Listening to Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu’s conversation, Tsukiyomi Ruri and Izumi Shirayuki exchanged a look. Being the director of a mental hospital seemed like an incredibly difficult job.
It was a long while before Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu finally finished and hung up his smartphone.
Seeing both girls looking at him, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu gave an apologetic smile. “Mental patients can be quite troublesome. But as long as we have enough patience, we can handle them properly. Nothing is unsolvable.”
The moment his words fell, the phone rang again.
He quickly answered. “What? The patient in Room 8 heard the rumors about the Devil Lord appearing and is now charging over with a pillow as a shield and a broom, acting like a Hero? Why are you calling me about this? Stop him!”
Tsukiyomi Ruri: “…”
Izumi Shirayuki: “…”
Not saying much this time either, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu finished and hung up.
Seeing Tsukiyomi Ruri and Izumi Shirayuki’s gazes, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu smiled slightly. “Don’t mind that, it’s just part of the daily routine. Without me, their pillar of support, at the hospital, it’s not strange that the nurses and doctors would be at a loss.”
Just as he finished, another call came in.
Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu’s expression froze, but he still immediately answered. “What is it now? What? You said the guest in Room 6 wants to find his Prince and marry him? But isn’t he a man? Forget it, forget it. Just find someone to pretend to be his Prince and fool him. You can’t solve a small issue like this?”
This time, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu talked for quite a while. The main problem was finding someone over there to play the Prince, as the other men weren’t willing to be gazed at with such tender affection by another man, and things might even go beyond just gazing.
After hanging up the call, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu said with a smile, “Our hospital staff are quite reliable. I believe there probably won’t be any more calls today…”
But he hadn’t even finished speaking when the smartphone rang again.
This situation made Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu feel somewhat embarrassed, but he could still only answer the phone. “What did you say? Ishida Jun disappeared? He’s probably hiding somewhere playing. Look for him properly. What? You’re saying you searched all afternoon and couldn’t find Ishida Jun, but instead found Dr. Matsuoka unconscious in the bathroom? That’s impossible. Dr. Matsuoka clearly came with me to the hot springs, didn’t he?”
This call brought information unlike the previous ones, and after hearing it, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu’s expression turned grave.
After hanging up the phone, Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu immediately stood up. “I’m afraid I can’t entertain you further. I suspect a patient impersonated one of our doctors and followed me here to the hot springs.”
Tsukiyomi Ruri and Izumi Shirayuki: “…”
A patient could impersonate a doctor and escape the hospital? That patient was no ordinary person. Izumi Shirayuki was now curious about what kind of person he was.
Watching Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu rush out hastily, Izumi Shirayuki whispered to Tsukiyomi Ruri, “Let’s follow and see what’s happening.”
Tsukiyomi Ruri had no objections.
As soon as the two stepped into the corridor, they saw a man with bushy eyebrows and big eyes approaching. He was clearly Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu’s colleague.
“Hello, I’m looking for someone. Have you seen anyone suspicious?” the bushy-eyebrowed man asked.
“No,” Tsukiyomi Ruri shook her head.
“Are you looking for the patient who impersonated a doctor? What does he look like?” Izumi Shirayuki asked instead.
“If you haven’t seen him, I’ll look elsewhere. As for who he is, ask the Director.” The bushy-eyebrowed man smiled slightly, turned around, and left.
Seeing this, Tsukiyomi Ruri and Izumi Shirayuki didn’t think much of it and headed toward the hot springs.
This time, arriving outside the men’s changing room, they saw Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu running out with a group of men wearing yukata.
“Uncle Mizuhashi,” Izumi Shirayuki called out.
Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu looked over and nodded. He then said, “If you see a man with bushy eyebrows and large eyes, call and tell me. That man is a mental patient. Leaving him unattended is very dangerous.”
Just as he finished speaking, he noticed the strange look on Izumi Shirayuki’s face.
“Uncle Mizuhashi, shortly after you left, someone matching that description passed through the corridor, seemingly heading outside,” Izumi Shirayuki said helplessly.
She hadn’t expected at all that the man they encountered earlier was the escaped mental patient.
“He ran outside? Chase him, hurry! Don’t let him get into the city!” Mizuhashi Tetsukotsu shouted to his group, hurriedly leading everyone out of the inn.
At the same time.
Suzuki Juro, a member of the Flame Bird Group, had arrived near the Spring Mountain Hot Spring Inn.
He looked completely ordinary, not even tall, the type you wouldn’t notice if thrown into a crowd.
However, he had put on makeup by now, drawing scars all over his face and making it look like traces of blood were at the corner of his mouth. Now, if he were in a crowd, he would definitely stand out.
‘The Commander always makes me do these kinds of things. I should never have bought this Ability Card back then.’
The more Suzuki Juro thought about it, the more helpless he felt.
He possessed an R-Grade Ability Card called 【Voice of Fear】. Once activated, it could amplify the fear within others. The prerequisite for this ability was that the target first had to feel fear; otherwise, there was no question of amplifying it.
So, before using his ability, Suzuki Juro first had to scare someone.
Hino Kaoru had given him the suggestion to pretend to be a demoness to frighten people. Historically, a demoness had always been scarier than a male demon. Although Suzuki Juro was reluctant, this was an order from the Commander, and he didn’t dare disobey.
The night wind blew through, causing the surrounding leaves to rustle against each other.
Looking around, Suzuki Juro secretly pulled a wig from the bag he carried and put it on his head. The long hair hung down over his chest, shoulders, and back.
Then, he took off his own clothes and put on a white dress from the bag. It was a pure white dress, without a single trace of another color.
The moon was dark, the wind high, the night deep and quiet. And so, a disheveled demoness in a white dress with a ferocious face appeared.
Suzuki Juro finished his preparations and quietly crept closer to the hot spring inn.
But before he had walked far, he saw a figure coming from the inn, heading toward a small grove not far away. It seemed to be an ordinary man.
‘What is that person going to do? Forget it, it’s none of my business. Either way, he’s a guest of the inn, right? My goal is just to scare away those guests.’
Suzuki Juro immediately began walking slowly toward that person.
