Chapter 44: Cinderella and the Glass Slipper
Upon hearing this, the witch’s delicate fingers, which were flipping through the pages, paused for a moment.
She looked up at Shaya with a hint of surprise, although she did not show it.
Seeing the expectation in Shaya’s expression, the witch remained silent for a while and did not directly refuse.
She gracefully stood up, surveyed the spacious hall, and then gently waved her hand.
As if the Creator had drawn a picture with a divine brush, accompanied by a “cutscene” that Shaya was very familiar with, the scene of the entire hall slowly faded away, revealing another space before him.
It was an incomprehensibly vast library, with bookshelves embedded in the high walls, neatly arranged with countless types of books.
Not only that, but the floor was covered with a red carpet embroidered with golden floral patterns, which was piled high with read books.
The witch turned around and softly said, “I have read every book here.”
It was just a short sentence, but Shaya understood the implication.
What she meant was that within a deity’s lifespan, she had read through various types of books, and it was very difficult for any story to capture her interest anymore.
Was this questioning the wisdom of countless literary masters from another world over thousands of years?
Watching the witch nonchalantly pick up a book and quietly sit back down on the steps, Shaya felt displeased.
As a writer, he knew very well how lacking the literary works in this world were.
“You might consider evaluating it after listening first.”
Shaya said.
The witch did not respond, as her slim white legs gently came together, placing the selected book on her lap, and lowered her head to turn one of its pages.
She neither rejected nor accepted.
Seeing there was no place to settle in the surroundings, Shaya simply sat cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by a pile of heavy books.
“The story I am going to tell is a fairy tale.”
Shaya said unexpectedly.
The witch was still engrossed in the book in her hands.
“A long, long time ago, there was a beautiful girl named Cinderella…”
……
Meanwhile, in the upper city of the royal capital, at a personnel mobilization department within the Judgment Tower, a conversation took place.
“Lord Rod, are you here to inspect the work?”
“Yes.”
“Please come in!”
“I remember that the most basic age requirement to become an internal member of the Judgment Tower is 18, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Here’s a case that’s a bit special, take a look.”
“A student from Norton Academy… aside from their age, they meet all the basic requirements. Do you mean to employ them by special exception?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, I will handle that right away.”
“Just arrange a position as a junior patroller for him; he’s too young and still needs to train.”
“Understood.”
……
The story of “Cinderella” is neither too long nor too short.
In fact, Shaya did not choose the original fairy tale version to narrate, but rather the live-action movie version by Disney, adding many embellishments along the way, emphasizing the romantic elements.
As he narrated, he occasionally glanced at the witch to secretly observe her reactions.
Shaya kept counting the frequency at which she turned the pages.
From initially turning a page every ten seconds, to every twenty seconds, and then it extended to half a minute between pages.
And from just now until now, nearly a minute had passed, and the witch still showed no signs of moving, remaining on the previous page she had been reading.
Moreover, when he mentioned Cinderella’s tragic background and her nickname “Cinderella,” the witch unconsciously lifted her head once but quickly concealed it soon after.
Shaya felt secretly pleased.
If it were just the original fairy tale version, it might not have been so captivating; however, with the emphasis on adult elements, it was no longer just a fairy tale, but more like a legitimate story of reversal.
When Shaya reached the part about the glass slipper, the witch finally provided a clear feedback through her actions.
She first slightly lowered her head to glance at her exposed, delicate, jade-like foot, as if contemplating something.
But soon, she seemed to sense Shaya’s gaze and silently averted her eyes.
Along with her gaze, she also drew back her small, fair feet from under her black skirt.
“……As it neared midnight, the returning Cinderella recalled the fairy’s warning, hurriedly lifting her skirt to leave the banquet, but just as she was leaving, the prince pulled her, causing her to stumble and lose a glass slipper at the doorway.”
“And when she returned home, as day broke and the magic faded, Cinderella returned to her former state and continued to suffer under the oppression of her wicked stepmother and stepsister day after day.”
At this point, Shaya suddenly paused.
From a realistic perspective, the story might have been able to end here.
For Cinderella, that night resembled a fleeting dream, as when she awoke, there was no fairy, no magic, and no glass slipper.
All that remained was a future devoid of light.
An atmosphere of silence settled suddenly.
Shaya bowed his head, opened his palm, and a pool of black liquid slowly oozed out, then under his control, it instantly solidified into a pitch-black one-handed sword.
He conjured a “paragon” using 【Embers】 and swung it with enthusiasm a couple of times.
If he were to face Angelica again with her icy spear, he could boldly shout “Star Burst Airflow Slash.”
On the other side.
“……”
Feeling the long silence, the witch lifted her head, glanced at Shaya, and said nothing.
But the ambient temperature inexplicably dropped a few degrees.
After all, nobody likes a cliffhanger.
After a while, seeing that Shaya still had no intention of continuing, the witch subtly clenched her fist.
Eventually, she slowly closed the book in her hand and turned her gaze to the young man.
The witch gently asked, “What is the ending of the story?”
As expected, compared to the so-called deities, in terms of behavior patterns and personality, the witch was more akin to humanity.
Even to Shaya, there was a subtle leniency that neither of them seemed to notice.
Shaya smiled slightly and retracted the black long sword in his hand.
He brazenly spoke nonsense, saying, “On Cinderella’s side, because she was bullied by her stepmother and stepsister every day, forced into heavy labor for years, she aged very quickly and passed away within a few years.”
“And the prince searched all over the city but could not find the woman in his heart, thus remained unmarried and left this world feeling melancholic.”
The witch looked at him with a calm expression.
“Very realistic tale.”
She commented coldly.
Not sure if it was an illusion, but it seemed that after hearing this false ending, her tone became even colder.
Shaya shook his head: “In reality, this story has a second ending.”
“After the banquet ended, in order to meet his dream lover again, the prince summoned the whole city, using the glass slipper left by Cinderella to search for the girl who could wear it.”
“Upon hearing this news, the wicked stepsisters wanted to become the princess, so they chopped off two toes and a heel to lure the prince home.”
“But they could not deceive the brilliant prince.”
“And just when he was in despair thinking he would never see that girl again, he suddenly saw ‘Cinderella’ cleaning dust in front of the fireplace.”
“Out of curiosity, the prince took out the glass slipper and requested her to try it on.”
“In his gaze, Cinderella successfully wore that beautiful glass slipper and admitted she was the girl who danced with him that night.”
“Thus, the story reached its climax and welcomed a perfect answer.”
“From then on, Cinderella entered the palace, becoming the beloved wife of the prince, living a life of wealth and happiness.”
At this point, he looked up and noticed the witch was somewhat lost in thought.
For some reason, Shaya thought of her unknown past; although she was the ultimate villain feared by everyone across the continent, it was hard to say what her history truly entailed.
Perhaps, it was not impossible for her to have some experiences similar to Cinderella’s.
After all, no one comes into this world out of thin air, and even from Shaya’s perspective with a cross-border mindset, deities are merely extremely powerful humans.
Of course, these are just conjectures.
But judging by her current appearance, it might not be entirely one-sided on Shaya’s part.
He did not even know why he was saying these things.
“So, a perfect ending does exist.” Shaya slowly stood, took a couple of steps forward, and slightly spread his hands. “The difference lies in which one people choose to have…”
