This is not the date I wanted.

Looking at Miku's expectant eyes, and feeling the pressure from Mengyue's cold gaze behind him, Shidao dropped his shoulders weakly and nodded in agreement.

"Shidou! Mengyue! There are people approaching here, there are a lot of them!"

Hearing the warning from Tohka who was watching outside the door, Mengyue and Shidou's faces changed.

"I'm afraid it's the King coming with her soldiers."

"It would be bad if we were surrounded. What should we do, Mengyue?"

Now is not the time to have a conflict, Meng Yue said after a brief thought.

"…It's earlier than expected. There's nothing we can do. Hurry and signal Kotori. Take Miku away while they're making a commotion."

Just as Shidou and Mengyue were preparing to take action, another shout was heard from Tohka.

"Wha-why are you here? Tobiichi Origami!?"

"Your Majesty, do you know this strange-looking person?"

"Well, let's get to know each other for now."

The king is origami?

Hearing this news, Meng Yue and Shidao looked at each other, and then breathed a sigh of relief. If they had known that the king was Origami, they would not have had to act so stealthily in the first place.

"You're here, which means Shidou is here too, right? Get out of the way, Yatogami Tohka."

"etc!?"

Ignoring Tohka's panicked voice, the backstage door was pushed open.

"Hey... Origami you..."

The greeting came to an abrupt end halfway through. Meng Yue looked at Origami's outfit and couldn't help but widen her eyes in shock.

To be precise, Origami at this moment was wearing nothing but a red shawl!

"Hmm? What's wrong with Origami? Meng--"

"Secret Technique - Eye-poking Blindness Technique!!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhh! Eyes! My eyes, ahhhhhhhhh!"

Without even understanding the situation, Shidou could only cover his eyes and roll on the ground wailing.

20 The World in Books (V)

==============================

"Oh, His Majesty the King has come out!"

"Ah ...

"It's so beautiful! You are truly His Majesty! I seem to see a haze-like light lingering around His Majesty."

As Origami walked onto the stage, the nobles in the audience couldn't help but cheer excitedly, praising Origami's noble imperial attire.

Even though it's completely naked.

Once upon a time, there was a king who was deceived by two tailors and thought he was wearing a dress that was called "invisible to fools". The king, who believed it, looked at his naked self in the mirror and quickly lied about the beauty of the dress. In order to cover up their own "ignorance", the other ministers also praised the emperor's new clothes. As a result, the king, who believed it, paraded in the street wearing the non-existent clothes, but was revealed the truth by a young child.

This is the famous fairy tale farce - "The Emperor's New Clothes"

"Welcome to the party I am hosting. My dear subjects, enjoy the dance tonight."

Standing upright on the stage, Tobiichi Origami remained calm and spoke in her usual cold tone.

There was a burst of applause from the audience.

(Did they really believe it? Or did they not want to be seen as fools? Or did they pretend to be confused so that the king would not notice and put on his clothes?)

Seeing this scene, Mengyue couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Logically, Origami must know this story, and he certainly wouldn't be as stupid as the king in the story, but... well, Mengyue didn't intend to delve into it. She just silently admired Origami in her heart. Even Mengyue, who was once a man, didn't have the courage to speak in front of so many people wearing the "Emperor's New Clothes".

"Hey... Meng Yue... Can I open my eyes now?"

Shidou asked cautiously with his eyes closed. Although the pain in his eyes had subsided, he was still a little worried that Meng Yue would poke his eyeballs again as soon as he opened his eyes. Even if he was told that it was a punishment for the last quarrel, Shidou would not be surprised.

"That's fine... just open your eyes."

It is said to be completely naked, but in fact, a white light will appear from time to time around Origami, blocking the key parts. Although I don’t understand the principle, it is still within the safe range.

With Mengyue's permission, Shidou slowly opened his eyes, but after seeing Origami's outfit, he quickly looked away.

"Meng Yue... Origami, this could be..."

“The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

really……

Afterwards, Origami arranged another room and called Kotori and others over.

"Speaking of Origami! You still haven't told me why you are wearing this? Isn't this completely naked?"

"I bought this at a tailor shop on the way. You won't see this unless you have love for Shidou."

Origami tampered with the contents of the fairy tale without changing her expression and said to Tohka with a serious face,

"In other words, if you can't see this dress, it means that Tohka, you are against Shidou..."

“What…!? Wait, wait! Hmm – take a closer look… it’s really a beautiful dress that feels like skin!”

"...No, Tohka...you don't have to force the praise."

Seeing Origami start to bully the honest Tohka, Kotori sighed speechlessly.

By the way, except for Shidou and Mengyue who looked up at the ceiling out of courtesy, and Miku who glanced at Origami's delicate body with a licking gaze, the others were shocked by Origami's outfit at first, but they quickly got used to it.

After all, she is Tobiichi Origami.

"Well... Anyway, we are all here. Now we need to think of a way to leave here."

Then, Kotori briefly explained that this was a story world created by Westcott, as well as some speculations about the rules within it.

"Given the current situation, it would be best to find a prop or character that can help us leave."

"I may have a way to do this. After all, I am the king of this country and can order my people to find those things."

Origami made a suggestion. Indeed, given her position in this story world, she could use a large number of people, which would be much more efficient than them looking for it themselves.

"But what exactly are you looking for?"

In response to Origami's question, Nia answered.

"That's true. Items that can be used to make wishes are probably the most reliable. For example, the magic lamp in Aladdin, the hammer of Ichishun... Although people with the ability to move through space are not impossible, considering that fairy tales are generally more well-known than comics, it is better to search for the former first. Or rather-"

Suddenly stretching out the tone, Erya looked at the wooden cart that was floating behind Mengyue as a matter of course, and complained seriously.

"Isn't there one right before our eyes?"

"Ah, just give up on this."

Seeing Erya pointing at his wooden cart, Mengyue shrugged with a wry smile and replied.

"I had a similar idea to you at the beginning, but unfortunately, this wooden cart can only fly. Although it is indeed very convenient to move, it is not the same as moving in space."

"Then... can we try to fly upwards? Maybe like in the comics, the sky is actually made of walls?"

Qi Zui put forward his own opinion. However, Meng Yue silently shook her head.

"I've thought of this method, but it won't work. The limit of this prop is about one thousand meters. I didn't feel anything like a 'wall'. Even if there was, the thin air at high altitudes can easily make people lose consciousness. If they accidentally fall to the ground, it will be a tragedy."

"I see... Sorry, just pretend I didn't say that."

"Well... let's put this topic aside for now. Bili-chan, it's about time you tell us what kind of story you are in, right?"

Smiling and touching Nanashi's head, Erya turned to look at Mengyue, his eyes full of pure curiosity.

"I am—very curious!"

"What a curiosity! Haven't you learned enough from the previous lesson?"

"Yeah - Niya-chan is right. Mengyue-chan, since everyone is here, don't keep us in suspense and tell us the situation over there as soon as possible."

Shionai agreed jokingly.

"Well, there's nothing to hide."

Feeling everyone's curious gazes, Meng Yue answered honestly.

"The flying box. I'm Jim, the main character in it."

"?"

When hearing this name, most people showed puzzled expressions, obviously having no impression of this name.

"The Flying Trunk. It tells the story of the protagonist Jim, who inherited his father's estate, squandered it and went bankrupt, and then accidentally got a flying trunk from a friend. It's the same story as my "The Emperor's New Clothes", both of which are stories from Andersen's fairy tales, but they are less well-known."

Origami, who has higher academic ability, explained.

"Yeah... I have some impression of this story, but Bili-chan's outfit... doesn't look like it."

As she spoke, Erya looked at Mengyue's outfit. To be honest, apart from the ability to fly, she didn't see any similar elements in Mengyue with the male protagonist of "The Flying Box".

In response, Meng Yue smiled bitterly, shrugged her shoulders and explained.

"Indeed, I was really penniless when I first got the box. But later, I didn't fly to Turkey as the story goes. Instead, I used the flying box to go to various cities to get information from people. I also used the little capital I had left to do business by taking advantage of the price difference in different places. As a result, I made a lot of money without realizing it. I also rebuilt this wooden cart with the materials from the original box."

"Ohhh - something like Wolf and Spice?"

Erya asked curiously.

"How can it be."

As she spoke, Meng Yue couldn't help but feel empty and let out a long breath.

"Well, to be honest. Business here is much simpler than in the real world. Maybe it's because it's a fairy tale world. When trading, the other party will not bargain at all. Although the prices of various goods vary from place to place, they are all fixed. In addition, there are moving props like flying boxes. It's more like playing Rice Millionaire by looking at the strategy book than playing a business game. It's super boring."

"No... this is not a game. Please be serious, Sister Mengyue."

Looking at Mengyue who looked like a lonely master, Qinli complained speechlessly.

"Oh, it's so heartbreaking, Kotori-chan. I have always been very serious. Although I haven't found the item that can make the wish come true, I do have some ideas about the person who can help us escape from here."

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes in surprise.

"Really? Who is it?"

"That is--"

Just as Meng Yue was about to answer, a huge wolf appeared in front of everyone, accompanied by a loud noise as the wall shattered.

"Heheheheha ...

21 The World in Books (VI)

==============================

"Big Bad Wolf?! Why are you here? Didn't you get tamed by eating Tohka's taming balls?"

“Kuhehe——”

Seeing the surprised expressions of Shidao and others, the big bad wolf licked its mouth with its tongue and let out a low laugh.

"What naive lambs you are! Do you think I can be tamed so easily? Those balls have long been digested and excreted!"

“Is this even possible?!”

Shidou complained in astonishment.

"Hmph - he's just a beast that hasn't been taught a lesson. Tohka-chan, give him another meatball!"

"Hmm! Watch this!"

Nia said disdainfully, holding up her gun. Tohka responded by taking out a ball from her waist bag and throwing it into the wolf's open mouth.

However, the meatball, which was about to fly into the big bad wolf's mouth, suddenly stopped in mid-air.

"Varied……!?"

"Ka-ka-ka--Gray Wolf, you will suffer great losses if you are careless!"

Accompanied by a sinister evil laugh, a magic circle suddenly appeared next to the Big Bad Wolf. An old woman with a flat nose and dressed in black walked out slowly and crushed the meatball thrown by Tohka.