WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 441: Room 206, Curse Room - The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days Re (6)
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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 394
Current Location: Room 206, Curse Room - ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days’
Sage’s Advice: 3]
- Han Ga-in
‘Thank you for giving us our daily bread today.’
“...”
Early in the morning, I woke up in a soft, spotless white bed.
It was a luxury a Fourth-Class Citizen could never enjoy, but it meant nothing to me now.
Because I was a god!
“...”
Crazy things were coming out of my mouth first thing in the morning.
I wasn't quite a god, but I was pretending to be a prophet of God.
My official status was still that of a Fourth-Class Citizen, but the Demon King Cult, no, the “Han Ga-in Cult,” included many Third-Class and Second-Class Citizens.
Thanks to that, I'd quit working in the mines several days ago and even found a decent house.
Of course, the believers' loyalty didn't come for free.
‘Patrick, please let that bastard get struck by lightning and die while walking down the street!’
“... That's a pretty vicious prayer.”
In many ways, I had become half a god.
* * *
A luxury sedan was waiting for me outside.
When I opened the door, I saw familiar faces.
“Good morning, Elena. Teacher.”
“Good morning!”
After we exchanged brief greetings, Teacher started the car and spoke.
“Yesterday, the agents received an official order. They were told not to monitor the Cult anymore. The pretext is freedom of religion.”
Article 20, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea: All citizens shall enjoy freedom of religion.
Room 206 was a twisted future version of Earth, so of course concepts such as freedom of religion existed here.
‘Please let the professor catch the flu and cancel class! Catch the flu and cancel class!’
“... The professor catching the flu? Is that a prayer or a curse?”
“Ga-in?”
“No.”
The concept existed, at least.
If anyone seriously went around talking about human rights, the Enforcers would simply drag them away and throw them into Indomitable Reason.
So the persecution of the “Han Ga-in Cult” had stopped not because of human rights, but because Song-i, who held the city's real power, had ordered it.
Thanks to that, the Cult could now hold public gatherings.
“It's nice that this makes expanding the Cult easier, but aren't there people pushing back?”
“Of course there are. They're making a fuss, saying the city's doomed because a crazy little girl has taken the throne.”
“... I see.”
“It would be stranger if people suddenly became loyal to Miss Song-i when she hadn't been preparing for the succession for a long time.”
Elena looked flustered at that.
“Th-then what do we do? What if they start a rebellion against Song-i?”
Teacher snickered.
“What does it matter?”
“Pardon?”
“Elena, it's not as though we're going to rule this city for ten or twenty years. Has it been about fourteen days now?”
The room's title was The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days.
That meant everything would be decided within three months at the latest.
So it didn't matter if the city became a complete mess.
A rebellion? Side effects? Unless they happened within the next couple of months, they weren't much of a problem.
That was the Regressor's way.
“Ga-in, do you remember what you said several days ago? That Room 206 might also have a Management Bureau or a similar organization?”
That was the conclusion reached by the “city control team,” including Eun-sol and Song-i.
“Well... Even if it does, I don't think it would be functioning properly now.”
If it had been, it should have appeared somehow when the Demon King tried to descend during the first attempt.
“That's true. The organization itself has probably collapsed, and perhaps only a handful of survivors remain as individuals.”
“A few keywords come to mind. Pero, Mi-ro, the Progenitor, and so on.”
“Maybe Mi-ro was a high-ranking member of a secret organization, according to the setting?”
“Then perhaps the Progenitor was a low-level employee in that organization.”
That would explain why Mi-ro, despite being a sealed being, had such a strangely weak presence, and why the Progenitor didn't know Mi-ro.
Of course, it could all be completely different in reality.
“Have you checked Scenario Understanding?”
“Yes.”
Taking over the Demon King Cult also meant we had secured a route leading outside the city.
Thanks to that, I could use my blessing, and naturally, I checked the scenario regularly.
The scenario had stopped updating several days ago.
I had memorized it well enough to recall it all.
「Scenario: Curse Room - ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days’
The mayor's power over the city has effectively fallen into the hands of Participant Song-i.
The souls of the lower classes that support the city are on the verge of being toyed with by Participant Han Ga-in.
At last, the Hotel Party has begun devouring both the upper and lower levels of Paradise!
Yet even after uncovering the mayor's and the Cult's secrets, there is still no end in sight to Room 206's secrets.
In the end, the Hotel Party attempts to contact the Progenitor....」
“The scenario stopped updating. It says we should meet the Progenitor. You told Song-i, right?”
“Of course. Miss Song-i is probably making arrangements as we speak.”
“Hmm.”
“What is it?”
“The wording is subtly unpleasant.”
“The wording?”
“Never mind.”
No, Song-i was described as simply having “the mayor's power fall into her hands.”
Why was I, who had founded a Cult, described as being “on the verge of toying with the lower classes' souls?”
Only the description of me felt subtly malicious.
Just as my mood was starting to sour, I heard a prayer that felt like oil being poured onto the fire.
‘L-Lord, I am O'Brien. T-Today, I plan to tell Miss Elena how I feel. Please let my confession succeed-’
“Agh! E-Elena!”
“Ga-in? What's wrong?”
There was no way it was someone else with the same name, right?
“Elena, do you know someone named O'Brien?”
“Pardon? O'Brien is one of the producers at the broadcasting station, but how do you know O'Brien-”
“Do you have a broadcasting station schedule today?”
“I do have a simple variety show appearance this evening.”
“Cancel it. Say you caught the flu.”
“Pardon?”
“A bomb might go off at the broadcasting station tonight. I just saw the future.”
“A bomb?! All of a sudden?”
I decided to kick that arrogant O'Brien out of the Cult.
“Ga-in, we're here. Ah, should I start calling you ‘Lord’ from now on?”
Teacher grinned as if this whole situation was amusing.
* * *
“Therefore, the Lord has spoken. You are the most faithful sheep, and endless glory and bliss await you!”
--- Waaaaah!
The Cult's gatherings no longer took place in dark, dingy underground spaces.
They rented a huge field and held them in broad daylight, beneath the lights that illuminated the city.
Naturally, Enforcers were lurking here and there, openly showing their displeasure, but so what?
The mayor had ordered them not to interfere. What could the Enforcers do?
“Well, if you're so upset, become the mayor yourself!”
“Ga-in. Didn't you just say your inner thoughts out loud?”
“Ah! I relaxed a little once the sermon ended.”
“... At times like this, you seem like an ordinary person.”
“Pardon?”
“It's nothing. Get in.”
Teacher smiled lightly and opened the door like a chauffeur serving a cult leader.
“Aren't you moving around a little too openly? Um, the mayor's direct Inspection Unit? Doesn't that organization suspect you?”
“They believe I've gone undercover as your driver to monitor you, Ga-in.”
“Ha!”
Song-i had ordered them to stop monitoring the Cult, but the Inspection Unit thought the young mayor had lost her mind, ignored her order, and sent an agent anyway.
That agent was Teacher, which meant they had essentially put a cat in charge of the fish shop.
The whole setup was so absurd that I laughed.
‘Lord, today's gathering was truly moving. Seeing the Cult finally walk the path of glory brought tears to my eyes.’
“The believers' response is very good.”
“... You said you can hear their prayers?”
“Yes.”
“What exactly does it feel like? As an old companion, I'd like you to tell me without holding anything back.”
Teacher suddenly became serious, which caught me a little off guard.
I hadn't planned to hide information about the Inheritance in the first place.
“O-of course. So-”
‘Ah, God. That bastard prophet seems kind of like a fraud. Is he really the real thing? I could give a speech way better than that bastard!’
“Then you do it, you bastard!”
“Ga-in?”
“... It's nothing.”
Ever since the Sacred Sun began gathering faith and prayers, I could always hear the believers' voices.
I called them “voices” for convenience, but I could hear them even with my ears covered.
Most had no particular content beyond things like, ‘Thank you for another day.’
Some prayers, though, contained desperate wishes.
Of course, those wishes weren't always desirable.
As I explained, Teacher carefully asked, “What do you think when you hear those wishes?”
“Pardon?”
“...”
“...”
“I observed you throughout the gathering, Ga-in. As I watched, I gradually began to distinguish which parts were an act and which were sincere.”
“I suppose that makes sense.”
“You communicated with the believers throughout the gathering, and you recounted details of their pasts that they had never told you. Is that also the Sacred Sun's authority?”
“Something like that.”
“It looked incredibly mysterious. Even knowing it was the power of an Inheritance, I found it remarkable. Everyone will see you as the messiah without question.”
“... There were people wondering if I was a fraud, though?”
Teacher looked slightly flustered.
Of course, there were all kinds of people in the world, so there was no need to fixate on one or two exceptions.
“Ahem, w-well, there are always people like that. Anyway, that part was fine, but there were some moments that unsettled me.”
“Unsettled you?”
“Let me ask again. What do you think when you hear the believers' wishes?”
“...”
There was a believer for whom I had done nothing, yet he rejoiced that his own success had come through God's help.
I sincerely blessed that man's success as well.
There was a woman who wept bitterly because her son had an incurable illness and she couldn't afford treatment.
I held her hand and shared her pain, then promised to gather donations from the wealthy believers to help her.
“If my eyes didn't deceive me, Ga-in, you seemed very sincere as you read the believers' hearts.”
“...”
“If you had been Eun-sol or Jin-cheol, I would have accepted it. They're naturally sensitive people. But you...”
“...”
“Normally, your response would have been something like, ‘Ma'am, you'll die when the Curse Room disappears before your son can die from his illness, so stop saying pointless things!’”
“N-no! That would just make me a complete asshole! I don't think I'm that much of a bastard!”
“It was an example. I mean that you weren't the type to become so immersed in the stories of NPCs.”
I understood what Teacher meant.
I remembered the Owl's analogy about white paint and black paint.
The Sacred Sun was guiding me in a direction “different” from the Grimoire.
“You should give it some thought.”
‘Could you please kill Patrick?’
“... By the way, Teacher.”
“I'm listening.”
“Who is Patrick? Um... When I keep hearing prayers from the same person, I can sometimes get a sense of who they are.”
“Is that so?”
“Elena has been praying for Patrick to die nonstop since this morning.”
“...”
* * *
- Yoo Song-i
A garden filled with blue trees rarely seen in Paradise.
Sweet classical music drifted in from afar, and fresh tenderloin steak sat on an elegant table.
It was a luxury Fourth-Class Citizens still toiling in the mines couldn't even imagine.
At that moment, I swallowed hard under extreme tension.
Gulp!
The other two were not.
“The steak is quite good. Why don't you have some more?”
“... No, thank you.”
A cute-faced girl with short brown hair.
Despite her appearance, she was the oldest person in Paradise.
Some called her the Progenitor. Others called her the Hero.
As the meal drew to an end, she looked at Leon and me with interested eyes.
“So, Leon. You're going to pass the mayor's position to this girl?”
“Yes.”
“Isn't it a little early? She looks rather young.”
“Didn't I explain the reason before?”
“Because you don't have long to live? And this girl is the only one who inherited Kadyrov's Authority?”
“You seem well informed.”
As always, Leon mentioned only the necessary reasons, rather than going on about how exceptional I was for my age.
“Hm...”
The Progenitor examined the mayor with unreadable eyes, then turned them on me.
“What is it? This isn't the first time the Kadyrov Family has undergone a succession.”
“That's true. But Leon, there's one thing I'm curious about.”
“Please ask.”
“Did you truly make this decision of your own free will?”
Footnotes:
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