The Sequel to the Romance Fantasy Was a Zombie Apocalypse – Chapter 64

First, let’s address the fact that this fairy tale is way longer than expected.

Sure, there are long novels like Pinocchio aimed at children, but judging by the illustrations and writing style, it seems this book is intended for kids who have just started reading. But honestly, kids at that age would likely lose interest long before finishing such a lengthy tale.

Second, the twins’ anti-social behavior.

Sure, the goal of researching magic to make the world peaceful is admirable, but on their journey, the twins actually stole the dagger from the God of Adventures and committed the evil act of threatening the God of Peace to chase him away.

After going through all that, they dashed out into the world only to regret it when things didn’t go as they expected, showing a rather ugly dependence on the god…

Kids reading this fairy tale are unlikely to take away any lessons, they’ll just feel unpleasant.

Lastly, the hollow ending.

After developing the story in detail, at the end, the god suddenly appears and says, “Oh, the twins became stars~,” and that’s how it wraps up.

So my conclusion is… this is not a proper fairy tale.

I don’t know who made this story or for what purpose, but it’s disqualified even as a simple narrative, let alone a fairy tale.

…

“Phew…”

No, hold on. Let me calm down.

I got way too heated analyzing a children’s story without realizing it.

I could just dismiss it as a weird fairy tale, but nitpicking every insignificant detail is one of those bad habits of an otaku.

“Well, putting the story content aside, what’s more important is why this is here in Yuria’s bedroom.”

Not that there’s a child around the right age to read such a story.

Could it be that Yuria personally enjoys this kind of fairy tale…? Maybe her mother read it to her often when she was little.

“That can’t be it…”

Despite thinking hard, I couldn’t come up with any plausible theories, so I started flipping through the storybook quickly from the first page again to see if I missed something.

Just when I thought I was going to end up empty-handed flipping through to the last page…

Right before closing the book, I caught a glimpse of a hasty scrawl in black ink on the inner back cover.

The Fabrication of the Puppet Gods

“What’s this?”

I stared at the random sentence, looking up at the ceiling, then nearly pressing my face against it for a closer inspection, and even flipped it upside down to read.

There was nothing else. Just that phrase “The Fabrication of the Puppet Gods” was scrawled there.

Puppet Gods… I feel like I’ve heard that term somewhere before. When was that? Who said it?

“…Hmm…”

My intuition screams that there’s something significant about this phrase, but unfortunately, my lack of intellect can’t provide any evidence to back it up.

“Should I show it to Esmela?”

After wrapping up my search of the Prince and Princess’s bedroom, I wandered through the underground of Tulip Hall to seek out Esmela.

Unlike the upper floors, the basement was built from rough gray bricks with poor finishing, giving off vibes of a gloomy cellar.

Even the wooden doors had bars, which meant you could peek through to catch a glimpse inside, creating an ominous sensation as if being in a dungeon.

As I walked down the corridor, completely immersed in my melancholic thoughts, I ran into Esmela, who stood there with her arms crossed, glaring intensely at the wall.

“Young Lady, did you find the magic circle?”

“…Sigh. No.”

Upon spotting me, Esmela uncrossed her arms and let out a deep sigh, slumping her shoulders.

“Strange. Did they really move the passage to another building? That would be a hassle…”

“Why don’t you take a break for now? It’s getting late.”

“Should I…?”

Seemingly resigned, Esmela started to walk in the direction I came from.

“Oh? Piyo is here too?”

As Esmela moved, a small white bird became visible on the floor of the hallway. Had it been hidden behind her?

“Piyo!”

Upon seeing me, Piyo chirped happily once and flapped her tiny wings energetically, landing softly back onto my shoulder.

“Haha, it’s been a while. Where have you been? You flew off somewhere right after we arrived at the royal palace…”

“Chirp.”

Piyo seemed uninterested in explaining where she’d been.

It was just amazing how a bird the size of my fist could express emotions so vividly, just like a person.

“Have you two been hanging out all this time, Young Lady? When did you two become such good friends?”

“Who said that?!”

“What?!”

Both Esmela and Piyo shouted at the same time.

“Don’t get me wrong! That little thing just decided to follow me on its own!”

“Piyo! Piyo!”

“And ow!”

Not satisfied with just that, Piyo started pecking me relentlessly on the nape of my neck.

“Alright, alright! I get it!”

After I conceded, Piyo finally stopped pecking and took off from my grip, landing on the floor next to Esmela.

“Hmph.”

“Piyo.”

Then the two of them turned their backs to each other, crossing their arms in what looked like a choreographed move.

…Aww, they’re doubly cute, like this.

No, no, that’s not the point.

“By the way, Young Lady. While searching upstairs, I found this.”

I handed the storybook I had been holding to Esmela.

“What’s this… oh, it’s [The Twins Who Became Stars]!”

Esmela, who had been indifferent, lit up with a surprisingly rare expression of joy upon confirming the title of the book.

“I see you know about it.”

“Of course! It’s my favorite fairy tale.”

“You like this?”

It was hard to believe someone genuinely liked such a book.

Anyway, what did she find appealing about this story…?

“Isn’t it fascinating? Especially the part where the twins suffer in the outside world.”

“…”

Her taste is really…

“Oh, this version is a bit different from the one I have back home… Hmmm…”

Oblivious to my crumbling expression, Esmela had by now flipped the book open and began to admire it with interest.

“Uh, Young Lady?”

“Hmm?”

She was so engrossed in the fairy tale that she answered my call absentmindedly without taking her eyes off the book.

“Do you know anything about this story?”

“Well, not much is known about [The Twins Who Became Stars]. We have no idea who the author is, where it originated from, and even whether the twin sorcerers really existed or not. The only certain thing is that most versions currently in circulation were distributed by the Radain Church.”

“Radain Church?”

That was a completely unexpected name to come out of Esmela’s mouth.

“Yeah. Look here, in this part. It specifically mentions the suffix ‘God’ only when it’s referring to gods.”

Esmela pointed to a page where the God of Adventures appeared while holding the book with one hand.

“Oh, I see…”

“See? Honestly, I have no idea why the Radain Church spreads fairy tales like these.”

“Right? Stealing a god’s dagger and threatening another god with it…”

It’s one of those cheery stories that glosses over such serious issues with a bright tone and adorable illustrations, but when you think about it seriously, it could undermine the gods’ dignity.

“By the way, I’m really glad! My mother used to read this to me often before bed. There’s even one on the shelf in my library at the mansion. Unfortunately, I rushed out and didn’t get to bring it…”

Esmela, who was excited, reminded me of someone who just wanted to share their thoughts after watching a recent anime or cartoon.

Finding a new side of my favorite person made me feel a bit better too.

“By the way, where did you find this? Did you get it from the library? Or was it someone’s personal study?”

“Um…”

“…? What’s wrong?”

“Well… you see.”

Esmela seemed so happy that she had lost focus and forgot to mention where the story came from before that.

“Why can’t you say it?”

“Uh… in the bedroom.”

“In the bedroom? Whose?”

“The Princess’s.”

“…”

Caught off guard by the unexpected mention of the person, Esmela paused for a moment as if she couldn’t process it…

“What?!”

The word she spat out was a mix of shock and anger.

“What do you mean by this? If it was hers, you should’ve mentioned it right away!”

“Well, it’s just that you seemed so delighted that I lost my timing to tell you…”

“Uh! If I’d known earlier, I wouldn’t have even held this in my hands, that disgusting vixen!”

“Piyah!!”

As Esmela began to rant against Yuria, Piyo soared up and started pecking her head mercilessly.

“Yow! S-stop it! Renit, get this thing off me!”

For just under five minutes, the three of us—two people and a bird—were all tangled up in the middle of the hallway, launching a chaotic chase.

Esmela tried to escape Piyo, Piyo dodged my grasping hands while chasing Esmela, and I swung my arms in the air desperately trying to catch Piyo despite Esmela clinging to my back.

“Huff, huff…”

Finally, the chaos ended when I managed to catch Piyo with both hands.

“Piyah! Piyah!”

Even while being held in my hands with only her face visible, Piyo still wouldn’t settle down and kept struggling.

“…”

“You alright, Young Lady?”

“…Whatever.”

“Huh?”

“I’m done! No matter how hard I search, I see no sign of the magic circle, I thought I found a fairy tale I liked for once only to find out it’s Yuria’s, and now even this pathetic little spirit is bothering me! I’m done!”

Esmela vented all her frustrations before she puffed away down the opposite side of the hallway, unable to contain her anger.

“…Hey.”

“…”

Piyo, still in a huff, wouldn’t even glance my way to respond.

“…Sigh.”

For the first time, I felt an urge spring up deep within me to toss this little thing outside the castle walls.