Chapter 49

I ran following the fairies who were going ahead.

My breath is becoming increasingly labored. Rough breaths escape one after another.

“Haemi, you’re weaker than I thought. And your speed is slow too.”

Ari approaches from the side and chatters.

“That’s because I can’t fly.”

Perhaps due to their light bodies, their wing movements seemed especially lighter.

“Our wing bones get stiff when we fly for a long time too. In severe cases, muscle pain can even reach the shoulders.”

So having wings isn’t unconditionally good. Well, I suppose that’s true.

Wait a moment.

Then, do they move by wings more often than walking?

If so, would their upper body be more developed than their lower body?

The triangular body shape commonly seen in comics comes to mind.

Although such exaggerated differences didn’t exist, it overlapped with the appearances of those I had just encountered, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Snort.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, nothing… pfft.”

I can see Ari repeatedly tilting her head.

I barely contained my laughter by turning my head away.

“What’s wrong with this person?”

A male fairy with a peculiar way of speaking approached and asked.

“I don’t know. They suddenly started laughing.”

“Is it okay to let such a person into the village? Their mind seems a bit…”

The male fairy cuts off his words there and makes a gesture of spinning his finger next to his head.

“I can hear everything. I can see it all.”

The moment I said a word, he hastily covers his mouth.

“Oh my. How can you listen when we’re gossiping? You seem to lack a lot of sense. Please pretend you didn’t hear.”

Shortly after, he uttered slick words though.

“Turiggom! How can you be so rude to a guest!”

Ari placed her hands on her waist as if angry and blurted out.

By the way, his name was Turiggom.

It’s an unusual name. It seems like a name created in Korean, but it also had a foreign feel.

Are all fairy names like this? Then, do fairies not have surnames?

Should Ari be called by her full name, Choari?

That would seem a bit awkward.

While I was having these somewhat serious thoughts, Turiggom blurted out an excuse.

“It’s a joke. A joke.”

He sends a plea for help to me with his eyes.

“Pretend you didn’t hear.”

I activated “pretending not to know” as Turiggom had said, with sense.

“Eek! How can you do this now?”

“And why are you speaking formally to me?”

Ari speaks as if feeling hurt.

Then Turiggom’s eyes start to shake uncontrollably.

As if flustered, he begins to flap his arms vigorously.

“Huh? It’s not like that… You’re the village priestess, and I’m a soldier, so shouldn’t I speak formally?”

Ari purses her lips and shows signs of being very upset.

“You’re doing it again now.”

I could see Turiggom rolling his eyes vigorously.

What’s this? Is it a lovers’ quarrel?

I watched the two of them while trying to be as quiet as possible.

Usually, such things are most fun to watch.

I felt a small regret that it would have been nice to have popcorn.

[Anonymous Constellation 1 cheers while opening prepared popcorn.]

[‘The Owner of the Bookshelf with Nostalgia’ watches intently while picking up and eating the popcorn one by one.]

[Anonymous Constellation 3 expresses regret, saying they don’t have popcorn.]

[Anonymous Constellation 1 mocks Constellation 3.]

I moderately ignored the messages appearing and watched their lovers’ quarrel.

“We’ve been friends for a long time…”

Wow.

So they’re childhood friends. Quite a delicious setup.

Childhood friends’ pure love is delicious. That’s also a delicacy.

The knowledge I’ve built up reading web novels has already caught the delicious scent.

“Wouldn’t it be okay to speak comfortably when it’s just the two of us?”

Ari looks up at Turiggom with cat-like eyes.

Her moistened eyes are directed at him.

“Alright.”

Turiggom answered while ruffling his hair.

Then Ari smiles brightly and is delighted like a child.

“Hihi.”

“To think someone like this is a priestess.”

“What?”

There was something about their bickering play that made even the observer feel warm.

“Ah, we should move again now.”

Turiggom said while lightly pressing on Ari’s forehead, who was making small punching motions.

“Haemi, would it be okay if we start moving again soon?”

“I don’t mind.”

After taking a brief rest, we started moving again.

As we went deeper into the forest, scenery fitting the name “Sea Forest” was increasingly revealed.

If until now the forest characteristics were stronger, gradually sea-like characteristics were appearing.

Sceneries where sea and forest are appropriately mixed.

Corals shining on trees were serving as street lamps.

I can see fairies living by building homes in tree holes like squirrels.

The trees shining like Christmas trees had a strange charm that caught the eye.

Their chattering sounds were similar to birds’ chirping but weren’t that bothersome. They’re pleasant sounds like reed pipe melodies.

The fairies gathering and chattering seemed no different from ordinary people, except for their small size.

The way they moved around using their wings created an illusion as if I had entered a fairy tale.

Nevertheless, they were the appearances of ordinary people.

People living with free will.

The definition of NPCs that I had been holding inside was shaking and gradually being newly established.

Among them, there was a place that stood out.

I can see a fairy sitting like a grasshopper.

He was wearing a straw hat upside down, strumming a guitar, and singing.

He must be quite skilled, as there was a considerable crowd gathered around him.

The song flowing from his mouth, like that of a troubadour, contained some kind of story.

“Listen to the story the wind whispers,

The secret sleeping somewhere in the deep forest.

It’s a forest submerged in a woman’s tears,

A forest where sadness and beauty are intertwined.

Once that forest was full of life,

Birds singing and flowers dancing.

But the sobbing of a woman who lost love,

Finally calls the sea that consumes the forest.

Her tears flow to become a river,

Memories of loss that cannot be forgotten,

Have made even the deep-rooted trees quietly fall asleep.

Now their songs whisper under the waves.

The forest trees have become silvery coral,

Once clear leaves have changed to sea grass.

But in that woman’s tears, there is the power of life,

The forest will bloom again in the midst of sorrow.

Legends say, somewhere in the forest

There is a crystal tree grown from the woman’s tears.

That tree whispers to those who have lost love,

Unforgettable courage and hope.

Oh, do not forget.

The forest born from that woman’s pain,

Life that bloomed again through her tears.

The sea of the forest will say, every sorrow has an end.”

* * *

“The sea of the forest will say, every sorrow has an end.”

The story conveyed through song flows from the small screen in the palm.

Underwater tree spirits were a race obsessed with stories.

This would probably be because of their strong tendency towards seclusion.

Living only in a limited place, they hold fantasies about adventures.

It’s not strange that they were completely immersed in Haemi’s story.

Additionally, the fact that The Little Mermaid story was similar to the legend of the deity they worship would have played a role.

It’s a simple coincidence, but thanks to that, the story progression will proceed more smoothly.

It doesn’t have a big impact. In terms of a game, it’s just that the favorability has risen slightly.

I turned my gaze back to the phone.

I can see them slowly going inside.

Haemi, Ari, and Turiggom.

The player and the Tower’s residents.

The Tower’s residents are similar to NPCs but different.

As I said before, they are those who have been completely bound to the Tower.

The Tower was merely replaying a past where the future has already been determined.

No matter what ending a player creates, they are beings from a world that has already ended. It’s better to think of them as reenactment actors.

The residents lacked the existence of a soul that all living beings have.

“The Tower is a vast museum.”

There was no better expression for the Tower than this.

It’s a moment cut out from an actual event and preserved.

They will repeat that moment endlessly.

No matter what endings players produce, they cannot enjoy the moment after that.

Just as no one wonders about what comes after ‘They lived happily ever after’ at the end of a fairy tale.

The Tower doesn’t show what comes after.

It can’t show it.

Because they will continue to revolve within the cycle of time.

“They’re just simple dolls. Just toys without souls.”

I nodded at ‘Time’s’ calmly uttered words.

Yes, they’re just excessively vivid dolls.

A world where imagination and reality are mixed, a world where the distinction between real and fake becomes faint.

Perhaps because of that, I keep getting immersed.

I need to distinguish clearly. That’s the only way to endure this world.

One had to continuously define concepts and make clear distinctions.

“Sigh.”

With a sigh, I deliberately cut off my attempt to proceed to deeper thoughts.

Three silhouettes entering the village come into view.

One person and two dolls.