Fairy Tale
Fairy Tale.
Fairy tale.
Fairy tale, huh.
Fairy Tale?
Assimilation?
Copper coin?
No, wait. Fairy tale. The kind parents read to their kids so they grow up right.
Believe it or not, considering my past, I actually have heard a proper fairy tale before.
Cinderella.
It was my mother's favorite.
Looking back, I guess she saw me and my father as the glass slippers, and money as the prince.
Honestly, I never really liked that story.
It's just... she got lucky, snagged a guy, and her life did a complete 180. Wow, good for her. Good for her. Medetashi medetashi.
I never liked stories like that.
An unhappy life, then fortune comes and turns it around.
She suffered through no fault of her own, but by sheer luck she meets a fairy, by sheer luck she steals the prince's heart, by sheer luck the prince finds her, and she lives happily ever after.
You could say, "She was unhappy, so what's wrong with her getting lucky?"
That's exactly why I hated it.
Because I had nothing.
Because I was unhappy too.
It felt like it was giving me false hope that luck would eventually come my way.
I hated it.
Well, the biggest reason was probably just that it was my mother's favorite story.
"Well, there is a problem, Professor."
"Yes?"
"I don't really like this story."
"Is that so?"
"Yes."
"That's a bit of a problem. I don't know any other fairy tales."
There aren't many well-known fairy tales in this world. I guess that makes sense, since if a story gets too famous, it becomes a Constellation. Even fictional beings can become Constellations, and once they do, they wouldn't let their own story, which reveals their weaknesses, just float around the world.
"But Professor, why did you suddenly want to tell a fairy tale?"
"Fairy tales contain many things. Fairies appear, villains appear, protagonists appear. When you tell a fairy tale to ordinary children, most of them want to be like the protagonist. But spirits are different."
She closed her eyes for a moment, as if thinking.
"They are drawn to something. To what they want to become. To their origin. To their desire. They look at their role in the whole story, not just the protagonist. Surprisingly, most spirits don't want to be like the protagonist. They are drawn to other things."
"I see."
"And besides, wouldn't a young spirit like fairy tales?"
A silence followed, as if she was wondering what to do between us. The professor spoke first.
"I have a good idea. Let's adapt it. The story you know."
"Is that allowed?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
I guess she had a point.
"Then I'll go get a blank book."
I looked at her with a questioning gaze, wondering if she really had to go that far.
"Because even a slight difference in the description or dialogue of a supporting character, compared to the protagonist, can corrupt the originally intended character."
So it's better to leave a record so it doesn't get corrupted. She added this and then disappeared.
Adaptation, huh.
I wonder how I should do it.
Maybe my twisting of the future in this world is also a kind of adaptation.
As I was pondering, she returned with several blank books, breaking my train of thought.
"I brought them. I brought several, so try writing whatever comes to mind first, and then we'll think about it."
She and I put our heads together and adapted the original story.
"Is it really okay to change it that much?"
"It's fine. The rule is, you just go for it."
"Then how about changing this part like this?"
"If you're not satisfied with this, let's just scrap this part entirely?"
"We don't even need a heroine. Let's just go for it."
"Oh ho, so does this character die?"
"It's a fairy tale, wouldn't it be better if they lived well rather than died?"
"I guess you don't have a problem with this kind of thing."
"Is this right?"
"What does it matter? There's no rule against it."
"What are you doing?"
"Adding illustrations."
"You can draw too? No, wait, you're actually pretty good."
"It's a hobby, and it serves the purpose."
No, thinking about it now, the professor just egged me on from the sidelines. I did almost all the adapting myself.
And the fairy tale that was completed...
Uh...
It turned into something that made me want to apologize to the original author of Cinderella. Whoever that was.
No, wait, I felt like I shouldn't even use the name "Cinderella" anymore. The only thing left of Cinderella was the name "Cinderella."
"It's finished."
"Let's do it again, Professor. This feels a bit wrong."
"As your co-author, I veto that."
I tried to snatch the book back, but if I couldn't even win against Estelle, there was no way I could hold my own against the Professor.
"Luna, sorry for the wait. This is a gift for you."
The professor gave Luna the book she had taken from me. The book that shouldn't be called 'Cinderella', the one where I didn't just adapt the content but completely created new content.
The title was that. I wrote it right before she took it.
Luna opened the book and started reading it out loud...
"Reading it out loud..."
My shout was blocked by the professor's hand, turning into something formless that couldn't even become words.
[Once upon a time, there was a kingdom.]
[The kingdom was safe because it had a royal family who received the power of the sun to repel the monsters that invaded from outside.]
[However, Cinderella, the daughter of the first queen, could not do this. The children of the second queen could properly handle the power of the sun to repel the invading monsters, but Cinderella could not handle the power of the sun, so she was not treated well.]
[So Cinderella prayed every day. She prayed every morning. Even though it felt like her eyes would go blind from the blazing sun, she still prayed.]
[And so, one year, two years, three years, four years... Time passed. Time passed, but her prayers were never answered even once.]
[Cinderella grew tired. Her eyes felt like they were going blind, but no answer to her prayers came back, and she could no longer endure the persecution of her sisters and the nagging of the second queen.]
[So she no longer prayed to the sun. Instead, she began to take an interest in the moon, which was not as bright as the sun, but because of that, she could see its true form.]
[Cinderella said, 'Moon, there was an invasion again today. I tried to fight as well, but it was meaningless. My sisters are right. I am nothing but a disgrace who can do nothing.']
[The Moon answered her sorrowful voice. 'But you did not back down, did you? The heart to step forward for others even without power is not something just anyone can have. I don't have much I can give you, but take this bow.']
[The Moon gave Cinderella a beautiful bow made of glass. The bow made of glass sparkled with a pure white light in the moonlight.]
[The Moon continued. 'It can only display its true power when I am in the sky, but it is still better than having nothing.']
[Cinderella thanked the Moon for listening to her lament and returned to her room.]
[Just as Cinderella was about to sleep.]
[A loud sound was heard. 'An evil dragon! An evil dragon has attacked!' It was something that should not have happened according to their common sense. All monsters only invaded in the morning. And it was a crisis. The royal family's power could only be used in the morning.]
[The royal family said, 'Everyone, pick up your weapons! Shoot that evil dragon! If we hold out until morning, we can win!' Hearing this, the soldiers all raised their weapons and fired at the dragon.]
['Kiyaaak-' The dragon roared from the attack, and the enraged dragon breathed fire at the kingdom.]
[The dragon was strong. The front lines were pushed back in an instant by the dragon's attack, the people trembled in fear, and the royal family hurriedly tried to flee.]
[But then, Cinderella walked in a direction no one else was going. Carrying the glass bow.]
[Cinderella drew the string of the glass bow, using the moonlight as an arrow. And she shot the arrow at the dragon flying towards the kingdom.]
[The dragon, hit by the arrow, crashed to the ground.]
[Then the king quickly returned and said to Cinderella, 'I knew you could do it. Finishing off the monster is the duty of the one who contributed the most. Go and cut off that evil dragon's head.']
[Hearing this, Cinderella approached the place where the dragon had fallen. The dragon was lying there, defeated.]
[If Cinderella cut off this dragon's head and returned, everyone would acknowledge her and welcome her. She would finally receive the recognition from her family that she had so desperately wanted.]
[But Cinderella asked, 'Can you tell me why you came to the kingdom?']
[To this, the dragon answered. 'I was so lonely and so hungry. I'm different from the others, so I can't be active in the morning. But the kingdom looked so bright and beautiful.' Tears were welling up in the dragon's eyes as it spoke.]
[Hearing this, Cinderella approached the dragon. 'Then come with me. I'll stay by your side so you won't be lonely.' Saying this, Cinderella healed the dragon's wounds.]
[Cinderella said, 'My name is Cinderella. What's your name?' The dragon answered. 'Rune.']
[No one knows what lies ahead on their journey. At the very least, there will be no grand feasts, no crowds of people, no wealthy home. But they flew through the night sky, bathed in the light of the white moon.]
Ah.
Fuck.
"Seoha student?"
"Please don't talk to me."
"I thought it was a pretty good story."
"Please don't mention it."
What's good about it.
It's so fucking embarrassing.
I just did whatever I wanted, egged on by the professor who told me to do whatever I wanted, and this is what was born.
And on top of that, I had to listen to it being read aloud right in front of me.
My face is still burning.
It's just a childish story.
On top of that, I was just following fairy tale clichés, but then I felt like shit and drifted the ending.
Honestly, isn't it a bit much? You treat her like garbage the whole time, and then she has one moment of glory and suddenly the treatment changes?
There's nothing left that's the same as Cinderella except the name. This isn't even in the category of adaptation.
The length is fucking short too.
The cast is fucking small too.
"Luna? What did you think after reading it?"
"It was fun!"
"Please, just stop."
Now with Luna joining in, I was being publicly executed, and I clutched my head.
"Was there any character you especially liked?"
"I like Rune!"
"What did you think of the ending?"
It wasn't really a fixed ending. They just went on a journey together. The end. If anything, the afterword might make you think it's not a happy ending.
"I like the ending too!"
"Why do you think that?"
"Even if there's no grand feast or anything. Because they won't be lonely anymore."
"There you have it. Student Yi Seoha."
"Yes, I get it, so please stop."
Her expression was the same blank look as always, but for some reason, I felt like she was smirking mischievously.
"What does it matter? A story written for one person, and that one person is satisfied. That's a success."
"Yes, I get it, so please just stop..."
How did it come to this...
I wanted to get rid of that embarrassing piece of dark history right away, but seeing Luna hugging the fairy tale book with a bright smile, I just couldn't.
"So, you liked Rune, Luna."
"Yeah!"
Luna nodded at my words, affirming them.
"Why did you like him?"
"I like his name! And he looks cool!"
I definitely couldn't resist drawing a dragon, so I put a lot of effort into drawing it.
Honestly, who can resist a dragon?
Anyway, I couldn't do anything about Luna liking it, so I just let out a bitter laugh.
This is a bit of a problem.
"Let's not show this to other people, okay?"
"Okay!"
If Luna likes it, this father has to find the strength to move on.
"So, what do we do now?"
It was a fundamental question. Honestly, I really don't know what to do now. I don't have a single clue.
"Yes, that's actually part of the reason why I only egged you on without interfering with the story."
The professor seemed to have a tendency to completely ignore the point when she spoke.
So what am I supposed to do?
"Do you remember what I said in class before?"
"Yes, you said the spirit and the contractor are connected."
"That's right. That's why it's possible to understand the contractor's intentions better than anyone else. So, Student Yi Seoha, what were you thinking of when you conceived this character?"
She drove the nail into my thoughts.
It was a statement that could turn my doubts into certainty, and my actions were merely a verification.
"Just... a character I saw in another story."
I understood.
"Anyway, that character can serve as a framework for her establishment. Do you have a better idea of what to do now?"
She looked at me and asked.
I nodded slightly.
"Contact me if you need anything. My contact info should still be saved on your phone if you haven't deleted it."
"Yes, it's still saved. Today was really helpful."
I said this and nodded slightly.
"I'm glad I could help."
And so we wrapped up our meeting for the day and went home.