WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 254: Time to Choose (2) (Final)
──────
- Lee Eun-sol
After considering Sang-hyeon’s suggestion for the “dark use of an Inheritance,” everyone began sharing their thoughts. Grandfather was the first to speak.
“The Flute still seems like the best choice. Its ability to restore the mind almost perfectly is impressive enough, but more than that, if we bring it outside, it would be a priceless treasure.”
The Management Bureau had fought demons and monsters hidden behind the world for a long time. How many victims had been driven mad by the demons’ insanity over the course of that struggle? The Flute could save those people.
On the other hand, Rudah, which could transform people into Merfolk and control them, seemed likely to have harmful effects on reality in many ways.
Song-i still seemed reluctant to give up on Rudah.
“I’m not sure the possibility of misusing Rudah is really that serious. Wouldn’t Ga-in and Elena be able to resist its control with their own abilities? Like I said before, we also have the option of not receiving the implant ourselves.”
“Song-i. If you meant we should trust each other, receive the implant, and make sure it isn’t misused, that would be one thing. But avoiding the implant itself because we’re afraid it might be misused? That’s like being too afraid of maggots to make fermented paste. From what I can see, Queen Rudah has two main abilities, right? Strengthening our bodies and controlling NPCs. If we’re going to give up the first one entirely, we might as well give up this Inheritance and choose the Flute.”
As the two talked back and forth, I realized something important too.
“Given the nature of the hotel, the risk needs to be spread among everyone. Random accidents in bizarre places are practically a daily occurrence here, aren’t they? This place is full of unexplained deaths. Someone could suddenly die, or have their body stolen by a demon. There are any number of dangers.”
Elena, beside me, agreed.
“Sealing is a good example. When I was first released from Sealing, I almost hurt all of you.”
“That’s why Rudah is so dangerous. The problem isn’t necessarily that the owner of Queen Rudah would have bad intentions. They could be controlled by an outside force and try to hurt us. If that happens, all of us could suffer a huge blow.”
Elena continued.
“But if we avoid giving Rudah to anyone else because we fear those side effects, we’d be limiting the Inheritance’s potential ourselves. I think choosing the Flute would be better too.”
In the end, everyone settled on the Flute, and Song-i backed down, saying she understood. Then Sang-hyeon offered an unexpected opinion.
“I vote for the Flute too. I’d also like to add one more reason.”
After the earlier conversation, everyone listened closely the moment Sang-hyeon opened his mouth.
“I think you’ll eventually revive Mi-ro. Probably once you obtain another Ticket. Isn’t that right?”
“...”
The room fell silent for a moment. Honestly, I thought so too.
Whether Mi-ro was absolutely necessary or not was, in a way, a secondary issue. If Tickets had still been unavailable, that would be one thing. But a Ticket had finally become available, and we had found a way to overcome Mi-ro’s mental problems. Were we really not going to revive Mi-ro?
That would be the same as picking a fight with A-ri, who had returned to the hotel to revive Mi-ro. There was also a high chance Grandfather would turn against us.
Besides, after praying in Frozen Hell the other day, Ga-in also seemed quietly in favor of reviving Mi-ro. He often mentioned that young Mi-ro didn’t seem to have a particularly bad nature and had been exceptionally smart from a young age.
“I have no intention of stopping it. If that is everyone’s wish, I’m willing to follow it. Still... it can’t be denied that she has some rather unsettling qualities. Doesn’t this Flute seem capable of restraining her powers as well?”
The more I listened, the more uncomfortable I felt. This Flute was starting to sound less like a tool for clearing a Curse Room and more like something to use in conflicts among ourselves.
Still, as Sang-hyeon said, the Flute’s power could probably block the “words imbued with power” Mi-ro used. Seung-yeop, who had been listening, came up with another idea.
“Mi-ro’s biggest problem is that her mind is a little unstable, right? Couldn’t the Flute restore that?”
I didn’t think so.
“We’ll have to try it to know for sure, but I’m against reviving Mi-ro based on the Flute alone. Mi-ro’s madness seems connected to that strange place called the Mirror Room. The answer must be in that room too.”
The choice of Inheritance had been decided. Even Song-i, the only one who seemed to want Rudah, had changed her mind.
Now, the question was who would receive it.
Perhaps because Sang-hyeon was stepping back, the two of them quickly withdrew as well.
“I think it would be better for me to focus on practicing with the bracelet.”
It seemed there was an unspoken agreement among us that the next Inheritance should go to someone who had not received one yet. The system of Sealing also provided a good justification for that.
Wasn’t this kind of communist thinking? It was funny that a conglomerate heiress like me was thinking that.
Of course, it meant the turn was coming to me, so I should stay quiet.
“It doesn’t seem to suit my blessing very well.”
I’d expected Seung-yeop to say that.
Because of the nature of Luck, Seung-yeop tended to act on his own and naturally took on the role of escape specialist. The Flute, on the other hand, was an Inheritance made entirely for teamwork, so it didn’t suit independent action.
Also, Luck’s greatest weakness was that its user, Seung-yeop, was a young boy and weak in many ways. The Flute couldn’t solve that problem. It wasn’t something that made an individual stronger.
...
Grandfather and I looked at each other with a subtle tension between us. Everyone else stepped back too. They seemed to think it wasn’t something they could interfere with.
“Ahem. My blessing is Communication, isn’t it? It’s a blessing meant to provide support from behind, so it suits the Flute rather well.”
“Wealth is similar. I usually procure the things everyone needs from behind the scenes or use various tools. Also, I’m basically the team’s strategist, aren’t I? I don’t stand at the front of danger either, so a support-type Inheritance suits me.”
“... As you know, after enhancing Communication, I became able to upload ‘video or sound’ to the Chat Window. Doesn’t that seem like a good match for the Flute? For example, I could upload only the sound of the Flute to the Chat Window and restore everyone’s mental state remotely!”
“Oh, come on! That’s a stretch. Do you really think the Flute’s supernatural healing ability can be reproduced simply by playing its sound? If it could, the Management Bureau in Room 202 wouldn’t have needed to create a Living Flute to copy it. They could’ve just recorded the Flute and played it.”
“You won’t know until you try!”
“Some things are obvious without trying. Wouldn’t the Flute suit my Invisibility Badge better? Can’t you picture me hiding where no one can see me, then using the Flute to take care of everyone’s mental state?”
“Am I not a Management Bureau agent? Do you know how many victims of madness there are in the Management Bureau? Think about how much help it would be to those victims if I took that back with me.”
“Senior. I can just join the Management Bureau once we get out. It’s not like we can live without dealing with the Management Bureau anyway, right? Oh, I don’t know if you know this, but my family has quite a bit of money. That money could be a great help in researching the Flute.”
“Hey! That’s your family’s money, not your money!”
“Ha! Once we get out of this place, such trivial matters-”
“Both of you, have some coffee...”
Elena brought two cups of coffee from somewhere and handed them out.
...
Huh! This atmosphere was getting dangerous.
Too many sparks were flying between Grandfather and me. And we had brought up far too many unnecessary things! Why had Daeyang Group even come up?
Before I knew it, the companions around us were watching anxiously too. Maybe they felt it was too difficult to interrupt, because no one said a word. This wasn’t a good direction. Grandfather and I seemed to feel the same way, so we stopped talking and drank coffee for a while to calm down.
“Ahem. I seem to have said something strange earlier. Even at my age, my heart still wavers when there is an item in front of me.”
“No.”
Perhaps the mood had settled a little, because Grandfather suddenly brought up something else.
“To be honest, I have little desire for other items in this hotel. My purpose here was simple from the beginning.”
Grandfather’s purpose... As far as I knew, he hadn’t entered the hotel for personal reasons.
“A means to stabilize reality. Do you remember?”
“I think I heard about it a long time ago. It was the reason Grandfather, A-ri, and even the Management Bureau sent agents into this place, right?”
“If I obtain that, I need nothing else. I always thought that way, yet I showed such an ugly side of myself just now.”
“...”
“Rather, considering that there is an item we must obtain later, it would be proper to step back when we must dispute ownership of something else. So I’ll withdraw. In return, make me one promise.”
“You want me to help when the time comes to obtain something you want later?”
“As expected, you’re quick to notice things.”
“Given the flow of the conversation, it was obvious. And if what you said is true, then what the Management Bureau wants must be something for the whole world. Even without asking for a promise like this, I think everyone will naturally cooperate.”
Perhaps Elena felt that Grandfather’s conversation with me was coming to an end, because she carefully joined in.
“Then Eun-sol will receive the Flute?”
The room fell quiet. No one offered a different opinion. Without a word, I slowly approached where the Flute floated.
As the object before me drew closer, my heart began to pound wildly. Why was I this nervous? I wasn’t even the first person to go through this! Several hotel companions had already gone through this process!
Once I grabbed it, I would finally-
--- Grab!
“Ah! S-Sang-hyeon?”
“I’m sorry. I just remembered something I overlooked.”
“Overlooked?”
“Come to think of it, once Miss Eun-sol grabs that Flute, ownership of the Inheritance will be decided and this space will likely collapse.”
“Th... that’s right?”
“But haven’t we forgotten one thing?”
“Forgotten?”
“Miss Eun-sol, you saw the message when the room disappeared, correct? It seems the hotel liked the solution scenario you came up with.”
“A-ri did expect it to be an answer the hotel would like.”
“According to the message, there is an ‘Additional Reward’ because of that.”
I realized why Sang-hyeon had grabbed my shoulder.
The “Additional Reward” the hotel had promised in exchange for the happy ending we created in Room 202. Sang-hyeon was raising the possibility that the reward might be hidden somewhere in this space.
--- Beep!
/You may check the Additional Reward after the Time to Choose ends./
“... I suppose not.”
“I suppose not. The hotel hides things so often that I thought there might be a chance.”
I stepped forward once more and grabbed the Flute without hesitation. This time, no one stopped me.
Countless strings of information, the “method of using the Flute,” poured into my mind. At the same time, I felt something unknown settle into my right hand.
* * *
[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 108
Current Location: Level 2, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 3]
- Han Ga-in
“Ugh!”
I barely regained my senses as I steadied my unsteady legs. Had we cleared it? We didn’t have to do it again, right?
No!
The moment I turned around and saw my companions’ expressions, I understood. I’d come out of Curse Rooms enough times that I could now tell just by looking at people’s faces. When I saw the worn, slender rod in Eun-sol’s hand, I immediately knew which Inheritance had been chosen and who had received it.
“Congratulations, sis!”
Everyone approached her with bright smiles, but she was staring at her own hand with a flustered look.
“Sis?”
“... This.”
“What?”
“This was the Additional Reward.”
Maybe because she was flustered, something fluttering in her hand slipped out and fell. When I reflexively reached out and caught the paper, I found myself holding a Ticket split in half.
“... A half Ticket? Don’t tell me two pieces make a complete Ticket?”
Footnotes:
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