The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 289 Cat Pago (2) - Lucky White Cat Popuri looked at the violently shaking drawer with a reluctant expression. 'A talking cat. A supernatural entity.' Supernatural entities are fundamentally enemies that harm humans. Among internet ghost stories and horror content, there are occasionally supernatural entities that help humans, but at least Popuri had never encountered such beings in reality. In that sense, it would be better to leave that cat trapped and go, but... 'A closed psychiatric ward and a cat aren't really a good match originally.' It might just be a simple image, but from Popuri's experience, supernatural entities are fundamentally influenced by such 'images' more than anything else. That means the cat might be a different kind of supernatural entity that doesn't belong to this ward. And likewise, judging from experience, supernatural entities don't necessarily get along with each other. 'I might be able to use this.' The risk of being threatened by two different types of supernatural entities and the hope of benefiting from their conflict. Pondering between the two, Popuri eventually carefully opened the drawer, being cautious so she could immediately dodge if the cat suddenly swung its front paws. "Tsk, you sure took your time opening it." For a cat, it even clicked its tongue, as the white cat with heterochromatic eyes spat out a complaint. This time, the cat escaped from the drawer and jumped onto the bed. While thinking it was very surreal, Popuri asked, considering that supernatural entities were originally like that. "...What are you? Why were you in there?" "Are you suggesting we introduce ourselves? Then the principle is to say your name first." "It's Chika." (E/N: It's P-time. C is an obvious lie!) Popuri gave a false name without batting an eye. It was an action based on the common sense that you shouldn't carelessly reveal your real name to such beings. In her case, perhaps because her name was so unique, when she once accidentally said her real name, nothing happened, but wasn't it better not to cross dangerous bridges if possible? "That's a lie." At the cat's merciless observation, Popuri felt a pang. The gold and blue heterochromatic eyes pierced through her as if observing her. "Well, fine. If you don't want to say your name, I'll just call you Parka Girl based on your clothes. Or would Blackie be better since you have black hair?" "Why are you deciding a person's name by color?" "Don't humans often do that when naming animals?" "......" Since it was a valid point when she thought about it, Popuri was momentarily at a loss for words. Of course, separate from the conversation, she didn't stop continuing her analysis of the cat. 'At least it's not hostile... or rather, it doesn't seem like it's going to be antagonistic.' There was a possibility it harbored sinister intentions inside, but that didn't matter. After all, among supernatural entities, there were plenty that would try to kill you first regardless of any ulterior motives. The fact that rational conversation worked and it didn't show killing intent made it top 1% material. "Then well, I'll call you Mr. Cat too." "Call me Lord Pago." Earlier you said to say my name first. And I have to add 'Lord' to a cat? Suppressing the urge to retort, Popuri forced herself to continue speaking. "Then Lord Pago. I'll ask again, why were you in there? And where is this place?" Popuri had prepared herself for another zen-like answer, but surprisingly, Pago answered obediently. "It's a weird hospital run by mentally disturbed guys. They arbitrarily captured me and tried to do some treatment or whatever, so I was hiding for a while." "This was a veterinary hospital?" Pago struck the bed sheet with his long tail with a thud and snorted as if absurd. "As if there would be a proper veterinarian in this white mousetrap-like place. This is just a garbage dump where they stuff in things they consider 'sick' by their standards and tear them apart to fix them. What's even more unlucky is that besides those who walked into this garbage dump on their own, they also kidnap those who were just passing by normally." As soon as Pago finished speaking, sounds of something heavy and wet being dragged and the unpleasant friction of metal wheels came from outside the tightly closed hospital room door. Popuri reflexively held her breath, and Pago also bristled his fur and flashed his heterochromatic eyes. "Blackie, hide behind that door. If you want to live, right now." "Under the bed—" "If you try to hide under the bed, you'll encounter the previous guest who was already hiding there. If you hold your breath while staring at the monster's feet from under the bed and feel relieved thinking it left, that's when the monster's face suddenly peers under the bed. Which pattern do you prefer?" Popuri immediately understood and hid her body in the blind spot behind the door. With a creepy friction sound that scraped the eardrums, the hospital room door was pushed inward. Holding her breath and crouched in the blind spot behind the door, Popuri saw the being that revealed itself through the door crack and almost reflexively squeezed her eyes shut. It wore a pure white nurse uniform, but above the neck, instead of a human head, was a lump of flesh with various surgical instruments and syringes embedded in the meat, looking around and examining the bed. [Patient? Where did you go? Patient?] Although metallic clanking sounds were mixed in between, the fact that it was otherwise a relatively clean female voice mixed with its unique appearance gave an even more unpleasant feeling. [Haah. The doctor will be angry asking how we're managing patients. How annoying.] ZHFFaHg0NTVMUERqTnhDNTdpRkczUXdCdU9IeSsxY0tjMGFXWjZWbW9VWnJQNlZjNERjSnk0ODFTYm80RmFZcg The nurse scratched its head nervously. As the fingers made of scalpels touched the lump of flesh, the flesh split and blood gushed out, soaking the floor. As if not feeling any pain, the nurse continued to scratch its head, digging out flesh, and only stopped the bizarre action when the surgical tools originally buried in the flesh and the scalpel fingers touched each other. Only after confirming that the nurse had left the room and the sound of the rolling metal wheels could no longer be heard from outside did Popuri finally resume the breath she had been holding. "Huu, huu." "You held it in well. Hid well. Not a bad response." Pago, who had climbed onto Popuri's shoulder, bestowed words of praise while pressing on her head with his front paw. Popuri was dumbfounded by the gap between its attitude, as if it were her master, and the soft feeling of its paw, but thanks to it, she was able to shake off the horror of the bizarre scene she had just witnessed. "Do you know where the exit is?" "The closest is the main entrance, but that place is swarming with monsters. It would be better to aim for the back door or the rooftop." As if to guide her, Pago jumped down to the floor and began to walk ahead. 'Could it be trying to lure me into a dangerous place... hmm.' An ominous possibility came to mind, but it wasn't as if she had any other viable alternative. Because wandering around aimlessly without knowing the exact layout of the hospital would obviously be dangerous in its own right. Popuri began to walk quietly behind Pago. The hallway windows were all blocked by white slates, and because of that, the outside scenery was completely unknown. The sight of everything, from the ceiling, walls, floor, to the hospital room doors, being plastered in white was enough to make one feel like they were going insane just by looking at it. From inside the hospital rooms, something like pained groans could be heard, and throughout the hospital, monsters similar to the nurse she saw earlier roamed around, performing acts of 'treatment' on patients. "Tsk tsk. In the first place, does it make sense for a nurse to cut skin with a scalpel without a doctor present? And to start treatment right in the ward, I don't know where they sold off their sense of hygiene. Blackie, what do you think?" "...Isn't this not the time for small talk?" "This kind of thing is what helps maintain mental health. Ever heard of a SAN score?" She had heard of it. But she had never thought she would hear it from the mouth of a monster cat. However, apart from that absurdity, it was true that the current situation wasn't that bad. No, to be precise, it was surprisingly close to being lucky. 'This doesn't seem like the kind of monster you can normally walk around so comfortably in.' Could it be the result of her efforts to avoid getting involved in dangerous things as much as possible? The monsters Popuri had encountered so far belonged to the lower difficulty side, relatively speaking. The range of the strange phenomena was narrow, and the countermeasures were either relatively well-known, or the beings weren't physically that strong. But this hospital was different. A scale that used an entire building. At least several dozen humanoid monsters with weapons attached to their bodies. Escape method unknown. Countermeasure unknown. To be honest, it wasn't a level that an ordinary person could challenge without a guide. It wasn't for nothing that Popuri had the thought 'it's over' the moment she came to this hospital. But what about now? "Hide on those stairs. Don't go all the way down. It'll be fine if you put your foot on the third step from the bottom." "A monster is coming from the right. Hold your breath in the corner until it passes. Holding your breath for about 10 seconds will be enough." "I'll tell you the timing when the monster looks away, so cross over to the opposite hallway then. Now!" It tells her everything, from the timing to hide, to how to hide, and even trivial details like until when she should hide. It acts as a scout in front, immediately informing her of threats, and even gives advice on how to move. What should I call this? A cat-shaped navigation system? Or a living walkthrough guide? Popuri couldn't let go of her suspicion, wondering if Pago would betray her at the end, if it was trying to give her hope only to plunge her into despair at the last moment, but the conclusion was anticlimactic. Because the moment she slipped out the back door of the hospital, she was really able to return to reality. A clean clear, without any of the common chase scenes or battles with a doctor. "Is it... over?" "Yes, it's over. But Blackie. I helped you this much, so you should pay a price, right?" Therefore, when Pago said those words, Popuri was actually relieved. Because the world was turning out too conveniently, she had been constantly anxious that this might be a dream and not reality. "Give me food. Not cat food, but what people eat." ...This really is a dream after all. Only after pinching her own cheek until it turned red did Popuri accept that this 'luck' was reality.