To the clown's surprise, Leona did not show any signs of fear. She opened her notebook and began writing in it on her own.
Based solely on the situation just now, Leona had gathered a crucial piece of information.
She wrote in her notebook: Characters in the story are not unique, and invaders might draw the exact same character.
“Mr. Clown, you haven't answered my question yet. What do you mean by ‘unique’?” She closed her notebook and looked at the clown again.
The clown, however, held up a single finger. “Ten Remnant Pages. Hand over ten Remnant Pages and I'll tell you. Trust me, it's a bargain of a deal.”
“Remnant Pages?” Leona was confused, recalling the 200 Remnant Pages she had received during settlement.
Judging by the clown's behavior, Remnant Pages seemed to be useful—likely some sort of currency.
Just as she was about to refuse the deal with the clown, a heavy set of footsteps sounded.
“Jester, you're as despicable as ever. Everyone knows about the Little Red Riding Hood instance; you could ask anyone and find out. Yet you actually want to trick a newcomer out of ten Remnant Pages? You should know that ten Remnant Pages can buy a full day's rations.”
Leona looked toward the source of the voice. The speaker was a girl a head taller than her with a light dusting of freckles on her face, wearing a black robe. Looking closely at the fabric, one could spot unfamiliar runes.
A witch.
The word surfaced in Leona's mind.
“It's Aria. I can't believe she actually came back alive from the Tournament,” a man suddenly said. Judging from his attire, his identity was likely a soldier.
“In that case, Baron and the others must be dead,” a middle-aged uncle wearing a chef's hat beside him said.
Tournament? Yet another new term.
“Then, beautiful lady, could you answer the doubt in my heart?” Leona offered Aria a faint smile, inadvertently revealing a dimple on one side.
Compared to her adorable appearance, this gentlemanly tone was completely unfitting.
Aria seemed to find the young girl before her quite amusing. Even while covering her mouth, she couldn't stop herself from laughing out loud.
“No need to be so formal. Just call me Aria like everyone else. I'm very glad to answer your questions, but before that, could you tell me your name?”
“Lit-tle Red Rid-ing Hood,” Aria playfully called out Leona's current identity.
Leona felt the air was a bit stifling, so she lowered the brim of her hat and shook her head, revealing her beautiful blonde hair.
Even with a bandage wrapped around one eye, it was hard to conceal her beauty. It was as if she had stepped straight out of a storybook.
“My name is Leona.”
Upon hearing this, everyone present made a mental note of the name of the only Little Red Riding Hood.
“Hey, hey, Lady Witch. Why don't you stay on the upper floor where you belong? Why do you always run down here to ruin my good deeds?” the clown suddenly interrupted, his tone thoroughly annoyed.
The upper floor. Yet another fresh term.
Leona began to take a bit of interest in this unfamiliar world.
“Listen here, Jester. With scum like you on this floor, if I didn't come, I doubt any newcomer would ever get the chance to go up,” Aria shot Jester a cold glare.
After bickering back and forth for a bit, the two began resolving Leona's doubts.
“Roles are also divided into tiers, and the story's protagonist is usually the hardest to clear. Taking the Little Red Riding Hood instance alone as an example, the protagonist must face not only two wild wolves, but also an Intervener.”
As Aria was explaining, Jester suddenly interjected.
“Newbie, here's a heads-up: those Interveners are characters from other instances. Aside from the Tournament, from now on, all of us will have to play the role of an Intervener.”
“Wait, isn't there a hunter?” Leona asked in confusion. Although there was a huge gap in strength between them, with a powerful helper like the hunter, these problems didn't seem particularly severe.
“The hunter?”
Hearing that word, the expressions on both of their faces turned grim.
The man kneeling on the ground nearby suddenly scrambled to his feet, his expression gradually easing up.
“The hunter? You mean that monster in the instance? If he hadn't been so overwhelmingly strong, I wouldn't have chosen the second clearance route, nor would I have eaten her.”
As the man spoke, another wave of nausea hit him, and he dry-heaved.
Aria shot the man a look of disgust, but nodded nonetheless. “Yes. Everyone who has come out of that instance marvels at the hunter's strength. His existence is essentially equal to sealing off the third clearance route.”
“Then what's with me being the only Little Red Riding Hood? You both said the hunter is very strong, so with his help, how could not a single one clear it?” Leona asked in confusion.
“The hunter helped you?!” Everyone watching around them, including the retching man, blurted out the words together.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Leona finally understood why she was the only Little Red Riding Hood to make it out of that instance.
From their shock alone, it was clear that the hunter would never choose to help Little Red Riding Hood.
But why had he helped her? Could it be that she had transmigrated into Little Red Riding Hood's body?
“Are all of your bodies your original bodies?”
Just as Leona was about to ask this question, she felt it was inappropriate and changed her phrasing.
“Aria, did you only get your freckles after coming to this world?”
“With all due respect, Leona, your question is a bit impolite. My freckles are natural. Do you think they're an eyesore?” Aria was slightly annoyed.
Due to differing personal aesthetics, people had often made fun of her freckles back in school.
“No, they are very beautiful, especially on your face,” Leona said, shaking her head.
She wasn't joking. At least in her view, whether Aria had freckles or not didn't affect her beauty in the slightest. The freckles were more like decorations.
At the same time, she obtained the answer she wanted.
Namely, everyone present besides her had come to this world directly in their original bodies.
But why was she the special one? That remained to be verified.
The anger that had just flared up in Aria was instantly doused; she had never met someone who spoke so sweetly.
If Leona had merely said they were beautiful, she would have thought nothing of it, perhaps even viewing it as a word of comfort.
But Leona just had to add that extra phrase.
Especially on your face.
Escalating directly from praising freckles to praising her person made it very hard to suppress the corners of her mouth.
“Don't change the subject, newbie. From what you're saying, did the hunter help you?” Aria was still immersed in that compliment when Jester's sudden interruption cut her off.
Leona didn't answer. Instead, she offered a sly smile.
“Want to know? Twenty Remnant Pages.”
“You...” Jester raised his right hand and clenched his fist, but after freezing for a few seconds, he lowered it back down.
“I hope we don't meet in an instance.”
Leaving those words behind, he departed in a huff.
“So petty,” Aria couldn't help remarking as she watched Jester's back.
Leona nodded in agreement. Recalling how Jester looked like he wanted to make a move earlier, she asked:
“You can't hurt people here, right?”
Aria whipped her head around and stared at Leona as if looking at a monster.
Obviously, she had guessed right.
Leona also confirmed her answer from Aria's gaze, and silently recorded this piece of information in her notebook.
Rate on N.U.
