When Yu Sheng heard Little Red Riding Hood’s grumbling, she looked embarrassed. The girl tried her best to keep a straight face.
“Special Affairs Bureau delivered it, so it didn’t feel right to be picky,” she said. “We actually planned to remove this giant round piece, but its axle runs straight through the table. If we pulled it out, we’d be left with a huge hole, which would look worse. Plus, King actually fell in once…”
“…That’s a very practical reason,” Yu Sheng replied, struggling to maintain a composed expression. After a small twitch of his mouth, he moved on and took a seat at the round table. He lifted his head, eyes scanning his surroundings.
Seeing this, Little Red Riding Hood started pointing things out.
“That Door on the left is our temporary storage. Most of the supplies from the Special Affairs Bureau are piled up there. The Door next to it leads to a corridor that goes to the backyard. We plan to tidy that area up and maybe plant a small garden. As for the rooms on the right, we haven’t decided what to use them for, so for now they’re dorms for Teacher Su and the rest…”
Yu Sheng nodded as he listened. “What about the second floor?”
Just then, he noticed the group of teenagers around the table fall into a moment of awkward silence. The ones closest to him hesitated, mouths opening and closing, until finally the Long Haired Girl Princess broke the hush.
“Brother,” she said, “you never built any stairs to the second floor.”
Yu Sheng froze. “[Oh no…]”
By now, Yu Sheng’s toes were practically digging through his shoes. He lifted his eyes at a forty-five-degree angle toward the ceiling light. In the distance, soft clunking and faint squeaks echoed from the back of the hall. After a few moments, he blinked, forced a straight face, and nodded at Little Red Riding Hood.
“There’s already a staircase behind the main hall now.”
The Long Haired Girl Princess clapped. “Brother, you’re amazing!”
“…If you find anything else that’s inconvenient or illogical, tell me,” Yu Sheng said. “I put this place together so quickly, I didn’t manage to perfect every detail.”
He couldn’t bring himself to confess that this was his carefully crafted masterpiece at the limit of his “house-building” power. [From now on, I definitely won’t mention that again,] he thought.
Luckily, no one else seemed to mind. Yu Sheng smoothly steered the conversation back on course.
“Anyway,” he went on, “I’ve merged Fairy Tale with this Valley. You’ve probably noticed the two major points of fusion. One is the Black Forest, and the other is the Tower, each on opposite ends.
“Other ‘stages’ are merged in as well, but I didn’t have time to create direct ‘Valley connection points’ for each one, so most connect through the Black Forest and the Tower. I’ll prepare a detailed ‘Node Map’ soon so you’ll know how everything fits together.
“For now, you can think of the Fairy Tale Otherworld as part of this Valley—part of Wutong Road No. 66, really. It still exists, but just like the night-shrouded Valley once did, its nature has changed completely. As Director Bai Li Qing said, it’s been emptied of harmful Entities. Now it’s an ‘empty shell’ attached to my backyard…
“The changes from merging are tremendous. The biggest is that all ‘stages’ are harmless now. Because Anka Aila’s nightmare has ceased, none of the dangerous Entities will return. Yes, Fairy Tale is safe at last—completely.”
He paused, spotting Little Red Riding Hood drawing in a deep breath, the Long Haired Girl Princess swaying happily, and King letting out a low purr while narrowing his eyes in satisfaction.
Yu Sheng smiled and continued. “Another change is that as an Otherworld, Fairy Tale went from ‘abnormal’ to a ‘Wilderness Type.’ Each sub-stage now exists in a pocket of space around the Valley. So you can enter them physically—no need to fall into a nightmare. You just walk straight in, whether it’s the Black Forest or the Tower, just as if you were exploring the rest of the Valley.”
He noticed subtle, complicated expressions around the table.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “Those ‘stages’ never gave you good memories. But that’s exactly why I suggest visiting them again when you can. Go see the places that used to scare you. It’ll help you shed the shadows lingering in your mind. Trust me, it’s necessary, because…”
He paused, letting his gaze linger on each person seated there. Then he spoke with deep seriousness.
“…Because all of you have a long future ahead now.”
Many people seemed taken aback. Even those who were laughing a moment before looked a bit stunned.
Yu Sheng wasn’t surprised by this.
When a long nightmare ends, that comforting sense of reality takes time to settle in. Even if you believe you’re prepared for what comes next, the little details—things you never imagined—will pop up, catch you off guard, and gently remind you how much has changed.
The Long Haired Girl Princess rubbed her eyes. “Brother, please… I’m about to cry…”
As everyone’s Big Sis, Little Red Riding Hood remained the calmest. Although she froze at first, she quickly came to her senses.
“So,” she said, “from now on, no more kids in the Borderland will be swallowed by the nightmares from Fairy Tale. That means there won’t be any new ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ or ‘Snow White,’ right?”
Yu Sheng thought for a moment. “Does your Wolf still exist?”
“It’s still here,” Little Red Riding Hood replied. A Shadow Wolf emerged from the darkness beside her. She stroked its head gently. “Snow White’s Thunder Titan and King’s underlings are all around too. None of that’s vanished.”
“Honestly, we’d feel weird if our powers disappeared,” Dorothy muttered. She was the short-haired young woman sitting across from Yu Sheng. “[I haven’t charged my phone in two months, thanks to Machine Spirit…]”
“Poor Machine Spirit,” Snow White teased, shaking her head.
Yu Sheng didn’t pay much attention to their banter. “So,” he continued, “since Fairy Tale turned from a ‘nightmare collection’ into a harmless Otherworld, it shouldn’t go around ‘pulling in’ children anymore. Still, your powers remain, which means part of Fairy Tale’s function is active. Theoretically, you could ‘train’ a new Little Red Riding Hood or Snow White…”
Little Red Riding Hood looked dumbfounded. None of them had ever considered cultivating another round of ‘roles,’ not after living through that endless cycle of nightmares.
Yu Sheng had expected that reaction.
“That’s what I meant by Fairy Tale’s future,” he said. “It’s time to think about what comes next. Until now, Fairy Tale was a group of orphans clinging together for warmth. But now that your nightmares are over, what’s your plan for yourselves—and for the organization? Will you keep being Spirit Realm Detectives, and for how long? Will you accept new members? All of these are important issues to consider.”
“We…” The Long Haired Girl Princess started, then hesitated. “You’re right. We really haven’t thought it through. I didn’t plan on anything past next year…”
“My grades are awful,” Snow White admitted, rocking in her chair with her arms crossed. “Sure, we go through normal school and take tests, but I never seriously imagined graduating. Maybe I’ll just stay a Spirit Realm Detective. The pay’s decent.”
“And there’s the orphanage,” Little Red Riding Hood added. “We have so many younger kids that we have to keep caring for them… but after that…”
She looked up in thought, then smiled awkwardly. “I don’t really know how to do anything else. I guess I might be a Spirit Realm Detective my whole life.”
“I—I—I can sing!” said a tiny, lively girl, raising her hand with excitement. “I’m a big online singer, and I got tens of thousands of new followers this week!”
The Long Haired Girl Princess glared at her. “Be quiet! You’re the worst when it comes to fighting!”
Clearing his throat, Yu Sheng redirected everyone’s attention.
“So it seems Fairy Tale will keep operating, possibly for a long time. But remember—now Fairy Tale is truly stable, safe, and no longer fueled by nightmares. That means you’ll have to think carefully about bringing in fresh faces and passing down what you’ve built. Today, I’m just giving you a heads-up.
“In the meantime, study your powers for yourselves. Pay attention to how Fairy Tale’s Otherworld has changed and how it affects you. All I did was fuse it with this Valley. You’re the only ones who truly know Fairy Tale inside and out…”
Yu Sheng went on at length. Eventually, he noticed the teenagers had all gone quiet, gazing at him with such focus that he felt a bit uneasy.
He stopped, looking self-conscious. “Am I talking too much?”
“Not as much as Red Riding Hood does,” the Long Haired Girl Princess teased. “She can talk forever once she starts a meeting.”
Little Red Riding Hood lightly smacked the princess’s shoulder, then turned back to Yu Sheng. A warm smile spread across her face.
“Not at all,” she said. “You are Fairy Tale’s Guardian now—the greatest one.”
Sensing the mood, the Long Haired Girl Princess jumped up. “Come on, everyone—let’s all call him ‘Brother’!” she cried. “I’ll go first: Brother!”
Yu Sheng didn’t even have time to react before everyone else stood up, too, and their voices jumbled in a playful chorus:
Yu Sheng’s eyes widened. [Who in the world just called me Grandpa Yu?!]
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation