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

Episode 57 – Hansel and Gretel (11)

In the end, Gretel failed to send Alice home. And the cost was great. Her body, crushed and deformed beyond recognition, was left in a horrific state as she met her end. Honestly, I wanted to stop Alice from killing Gretel.

No matter what, having your hands stained with blood from killing a human was never a pleasant thing. But at the same time, if I didn’t kill her, there was no telling what kind of atrocious acts that cannibalistic witch would commit in the future. And above all, I felt I had no right to tell an Alice, who was in such extreme rage, to calm down.

Alice stood still over Gretel’s corpse. Her unfocused eyes stared into the void.

With the death of Gretel, the witch, the forest scenery shifted slightly. At the same time, the chirping of birds, which had been nowhere to be found, began to sound, and I realized that all of Gretel’s magic had been undone.

[Ugh. Dizzy. I was so happy, and it was just a dream? Major shock.]

Eriel, who had naturally woken from the dream, also appeared. She walked over, yawning widely as if still drowsy. What kind of dream had Eriel had? That me and Alice were returning home. And that Eriel would break the curse and get her voice back?

[Eek! What’s that corpse! It’s totally gruesome! There was another corpse on the ground earlier, what the hell happened!?]

Eriel was horrified at the sight of Gretel’s corpse. I painstakingly explained everything that had happened to Eriel.

[Huh! So the two corpses were Hansel and Gretel!? That’s a really horrible story! Prince, you must have suffered so much while I was gone!]

Eriel hugged my arm and clung tightly to me. She looked up at me with worried eyes, but one thought kept swirling in my mind. Eriel’s words, ‘horrible story’.

A horrible story.

Right. The story of Hansel and Gretel had become a horrible story. It wasn’t the happy ending I had sworn in front of Rapunzel. I succeeded in saving Adele, but Hansel couldn’t. Of course, there may be an argument here.

Hansel had been brainwashed by Gretel and forced to eat people and kill without hesitation. That is, he was guilty of murder. But since he was controlled by Gretel and it wasn’t his will, I see him as a victim too.

Therefore, dying like this was not a happy ending at all.

He should have lived. He should have escaped the endless hell and started a new life, atoning for the sins he committed, even though it wasn’t his will.

But he couldn’t.

Because I was weak. What good is a scythe that can cut through magic? The one wielding the weapon was pathetically weak.

If Alice had used my scythe, no one could have stopped her. The grim reaper who finishes stories? I’m not sure if I have the right. Why did the black rabbit choose me? Why was I drawn here to her?

I just feel pathetic.

“Siyu.”

Alice’s voice called my name. She dusted the blood off her hands and walked towards me. I could now roughly read Alice’s expression. She was angry with me too.

I replied calmly.

“Yeah.”

“Do you even know how many times this is?”

[What the hell is he babbling about with that fierce face! The prince needs to rest!]

Ariel, sensing something amiss, stepped between us, and Alice glared at her, eyes bulging.

[Hic! Jumpscare! Scary!]

“You stay out of this, little princess.”

Alice shoved Ariel lightly, and she went flying like a paper doll. Alice grabbed my collar and yanked me close. Her rough breath brushed against the bridge of my nose.

“This is the third time. The third time some other story besides mine has ended since I met you. You know that?”

“…Yeah.”

“You see, I thought I’d be able to meet that damn white rabbit again if I was with you? But why? Why, when I’m right here beside you…”

She crushed me in a hug. Alice’s tight grip choked the air from my lungs. If she wanted, she could crush every bone in my body right now.

“Why isn’t my story moving forward anymore? Huh?”

The pressure on my body intensified. But even so, the pain in my heart was greater than the pain in my body.

She desperately wants her happy ending.

Just like me, an ending where she goes home.

That’s why she followed me around endlessly, waiting. Even when other stories finished first, she kept waiting only for her story to end.

But today, because of the dream Gretel showed, she’s reached the point where it’s hard to wait any longer for her ending of going home. Yeah, she’s reached her limit.

She’s quite similar to me. Being dragged into this other world against our will, enduring every hardship, and wanting to go home.

The only difference is that Alice has been trapped here for over 20 years, and she’s lost all hope of ever going home.

If I were her, could I have held on? No, perhaps this is my future as well. The black rabbit said to end all the stories in this world. Meaning, I don’t know how many stories are left, and I could end up trapped like Alice.

“Huh? Just how long do I have to wait? Say something, you grim reaper. How long do I have to wait to go home?!”

*Splaash!*

The cold sensation of water splattering on my face hit me. Alice’s bright yellow hair hung limp. Droplets of water clung to the ends, dripping onto the ground.

[What are you doing? Do you think you can harm our prince? If you do, next time, I’ll blow your head off.]

Alice snorted and let go of me, then stared directly at Aerial, who was seething with anger.

“Heh, don’t think I don’t know you’re doing this because you want your story to progress faster.”

[Ridiculous! What are you talking about!]

“Hehe, what am I talking about? I’m telling you to spill your guts. Little princess, you’re in the same boat as me. You’re clinging to the grim reaper to end your own story, so why put on such an act?”

Aerial’s brow furrowed. Yet, her jewel-like eyes remained unwavering, fixed on Alice.

[Nonsense! I’m only here because Siyoo is my prince!]

“Kya-ha! Because that’s what you want, isn’t it! Siyoo has to be your prince for your story to end, right? Huh? What you really want is to break the curse, right?”

Alice’s words turned Aerial’s face crimson. She glanced at me, then grit her teeth.

[Shut your mouth, you crazy b*tch! I just love my prince!]

“You love him enough to break the curse, I’m sure. Kyaaruk, but the real question is, how long do we have to wait? Huh? Do you really think our stories will end if we just wait like this?”

Alice exaggeratedly shrugged her shoulders.

[I believe in Siyoo and love him. So, it doesn’t matter when the story ends, I’m fine!]

Alice’s body stiffened at her words.

“You’re fine?”

[That’s right! I already knew you were a crazy b*tch, but I didn’t think you’d be like this! I’ll cool that stupid head of yours myself!]

“Haa… You’re such a brazen liar.”

Alice’s hand rises. Water droplets begin to gather around Ariel. And I did the only thing I could.

“Wha, what the! Let go!”

[Panic! Embarrassment!]

Alice thrashed around, trying to shake me off, while Ariel just stood there grinning stupidly.

Each time Alice’s elbow slammed into my side, pain shot through me, like my ribs were about to crack, but I barely held on. And she was so incredibly strong, my body was about to fly off like a ragdoll, but I barely, barely clung to Alice.

That’s right. I was now in a full-on hug with both of them. A shoulder-to-shoulder level hug, and my body was wobbling around like a balloon doll because of Alice’s struggles, but still.

I can’t even begin to understand Alice’s feelings right now. Nor empathize. How can I claim to empathize without ever being in her shoes? I can’t even fathom the desperate struggle to survive in a strange world, the insane amount of time she’s spent consumed by the longing to go home.

Ariel, deep down, probably wants to achieve her goal quickly too.

“Alice, Ariel.”

That’s why there was only one thing I could do.

“I know I’m pathetic. Honestly, I’m probably not very trustworthy to you guys. And I can’t guarantee when I’ll be able to end your stories.”

“Yeah, you know that well!”

“So, I promise.”

Alice’s thrashing stopped dead. She reacted to the word promise.

“It might be impossible right now, but I will absolutely give your stories a happy ending. I promise with everything I have that you’ll be satisfied. Until then, it’ll be uncomfortable, but will you stay with me?”

[That’s a given! Our prince is so thoughtful!]

Ariel was cheerfully beaming and chuckling to herself on the side. And… wait?

“Whoa!”

I felt my body lift into the air, and then my vision instantly flipped, facing the floor.

*Thud!*

A dull ache pulses through me, radiating from my back.

A dark shadow blocks the warm sunlight. Elly crouches, looking down at me, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Heh, where’d that pathetic wimp get the serious face from, charging in like that? Well, fine. If my man’s gonna be all dependable, then~”

Elly smiles sweetly and flicks my nose.

“I’ll stick by your side till we get our happy ending.”

The sun is blocked, casting a shadow on my face, but in that shadow is Elly’s smile, brighter than the sunlight.