Ch.213Putri’s Stage (17)

# 213. Putri’s Stage (17)

The operation was complete. We had mapped out our movements and practiced them. We even considered Plans B and C in case the operation hit a snag. Since this was approaching the finale, and we’d have to face that Putri bastard right after, we exercised the utmost caution.

But….

“When the hell is this stepmother bitch coming?”

“I know. She should be here by now.”

The stepmother wasn’t showing up.

I didn’t know exactly when she would appear, but she should have shown up by now, yet there was no sign of her.

This was true even considering that the dwarfs had met me in the forest directly instead of going to the mine, which meant we had encountered each other earlier than in the original story.

“The stage hasn’t broken down, has it?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Should we go scout?”

“With this sluggish body? That’s a bit…”

“Ugh, this is frustrating.”

“Oooh, my stomach is starting to hurt…”

“The big one?”

“Hey!”

“Quiet!”

We thought she’d come within an hour, but it had been over two hours, approaching three, and still no sign of her.

Naturally, we couldn’t maintain tension for that long. My squad members—spiritually young, strong women but physically ordinary dwarfs—started to sprawl out one by one.

“In games, animals go crazy when they see the stepmother in cutscenes. Like they can sense with their animal instincts that ‘Ah, this old hag is an evil hag.'”

“And Snow White scolds the animals like ‘You rascals!'”

“So maybe if animals start going wild, it means the stepmother is coming?”

“Where are these animals anyway?”

“I don’t know either!”

“Sigh.”

We wondered if the stepmother wasn’t coming because the dwarfs, who should have been working in the mine, were holed up at home. But at this point, showing anxiety and overturning our plan would be the worst move. So the squad members decided to take turns resting.

“Sunghyun, you should rest too.”

“I’d like to, but this body is quite weak. If I rest now, I might pass out completely.”

I felt like I’d sleep for half a day if I lay down and closed my eyes, so I just sat leaning slightly. While two people each watched from the first and second floor windows, the rest chatted to kill time.

We had shared most of our experiences in this stage on the first day of our reunion, but…

“Hey, oppa.”

“Hm?”

“How does it feel to be empty down there?”

This kind of “small talk” was a first, and with Yuri speaking in a gruff voice with a bearded dwarf face, it felt like sexual harassment.

Plus, calling me “oppa” with that appearance and voice. Even knowing it was Yuri, it gave me the creeps every time.

“Yuri.”

“Eek!”

Fortunately, Seyeon the restrainer was beside me, preemptively blocking Yuri’s nonsense. Still, I couldn’t completely ignore her or she might get upset, so I answered.

“Being a woman is quite uncomfortable, I find.”

“Really? For real?”

“Yeah. Even doing the same things seems harder, and I get depressed more easily. I also feel people’s gazes more intensely.”

“Ohhh.”

Of course, feeling gazes more intensely was probably because Snow White was the most beautiful woman in this world. My women probably experienced similar gazes back in Korea too. It was something I, a mere ordinary office worker, couldn’t imagine or understand.

“I know, right? People glancing at you just while walking. I mean, I have a good face and figure, you know?”

“That’s true.”

“Especially since I go to the gym, where I have to wear lighter clothes even if I try to cover up as much as possible. Then, shit, the real gym rats just glance and focus on their workouts, but those people are the minority. From their perspective, they’re just looking and what’s wrong with that, but from my side, it feels really uncomfortable and annoying. So I can’t really say anything either. Unnie, you know what I mean, right?”

“Yeah. Women do look at handsome men too, but we don’t stare at their lower parts. At most, we look at their face, overall style, and height. But men look at face, chest, butt, legs… it feels like being tickled all over.”

“You get used to it after experiencing it so much.”

“Just when you think you’re getting used to it, someone confesses or tries to pick you up.”

If I had been the same age as Seyeon or Yuri, attending the same university and running into them every time I went to class… I probably couldn’t have suppressed the instincts and creepiness of a man in his early twenties. Not just them. Subin, Soyu noona, Arang, and Yehyun noona—they were all eye-catching beauties, just with different maximized charms and types.

When I was a man, I just thought they were pretty and that was that. But if we ever returned to Korea, I’d probably worry every time they went outside.

“Ah, is that being too possessive?”

“Hm? What is?”

“Just had a happy little daydream.”

The two laughed heartily when they heard my thoughts. They hugged me, saying how cute I was for thinking that way, and I literally almost suffocated to death. Their scent was nice, but honestly, the dwarf smell wasn’t exactly pleasant, even as a white lie. Still, I stayed quietly in their embrace, feeling the subtle trembling in their bodies.

Then suddenly, their laughter and my screams stopped almost simultaneously.

“…Sigh. Oppa.”

“Yeah?”

“We’ll be able to go back, right?”

I didn’t mention the impossibility, the difficulty, the uncertainty. The maknae duo weren’t idiots. They weren’t asking because they didn’t know.

People sometimes ask questions even when they already know, even when they’ve already decided on an answer.

It wasn’t a question but a confirmation and a wish.

So I included what they wanted to hear in my answer.

“We’re already at Putri. We’ll soon see Mensima, the prime suspect… Since we were kidnapped here, it should be possible to be sent back to our original world.”

Even then, I couldn’t give 100% certainty, which was just like me.

“Yes. If you say it’s possible, then it must be!”

“I believe you. I’ll stay strong till the end.”

The two regained their spirits just from those words. At that moment.

“She’s here!”

“The stepmother is here!”

“Shh! Everyone gather!”

“As quietly as possible!”

“Everyone grab your tools!”

Our comrades on lookout all rushed toward us. The stepmother had appeared.

“Where is she?”

“She’s an old woman so her pace is slow, but at her current speed, she’ll be here in about 10 minutes.”

“Okay. Everyone stay calm and follow the plan.”

“Roger!”

**

‘The potion’s side effects are this severe? I’ll have to cut funding in half when I return. Useless thing.’

The queen, transformed into an old woman, gritted her teeth at the pain rising from her feet, knees, waist, and all over her body. The court magician had earnestly warned her to be careful since forcibly changing the body would put strain on it, but the queen was fundamentally self-centered and inconsiderate.

She was the type of person who took credit for good things and blamed others for bad things. The frightening part was that her blame didn’t stop at just blame…

‘I should have drunk the potion after coming in a bit further.’

Though she was that kind of queen, there was no one by her side now to endure her irritation and help her. She had strictly ordered everyone to stay away, knowing it was beneath her dignity.

Why did the basket with just a few apples feel so heavy? Her shoulders ached, and her hands hurt.

And thinking that she was enduring all this pain because of that lowborn girl made the queen feel sick to her stomach.

“For now, it’s that lowborn girl…”

When she returned, she would personally hunt down the hunting dog who dared deceive its master.

With that determination, the queen continued walking stubbornly until she finally spotted a small, shabby two-story house.

She inwardly sneered, thinking it fitting that the lowborn had fled to such a suitable dwelling. The queen took a deep breath and composed herself.

From now on, she needed to smile brightly at that lowborn thing. She needed to speak kindly.

Just thinking about what she had to say made her anger rise again, but the queen wasn’t someone who couldn’t endure small discomforts for a greater goal.

“Hehehe.”

Her laugh, which once sounded refined and sensual, had now transformed into an unpleasant, eerie cackle without her realizing it.

Standing in front of the two-story house’s main door, the queen did something she had never done in her life.

Knock, knock-knock-

She politely knocked on the door.

An action completely unsuited to the queen, who always either called for someone or entered regardless of who was inside.

Her bony fingers trembled slightly when they touched the wooden door, but she quickly composed herself.

Soon, a young woman’s voice was heard from inside.

– Who is it~?

Hearing that young, pretty, gentle, and pure voice made her anger rise again. While she had this unpleasant old woman’s voice, someone else had such a young and beautiful voice!

It was the mindset of an evil woman who didn’t care at all that she was using dirty tricks herself.

“Hehehe. Is anyone home? I’m just a humble peddler, would you like to see my wares?”

Yet her meticulous personality hadn’t gone anywhere, and she delivered her practiced lines without mistake this time…

CRASH!

“Surprise, motherfucker!”

What burst through the door wasn’t the lowborn girl, but a bunch of dwarfs.