WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 408: Room 206, Curse Room - ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days’ (10)
──────
An unusual sound could be heard in the mayor's office at the center of Paradise.
「“I can't let him go like this. Ah! If I'm left all alone, I -”」
It was Paradise's most popular drama, and its leading actress was especially beautiful.
Leon's secretary asked curiously.
“Do you watch things like this too, Mayor?”
“...”
The mayor, who had been staring at the television as if he could see through it, turned to the secretary.
“Huh! N-no, that's not it. It's such a popular drama. I-it's entertaining, right?”
“...”
“I spoke out of turn -”
“Timothy.”
“Yes?”
“Who usually writes a drama's dialogue?”
“The dialogue? Usually the screenwriter, wouldn't it be?”
“If the dialogue and plot suddenly change on set, whose influence would that be?”
Timothy was deeply flustered.
He had never cared about how dramas were produced.
Fortunately, one employee knew something about it.
“Usually, it would be the actors improvising or the director's influence. And...”
“...”
“...”
“And? Why did you stop talking?”
“I, I'm sorry. Second-Class High Enforcers are stationed on set, and they often interfere.”
“I see.”
Leon continued watching the drama, then sighed as his sense of unease grew stronger.
Of course, he had never enjoyed such clichéd dramas, either before or after his regression.
Still, before his regression, he had loved his daughter, and Song-i had never missed a drama starring an actress named Elena.
It was different.
Far too different from the drama he had watched before his regression.
The answer was obvious.
Someone knew about the regression, and that person had interfered with the broadcast.
Why?
There were too many possible reasons to list one by one.
The influence one could gain over the city by taking control of the broadcasting station was truly enormous.
So he had to find them.
----------------------------
“Elena, what do you think Leon will think when he sees the altered drama?”
“That someone knows about the regression and is interfering?”
“That's right. Leon will probably suspect a Demon King worshiper. They can leave the city, so he'll think they happened to be outside the city when the regression occurred.”
“G, Ga-in, what if the mayor starts killing people working in broadcasting, including me?”
“He won't. He's a Regressor.”
“What?”
-----------------------------
Which of those who interfered with the drama's production was a Demon King worshiper?
After thinking about it all night, Leon let out a hollow laugh.
“I wish I knew nothing.”
If he had known nothing, then as the city's ruler, he might have used Secret Agents to assassinate everyone from the director to the actors.
But Leon knew better.
“None of these people are Demon King worshipers.”
Before his regression, he had sent Secret Agents into the Cult and identified most of its members.
No one on set, not the director, screenwriter, actors, or High Enforcers, was a Demon King worshiper.
The conclusion was clear.
“Did a Demon King worshiper approach them? Timothy!”
“Yes, Mayor.”
“Have the people on this list brought in by next week. The pretext will be... that they made an entertaining drama, so we're giving them an award.”
“Understood.”
-----------------------------
“He'll meet the drama staff and interrogate them himself. His subordinates won't understand regression.”
“Th, then! I might have a private meeting with Leon Kadyrov?”
“That's right.”
“Then I have to assassinate him!”
“...”
“... Isn't that it?”
“No. Leon won't trust Elena yet, so there will be Enforcers around him.”
-----------------------------
--- Creak!
The door opened, and a young woman with dazzling blond hair entered.
“Miss Elena, I've found Gone with the Typhoon quite memorable lately.”
“Oh my! I'm honored that the mayor watches my drama.”
“No need to be honored. By the way, Miss Elena, may I ask you a personal question?”
“Of course.”
“Has anyone unusual approached you recently?”
“...”
“It seems something has happened?”
“M, Mayor...”
“Haha, don't misunderstand. I know very well that Miss Elena has done nothing wrong. Bees are bound to gather around a flower.”
“... Thank you. Actually, I met a rather unusual girl recently.”
“Was she a black-haired girl?”
“What? How did you...”
“Her eyes shone blue like sapphires?”
“Huh? No. If I had to compare them to a jewel, they were closer to rubies than sapphires.”
“So you really did meet her. I was only testing you just now, so don't worry about it.”
“...”
“Miss Elena, that woman is an Apostle of the Demon King Cult.”
“W, what?”
“Listen carefully. This is a very important matter for both Paradise and you, Miss Elena.”
* * *
Late at night, a woman left her house alone.
She walked straight down the road, then suddenly turned left. After walking that way for a while, she abruptly turned back.
After wandering about so erratically, she eventually leaned against a wall in an alley.
--- Knock! Knock!
“...”
“You came.”
“Yes.”
“Elena, have you prepared an answer to the proposal I made before?”
“Of course.”
“I hope it's a good answer.”
“...”
The next moment, a whistle sprang from Elena's waist.
--- Pheeeeeep!
“Ugh! What is this -”
Enforcers rushed in from every direction as the black-haired girl tried to flee with a shocked expression.
The outcome of her escape had already been decided.
The Enforcers sent by the mayor had surrounded the place where Elena and A-ri had agreed to meet from the beginning.
At the last moment, A-ri's eyes met Elena's as the Enforcers dragged her away.
A-ri mouthed, “Good job.”
-----------------------------
“What should I do after admitting I met A-ri?”
“Sell her out.”
“What? Wh, what did you say?”
“A-ri agreed to it too, so don't worry.”
“D, do I really have to do that? Isn't there another way -”
“You need Leon to trust you sincerely. Only then will Elena get an opportunity.”
-----------------------------
The mayor approached Elena, who was leaning against the wall with a weary expression.
“You've done well. This will surely be a great blessing for Paradise's future. Naturally, you have gained me as a patron as well -”
“Mayor.”
“Yes?”
“I have something to tell you.”
“Something to say?”
Elena's eyes gleamed.
“Do you trust the Enforcers?”
The moment the mayor was caught off guard, the Enforcers guarding him glared.
“Hey! Just because you're a popular actress, you think you can say whatever you want? What makes you think -”
“Jonathan.”
“Yes?”
“Elena and I are talking. Who gave you permission to interrupt?”
“... I, I'm sorry.”
“Miss Elena, please continue.”
“I'm sorry. Of course, there can be no doubt about the loyalty of the Enforcers who protect the city. But...”
“But?”
“When I met someone from the Cult before, I mean, I didn't know they were from the Cult at the time!”
“I know, so take your time and tell me.”
“When I met that Cult member, they said they had someone planted among the Enforcers too. The name was... um, Cha Jin-cheol?”
The mayor's eyes lit up as he looked at Elena.
The Cha Jin-cheol she mentioned was clearly a traitor among the Enforcers.
“Go on.”
Elena glanced uneasily at the Enforcers around them and fell silent.
It was a sign that she found it difficult to speak in front of them.
Leon soon nodded.
“Are you free this evening?”
“Of course.”
“It will be an honor to have dinner with Paradise's most famous actress.”
“Thank you, Mayor Leon.”
-----------------------------
“While you're selling out A-ri, sell out Jin-cheol too.”
“...”
“If you're selling people out, you might as well sell them out wholesale. Then the mayor will trust Elena. Jin-cheol will probably be dead by then anyway, so there's not much to lose.”
-----------------------------
* * *
- Elena
As I rode the elevator rising toward Paradise's sky, I thought:
We really succeeded.
The ‘mayor assassination plan’ Ga-in and A-ri had created.
I doubted it could work, but we'd come right to the edge of success.
It was complicated if you looked at every step, but the core of the plan was simple.
There was only one goal.
Get me, Elena Ivanov, into the Floating Mansion somehow!
Once I reached the mansion, everything would work out.
That was a place where Indomitable Reason could not suppress our supernatural powers.
What did we need to do to send me to the Floating Mansion?
The mayor had to trust me.
He had to believe I wasn't a Demon King worshiper and that I possessed valuable information.
It would be even better if he began to suspect the Enforcers too.
We did it. We really did.
If the mayor had been an ordinary person, he wouldn't have noticed anything strange after watching the drama.
Even if he had noticed the anomaly, he would have tried to eliminate the drama staff.
He had been fooled because he was a Regressor.
Because he was a Regressor, he noticed the anomaly in the drama and tried to find the person behind it instead of harming the production staff.
--- Ding!
“...”
At last, I arrived at the Floating Mansion.
I could feel my power returning.
Just as I tried to draw out Ominous Imagination and end this in one stroke,
--- Click!
Machine guns rose from all over the mansion and aimed at me.
The Floating Mansion's security system had activated!
“Huh?”
“...”
I couldn't understand.
What was happening?
Then I heard the mayor's quiet voice.
“Come sit down. The moment you do anything unnecessary, you'll be riddled with bullets, so be careful.”
“...”
“It seems you don't understand the situation.”
“...”
“Who planned to send you here?”
“...”
“That young man? Or the Apostle of the Demon King Cult? Either way, whoever it was has quite a sharp mind.”
At that point, I accepted it.
The mayor had seen through our plan.
From the beginning? No.
If he had known from the beginning, he would never have brought me this far.
He had noticed midway through. When?
Did I make some mistake in the elevator?
“There's something I want to ask. I'd like you to answer honestly.”
“What is it?”
“What were you planning to do? Were you going to kill me here?”
“... What if I was?”
“And after killing me?”
My head hurt more and more.
I couldn't understand the intent behind the mayor's questions.
“What are you trying to say -”
“Whew...”
He let out a weary sigh.
“You know nothing. You're like a chess piece. Does the friend playing chess know something? Or are they the same?”
“What are you talking about? You've been saying strange things this whole time.”
“That's enough. I enjoyed the drama. I'll kill you without pain.”
As I watched the mayor casually gesture toward the security system, I thought:
Fine, I'll admit it.
I don't know what any of this means, but you're really smart, Mayor.
Ga-in and A-ri are really smart too, but I can see you're no less intelligent than them.
I'll admit it!
You're smarter than I am.
But.
Leon Kadyrov had overlooked one fact.
As a resident who had lived in the world of ‘ordinary humans’ created by Indomitable Reason, he must have fallen into this trap.
--- Raaaaa!
Within the surging golden waves, I watched the arrogant mayor's eyes fill with shock.
“That's why you should have treasured your daughter.”
By the time I arrived here, the mayor had no chance left to turn things around.
Footnotes:
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