That’s when I noticed something flying in the sky.

A green object sprinkling sparkling dust as it flew, accompanied by a small creature doing the same. That was Peter Pan and Tinker Bell.

“Captain Hook! I knew you’d pull something like this!”

A boy who looked about 15, with an immature voice that hadn’t yet broken, shouted confidently. His voice was pure elementary-school-kid.

[Warning! Peter Pan! That damn kidnapper! Trash! Pervert approaching!]

“Damn brat, how dare you show your face here!”

“Haha! Flew here~ Not crawled, flew here~”

Wow, his tone is pure jammin’. I immediately wanted to punch that unlikeable jammin’ Peter Pan in the head.

He noticed my gaze and grinned mischievously at me.

“You there! Looks like you haven’t become an adult yet!”

“Uh, yeah, I’m 17.”

“Phew~ You were almost a terrible adult! Lucky you! My name is Peter Pan! I’ll specially take you to my kingdom, Neverland! There, you can stay a child forever instead of becoming a stupid adult!”

“Right, it’s the happiest place in the world!”

Tinker Bell crossed her arms and nodded as Peter Pan zoomed toward us.

“Alright, bring it on! Today, I’ll kill you and retrieve my daughter!”

[Absolutely not! How dare anyone try to take my Prince? He’s mine! No one else gets him!]

Ariel clung to my arm while Captain Hook desperately held onto my shoulder, begging me not to go.

“Ha ha ha ha! Unlike those ground-bound old fogeys, you’re a real kid! I like you! Come on, grumpy adults, scram~”

Peter Pan laughed obnoxiously as he enjoyed the moment. I quickly whispered to the two.

“Right now, the safest way is for me to go in and rescue Wendy. Since you two can’t enter Neverland, I’ll sneak in and bring her back here.”

[That’s dangerous! No one knows what could happen! No one has ever returned from there!]

The mermaid princess panicked and protested, but Captain Hook thought about my words and nodded after a moment.

“Could I ask this favor of you, Siyoo? Asking such a young person for help feels shameful, but…”

“What does that have to do with maturity? If someone has the ability to help, they should. And if someone needs help, they should ask. I’ll definitely bring Wendy back.”

“…Thank you. I’ll never forget this kindness.”

[I’m still against it! Too dangerous!]

Ariel clutched my arm tightly, trembling with fear as if we were saying goodbye forever. I smiled and reassured her.

“I’ll definitely come back and see you again. Let’s continue your story together. But right now, Captain Hook’s situation is more urgent, so I’ll go rescue Wendy first.”

[Stupid. Sadness. Regret.]

Princess Ariel bowed her head deeply, clenching her fists and shaking before suddenly grabbing my hand and handing me something.

It was a luminous pearl ring I’d never seen before, glowing with the colors of twilight.

[But I understand. Captain Hook must find his daughter. Since you promised, I trust you. This ring might help. Please promise to come back.]

I slipped the ring onto my finger and nodded.

“I promise.”

“Kya ha ha ha~ Feels great~ Hey oldies~ Stop bothering my new subject and hand him over!”

Peter Pan stood casually on the railing, arms crossed, shouting confidently. Captain Hook and Princess Ariel stepped back reluctantly, trembling with anger, as I approached Peter Pan.

“Hehe! Good choice.”

“Yeah, good choice.”

As Peter Pan took my hand, the magic powder swirling around him transferred to me, lifting me off the ground.

I silently vowed to myself: I will definitely re-educate this jammin’ guy.