"The red dancing shoes from the fairy tale?"
Shimizu glanced curiously at the shoes. "They look beautiful."
As a ghost, or rather, a guardian spirit, Shimizu didn't experience pain or fatigue. Naturally, she had no fear of putting on the red dancing shoes.
Tap-tap-tap.
The shoes walked lightly across the floor and slipped onto Shimizu's feet.
And then… nothing happened.
"Meh?"
Tsubame, still transformed into a little lamb, tilted her head in confusion. Her sheep form allowed her to make only soft bleating sounds.
Amamiya also looked at Shimizu, equally puzzled.
"Why didn't the red shoes make me dance?" Shimizu asked innocently, glancing down at her feet.
Before anyone could respond, the shoes fell off on their own.
"Maybe because you're a ghost?" Amamiya suggested thoughtfully.
"Guardian spirit!" Shimizu corrected indignantly. "I'm a dignified guardian spirit, not just some ghost! How dare these shoes ignore me? I'm so offended!"
Amamiya sighed inwardly. Clearly, relying on Shimizu wasn't an option.
His gaze shifted back to the red dancing shoes, which had begun moving again. A faint prompt appeared in front of him:
[Upon careful observation, you've discovered the red dancing shoes' weakness: without a human wearer, they cannot perform their dance.]
"They can't move without someone wearing them," Amamiya muttered, his eyes narrowing.
To test this, he scooped up Little Red Riding Hood and held her aloft.
The red dancing shoes approached, circling around Amamiya and the girl in his arms, their tapping steps echoing in the room.
"So they can't leave the ground?" Shimizu mused, observing their behavior. "That doesn't seem too dangerous."
"That's not entirely true," Amamiya countered, adjusting his hold on the girl. "These shoes clearly won't stop until they achieve their goal. It's relentless."
While he could carry both Tsubame and the guide loli for a short time, it wasn't a sustainable solution throughout the instance.
"What about burning them?" Shimizu suggested, raising a finger.
"It's worth a try." Amamiya nodded.
They attempted it, but the flames fizzled out immediately upon contact with the shoes, extinguished by some unseen force.
"Burning won't work," Amamiya concluded grimly. "If fire fails, other conventional methods likely will too. But these shoes aren't invincible. Just like venomous snakes always have an antidote nearby, there must be a clue or a solution somewhere in this house."
He turned to Shimizu. "Can you hold Little Red Riding Hood while I search for clues?"
"Leave it to me," she agreed, taking the young guide into her care.
Even though allowing the loli to wear the shoes momentarily was an option, treating her with care was important, as she was still their guide.
"We've already checked the first floor," Amamiya said decisively. "I'll head upstairs to search the second floor."
"Meh~"
The little lamb—formerly Tsubame—stood up on her short legs and began following him.
"Senpai, are you coming along to help?"
"Meh."
The lamb nodded firmly.
"Alright, let's search together," Amamiya said. "You're very meticulous, Senpai. With both of us, we can ensure nothing gets overlooked."
"Meh~"
"...Right, I forgot. You're just a little lamb right now," he added wryly.
"..."
With Amamiya leading and the lamb following closely behind, the two ascended the stairs. Meanwhile, Shimizu stayed downstairs, keeping the red dancing shoes preoccupied to prevent any accidents during the exploration.
Amamiya raised the flashlight, the bright beam slicing through the dim second floor.
The air was heavy with a strong musty odor, and a thin layer of dust blanketed the floor. Other than its eerie and rundown atmosphere, there was nothing particularly frightening about the place.
"There are four rooms in total. Don't split up," Amamiya instructed before pushing open the door to the first room.
According to the guide's information, the house's owner had moved to the city and taken all the valuables. The room was empty except for a few scattered items that were too inconvenient to carry.
Amamiya and Tsubame stepped inside and began their search.
"No clues," Amamiya quickly concluded. "Next room."
"Meh," came Tsubame's nonchalant response.
The pair moved to the second room. Like the first, it was empty, coated in dust, and filled only with random debris—no valuable clues in sight.
"Next room," Amamiya said, undeterred.
He opened the door to the third room and swept his flashlight around. Unlike the previous rooms, this one had more furnishings—a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk.
The two entered and resumed their search for clues.
Before long, Amamiya discovered a yellowed notebook tucked inside the desk drawer. As soon as his fingers touched it, a notification popped up in the game:
[You found Karen's diary.]
"Got it," Amamiya announced, his spirits lifting.
In the game, only significant items triggered notifications, so this discovery was promising.
"Meh?" Tsubame, a small lamb, tilted her head curiously and tried to peer at the diary. However, being no taller than the average person's knee, she couldn't reach the desk.
Amamiya moved to the bed, sat down, and lifted his tiny companion onto the mattress. Then he opened the diary.
The pages were yellowed with age, filled with Latin characters. Thankfully, the game's translation feature allowed them to clearly understand its contents.
The diary began:
"My name is Karen. I am five years old. My mother gave me this diary. I'm so happy! I'll write in it every day from now on."
The entries that followed were short and mundane:
"Day two... eating, sleeping, helping with chores, playing games."
"Day three... eating, sleeping, and helping with chores."
Life in this fairytale world seemed dull and uneventful for children.
Perhaps due to the monotony, Karen soon abandoned her daily diary habit. Over the next two years, she only wrote during major holidays, leaving her day-to-day life largely undocumented.
Then, the story began to take a more poignant turn.
At eight years old, Karen's mother passed away from illness, leaving her orphaned. Fortunately, a kind old woman took her in, giving Karen a new home.
Karen slowly recovered from her grief and started embracing life again. As she grew older, her appreciation for beauty blossomed.
One day, while browsing a store, Karen spotted a pair of exquisite red dancing shoes. She fell in love with them at first sight and used her carefully saved pocket money to buy them. From that day on, Karen wore her beloved shoes everywhere—even to church, where she refused to take them off.
When the old woman discovered this, she was furious. She believed church prayers demanded solemnity and reverence, and wearing such flashy shoes was deeply disrespectful.
Karen promised to stop, but she secretly continued wearing the shoes to church.
Then, one day, the red dancing shoes took on a will of their own. They began to move uncontrollably, forcing Karen to dance endlessly, beyond her control.
At first, Karen managed to hide the red shoes' strange behavior, but over time, the shoes danced for longer and longer periods. Eventually, during one church service, they began to move uncontrollably, causing a public uproar.
The old woman, enraged and deeply disappointed, fell gravely ill from the stress and passed away shortly after.
Overwhelmed with guilt and sorrow, Karen made up her mind. She wept as she discarded the red dancing shoes and left her home, unable to bear the painful memories tied to the place.
The diary's account largely mirrored the original fairytale, though one crucial detail was missing: Karen had never asked an executioner to cut off her feet.
After finishing the diary, a familiar notification chimed in Amamiya's ears:
[You have read Karen's diary. Side quest triggered: Red Shoes.]
[Quest Objective: Help the Red Shoes find Karen.]
[Time Limit: 24 hours.]
"Amamiya-kun, I got a mission notification!" exclaimed Tsubame, her voice filled with surprise.
Amamiya turned to respond, only to realize that the time limit on her transformation spell had expired. Tsubame was no longer a sheep—she had returned to her human form.
"You're back already?" Amamiya asked.
Tsubame stretched, a playful smile on her face. "It's such a strange feeling being a sheep. Have you ever experienced it, Amamiya-kun?"
"Once," Amamiya replied, his tone neutral. His gaze unintentionally drifted toward Tsubame, noticing her fair, delicate skin even in the dimly lit room.
So white, he thought to himself. What a virtuous conscience. At least five Kaguyas wouldn't compare.
"What are you looki—KYAA!!"
Tsubame let out a startled gasp as she suddenly realized her situation. Her face flushed crimson as she quickly wrapped her arms around her chest.
"Why do the clothes disappear when I turn back from being a sheep?!" she demanded, flustered.
Amamiya replied matter-of-factly, "Those are clothes meant for people. Of course, sheep can't wear them."
"You—!" Tsubame bit her lip in frustration. "Turn around!"
Amamiya obliged but couldn't resist a comment. "It's so dark in here, I can't see much even if I tried."
"What are you trying to see?!" Tsubame growled, her teeth clenched. She resisted the urge to strike him. "Just hurry downstairs and get me some clothes!"
As the two stepped into the corridor, a faint sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway.
"Uh-oh," Tsubame muttered, her face paling. "The red dancing shoes!"
She was right. A pair of red shoes appeared at the door, moving quickly toward the room.
Unlike the young guide loli, Tsubame—now in her full human form—seemed to fit the "ideal host" criteria for the Red Shoes.
As the shoes advanced on her, a vivid and horrifying image flashed through Tsubame's mind: herself, completely at the mercy of the enchanted shoes, forced to dance naked in the hallway in front of Amamiya. The sheer embarrassment was too much to bear.
No! I refuse! I will die of embarrassment!
Overwhelmed by the terror of social death, Tsubame turned to Amamiya and shouted, "Amamiya-kun, pick me up! Quickly!"
"Got it," Amamiya responded without hesitation. He scooped her into his arms effortlessly.
The sensation of her smooth, soft skin against his hand made Amamiya momentarily freeze. Her skin felt so silky that it seemed to offer no resistance. Without thinking, he tightened his grip slightly to secure her.
The sudden sensation of her thigh being gripped by a boy made Tsubame let out an involuntary gasp. She quickly bit her lower lip to stifle the sound, preserving a shred of her dignity.
The soft tapping of the red dancing shoes echoed against the floor as they approached Amamiya. Since they lacked a host, the shoes could only circle around him, as though assessing the situation.
"Amamiya-kun, the red shoes are here," Tsubame whispered nervously.
From downstairs, the sound of footsteps grew louder, accompanied by Shimizu's voice. "Amamiya, is everything okay up there?"
Startled, Tsubame buried her face against Amamiya's neck, her breathing rapid. "Don't let them come up!" she hissed.
"But—"
"No buts! This is way too embarrassing!"
Some things, she thought, were far worse than mere exposure.
"Understood." Amamiya nodded and called out, "Big Sister Shimizu, there's no need to come upstairs. Please take Little Red Riding Hood to the yard. I'll handle the red shoes from here."
"Why can't we come up?" Shimizu asked, her tone puzzled.
With a completely serious expression, Amamiya replied, "What's about to happen is... graphic and violent. It's not suitable for children."
Tsubame froze. "…"
In a way, that explanation wasn't entirely wrong.
"Alright, then. We'll wait outside," Shimizu said, as Little Red Riding Hood footsteps receded.
Tsubame exhaled in relief. At least, for now, the immediate danger of a public "social death" had passed.
But a sudden realization hit her like a bolt of lightning. Her eyes widened in horror. "Wait! Being carried in a boy's arms is already a social death, isn't it?!"
Amamiya glanced down at her, bemused. "You're thinking about this now?"
"You're still looking?!" she yelped, instinctively covering his eyes with her hand.
"What are you doing, Senpai?" Amamiya sighed, exasperated.
"What are you looking at?!" Tsubame retorted, her voice a mix of embarrassment and frustration. "It's already bad enough, and you're still thinking about that?!"
"Please don't slander my character," Amamiya replied with mock seriousness. "I'm not looking at you—I'm looking at the red shoes."
Tsubame: "…"
Realizing he had a point, Tsubame bit her lip and adjusted her position, wrapping one arm around his neck while using the other to cover herself.
Amamiya, meanwhile, directed his attention to the red shoes pacing impatiently around him. "I know where Karen is," he said firmly.
The red shoes stopped abruptly.
"I get it," Amamiya continued, his tone almost sympathetic. "You're just a pair of dancing shoes. All you want is to dance. Is that so wrong?"
He sighed dramatically. "Karen abandoning you like that—it's heartbreaking. Truly unforgivable. But don't worry. Come with me, and I'll help you find her. We'll get you the justice you deserve."
For a moment, the shoes were still. Then, a familiar chime echoed in Amamiya's ears.
[You have successfully persuaded the Red Shoes. You may now temporarily store the Red Shoes in your inventory.]
[Note: Failure to locate Karen within 24 hours will result in becoming the Red Shoes' new target.]
"It's safe now, Senpai," Amamiya said as he gently set Tsubame down. The lingering sensation of her smooth skin on his hands made him hesitate momentarily, but he quickly refocused and crouched to pick up the shoes. They disappeared neatly into his game inventory.
"The floor is filthy," Amamiya said, glancing at her bare feet. "Should I carry you downstairs?"
Tsubame hesitated, her gaze flickering to the dusty ground. It wasn't dangerous, but it was undeniably unpleasant.
Before he could retract the offer, she mumbled softly, "Then... I'll leave it to you, Amamiya-kun."
Amamiya blinked, surprised. He had fully expected her to refuse. "Wait, you're serious?"
Tsubame's cheeks flushed faintly as she averted her gaze. "The ground is dirty, and I don't have shoes. It's only practical."
Still baffled but not about to argue, Amamiya bent down and scooped her up again. As he descended the stairs, he quipped, "Thank you for the honor, Senpai."
"This isn't an 'honor!'" Tsubame snapped, her face burning. "I just don't want to step in dust, that's all!"