"Oh, His Majesty the King has erged!"
"Ahhhh—what a magnificent outfit, His Majesty the King truly has a unique eye!"
"It's so beautiful! As expected of His Majesty! I feel like I can see a hazy radiance lingering around His Majesty."
As Origami walked onto the stage, the nobles below couldn't help but let out excited cheers, showering endless praise on Origami's noble royal attire.
Even though it was complete nudity.
Once upon a ti, there was an emperor who was deceived by two tailors, believing he was wearing a suit of clothes that "fools cannot see". The emperor, believing it to be true, looked at his naked self in the mirror and hurriedly lied about the beauty of the clothes. The other ministers, to hide their foolishness, also praised the emperor's new clothes endlessly. As a result, the deceived emperor paraded through the streets wearing non-existent clothes, and the truth was ultimately spoken by a young child.
This is the very famous fairy tale farce—The Emperor's New Clothes.
"Welco to the ball I am hosting. My dear subjects, enjoy tonight's ball to your heart's content."
Standing on the stage with an upright posture, Tobiichi Origami, without changing her expression, spoke in her usual cold tone.
A lively round of applause imdiately broke out from the audience.
(Do they really believe it? Or do they just not want to be seen as fools by others? Or are they pretending to be ignorant so the King doesn't notice and put on clothes?)
Seeing this scene, Yutsuki couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
Honestly, Origami definitely knows this story and definitely wouldn't act foolishly like the King in the story. However... well, Yutsuki decided not to delve into it. She just silently expressed her admiration for Origami in her heart. To wear "The Emperor's New Clothes" and speak in front of so many people—even Yutsuki, who used to be a man, didn't have that kind of courage.
"Say... Yutsuki... can I open my eyes now?"
Shido asked carefully with his eyes closed. Although the soreness in his eyes had subsided, he was still a bit worried that the mont he opened his eyes, Yutsuki would ruthlessly poke his eyeballs again. With that kind of ruthlessness, even if she told him it was punishnt for their argunt earlier, Shido wouldn't be surprised.
"I guess so... you can open them."
It was called complete nudity, but in reality, a flash of white light would occasionally appear around Origami to block the crucial parts. Although it wasn't clear what the principle behind it was, it was currently still within a safe range.
Having obtained Yutsuki's permission, Shido slowly opened his eyes. Then, upon seeing Origami's attire, he hurriedly looked away again.
"Yutsuki... this couldn't be..."
"The Emperor's New Clothes."
As I thought...
Later, Origami arranged for another room and gathered Kotori and the others.
"By the way, Origami! You still haven't told why you're wearing this? Isn't this completely naked?"
"This is clothing bought at a tailor shop on the way. It cannot be seen by those who do not hold feelings of love for Shido."
Altering the content of the fairy tale without batting an eyelid, Origami said to Tohka with a serious face,
"In other words, not being able to see these clothes ans that Tohka, your feelings for Shido are..."
"What...!? W-Wait! Umu—looking closely... it truly is an exquisite outfit that looks just like skin!"
"...N-No, Tohka... you don't have to force yourself to praise it."
Seeing Origami start to bully the honest Tohka, Kotori sighed speechlessly.
By the way, except for Shido and Yutsuki, who looked up at the ceiling out of courtesy, and Miku, who scanned Origami's petite body with a gaze akin to licking, the others, although initially startled by Origami's outfit, quickly adapted.
After all, she is Tobiichi Origami.
"Well... no matter what, we're finally all together. Next is to think of a way to leave this place."
Then, Kotori briefly explained that this was a story world created by Westcott, and shared so guesses about the rules within it.
"Judging from the current situation, the best thing would be to find items or characters that can help us leave."
"I might have a way for that. After all, I am the King of this country. I can order the citizens to search for those things."
Origami proposed. Indeed, with her status in this story world, she could completely utilize human wave tactics, which would be much more efficient than searching themselves.
"However, what exactly are we looking for?"
Regarding Origami's question, Nia answered.
"That's true. Items capable of granting wishes should be the most reliable. For example, Aladdin's magic lamp, or the Issun-boushi's little hamr... Although soone with the ability to perform spatial teleportation isn't out of the question either. But considering fairy tales are generally more well-known than manga, we should prioritize searching for the forr. Or rather—"
Suddenly dragging out her tone, Nia looked at the wooden cart naturally floating behind Yutsuki at this mont, and roasted with a completely straight face.
"Don't we have one right in front of us?"
"Ah, you can give up on this one."
Seeing Nia pointing at her wooden cart, Yutsuki shrugged with a bitter smile and answered.
"I had a similar thought as you guys at the beginning. But unfortunately, this wooden cart only has the ability to fly. Although it's very convenient for traveling, it's not the sa as spatial teleportation."
"Then... can we try flying upwards? Maybe like in manga, the sky is actually made of walls?"
Natsumi offered her own view. But to this, Yutsuki shook her head silently.
"I thought of that thod too. It won't work. This item's limit is flying to an altitude of about a thousand ters. I haven't sensed anything resembling a 'wall' either. Even if there is one, the thin air at high altitudes can easily cause soone to lose consciousness. If you accidentally fall to the ground, that would be a massive tragedy."
"I see... sorry, pretend I didn't say that."
"Well... let's put this topic aside for now. Biri-chan, it's about ti you told us what kind of story you are in, right?"
Smiling and patting Natsumi's head, Nia turned to look at Yutsuki, her eyes full of pure curiosity.
"I am—very curious!"
"Curious my foot! Haven't you had enough of a lesson from before?"
"My, my—Nia-chan has a point. Yutsuki-chan, since everyone is gathered here, don't keep us in suspense, hurry up and tell us about your situation."
Yoshinon chid in playfully.
"Well, there's no particular need to hide it."
Feeling everyone's curious gazes, Yutsuki answered honestly.
"The Flying Trunk. I am the protagonist inside, Jim."
"?"
Hearing this na, most people showed confused expressions, clearly having no recollection of this na.
"The Flying Trunk. It tells the story of the protagonist, Jim, who inherits his father's fortune, squanders it until he goes bankrupt, and then accidentally acquires a flying trunk from a friend. Like my 'The Emperor's New Clothes,' it's a story from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, it's just that its popularity is relatively low."
Origami, who had high academic ability, explained.
"My... I have so impression of this story too, but Biri-chan's outfit... doesn't look the part."
While speaking, Nia sized up Yutsuki's attire. Honestly, apart from the ability to fly, she couldn't see a single elent on Yutsuki that matched the male protagonist of 'The Flying Trunk'.
To this, Yutsuki shrugged with a bitter smile and explained.
"It's true, when I first got the trunk, I was truly penniless. However, later, instead of flying to Turkey according to the story's flow, I used the flying trunk to travel to various cities to gather information about you all. Along the way, I used the little bit of starting money I had left to do business based on the price differences in various places. As a result, before I knew it, I made a ton of money. This wooden cart is also sothing I had rebuilt later using the materials from the original trunk."
"Ooh—Like the feeling in 'Spice and Wolf'?"
Nia asked curiously.
"How could it be."
Saying this, Yutsuki couldn't help but feel a deep sense of emptiness and let out a long sigh.
"Well, honestly speaking, doing business here is much simpler than in the real world. Perhaps because it's a fairy tale world, the other party doesn't haggle at all during transactions. Although the prices of various goods are different in different places, they are fixed and unchanging. Plus, having a mobile item like the flying trunk... Rather than playing a managent ga, it's more like playing an idle ga while looking at a strategy guide. It's super boring."
"No... this isn't a ga. Please be a bit more serious, Yutsuki-nee."
Looking at Yutsuki expressing the loneliness of a master, Kotori speechlessly roasted her.
"My, it breaks my heart, Kotori-chan. I have always been very serious. Although I didn't find an item that can grant wishes, I do have a clue about a 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 Yutsuki was about to answer, accompanied by a loud crash of a wall shattering, a ferocious wolf of massive build appeared before everyone.
"Hehehehehahahahaha—We et again! My dear dinners!"
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