"Which Little Red Riding Hood are you?"
Yu Sheng stared intently into the squirrel's eyes, his tone more serious than ever.
The squirrel began shifting uneasily, alternately supporting its weight on its hind legs, then rapidly scratching at the fur on its face. "I... I'm a squirrel..."
Yu Sheng remained unmoved. "Fine. Then which Little Red Riding Hood is the squirrel?"
The squirrel: "..."
"Answer my question." Yu Sheng remained calm and firm. "You should have noticed that I'm bringing 'change' to this Black Forest. If you truly want to help Little Red Riding Hood, this may be your closest chance to success."
The palm-sized "little animal" finally stopped rocking its body. It stared straight at Yu Sheng for quite some time before finally seeming to make some decision—or perhaps reaching the point of having nowhere left to retreat. It lowered its head resignedly. "The zero-th."
Yu Sheng immediately frowned. "...What does that mean?"
"You've already seen it. The first Little Red Riding Hood brought the Black Forest its first furnace fire and candlelight. This Black Forest gradually evolved and filled out into what it is now." The squirrel nervously tangled its claws together, keeping its head lowered. "But have you ever wondered about an even earlier time? Before the 'Black Forest' had even appeared? Perhaps... all of this had a starting point."
Yu Sheng said nothing, merely using his gaze to make the squirrel continue.
"I... was the original mistake. Everything... began with me." The squirrel spoke slowly, still extremely resistant, as though every word brought immense conflict and pain. "I'm the squirrel of the Black Forest, the first living thing on the stage, and... the bad child who handed out the Fairy Tale book back then. I—I didn't know things would turn out like this..."
Yu Sheng's eyes