WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 187: A Prayer for Mi-ro (6)

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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 93

Current Location: Frozen Hell - Resurrection Room

Sage’s Advice: 3]

- Han Ga-in

When I came to amid a dizzying sensation, we were already outside the door. When I checked my Status Window, I realized the date had changed while we were inside.

“Ugh, I never thought Santa would be the culprit. Are you okay?”

Grandpa clutched his head for a moment, as if he had a headache, then replied.

“That Santa bastard was damn strong. He sang while throwing around every kind of magic. There was just no dealing with him. A-ri, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Ugh... I should’ve realized something was wrong when I heard the Christmas carols!”

Around then, Eun-sol came over from across the room.

“From the way you’re talking, I guess you didn’t succeed?”

“Looks like we’ll have to go in one more time. Let’s catch our breath first-”

“I’m sorry, but go back in right now.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry. But the situation for those of us holding out isn’t as good as we expected. We need to save as much time as possible.”

???

What did that mean, those of us holding out? Wasn’t the Prayer Team supposed to just sit still?

Unlike me, who was about to ask in confusion, A-ri acted quickly.

“I guess they have troubles of their own. Let’s go back in right away. We can talk once we’re inside. There’s still plenty of time before Santa goes wild anyway.”

“... Everyone, be careful. We’ll try to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

We immediately returned to Mi-ro’s Hell.

* * *

Right after the ‘Hell Team’ returned to Mi-ro’s Hell at Lee Eun-sol’s instructions, Cha Jin-cheol came running over from afar after checking on the first floor.

“Sis! What happened?”

“I guess the first attempt failed. Looks like they have to try once more.”

“I see.”

“Where are Seung-yeop and Song-i?”

“They’re barely hanging on, just gasping for breath. I wrapped them up in sleeping bags and blankets.”

“The weather is too harsh. I never thought the Rest Incense Candle would burn using people’s vitality as fuel. What’s the first floor like?”

“It’s a complete mess. It’s become a hell no different from the second floor. Room 105 is completely locked. How’s Elena?”

“She’s been inside for about three hours. It must be getting difficult for her. I’ll go in next.”

“...”

“Take this.”

“This is...”

“It might be what saves us.”

Cha Jin-cheol held a single white slip of paper in his hand.

‘Three-Day Rest Voucher.’

* * *

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas

And a happy New Year!

Hearing the carol echo in English made me realize something.

This was an American school, so in actual history, everyone from the students to the teachers must have spoken English. The Hotel had kindly translated all those conversations into Korean.

The only words it didn’t translate were those imbued with supernatural power, like Mi-ro’s ‘words imbued with power.’ Why else would only the carols keep sounding in English? It was practically an advance warning that the carols themselves were supernatural!

The moment I woke up in Mi-ro’s Hell, I ran straight to the faculty room where A-ri and Grandpa were.

“Have you thought of anything?”

“You mean a way to deal with Santa? This bastard doesn’t seem easy to handle.”

“In the original history, the Management Bureau probably dealt with him, right? And Mi-ro survived through sheer luck?”

“Probably. The Management Bureau would’ve had a way to kill him with firepower, whether that meant helicopters or missiles. But we need to find another way. We can’t contact the Management Bureau at all.”

A-ri nodded too.

“I don’t know whether the Hotel simply didn’t recreate the Management Bureau inside Mi-ro’s Hell or whether we have no way to contact them. Either way, the conclusion is the same. It seems to be telling us to handle it ourselves.”

“Let’s share the weaknesses each of us noticed. What I confirmed is that he stays quiet until Christmas. As you know, Santa already exists before Christmas. He may already have manifested by now!”

During the first attempt, I encountered Santa while having a snowball fight with Mi-ro.

“That’s definitely an important point. Maybe the answer is to kill him now, before Christmas comes.”

A-ri spoke up as well.

“The weakness I noticed is that he has to sing a carol before using his powers. Every ability seems to need some kind of preparation time.”

“It did seem like he had to sing the corresponding carol whenever he used an ability, whether it was a blizzard, summoning man-eating reindeer, or making heads explode.”

Grandpa thought for a moment before replying.

“The main body itself didn’t feel physically that strong. I don’t know if you remember, but when I punched him with the arm I got from that Merchant bastard, he went flying pretty easily.”

“Didn’t he get back up right away, though? He was fine even after getting shot.”

Grandpa seemed to consider it briefly before answering.

“My judgment should be more accurate since I saw him up close. Both my punch and the bullets seemed to have some effect. They just weren’t enough. What if we set his whole body on fire?”

A-ri quickly put the ideas together.

“The main body isn’t that strong, and he activates his magic by using carols like spells, right? How about Mook-seong holds him down with brute force while we cover his mouth and burn him?”

For an idea that had come up so quickly, it sounded pretty good. A monster whose physical strength was weaker than expected and who used magic while muttering under his breath. In other words, wasn’t he basically a mage? Cover his mouth before he could cast a spell and burn him. It was a suitable plan considering Santa’s abilities.

After spending about thirty more minutes working out the details, we began waiting for Santa to appear.

* * *

During the first attempt, Santa appeared in the schoolyard with the reindeer between roughly six and seven o’clock. We still didn’t know the exact conditions for his appearance, so we decided to recreate a situation as similar as possible to the first attempt.

Put simply, I was having a snowball fight with the children.

--- Thwack!

“Spinning tornado shot!”

“...”

“Hyah!”

I’d always felt this since meeting A-ri, but there really wasn’t anything she couldn’t do. Not only was she good at studying, but her physical abilities were better than an ordinary person’s. Now that Old Blood was gone, her superhuman traits, such as her unique monstrous strength, had vanished too, but her natural talent remained.

“How does every snowball you throw fly straight at someone’s head?”

“I aim for their head and throw it.”

“... That’s certainly a good method.”

--- Thwack!

A snowball flew in from the side and smacked me across the cheek. A-ri giggled at the sight, while Mi-ro and the other children giggled from farther away.

Everyone except me, the one who got hit by the snowball, was happily laughing. Was this a happy ending?

We wish you a merry Christmas

As I stood there blankly listening to the carol, I realized it was about time. I gave A-ri a subtle signal.

Han Ga-in: It’s almost time.

Kim A-ri: Should we send the kids inside?

Since we didn’t know the exact condition for Santa’s appearance, we needed to maintain a situation similar to the first attempt.

Han Ga-in: Except Mi-ro.

Soon, A-ri and Grandpa, who had been watching us nearby, sent the children inside. Was there a way to leave only Mi-ro behind? Fortunately, that concern was easily resolved.

As Grandpa began sending the children away, Mi-ro grabbed A-ri’s arm and hid behind a car. Grandpa naturally pretended not to see the two of them and moved to prepare for dealing with Santa.

Han Ga-in: Keep Mi-ro with you.

Now it was time to wait.

...

...

--- Huuuh!

A creepy breath seemed to brush against my ear! I opened my eyes wide and turned toward the sound, then realized something.

I was the only one who had heard it.

A-ri and Grandpa showed no reaction at all. Only after seeing my tense expression did they belatedly turn toward the sound.

Soon, the reindeer emerged from the forest.

--- Huuuh. Huuuh. Flop.

The reindeer that had torn apart and eaten human heads only hours ago now walked across the snowfield with the grace and gentleness of the most harmless animal in the world.

“... It looks very graceful right now.”

“Ho ho! You have a good eye, child. This one is more delicate and graceful than it looks.”

Santa had appeared!

His entrance was the same as before. While our attention was on the deer, he suddenly appeared behind me as though he had teleported.

“Huh? Are you Santa Claus?”

“That’s right! Child, what’s your name?”

“My name is Han Ga-in. Oh, the children coming over there are Mi-ro and A-ri.”

... Something was strange. I realized something I hadn’t noticed when we first met.

“Yes. Yes. What a wonderful time. But Ga-in?”

“Yes?”

“Are you a good kid?”

Only that sentence suddenly came through in English. What did it mean? Was magical power contained only in that sentence?

As I was thinking, the Chat Window became noisy.

Kim Mook-seong: I’ll shut that bastard’s mouth-

Han Ga-in: Stop.

Kim A-ri: ?

Kim Mook-seong: ?

Han Ga-in: It’s useless. It won’t work right now.

Was it because I hadn’t answered Santa’s question while focusing on the Chat Window? The old man looked like he was starting to get annoyed.

“Child. When an adult asks you a question, you should answer. I’m beginning to wonder whether you’re a bad child.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t answer because I was thinking hard about whether I’m really a good kid.”

“... That answer is acceptable. It seems you worry a great deal about whether you’re a good child, don’t you? Just worrying about it means you’re already a good enough child.”

“Thank you.”

“How could anyone in the world be completely good? Everyone makes mistakes and becomes stained as they live their lives. So think, and think again. Keep thinking about what you did wrong, and keep repenting. Then someday, you can become as clean as this beautiful white snow.”

It was hard not to laugh bitterly. Listening to him speak, he sounded like a child education expert. Who exactly had been the being that massacred all those children earlier?

“I’ll always think about it.”

“That’s right! Oh, Ga-in, what kind of gift do you want? I’ve been worried because only you and A-ri haven’t written down the gifts you want.”

“Um...”

“This Santa Claus really likes you, Ga-in. So it’s all right to ask for a somewhat impressive gift. Good children deserve rewards.”

A gift Santa could give. An impressive gift. The sudden question left me speechless. I barely managed to come up with an answer.

“Could you give me a doll? I want to make more friends!”

That was probably the right kind of gift to ask Santa for at this age, wasn’t it? Santa smiled faintly at my words, then ‘disappeared.’

A little later, Mi-ro, A-ri, and Grandpa appeared from across the yard.

“That was a strange conversation. Doesn’t he seem really obsessed with the words ‘good child’?”

“I don’t know... More than that, it’s strange that he asks about gifts. Does he really give something?”

“Why the hell did you tell me not to step in? That bastard’s mouth!”

“Teacher. Mi-ro will get startled.”

Kim Mook-seong: We agreed to shut that bastard’s mouth and burn him to death!

“What are you all talking about? Is it something fun?”

“Mm, Mi-ro! Let’s go eat.”

Without a word, I stared at the space where Santa had disappeared. When the reindeer appeared, Santa had suddenly appeared behind me and talked with us for a long time. Naturally, he hadn’t stood still like a statue throughout the conversation. Santa had walked naturally all over the snowfield, back and forth, left and right.

Now that Santa was gone, there were no footprints anywhere in the snowfield.

Footnotes:

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