WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 416: Room 104, Curse Room - ‘Hotel High, the Prestigious Academy’ Re (15)
──────
- Lee Eun-sol
As I walked through the noisy corridor, I thought about a person named Han Ga-in.
Gender: male.
Appearance: a fairly handsome young man.
Credentials: freshman at K University.
Up to that point, it was an utterly ordinary profile.
But words like that no longer meant anything to Ga-in.
Age: impossible to measure.
Species: half-human, half-transcendent being.
Owner of the Grimoire and user of Descent.
Wouldn't those be more fitting descriptions?
As time passed, I came to understand the others better and better, but I still didn't understand Ga-in.
Let's think back to when we first entered Room 102.
Even then, Ga-in had been pretty smart and quick-witted.
To put it in sports terms, could you say he was already a promising prospect back then?
That was probably why Owl hadn't hesitated to intervene so actively, enough for the other Sponsors to mention it.
The more experience he gained, the wiser he became.
He understood scenarios, analyzed the current situation, and planned for what came next.
His role in those things gradually grew, and Ga-in became less and less scrupulous.
He had no scruples in thought or action.
Once he made a decision, he never hesitated.
If something was rationally necessary, he'd do it no matter what.
Does that sound too positive?
I could describe it with a slightly twisted example instead.
He had no qualms about eliminating anyone other than himself and his Hotel companions.
If he thought someone had to be dealt with, he'd cut even a child's throat without the slightest hesitation.
If it was rationally necessary, he wouldn't hesitate to offer a human sacrifice.
Does that sound too negative?
Honestly, I didn't know.
The Nirvana Sutra has a saying about blind men and an elephant.
Several blind people gathered around and touched an elephant, then each gave a completely different description depending on which part they touched.
It's an old story that mocks the foolishness of judging the whole from only one part.
Could I be falling into that trap right now?
Maybe I was talking nonsense, trying to judge the person among us who had gone the farthest while I remained human.
Since coming out of Room 203, I'd been seeing Ga-in as a crow-shaped humanoid monster.
Not long ago, I told him about it honestly.
------------------------------------------
“I had no idea that's what I looked like to you. No wonder you flinched every time you saw me!”
“...”
“That's why we're going back to Room 104. If my balance has been broken, Sacred Sun might be able to restore it.”
“Then that's a relief.”
“And don't worry too much.”
“Hm?”
“Those things are really no big deal.”
------------------------------------------
Ga-in giggled as if it truly wasn't a big deal.
What had happened to him lately?
What could make him consider the influence of the Grimoire or Descent insignificant?
It wasn't something I could know.
All I could do was hope his judgment was right.
Enough with those thoughts. Back to work.
There was a notorious cult in South Korea, and that was more impressive than it sounded.
What kind of country was my proud homeland?
A great nation with twenty self-proclaimed Jesuses, and over a hundred if you included bodhisattvas and prophets!
Wow. My national pride is insane.
...
In a country like this, it wasn't easy for some random cult to become infamous.
It meant there had to be something special about them, and what made them special was their method of proselytizing.
Their primary targets weren't people without a religion.
Their specialty was Terraforming, swallowing perfectly normal churches whole.
It went like this.
「Terraforming Stage 1: Sowing Discord.」
Just then, the fatso appeared in front of me.
“M-Ms. Eun-sol! W-Where did all the butterflies go?”
* * *
The flustered fat man in front of me was called Butler Park, one of the people connecting the Cult and the school.
“I-I don't know! Butterflies suddenly started pouring out of my body, but now they're gone!”
Everyone had worked to throw the school into chaos at once, but that was, so to speak, only stage one.
In stage two, everyone except a few people would start pretending to be ordinary people who had been possessed by demons.
“D-Demons! Demons have surely taken over the school! Ah, Lord! Father! Aurelia will save us all...”
I put on a frightened expression as I spoke.
“Aurelia? You mean the Cult's Saintess you mentioned before?”
“Of course! The Saintess will soon appear and...”
I probed Butler Park a little.
“W-Why... why isn't she helping us now?”
“M-Ms. Eun-sol?”
“The school is in this state! Children and teachers alike are suffering at the hands of demons! Where is the Saintess, and what is she doing that she...”
“Be quiet!”
“...”
“...”
“I'm sorry.”
“Ahem. Ms. Eun-sol, I got too worked up. Let's head outside first. Surely, from outside...”
--- Bang!
Before Butler Park could even get up, the door flew open and agitated teachers rushed in.
“Where has the Saintess gone?”
“Father, Father! Have you abandoned us?”
“Ah, order has collapsed, and the world has fallen into ruin...”
Grandfather was leading around fifteen teachers, and he smiled faintly when he saw me.
He was using the blessing he had recently enhanced, Crowd Psychology.
“W-What the hell is that? You sons of bitches...”
I grabbed Butler Park's arm as he started to grow agitated.
“Butler Park, don't shout. Let's join them first. We can persuade them afterward.”
“L-Let's do that!”
* * *
“Lady Aurelia! Where are you? Please, don't abandon us!”
“Please, don't abandon us!”
Exactly ten minutes.
That was how long it took Grandfather to “persuade” Butler Park.
If I had to briefly summarize the Crowd Psychology I watched beside him, it felt like an upgraded version of Mi-ro's “Voice.”
The ability itself was similar, but its range was wider.
It seemed weaker in intensity, but because of that, it didn't feel like a supernatural power even when you watched it from nearby.
In other words, it was a step above in subtlety.
Maybe because it was such an impressive ability, Grandfather looked a little excited too.
--- Tick!
Then, with a signal tone, the next stage began.
「Terraforming Stage 2: Trial」
“T-The lights went out!”
“Eek!”
“Ugh! W-What's going on?”
--- WooOOoo!
Half the lights suddenly went out, plunging the entire school into darkness as eerie sounds rose from all directions.
Red liquid soaked the floor, and an ominous figure took shape above it. A pitch-black girl.
At a glance, she resembled a young girl, but no one there thought of her that way.
“G-Ghost!”
“SaintessSaintessSaintessSaintessSaintessSaintessSaintessSaintess...”
“Fatherinheavenweearnestlypraythatyougrantus...”
Fear swallowed everything.
Even Grandfather and I, who knew this was Elena and A-ri's work, found it chilling. Ordinary humans had no chance of enduring it.
--- Splash!
That was why, when A-ri suddenly started running, no one tried to flee or resist.
They only prayed, and prayed again, waiting for the Father and the Saintess to save them -
--- Slice!
“Aaaaaah!”
“Argh!”
Grah, wha, no, the blood, no, no...
Kim A-ri, that crazy bitch! She said she was only going to scare them, but she really cut down and killed two people???
Agh, b-b-b-blood! What is that, intestines? Is that an artery? Seriously, Grandfather and I are right here, and she's doing this? Agh! A head is rolling. It's rolling. A head rolled right next to me...
“E-Eun-sol! C-Calm down!”
“Haaah!”
“Whoa! Ain't that girl gone completely nuts!”
I barely managed to take a deep breath and look around when fuck, an artery was spraying blood right at me!
Lee Eun-sol: You said you weren't really going to kill them!
Kim A-ri: How was it?
Lee Eun-sol: Are you crazy? If you were going to do this, you should've told me beforehand!
Kim A-ri: If you knew, your acting wouldn't have looked real.
So she killed two teachers to make my acting feel more realistic?
Even if they were NPCs, this was too much!
“Argh!”
“Please... please spare us!”
As I watched the teachers scream in despair, I thought to myself.
If Ga-in had become a little mentally unstable, then sure, the Grimoire was the biggest reason, but the second reason was that crazy Management Bureau lady!
Kim Mi-ro: Do I come out now?
Right, right. Calm down.
A-ri was really old, so maybe it was about time she developed dementia.
More importantly, I needed to carry out the plan calmly.
I had to use my power in the next scene too.
Lee Eun-sol: Start!
“La la la~! Ah ah ah~!”
A beautiful song drifted down from the stairs.
It was a voice completely at odds with the hellish corridor filled with blood and writhing intestines. Damn it, Kim A-ri!
She appeared, cutting through the darkness.
Silver hair flowing below her waist, mysterious red eyes shining like gems, and flawless features without a single imperfection.
Mi-ro was a girl who resembled a fairy more than a human.
Dressed entirely in pure white, she even looked sacred in a way.
Could someone like that really be dismissed as merely beautiful? An appearance like hers was charisma in itself.
Of course, a little mystique was essential too.
--- Tick!
“Huh? Huh? T-The lights are coming back on!”
With the signal tone, the lights that had gone out came back on.
“Eek!”
The pitch-black girl, who had been radiating an ominous aura, screamed and ran away.
I hid behind Grandfather and opened the brooch. Butterflies glowing mysteriously began to gather around Mi-ro.
This was Terraforming Stage 3.
「Queen Bee Replacement」
* * *
The divine girl walked while singing a beautiful song.
Each time she took a step, the darkness receded, and wicked demons screamed as they fled.
A-ri was really good at screaming.
A few “nonbelievers” still watched with suspicious eyes, but Song-i made a small gesture with her hand a couple of times, and they soon gazed at Mi-ro with reverence.
A holy girl, a Saintess.
Some believers had already begun spreading the word that the Father had sent down a new daughter.
It was funny watching them fail to distinguish between the real Saintess, Aurelia, and the fake Saintess, Mi-ro, but it was only natural for them.
Aurelia was the only being constantly connected to the Lord in the first place.
The rest had only felt divine grace indirectly through the Saintess.
So when they saw another miracle, they could only assume that Mi-ro, too, had been chosen by the Lord.
Before long, hundreds of people followed Mi-ro out to the schoolyard.
The new Saintess turned toward them with a beautiful smile.
“Ah...! O God!”
“Having witnessed this glory, I could die without regrets...”
“Q-Quiet! The Saintess has something to say!”
Everyone waited for the Saintess's new revelation.
...
They waited.
...
What was she doing?
Kim Mi-ro: Guys.
Lee Eun-sol: ???
Kim Mook-seong: What are you doing?
Kim Mi-ro: I forgot my lines.
That mother and daughter, seriously!
Footnotes:
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