The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl-Chapter 39

“Should we write it like this here...?”

Shake shake.

“This part... I think it’ll be better if we go with this direction...”

Nod nod.

While the other kids played in the yard, Ba Da and I were in a quiet room, creating a fairytale together.

Just like how Rena practiced her songs and performed in front of the kids, Ba Da liked to write stories the others could enjoy.

This time, it was Ba Da who came to me first, asking if we could make one together.

There was so much hope in those little eyes. I couldn’t bring myself to say no.

I did my best to help make Ba Da’s world even more fun.

“This part would work better this way. Maybe cut this bit...”

I offered as much useful advice as I could.

Her small hands moved quickly, filling the once-blank page with rows of black letters.

One sheet, then another. The pile of paper slowly grew.

And just like that, an entire new world was being created by the hands of a little girl.

Ba Da frowned when she wasn’t satisfied, brightened when an idea came to her, and smiled when she liked what she wrote.

She was usually calm and quiet.

But right now—just like when she read books—her little face lit up with emotion, and I couldn’t help but smile too.

Her bangs kept falling into her eyes, so I reached out toward her forehead.

With my fingers, I gently brushed aside the strands of blue hair.

“Eep!”

Startled by my touch, Ba Da yelped and leapt to her feet.

The pen she’d been gripping tightly clattered to the floor as she covered her forehead.

“W-What was that for...?”

Her face had turned bright red.

I reached out and touched her forehead again—warm. A little too warm. She might have a slight fever.

She had been overworking herself lately for this project, so it wouldn’t be surprising if her body was starting to wear down.

Working hard is important, but resting is just as crucial.

Especially for kids with weaker immune systems. They need to take better care of themselves.

I took her by the hand and moved her gently.

Still flustered, she let me guide her to the sofa. I brought a blanket over and tucked it around her.

“Eh? What’s going on...?”

I wrote something on a sheet of paper and showed it to her.

[Rest for a bit.]

“I’m fine, really...”

Shake shake.

I raised my index finger and held it close to her face.

She pouted, clearly wanting to protest, but I crossed my arms in an X and shook my head firmly.

Absolutely not.

Even when she whined, I kept refusing until she gave in and lay down.

I rested my hand gently on the blanket covering her, patting softly.

I wanted to sing her a lullaby, but I couldn’t sing—so I hoped this would be enough.

Ba Da’s face grew even more conflicted.

Still, she obediently closed her eyes.

Every now and then, she peeked to see if I was watching, and when our eyes met, she shut them again in a panic.

I won our little staring contest.

Before I knew it, her breathing had evened out—she’d fallen asleep.

I quietly stepped away, careful not to wake her. No footsteps, no noise.

It’s a bit messy in here... I should tidy up.

I gathered the stacks of paper, cleaned up the bits of trash scattered on the floor.

Once that was mostly done, I stretched my arms and shoulders out.

Then I sat at the table—and this time, I picked up the pen.

While reading Ba Da’s story, I began sketching illustrations to match the scenes.

To make her world shine even more.

My drawings piled up, page by page.

Just as I was finishing the final piece, I felt a tiny presence behind me.

“Wow~~ Did you draw all of these...?”

At some point, Ba Da had woken up and was standing behind me, marveling at my drawings.

I glanced back—her eyes were wide, mouth slightly open in awe.

I noticed small teardrops welling up in her eyes.

“...Thank you.”

Ba Da hugged me tightly from behind.

Ack?!

She wrapped her arms around my neck so tightly I could barely breathe.

Ease up a little!

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fгeewebnovёl.co𝙢.

I tapped the back of her hand, but she misunderstood and hugged me even harder.

Ugh... can’t... breathe...

Thankfully, I managed to pry myself loose before I turned blue.

After that, we pushed through and worked hard on the finishing touches.

It took a while—but in the end, it was done.

“It’s finished!”

Ba Da held the finished story up high with a bright voice.

Her face lit up with joy. She looked truly happy.

Still hugging the book, she turned to look at me, a worried expression on her face.

“...Do you think the kids will like it?”

Of course.

I nodded confidently at her uncertain tone.

And Ba Da’s face brightened again.

We’d borrowed the structure from famous fairytales I remembered from Earth, so there was no way it could flop.

...Probably?

Honestly, I was a little nervous about how well it would land after adapting it to this world, but I didn’t let it show.

*

The next day, the room was dark—lights off, curtains drawn.

The kids sat down, eyes filled with anticipation.

Behind them, the adults—Red and Rene—had also brought chairs and were seated.

Ba Da, today’s star, looked visibly tense now that it was time to begin. She couldn’t stop fidgeting.

I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring pat.

That little gesture helped relax her face just a bit. She took a deep breath and stepped up with me in front of the kids.

Today was the debut of our story.

Clap clap clap.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

The kids burst into applause, making Ba Da flinch in surprise.

To help her relax again, I patted her back.

She cleared her throat and gave a small bow, then introduced the story in a few soft words.

Then she slipped the book into a small mechanical device.

The machine whirred, and a lens lit up, projecting onto the wall.

Ba Da and I returned to our seats.

That machine could turn books into moving images.

Kind of like audiobooks on Earth—but here, the books played visuals automatically.

It was a really expensive gadget, but we’d gotten it easily thanks to Red’s money.

The screen displayed a countdown, and the story began.

[Once upon a time, when tigers still smoked pipes...]

A robotic voice narrated the tale.

The machine had absorbed my art style, and the visuals flowed onto the wall.

[In a city somewhere, there lived a mighty rich Dragon King from the family of Yonggung...]

The kids watched with wide eyes, completely captivated.

This was the beginning.

The Dragon King fell ill, and he ordered his trusted fixer—the Turtle—to retrieve a gem: a rabbit’s liver.

The Turtle went to the designated location, where he met a rabbit beastkin carrying the gem.

The Turtle handed over a hefty bag of money as promised—but the rabbit refused.

He said the money wasn’t enough.

Even though it was the exact amount they’d agreed on, the rabbit demanded even more.

The rabbit’s shamelessness made the kids whisper complaints.

“You can’t do that.”

“That rabbit’s the bad guy.”

The two argued for a long time before the rabbit, pretending to be generous, made an offer.

[If you can beat me in a race, I’ll give you this gem for free. But if you lose, you’ll leave the money behind.]

The turtle accepted the challenge.

The racecourse was extremely dangerous—full of deadly machines. It wouldn’t be surprising if someone got seriously hurt.

The turtle’s face was rigid with tension, while the rabbit wore a sly grin.

“This isn’t a fair match.”

“Yeah, look at that rabbit’s face.”

The kids whispered quietly to each other.

Bang.

At the starting sound, the kids gasped.

As expected, the rabbit was fast. But the turtle—was faster.

The winner was the turtle.

[Damn it. No way...]

The rabbit refused to accept the result and tried to walk away.

The kids frowned at his cowardice.

“That’s cheating. He made a ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) promise.”

“Yeah, that’s not right.”

But the turtle flung the shell on his back into the air, expanding it to form a barrier that claimed the surrounding space as his domain.

The rabbit couldn’t escape.

Left with no choice, the rabbit drew two daggers and lunged forward. The turtle countered with his fists.

Daggers and fists clashed.

It turned into a fierce battle, and the kids were completely immersed.

“Go, Turtle!”

“You’ve got this!”

Meanwhile, in the distance, the Sun and Moon siblings were watching the fight.

As the rabbit started to lose, they hurriedly contacted the House of Heaven.

“What’s that about?”

“What are they trying to pull?”

The kids grew suspicious of the siblings’ actions.

In any case, the turtle won the fight.

The kids clenched their fists in excitement, their faces glowing with joy.

But then—

[That’s far enough.]

From the distance, three hundred rabbit spirits charged in to ambush the turtle.

A crisis. Life or death.

The kids sat on edge, some even gasping.

One of them even clasped their hands together in a silent prayer.

As if answering their hope, the turtle placed both palms together and struck the ground.

A massive door appeared behind him.

One by one, the turtle’s allies began stepping through the door.

“““Oooh...”””

The kids let out quiet cheers.

The two sides clashed.

Buildings crumbled, the ground split open, the sky trembled.

I heard someone gulp next to me.

As the exhausting battle dragged on, both sides grew weary—when suddenly, something dropped from the sky and landed with a thud.

When the dust cleared, a lion beastkin stood there.

[I’ve come to end this battle.]

She looked just like Red.

“It’s her!”

“It’s big sis!”

The kids reacted with excitement.

And even the adults behind them—

“Oh my, it’s Miss Red.”

“...Heh.”

The war between the two sides ended with the arrival of the lion Red.

The rabbit was beaten into the ground.

The turtle returned with the gem, and the Dragon King’s illness was cured.

Finally—

[Everyone must always keep their promises.]

With that heartwarming lesson, the video ended.

The lights came on.

The kids burst into applause.

Ba Da bowed her head, clearly embarrassed.

But the hard work had paid off.

Behind them, the two adults who had also watched quietly commented—

“That was... a pretty action-packed story for a fairytale.”

“As long as the kids liked it, that’s what matters.”

Exactly.

It might’ve been a little over the top for a fairytale...

But if the kids were happy, that’s enough.

Hmm.

Maybe I really should try spreading Earth-style literature in this world.

*

Grey sat on a bench in the cathedral.

He was reviewing a set of documents.

It was a list of key individuals—compiled under Isaac’s orders—focused on a masked child.

Ever since returning from the zoo, Isaac had become obsessed with this child.

He even used members of the Reaper Cult to attempt a kidnapping.

Isaac had said the child was different.

He tried to uncover Lily’s secret—but died without learning a thing.

“Hm...”

There was no reason to entertain the ramblings of a man he’d only used.

He could just ignore all of it and discard the file.

And yet, Grey couldn’t stop thinking about the masked child.

Why had Isaac been so obsessed with Lily?

What was it about her?

He had a vague hunch that uncovering that secret could be a major asset to their plans.

But approaching her wasn’t going to be easy.

Red was right there.

One wrong move, and they’d get caught and devoured before ever realizing their ambitions.

He was still thinking about who to entrust the task to when—

Step. Step.

Footsteps echoed.

“You seem troubled. Why not leave it to me?”

Recognizing the voice, Grey didn’t bother turning around.

“Oh? You? What’s gotten into you? You’re not the type to move unless there’s money involved.”

“I heard Prophet brought in some of the fallen Seven Deadly Sins.”

“So?”

“I want to prove I’m better than them. And since our goals overlap anyway, I might as well help you out while I’m at it.”

Grey paused to think.

The man beside him was technically an ally, but extremely calculating. He never did anything that didn’t benefit him.

So the fact that he was volunteering... smelled fishy.

Still—

“Fine. If it’s you, I’m sure you’ll do it well.”

Grey accepted the man’s offer without hesitation.