WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 205: Party Time - The Final Meeting (1)

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- Lee Eun-sol

With those words, everyone began to feel tense again for the first time in a while.

It had been quite some time since we last entered a Curse Room. Normally, we had to enter the next Curse Room within two or three days of resolving the previous one, but this time, Mi-ro’s Hell and the Three-Day Rest Voucher had made the gap much longer.

“Room 104, Hotel High. Does everyone remember? Grandpa, Jin-cheol, and I were teachers, while everyone else was a student.”

“I apologize, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Kim Sang-hyeon had never experienced Room 104. Everyone summarized what had happened there based on what they remembered.

We had started as teachers and students at a school. Every day, students were pushed to their limits through pop quizzes and physical tests, while those who failed were sent to the Old School Building. Then there was the terror of people returning from the Old School Building one by one, only to have been replaced by someone else.

After listening intently for a while as though he had forgotten it all, Seung-yeop spoke with an uneasy expression.

“Could the scenario change like it did in the House of Horror? There’s an additional character now.”

A-ri didn’t seem to agree.

“Isn’t this different from back then? Grandpa and I were NPCs inside the Curse Room who joined as companions, so a major change to the scenario was inevitable. This time, the hotel doctor has no connection to Hotel High’s scenario at all.”

“Is that so?”

“I think Kim Sang-hyeon will simply be given a role at Hotel High. For example, a math teacher?”

Kim Sang-hyeon nodded.

“That seems likely. I believe I will participate as a teacher as well.”

As though to make sure we didn’t forget, Grandpa wrote something large on the whiteboard.

“Don’t any of you forget this.”

‘□ is a way to □□ Father.’

It was the hint we had obtained from Room 106. Its meaning still hadn’t fully revealed itself.

Once the meeting properly began, Elena spoke with concern.

“Is it alright to hold the meeting without Ga-in? Regardless of whether we tell him the conclusion tomorrow, he’s played an important role in these discussions until now...”

Elena didn’t seem to fully understand why I had told Ga-in to rest. When I turned to look just in case, A-ri and Grandpa were both smiling awkwardly.

As expected, those two were quick to pick up on things like that.

“Ahem. Hm.”

“Grandpa, please explain.”

“Elena, Ga-in absolutely needs to stay out of this meeting. It happened to be the right time for him to rest because he’s sick, but even if he were perfectly healthy, he would still need to rest.”

At that point, Elena seemed to realize something.

“Ah! I forgot what the greatest threat in Room 104 was!”

“Huh? What?”

A-ri explained it to Seung-yeop, who still looked confused.

“We’ve always found Room 104 unsettling because of the strange traits of the Descent granted by the Lord, right? It’s far too different from an Inheritance. When we think back on what Ga-in was like after using Descent, it was as though an arrogant angel had borrowed a human body and manifested through it. In other words...”

“It felt as though the Lord was controlling Ga-in. We’re worried the same thing will happen in Room 104. In other words, one of Room 104’s greatest dangers is Han Ga-in himself. Naturally, he can’t know our plans before we enter.”

“Ah, right.... Do we really have to enter a room like that?”

As soon as Seung-yeop understood the situation, his expression turned anxious. His reluctance to enter Room 104 was obvious.

The Hotel worked day and night to provoke conflict between us. Room 104 might be the final boss of them all.

A-ri summed it up simply.

“That’s why we avoided Room 104 until now. But this time, we have a Penalty because we overused the Wisdom Sponsor’s advice. We need to enter at least once so we can dump that Penalty into Room 104.”

A-ri’s position had always been clear. We weren’t entering Room 104 to resolve it. We intended to dump the Penalty there and use Room 104 as a disposable card.

I spoke up again.

“Alright. Whether we resolve Room 104 or use it as a disposable card, we have to go in and do something. We need to think about three things. First, what does the hint mean? Second, how can we escape? Third, how do we deal with Han Ga-in?”

Song-i answered right away.

“I’ve been thinking about it. Doesn’t the first blank have to be ‘daughter’?”

“I can’t think of another word either. Given the circumstances, ‘Father’ refers to the Lord. And there happens to be one being in Room 104 who could call the Lord Father.”

“Aurelia, the Guide. If Father means the Lord, the first blank has to be daughter. It refers to Aurelia.”

A-ri objected.

“Don’t jump to conclusions based only on what we know about Room 104 right now. Once we enter and progress further, more unknown beings might appear.”

“That’s true. Let’s only conclude that the first blank is likely daughter and that it probably refers to Aurelia. Now, let’s look at the next part. ‘A way to □□ Father.’ What could those two syllables be?”

Everyone looked confused.

There were too many possibilities. Far too many. How many two-syllable words could come from the relationship between a daughter and her father?

“Honestly, there are a lot of candidates, right?”

Kim Sang-hyeon, who had been quiet until then, spoke.

“At this point, almost any word would make sense. We could put in ‘trust’ and interpret it as meaning we should break that trust, or put in ‘love’ and interpret it as meaning we should use that love. May I offer my opinion?”

“Stop talking like that from now on. You’re a companion.”

“Thank you. We shouldn’t decide on the second word yet. We have gathered too little information to determine it.”

Cha Jin-cheol agreed.

“I think so too. If we settle on a word while we’re uncertain, then turn out to be wrong, we may keep thinking of that incorrect word and distort our judgment afterward.”

“Good. Let’s stop discussing the second word and move on. The escape scenario. A-ri, you escaped during the first attempt, so please summarize what happened then.”

A-ri took a moment to recall the past before explaining.

It was an interesting story, even hearing it again.

Ga-in had infiltrated the Old School Building and confronted Aurelia. He stabbed her with a knife, leaving her unable to move. In the meantime, A-ri used hypnosis to rampage through the school, start a massive fire, and personally report it. As fire trucks and police flooded in from outside and the situation grew out of control, Hotel High gave up on A-ri. The moment she was detained and had no chance of returning to the school, her escape was confirmed.

After giving the rough summary, A-ri offered her opinion again.

“I think we can escape in a similar way this time too. The cultists in the Old School Building are an organization obsessed with secrecy, so they have trouble responding when something huge happens that shocks the entire world.”

Kim Sang-hyeon, who had been listening closely, made a sharp observation.

“An outstanding and creative plan! But is there no way to secure one person’s escape more quickly? As you know, if we help one person escape right at the beginning, the remaining people can safely explore the Curse Room with their survival secured.”

Kim Sang-hyeon’s opinion was reasonable. We had used that exact tactic in Common Sense-Altering Media.

Seung-yeop had escaped right at the beginning, while the rest of us explored the broadcasting station and hospital.

It would be great if we could use the same method in Room 104, but...

What escape method could we use right at the beginning?

Seung-yeop cautiously spoke up.

“This might be a bit extreme.”

“That’s good. The crazier the idea, the better it works in a crazy place.”

“What if I start beating up the kids around me as soon as it begins?”

Kim Sang-hyeon tilted his head.

“Wouldn’t you simply be taken to the Old School Building?”

“I mean beyond the level of school discipline. I could beat them with a chair until they’re half dead.”

“Ah! You plan to cause an incident serious enough for the police to come to the school on the first day?”

“Yes.”

“If this were Earth, this conversation alone would make me think Seung-yeop needed serious counseling. But since this is the Hotel, I think Seung-yeop is extremely intelligent.”

“Thank you...”

Cha Jin-cheol, who had been listening, offered his opinion too.

“Ah, we’re talking about that kind of thing? If I put my mind to it, I’m confident as well, but it would be troublesome if I did it.”

“Not just you. The Inheritance holders shouldn’t handle the escape. You need to stay behind and uncover the secrets of the Old School Building.”

“Let’s prepare several escape methods. Seung-yeop will try cracking the skull of the person next to him as soon as we start, and Grandpa?”

“Should I beat up a teacher too?”

“With those arms, if you pick up a teacher and throw them out the window, the police special forces will arrest you immediately.”

“That sounds perfect.”

Song-i offered a slightly different opinion.

“Listening to this, doesn’t drawing in outside forces seem useful even aside from escaping? The cult at Hotel High cares about that world’s public authorities.”

“What are you thinking?”

“For example, I could show the students an illusion of a way out through the window and make them all jump out together.”

Kim Sang-hyeon was beginning to offer opinions naturally among us as well.

“Should I try something myself? For example, whenever I pass someone, I could secretly interfere with their muscles and give five or six people permanent disabilities. Would that bring in emergency responders?”

...

What would someone who didn’t know us think if they overheard this meeting?

It didn’t matter. The Hotel was that kind of place.

“I just thought of a good idea!”

“Sis? What is it?”

“The vice principal likes coffee and kept making me bring it. Let’s mix a little of A-ri’s blood into that coffee.”

A-ri exclaimed in admiration.

“Then I can control the vice principal and make them do something crazy?”

“Exactly.”

The meeting continued late into the night in that fashion. After organizing numerous tactics for escape and methods of drawing in outside forces to intimidate the cult at Hotel High, we moved on to the next subject.

“Last! Now for the most important part. Let’s talk about the Son of Heaven.”

Kim Sang-hyeon, who had completely blended in with us by then, immediately asked a question.

“First, I have a question. Please understand that there’s still much I don’t know. Roughly how strong is this being called the Son of Heaven? I think we need to respond differently depending on whether we can subdue the Son of Heaven.”

The Son of Heaven’s strength...

Memories of the past came rushing back to everyone.

Footnotes:

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