WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 727: Episode 28: Home (5)

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* * *

"From now on, we're going to become 'Little Pigs.'"

[Someone has made a Little Pig declaration!]

I gave a bitter smile as I watched the Scenario message flickering in the air. Just as I thought, this Scenario resembled the Revolutionary Game in the Demon Realm.

[Some Constellations from the Twelve Zodiacs take an interest in the declaration.]

As I checked the Indirect Messages drifting through the air, I organized the facts I'd learned since entering this "center."

「Firstly, the events of this "Recycling Center" aren't reported outside the center.」

This was something described in TWSA. Originally, the Recycling Center was a place where Incarnations from small and medium-sized nebulae grew stronger to oppose the giant nebulae. Naturally, Constellations from the giant nebulae couldn't know what happened here.

「Secondly, only Constellations related to the "Recycling Center" can cast their lecherous gaze on the events inside it.」

This was also an extension of the first fact.

In other words, only Constellations from the Twelve Zodiacs or those associated with animals could cast their lecherous gaze on what happened in District 13.

[The Constellation First Pig to Die anticipates your performance.]

[The Constellation Nail-Eating Rat pays close attention to your judgment.]

That made it less likely that Asgard, Olympus, and the other giant nebulae that had troubled me would intervene directly.

The task at hand was to recreate "The Three Little Pigs." It was the only way to deal with the wolf, which became invincible only during Night.

I looked around at my companions and asked, "First, could you tell me what animal each of you became?"

"I'm... a squirrel, as you can see."

"I'm a turtle."

Gyeong Se-in was a squirrel. Mr. Dansu was a turtle.

Ye Hyunwoo, who was moving his lips as if annoyed, was obviously a panda, and finally, Cha Yerin was...

"Moon."

Yerin couldn't continue for a while after saying that. Killer King answered for her again.

"A snail."

Perhaps embarrassed that she'd become a snail, Yerin slowly lowered her head.

Come to think of it, everyone gathered here had become animals unrelated to the Twelve Zodiacs. Was that a coincidence?

"Is there anyone who's a pig?"

Thinking back, I hadn't met a single animal belonging to the Twelve Zodiacs on my way here. I had seen similar animals, but most were closer to inferior imitations or mutants.

"Of course there isn't. This is District 13. You should know what that means."

Only after hearing Killer King's answer did I understand the meaning behind this place's name.

District 13.

All the Incarnations here were those who hadn't made it into the Twelve Zodiacs.

"Then what animal are you?"

"I didn't choose an animal."

"I know you chose the Faceless Mask. Even if you choose the Faceless Mask, you'll eventually wear an animal mask."

I'd eventually wear an animal mask?

"The Faceless Mask examines the user's fables and changes into the animal mask most suited to them. But you..."

I looked at my reflection in a nearby building's window. My mask was still the Faceless Mask.

A faceless mask with no animal shape to it.

I stared at its smooth surface for a moment before changing the subject.

"Forget it. It isn't important right now. More importantly, Yu Junghyeok can only buy us around 20 minutes."

The Wolf Who Likes Red Riding Hood was currently chasing little Yu Junghyeok in his hood.

No matter how fable-addled that Constellation was, it would come to its senses in about 20 minutes.

We had to come up with a plan before Yu Junghyeok, who had become Red Riding Hood, was eaten by the wolf.

"The plan is simple. We recreate 'The Three Little Pigs.'"

"I told you that was impossible."

Killer King frowned as he argued back.

"It isn't as if only idiots have chosen the pig faction so far. At first, we tried something similar to what you're suggesting."

"What exactly did you do?"

"We planned to hide in a house, then kill that bastard with bricks, just like in the original story."

"What?"

For a moment, I wondered if I'd heard him wrong.

"Do you know what 'The Three Little Pigs' is about?"

Killer King confidently nodded.

"It's the story of the three little pigs beating a wolf to death with bricks."

What universe's version of "The Three Little Pigs" was that?

If I thought broadly enough, it wasn't entirely wrong, but Killer King clearly didn't know the original story properly.

When I looked at the others, Gyeong Se-in answered first.

"To be honest, I haven't read many fairy tales."

Even if it was a famous story, one person might not know it.

I turned to Ye Hyunwoo. A smart Seventh Apostle would surely know.

Ye Hyunwoo scratched his cheek as if annoyed and asked, "Um, it's like an old version of Baby Shark, right?"

Come to think of it, "The Three Little Pigs" was quite an old story by now. It was only natural that young people these days didn't know it.

But what about Mr. Dansu?

"Well, our Jiyoon doesn't like fairy tales..."

"..."

"I-I've read it too long ago. Ha ha. Hahaha."

I looked at Yerin, my last hope and the literary girl. She cautiously avoided my eyes.

"Don't tell me you don't know either. Right?"

"My younger sibling only avidly read collections of world literature and Korean novels."

I despaired.

Was there really no one among them who knew "The Three Little Pigs"?

I remembered hearing somewhere that the average Korean read 1.5 books a year.

Still, someone among them had read "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint" a hundred times. Did it make any sense that they didn't know such a famous fairy tale as "The Three Little Pigs"?

Wait a moment. If someone had read "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint" a hundred times, didn't that mean they had lost that many chances to read other books?

"So... you all got along and charged in with rocks?"

At my question, the panda who had read "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint" fifty times confidently nodded.

"More precisely, we couldn't find any bricks, so we fought with chunks of stone. It was a brilliant plan aimed at triggering Stage Transformation."

"So, did Stage Transformation occur?"

"Well..."

The panda became dejected. The wolf who had read "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint" a hundred times shook his head and added, "That was why everyone lost their masks. If I hadn't used my brilliant judgment to choose the wolf faction, everyone would have been wiped out."

It seemed Killer King hadn't joined the plan, instead hiding alone and choosing the wolf faction.

"There was no other way. In a world without bricks, there's no way to fight them. As you saw, the wolf leader is a Constellation."

"A half-formed Constellation. There is a way to kill it."

"You're planning to use 「Stage Transformation」 too, aren't you?"

I nodded.

My companions had failed, but a Scenario based on a fable would definitely trigger 「Stage Transformation」. That much was certain.

"But there are no bricks in this world."

"Only chunks of stone."

I knew that too.

There were no houses built of bricks in this world, nor any walls made of bricks.

It was as if someone had deliberately cut out the very concept of "bricks" from this world.

The wolves had probably done it. To stop the Scenario from progressing normally, they had removed all the bricks from District 13.

That didn't mean there was no way to obtain bricks.

"We'll buy them."

I summoned the Dokkaebi Compendium in my mind. I could use the Dokkaebi Compendium here as well. All that mattered was getting there in the end.

[You cannot purchase the item brick in this world's setting.]

So that was how it was.

I opened the auction house next.

Fortunately, there were bricks at the auction house. A great many of them, too.

+

Old Brick - 50,000 C

+

50,000 Coins each?

[Few Constellations chuckle as they watch you.]

I roughly understood how things worked. This was surely the work of Constellations selling items through gaps in the Scenario like this.

It wasn't that I couldn't buy them, but I didn't want to fill merchants' pockets this way.

Besides, buying them didn't mean we could make a Brick House.

Gyeong Se-in asked anxiously, "What do we do? Should we dig up any stones we can find?"

"Bricks aren't made from stone. They're made from clay."

"What? Really? How do you know that?"

How did I know? It was described in TWSA, too.

"You mix clay with sand and lime, then heat it to over 1,100 degrees. That's how the clay bricks we know are made."

"Were you originally a brickmaker?"

Again, it was an explanation from TWSA.

I didn't know why it had explained something like that, but the explanation had been there.

"You said clay, sand, and lime, right? If we can somehow get those..."

"We can't make them in time. Besides, we'd have to build a house too."

It was an odd Scenario to begin with.

Wolves were about to come for us, yet we were supposed to make bricks that took ages to produce and then build a Brick House with them. Did that make any sense?

Had this Scenario really been designed to be cleared that way?

"There was no 'Revolutionary' in the Revolutionary Scenario."

Killer King said that.

"And there is no 'Brick House' here."

I looked at Killer King. He looked back at me.

"Perhaps."

"If I'm right..."

I hated to admit it, but we were thinking the same thing.

「This Scenario resembles the Revolutionary Scenario.」

There was a Brick House in this world.

"I think we've found the solution."

It was just that nobody acknowledged it as a Brick House.

* * *

A little later, we arrived at the Fox and Crane Hotel.

The moment we kicked the door open, the startled crane squawked and rushed out.

"W-what is the meaning of this?"

"We'd like to stay here for a night."

"I'm sorry, but there are no rooms available right now, so please leave."

I ignored the crane innkeeper and looked around inside the hotel.

From the interior alone, it was an ordinary wooden building.

"It's an ordinary wooden building."

Killer King spoke after returning from examining the hotel exterior.

"The inner and outer walls are quite sturdy, but they don't seem to use any other materials. At least, not to the naked eye."

The crane's face turned pale.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but please leave. I don't want to get dragged into this anymore!"

"This house is quite sturdy. Not a scratch on it, either. It seems pretty old."

"That's because it was built well..."

"Who built it?"

At my question, the crane gulped.

"I-I can't say."

"This is a wooden building, right?"

"Of course it's a wooden building!"

"Of course it is."

I lightly cleaned out my ear as I spoke.

"The building says so too."

[The Fable Fragment House That Is Not a Brick House continues its story.]

I didn't know what trick had been used, but a Fable Fragment was embedded in this building.

More precisely, this was the only building in the entire Area that had one embedded in it.

[The Fable Fragment House That Is Not a Brick House continues its story.]

At first, I wasn't sure where the sound was coming from, but after passing this inn several times, I became certain.

「I am not a Brick House.」

There was something strange about this inn.

"Strange, isn't it? It's obviously not a Brick House, yet it keeps saying it isn't one."

"What?"

"Someone who isn't a liar has no need to say they aren't a liar."

"..."

"What exactly are you hiding?"

"Y-you don't know anything. Don't interfere in this Scenario carelessly!"

I slowly reached toward the inner wall of the house. Killer King and the others restrained the innkeeper as the crane shouted and charged at me.

When I closed my eyes, I soon heard a fable stirring from within the wall.

[The Fable Fragment House That Is Not a Brick House begins to tremble.]

I slowly grasped the Fable Fragment embedded in the wall. Pulling it out like this was one option, but there was something I wanted to test.

[The subskill Sentence Enhancement has activated!]

[You can enter your action.]

[The action you enter will be enhanced.]

Just as I thought. I could use [Sentence Enhancement] again.

[Sentence Enhancement] was a skill that activated even while ignoring Scenario restrictions.

I had always used this skill only to strengthen [Incitement].

But perhaps I could use it in a slightly different way.

[The Fable Fragment House That Is Not a Brick House stops its story.]

For example, by altering a fable that had already been written.

Footnotes:

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