We immediately moved on to ‘tale reenactment’. The first thing we did was divide into teams.

“I’ll take care of the stage.”

The one who took on the stage was Cha Yerin.

“I got a new ability.”

Wearing the snail mask, she had recently learned to handle the tale embedded in her ‘mask’.

When Cha Yerin drove one hand deep into the floor and muttered softly, a snail shell sprouted from the ground a moment later.

[The tale, ‘Snail House’, begins its story.]

It was no ordinary snail house. It was a huge space big enough that even two grown men could stay the night without any problem. The more interesting point was that the inside of this house wasn’t actually a ‘snail house’. Bathroom if she wished, living room if she wished, kitchen if she wished. The ability of the tale ‘Snail House’ was that she could recreate any interior in whatever form she wanted.

Avoiding my eyes as if embarrassed, Cha Yerin said, “I’m still not used to the tale, so it only lasts for a day. And it takes about thirty minutes to make.”

A house where you could arrange the interior however you liked. With this, it didn’t matter where we had to sleep rough.

Gyeong Sein spoke in admiration. “If you’d gotten this ability just a bit earlier, we could have cleared 「Three Little Pigs」 with this too.”

“It might have been hard, since it doesn’t look like a brick house on the outside.”

“Ugh, I can’t fall behind either. Reader. I’ll bring the stage props. I just need to find a gourd bottle and plates, right?”

Before I could even answer, Gyeong Sein activated [Wind’s Path] and flew up into the sky.

Cha Yerin said, “She really turned into a flying squirrel.”

Perhaps because [Wind’s Path] had fused with the flying-squirrel mask’s tale, Gyeong Sein could now use [Wind’s Path] faster than anyone else in the group.

Uncle Dansoo, watching from the side, also chimed in, “Then I’ll……”

“You can just stay put, Uncle.”

Uncle Dansoo’s face drooped, so I quickly added, “There are quite a few tales where a turtle appears. You’ll get a chance to shine soon enough.”

“Then I’ll at least practice [Wind’s Path]. I’m a turtle, so I should at least be consistent……”

“Good. If you gain any new insight, share a bit with me too.”

In the meantime, Cha Yerin finished arranging the stage and reported, “Stage prep is done.”

The key event of the reenactment tale ‘The Fox and the Crane’ was that the fox and the crane invite each other to their respective homes and serve soup.

“Oooh, this really is exactly like my old kitchen.”

The crane owner let out a sound of amazement at the kitchen Cha Yerin had created. Lost for a moment in brief memories, the crane owner slowly looked around both kitchens.

“This side too…… Right. That fox friend’s kitchen was just like this.”

[The activation conditions for ‘Stageification’ have been fulfilled.]

I nodded. “If you’re ready, let’s start right away.”

[‘Stageification’ is activating!]
[The tale, ‘The Fox and the Crane’, begins its story!]
[Your ‘mask’ responds to the fable.]

Along with the system messages, my body temporarily changed to that of a fox. It was probably a phenomenon brought on by ‘Stageification’. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

“Today I’ll treat you.”

「The mischievous fox said to the crane.」

The voice of the tale flowed out. The crane owner, his eyes soaked in nostalgia, stared at that sentence for a moment, then readily nodded.

“Good. Let’s go to your house.”

「The crane answered with a smile.」

We entered the fox’s kitchen together. As everyone knows, what would happen next was already decided.

The fox deliberately serves soup on a flat plate to the crane. The long-beaked crane cannot eat the soup on the plate, and the mischievous fox, as if to tease the crane, licks the plate clean. It is a very nasty and simple story.

“Here, help yourself.”

The crane smiled gently when he saw the plate I set down.

“The soup looks delicious.”

“It’s a very delicious soup.”

“It reminds me of when you first served me this soup.”

“That was a long time ago.”

The crane stared quietly at the soup and then asked, “Do you still think people will like this soup?”

That line wasn’t in the original. I hadn’t expected the crane owner to ad-lib like that, so I hesitated for a moment before answering.

“Not all soups can be loved equally.”

“That’s true. I know.”

The crane’s eyes looked somehow sad.

Watching him, I opened my mouth again.

“But.”

「The mischievous fox looked down at the soup for a moment, then added.」

“Someone out there will miss this soup. That alone is surely something meaningful.”

The crane didn’t speak for a while after hearing that. How long did we stay like that? The crane’s tears fell onto the plate.

“As expected, I still can’t eat your soup this time either.”

While no one spoke, only the tale continued on with its story.

「The fox ate the delicious soup, and the crane stared down at the plate of soup he couldn’t eat.」

It was a perfectly reenacted first half. If only the very next sentence hadn’t appeared.

「And outside the kitchen window, a panda was chewing bamboo.」

*

[Your approval rating has dropped.]
[Currently, 9% of beastfolk belonging to District 13 support you.]

Once the first half of 「Stageification」 ended, the first to speak was Cha Yerin.

“Is the panda a MacGuffin?”

In another corner, Ye Hyeonwoo kept bowing his head to the rest of the group.

“I’m sorry……. I suddenly really wanted to eat bamboo.”

“Why are you suddenly chomping bamboo there of all places?!”

At Gyeong Sein’s shout, Ye Hyeonwoo ducked his head in shame.

“Lately, I keep wanting to chew bamboo where everyone can see me for some reason……”

Uncle Dansoo asked me with a worried look, “Can we reshoot the first half?”

“This isn’t a movie.”

There is no concept of a retake in a tale. Once 「Stageification」 is triggered, it is recorded exactly as it happened. In other words, every tale is basically a one-take movie.

“Why a panda! Why is there a panda there!”

Meanwhile, the original owner of our tale was not in his right mind either. I deliberately ignored the author’s screams and answered, “We’re short on time, so let’s start the second half.”

Stageification immediately resumed. This time, the stage was the crane’s home.

「Meanwhile, the crane, who had fallen for the fox’s trick, decided to take revenge.」

The crane owner confidently set a gourd bottle on the table.

“Go on, today I’ll treat you.”

“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”

As befitted the original author of the tale who had reenacted it countless times, the crane deftly stuck his beak in and began sucking up the soup inside the gourd bottle. Of course, I couldn’t eat the soup. The neck of the gourd bottle containing the soup was far too narrow for me to drink from it.

「Then the crane asked with a laugh.」

“Why aren’t you eating? Are you perhaps worried I poisoned it?”

I gave a wry smile.

“The soup in the gourd bottle looks so delicious I can’t bring myself to eat it.”

“I knew it, didn’t I?”

We looked at each other and laughed.

This was the ending of 「The Fox and the Crane」 that everyone knew. It was the story of how the fox had his own prank come back to him as karma and resolves that he should treat others well from now on. I didn’t know if such a tale would still sell these days, but it was certainly the kind of thing that would be popular with constellations who liked wholesome stories.

If only not for the next line.

「But the fox had foreseen this situation in advance and had called a friend.」

When I jerked my head up, the crane owner was also looking at me.

“Friend?”

I didn’t remember calling anything like that. Before I, flustered, could answer, the crane’s kitchen door burst open.

「There stood the fox’s friend, the wolf.」

The wolf said, “I’ve never been able to understand this since I was a kid.”

「The wolf walked straight toward the fox and the crane.」

“Why can’t you eat this?”

「Muttering as if he really couldn’t understand, the wolf snatched the gourd bottle from the fox’s hand.」

“Isn’t it fine if you just drink it like this?”

「The wolf stuck the mouth of the bottle to his lips and chugged the soup down.」

I stared blankly up at the wolf. The crane owner, who was just as shocked, did the same.

「A moment later, having polished off all of the soup in the gourd bottle, the wolf said.」

“It’s good.”

「While everyone remained silent, outside the kitchen window, a panda was chewing bamboo.」

*

“Cut! Cuuuut!”

[Your approval rating has dropped.]
[Currently, 8% of beastfolk belonging to District 13 support you.]

“Cuuuuuut!”

The crane owner’s feathers scattered. If the nearby beastfolk hadn’t held him back, there would have been an incident on the spot.

“You bastard! You bastards ruined my tale!”

[The ‘Stage’ has been contaminated!]
[The composition of the tale is being twisted!]

“Please, calm down for a moment.”

“Do I # Nоvеlight # look like I can calm down right now!”

I spoke to reassure the crane owner, who seemed about to keel over from rage.

“Don’t worry. This was all intentional.”

“Intentional? Did you just say intentional?”

“You asked us to change your tale, didn’t you? So we changed it in the style that’s popular these days.”

That was a lie.

“I swear on my name.”

This tale was ruined. From now on, the tale ‘The Fox and the Crane’ would probably be changed to ‘The Fox and the Crane and the Wolf― Sometimes the Panda’. The tale name had become bizarre, and the lesson or message it had had was shattered.

But this is what I think.

[The constellation, ‘Black Flame Dragon of the Abyss’, likes the wolf’s idea.]

Just because a story is ruined doesn’t mean it isn’t popular.

[The constellation, ‘Dragon Lying Down’, says they have learned a new lesson.]

There are even stories that sell well precisely because they are ruined.

[The constellation, ‘One Who Brought Ten Lambs’, says the panda is too cute.]

“The evaluators say it’s fine too.”

At my words, the crane owner looked bewildered.

“Those people are……?”

“They’re the ones who were assembled as tale evaluators.”

It’s not like I jumped into this bold plan with no safety net. If we were going to deliver tales, we needed standards for the tales we would deliver. For reference, there were three constellations I had gathered through Bihyung.

[The constellation, ‘Black Flame Dragon of the Abyss’, tells you to bring something more exhilarating next time.]

The cider faction, ‘Black Flame Dragon of the Abyss’. This guy who only liked ‘cider’-style tales was perfect to represent the impatient constellations. Of course, not everyone in the <Star Stream> liked only cider the way Black Flame Dragon did.

There were certainly constellations who liked classy, refined tales as well. For example,

[The constellation, ‘Dragon Lying Down’, feels a profound insight in the altered tale.]

The cultured faction, ‘Dragon Lying Down’. This clever constellation was perfect to represent stars with intellectual vanity.

But this kind of constellation, because of an obsession with finding some kind of meaning in a tale no matter what, sometimes insisted that a completely messed-up tale was good. To prevent that, I had recruited the third constellation.

[The constellation, ‘One Who Brought Ten Lambs’, likes the friendship between the fox and the crane.]

The emotional faction, ‘One Who Brought Ten Lambs’. I had taken this constellation on Bihyung’s recommendation, but I still hadn’t figured out their identity. The modifier mentioned lambs, but they didn’t seem to belong to <Twelve Zodiac>. Judging by their tale evaluation criteria, they were somewhat emotional, so I felt they could compensate for the shortcomings of the other two.

“If we can satisfy all three of them, we’ll be able to capture at least eight tenths of the <Star Stream>.”

“Truly?”

I nodded and looked up at the sky.

‘Bihyung, are you ready?’

Bihyung responded as if he had been waiting.

―Are you sure about this?

‘You said the constellations outside are waiting for news about me, didn’t you?’

―Well, yes, but.

‘Then even if I served them a tale like 「A Turd Pretending to Be Soybean Paste」, they’d gulp it down. Which channel are you going to use to distribute the tale?’

―We decided to route it through the Misik Association. The Center Head said it’s fine as long as it’s distributed through them.

I see. The ‘Misik Association’, huh.

‘That’s good. There are plenty of constellations with weird food tastes over there.’

―You’re telling me you know the Misik Association constellations too?

‘I just happened to hear a bit here and there.’

[The tale you are involved in has been submitted through the Administration Bureau.]
[Due to its abnormal Stageification, the name of the tale is being changed.]
[The tale, ‘The Fox and the Crane and the Wolf― Sometimes the Panda’, is being transmitted.]

The bizarre tale we had created pierced through the Center’s ceiling and vanished, leaving behind a long tail. Watching the flopping, receding tail of the tale, I felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

I’d felt like this when I first started serializing too.

For the first time in a while, I turned on my smartphone and checked the 『Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint』 that had been uploaded to the platform. The side story was still being serialized on the platform in real time. I tapped the most recent episode and checked the comments.

[One daily free ticket will be used.]
[Regardless of order, one comment from that episode will be randomly displayed.]

+

―Pu■o?

+

I stared at the comment for a long time, then tilted my head.

What is Pu■o?

*

‘Oroseong’ of the dark dimension.

This was the territory of ‘Incalculable Strictness’, one of the 72 Demon Kings, and here a certain unofficial gathering was held on a regular basis. The Misik Association. A gathering of stars who loved stories more than anyone in the <Star Stream>, who loved them so much they had gone just a bit crazy.

True to their status as the hipsters of the <Star Stream>, their daily routine was criticizing the differences in each other’s tale preferences across generations. But today, a different wind of gourmet taste was blowing through the Misik Association.

“Have you tried that one?”

“Oh, of course.”

On any other day, they would have been slicing up Swordmaster tales, but today they were licking at a bizarre tale.

The Demon King ‘Worthless Darkness’ exclaimed, “My word, isn’t this a fable? A first-generation tale.”

“The base is first-generation, but it’s been arranged just right.”

The ‘Overcomer of Trials a Step Late’ chimed in, intrigued.

“From the title alone, it feels a bit like <Takamagahara>. Shutendoji, do you know anything?”

“Keh! It’s not something from our side. More than that, I thought animal tales would be boring.”

When the ‘Young Noble Who Drinks’ spoke in a bored voice, the ‘Impatient Predator of the Swamp’ added, “The parts where the fox is talking are quite tasty.”

“What’s with this panda?”

“That seems to be the point. It’s unusual.”

Then the ‘Lord of Forgotten Longing’ and the ‘Master of the White Castle’ joined in.

“Interesting.”

Even constellations who would normally be split into heated argument were in agreement. A rare peace had come to the Misik Association. In that brief peace, the constellations sank into their own thoughts for once.

It was then that a thug kicked open Oroseong’s front gate.

“What are you all stuffing your faces with?”

A young monkey with beautiful golden-tinged fur. Some of the constellations who saw the monkey turned pale and muttered,

“Damn, the monkey brat is here.”

As the constellations quietly began to scatter, there was one constellation who greeted him. It was the ‘Overcomer of Trials a Step Late’.

“Oh, Mihu King. You’re here.”

The ‘King of the Stone Monkeys’ nodded lightly and asked, “The Seat of Steady Attendance isn’t here today?”

“That one hasn’t been showing up much lately. More importantly, here, try this.”

“What is it?”

“A tale that’s in vogue these days. It’s an animal tale—heard of it?”

The ‘King of the Stone Monkeys’ frowned as he looked down at the tale the ‘Overcomer of Trials a Step Late’ presented.

“Looks bad. It’s a tale from animals that couldn’t even get into <Twelve Zodiac>.”

“Try it before you talk. It was hard to get.”

The monkey king tilted his head, then reluctantly picked up a piece of the tale. A moment later, the fur on the monkey king’s arm bristled up.

“This…… Where did this tale come from?”

“The Recycling Center.”

“Who made it?”

The speed at which Mihu King reached for the tale grew faster and faster. Smiling faintly at him, the ‘Overcomer of Trials a Step Late’ answered,

“A guy named Kim Dokja.”