WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 191: A Prayer for Mi-ro (10) (Final)

──────

[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 94

Current Location: Frozen Hell - Resurrection Room

Sage’s Advice: 3]

- Han Ga-in

When I came to, I found myself standing in a freezing snowfield, a place I could never get used to no matter how many times I experienced it. The Hells of former participants were said to be different from Curse Rooms, but once resolved, the space still collapsed and threw us back outside, just like a Curse Room.

The first thing we found upon leaving was Jin-cheol kneeling in the open field.

“Jin-cheol! You waited for us... No, what happened to you?”

It was the first time I had ever seen Jin-cheol this thin since entering the Hotel!

I knew those praying outside had been through a hard time too, but he looked as though he had lost more than ten kilos. At this point, I could barely imagine what he had gone through.

“Finally! You finally came out! If you’d been any later, I would’ve passed out too.”

“What happened here? Where did everyone else go?”

“They all went to Room 105 to rest.”

“What? Room 105? Wasn’t the first floor already out of commission when we left for Frozen Hell?”

Jin-cheol gave a bitter smile, and Grandpa spoke.

“You used Room 106’s reward, the Three-Day Rest Voucher.”

“We had no choice. Everyone was exhausted and had been exposed to the brutal cold for too long. We were afraid they might freeze to death at this rate.”

“You used it well. It’s a consumable, isn’t it? It was made to be used when the time came, and a crisis came.”

After listening to Jin-cheol’s explanation, we understood the situation.

“I didn’t know the Rest Incense Candle was such a dangerous item.”

“What kind of Hotel makes even an incense candle into something that can kill people?”

“After using the Three-Day Rest Voucher, did you carry everyone else there yourself?”

Jin-cheol gave a faint smile.

“I carried Seung-yeop, Song-i, and Elena. Eun-sol probably got there on her own. And... honestly, I’m having a hard time holding out too.”

Before he could even finish, Grandpa replied.

“I’d been wondering what happened to you after seeing the state you’re in. Why don’t you go to Room 105 too? It looks like we’re done here. Guide! Is there anything else we need to do?”

The Guide, which had been floating in the air all this time, replied immediately.

“No. You only need to hear the briefing.”

“Go get some rest. We can listen to the briefing and tell you about it afterward.”

“Then I’ll excuse myself. And Ga-in?”

“Yes?”

“What’s that on your waist? I don’t think you had it when you went in. I just thought I should mention it.”

With that, Jin-cheol trudged away.

“My waist? What is this now?”

A-ri snickered.

“Merry Christmas! I guess that serial-killer Santa really liked you. Even at the very end, he made sure you got a present!”

Grandpa sighed.

“Just throw it away. That crazy monster.”

The object attached to my waist was a stuffed doll that looked remarkably like me. Honestly, it gave me the creeps the moment I saw it. I couldn’t tell whether that was because of the doll itself or the thing that had given it to me.

After Jin-cheol disappeared, only those who had taken part in Mi-ro’s Hell remained in Frozen Hell, where the brutal cold and blade-like wind still raged.

“When we came in, I’m pretty sure the scenario said something like, ‘The lingering resentment of the dead suffering in Hell is the cause of the cold.’”

“That is correct.”

“Then why is it still this cold? Shouldn’t the cold disappear?”

“An excellent question. I will now explain that point. Participants! You have worked hard. You have succeeded in ending the suffering of one of the dead who suffered in Hell!”

Only after that bastard confirmed it did everyone turn toward the ice statue holding Mi-ro. Mi-ro was still asleep within the ice, but she was no longer groaning in pain like the dead trapped in the other statues.

She simply... wore a peaceful expression, as though she were having a pleasant dream.

A-ri did not react much, but I could tell from her expression how relieved she was. It felt good to realize that we had achieved something worthwhile.

“The dead gained hope through your good deeds, and the cold of Hell can no longer threaten the Hotel. The first floor has already escaped the bitter cold. The second floor will be repaired tomorrow.”

“Since you’re only talking about the first and second floors, I guess Frozen Hell, or rather, the Resurrection Room, will stay cold?”

“The first and second floors became cold because the chill of Hell damaged the Hotel, not because they were inherently cold places. Frozen Hell is different. It is naturally cold regardless of whether the Hotel is repaired.”

The Resurrection Room would remain cold from now on, but that was not a major problem. It was not somewhere we would visit regularly anyway.

At last, the Hotel’s long ice age was over! Feeling satisfied, we looked at one another and smiled.

“I explained prayer and resurrection to you a few days ago, did I not? To say it again, prayer and resurrection are separate matters. Prayer is only a procedure for ending a former participant’s suffering and restoring warmth to the Hotel. If you wish to resurrect someone, you must use a Ticket. Will you use one?”

Silence fell for a moment. Grandpa and I awkwardly looked at A-ri, and she snickered.

“What are you looking at? Resurrection through a Ticket needs everyone’s agreement. We once talked about resurrecting the Doctor, didn’t we?”

“We also said we’d discuss it again after finding the Resurrection Room. I didn’t think we’d find it this quickly.”

“Anyway, I don’t plan on using one now. We still haven’t found a way to restore Mi-ro’s mind. Though I have an idea where we might find one.”

That was a relief. The Ticket was far too valuable for just the three of us to decide how to use it, and we could not decide something as significant as gaining a new companion by ourselves. Naturally, we needed to discuss it with the people resting in Room 105 before making a decision.

Still, a way to restore Mi-ro’s mind...

Considering the meaningful conversation we had just had, perhaps the answer to Mi-ro’s problem lay in the Mirror Room? Of course, we would only know for sure after going there.

The Guide continued.

“For your information, the Resurrection Room is also one of the Hotel’s Secret Rooms. In other words, it is not a room you may enter at any time. You may only enter it again during Party Time.”

A-ri answered as though it were no big deal.

“Well, we already used the Three-Day Rest Voucher. It probably includes today, so tomorrow and the day after tomorrow will be Party Time too.”

“If we plan to use a Ticket, let’s discuss it with the others and come back tomorrow or the day after.”

In the end, it seemed we had used the Three-Day Rest Voucher well. It had also given us time to rest and discuss whom we should ultimately resurrect.

That concluded our business in Frozen Hell.

* * *

Thinking everything was over, we relaxed and started leaving Frozen Hell, saying we should rest properly since we had used the voucher anyway.

Then something unexpected happened.

[Sage’s Advice: 3 -> 0]

[Why are the first and second floors repaired at different times?]

?

“Huh? W-Wait, everyone stop!”

“What is it? Ga-in, did something strange happen?”

“S-Sage’s Advice just activated.”

“What did you ask?”

“I didn’t ask anything! Like in the Gate Room before, all the remaining uses vanished at once, and only an answer appeared!”

Grandpa let out a deep sigh.

“Looks like something happened again. So, what does it say?”

“‘Why are the first and second floors repaired at different times?’”

“What the-”

--- Bzzzzz!

The moment I explained Sage’s Advice to my companions, a strange sound came from the drone watching us from the other side. The propellers keeping it afloat began vibrating wildly, and its body shook before a voice with a different tone from before came through.

“Ha ha! Wisdom. This is a little unfair, isn’t it? The participants hadn’t noticed at all, yet you told them directly. Isn’t that crossing the line?”

If we still could not catch on after all this, the time we had spent in the Hotel would have been for nothing. It was about time we understood without being told.

There had been some sort of hint in what the Guide had just told us through the drone. Since we were about to leave without realizing it, the Owl had pushed itself a little too far and given us advice!

The three of us immediately stopped and began thinking about the subject of the advice, the different repair times for the first and second floors.

A-ri muttered as though she had realized something.

“Now that you mention it, it is strange. Is there any reason the two floors need to be repaired at different times?”

Grandpa replied.

“I didn’t think it was strange. The cause of the cold was Frozen Hell, and Frozen Hell is on the second floor, is it not? Since it is closer to the source of the cold, I thought it was natural for repairs to take longer...”

Hearing that made me realize what felt wrong.

“This isn’t a place where common sense applies like it does in a real building, is it? This isn’t somewhere workers come and repair with hammers. It wouldn’t be strange if invisible, fairy-like beings snapped their fingers and finished the repairs in one second!”

“There is no reason the repair times need to differ?”

“Right. Now that I think about it, we’ve wrecked the Hotel many times, but there was never a case where one place had been repaired while another remained broken.”

Hotel Pioneer.

When a so-called special event ended in this strange place, it would not have been odd for the damaged facilities to be repaired immediately. Why repair only the first floor at once and leave the second floor as it was?

We stood there silently, unable to find an easy answer.

Then the drone intervened.

“It seems it will take quite some time for you to realize it yourselves.”

“... I’ve noticed this for a while, but your way of speaking is different from before.”

Until a moment ago, the Guide had sounded like a simple AI drone. Now, it sounded as though it were relaying someone else’s voice directly.

“Let us say I am the Administrator of this place. In truth, I was considering whether to erase your memories related to the Owl’s advice until just now.”

“...”

“But... yes. The Owl stepping in and telling you directly when you hadn’t noticed at all certainly crossed the line a little. Still, it also means the Owl believes you are worth investing in. Proving your potential to a Sponsor and winning their favor is also an ability, is it not?”

The Owl thought I was worth investing in?

That was hard to believe!

... For some reason, I remembered all the time I had resented the Owl. I started wondering whether I should suddenly fall to my knees and beg forgiveness.

“Do not stand here thinking. Go to the second floor. Look around and consider what it means that only the second floor will be repaired later.”

Footnotes:

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