I Thought It Was a Fairy Tale but the Genre Is Strange

The Cursed Kingdom

The being that saved me was a human. Not a talking animal, not a flying fairy, but a truly ordinary person. His name was Bogart. He introduced himself as a simple farmer. Ah, of course, he almost got killed by Ellis and Ariel before he could introduce himself.

Instead of becoming new cooking ingredients like the demon’s food scattered on the floor, I barely managed to calm the two down. I told them that the next place we were going was the kingdom, so they should gather ingredients there and prepare a meal.

Bogart, who narrowly escaped the crisis, explained why he had come here screaming.

“So, you came from the cursed kingdom?”

“Y-yes. Sniff, a monster suddenly appeared there and chased me, so I ran all the way here.”

He spoke while hiding his tears. The cursed kingdom was close on the map, but I couldn’t imagine how long the chase had lasted for him to come all the way to us.

Ellis was smiling, but her face was full of murderous intent.

“Heh, I see. But where is that great monster now?”

“W-what? It was definitely chasing me just a moment ago. I swear to God! It’s true! I can bet everything on it! It’s not a lie!!!”

Bogart shouted urgently. His desperate cry must have been due to Ellis’s murderous intent. If he did anything to upset her, he would be killed. Ariel crossed her arms and glared at him.

[We happen to be going to the cursed kingdom. Have you seen a black rabbit?]

“A r-rabbit?”

“Yes, a rabbit. Are your ears blocked? Should I clean them out for you?”

Ellis asked, thrusting a mace thicker than Bogart’s head at him. He trembled and quickly shook his head.

“No, I can hear you! I can hear you perfectly! A r-rabbit. Come to think of it, His Majesty mentioned seeing a strange black rabbit recently! A rabbit wearing a black hat and cloak!”

“Oh, that’s right! That rabbit! Do you know where it went?”

“I haven’t heard anything about its whereabouts since then. His Majesty might know! If you’re looking for that black rabbit, I can guide you to His Majesty!”

Ariel frowned even more, as if she didn’t like his words.

[How can a simple farmer have an audience with the king? Does that make sense to you?]

At that moment, the bushes beside me rustled loudly. A golden light burst out from within. I was momentarily blinded and couldn’t open my eyes properly, and I heard a loud, chilling roar. I didn’t know what it was, but it was definitely dangerous.

As I instinctively drew my sickle, a golden presence engulfed me.

“Ahhh!”

A sensation both plush and silky. What is this? I wondered, struggling to open my eyes to identify the presence before me.

There stood a creature, neither human nor animal. A beast with long, golden fur all over its body, its mouth gaping wide, filled with endless darkness.

“Roaaar!!”

“Ahhh! What is this now?!”

[Your Highness!]

The golden beast was struck by a deluge of water on its side and was thrown off.

“That, that thing! That’s the monster that was chasing me!”

“A fascinating monster, indeed.”

Thwack! Elise lightly swung her mace, striking the beast’s head. The beast’s head was driven into the ground, its body going limp.

Elise stared intently at the beast, presumed dead. The beast had a slash on its side, likely from ignoring my sickle and charging at me. Though it didn’t bleed.

[Your Highness, are you alright?!]

Ariel grabbed my face, turning it this way and that.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

My pronunciation slurred as my cheeks were tightly squeezed. After thoroughly confirming my safety, Ariel hugged me tightly.

[Thank goodness! I was so worried you might get hurt!]

“Impressive!!!”

Bogart not only knelt but also bowed deeply. We all looked at him in bewilderment.

“Why are you suddenly bowing?”

“That’s because you are more noble than I thought!!! Our kingdom is known as the cursed kingdom. That curse is the golden monster. No matter what we did, we couldn’t get rid of the monster, but you captured it splendidly, and very easily at that!”

A monster that couldn’t be captured no matter what? I glanced back at the golden corpse. Surprisingly, the monster’s corpse melted away and was absorbed into the ground, leaving no trace.

“Hmm~ No wonder it didn’t feel satisfying. It was a strange curse.”

“That’s right! You who have vanquished the curse in an instant are the hero His Majesty desires! The hero our kingdom needs! Please, I beg you. Save our kingdom from the curse!”

A sudden request. I felt a bit uneasy because I had been deceived by a pig before, but seeing a grown man shedding tears and snot, kneeling and bowing, I could tell how desperate he was.

I glanced at Ariel and Elise before speaking.

“Alright. We also need to meet His Majesty to find out the whereabouts of the black rabbit.”

Ariel and Elise didn’t object to my answer. Instead, they made a fierce threat.

[If you think of tricking us, I’ll rip your head off.]

“Yeah, we’ve been backstabbed once before. If you do that, I’ll extract your organs while you’re alive. It will be really fun, right?”

“H-Hiiik! I swear that will never happen!”

“That’s a relief~”

So, we followed Bogart’s guidance to the cursed kingdom. I asked, looking at his back as he walked with a light step, happy that he could now be freed from the curse.

“By the way, how did the curse come about?”

Bogart gave a bitter smile at my question. For a moment, the atmosphere turned somber, and I regretted asking, but he explained in a kind voice.

“It’s a very sad story.”

“I really hate it when people beat around the bush~”

When Elise swung her mace beside him, Bogart quickly snapped out of his sad expression and took on the posture of a brisk private.

“I’ll tell you right away! Eighteen years ago, His Majesty and the Queen had a beautiful daughter. She had golden hair. Suddenly, the most famous wizard in the kingdom, Godel, came running and said he felt the presence of a very evil being. He said that presence was coming from this child.”

Golden hair. Hmm, I’ve heard this story somewhere before.

“Godel said that this child was born with an immense power of curse. That power would gradually grow and bring disaster to the kingdom. The trusted magician, Godel’s words left Your Majesty and the Queen deeply troubled. No matter how they looked at it, their precious daughter was said to have a demonic power, and they couldn’t sleep at night. But then, something happened.”

Bogart spoke to us with a serious face.

“The nanny who was taking care of the princess was found murdered. And it was by the princess’s hand.”

[Oh! Surprise! A baby killing a nanny, shocking!]

“Heh~ Strong for a baby, huh?”

“A baby killed her?”

For some reason, Bogart seemed to enjoy our reactions. He nodded with a satisfied smile.

“That’s right! A child not even a few months old! She brutally murdered the nanny who was taking care of her! And with her golden hair, no less. Oh~ The sight was truly horrific. Limbs pierced by hair, eyes gouged out, that terrible scene is unforgettable!”

“Heh~ I want to see it too. So, what happened next?”

“In the end, the magician Godel took responsibility for the princess. He built a magical tower near the kingdom with no entrance or exit and confined the princess inside. Godel also stayed in the tower, suppressing the princess’s evil power and starting research to turn her back into an ordinary girl.”

Golden hair. Magical power. A curse. Is this Rapunzel? It’s different from what I know. In a bad way.

[From the story, it seems like it was resolved well? The princess is confined in the tower, so she can’t come out, right?]

Bogart shook his head with a gloomy expression.

“No. Somehow, the princess’s cursed power started appearing in the kingdom. As you can see from the golden monster just now, that’s hair.”

“Hair, you say?”

“Yes. It’s undoubtedly the princess’s hair. Although she is trapped in a tower with no way out, her hair seems to be an exception. Even now, the cursed princess’s power is spreading throughout the kingdom.”

Elise listened to the story carefully and tilted her head.

“Just kill her. Why don’t they kill her? No matter how strong she is, it would be hard to face the entire kingdom, right?”

At Elise’s words, Bogart had a meaningful expression. It felt subtly like he was smiling yet sad.

“That’s impossible. I told you they chose to confine her in the tower as a second-best option instead of killing her when she was young. Moreover, the tower has no entrance or exit.”

“Does that mean no one can enter the tower and there’s nothing we can do?”

“That’s right. No one could enter. The tower is surrounded by a barrier created by the wizard Godel. But if you, who have defeated the golden beast that no one else could handle, are different! I have a feeling you can pass through that barrier!”

Bogart smiled so widely that it seemed his mouth might tear, looking up at the sky.

“Well, it’s not wrong. Our master is the Black Reaper.”

Stop. Bogart’s steps halted. His eyes widened.

“The, the Black Reaper? Are you talking about the legendary Black Reaper?”

[Ahem! That’s right! Our prince is the Black Reaper! The one who will end all stories!]

“Ah, ahhh…”

Bogart’s eyes quickly filled with blood, and tears like chicken droppings flowed down. He smiled brightly, using all his facial muscles, as if he had fulfilled an old wish.

“Finally, the moment has come. Finally…”

I thought.

It’s a bit embarrassing to get such a reaction.