I’m an NPC in a horror game, but because I look so harmless, everyone mistakes me for a new player. The veteran players are trying to force me to scout ahead—to be their cannon fodder. The punchline? The monsters see me and start shaking in their boots. Sorrowland Amusement Park has a welcome banner strung across the entrance: [A Royal Welcome to Our Dearest Princess!] The General Manager himself is bowing and scraping, personally seeing to every detail. “Cue the orchestra! More flowers here! And wipe down that filth! If you so much as startle the princess, I will personally rip your head from your shoulders!” Oh, did I forget to mention? My father is the final, undisputed boss of this entire game. And all the monsters? They respectfully call me the Princess. 1. I’m on vacation at Sorrowland Amusement Park. It’s a Nightmare-level instance, the kind no one comes back from. That’s what I’m told, anyway. Right now, everyone is staring at me. “We’re a regular fireteam, been running instances together for months. Where did you pop up from?” A girl with a calculatedly innocent, doll-like face takes half a step back. “Don’t tell me she’s a newbie.” A man in a cheap, sweat-stained suit looks me up and down, his gaze slick with contempt. “Bad luck, getting dropped into a team instance. Well, I guess she can scout ahead for us.” The man standing in the center of their group, the one they all seem to orbit, extends a proverbial olive branch. He’s older, with a practiced, gentle smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Alright now, don’t scare the new girl.” He turns that smile on me. “I’m Marcus, the team leader. This instance is extremely difficult, which is why we came as a squad. Do you want to stick with us?” Extremely difficult? Hmm. Mom and Dad did say the rides at this park were really intense. That’s why they sent people to play with me. Is this charming older man the playmate Mom and Dad picked out? They never told me my playmate would be human. Oh, well. Whatever! Mom and Dad are usually so strict, and whenever I go out, I’m suffocated by an entourage of attendants. It took weeks of begging to get this chance to go somewhere by myself, just because they had some important business to attend to. “Yes, yes! I’d love to!” I nod enthusiastically. To them, it just looks like I’m desperate to latch onto a powerhouse player. The doll-faced girl’s expression sours, and the others eye me with open disdain. The live-stream comments are already flying. 【Marcus is a top-tier player, but he’s such a creep. Looks like the new girl is his next target.】 【Hey, Trixie is our team’s one and only mascot! What gives this newbie the right to butt in?】 【It’s a no-survival instance, they need a full squad. My guess is they’ll use her for trial and error. Make her scout with her life.】 … “Hey. Are you coming or not?” the doll-faced girl, Trixie, calls out impatiently. This is great! Time to hit the rides! I scamper to catch up. I see a flicker of suspicion in Marcus’s eyes. He mutters under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear, “Who comes into a Nightmare-level instance this happy? Is she an idiot?” Usually, every creature in existence fawns over me. This is the first time anyone has dared to call me an idiot. I frown. “Aren’t you afraid your boss will tear your soul to shreds for that?” A look of smug certainty replaces the suspicion in his eyes. “Doesn’t matter. With a face that pretty, she can be an idiot. I’ve never tasted one before.” I’m not an idiot! I just prefer to take it easy! Dad! Your subordinate is insulting me! Just you wait. After I’ve had my fun at the park, I’ll discard you all like broken toys. I’ll have every last one of these “playmates” banished. 2. The amusement park is technically open for business. The lights flicker on and off, and a creaky, tinny nursery rhyme drifts through the air: “Puppet, puppet, smiling wide, drinks your blood and eats your hide.” A shiver runs through the group. 【This is Sorrowland, all right. Wonder if this team is going to get wiped out too.】 【Wait, the newbie probably doesn’t have points for a ticket. Does that mean she’s gonna get insta-killed at the gate?】 【Uh oh. Marcus’s ‘tastes’ don’t only apply to the living.】 I watch as they hand over their entry tickets one by one. From the other side of the wrought-iron fence, Marcus stares at my excited face and licks his lips. “I can use my points to buy you a ticket, but… nothing’s free.” His gaze drops to my chest. Could he have figured it out? That I’m not human? I instinctively pull my collar higher, covering the thin red thread that stitches my head to my neck. “Weren’t you just desperate to join us? What’s with the sudden shyness?” Trixie sneers. “It’s not like Marcus hasn’t done it with a warm corpse before.” She presses herself against his arm. “See, brother? She’s no fun at all. Not obedient like me, am I?” What are they even talking about? I don’t get it. My family owns this horror game. Why would I need a ticket? I bounce on my toes and head straight for the ticket booth, letting a tiny sliver of my true aura leak out. The creature at the counter, its mouth dripping blood, starts its usual spiel: “Ticket, please…” It trails off as it catches my scent. The creature’s eyes widen in terror. It shoves its own eyeballs back into their sockets and scrambles away, half-falling, half-crawling. “Your Highness! Please, come in, right this way!” Silence falls over the entrance. The lights all flicker on at once, bright and steady. The nursery rhyme cuts off abruptly, replaced by a cheerful rendition of “Jingle Bells.” I stroll into the park. Turning back to their horrified faces, I beam. “Well, come on! I can’t wait to get started!” 3. A strange, uneasy quiet settles over the group. Marcus’s eyes, for the first time, hold a sliver of fear. “Hurry up,” I urge them. “You’re supposed to play with me.” I pout. “Honestly, what is my father thinking? He said there would be a special reception. Where is everyone? There’s no spectacle at all.” The fear in Marcus’s eyes vanishes, replaced by understanding. The comment section explodes. 【What was that about? Why did the ticket-taker run away? I thought its whole purpose was to trick players into breaking a rule so it could eat them.】 【I heard a VIP was supposed to visit the park today. It probably went off to prepare for the reception.】 【Did the new girl just get insanely lucky? This is the strongest team out there, no wonder she was sucking up to Marcus. She’s about to get carried through the whole instance.】 My aura had shielded them from hearing the creature’s respectful title for me, so they’re completely clueless. Before they can puzzle it out, a tour guide creature materializes behind them. “What rotten luck,” it grumbles. “Some group had to force their way into the instance right before she arrives. Now we all have to work overtime. The big boss said the park was booked for a private party. Guess we’d better deal with these… tourists… quickly.” The creature is practically radiating resentment. “Follow me. First up is the Scream Weaver roller coaster.” With a huff, it starts walking, leaving a trail of dripping sludge in its wake. When we reach the base of the coaster, the guide turns around, sees me, and leaps back as if electrocuted. Then it vanishes into thin air. “Gods! That scared the death out of me! What if the ground is dirty and it soils her dress? I have to go clean!” Its sudden departure leaves the players staring at each other. “Newbie. You go first,” the sleazy man, Gideon, says, a malicious grin spreading across his face. “Watch out. The coaster has a habit of taking your head off.” Oh, good. He has some sense after all. He knows to let me go first. This one might be a better playmate than Marcus. My fingers drift to the stitched line on my neck. I guess Mom will have to sew me up again. But the coaster car looks so… grimy. I wrinkle my nose. A pulse of my aura expands outwards, blanketing the entire park, a silent summons to the person in charge. “Hey! Gideon was talking to you!” Trixie shoves me. The next second, the team communication watches on each of their wrists crackle, then explode in a shower of sparks, shrieking an electronic alarm. 【WARNING: HIGH-LEVEL ENTITY DETECTED. GENERAL MANAGER INBOUND! GENERAL MANAGER INBOUND!】 The color drains from every player’s face. Marcus’s face turns a blotchy purple, but he forces a calm tone. “Something’s wrong. Terribly wrong. The General Manager never shows up this early. Quick! Find cover, now!” The team scatters like rats. As she runs, Trixie gives me one last, vicious shove. The weather in the park shifts violently. The sky darkens, and lightning cracks overhead. An enraged roar echoes through the park, so sharp and piercing it makes you want to claw your own ears off. “WHAT LITTLE PEST IS RUINING THE PRINCESS’S WELCOME CEREMONY?” The area is deserted. The team is hidden. I’m left standing alone in the center of the park. The shrieking creature circles in the sky above, a whirlwind of rage, before descending right in front of me. “Was it you, you little pest?”
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