The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 307 Cat Pago (20) - Diary, seventh chapter. And what comes next. Popuri kicked off the ground. Two monkeys already taken down. Two more monkeys still intact. "We inform all passengers once again. Next is batting hits, batting hits." Using Pago's voice from behind as her guide, she swung the bat with all her might as if hitting a baseball. When the bat hit the monkey's torso dead center, the monkey flew like a ball in a trajectory that seemed to ignore the laws of physics and crashed into the train wall with a crack! like a crushed mosquito. One monkey remained. Just as Popuri was about to continue her attack, the announcement echoed with a shrill beep that seemed to tear at her ears. [We inform all passengers!! An emergency situation has occurred!! Clasp your hands behind your head, kneel down in place, extend your neck long and wait for assistance from the crew!!] [This is for the safety of all passengers and smooth train operation!! Please comply without fail!!] [Broadcasting for safety!! You must obediently kneel down and meet your death!!] Screeeech! Popuri's body suddenly began moving on its own as if it had turned into a wooden block. Her knees bent involuntarily, and her arms ignored her will, dropping the bat and moving behind her head. Popuri tried to control her forcibly moving body according to her will, but the announcement repeatedly echoed as if to suppress all surrounding noise. [Clasp your hands behind your head, kneel down in place, extend your neck long and wait for assistance from the crew!!] [You must absolutely not move until the crew carves out your flesh, gouges out your eyes, and minces your meat!!] [Don't move! Don't move! Don't move! Just die like thaaaaaat!!] High-pitched sounds that made her ears ring echoed continuously, and Popuri's body also moved on its own, ignoring its owner's will. The announcement system seemed to be straining quite a bit as well, crackling as if it would shut off at any moment, and the lights inside the train flickered wildly like dying bulbs. The last remaining monkey charged at Popuri with a fishy smile, holding a scalpel, but Popuri couldn't move an inch while kneeling on the floor. The moment her complexion turned pale blue. [Don't move! Don't move! Don't mo「─Ah, we inform all students. The school is currently in a blackout state. Therefore, we plan to move up the dismissal time, so everyone please gather at the playground.」] The announcement that had been blocking Popuri's movement was forcibly overridden by a completely different, foreign voice. This one was equally ominous when you thought about it, but anyway, it was true that freedom had returned to Popuri's body. By a hair's breadth, the monkey's scalpel only grazed Popuri's cheek, and Popuri rolled sideways across the floor, retrieved her baseball bat, then struck the monkey's neck and broke it. [All passengers/All students/Next is suicide/Come out to the playground immediately/Crew instructions/Teacher guidance──] ──Crack!! The voices that had been competing to continue their bizarre broadcasts as if fighting for control stopped as if they had reached their limit, and an eerie silence descended. Only then did the tension finally ease, and Popuri slumped down onto a train seat and breathed heavily. The sensation of being unable to move in a prisoner-like position and only being able to watch the blade approach was a horrifying experience that made even Popuri, who had a strong heart, feel a chill down her spine. "Are you okay, Blackie." On Popuri's shoulder. Pago, who had settled in with light movements, spoke to her. Popuri wiped her damp forehead, wet with a mixture of cold sweat and sweat from intense activity, as she answered. "Not at all, not even a little bit, not one tiny bit okay." "Seeing that you have the leisure to emphasize it on purpose, you seem to be fine." "I told you I'm not okay, you damn supernatural cat." "Your energy seems plenty abundant still. Excellent." Right, what's the point of talking. Popuri let out a deep sigh, then took out a handkerchief from her bag and pressed it firmly against her cheek cut by the scalpel. "This scalpel was covered with rust and stuff - what if I get tetanus or something?" "If you've had your vaccinations properly, it shouldn't be a big problem. Still, if you're worried, go to a hospital later." "I suppose I should." Popuri looked at the interior of the train where the lights had completely gone out. The monkeys were still collapsed on the floor, and no new broadcasts were echoing, but the interior appearance that had changed in various places remained the same. The other passengers who had been riding the train together had somehow left only their clothes like shed skins and completely disappeared. Popuri had so many things she wanted to ask, but thinking she would be confused herself if she spoke without order, she organized her thoughts for a moment. "...First, that broadcast from earlier. Did Pago do that? The content seemed to be from the blackout announcement ghost story. Canceling out by making broadcast-type ghost stories collide with each other?" "Well. First, let me just say that you need to offer up an entire premium grade steak." It was virtually an affirmation that she was right. When Pago demanded something 'expensive', it was usually only when he had helped Popuri in some way. Popuri also had no intention of bargaining with her life's worth, so she didn't bother to protest. There was also a more important problem. "But what do we do now?" The monkeys were defeated. But the surrounding scenery was still the same, and the train had even stopped at some point. Unlike the darkened interior of the train, when you looked through the window using the light shining from outside, the sign you could see was... the boldly named 'Other Shore Station'. Popuri let out an obvious sigh. "They don't even think about disguising it anymore." "So are you going to stay here?" "It's the Other Shore, the Other Shore. If I get off, won't I go straight to the afterlife?" "That's true, but usually not getting off these ominous trains or buses and going to the end is also a death flag in its own way, isn't it?" Popuri closed her mouth. Even when she drew upon her knowledge, Pago's words weren't wrong. In the end, she grumbled but stood up. The train kept its doors firmly closed as if clinging and trying to hold on until the very end, but when she manually opened them using the emergency escape function, it had no choice but to let Popuri go. With the hissing sound of steam escaping, cool air rushed in through the forcibly opened door gap. Popuri carefully stepped outside the train with Pago on her shoulder. Every time her shoe soles touched the tile floor, the 'clack, clack' sounds echoed several times louder than usual. "......Wow." A short exclamation burst from Popuri's mouth. It was closer to lament about the absurdity of the situation rather than admiration. Other Shore Station. The name written on the platform sign was utterly bold. But the station's scenery wasn't as grand as its name. No, it was even more bizarre because it was too ordinary. At first glance, it looked just like some empty station without people. And that was the biggest problem. "There really is absolutely nothing. No people of course, not even any dead or monsters, and the exit is completely blocked." If there were clearly an 'external enemy' like the Monkey Dream ghost story from just now, even if it were extremely dangerous, she could somehow fight against it. But this obstacle wasn't that kind. There was no enemy to defeat, no threat to overcome, no goal to solve that would allow escape. In gaming terms, it was like being thrown into a room without a boss in a game where you need to clear a specific boss to advance to the next stage. There was nothing immediately threatening her life, but that wasn't much comfort. Anyway, humans die if left in a situation without food and water. Having wandered around every corner of the train station without finding any particular elements, Popuri slumped back down onto a chair, completely drained. Her throat was incredibly dry, and perhaps due to mental exhaustion, her body felt endlessly languid. "Sigh. So this is how my life ends. Recently, I was even thinking that life was worth living since I was beating up those supernatural bastards left and right." "You give up really quickly. Don't you know the saying that life begins at the bottom of the ninth with two outs?" "That kind of mentalism doesn't fit modern times." It was rather leisurely chatter for such a serious situation, but this was Popuri's way of maintaining her mental state. Faced with this suffocating sense of isolation, if she didn't talk with Pago like this, she felt like she would really suffocate to death. Perhaps because there was nothing to do. Popuri took out her exorcism diary and opened it. The pages that had been completely empty at first were now filled with quite substantial content. *** --- --- --- 『Monkey Dream』 A supernatural entity that kidnaps people into unidentified dreams and cruelly kills them. Originally known to appear only in dreams, but based on experience, it seems to be able to affect reality as well. What seems dangerous at first glance are the monkeys with physical weapons, but what truly forms the core of this ghost story is the announcement itself. If you have been kidnapped into the Monkey Dream, are still maintaining your sanity, and even means of waking up from the dream like bending your fingers backward don't work, immediately check if you have one of these two things. First, a passenger other than yourself who maintains their sanity. Second, a means to block your ears so you don't hear that damn broadcast. In the first case, it's to ask that passenger to verbally say 'a broadcast with different content from the announcement.' Since the original broadcasts from the train are thoroughly disadvantageous and unreasonable to humans, you must also imitate fake broadcasts to satisfy narratives that are disadvantageous to the monkeys or advantageous to humans. If there are no other normal people besides yourself, there's also a possibility that mimicking broadcasts with your own mouth might work. In the second case, the goal is to completely 'not listen' to that damn broadcast. Noise-canceling earphones would be best, but if you don't have those, at the very least pull out cotton from clothes and stuff your ears. The announcements in the Monkey Dream have an effect that forcibly moves human bodies, so you can escape this by not hearing the sound. Also, in that state, verbally recite 'ghost stories related to broadcasts other than the Monkey Dream' through your mouth. Though it's close to gambling, you can aim to use one to control another by making ghost stories of the same type collide. Of course, there's also a possibility it could become more dangerous, but wouldn't it be better to try something rather than die quietly? I sincerely wish you good luck. --- --- --- *** After scribbling all over the pages, Popuri nodded with satisfaction. Pago asked. "There aren't any other people here anyway, so is there a reason for writing in your diary?" Popuri answered. "Well. Who knows? Maybe someone as unlucky as me will find this diary somewhere and discover some way to survive, even if just a little." "Whether that person lives or dies, there's no benefit to you whatsoever?" "Why would there be no benefit? There's the benefit of feeling good." At Popuri's answer, Pago blinked. And then he chuckled as if amused. "Good, very good." "I feel like I'm being laughed at, so I don't feel very good about it." "Is that so? Then let's do this." Pago gestured with his chin toward the train they had ridden. "Bring the clothes the passengers left behind like shed skins. If possible, strip all the monkeys' clothes too. Long pants are a must." "And take your phone and turn on the navigation app. No signal? Doesn't matter." "For the destination... set it to the most famous lake among the ghost stories you know for luring people and making them drown to death."