The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl

Chapter 39: Fairy Tale

"Should we write it like this…?"

Shake shake.

"I think it would be better to develop this part like this…."

Nod nod.

While the children played in the yard, Bada and I were quietly creating a fairy tale together in a quiet room.

Just as Lena practiced her singing before performing in front of the children, Bada also created fairy tales for them to enjoy reading.

This time, Bada came to me first and suggested that we create one together.

Her small eyes were filled with anticipation.

I couldn't refuse when faced with such an eager gaze, so I accepted.

I wanted to make Bada’s world even more enjoyable.

Saying things like, "This would be better here," or "We should remove this,"

I gave her the best advice I could.

Her small hands moved busily, filling the once-blank white paper with black letters.

One page, then another.

The pile of paper grew steadily.

In this way, a whole new world was being created by the hands of a small girl.

Bada furrowed her brows in thought, striving to make the world even better.

When a great idea struck her, her eyes sparkled.

When she was satisfied with the result, a smile appeared on her face.

Bada was usually a quiet child when it came to emotions.

But now, at this very moment, just like when she was reading a book,

her little face vividly expressed her changing emotions,

and before I knew it, I found myself smiling.

Seeing that her bangs seemed to be blocking her view, I reached out to her forehead.

Gently, with my fingers, I brushed her blue bangs aside.

"Hyah!"

Startled by my touch, Bada let out a loud noise and jumped up.

The pen she had been holding tightly dropped to the floor, and she clutched her forehead.

"What was that all of a sudden…?"

Bada’s face turned bright red.

Wondering if she had a fever from exhaustion, I touched her forehead.

It was slightly warm—she might have a bit of a fever.

Well, she had been overworking herself lately with writing,

so it wouldn’t be surprising if her body had weakened.

Working hard was important, but resting was just as crucial.

Especially for children with weaker immune systems, taking care of their health was even more important.

I took her hand and led her to another spot.

Despite her flustered expression, I laid her down on the sofa and brought a blanket over to cover her.

"Eh? What is this…?"

I wrote on a piece of paper and showed it to her.

[Get some rest.]

"I'm fine, though…."

Shake shake.

I held up my index finger and brought it close to Bada’s face.

She looked troubled and tried to protest, but I crossed my arms in an X and shook my head.

Absolute rest.

Even when Bada pouted, I firmly refused and made her take a break.

To help her sleep, I gently patted the blanket covering her.

I wanted to sing her a lullaby, but since I couldn't sing,

this would have to do.

Bada’s face looked even more troubled.

Still, she followed my instructions and closed her eyes.

Of course, she occasionally peeked at me from under her lashes, but whenever our eyes met, she quickly shut them again.

In our silent battle of wits, I won.

Before long, Bada’s breathing became steady as she peacefully fell asleep.

Careful not to wake her, I stepped away.

I moved quietly, making sure not to make a sound.

‘It’s a bit messy… I should clean up a little.’

I neatly organized the pile of papers and cleaned up the scattered trash on the floor.

After finishing, I stretched my arms and body to loosen up.

Then, sitting at the table, I picked up the pen this time.

I read the fairy tale she wrote and draw illustrations that match the scenes.

To make Bada’s world shine even more.

My drawings gradually pile up.

Just as I was finishing the final page, I sensed a small presence.

"Wow~~ Did you draw all of this…?"

At some point, Bada had woken up from her nap.

She stood behind me, gazing at my drawings in awe.

Glancing back, I saw Bada with her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly agape, completely mesmerized.

Her eyes shimmered with tiny droplets, as if she were deeply moved.

"Thank you…."

Bada hugged me tightly from behind.

Ack?!

She squeezed my neck so tightly that I could barely breathe.

Loosen up a bit!

I tapped her small hands to let her know, but she must have misunderstood my intention because she only hugged me even tighter.

Ugh, my breath…!

Thankfully, before my face could turn blue, I managed to wriggle out of her grasp.

After that, I put all my effort into finishing the last part.

It took quite some time, but finally, the work was complete.

"We did it!"

Bada held up the finished book with a joyful voice.

Her face was filled with a bright, radiant smile—she looked truly happy.

As she gazed at the book with sparkling eyes, she turned to me.

Hugging the book tightly, she hesitated, her expression suddenly filled with worry.

"…Do you think the kids will like it…?"

Of course.

Hearing her uncertain voice, I nodded firmly.

At my confident response, her face brightened again.

After all, we had borrowed ideas from famous fairy tales I remembered from Earth, so there was no way it would fail.

…Probably?

Honestly, I was a little nervous about how well the story would adapt to this world, but I didn’t let it show.

The next day, the room was completely dark, with the lights turned off and the curtains drawn.

The children sat together, their eyes filled with eager anticipation.

Behind them, Red and Rene had also pulled up chairs to sit.

Despite being the star of the event, Bada seemed unable to maintain her composure now that it was about to begin—her legs fidgeted anxiously.

I placed a hand on her shoulder and gently patted her.

At my encouragement, Bada’s stiff expression relaxed slightly.

She took a deep breath and stepped forward with me in front of the children.

Today was the day we presented our creation.

Clap, clap, clap.

The children’s applause made Bada flinch in surprise.

To help ease her nerves, I lightly patted her back.

Bada cleared her throat, offered a brief greeting, and gave a short introduction to our work.

Then, she placed the book into a small mechanical device.

A sound emitted from the device, and light shone from its lens onto the wall.

Bada and I returned to our seats.

That machine was a device that converted books into moving images.

Just as audiobooks existed on Earth, in this world, there were machines that could automatically project books as visual stories.

It was an incredibly expensive item, but Red’s money had made it easy to acquire.

The numbers on the screen counted down, and soon, the story began.

[Once upon a time, in the days when tigers smoked pipes…]

A mechanical voice narrated, bringing the story to life.

The machine had captured my drawing style and was now displaying it on the screen.

[Somewhere in the city, in a noble family called Yonggung, lived a great tycoon, the Dragon King…]

The children watched the projection with eyes full of excitement.

This is how the story began.

The Dragon King fell ill and ordered his trusted Problem Solver, the terrapin, to retrieve the rabbit’s liver jewel.

The terrapin went to the appointed place and met a rabbit beastman who possessed the jewel.

As promised, the terrapin handed over a bag filled with a large sum of money, but the rabbit beastman refused.

He claimed it wasn’t enough.

Even though it was the agreed-upon amount, the rabbit demanded even more.

At the rabbit’s unreasonable greed, the children whispered their quiet discontent.

“That’s not fair.”

“The rabbit is bad.”

After a long argument, the rabbit pretended to be generous and made a proposal.

[If you race against me and win, I’ll give you this jewel for free. But if you lose, you must leave the money behind.]

The terrapin accepted the challenge.

The racecourse was incredibly dangerous, filled with hazardous machines, where serious injuries would be no surprise.

The terrapin’s face hardened, while the rabbit smirked slyly.

“This isn’t a fair competition.”

“Yeah, look at that rabbit’s face.”

The children murmured quietly.

Bang.

At the starting signal, the children gasped and held their breath.

As expected, the rabbit was fast.

But the terrapin was even faster, overtaking him at an incredible speed.

The winner was the terrapin.

[Damn it. This can’t be happening.]

The rabbit refused to accept his loss and simply tried to walk away.

At his cowardly actions, the children quietly fumed.

“That’s so unfair. He should keep his promise.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

However, the terrapin threw his shell into the air and deployed his domain, turning the entire area into his own space.

The rabbit could no longer escape.

With no other choice, the rabbit pulled out two daggers and lunged, while the terrapin countered with his fists.

Daggers clashed against fists.

As the intense battle unfolded, the children were completely engrossed.

“Terrapin, you can do it!”

“Yeah, you’re doing great!”

Meanwhile, watching the fight from afar, a sibling pair named Sun and Moon observed the battle.

As the rabbit began to lose, he hurriedly contacted the noble family known as Heaven.

“What’s going on?”

“What is he planning?”

The children grew curious about the siblings’ actions.

Regardless, the terrapin won the fight.

The children clenched their fists, their faces filled with joy.

But then.

[That’s as far as you go.]

From the distance, three hundred rabbit celestial maidens rushed in and attacked the terrapin.

A desperate crisis.

The children watched anxiously.

Some of them even muttered, “What do we do?”

One child clasped their hands together in prayer.

As if answering their expectations, the terrapin brought his palms together and struck the ground.

Then, a massive gate appeared behind the terrapin.

Through the gate, the terrapin’s allies began to emerge one by one.

“Ooooh.”

The children let out quiet cheers.

Thus, the two factions clashed in battle.

Buildings crumbled, the ground split apart, and the sky trembled.

Beside me, I heard the sound of someone gulping.

As the seemingly endless battle continued, both sides grew increasingly exhausted, when suddenly, something fell from the sky and landed.

As the dust settled, the figure of a lion beastman was revealed.

[I have come to end this fight.]

That beastman looked like Red.

“It’s unni!”

“It’s noona!”

The children responded with excitement.

And so did the adults behind them.

“Oh my, it’s Red.”

“Haha….”

The war between the two factions was concluded with the arrival of the lion, Red.

The rabbit was beaten down.

The terrapin returned with the jewel, and the Dragon King’s illness was cured.

Finally,

[Everyone, always keep your promises.]

With that heartwarming lesson, the video came to an end.

The lights turned on.

The children erupted into applause.

Bada lowered her head shyly.

All that effort had been worth it.

The two adults who had watched quietly from behind spoke.

“For a fairy tale, that was quite the spectacle.”

“As long as the kids enjoyed it, it’s fine.”

That’s right.

It might have been a bit excessive for a fairy tale.

But as long as the kids were happy, that’s all that mattered.

Hmm.

Maybe I should try spreading otherworldly literature like this?

In the cathedral, Grey sat on a pew.

He was looking through the documents in his hand.

They contained a list of key figures that Isaac had ordered to be compiled—documents about the small masked child.

Ever since Isaac had returned from the zoo, he had been obsessed with this child.

He had even tried to enlist the Grim Reaper Cult’s believers to kidnap her.

Isaac had said,

This child is different.

He had tried to uncover Lily’s secret but ultimately failed and died without finding anything.

“Hm…”

There was no need to heed the words of a man who had merely been used.

He could just ignore it and dispose of all the documents.

But Grey couldn’t help but feel a slight curiosity about the masked child.

Why had Isaac been so fixated on Lily?

What was it about this child?

A vague feeling told him that uncovering her secret might be of great benefit.

However, he had no clear way to approach the situation.

Red was right there.

If he made the wrong move, he might be devoured before he could achieve his greater goal.

As he pondered over whom to entrust with the task,

Step, step.

Footsteps echoed.

“You seem troubled. Why not leave it to me?”

Recognizing the voice, Grey didn’t bother turning his head.

“Oh? You? The man who never lifts a finger unless there’s money involved—what made you interested in this?”

“I heard about it. You recruited one of the Seven Deadly Sins who received a prophecy.”

“So?”

“I want to prove that I’m better than the Seven Deadly Sins. Simply put, my goal aligns with yours, so while I’m at it, I’ll solve your problem too.”

Grey fell into thought.

The man beside him was an ally, but an extremely calculative one.

A person who never made a move unless it was profitable was now offering his help first.

That reeked of suspicion.

But.

“Fine. If it’s you, you’ll do well.”

Grey did not reject the man’s outstretched hand.