Feeling the stimulus of the light, Yutsuki opened her eyes.
"Is this inside the Phantom Library?"
Yutsuki looked around. It was nightti, and she was standing on the side of a sidewalk. There were Western-style buildings, a gray, hazy street, and horse drawn carriages rushing by. The citizens were not wearing the casual clothes Yutsuki knew, but rather clothing that looked like it belonged to a bygone era.
"A story set in dieval Europe, huh..."
Once inside the Phantasmal Library, Beelzebul would randomly assign everyone a character from a story, and based on that, create the world of that story. And here was undoubtedly the world where the "character" Yutsuki was playing resided.
"Alright... what should I do next?"
Yutsuki took a deep breath to calm her emotions.
There were too many stories with a dieval European background. It was highly unlikely to determine what story she was in just from the appearance of the city. Yutsuki had entered the Phantom Library with a "take it one step at a ti" mindset, and now she could only pray her luck was good enough not to enter a troubleso world.
"First, I should gather information, find a way to et up with everyone—It's so cold!!"
Suddenly, a cold gust of wind blew past Yutsuki, the bone-chilling cold making her shiver violently.
"What the hell—what kind of crazy clothes am I wearing!"
Looking down at her attire, Yutsuki couldn't help but scream with a flushed face.
Only then did Yutsuki realize that her original casual clothes had at so point been replaced by a thin, fluffy nightgown. She wasn't even wearing basic underwear; she was completely bare underneath the nightgown. Her thighs and chest were exposed to the air through the open seams.
"Even my shoes turned into slippers... damn it, what kind of idiot protagonist in what story runs out onto the street in a nightgown in this freezing wind!"
Whoosh—
Another cold gust of wind blew, and Yutsuki felt like her hands and feet were about to lose all sensation from the cold.
"It seems... rather than finding everyone... I b-b-better figure out what story I'm in first—"
Pulling the nightgown slightly tighter, Yutsuki said through chattering teeth. Otherwise, before she found everyone, she'd collapse right here.
First was the clothing. Although it was only a nightgown and slippers, they looked like quite expensive, high-class items, not sothing an ordinary citizen would wear. So, this character's setting should be a young lady from a wealthy family or an aristocratic lady.
Second was the reaction of the passersby. Even though Yutsuki was walking down the street in this attire, no one tried to talk to her. In fact, whenever Yutsuki made eye contact with them, they would turn their heads away and walk quickly past, seemingly afraid of getting involved in her trouble.
"This feeling... could it be a developnt where a fallen aristocrat sells the protagonist to pay off debts, and upon finding out, the protagonist escapes from her bedroom in the middle of the night... Why does this sound like the plot of a doujinshi?"
The corners of her mouth twitching slightly, Yutsuki's face was pale. She didn't know if it was from the cold wind or from being scared by her own deduction.
If her guess was true, according to the normal tropes she knew...
Romantically and optimistically speaking, she should next be hidden by a kind-hearted male citizen protagonist. Then, due to the suspension bridge effect, the female protagonist would develop feelings for the male lead. The two would fall deeply in love, sparking like dry wood and a blazing fire, brewing a warm romance in this cold winter.
Pessimistically and sadistically speaking, receiving no help from anyone, the weak and powerless protagonist wouldn't escape being caught by soldiers. She would be sold as a slave to so aristocrat with twisted sexual orientations, thoroughly humiliated and broken in both body and dignity, becoming livestock that couldn't survive without a man's body.
Honestly speaking, Yutsuki had no interest in experiencing either.
"I need to find sothing for self-defense."
Checking the equipnt on her person, apart from this nightgown, this "character" only had four coins left in her pockets—dead broke. Left with no choice, Yutsuki could only pick up a sharp rock from the ground, so she could give the opponent a hard smash on the head when they let their guard down if she encountered danger.
"Ah, sorry to keep you waiting."
Just then, the door of the annex behind Yutsuki suddenly opened, and a brown haired young man was walking towards her.
(The first trope?)
Hiding the rock in the sash of her nightgown, Yutsuki warily watched the young man walking towards her, having already formulated several basic strategies in her mind.
Pretend to agree with him, strike his neck hard when he's not paying attention, then take his money and slip away;
Pretend to flatter him, strike his eyes hard when he's not paying attention, then take his money and slip away;
Pretend to seduce him, strike his crotch hard when he's not paying attention, then take his money and slip away;
Seemingly noticing the vigilance in Yutsuki's eyes, the young man scratched his cheek and answered sowhat awkwardly.
"Um—I heard about your bankruptcy, don't be too sad, look on the bright side, bro."
Bro? Hearing how the other party addressed her, Yutsuki was slightly surprised.
(How does he know I was originally a guy?)
Yutsuki couldn't help but fall into deep thought. Of course, she wouldn't naively think the other party realized her true identity by being shocked by the masculine aura radiating from within her. The address "bro" must refer to the story character Yutsuki was currently playing.
In other words, the protagonist of this story... is a guy?
"Say... do you think I'm a girl or a guy?"
Yutsuki pointed at her face and asked.
"Eh? Um... while it's true so aristocrats prefer n, don't lose your mind over a temporary setback. Or do you an to say you swing that way?!"
The other party seed to have misunderstood sothing and backed away a few steps with a pale face. But Yutsuki didn't care about this right now.
(The protagonist of this story is a guy... thank goodness.)
Yutsuki breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief.
"A-Anyway, since I've gotten quite a few benefits from you, I'll give you this old box of ours. You can use it to pack your luggage. Well then, goodbye—"
Then, the young man ordered servants to carry a giant wooden box in front of Yutsuki, after which he returned to his mansion and slamd the front door shut.
"Although I don't know how many benefits he got from this character, just giving a useless wooden box and shutting them out after soone goes bankrupt... this brotherhood is terrifyingly realistic."
Yutsuki sighed speechlessly. She stepped forward to examine the wooden box. Nothing else to say, this empty box was really big; even with Yutsuki's whole body inside, there was still half the space left.
"Well... judging by the material, it seems pretty sturdy. It might even snow later with this weather. If worse cos to worst, I'll just hide in here for the night. Hm? Wait—"
In a flash, Yutsuki seed to have thought of sothing.
(dieval story, bankruptcy, nightgown, four coins, giant empty wooden box... I see!)
The originally scattered and disordered fragnts strung into a line in her mind, and a gleam of excitent appeared in Yutsuki's eyes!
————————————————
On the other side, in so unknown forest within the Phantom Library.
"Haha! Don't run away~ My delicious little pig and Little Red Riding Hood."
"Shido-kun! Shido-kun! The Big Bad Wolf is still chasing us, run faster!"
"Shi-Shido-san... he's catching up..."
"Oooohhhhhh! Sprinting at full speed!!!!!"
At this mont, Itsuka Shido, wearing a little pig mascot costu, was running at top speed through the forest with Yoshino, dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, on his back. Behind them, a Big Bad Wolf wearing an old woman's dress was chasing them. Looking at Shido and Yoshino as if they were two delicious dishes, foul slling saliva constantly flew from its mouth.
If you ask why things turned out this way? After falling for Westcott's trap, when Shido woke up, he found Nia was no longer by his side. He was lying in a straw house wearing a strange mascot costu. Then, before he could react, a Big Bad Wolf suddenly appeared, blew away the straw house in one breath, and threatened to eat him.
To escape the Big Bad Wolf's pursuit, Shido fled to an exquisite wooden house near the forest. There, he t Yoshino and Yoshinon, who were preparing to deliver wine and bread to their grandmother.
Seeing Yoshino's outfit and hearing the word "grandmother," an ominous premonition struck Shido. He decisively picked up Yoshino and ran for it. Sure enough, a Big Bad Wolf dressed as a grandmother burst out the door, chasing after Yoshino and Shido with a ferocious look.
"Shido-san... leave behind and run away..."
"I-It's fine... How could I... leave Yoshino behind?"
His breathing was a bit ragged due to physical exertion, but Shido still tried hard to show a reassuring smile.
(If this keeps up, we'll be caught!)
Shido thought grimly.
For so unknown reason, in this world, neither Angels nor Spirit power could be used. Yoshino's stamina was restricted to the level of an ordinary little girl, making her completely unable to fight.
Although the Big Bad Wolf's speed was greatly reduced because of the grandmother's robes, forcing it to run comically on two legs and thus failing to catch Shido, Shido's stamina also had a limit. If they didn't figure out a way fast, getting caught was only a matter of ti.
(Calm down, calm down!)
Shido desperately told himself. If he didn't calm down and think of a counterasure, not only himself, but Yoshino would also be implicated and beco the Big Bad Wolf's food.
(Judging from the current situation, this should be a world constructed from fairy tales. I am the eldest of the 'Three Little Pigs', and Yoshino is Red Hood from 'Little Red Riding Hood'.)
Perhaps because their character roles were similar, the Big Bad Wolf that blew down the straw house and the Big Bad Wolf in the wooden house seed to be the sa one.
If this really was a world of fairy tales, then Shido and Yoshino, playing the roles of food, naturally couldn't be a match for the Big Bad Wolf. Currently, there was only one way out he could think of.
Find the Huntsman!
The Big Bad Wolf in the Three Little Pigs was scared away by falling into a pot of boiling water prepared by the little pigs. Shido obviously didn't have the luxury to boil water right now. So he could only look for the Huntsman who killed the Big Bad Wolf in the story of Little Red Riding Hood.
(I hope my guess isn't wrong.)
"Yoshino! Yoshinon! Call for help as loud as you can! That way soone will help us deal with that Big Bad Wolf!"
"Mhm... I understand..."
"OK! Leave it to !"
Hearing Shido's words, Yoshino and Yoshinon nodded and shouted loudly.
"Soone co quick!!! Help!!!! The Big Bad Wolf is eating people!!!!!!"
"Huntsman-san... save us..."
"Hahaha! It's useless, even if you shout until your throats are sore, no one will co to save you, my lovely dinners!"
(Damn it... Did I guess wrong?)
Seeing that no one in the forest responded to Yoshino's cries for help, Shido's face looked sowhat grim.
Then, perhaps because his stamina had reached its limit, Shido suddenly felt his knees give out. Holding Yoshino, he tumbled awkwardly on the ground several tis, his back facing the wolf.
"Shido-san!"
Crawling out of Shido's embrace, Yoshino hurriedly called Shido's na, pulling his arm trying to drag him away.
"Yoshino... leave ... run..."
"Hehehe~ It's useless! Neither of you will escape tonight!"
However, it was too late. Above their heads, the Big Bad Wolf's hideous, massive head revealed a saliva-covered maw aid right at them.
—Bang! —Bang!
Just then, a couple of crisp sounds echoed in the forest. Then Shido saw several smoking holes appear on the Big Bad Wolf's body.
Imdiately after, a black figure suddenly dashed into the Big Bad Wolf's chest, and a chilling glint of a blade flashed across the Big Bad Wolf's massive body.
"You... bastard—"
Seeing the deep knife wound on its fur, the Big Bad Wolf widened its eyes in disbelief. After letting out a howl, it fell limply to the ground.
Are we saved? Shido couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"Um, thank you very much for your help,Huntsman-san."
"Thank you... very much..."
"Umu—It's good that you're safe. Shido, Yoshino."
"Hahaha! Hearing the cries for help from weak maidens, the unmatched and heroic Demon Hunter—Fatima! Makes a cool entrance!"
After seeing the other party's true identity, Shido and Yoshino couldn't help but show expressions of pleasant surprise.
"Tohka! Nia!???"
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