WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 123: Room 107, Gate Room - Fourth Trial (14)

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Episode 123: Room 107, Gate Room - ‘The Secret of the Esper’ (14)

- Han Ga-in

Only one person could be revived.

Whose abilities would be more useful, Song-i's or Seung-yeop's?

“What do you think, Elena?”

“I think it would be best if you chose, Ga-in.”

Hmm. Elena naturally left the choice to me, and Grandpa Mook-seong and A-ri turned to look at me as well.

This was a lot of pressure.

I carefully compared the strengths and weaknesses of their abilities.

Song-i's greatest strengths were the endless usefulness of her bracelet, her exceptional control over Pero, and her blessing's remarkable effectiveness against monster-type enemies.

Her weaknesses were that she might not be able to use the bracelet in the next trial, and that her blessing was practically useless when the enemy wasn't a monster.

It was hard to say decisively who was better when comparing Song-i and Seung-yeop one-on-one. But when I considered the entire surviving team, the answer became clear.

“I think our party needs Song-i more right now.”

A-ri turned toward me. I continued.

“There are currently four survivors: me, Elena, Grandpa Mook-seong, and A-ri. What's our weakness? With Jin-cheol down, we're lacking physical combat power. There are many enemies in the hotel that are hard to deal with using guns, and my Descent and Elena's Justice both have severe restrictions.”

Grandpa Mook-seong agreed.

“That birdbrain can fill that gap pretty well.”

“That's right. Think back to when Pero went berserk. It was only manageable because Jin-cheol was there to send berserk Pero flying with one punch. Grotesque Pero is a formidable monster. Song-i's control over Pero is very useful to us.”

A-ri looked unconvinced.

“It makes sense that Song-i can make up for the team's weakness, but is Pero your only reason?”

“There's one more. I think Elena's and Song-i's blessings work well together.”

Elena, who had been listening beside me, nodded.

“Song-i and I talked about it before. Enemies are basically either humans or monsters. My blessing is useful against humans, while Song-i's is useful against monsters. Of course, there are plenty of cases where neither works.”

After we discussed it that far, A-ri backed down too.

In the end, we decided to revive Song-i.

... Still, I definitely had to tell Seung-yeop that A-ri had strongly argued for reviving him.

* * *

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 44

Current Location: Level 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)

Sage’s Advice: 0]

- Han Ga-in

I woke up in the rest area. Song-i naturally reappeared, looked around with wide eyes, then grasped the situation.

“Did you revive me?”

Elena walked over to Song-i.

“That's right! We all thought we really needed you.”

A-ri flinched.

“Haha! Song-i, it wasn't everyone, exactly-”

‘A-ri said she thought Seung-yeop was more necessary than you!’

I swallowed those words when A-ri kicked my shin.

As my companions began their happy reunion, I checked my Status Window.

It was nice that my blessing had returned along with my Status Window, but Sage’s Advice was still at zero.

That damn Owl had used up all its charges giving me advice whose meaning I still couldn't understand.

The charges would refill once a day passed, but the Jekyll and Hyde Game had ended in an instant despite all the stress it caused, so Sage’s Advice hadn't had time to recharge.

At least I could use Scenario Understanding, right? There were three hours until the next trial.

Grandpa Mook-seong came to the center of the room.

“Attention for a moment!”

“Is there something you want to say?”

“I've been holding onto this because the timing never felt right, but I think it's time we gave it some thought.”

Grandpa opened his hand, and a Red Pill appeared.

Elena's eyes widened.

“Oh! Come to think of it, we had that pill, didn't we? I'd completely forgotten about it. I haven't even thought of it since we left it with Jin-cheol.”

“The timing was always awkward. I took it when Jin-cheol went down the other day, but there still wasn't a good time to use it. I considered using it during the Jekyll and Hyde Game, but I didn't think this pill could stop Hyde. You couldn't exactly call Hyde a mental attack, could you?”

“Who should keep the pill now?”

“Well? I don't know either.”

Grandpa placed the pill on the table, and just as everyone began considering it, Song-i suddenly reacted strangely.

“Huh? Huh?”

“What's wrong?”

“Something's happening to Pero-”

Flap!

Before anyone could react, Pero flew up from Song-i's shoulder and swallowed the Red Pill in a single bite.

...

??????

“Aaaaah!”

“Eeeeeek!”

“That fucking bird! That goddamn birdbrain! That crazy bastard!”

“Mook-seong, shut up for a second! Elena! Catch the bird! Ga-in! Pry its beak open! If we get it out now-”

Everyone lost their minds in an instant!

The only person still thinking clearly tried to calm everyone down.

“Everyone! Everyone, please listen to me for a moment!”

“Boil some water! Today, I'm plucking every last feather off that pigeon!”

“Isn't there something like tongs? Ga-in, shove your fingers into its beak and pry it open!”

“Why is this bastard clamping its beak shut so hard? It still won't open? Still won't open? This won't do! I'll possess it with the Grimoire and force it to throw up! First-”

“Would you all shut up!”

Song-i's shout thundered through the entire rest area.

Only then did everyone fall silent.

...

“Uh, Song-i?”

“Pero definitely used some kind of special power.”

“What do you mean?”

“Pero wasn't reacting at all until just now. But the moment it saw the Red Pill...”

Song-i suddenly fell quiet. Unable to stand it, A-ri asked.

“The moment it saw it?”

“Something, something, something?”

“What the hell do you mean, something, something, something?”

“An enormous thought filled Pero's mind? An incredible amount of information poured into Pero's head? Something strange that I can't explain happened to Pero, and then Pero suddenly lunged at the pill and swallowed it.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Actually, I don't really know either.”

In the end, we all fell silent.

Either way, it didn't seem like Pero had eaten the Red Pill simply out of mischief or hunger.

Our Pero, born from the Golden Egg. Did it still have some hidden ability?

The brief commotion had worn everyone out, so we started leaning against the walls to rest.

Pero came over beside me and began viciously biting me.

“Why does it keep biting me?”

“Because it hates you.”

“Why does it always hate me?”

“Is that even a question? You always use Possession to practice flying and get it hurt, and just now you shoved your fingers into its beak to make it throw up. Wouldn't it be stranger if it liked you?”

“You're the one who told me to put my fingers in its beak.”

“But Pero doesn't know I told you to.”

“...”

For some reason, that made me feel bad.

I was only able to rest after Song-i finally took Pero away.

* * *

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 44

Current Location: Level 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)

Sage’s Advice: 0]

- Han Ga-in

When we came to our senses, we found ourselves standing in an extremely luxurious room.

Grandpa Mook-seong and I were wearing square-cut tuxedos with a very old-fashioned feel.

A-ri, Song-i, and Elena wore dresses so beautiful it was hard to look away, with soft fur shawls draped over them.

Did we look like we were heading to some party?

A-ri reacted oddly.

“This dress is an incredibly old style...”

An old style? I had no idea. They looked like Western formalwear to me, so I was completely confused.

I checked the scenario first.

/Scenario: Gate Room - ‘The Secret of the Esper’

The hotel group has awakened aboard a magnificent luxury passenger ship. Beautiful music can be heard. An employee has arrived to provide information about the Dinner Party. Attend the party and gather information.

Please check the following content at midnight./

Music began playing around us.

Was it classical music? It didn't sound like a recording. It sounded like it was being played live.

No wonder our clothes had seemed unusual. A luxury passenger ship? A Dinner Party? An employee?

Click! Click! Click!

I quickly told my companions what it said.

“This place is a luxury passenger ship. It looks like an employee will arrive soon. We're supposed to attend a Dinner Party.”

“A luxury passenger ship? You mean a cruise?”

“I think so. Has anyone been somewhere like this before?”

The others only tilted their heads, while the Management Bureau team gave uncertain reactions.

“We've been on one during a mission, but not under normal circumstances. We infiltrated it to deal with some absurd monster.”

Ding dong!

A bell rang. When we opened the door, an employee entered.

Just as the scenario described, the employee gave us a rough explanation of the room and informed us about the Dinner Party.

The employee emphasized one point repeatedly.

“You may dress comfortably while in your room, but please be sure to follow the dress code at the party. The tuxedos and dresses you're currently wearing will be sufficient.”

The moment the employee left, we began a meeting.

Click! Click! Click!

Grandpa Mook-seong spoke first.

“It's suspicious how they keep telling us to follow the dress code. Should we try wearing something else? What do you think?”

A-ri answered.

“If it's a formal party, you're supposed to follow the dress code. It might not necessarily be suspicious.”

I had a question too.

“We still have three hours until the Dinner Party. What should we do until then? Explore the ship?”

Elena cautiously offered her opinion.

“If we explore, how about we all stay together? I'm worried something might happen. Ga-in, has the scenario changed at all?”

“No. It still says to attend the Dinner Party and gather information, then check the next content at midnight. It seems the real scenario will begin with the Dinner Party, but we should still do something.”

A-ri spoke as well.

“Before we leave the room, let's search inside it first. We might find something.”

After that, everyone began looking around the room.

Click! Click! Click!

...

“Putting that aside, why has Pero been clinging to the wall like that?”

Pero had been stuck to the wall for a while, constantly pecking at it.

Song-i answered with an uncertain look.

“It seems cooped up. This isn't exactly a cramped space, either...”

If it had been an ordinary bird, I would've assumed it was just acting like an animal. But since it was no ordinary bird, I wanted to know why it was doing that.

“Is this a Music Box? It's an extremely old style. This kind of thing was only popular before World War II...”

A-ri's voice came from farther away, where she had found something.

The moment I heard A-ri's words, a doubt I'd vaguely had for a long time resurfaced.

What I had learned about A-ri when we had opened up to each other before.

That information and A-ri's usual behavior contained one irreconcilable contradiction.

... Was it something I could ask about?

My thoughts suddenly felt tangled, and I grew tired.

The fourth trial, ‘The Secret of the Esper.’

This ship was full of secrets. I had a feeling this trial wouldn't be ordinary either.

Footnotes:

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