The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 309 Cat Pago (22) - Invitation Let's talk about magical girls. Let's talk about heroes of justice. Noble beings who save the world, protect peace, and spread love and courage, whose very names are so dazzling they could burn your retinas. However, in her childhood, Popuri would often have sudden doubts when reading comics depicting them. She understood that they were people of excellent character. She also understood that they protected the world where no one else could see. But what about after that? Do they properly receive compensation for fighting evil in the darkness? In exchange for consuming their sleep time, private life, youth and everything else, can they receive proper compensation for that labor? Unfortunately, among the works Popuri had seen, there weren't many that properly depicted this aspect. Most of them were unpaid volunteer work. Of course, now that she's an adult, she can understand. In works that should sing of children's dreams and hopes, if the protagonists said things like "Ah, that villain doesn't pay well enough for the risk level, so I can't catch them. Look for another hero or magical girl," it would be the end in various ways. Children's dreams and hopes must be protected. Conversely speaking. There's nothing quite as tiresome as unpaid forced labor that you have to do even though it's not particularly meant to be shown to children. "This is really the worst of the worst...." Popuri let out deep sighs. She had survived facing powerful supernatural entities. She subdued the Monkey Dream that descended into reality, escaped from an isolated other world, and managed to set foot on land against a parade of water spirits—who am I? Hanamori Popuri. But what about the compensation? In fantasy stories, if you kill goblins you can get guild rewards or at least some random items, but against supernatural entities there's nothing like that at all. Even if Popuri struggled endlessly to clear a triple combo of supernatural entities, all that would remain for her was an utterly exhausted body, bitter wounds, wet clothes, and a lightened bank account. "In that sense, couldn't you show some mercy to this poor high school girl? Our supernatural cat-sama?" "Did you go around the bush for so long just to say that one thing?" Pago clicked his tongue as if he was exasperated. For a cat. "But I really don't have money!! How long has it been since I bought the cat tower and moved to a new house!! How is it that when I'm earning three times more salary than others, my dinner menu is always fixed to convenience store lunch boxes!? Especially when there's a cat next to me enjoying premium steak that I can't even eat with wine!?" "Then you could just eat it together. You would have only needed to buy about 300g more of what you were going to buy anyway." "Do you know how many lunch boxes that 300g could buy!?" Popuri roared, and as always, Pago cleanly ignored her. At this point, it was in the category of daily routine. "Hah, really. Isn't there some supernatural entity somewhere that gives money when you beat it up?" Around the time Popuri was lamenting like that. Ding-dong, the intercom rang. Thinking it might be another supernatural entity, Popuri naturally gripped a baseball bat in her hand and checked the intercom screen, but contrary to expectations, what was outside wasn't a supernatural entity. "...Hinosaka?" (E/N: I would argue she is a supernatural entity in her own right) [Ah, Hanamori! I came to visit you!!] A visit? What could she mean? After thinking for a moment, Popuri soon recalled that she had returned home with Hinosaka's help after the lake escape incident last time. At that time, Popuri herself was completely out of it and couldn't give a proper explanation, just glossing over everything, but when her friend appeared looking like a drowned rat near a lake famous for drowning deaths, this meddlesome friend wouldn't just casually ignore it. Wasn't she someone with the personality to jump in without hesitation to save a friend when a classmate was about to get caught up with supernatural entities? Click, when she opened the door, Hinosaka casually handed over a bag. "This is a gift!" When Popuri quickly checked the contents, the bag contained various types of beverages. Compared to something like a fruit set or energy drink set, it was much more practical and less burdensome, which she thought was just the right sensible gift. "Thank you. Actually, I should have been the one giving an apology gift." Even though it was beyond her control, she had unilaterally stood her up and even asked for help with the aftermath. If Popuri had been in the opposite position, even Popuri herself didn't doubt that she would have naturally let out a complaint or two. "No, no. You already helped me a lot before. More than that, your new house is quite nice..." Hinosaka's words, which seemed like she was about to say "nice place," suddenly trailed off. When Popuri wondered why and looked where Hinosaka's gaze was directed, there was just Pago eating his meal. What is it? What's the problem? Just a very ordinary scene where a cat is skillfully cutting a large steak into cubes with a knife on human tableware and eating them one by one, and gulping down wine from a glass... (E/N: Wait...I know that meme...) '...This is not normal at all!!' Only then did Popuri gasp. Ordinary my ass!! No matter how you look at it, it's full of elements to criticize!! She had become so used to that cat's eccentric behavior that she even forgot it shouldn't be shown to others!! 'More importantly, you stop eating too!! I'm telling you to cosplay as a cat!! Act like a cat!!' "Um, excuse me. Hinosaka? This is, well you see." "Oh, ooh.... Is this that mascot that's said to accompany the skilled exorcist...?" "Huh?" Whether Popuri's tongue twisted for a moment due to bewilderment or not, Hinosaka kept nodding her head repeatedly by herself. "It's okay, Hanamori! My lips are sealed! Some kids think I'm really loose-lipped because I talk a lot with everyone, but I would never spread stories that absolutely shouldn't be told to others!!" "Ah, yes. I don't doubt that or anything." In the first place, if Hinosaka had been someone who easily blabbed other people's secrets, she wouldn't have been called the school's idol. Being sociable and having loose lips were completely different issues. "Originally, a passing scholar carries a swallow as a mascot, a temple-born monk carries a fox as a mascot, and an exorcist with a machine gun who stops time carries a rabbit-like creature, right?" "I'm not sure whether the first two are correct or not, but I can absolutely assert that the last one is definitely not." "I think a heterochromatic cat is very orthodox! Since it's white, the color contrast with Hanamori is cool too!" Ah, this is draining. In terms of the amount of words spoken, it seems like less than half of when she chatters with Pago, but why is talking with people so exhausting? "...Hey, you large dog-like wench." Then, Pago spoke after chewing and swallowing a piece of steak cube. And quite openly at that. "Are you insane!?" "Shut up. Anyway, if it's this wench, she's gradually entering the realm of experience now. This much won't be particularly more harmful. Rather, knowing nothing is more dangerous." "Hmm." Well, Hinosaka is a survivor who lived through the two ordeals of the 'extending stairs' and the 'dangerous transfer student'. Against supernatural entities that would normally send most people to their grave the moment they get involved, if she showed this level of performance, she's already surpassed newbie status and reached beginner territory. Additionally, Popuri shouldn't be included in that standard. She's at the level of an ecosystem-destroying species. "Anyway, take out what's in that pocket." "Pocket?" Hinosaka took out various things from her pocket, and then Popuri's eyes also caught sight of something imbued with strange power. "...An admission ticket?" An art museum admission ticket with impressive red border lines was exactly what it was. At first glance, it just looked like an ordinary ticket with artistic design, but from within it, faint supernatural energy was radiating out like a heat haze. "Hinosaka, what is this?" "That? Actually─" Hinosaka's explanation that followed was as follows. Originally, Hinosaka was supposed to meet up with Popuri in front of the art museum. However, Popuri, who had gotten caught up in a supernatural incident, couldn't come to the meeting place, and Hinosaka was also just spending time idly in front of the art museum. Then a tall, handsome man dressed in a white suit asked Hinosaka if she wouldn't like to enter the art museum. When Hinosaka said her friend didn't come so she should probably go back today, the man said he was the museum director and that he would love for Hinosaka to visit his art museum next time, and handed her this ticket. Popuri briefly made eye contact with Pago. And then carefully observed Hinosaka's face, chest, waist, hips, and so on. "Hinosaka, by any chance, did that director person use expressions like 'lovely', 'young lady', or 'a single flower' when talking to you?" Hinosaka's eyes widened. "Huh? How did you know?" If asked how she knew, she could only say it was intuition gained from frequently experiencing supernatural entities. One might ask why monsters would care about human appearance, but from what Popuri had directly experienced, supernatural entities are also extremely picky about looks. Perhaps it's because supernatural entities themselves are often based on human rumors and psychology, but in any case, they are incredibly picky. Popuri looked intently at this admission ticket, or rather 'invitation', for a moment. "What would happen if we burned this?" "Well, I can only say that these invitation-type supernatural stories usually don't end well if you destroy them." "Tsk, there's no choice then." Popuri looked at Hinosaka. "Hinosaka, let's go together. To this place."