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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 225: Room 202, Curse Room - ‘The Little Mermaid’ (3)

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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 100

Current Location: Level 2, Room 202 - Curse Room ‘The Little Mermaid’

Sage’s Advice: 2]

- Han Ga-in

It bore repeating, but Haesin Island was a truly absurd place.

When I first heard it was an island off the coast of Busan, I assumed it was about the size of Ulleungdo. The moment we looked at the map, everyone's mouths fell open, mine included. Haesin Island was, ridiculously enough, even larger than Jeju Island!

That was probably common sense to the people of this stage, so they looked at us as if they couldn't understand the fuss. To us, though, it was utterly shocking. There was a gigantic island larger than Jeju Island off the coast of Busan? Naturally, the island wasn't a natural landform. According to this stage's history, it had been created nearly eight hundred years ago, at the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, by the god of the ocean.

At that point, we decided not to compare this stage's world with the history we knew. It might have been called the Republic of Korea, but it was practically another world.

Toward evening, the Merfolk who had guided us returned and told us our meeting with the Saintess had been arranged. After briefly organizing our arguments and the points we needed to challenge, we set out. Right before we left, Song-i spoke in alarm.

“Pero's gone!”

“What do you mean? Pero usually flies around freely, doesn't it?”

Pero was a bird by nature. Since it was the creature among us with the most freedom to move around, it often flew about instead of quietly spending all its time on Song-i's shoulder. We hadn't bothered to stop it. Whenever we needed it, it always somehow rejoined us.

“It usually doesn't fly that far. At most, it just goes up to get some fresh air. But about twenty minutes ago, it flew really far away.”

Everyone searched the area for a while, but the missing parrot didn't return. In the end, we trusted that it would find us when necessary and headed out to meet the Saintess.

* * *

When we arrived at the Saintess's residence, we were briefly at a loss for words.

“...”

“...”

“This isn't quite what I imagined.”

“They kept talking about a Saintess and Merfolk, so I thought she'd be in some occult, mystical place.”

The Saintess was in an ordinary modern government building at the center of the island. There was even a nameplate above her office door.

[Governor of Haesin Special Autonomous Province Serenade]

“She’s a governor.”

“She really is.”

The moment we entered through the door after being shown in by a secretary, I involuntarily drew a breath.

She had a mysterious appearance.

Honestly, most of the Merfolk I'd seen walking around the island had looked rather ugly from a human perspective. I had thought the Saintess might be a walking carp as well, but that wasn't the case at all. The scales along her neck, behind her ears, and on her wrists, along with the unusual shape of her ears, proved that she wasn't human. Still, Serenade was undoubtedly a remarkably beautiful being.

“Welcome, Management Bureau representatives from the mainland.”

“Hello. It is an honor to meet the Saintess of the Deep.”

“Please just call me Governor. That's my public-facing title.”

“Very well. We're both busy, so shall we get straight to the point?”

“Fine. We both know the situation. You may speak first.”

Eun-sol slowly laid out the documents we had brought and conveyed the claims of Cheongseong Group and the Management Bureau. The argument of those holding the Saintess responsible could be summarized as follows.

First, according to the autopsy on victim Lee Su-ho's body, the means of murder was clearly a supernatural curse or magic. In addition, Lee Su-ho had visited Haesin Island shortly before his death.

Second, we had not identified the exact supernatural power that killed Lee Su-ho. Still, it was certainly an extremely powerful and evil method. That very power severely narrowed the range of possible killers. Fewer than seven beings in the Republic of Korea could use a method of this level, and among them, the only one with a motive to kill Lee Su-ho was you, the Saintess of the Deep.

Serenade listened to us without a word, took a sip of tea, and began her rebuttal.

“It sounds grand, but isn't all you're saying that Su-ho died to powerful magic, and among those capable of wielding such powerful magic, I'm the only one with a motive to kill him? I think the premise of your claim is wrong.”

“The premise is wrong?”

“You're already wrong when you say there are fewer than seven beings capable of using evil magic. Looking at your list, you've included all the famous names, like the leader of the True Love Church, the Seventh Reincarnated Jesus, and the Black Shepherd of Jirisan, yet you've conveniently left out the most famous and powerful group of all.”

The most famous and powerful group?

“The Management Bureau. Aren't all the beings on this list wary of you? The Management Bureau must be crawling with bizarre beings capable of killing someone like Lee Su-ho with a single finger.”

“Do you think that's a rebuttal? Why would we possibly kill Lee Su-ho...”

“Then do I have a reason to kill him? Did I gain anything from his death? Thanks to him dying, you've come barging in here and are causing a scene. Don't tell me it was something like a fit of anger. I trust you don't think I'm that much of an idiot.”

Grandpa gave a quiet laugh as he listened.

“So you're not the sort to recklessly act on a fit of anger?”

Serenade's sharp gaze turned toward him.

“And yet you set a trap to capture and kill us before we even arrived.”

“What are you talking...”

“Please excuse my harsh language. I'm not the kind of person who speaks politely to those who hold a knife to my throat.”

“What are you talking about? What trap?”

This time, A-ri stepped forward and told her about the evil sorcery we had experienced earlier, a spell called ‘Ru-da-ba-heu-ri.’ Serenade's expression stiffened sharply.

“Please wait a moment.”

She called over her secretary, canceled the rest of her schedule for the day, and sent several employees to inspect the Sea Highway.

Our expressions hardened as well as we watched. Serenade acted as though she knew absolutely nothing about the attack against us and naturally sent employees to the Sea Highway.

A-ri had never once mentioned that the place where we were attacked was the Sea Highway.

Kim Mook-seong: Don't be fooled. She's lying.

Lee Eun-sol: What a dirty trick.

Just as everyone's suspicion of Serenade deepened, the secretary returned. After receiving the report, Serenade apologized to us and expressed her intent to compensate us for the damage caused by the attack. Of course, separate from that matter, she refused to budge from her claim that she had nothing to do with the murder. Our first meeting with the Saintess of the Deep ended with both sides still at an impasse.

Let's sort this out.

In the end, the core of our argument was that only a handful of beings in the Republic of Korea could wield the evil power that killed Lee Su-ho, and among them, Serenade was the only one with a motive to kill him. That argument alone wasn't enough. Even to me, it was no more than a claim based on circumstantial evidence. Serenade also countered by asking whether she had any reason to kill Lee Su-ho.

Still, the attack we suffered upon entering the island, coupled with the shady act Serenade put on after we revealed it, made the flames of suspicion burn in all our hearts.

What exactly was that woman, the Saintess of the Deep, hiding?

As my worries deepened, Scenario Understanding informed me that a new scenario had appeared.

/Scenario: Curse Room - ‘The Little Mermaid’

The Hotel party has finished their meeting with Serenade. Unfortunately, the secret concealed by the Saintess of the Deep and the truth surrounding Lee Su-ho's death, rather than revealing themselves, have retreated into even more mysteries. More information is needed to shake the Saintess. Just then, the Hotel party comes across unsettling rumors about the Saintess spreading throughout the island.../

“Unsettling rumors?”

“Did something appear in the scenario?”

“It says we need to find rumors about the Saintess. It looks like the next part won't appear until we do.”

Our next objective had been decided.

* * *

- Park Seung-yeop

I decided to head to Seoul to escape and bought a ticket for an express bus. I got the earliest ticket available, but I still had to wait nearly two hours. Two hours could be long or short. How should I spend it?

Fortunately, there was a perfect place to kill time on the third floor of the terminal.

‘Welcome to Summoner's Rift!’

I'll play just two matches! If I get two clean wins in a row and ride that wave of victory, I'm sure great luck will come my way. Probably!

.

.

.

“Fuuuck!”

Run! This is driving me crazy! I'm late, aren't I? Am I seriously about to miss my bus because I was playing League? This is so damn annoying! I was only going to quit after two wins in a row, so why did I get matched with idiots again?!

This definitely wasn't my fault. It couldn't be. I was only going to play two matches, more specifically, get two ridiculously fun wins in a row before quitting. The problem was my teammates who got in the way of my victories.

I ran like mad, then ran some more. It had already been five minutes since my bus to Seoul was supposed to leave!

Driver, you can wait five minutes, right? Five minutes isn't a big deal, is it?

In a daze, I collapsed by a second-floor window overlooking the bus stop. I could see the express bus that had already left making its way out of the terminal.

... Am I actually insane? Something's really wrong with me today. No matter how much I like League, was that right? I was given an important role in escaping the Curse Room, and I got so absorbed in a game that I threw the plan into disarray? Should I bite my tongue and kill myself?

Just as immense guilt and self-loathing swept over me, driving my mind to the brink of suicide, something strange happened.

--- Craaash!

Waves crashed down. The ground split apart, and seawater surged up, flinging away the bus that had left just moments ago. In an instant, waves burst up from the land and began demolishing the terminal!

“Aaaaah!”

--- Rumble! Crash! Splaash!

The waves pouring in from every direction lashed through the area like the sweeping hands of an enraged giant, burying every person and object in muddy water. Even the citizens' screams disappeared beneath the thunderous roar.

I ran and ran. Without thinking, I just kept running. The moment I darted to the right, a billboard fell behind me! What were you supposed to do when a tsunami came? Go higher first!

In a panic, I rushed up to the terminal's third and fourth floors. The door leading to the rooftop from the fourth floor was already open, perhaps by employees or other people. Along with countless others, I ran wildly out onto the roof.

Only after blankly looking around from the rooftop did everyone there realize it.

Busan was hell. The moment of destruction had arrived, and no hope whatsoever remained in this city.

--- Gwoooooo!

The moment an enormous Ragworm rose up, splitting the ground, and approached to swallow everyone gathered on the rooftop in a single bite felt like a scene from a movie. As I stood there stunned by the spectacular sight, a notification appeared.

[Heavenly Fortune activated! The energy of the universe now dwells within you.]

Footnotes:

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