WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 270: Room ???, Curse Room - ‘????’ (8)

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[±úÁü : [corrupted]

[corrupted] : 126 [corrupted]

[corrupted] : [corrupted]-[corrupted]

[corrupted] : X]

- Han Ga-in

The presence of the ‘Legion’ flying toward us led us to make a decision after a long silence. If necessary, we would pool our strength and deal with Elena.

It would not be easy. Just looking at the number of those monsters made the situation seem hopeless in terms of brute force. Even if Cha Jin-cheol had been uninjured, there were too many to handle by force. Still, if Elena had lost her blessing and could no longer use Clear Mirror, Still Water, she probably had no way to resist my Grimoire.

But I remembered Possessing Elena when she had gone mad because of the Zero-Dimensional Eye. If I Possessed someone consumed by madness beyond a certain degree, that madness affected me too. I decided Possession would be my last resort and approached Elena.

Elena's condition was truly strange.

* * *

“I missed you all so much!”

Elena flew down from the sky, came over as if nothing was wrong, and hugged each of us in turn. None of us had ever received a hug from such a beautiful woman before, so it should have been enough to make our faces redden with embarrassment. Instead, cold sweat ran down our backs from the tension.

The Elena I knew was not the sort of person to hug people so readily just because she was happy to see them. The writhing insect wings on her back felt deeply wrong. More importantly, the roughly three hundred grotesque moths waiting behind her made the situation even more serious.

“... It's good to see you.”

“Elena, you must have had a hard time.”

After exchanging brief greetings, we began talking about this and that as though everything were normal. Naturally, though, we had no choice but to focus on Elena's story rather than our own.

“When I first woke up, I was so shocked! The whole world was writhing flesh! Can you believe it? The sky was purple too, and I was on top of a tongue.”

“A purple sky... and writhing flesh?”

“Yes. Weren't you surprised, Ga-in?”

“I-I was. You would not be human if you saw something like that and were not surprised.”

“Elena! Does the ground still look like writhing flesh to you? The ground is-”

“Jin-cheol, it's fine now. My Fairies used Purification on all of it. But when I saw it from far away before I arrived, it was writhing.”

“Elena! You're mistaken about something! The ground is made of perfectly normal dirt and stone, and the sky is blue. We're in a normal world!”

“Hm. Is that so?”

The mood suddenly turned chilly.

Elena did not argue with Cha Jin-cheol. Instead, she suddenly continued in the voice of a child.

“Ga-in! I think that man is a little crazy, so be careful. This world is dangerous somehow. It's the kind of place where it would not be strange for people to lose their minds.”

“... Elena, no. I'm fine. Go on. What else happened to you?”

“Octopuses! Dozens of writhing octopuses suddenly jumped out everywhere! I tried to run away, but they kept chasing me. I was so scared... I cried and begged and begged for someone, anyone, to come save me. Why didn't you help me?”

The mood changed in an instant. A moth behind her lifted me into the air.

Elena was seriously demanding to know why I had not helped her when she was in danger.

A murmur passed through the group.

Jin-cheol looked flustered as he debated whether to attack. Sang-hyeon seemed to be listening closely to Elena's words. The Elder slowly reached for his gun.

For some reason, I felt like I knew what answer I needed to give.

“I'm sorry. I was busy running from the octopuses too. I couldn't even think about saving anyone.”

Let's just shut up and apologize.

This was not the kind of situation where I could say, How was I supposed to know you were in danger on a vast primordial continent when I did not even know where you were? And even if I had known, how could I have found and helped you?

Thunk!

Ridiculously enough, she seemed satisfied with that answer and let me down. The conversation continued.

“Don't make that mistake next time! But I'll let it go this once. Because while I was alone, I figured out how to make Fairies. Look! Aren't they really pretty?”

As we listened closely to Elena's bizarre, cruel fairy-tale story, everyone's expressions gradually darkened. We finally understood that the ‘writhing octopuses’ she had mentioned were actually the primitive people. We also understood what she meant by saying her Fairies had used Purification on them.

The Elder, who had finally grasped where the conversation was going, let out a long sigh and was about to take out his gun. The Doctor stopped him, then joined the conversation with a smile.

“Elena, may I borrow Ga-in for a moment?”

“Huh? Of course! But is it something I shouldn't hear?”

“Haha! You could say it's a private matter.”

The Doctor left the other two to watch over Elena, then pulled me away.

“What did you think while speaking with her?”

“She isn't in her right mind. She seems completely insane.”

“That conversation earlier was good. Rather than contradicting Elena, you accepted what she said. Are you used to conversations like that?”

“Of course not.”

“You handled it well. She appears to have developed a severe delusional disorder and created a world of her own. If we try to break that world, she'll react aggressively. Keep doing what you're doing now.”

“You mean I should be the one talking to her?”

“I don't think the Elder or Jin-cheol can gently soothe Elena and guide her toward appropriate behavior. You're the right person for it, Ga-in.”

I had no idea what I was supposed to say, but I noticed one thing.

The Doctor's expression was not dark at all. If anything, he looked rather pleased.

“I thought the situation was completely hellish, so it's strange seeing you look so cheerful.”

“The situation is far better than before. Why should I look gloomy? Her mind is somewhat unstable, but a powerful companion has appeared, one who recognizes us and can resist the robots in the mountain range.”

* * *

[±úÁü : [corrupted]

[corrupted] : 129 [corrupted]

[corrupted] : [corrupted]-[corrupted]

[corrupted] : X]

Three days passed.

For the last three days, keeping the deranged Elena company and playing along with her, I ended up handling eighty percent of it. The others found it difficult just being near Elena. Only the Doctor occasionally came over to check on the situation and handled the other twenty percent.

That did not mean everyone else had been resting. The Elder and Jin-cheol had been busy training the tribespeople to move in and out near the Boundary so they could draw the robots' attention as planned.

Once training began, Elena made it clear that she wanted to use ‘Purification’ on the tribespeople, casting a shadow over our faces. Fortunately, the Doctor, who could communicate with Elena better than anyone except me, told her that these ‘octopuses’ were clever octopuses trained to listen to us. Elena seemed to understand and backed down.

“Ga-in, I have a small request.”

“What is it?”

“I think the Fairies have been very hungry lately... Look. Aren't they nothing but bones now?”

“Is that so? The moths, no, the Fairies' bellies all look quite plump to me.”

“There are so many ‘octopuses.’ Can't you give the Fairies just a few? Around three hundred?”

“Absolutely not.”

“There are so many of them, and you can't even give me three hundred? My Fairies are much more useful!”

“Didn't I say absolutely not? Those octopuses all have their own roles.”

“What roles?”

“... Emergency rations for when we climb the mountain? If you eat them beforehand, there'll be nothing to eat when we climb the mountain.”

“Ah! Ga-in had already thought it through?”

“Of course.”

“Okay. I'll tell the Fairies to hold out a little longer.”

Elena left the tent, apparently intending to tell the Fairies to endure. The gray boy sitting across from me gasped in admiration as soon as she was gone.

“Wow! The tribespeople would be so damn shocked if they heard that. I want to record this conversation and play it for them.”

“There aren't any recording devices in this world, so it's fine. More importantly, Seung-yeop, have you been okay lately?”

“Of course.”

“... Are you really okay?”

“If I'm not okay, can you turn me back to normal?”

“I can't, but the hotel will probably fix you once we get out.”

“So I decided to think that I'm okay too.”

I couldn't think of anything else to say.

The boy beside me had become a strange rock boy, as though stone had replaced his skin. Yet he was surprisingly calm. Despite everything, he still believed the hotel would solve it all once we escaped.

I vividly remembered reuniting with Seung-yeop two days ago.

Elena had taken me to a huge Cocoon, saying she wanted to show me someone I knew well. When the Cocoon burst and Seung-yeop jumped out as a rock boy, I nearly screamed.

“What the hell happened to you?”

“Ga-in, if I started properly telling you what I went through, even tonight wouldn't be enough. This room was seriously unbelievable. Even before I met Elena, it was just hell itself.”

“I figured. As soon as I understood the state of this room, you were the one I worried about most. Then Elena kept saying she had ‘saved’ you, which made me even more worried.”

The gray rock boy snickered as he gave a simple answer.

“But that part was surprisingly true.”

“What do you mean?”

“It really is true that Elena saved me. If she hadn't arrived when she did, I might have died in a far more horrible way. Compared to that, my skin becoming a little harder isn't such a big deal.”

I stopped in surprise. Was it true that Elena had saved him?

Come to think of it, hadn't Elena said that Seung-yeop had been hanging from a pole when she found him?

“What happened to you?”

“After we get out. Let's talk after we get out. I have so much I want to say. But from the look of things, we'll enter the mountain range tomorrow. By the way, where do you think everyone else is? I wonder if Eun-sol, Song-i, and A-ri are all right.”

“I have a feeling we'll see them after we get out.”

* * *

Everyone had been worried when Elena flew down from the sky, but the Doctor's analysis that Elena joining us had improved the situation proved correct.

First, we now had someone powerful enough to deal with the robots. For the past three days, I had done my best to make Elena understand that enemies in the mountain threatened us. Elena accepted it and steeled herself for battle.

The tribespeople's faith had also deepened.

The Doctor had lied to them, telling them Elena was an angel sent down by their ancestors. The tribespeople knew nothing about the fact that this angel had tried to use ‘Purification’ on them, or what the moths flying across the plains truly were. They believed the lie without the slightest doubt.

Stronger combat power, a reasonable plan, and higher morale.

Everything seemed to be going our way. We all resolved to climb the mountain range the next morning. Elena, who normally said nothing but crazy things, happily smiled and shouted, “You can do it!” at that moment.

Then Seung-yeop brought up something ominous.

“This feels bad somehow. Things usually fall apart when they seem to be going this well.”

“Hey! Why would you say something like that at a time like this? I'd smack you, but your damn head's too hard now!”

Everyone laughed cheerfully as the Elder scolded him. Meanwhile, the Doctor glanced at Elena and whispered into my ear.

“Oh, Ga-in.”

“Yes?”

“Would you give a short speech early tomorrow morning?”

“A speech?”

“More than half the tribespeople were people who served you, weren't they? I think your words will carry weight with them. No matter what, the fact that they must perform a strange rite near the Crimson Mountain Range seems to frighten them.”

“I'll give it a try.”

* * *

“Listen! Last night, our ancestors bestowed a revelation! The march of suffering has finally ended, and the time of glory has arrived!”

“Waaaaah!”

“After being cast out of Paradise, we endured harsh years. A thousand years plagued by hunger! A thousand years chased by monsters! A thousand years of falling asleep each night exhausted by fear! How long those years have been! Rejoice. You will escape despair!”

The tribespeople's cheers rang loud enough to shake heaven and earth. A few people watching the scene looked on in admiration.

“Wow! Ga-in's really good at speeches!”

“Except that every word of it is complete bullshit.”

“Doesn't that make it even more amazing? How can he so naturally talk about some prophetic dream from the ancestors in a situation like this- Mmph!”

Cha Jin-cheol hurriedly covered Park Seung-yeop's mouth.

Cha Jin-cheol agreed that the speech was nothing but bullshit, of course. But Elena was beside them, moved to tears by that same bullshit, so there was no reason to provoke her.

The Elder snickered and addressed everyone.

“Good. Anyway, that guy definitely isn't normal either.”

“Isn't it strange to remain normal in a place like this?”

“You're right, Sang-hyeon. Let's get going.”

Footnotes:

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