“Ah——!!”
Noel sprang up from the grass, clutching her head and screaming wildly. Though her body was unscathed, the fear of death was seared into her mind like a nightmare.
“Why… why… why!”
She panted heavily.
“Because you triggered a trap (ᗜ ˰ ᗜ)” said Leinata, who was lying on top of her.
She had just reverted to the moment when the boulder trap was triggered and Leinata had tackled her.
Leinata didn’t seem surprised by Noel’s screaming.
She probably thought Noel was scared because she almost got crushed.
But that wasn’t it…
“Roar——!!”
The howl of the “Grandma Wolf” echoed in her mind…
At the end of the last cycle, Noel had triggered the bad ending. She only remembered the grotesque wolf’s head, her body torn and shredded by sharp fangs and teeth, a gruesome death…
“Ugh… X﹏X”
At that thought, a strong wave of dizziness hit her. Her vision went dark, and she fainted.
…
…
“Mmm…”
When Noel woke again, the light around her was dim.
She opened her eyes groggily and found herself lying in a dry, warm tree hollow, with soft hay beneath her.
“Awake?”
A cool voice came from beside her.
Noel turned her head and saw Leinata.
She was sitting nearby, wiping a knife, and beside her lay the wolf cub named Little Grey.
“Where is this…”
Noel rubbed her temples, her memory still a mess.
“My tree house. Good for taking care of humans who pass out from too much fright.” Leinata said without looking up.
Noel was taken aback.
Oh, right… this was the reset timeline.
Leinata’s affection for her was zero right now.
Even though Noel had been through countless cycles, in the current Leinata’s eyes, she was just a passerby who had fainted for no reason.
But even so, she had still brought the unconscious Noel back.
Leinata could probably be trusted…
“Eat something.”
Leinata took out an apple she had picked and casually handed it to Noel.
Noel took it instinctively. Looking at the crisp, tempting apple in her hand, a warmth surged in her heart.
“Thank you, big sister.” Noel took a bite obediently.
“You’re not wary of food from a stranger, huh.”
“I think big sister is a good person… crunch crunch…” Noel started devouring the apple.
“…Hmph, so careless.”
[Leinata affection +5]
Just then, Little Grey also came over, curiously sniffing Noel’s skirt.
If this had been her first time, Noel would have been scared and hid.
But not now…
“My name is Leinata. This is Little Grey. Don’t be afraid, he doesn’t bite. You just need to… Huh?”
Before Leinata could finish her introduction, Noel naturally reached out and gently stroked Little Grey’s fluffy head, even scratching under his chin.
“Oww~”
Little Grey squinted comfortably, wagged his tail, and even tried to lick Noel’s hand.
This made Leinata stop wiping her knife.
A flicker of surprise passed through her emerald eyes.
“First time I’ve seen a human child who isn’t afraid of wolves…”
Her gaze at Noel softened.
[Leinata affection +10]
[Current affection: 15 (Friendly)]
The affection was rising quickly.
But Noel couldn’t be happy at all.
She sat in the tree hollow, hugging her knees, staring blankly, her mind in a mess.
“Why…” she murmured.
She had avoided all the traps, won over Leinata, and even reached Grandma’s house successfully.
So why did she still trigger the Bad End?
Why did the Big Bad Wolf disguise itself as Grandma?
According to the fairy tale plot, the Big Bad Wolf Leinata had already appeared.
So why was Grandma still the Grandma Wolf?
She couldn’t understand, really couldn’t understand QAQ
This sense of helplessness suffocated Noel.
It was like a deadly deadlock—no matter what she chose, it was wrong.
‘System! Tell me! What do I have to do to clear this? Why did I die at Grandma’s house?’
Silence in her mind.
After several seconds, that cold mechanical voice sounded again:
[Insufficient permissions. Host level too low to query specific clearance guide. Please explore on your own.]
‘Explore my ass! You’ve already killed me horribly many times (╬◣д◢)’
Noel kicked the air in anger, tears welling up in her eyes.
However, just as she was about to continue cursing the system, a golden light exploded in her vision.
[Ding! You have a new mail.]
[The newbie exclusive gift pack from “Witch Weiran” has been delivered!]
[Open?]
‘… Huh (ﾟ⊿ﾟ)?’
A gift pack from Weiran?
That evil witch had prepared this for her?
Noel was stunned for a moment, then frantically clicked confirm: “Open! Open now!”
[Congratulations! Obtained item: Hint Card]
[Function: Can be used once per instance. Provides one hint regarding the conditions for clearing the current instance.]
A hint item.
Perfect timing (｀Δ´)
‘Use! Use immediately!’
With the command, a line of blood-red text appeared on Noel’s retina:
[Ding! Item Hint Card used successfully]
[Hint for perfect ending requirement: Find the “real Little Red Riding Hood”]
‘ (O_O)’
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.
Noel stared blankly at the line of text, her brain crashing for three seconds.
Then, she abruptly looked down at herself.
White long hair, red pupils, a white dress, and the red hat on her head.
“What does that mean?”
All along, she had assumed she was “Little Red Riding Hood” because the system said she was the protagonist and assigned her a similar character template.
But…
“Wait—I’m not Little Red Riding Hood? Σ(ŎдŎ|||)ﾉﾉ”
Then where the hell is the real Little Red Riding Hood?!
‘So hopeless QAQ’