Chapter 4 Paper Man 04 "It looks good."
But you had already confirmed that the little monster couldn't speak human language when you were sucked into the painting.
If you can't speak, can you use other methods, such as writing or drawing, to convey information?
You looked around but didn't find any paper or pen.
At this time, you remembered that there was a lipstick in your bag that you could use.
You took the recently opened lipstick out of your bag and started writing a few words on the ground.
You looked at the four-eyed black ball: "Can you understand the words? If you can, nod your head."
The little monster nodded.
You breathed a sigh of relief and placed the lipstick in front of the little monster: "Then you can communicate with me by writing."
The little monster carefully took the lipstick from your hand with its tentacles, and then wrote two crooked words on the ground.
【Mas】
You are confused: "What does that mean? Is this the language you speak?"
Two more words were added below the original words.
【name】
It suddenly dawned on you: “Oh, your name.”
Then you immediately shook your head: "I don't want to know your name, I want to know how to get out."
The black tentacles wrote two more lines of words.
Unable to leave
You can't see the door
"..." It took you a long time to realize what the little monster meant. "You mean, you can see the exit, but I can't, so I can't get out?"
The little monster nodded.
"Then what are you?"
This question seemed to stump the little monster, and it froze for a long time before starting to write again.
【have no idea】
Well, it's not a human being anyway, so it doesn't matter what it is.
You skipped the topic and continued, "Has anyone else been here? Inside the painting?"
This time Mars answered quickly, without hesitation.
【No】
【There is only Mas at home】
[Don't you like it here? Can't you just stay here?]
To be honest, you do like this fantasy world in the painting, but staying here is obviously not very realistic.
"dislike."
Looking at the visible disappointment in the little monster's eyes, you don't know why you have an inexplicable sense of guilt.
Maybe it's too lonely, so it wants to keep you here.
You couldn't help but console her: "...Actually, I still like her a little bit."
The four-eyed black ball's eyes lit up instantly, and you could only see it hesitantly writing four words.
【Then stay】
"No." You refused without hesitation.
The little monster fell silent.
You organized your words and spoke earnestly, "I want to go home. Can you tell me how to get out of here?"
The little monster's eyes were full of struggle.
Seeing that there was hope, you decided to keep trying, your tone becoming increasingly gentle: "You're the best. Aren't we friends now?"
"As a friend, you should help me, right?"
You don't feel any burden about morally blackmailing supernatural creatures.
After a long while, the black tentacles carefully wrote the next line of words on the table in front of you.
Are we friends?
You blinked. "Really? Don't you want to be friends with me?"
【think】
A huge black word appeared on the desktop.
After a while, several rows of small words appeared on the desktop. The speed at which they were written was enough to show that the little monster was not very willing to write.
There is a way that might work.
Trying to reach the end
You try to grasp the meaning before you say, “Do you mean I need to walk from here to the first or last painting in the gallery?”
【Yes】
You think back to the paintings you've seen along that long gallery.
...This is likely to be a difficult task.
You took a deep breath and nodded: "Okay, I understand."
[Are you really going out? ]
You obviously have Mas as a friend.
The little monster still tried to persuade her unwillingly.
You don't know how to explain it to Mars. It feels like supernatural beings can't empathize with humans, so you can only make up your mind: "...You are not human. Humans are social animals and need to live with their own kind."
Mas stood there in a daze, blinking his four eyes again and again.
【Mas can also be your human friend】
You were stunned: "Huh?"
[Wait a moment]
You watched the little monster hop away.
You don't know what Mars is up to, but you're not particularly interested. You simply turn around and start packing. Not only do you need food and water, you also need to consider the necessary tools for survival in the wild, like flashlights, ropes, rain shelters, and the like...
The painting of the Snow Mountain Cabin is in the middle of the gallery. No matter which direction you go, you need to cross dozens of paintings. It can be said to be a long march, and you must prepare for the trip first.
You cleaned up for a while and sat on a chair to drink some water. Just after taking a sip, you accidentally choked when you saw a figure walking towards you in the distance.
A "person" who looks like he has just tamed his limbs is stumbling towards you. His walking posture is quite weird and clumsy, a bit like the zombies in movies and TV shows. He only relies on several black tentacles that emerge from his back as "crutches" to avoid falling.
"Hello."
The strange man walked up to you and stumbled out these two words in an awkward tone.
Staring at that somewhat strange yet somewhat familiar face, you tentatively asked, "Mars?"
It is familiar because this face is yours, and it is strange because you have never seen your face in real life from a third-person perspective.
The woman opposite twitched her lips, looking like she wanted to laugh but didn't know how. She looked very hideous and fake.
"Um."
Seeing your face ruined like this, you feel your blood pressure rising a little.
Although you were very angry, you couldn't do anything to the person who was in front of you. After enduring for a long time, you finally restrained the urge to beat up the little monster.
You just walked forward quickly, raised your hands and pinched both cheeks of "yourself," and said dissatisfiedly: "Don't use my face, change it quickly."
"No."
Contrary to your expectation, this time the little monster is very tough and even cheats.
"This is it."
It wasn't until you threatened Mars with "breaking off relations" that it finally gave up the idea.
Originally, you wanted to restore Mars to its original form, but after thinking about it, it would be very inconvenient to communicate with it in its original form. At least it can speak in human form.
Let it transform into a random person. The monster obviously has no aesthetic taste for human appearance. If you make it look very abstract, you will be the one who suffers.
You thought about it and asked, "Can you change it to whatever you want?"
The little monster nodded, then stuttered, "What... do you like?"
What look do you like?
This really cannot be expressed in words, but fortunately you are a painter, and things that cannot be expressed in words can be expressed through painting.
You think about what Mars looks like, and you imagine what it would look like as a human.
"You change it as I say."
Mars is very obedient. It's like you are playing a character-making game, and you are restoring the imagined appearance in reality bit by bit according to your own aesthetic taste.
The only thing that cannot be changed is that pair of pupils.
It was only when you got closer that you realized that there were two dark pupils in each of Mas's eyes, which made his eyes feel a little more strange.
As for the body, you just found a human body reference picture on your phone and asked the little monster to copy and paste it.
Luckily, the little monster had looted a lot of clothes from other paintings, and you quickly found a set for it to change into.
I have to say that in terms of appearance, Mars already looks like a human being, and a very good-looking man at that.
There is no doubt about the aesthetic taste of art students. This is undoubtedly a handsome model face. You know that you can't find such a perfect face in reality.
"alright?"
You came back to your senses and admired your masterpiece from head to toe. After confirming that it didn't need any further revisions, you nodded: "Yes."
[Then you should be willing to stay.]
Mars has become a human.
When you see these two sentences, you will be at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
"Either he looks like a human or he's a human." You sighed helplessly, "Look, you can't even speak human language properly."
“…”
"I can...learn."
The little monster is very stubborn.
“Okay, okay.” You were really helpless. “Then you can learn slowly first. Can we set off now?”
"etc."
You looked up in confusion, "Huh? What else do you want?"
"N-name...yours."
"My name?" You were stunned for a moment before you remembered that you didn't seem to have mentioned your name to Mas.
It wasn't an unanswerable question, so you answered it casually.
Masi looked very happy and kept repeating your name over and over in his mouth.
You don’t understand why the little monster is so happy, but you are somewhat infected by its emotions and smile.
But you never expected that the black-haired young man would come closer to you. He stared at you seriously and said, "It looks good."
As if afraid that you didn't understand, Mas struggled to express it again: "You look good when you smile."
Looking at Mas's sincere eyes, you felt a little regretful, thinking that you shouldn't have personally sculpted such a face for Mas. Just looking at it from a close distance made you feel a little embarrassed.
It's so bad that now you even feel inexplicably shy when facing compliments from non-human species.
You looked away guiltily: "...No, you should just change back."
It doesn't matter if communication is inconvenient. Anyway, you already know how to get out, and there seems to be no need to communicate more with supernatural creatures.
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