The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 288 ????? Pago - The Two-Eyed in the One-Eyed World It was on a summer evening when Hanamori Popuri first learned that she was Two-Eyed. (E/N: To avoid any confusion, Popuri is the heroine of this arc. I am not a fan of the name but it's what the author chose) Playing with the children at the neighborhood playground as usual, Popuri suddenly realized something strange. Clearly when they started playing, there were five people including Popuri, but somehow it had increased to six. A child with strange appearance, having ink-black hair and skin white as if painted with white powder, wearing red traditional clothing, was standing among Popuri and her friends with a bright smile as if it was natural for them to be there. "Who are you?" Popuri asked. It wasn't a question with any particular malice. She just asked for their name because there was a child she hadn't seen before. But for some reason, the other friends criticized Popuri. "That's too much. Your joke is going too far." "How can you say such a thing?" "■■ will get hurt." The friends seemed to believe that the child called ■■ had been a friend who played with them from long ago. It was that very child who helped Popuri, who was flustered and couldn't say anything. The child looked at Popuri and said: "I'm fine. It's just a joke, so what's the big deal. Right, Popuri?" As if trying to shake hands, the child extended their hand to Popuri. Popuri looked at the hand the child extended, and at the friends sending sharp gazes toward her. If she took this hand, everything would be okay. The child would forgive Popuri, and the friends would let it pass as if nothing had happened. However, Popuri did not take the child's hand. Because she was scared. If she took the child's hand here and now, if she received such forgiveness, it seemed like Popuri herself would also accept the child's existence as 'natural' just like the other friends. The child stared intently at Popuri as she backed away, showing wariness. Popuri was frightened by the emotionless glass-like eyes, but the child did not cause any particular harm to Popuri. They just shrugged their shoulders once and spoke to the friends. "Popuri seems to not want to play with us. Let's just leave her alone." That was the end of it. The child and friends began playing among themselves, leaving Popuri behind, and Popuri went home crying. How much time had passed since then? When Popuri woke up in the middle of the night feeling thirsty and tried to head to the kitchen, she heard her mother and father talking in the living room. "Honey, did you hear that? Children's bodies were found at the reservoir on the outskirts of the village." "Oh my, are those the children who went missing last time? There were three of them, right?" "Yes. But they found four bodies. They say one of them is unidentifiable." "It's a scary and unpleasant matter in many ways. Just in case, make sure Popuri is careful too." "I should tell her not to play outside for a while." The parents never realized that their young daughter was eavesdropping on their conversation in the darkness. Nor that she couldn't sleep a wink that night. Since Popuri and her friends lived in close proximity, meeting the parents of her former friends wasn't a difficult task. Even without seeking them out, she would naturally encounter them just by walking around the neighborhood. One pair. Two pairs. Three pairs. For each grave, two mourners. Three were buried, so six mourners. If she had taken that child's hand that day, would Popuri and her parents have ended up like that too? While feeling fear at that fact, Popuri also felt doubt. The friends who followed the child that day were four, excluding Popuri. Then what about the remaining one? Though she thought it might be dangerous, it was hard to suppress the doubt once it arose. It was like being told not to turn on the fluorescent light while hearing rustling sounds somewhere in the house at night. Without properly checking with your eyes and confirming what's there, you can't bear the uneasiness and anxiety. Popuri went to visit the last friend's house. Among the children who played at the playground, the house of the child who was particularly pretty and wore refined clothes was luxurious at first glance. As she was contemplating whether to ring the doorbell in front of the high wall, the front gate happened to open and people came out from inside. A couple with faces full of smiles. And a child holding hands with the couple. Seeing this sight, Popuri froze. The fourth set of former friend's parents she saw, unlike the previous three sets of parents, didn't look sad at all. The faces of those standing side by side holding the child's hands were filled only with happy smiles. But Popuri couldn't smile. Of course, the child between the couple was not Popuri's friend. The clothes they wore were no longer red traditional clothing, but the ink-black hair and skin white as if painted with white powder were exactly the same as what she had seen before. The sixth child who had extended their hand to Popuri back then was laughing joyfully as if it was natural for them to originally belong there. Popuri recalled the story her parents had discussed in the middle of the night. Three children went missing. Four bodies were found. One was an unidentifiable body. Was it really an unidentifiable body? Perhaps it naturally became 'unidentified' because someone had stolen the place where that body should have been, because they were replacing the place where that friend should have been and imitating humans. As Popuri turned pale, the friend's parents who spotted her approached and greeted her. "Hello, Popuri. Did you come to play with ■■?" Since her voice wouldn't come out well, all Popuri could do was slowly shake her head from side to side. The friend's parents whispered to each other with a slightly worried expression about Popuri, then asked again. "You don't look well. How about resting inside for a bit? We'll contact your parents." Popuri, just like before, shook her head. This time it was a more vigorous motion. The couple didn't insist further and left, leaving Popuri behind. No, to be precise, just as they were about to leave, the child who was holding the couple's hands suddenly approached Popuri as if to say goodbye and whispered. "It's a secret, okay?" Without waiting for Popuri's answer, the child, ■■, left again. Popuri stared blankly at the family who looked extremely happy. A family devastated by losing their child, and a family that doesn't even realize they've lost their child. Which was more tragic? Popuri worried that perhaps the couple might also meet with some accident, but no such thing happened. The couple remained healthy, and ■■ never showed any strange behavior or abilities even once after that day. They simply grew up healthily as if they had always been the couple's child, as the precious only daughter of a wealthy household. Until the day she moved away, Popuri couldn't tell the truth. Even after that, Popuri experienced similar incidents several times. Behind a couple taking photos against the backdrop of blooming cherry trees. She could see a vengeful spirit hanging from a tree, glaring at the couple as if cursing them. A restaurant with great fame. She could see people eagerly devouring pasta made from earthworms and stew with finger bones floating in it, saying it was delicious. A model house of a new apartment. At the feet of families dreaming of moving in with harmonious smiles, she could see the vengeful spirits of workers trapped upside down in cement walls, scratching with their nails and crying for help. A famous politician's passionate speech. Every time he opened his mouth, she could see sticky tar and chunks of filth pouring out, consuming the audience's ears and eyes. When she told people such stories, the reactions were largely one of three types. The eyes of someone looking at a child with strange hobbies who likes ghost stories and weird things. The eyes of someone looking at a pitiful patient with mental problems. And the eyes of real monsters who realized she knew the 'secret' and tried to eliminate her. So, Popuri decided to just imitate being One-Eyed. Even if she saw things that couldn't be seen, she pretended not to see them. Even if she heard things that couldn't be heard, she pretended not to hear them. Even if she touched things that couldn't be touched, she pretended not to touch them. She didn't go anywhere near abandoned hospitals, abandoned houses, suicide spots, or any places that might be connected to something strange. She also kept interpersonal relationships to a minimum. Unlike other people, Popuri could immediately notice the existence of supernatural beings and ghost stories, but this crazy world was a place where even if someone was an ordinary person the day before, it wouldn't be strange if they had turned into something supernatural the next day. It was a painful life, but there was no helping it. It was better than getting caught up in ghost stories and dying, or being replaced by suspicious entities. However. Even that seemed to have finally reached its limit. "Haah..." Popuri let out a deep sigh. A pure white hospital room. Not just white bed covers or wall paint, but a space where even the bed frame, slippers, and even the steel slates covering the windows outside were pure white—a space that seemed like it could drive someone insane just by being there. According to Popuri's knowledge and experience, it was definitely a space related to supernatural phenomena. It was probably some kind of supernatural entity related to a closed ward or mental hospital. "This is really going too far, seriously." Popuri let out a lament. If this were the result of doing something foolish like taking a courage test in some strange abandoned hospital, fearlessly drinking beverages handed out on the street, or following an old lady down a dark path to help her, she wouldn't say a word. But she was simply, really simply waiting for the traffic light to change when a traffic accident occurred right in front of her, and for some reason, an ambulance that arrived 1 second after the incident pointed to her, who was standing there perfectly fine, as the 'patient' and kidnapped her. (E/N: Traffic light? Ambulance? Huh) While ghost stories and supernatural entities were originally beings far removed from common sense and rationality, wasn't this going a bit too far? Of course, regardless of her continued complaints, Popuri's body had already begun exploring the surroundings like a skilled assistant. According to her rich ghost story experience and knowledge relative to her short life, these kinds of supernatural situations usually kill you if you're dazed or panic. It was irrational that being sane didn't guarantee survival, but anyway, the survival probability did increase even a little. Creak! Creak! Creak! Looking at the curtains spread out to block between each bed, all of them were empty except for the bed where she had regained consciousness. The windows could be opened from the inside, but escape was impossible because white slates were added on the outside. Finally, as Popuri searched through the drawers one by one, she soon blinked her eyes. "...A cat?" A pure white cat with very lustrous fur was tucked inside the drawer. Popuri was slightly flustered. Usually, supernatural entities are structured according to some kind of theme, and in that regard, a ward and a cat weren't a particularly fitting match. While Popuri pondered what to do about this, the cat opened its eyes. Amazingly, it had heterochromatic eyes of gold and blue. "What are you looking at?" "......" Seeing the cat speak human words as if it were completely natural, Popuri pondered for about 1 second. And then she closed the drawer. Thud! Thud thud!