WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 371: Room 205, Curse Room - ‘Absolute Master’ (20)
──────
- Lee Eun-sol
The third attempt at Room 205.
The moment I came to in the imperial palace, I reviewed the plan.
We'd discussed it yesterday too. The Imperial Party's overall approach had no major problems, so we could proceed as before.
First, we had to apologize for the old grudge between the imperial family and the Heavenly Righteous Alliance, then ask them to cooperate for the greater cause.
During the second attempt, Mr. Sang-hyeon, Yi Ja-seong's disciple, had gone himself. This time, we decided to add one more thing.
A handwritten apology from the emperor.
“Your Majesty, please change that part to this.”
When I revised part of the apology letter, or perhaps letter of repentance, that the emperor was writing, he complained.
“This is kind of annoying. I didn't even do anything wrong! Isn't this guilt by association?”
Mr. Sang-hyeon, beside him, replied.
“Your Majesty. In Room 205, guilt by association is actually legal.”
“...”
“If you became emperor thanks to your father, you can apologize for his sins on his behalf.”
“Pfft! Ah, sorry.”
Once I heard it put that way, I couldn't help laughing.
While the emperor wrote his lengthy apology, I recalled one piece of information we'd learned through Ga-in's advice yesterday.
“‘Keep in mind that Yi Ja-seong's way of thinking differs from yours.’ What do you think that means?”
Mr. Sang-hyeon answered.
“Isn't that obvious? Yi Ja-seong is literally a man from the old days.”
“I think there must be a reason we were told something so obvious.”
“Isn't this it? The very idea of a child apologizing for their father's sins seems premodern...”
That wasn't wrong, but it felt like there was more to it.
Then the emperor, still writing his long apology, spoke up.
“I just got an idea!”
“An idea?”
...
After hearing the emperor's suggestion, Mr. Sang-hyeon and I gaped.
Uncharacteristically, Mr. Sang-hyeon even stuttered.
“Y-Your Majesty. That's too much. He may think Your Majesty is trying to mock him.”
I hurriedly added, “The court officials will obviously rise up in protest!”
The emperor replied flatly.
“Harmonious Gate Lord, the country's on the verge of collapse. We can ignore every last court official.”
“What kind of-”
“Besides, during the first attempt, I saw that all those court officials were useless. The moment they thought the country was doomed, they ran away before I did, and I'm the emperor.”
“...”
“I'm telling you, this will work. My unusual intuition is screaming that this is the answer.”
There was nothing more I could say when Seung-yeop put it that way.
Intuition.
For an ordinary person, it would easily be dismissed as nonsense. But that wasn't true for someone blessed with Luck.
Soon afterward, the emperor's handwritten apology was complete.
* * *
- Kim Sang-hyeon
Even as I got out of the carriage and entered the Heavenly Righteous Alliance, I kept wondering.
Was this right? Did this make any sense?
No matter how I thought about it, wasn't Seung-yeop, the emperor, making a decision far too impulsively?
“Phew...”
I took a deep breath and calmed myself.
Things proceeded much like before. Heavenly Righteous Alliance martial artists stood all around, glaring as though they wanted to tear me apart.
Soon, Yi Ja-seong would arrive in secret and order Cha Gun-ak to test my skills-
... This was different.
Without saying a word, Yi Ja-seong appeared immediately and began walking toward me.
“It has been a long time, Alliance Leader-”
“Enough nonsense. Explain what this joke is.”
“...”
“The carriage outside the Alliance.”
“It's the carriage I arrived in.”
“Stop playing games. I know there are several others inside.”
“... First, please read this letter.”
I carefully handed over the emperor's handwritten apology, doing my best to remain respectful.
I worried Yi Ja-seong might simply throw it away, but fortunately, he didn't.
“His Majesty wrote this himself?”
“Yes.”
The moment they heard it was a handwritten letter from the emperor, murmurs rose all around us.
It reminded me just how much weight the word emperor carried in a premodern dynasty.
As Yi Ja-seong read the letter closely, his brow twitched.
He had finally reached that line the emperor had impulsively added.
“What does this mean?”
“A-Alliance Leader.”
“Sang-hyeon, are you truly trying to make a fool of me?”
He was so agitated that he ignored both my title and alias, calling me by name.
The Heavenly Righteous Alliance martial artists around us sensed Yi Ja-seong's anger and began releasing their fighting spirit as well.
“N-No!”
The atmosphere turned murderous.
I recalled the moment the emperor had proposed his idea.
* * *
In truth, the emperor's first idea had been even more absurd.
“Could I become Yi Ja-seong's grandson from now on?”
“??? What kind of joke is-”
“No, think about it. Back then, princes called not only their birth mothers but also the imperial concubines Mother, right?”
“...”
“So from one perspective, Yi Ja-seong's dead daughter is my mother too. If I call him Grandfather in the apology letter, maybe he'll find me a little cuter-”
“Please...”
Eun-sol covered her face with both hands and muttered.
“Your Majesty. No, Seung-yeop. That only means something when you and Yi Ja-seong's daughter have a good relationship!”
“Huh?”
“What does it mean that you became emperor at such a young age? It means your mother was the ultimate victor in the power struggle within the imperial palace!”
“I-Is that so?”
“It means your mother most likely killed Yi Ja-seong's daughter. How do you think Yi Ja-seong will take it if you, her son, say something like that?”
Yi Ja-seong might end up with some terrifying title like Emperor-Slayer with One Sword.
Even after Eun-sol pointed that out, the emperor didn't give up easily and offered another idea.
“Then how about I become Yi Ja-seong's disciple from now on?”
“Please, just focus on writing the apology-”
“No, sis, think about it again. Emperors have teachers too, don't they? If he's the greatest swordsman under heaven, isn't he qualified to be the emperor's teacher?”
I asked because I couldn't understand what he was thinking.
“Are you trying to build a closer relationship with Yi Ja-seong?”
“That too. And...”
“And?”
“W-Well, while I'm at it!”
“While you're at it?”
“... Wouldn't it be nice to learn martial arts?”
“...”
That was probably Seung-yeop's real intention.
He must have always been aware of his own weakness.
I understood his desire to see if he could learn something from Yi Ja-seong.
Unlike supernatural powers, martial arts could be learned.
The question was whether Yi Ja-seong would accept it.
* * *
It felt as though hundreds of sharp needles were pricking my skin.
Yi Ja-seong's invisible aura had seized control of the surroundings.
“You say it isn't a joke, so I'll ask seriously. Do you truly mean that the emperor will become my disciple?”
“Yes. Even emperors have teachers, don't they?”
Only then did the Heavenly Righteous Alliance martial artists understand what was happening, and their mouths fell open.
“You mean Grand Preceptor... I have never heard of that office being granted to someone of the Martial World.”
“Master will be the first.”
“...”
“What would it mean for Master to assume the position of Grand Preceptor? It would mark the beginning of permanently reconciling the conflict between the imperial family and the Heavenly Righteous Alliance-”
“There's an easier way to resolve that conflict.”
“What?”
Yi Ja-seong's cold eyes turned toward me.
“The imperial family can fall. Even if Jo Won-hong devours the empire, will he kill every person in the capital? Will he try to annihilate the Alliance?”
“Th-That is...”
“I know Jo Won-hong well. He would tell me that he would guarantee the Heavenly Righteous Alliance's position in the newly born empire, so we should remain quietly where we are.”
My breath caught in my throat.
* * *
- Park Seung-yeop
While I waited in the carriage, the Chat Window flashed.
Kim Sang-hyeon: We're doomed!
Teacher's message was only two words, but that was enough.
Grandfather, who had joined us earlier and sat beside me, and Eun-sol, who sat across from me, both turned pale at once.
“Argh! S-See? Wasn't putting that nonsense in the apology letter a bad idea?”
“What do we do now? Sang-hyeon could've just gone and had a sparring match like last time!”
“It didn't sound right from the beginning... Becoming his disciple out of nowhere? They were enemies until yesterday. Does that make any sense?”
“Didn't you say the answer was to show that Yi Ja-seong bastard what we can do with a sword, like a martial artist? Trying political tricks for no reason-”
As those two made a commotion, I thought.
This was it.
A choice had been given to me.
If this ended here, if Yi Ja-seong took it as us mocking him and that was the end of it...
The third attempt would be as good as ruined.
We would have to return to the imperial palace immediately and prepare to flee to the Western Empire.
I didn't want it to end like this.
--- Clunk!
“Huh? Your Majesty... Seung-yeop?”
“You two stay in the carriage!”
As I got out, I stretched out a hand and tapped the hologram floating at the edge of my vision.
[Heavenly Luck activated!]
[The power of the universe is with you.]
Pushing past the people around me, I ran into the courtyard where Teacher and Yi Ja-seong were talking.
I heard ominous, terribly ominous words.
“Do I have any reason to reject Jo Won-hong's offer? Why should I form deep ties with a corrupt imperial family and sink into the mire-”
Yi Ja-seong's eyes turned to me.
I prayed from the bottom of my heart that what I was about to do would work on him-
No. It wasn't a prayer.
Luck didn't work by me making a wish and my Sponsor granting it.
It wasn't like rolling the dice, praying for a six, and having my Sponsor make it land on six.
It was the belief that if I rolled, it would naturally be a six.
Unshakable certainty in that belief was its true nature.
Luck was, then, a kind of insane self-confidence.
I didn't doubt.
I didn't hesitate.
Instead, I spoke with certainty.
“Yi Ja-seong.”
“...”
“Become my Grand Preceptor.”
“Even if you come here yourself, nothing will change.”
“Why do you think I came here?”
“Do you think I don't know the imperial family's-”
“A friendly relationship between the imperial family and the Heavenly Righteous Alliance? To bring you in for the decisive battle against the Fire Cult? To make the Heavenly Righteous Alliance share the empire's fate?”
“...”
“None of that matters! That's not why I came here! Honestly, I don't care whether this damn empire falls apart or not!”
It was true.
I truly didn't care whether this damn empire collapsed.
In a way, my sincerity and my purpose were incredibly pure.
“I want to learn martial arts. I want to become the disciple of the greatest swordsman under heaven!”
I truly wanted to learn martial arts and become stronger.
That desire mattered ten times more than all that nonsense about the empire.
“I've always thought about it. That I... that I'm too weak. Couldn't I at least run faster? Couldn't I hit harder?”
“...”
“At least when I'm standing before an enemy... couldn't I stand tall?”
“Standing tall...”
Yi Ja-seong looked down at me.
The eyes of a master who had reached the Flawless Realm examined me.
Strangely, it felt as though those eyes saw straight through the deepest part of my heart.
“So, Yi Ja-seong, no, Master! Please teach me a move.”
How was a disciple supposed to serve a master in martial arts novels? Nine bows?
I was about to drop to my knees and lower my head-
Something, an unknown invisible force, stopped me.
“...”
“...”
Silence descended over the Heavenly Righteous Alliance's courtyard.
At that moment, when everyone stood there awkwardly, unsure what to do, the old man's voice rang out.
“Your Majesty.”
“Yes.”
“Do you truly wish to learn martial arts?”
“Of course.”
“My teachings are very strict.”
“That's only natural.”
“I have made children your age cry a thousand times.”
Gasp!
“... I-I'm fine.”
“This is a strange feeling.”
“What?”
“To think the son of my enemy would come running to become my disciple...”
“...”
“It isn't so bad.”
With those words, the invisible force vanished.
The Nine Bows Rite.
When I finished bowing, the old man lightly lowered his head toward me as well.
At last.
I had become the disciple of the greatest swordsman under heaven.
* * *
Once the imperial carriage, which had swept through the Alliance like a storm and turned it upside down in an instant, had departed, Yi Ja-seong silently began preparing to leave for the imperial palace.
“Master!”
“...”
“Master! Are you going to ignore me?”
“Gun-ak, I can hear you. Speak.”
“That emperor bastard-”
“Junior brother.”
“... Why did you fall for the obvious trap he set?”
“A trap?”
“Isn't this a scheme to put us on the front lines in the fight against the Fire Cult? Obviously, that wicked Harmonious Gate Lord racked her brains and-”
“I don't think so.”
“What?”
“I observed my disciple.”
“...”
“He wasn't lying. There was not even a speck of political calculation in him. Nothing about the empire, nothing about the Fire Cult.”
“What does that even-”
“As an emperor, I would have to say he is terribly immature. To make a decision on such an important matter without a single political consideration. But...”
“...”
“As a martial artist, he will do.”
“Master...”
“Didn't you hear him as well? He said he wanted to stand tall even before his enemies.”
“...”
“What is the problem? A child who desires strength asked for instruction, and this old man simply answered that request. That too is the natural order of the world. So look forward to it.”
“Look forward to it?”
“I will soak the entire imperial palace with that emperor bastard's tears.”
Footnotes:
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