WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 409: Room 206, Curse Room - ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days’ (11)
──────
- Elena
--- Raaaaa!
With a single breath, the security system guarding the Floating Mansion collapsed in an instant.
There were sometimes beings in a Curse Room that could stand against me even while I was using Justice.
At least, Leon Kadyrov was not one of them.
He simply kept backing away with a dazed expression.
“...”
Even as I approached, tearing apart half the mansion, the mayor did not try a single thing.
According to A-ri, he had the power to turn back time, yet he did not take out a coin or anything else.
It seemed One More Chance needed a considerable amount of time to recharge after being used once.
That was fortunate.
Still, it was a little disappointing.
If I could, I wanted to grab him and interrogate him about what secrets he was hiding, but Justice did not allow me that kind of freedom.
The best I could do was carry out Judgment a little more slowly.
“Say your last words. You might as well get it off your chest before you go.”
And tell me some secrets while you're at it!
The mayor muttered with a hollow expression.
“What are you...? I apologize. You're not some Demon King Cult member. Where did you come from?”
“Is that all?”
“I hope this is not the end of everything.”
--- Crunch!
In the end, I killed the mayor without learning anything useful.
Once Judgment ended, the boundless power filling my body faded like a collapsing sandcastle.
Was it because it had been a long time since I used Justice?
A wave of weakness so strong it made my head throb left my whole body swaying.
Resolved? Of course not.
I'm not some brilliant genius, but even I know that much.
We had not learned a single thing about the room's secret, so it would be even stranger if the room were suddenly resolved.
To begin with, we did not even know whether killing Leon had been the right choice.
We only had no other option this time because Leon had been so determined to kill us.
“What do we do now?”
The moment I muttered in confusion, I heard a familiar voice.
“Over here!”
“Huh?”
Ga-in appeared at the Floating Mansion window on Wing Boots!
--- Crash!
“G, Ga-in! You know how to use Wing Boots?”
“I learned diligently from A-ri. Thanks to her, I can at least move up and down. Let's get out of here now. You may not know this, Elena, but the city is in chaos.”
* * *
Three days passed.
... Unbelievably, nothing happened.
The mayor's assassination by an unidentified assassin shocked the city, but that was all.
The cruel pseudo-class system Leon had built played a role in stabilizing society at a time like this.
The Second-Class Citizens naturally gathered and formed something like a council, and rumors spread that they would soon vote for a new mayor.
Apparently, only Third-Class Citizens or higher had voting rights.
The mayor's close associates all knew that I had been dining with him on the day of his assassination, so I was questioned several times.
As expected, nothing came of it.
“I didn't expect them to clear me of suspicion this easily.”
“Isn't it obvious? Elena destroyed all the physical evidence, including the cameras, while using Justice. And publicly, Elena is just an actress.”
“That is true.”
“Why would a successful celebrity suddenly kill the mayor? She has neither a reason nor the ability.”
Ga-in said it as though it were obvious, sipping his drink.
“They're only focusing their efforts on finding Demon King worshipers.”
“That is the reasonable conclusion from their perspective.”
We were having a meal at a famous restaurant in Paradise.
The pursuit of Ga-in had ended with the mayor's death.
People who did not know about the regression had no reason to pursue Ga-in in the first place.
“It feels a little frustrating. There's still so much we don't know.”
“Right.”
“Where is Mi-ro? And Pero?”
“Who knows.”
Once we learned the locations of all our other companions, we naturally found out that Mi-ro had been Sealed, but that was all.
We still did not know where Mi-ro was.
“Pero is usually near one of us. Usually Song-i, but not this time.”
Pero seemed to be near Mi-ro as well.
For all practical purposes, they had been Sealed together. We had experienced something similar once in Room 201.
Ga-in muttered with a frustrated expression.
“It feels like we threw three whole days into the void.”
“...”
“We haven't learned anything. If we had to put it into words, it seems like only the two of us survived, aside from Mi-ro.”
He was not wrong.
While I was being questioned by the Enforcers, Ga-in, who had regained his freedom, thoroughly searched the city, yet found no further information.
There were practical reasons for that. The Enforcers had become extremely vigilant after the mayor's death, and Ga-in was a Fourth-Class Citizen.
“Ugh... Should we have started a revolution again this time?”
“That would be difficult this time. The mayor is dead, so even the goal of the revolution would be unclear. Besides, now that the oppressor is gone, people everywhere are hoping life might improve.”
“Whew...”
“Don't worry. Things may be different from now on.”
“What will be different? Security is still tight!”
“I'm rich.”
At that simple, clear answer, Ga-in slapped his knee.
“Ah, I'd forgotten that!”
“Do you know how much one meal at this restaurant costs? You couldn't even make a reservation with a month's salary, Ga-in.”
“Wow! That's seriously awful. We really should start a revolution!”
Why did Ga-in's thoughts keep returning to revolution?!
Who in the world started a revolution twice? Even Lenin stopped after one!
Just then, a waiter appeared carrying our plates.
A luxurious lamb chop steak was placed before Ga-in, while I was served sea bass, half steamed and half fried.
Ga-in's eyes soon widened.
“W, what is this?”
“What is it?”
“Seeing this makes the corn porridge I ate yesterday feel like it wasn't even fit for dog food.”
“Hahaha! Please enjoy your mea-”
“While Fourth-Class Citizens pick up lumps of fat and call it meat, people up here have been throwing parties like this? This really makes no sense without a revolution-”
--- Tap!
I struck Ga-in's plate with my fork.
“Just be quiet and eat.”
“... Okay.”
The sea bass was truly delicious.
The combination of crisp skin and thoroughly steamed flesh that melted in the mouth was perfect, and the lightly lemon-scented sauce was wonderful too.
Ga-in, tearing into his lamb chop covered in mint jelly, exclaimed in admiration.
“This is incredible. Is this what they mean by crispy outside and tender inside? At first, I wondered what the green jelly was, but when you put it on the lamb, the minty flavor is amazing.”
“Right?”
“But where did they even get lamb and sea bass in a city-state ordinary people can't leave?”
Instead of answering, I pointed at the price on the menu with my fork.
“...”
“See it? You'd have trouble buying even one lamb leg with a month's salary.”
“...”
“The price is the answer.”
We had cleared about half our plates when Ga-in suddenly smiled.
“What is it?”
“I just had a thought.”
“Yes?”
“Why would I start a revolution when my girlfriend is rich? She brings me to places like this without a second thought.”
“...”
“...”
Silence fell between us.
Ga-in soon added, seemingly flustered.
“I mean, to anyone watching, we probably look like boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“A handsome loafer who got lucky and met a rich girlfriend?”
At the word handsome, he turned his head in embarrassment.
Wasn't it strange for us to get embarrassed over something like that now?!
I wasn't bothered when people called me pretty. It was true, wasn't it?
Ga-in gave an awkward smile and changed the subject.
“Come to think of it, won't the media go crazy tomorrow?”
“Why?”
“The city's most famous actress suddenly had dinner at a top-class restaurant with a Fourth-Class mine worker. That's obviously a huge scoop.”
That was true.
The restaurant was so expensive that there did not seem to be any reporters around us, but gossip like this could not be hidden.
“It doesn't matter. Or should we surprise people even more?”
“Surprise them more...?”
“Hehe!”
Ga-in said those three days had accomplished nothing, but I did not think so.
At least not today.
This was a pleasant enough time.
I felt bad saying this, but there was something to having only the two of us still alive.
So...
“Ga-in, I have something to say.”
“Huh?”
“It follows on from what I said at the hotel before.”
“E, Elena!”
“This is an important moment, so don't interrupt me with something strange-”
“Elena! Our powers are back!”
“...”
The moment I heard that, it felt as if someone had poured ice water over me, snapping me fully awake.
They had returned.
The Blessing of Justice and the power of Ominous Imagination had awakened.
“W, what is this?”
This restaurant was neither the Floating Mansion nor outside Paradise.
It was a place where Indomitable Reason suppressed our powers!
Yet our powers had suddenly returned?
Ga-in and I stared at each other blankly and muttered at the same time.
“Indomitable Reason!”
“It stopped. Ah, no? Why did it stop? Why all of a sudden... No, this isn't the time!”
Ga-in hurriedly touched the air and checked the scenario.
“Huh? Huh?”
“What does it say? What does the scenario say?”
“It says no one supplied fuel to Indomitable Reason because the mayor died!”
It was something A-ri had told us.
Indomitable Reason was similar to the Soul Furnace, which the Management Bureau had tried and failed to create. Not only did it require human lives to make it, it required them constantly to maintain its power.
Before the regression, the mayor had sacrificed many of our companions to Indomitable Reason.
“Then what happens now?”
Ga-in sprang to his feet as though in a daze.
“Ga-in?”
“H, ha! W, what is this...?”
--- Woooo! Woooo!
A loud warning siren suddenly rang out.
「Citizens, this is an emergency bulletin. Those inside buildings, including restaurants, apartments, and libraries, must immediately move to an open area.」
Murmurs rose all around us.
“W, what is that?”
“What kind of announcement is this all of a sudden?”
“It says to get outside.”
“E, earthquake! It must be an earthquake warning!”
The moment a fat man mentioned the word earthquake, everyone panicked and rushed toward the door.
「We repeat. Those inside buildings must immediately evacuate the building.」
“Ga-in! W, we should get outside first-”
At that moment, Ga-in grabbed my hand with a hollow expression.
“Ga-in?”
“Stay still.”
“What?”
“Just... stay still.”
While we stood there as though dazed, everyone else ran toward the entrance.
And then...
--- Crunch!
“Aaaah!”
“M, monster!”
A familiar sound came from outside.
The sound we had made while eating earlier.
The sound of peeling back skin and eating the flesh underneath.
The sound of gently sucking the meat from bones.
When I blankly looked out the restaurant window, I finally understood the situation.
A cargo truck rolled on its own, crushing dozens of people to death.
Several houses rose like living creatures and devoured people on the roadside.
On an advertising screen atop a building, a grotesque figure with a snake-like neck emerged and lashed its tongue in every direction.
It was hell.
In the blink of an eye, all of Paradise had become hell.
It was not just that something stood at the restaurant entrance. An unknown malice was attacking the entire city.
--- Click!
The lights went out, and darkness fell around us.
“Gasp! W, what is this?!”
The moment I nearly fell over in terror at the red words that suddenly appeared in the air, Ga-in supported me.
“Ha! Whoever the fuck you are, cut this shit out!”
I saw, or heard, laughter.
Overwhelming power that seemed capable of toppling the sky split the concrete building apart in an instant.
--- Rumble!
She appeared with thunder.
* * *
[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 272 (+40)
Current Location: Room 206, Curse Room - ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days’
Sage’s Advice: 1]
- Han Ga-in
I think we're fucked.
That was the conclusion I reached after careful thought.
The last sentence of Scenario Understanding, which I had checked for the first time in a while, painfully caught my eye.
「Scenario: Curse Room - ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days’
Three days have passed since Leon Kadyrov, who supported the city, was assassinated.
For the past three days, no one has supplied fuel to Indomitable Reason.
In the end, the flame of reason that upheld Paradise has collapsed.
Please do your best.
I hope this is not the end of your journey.
The Demon King is reviving. 」
“Fuck this! It said it would revive after a hundred days! It hasn't been that long yet!”
Footnotes:
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