Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time.

"Is something wrong?" Leviart tilted her head, puzzled by my reaction. A question mark might as well have been floating above her head as she tugged insistently at my sleeve, urging me to explain.

Fuck.

My body had locked up completely. I couldn't move a muscle. In that split second where my mind went blank, one thing stood out with painful clarity.

This is even worse.

I had no idea how the world was conspiring against me, but the moment this girl named Leviart went on a rampage, nearly half of humanity would perish.

I didn't know because I was locked in prison.

Even if this was a possession story, it made sense that being trapped in a cell meant having no clue where—or what—you'd possessed into. I had to think rationally. Rationally. I couldn't afford to waste any more time. Leviart's brow was already furrowing with growing irritation.

"Ah, I just thought it was a unique name…."

"Really?"

"No, not unique. More like… special. It'll be easy to remember, haha…."

I scratched my head and forced an awkward laugh. Leviart seemed to mull it over for a moment before crossing her arms and nodding in understanding.

"Well, when I look at the other humans…."

"It'll be easy to remember. That's good."

Leviart. Since I already knew the name, it was easy to remember. I'd sort out my thoughts later. Right now, the priority was building favor with this final boss. My goal hadn't changed.

No. If anything, I might need to build even more favorability.

I couldn't recall the details clearly, but Leviart's eventual rampage had roots in some kind of past trauma. Raising her affection might be the key to preventing it. Or was I overthinking this?

"I've eaten dinner now, so I'm going to sleep."

Leviart grabbed my hand and pulled me along. Her light, bouncy steps were full of energy—she seemed to be in a fantastic mood.

The happier she gets, the more my insides twist.

Especially after witnessing that grotesque meal and the head-removing spectacle earlier.

The place she led me to was an ordinary bedroom. Well, the interior was more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠normal than I'd expected.

"This is it!"

Leviart spread her arms wide like she was showing off a treasure. A bright smile lit up her face. Looking around, the room was fine aside from the distinctly antique ornaments.

Wait a minute.

Couldn't I just escape while she was sleeping?

"You can sleep here."

"Where does Leviart sleep?"

A spark of hope had flared in my chest, but—

"I'll stand right next to you. I don't sleep!"

Leviart's cheerful declaration instantly snuffed out that hope.

"Ah…."

So I was expected to sleep in the same room as a girl who'd sliced up multiple people? Even if we weren't sharing a bed, the fact that she didn't sleep meant I wouldn't be able to. Or maybe there was still a chance. She said she didn't sleep, but perhaps she could.

"Why don't you sleep?"

"Nightmares are scary."

Leviart lowered her eyes as she spoke, fidgeting. Her darkened expression seemed genuine.

"…."

It was absurd hearing the final boss say she was scared of nightmares.

Fine. Let's give up.

I'd just focus on steadily raising her favorability. So fun! Haha….

I hid my despair behind a forced smile and nodded in understanding.

"I see…."

"But when I'm awake, I don't have nightmares. I don't cry. And since big brother is here, I'm not scared anymore."

"That's nice."

It really wasn't. Damn it.

Still, I scanned the room under the pretense of looking for an escape route.

Hmm?

There was a whole pile of fairy tale books. In this medieval world, illustrated books were rare enough to stand out immediately. Curious, I picked one up.

"Hmm…."

"Wow, it's a strange picture book!"

Leviart bounced on her toes with excitement. Her eyes sparkled brightly—she looked thrilled.

Picture book?

Not a fairy tale? When I glanced at her with confusion, Leviart pouted her lips slightly and spoke in a gloomy voice.

"I can't read…."

"Really?"

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. She couldn't read. Given everything else that was strange about her, this barely stood out, but still. She couldn't read, yet there were fairy tale books in this ancient castle. She seemed to possess human common sense, yet lacked it at the same time.

It's like she's just imitating.

There had to be a reason Leviart was copying human behavior. But this wasn't the right time to ask directly, so I'd leave it as a lingering suspicion for now.

As I tried to move on from the books, something occurred to me.

Now ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that I think about it.

Leviart looked like a child on the outside. Even if that wasn't true on the inside, she clearly showed interest.

"Shall I read it to you?"

"R-really?!"

It was the perfect way to build favorability in another sense. As expected, Leviart's eyes widened. The bright smile that followed somehow warmed my heart. She'd never expressed her emotions this openly before.

Of course, this could all be an act too.

There was no reason not to.

"I'll read this one."

I picked up the worn fairy tale book. Leviart nodded vigorously, eyes sparkling. I sat on the edge of the bed. I'd assumed she'd sit beside me.

Uh….

Leviart hopped up and plopped herself onto my lap. While I sat there stunned—

"Read it to me."

Leviart looked up at me expectantly. She was already so excited her legs swung back and forth.

Well, whatever.

It was a picture book after all. Sitting like this made it easier to show the illustrations. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠That said, I wasn't comfortable with it at all.

"Monster?"

"Yes. One with long horns. And lots of eyes."

Could a fairy tale book really feature something that looked like that…?

"That's strange. It's cute though… a monster? I thought the same thing when I looked at the picture book."

Leviart tilted her head. I was dumbfounded. This was cute? Levi, your sense of aesthetics might be completely shattered.

"Still, it's written as a monster."

"Okay! I understand."

I kept reading. The next page showed a princess trapped in a tower. Why were princesses always stuck in towers?

"The princess is so pitiful."

Leviart drooped her shoulders, looking gloomy. This was why people read fairy tales to children—the reactions were so immediate and genuine. It was better than I'd expec—

Fuck. What am I even thinking?

Anyway.

"Yeah, the princess is crying."

"We have to help the princess."

Right. Was a prince on a white horse going to show up?

This is weird….

If the monster hadn't trapped the princess in the tower, but she was imprisoned there anyway… I turned the page. This time it showed the monster heading toward the tower at great risk.

Oh. So the monster was going to rescue the princess? If it was something like Beauty and the Beast, that might make sense.

"The monster looks sad somehow."

Leviart tapped the illustration as she spoke.

"Does it? It looks the same to me."

"Look closer. The monster is sad."

"I don't see it."

I shook my head. A monster was a monster. How was it supposed to express emotions? Leviart puffed out her cheeks and shot me a sharp glare.

"Big brother is dumb."

"Huh?"

"The monster is crying tears."

I didn't see any tears at all. I wanted to point that out, but I continued reading instead.

It was an illustration of the prince drawing his lance and shouting.

What the hell?

Kingdom's land? Was this really a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fairy tale book? Well, this was a medieval fantasy world… Still, how bold did a prince have to be to draw his lance in front of a monster like that?

"The prince is bad."

Leviart wore an angry expression.

"Yeah, the monster seems to have a good heart."

The book had been written to make the reader empathize with the monster. The prince was probably the villain standing in the way. Unlike typical fairy tales.

"I can see it. I didn't know he was a prince, but he's a bad person."

"…."

I had so many things I wanted to say. The monster coming to the kingdom's territory must have been a serious matter. The one truly risking death was the prince. Because it was written from the monster's perspective, it was hard to empathize. My nitpicking kept increasing.

"How does the monster look on this page?"

I was suddenly curious. Leviart seemed to view things differently from me. The monster had looked the same from beginning to end, but—

Leviart gave me a puzzled look, as if wondering why I was asking.

"It looks sadder than before."

"Really?"

Leviart nodded and added, "The monster is scared."

"Of what?"

"I don't know. But I can tell. It doesn't want to hurt that prince."

I couldn't understand the monster's perspective at all.

Is it because Leviart is a monster herself that she can understand it?

I had no idea. Not knowing how the story would unfold, I turned the page out of curiosity.

"Huh?"

I let out a sound of confusion immediately.

The monster lay collapsed and bleeding. It was far too cruel for a fairy tale.

"What kind of story is this?"

"Maybe we shouldn't read any more…."

Leviart puffed her cheeks out like she'd sulk if I stopped. I stared at the book with a bewildered expression before looking back at her. Her yellow reverse eyes met mine. With a trembling voice, I continued.

"He's dead?"

"…."

I nodded blankly. What the hell were the princess and prince supposed to be? Had the monster just been used and discarded? The back of my head tingled. It was only a fairy tale book, but because of Leviart, the shock hit much harder.

"I see."

Leviart smiled bitterly. I stared at her face, momentarily dazed.

She's not angry….

It was an expression of understanding.

Leviart climbed down from my lap.

"The monster was dead."