WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 170: Room 201, Curse Room - ‘The Cube’ (19) (Final)

──────

- Han Ga-in

The moment a finger descended from the vast, boundless heavens like a falling star, everything stopped.

Beatrix's song, filled with screams of pain from some distant dimension, fell silent.

The noise from the books and displays fluttering through that strange space ceased.

The cruel god whose mad laughter had filled the entire world fell silent.

In that time and space where all things had stopped, the finger descending from heaven pierced me. I had not even dared to try to evade it.

...

When I came to my senses, I realized I had returned to being my complete self, Han Ga-in.

“What the hell is...”

“You awake?”

I whirled around in surprise. A man who looked to be in his late fifties stood there, with an intellectual air about him.

“You!”

“Are you going to ask if I'm really the Chief Researcher? That'd be a rather predictable question, wouldn't it?”

“... What the hell is going on? And what was that finger?”

“It was a kindness granted because this is the first room on the second floor.”

“What?”

“Before you entered this room, did you properly understand Sealing?”

“I got a rough explanation from A-ri, but honestly, I didn't understand it well. A-ri herself didn't know much about it either.”

“You began Room 201 without properly understanding Sealing as a system. That wasn't your fault. It's not as though the Hotel gives you an instruction manual. Could you have known before experiencing it? Could you have known in advance that being swept up in a character's way of thinking, as happened to you this time, could alter your personality, and prepared for it?”

“...”

“That is why the first room on the second floor offers this consideration. You and I were forcibly separated. Congratulations. You've recovered your complete self once again.”

“Well, that's something to be grateful for.”

“Isn't it funny? The Hotel is a place that seems to have gathered every injustice in the world, yet it hides this sort of strange consideration too.”

The Chief Researcher pulled a cigarette from his jacket and slowly began to smoke. He exhaled a crumbling mist from his mouth, then spoke again.

“Want one?”

“I've never smoked.”

“Want to learn while you have the chance?”

“...”

“Heh. What a boring junior.”

“I'm not your junior.”

“Is that so?”

...

“It's interesting, looking into your eyes. You have endless things you want to say, but you don't know what you should say first. Isn't that right?”

“Was there really no other way? Did Beatrix and the humans really have to be offered as sacrifices?”

“It seems you really hate my method.”

“You... While I was assimilated with you, I thought about it. You treated every human other than yourself as a tool.”

“One of the chronic ailments of people in high positions. And you've misunderstood one thing.”

“Misunderstood?”

“You say I regard every human except myself as a tool? What are you talking about? I am the most useful tool of all.”

“...”

“Why do you think I'm here?”

“Don't tell me you entered the Hotel of your own accord to obtain something...”

“That's enough. You'll never meet me again in the rest of your life, so why ask personal questions about me? It has no meaning beyond satisfying your curiosity. You should ask questions that will be useful to you going forward.”

With those words, the Chief Researcher pointed at my Status Window.

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 87

Current Location: Level 2, Curse Room, Room 201, ‘The Cube’

Sage’s Advice: 3]

...

This was the first time anyone besides me had seen my Status Window.

Sage’s Advice flashed.

“This...”

“Use Sage’s Advice and ask me a question. I'd like to just tell you myself, but I can't anymore. Surely you know how to use it?”

“You're not the Owl, so why are you telling me to use Sage’s Advice...”

“Didn't I tell you not to ask questions just to satisfy your curiosity? Ask something necessary.”

“...”

“If you can't figure out what to ask, I'll choose one for you. The first question... Yes, this will do.”

‘About the system of the second floor.’

[Sage’s Advice: 3 -> 2]

... I let out a hollow laugh.

The Chief Researcher, this man who might once have been the owner of Wisdom, began using my Status Window as though it were entirely his. Now he was even doing something absurd, asking and answering his own questions.

Still, there were many questions I wanted to ask him, and the topic was the system of the second floor. Just hearing that made me curious enough to go crazy. I decided to listen quietly.

The Chief Researcher's first self-answered question began.

“The second floor also has a scenario in each room, much like the first floor, and Sealing lies at its center. Sealing applies to one of you, but it also seals a character who plays an important role in resolving the scenario. The moment you release the Sealing, that character's mind awakens as well.”

...

“Is releasing the Sealing necessary to clear the room? No. Still, in most cases, it's best to aim for it. In Room 201, your companions seemed obsessed with releasing the Sealing, as though possessed. They probably didn't know exactly why they were doing it, but the result was correct. It seems they've developed some instincts after enduring the Hotel for so long.”

...

“The moment you release the Sealing, you've practically resolved the room. A being that knows the room's answer awakens, like the Chief Researcher of Room 201.”

...

“There is one problem... Oh, dear. From the next answer onward, the explanation exceeds the limit of one use of Sage’s Advice. You'll need to use another if you want me to explain further. Do you have another question?”

“Just use one more and continue explaining.”

“Good idea. Let the second question be this.”

‘The problem with the answer known by the character.’

[Sage’s Advice: 2 -> 1]

“After you release the Sealing, the character who awakens alongside your companion will know the answer to that room. The problem is that the answer isn't a very good one.”

“What?”

“What do you mean, ‘What?’ You've been complaining to me this whole time, asking if there was no other way.”

“...”

“The same applies to other rooms. The moment you release the Sealing, you'll learn that room's answer. At the same time, you'll also learn that the answer has many problems. Well, usually you won't have the time, so you'll follow that flawed answer. Like you did this time. But... if you do have time.”

“If we have time?”

“Consider whether there's a better answer. For your information, I understand that finding a better answer comes with a corresponding reward.”

My mind was in turmoil. I focused all my thoughts on organizing what I had heard so far.

Like the first floor, the second floor had a scenario in every room, and one of us would be Sealed. Once the Sealing was released, not only would our companion be freed, but the character who knew that room's answer would awaken as well. Therefore, releasing the Sealing drastically increased the likelihood of resolving the room.

However, the answer known by that character was incomplete. If we found a better answer, we could receive an additional reward.

Was that about it?

As I wondered whether I had missed anything, the Status Window flashed again.

‘About the limitations of Sage’s Advice.’

[Sage’s Advice: 1 -> 0]

“What are you doing without saying anything...”

“I'm sorry. There isn't any time left.”

Just as he said, the world that had stopped began moving again. As the Curse Room was resolved, every space slowly began to collapse.

“The final answer isn't anything special. Looking through your memories, it seemed you had quite a few complaints about the Owl.”

“...”

“Since I once owed him quite a bit, I should clear up that misunderstanding. The reason the Owl sometimes gives you answers that sound like wordplay isn't because he wants to mess with you. He has many restrictions of his own, so he had no choice but to answer that way.”

“A choice?”

“An answer that is easy to understand, clear, and contains only one meaning, or an answer that is vague like a Zen riddle but can reveal many meanings depending on how it's interpreted. He simply chose the latter, to put more information into a single answer.”

“...”

The space around us began to crumble. The resolution was approaching. The end of the long, long Room 201 was near. Just as the platform where he and I stood was about to collapse, I could no longer hold back and spoke.

“I don't want to become like you, even in the future.”

“A good thought. Junior, I support you.”

/You have succeeded!

The Cube. A strange, unknown place where people kidnapped for unknown reasons died endlessly at the hands of monsters.

Surprisingly, this terrible place was created to save humanity. Unable to find a way to confront the root of an evil that could not be dealt with through strength or wisdom, people eventually chose to beg for their lives by offering living sacrifices.

Was this really the only way? Who knows. But don't worry! You have certainly resolved the room!

The monsters hidden in each room, the girl who was less a person than a living natural disaster, and even the Research Lab concealing an unknown secret.

Your efforts in protecting the world from the Zero-Dimensional Eye after overcoming all these trials were impressive.

.

.

.

.

One of your companions has achieved a Final Resolution! Congratulations! Because a Final Resolution achiever has emerged, all members will return safely.

Please decide for yourselves which treasure you will receive and who will receive it!/

???

I had been reading intently, but my eyes widened at the last line!

We could choose ‘which treasure to receive’? And the notice even let us choose who would receive it. Was there anyone alive besides me?

After the resolution of Room 101, the Time to Choose had come once again. Soon, the next notification appeared.

Footnotes:

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