WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 236: Room 202, Curse Room - ‘The Little Mermaid’ (14)
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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 101
Current Location: Level 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 0]
- Han Ga-in
The moment Song-i said the word “Terminator,” A-ri’s eyes went wide.
“You don't mean the title of that movie with the governor, right?”
Song-i explained the incredible weapon called the Terminator that she had encountered. At the final moment, it had fallen at the spot where Haesin Island had stood. According to Lee Su-ho, it was the Management Bureau’s final solution when a situation spiraled into the worst possible outcome.
There had been no visible physical form, like a missile. It was more like a mass of light radiating an intense glow, as though it were a tiny star.
Both A-ri and Grandfather looked shocked after hearing that explanation.
“They developed it? Already?”
“Wasn't that supposed to be impossible for at least another fifty years?”
“I thought it wouldn't appear for another hundred.”
What kind of weapon could provoke that reaction? Everyone was curious, so A-ri gave a brief explanation.
“You can think of it as one of the ultimate weapons the Management Bureau is researching. In theory, it supposedly has overwhelming power not just against physical entities, but immaterial ones as well.”
Grandfather continued.
“The Management Bureau often compares the world ordinary humans live in to an island, and places inhabited by supernatural beings to the sea. From that perspective, a state where demons and monsters run rampant is land that has become too ‘damp.’ Does it make sense if I say this weapon evaporates that dampness with overwhelming heat?”
“I feel like I understand, but I don't.”
“To be honest, neither do I.”
It wasn't strange that the two of them didn't know exactly how the Management Bureau’s latest weapon worked. A-ri and Grandfather were both field agents of a sort. Soldiers in modern warfare probably didn't fully understand the principles behind the newest weapons they used either.
Still, that didn't seem to be why they were flustered.
“The problem is that, as far as I know, the Terminator is still a weapon in the research stage. It can't be used in actual combat yet.”
Eun-sol looked as though she didn't see the issue.
“The world we lived in and the setting of Room 202 are different anyway, aren't they? Maybe civilization developed a little further in the world inside Room 202.”
“What you say makes sense, Eun-sol, but it still feels off.”
A-ri put that sense of unease into simple terms.
“It feels like suddenly finding an orbital elevator in twenty-first-century South Korea. If civilization had advanced enough to build an orbital elevator, there should be signs of it in other areas too. In every other way, Room 202 wasn't much different from the civilization of the Earth I knew.”
“Is that so?”
There was no answer to be found by discussing it further, so everyone fell quiet. I didn't even know whether this topic had anything to do with resolving Room 202.
Judging by A-ri and Grandfather’s reactions, the Terminator seemed to be a science-fiction weapon that would take fifty to a hundred years to complete in our world. Could the fact that such a weapon had been created so quickly in Room 202 be connected to the room’s scenario? I thought about it for a while, but nothing came to mind.
Once it grew quiet, Elena asked an important question.
“What will happen to me? The Sealing has already been released, hasn't it? Will I start in the limousine too when we begin?”
In Room 201, I had resolved the room on the attempt when my Sealing was released, but Elena had to continue after being freed from Sealing. Everyone turned to A-ri, but she looked uncertain.
“My old party got stuck not far into Level 2. We saw a key person get Sealed, and we didn't even dare go any further.”
I thought about it for a moment. There seemed to be two possibilities.
“I think there are two possibilities. First, Elena has already joined us, and another NPC is assigned the role of the Second Daughter. Second, you're Sealed again. Even if it's the latter, it shouldn't be a big problem. We already know where Elena is, right? We can just go back to the hospital.”
There was no point discussing it further. We would only know by experiencing it ourselves. After that, we spent time steadily laying out our plan for the resolution until late at night. Someone suggested changing rooms partway through, but the idea was rejected.
When we were progressing through Level 1, we didn't know much about the hotel’s system, so we went into one room, then another. Now that we understood the system to some extent, there was no point in switching rooms midway through. Every room was full of danger anyway.
Room 202 had at least given us a fair amount of information. We knew nothing about the other rooms, so they had to be even more dangerous. Changing rooms was something to consider only when we had learned almost nothing from the first attempt and had no idea how to proceed, or when we reached the fifth attempt and the room began to twist.
The next morning, everyone gathered again.
“You all remember what we discussed yesterday, right? This is a room we need to finish quickly, so make sure you remember your roles.”
As expected, Seung-yeop cautiously raised his hand and asked what he was supposed to do. Fortunately, his role was clear, so it didn't take much explanation.
Elena spoke anxiously.
“Should we really go in without using Ga-in’s Sage’s Advice? There are so many things to worry about.”
I answered.
“I'm worried too, but think about the curse that had been there since we entered Haesin Island. Lee Su-ho probably set it up, right? There could be more curses like that, so I think we should save it.”
The second attempt at Room 202 began.
* * *
- Lee Eun-sol
“Chief, did you read the materials Cheongseong Group sent us?”
“I did, but what on earth are they trying to argue?”
“It seems their public position and their actual position are somewhat different.”
“That’s why we're going there in person to see that damned chairman's face. Honestly, that bastard-”
“Chief, please be careful around Cheongseong Group anyway. No matter what, the chairman's son died a tragic death.”
--- Beep!
The conversation we'd already heard once played out again. When everyone came to their senses, the car stopped. Elena was nowhere to be seen when I looked around. Ga-in called for Elena through the Chat Window.
Han Ga-in: Elena?
We waited for a moment, but there was no response in the Chat Window either. It looked like Elena was asleep in that hospital again.
“Elena must be at the hospital. We made the plan with that possibility in mind, so it's not a problem. Everyone remembers their roles, right?”
Thankfully, everyone nodded. Grandfather and I were the first to get out of the car.
“You can do it!”
“You can do it!”
What was the key to progressing through Room 202?
There weren't just one or two things we needed to handle. We had to investigate Cheongseong Group, bring back Riringanor, whom Heavenly Fortune had guided us to, go to Haesin Island to get information out of Serenade, and find Lee Su-ho.
We had to finish all of it by tonight at the latest!
In the end, the key was “saving time.” We couldn't proceed with everyone together. Since I was familiar with how large corporations operated, and Grandfather was older, we decided to look into Cheongseong Group. As we rode the elevator to the chairman's office, I felt tension welling up and spoke.
“Grandfather, will this really be okay?”
“So even you can lack confidence sometimes, Eun-sol. Usually, you act like you know everything, telling us to do this and do that.”
“My role is a little extreme this time.”
I pointed at the hat, and Grandfather nodded.
“It would have been easier if Elena were here, but we're going to have to do this the hard way. Don't worry. Half of what agents do is acting like thugs anyway.”
“...”
“I've even punched a member of the National Assembly in the face.”
“Are you saying that to cheer me up?”
“He's not the president. What's so special about a chaebol chairman? Have some confidence.”
A sigh escaped me, but I agreed with the last part. This was exactly when I needed to act confidently.
--- Ding!
We arrived at the chairman's office.
A familiar conversation took place between Grandfather and the chairman for a while. Lee Mun-chun, chairman of Cheongseong Group, brought up the port story we had heard before, expressed grief over his son's death, and led the conversation.
He once again said that if the chairman's son had been killed by the Merfolk, negotiations over the port would become more favorable because of the Nonaggression Treaty between the Management Bureau and the Merfolk. Listening to that conversation again now that I knew some of the truth, I couldn't help laughing.
The chairman noticed my laugh.
“The young lady in the back has been quiet since earlier. Is there something you'd like to say?”
“Ah, sorry. It was a little funny listening to you.”
“... I didn't realize there was anything amusing about it. I thought it was a sad story.”
He was clearly mocking me. How could I laugh while he was talking about his son being murdered?
Of course, that response only made me laugh harder.
Your son is alive and well, you old man!
“Is there any reason to be sad?”
“...”
“Oh, sorry. You said your son died, Chairman? Did you happen to see the body?”
“It's strange for you to ask me that. Wasn't it the Management Bureau that examined the body?”
So that was the setup?
It was a little strange. Lee Su-ho was now in a position close to being the Evil God’s high priest, so he could easily make a fake corpse. Still, I hadn't expected even the Management Bureau to be fooled by something like that.
--- Click!
Grandfather seemed to feel that the time had come and locked the chairman's office door. Naturally, the chairman was greatly alarmed.
“W-what are you doing all of a sudden?”
Did this man know that his son had been in a relationship with the Second Daughter of the Sea God? We could find out now.
“Lee Mun-chun.”
“What-”
‘Top Chef's Charisma’ activated!
“You motherless son of a bitch! Looking at that face of yours, your parents must've died a long time ago! I hope no more bullshit comes out of that mouth from now on. Huh? Do you know how much trouble we've gone through because you deceived us?”
“W-w-what is the meaning of this-”
“Are you not going to lower your eyes? Should I stab them out with a fork? Do you think you can keep running this fucking tiny company after making an enemy of the Management Bureau?”
“Please calm down.... At least tell me the reason-”
“The reason? There are a damn lot of reasons. The whole country is buzzing about your son screwing the Daughter of the Sea God, and you hid it? I hope you're not about to say you ‘didn't know.’ I'd be really disappointed if you said that.”
At those words, the chairman's entire body stiffened as though he had been struck by lightning. It seemed the hat’s power had done its job, so I quietly took it off.
A moment later, the chairman began confessing the hidden truth.
* * *
“This is different from what I expected. I thought there would be a grander reason.”
“Life is simple sometimes.”
The reason the chairman had hidden his son's relationship with the Second Daughter of the Sea God was truly nothing special. He had thought the Management Bureau might be displeased to learn that Lee Su-ho and the Daughter of the Sea God were involved. I couldn't believe that was really all there was to it, so I put the hat back on and intimidated him again, but he gave the same answer. When we asked whether his son was alive, he reacted as though we were making fun of him.
“Could the chairman have controlled his mind and body to deceive us? Grandfather and A-ri held up fine when we tested the hat before.”
“Eun-sol, the chairman is just an ordinary person. Does it make sense to compare him to us? He even wet himself at the end. If all of that was an act, he deserves an Oscar.”
“Is that so?”
“I'm more bothered by something else.”
“Yes?”
“This world is one where the Control Faction, those naive dreamers, is in power, isn't it?”
Grandfather didn't seem to think much of the Control Faction.
“Whenever those bastards open their mouths, they say humans and other races can coexist. They're typical dreamers, but anyway, from their perspective, a relationship between Lee Su-ho and the Second Daughter wouldn't be something to dislike.”
I understood what he meant. In the eyes of the Control Faction, a union between the eldest son of a chaebol family and the leader of another race would be something they were desperate to encourage, not find unpleasant.
“Maybe the chairman just doesn't understand the Management Bureau very well?”
Honestly, I had lived without knowing anything about the philosophy of the Management Bureau in the world I came from.
“That’s certainly possible. That's why I didn't press him on that point.”
Before we headed to the next place, I carefully asked,
“To anyone else, it must look like a Management Bureau agent threatened a chaebol chairman until he passed out.... Are we really okay?”
“...”
“Grandfather?”
“When we return to reality, don't ever use that hat carelessly.”
“Huh? Whaaat? You told me to have confidence!”
“I didn't know it would be that bad. How do insults flow out of your mouth like water?”
* * *
- Park Seung-yeop
“Ah, was it not here?”
“...”
The Doctor beside me was starting to give me increasingly sharp looks.
Footnotes:
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