WeTried Translations

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 461: Room 206, Curse Room - The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days Re (23)

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[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 538

Current Location: Room 206, Curse Room - ‘The Demon King Who Revives After 100 Days’

Sage’s Advice: 0

Mi-ro Awakening. City Control Device secured.]

- Han Ga-in

Grandfather Mook-seong, Sang-hyeon, and I sat at a table.

As advised, I spoke frankly and held nothing back.

“I used Sage’s Advice.”

“Is that so? What was your question?”

He still didn't understand the situation.

“I asked whether Sang-hyeon was in a normal state.”

“...”

Even for someone who'd been through everything, that was a rather shocking thing to hear. After a moment of silence, he asked again.

“... What answer did you receive?”

I wrote it exactly as it appeared on the paper for everyone to see.

Question 1: Is Kim Sang-hyeon's current state normal?

Answer 1: Conversation comes before suspicion.

Sang-hyeon read it and nodded.

“So you came to speak with me. Since it says Question 1, I assume there are Questions 2 and 3 as well.”

“I used it twice.”

Question 2: Does that mean he did not undergo a change in the Demon King Cult's Sacred Domain?

Answer 2: A change of heart does not necessarily require magic or supernatural powers.

“This...”

“Grandfather and I interpreted that answer this way. The Demon King Cult didn't use supernatural means to twist you. But it seems your mindset did change.”

“...”

“People's thoughts can change through persuasion and conversation. They don't need mind control or brainwashing to change.”

Grandfather took over.

“Doctor, tell us exactly what happened to you in the Sacred Domain and how your thoughts changed.”

“...”

After a long silence, Sang-hyeon carefully explained what he'd experienced in the Sacred Domain and the changes he'd undergone.

He had met an incomprehensible being there and gained various pieces of information from them.

But they had wanted someone other than Kim Sang-hyeon to come.

“I believe the Ipsissimus wishes to meet you, Ga-in.”

“Me?”

“It is only a guess, so I can't be certain.”

He'd realized that the Demon King's nature was influenced by the impulses or faith of its believers.

He believed the answer was to turn the Demon King into something like a kind god to humanity.

We had either already heard or guessed everything up to that point, but what came next was something we hadn't considered.

We could no longer follow the solution route we'd discovered before in this attempt.

“There isn't enough time. At most, we have about a month left. How could we convert most of the people in the cities into Demon King worshipers in such a short time?”

“...”

“Even with your supernatural abilities, Ga-in, it would be difficult. More importantly, don't forget that there are cities beyond Paradise.”

I understood.

Only about a month remained, and there were at least ten more cities besides Paradise.

Even using the Sacred Sun's supernatural charisma, converting more than half the survivors in that short time would be impossible.

Still, a thought occurred to me.

Converting the NPCs in dozens of cities, not just Paradise?

Wouldn't that be difficult even with a hundred days?

Did I have to fly between cities for all one hundred days, pretending to be an apostle of the Demon King and preaching?

Something about this felt strange.

If the Hotel truly intended that as the solution, Room 206 should contain some kind of means to make conversion easier.

“That is why I suggested leaving quickly. Since this is an attempt where a solution is impossible anyway, rather than exhaust ourselves further, it would be better to charge only your Sacred Sun, Ga-in, and escape.”

It was logical.

Too logical for Grandfather or me to find anything to refute.

I'd felt it many times while progressing through the Hotel, but human physical and mental strength were never infinite.

If they were, the companions who'd been dropped into the prehistoric era in Room 203 wouldn't have suffered mentally.

When an attempt couldn't be solved, we needed to end it quickly for our own sake.

“...”

Grandfather looked at me for a moment, then spoke.

“Doctor, your opinion is simple. We have found the solution, but it cannot be carried out in this attempt, so you suggest we end it quickly and leave. Is that correct?”

“Yes, Agent.”

“There is one assumption underlying that opinion. Certainty about the solution itself.”

“...”

“The belief that if the people of Room 206 worship the Demon King, the Demon King will act even more like a god than it does now, and its believers will be guaranteed survival.”

“Am I wrong?”

Was it wrong?

At least based on the information we'd gathered in Room 206 so far, it was convincing.

Grandfather continued.

“The evidence we've found does point in that direction. And I don't think all of that evidence is deception. We could certainly solve it that way.”

“...”

“But it is an unpleasant way.”

“... What do you mean?”

“Doctor, this may sound strange, but I am an atheist.”

That really was strange enough to make Sang-hyeon and me widen our eyes at the same time.

“Ah! You're both thinking this, aren't you? After climbing through the Hotel and seeing so-called gods in every room like the old men next door, how can I call myself an atheist?”

Exactly.

“It is simple. I don't consider those self-proclaimed gods to be true gods. They are nothing more than monsters with power far greater than that of humans. They are so, so powerful that people weak in body and mind believe them to be gods.”

“...”

There were self-proclaimed gods everywhere, and we often used the word god ourselves.

Grandfather used it often too.

But to him, those expressions were only metaphors for incredibly powerful beings. He didn't truly worship them.

Sang-hyeon smiled awkwardly.

“Agent, just in case, I don't sincerely worship the Demon King either-”

“I know, I know. I have never misunderstood that. The Hotel is a matter of survival for us as well. What I said earlier is only my personal belief, and it is not more important than survival. You feel the same, don't you?”

“... I do.”

“So don't worry. If worshiping the Demon King is the only way to survive, I will be the first to build an altar.”

He wasn't saying he would truly believe in the Demon King.

He only meant he would spread the ideology of Demon King worship as a tool for solving the Curse Room.

At that point, Sang-hyeon and Grandfather's opinions came together, and Grandfather and I soon apologized for having suspected him.

Sang-hyeon only smiled and said he understood.

...

...

...

Sang-hyeon and Grandfather seemed to agree.

My thoughts were a little different.

Suddenly, I remembered the third use of Sage’s Advice that I hadn't revealed.

‘I still feel uncomfortable with Kim Sang-hyeon's opinion. Why is that? Am I missing something?’

「Do not seek the answer from Kim Sang-hyeon. Seek it from yourself.」

“... The answer is within me.”

Ten days later, the Sacred Sun finished charging.

The following day, the third attempt came to an end.

* * *

- Kim A-ri

Quite some time had passed since we learned a great deal from Mi-ro's memories.

During that time, we analyzed the information and reached our own conclusion.

“The leader of the Order of Reason, the Ipsissimus, was already someone corrupted by the Demon King about two hundred years ago. They may have been the first person to worship the Demon King.”

Jin-cheol looked dumbfounded.

“Seriously, someone like that was humanity's guardian? It was like putting a cat in charge of a fish shop.”

“Well, it seems they believed worshiping the Demon King was the path for humanity.”

Elena tilted her head.

“Then why was the Demon King Cult persecuted for nearly two hundred years?”

“...”

At first glance, it was strange.

If the Order of Reason's leader was a Demon King worshiper, shouldn't they have acted long ago and filled the whole planet with Demon King worshipers?

In reality, until the day before we descended into Deep Paradise, Paradise had been throwing “heretics” into Indomitable Reason as feed.

“Because it wasn't the right time yet.”

“The right time?”

Several possibilities vaguely came to mind.

“At that time, the Order of Reason couldn't control all humanity as though it had them completely in its hands.”

There had been no “Paradise” then.

Naturally, there had been no City Control System either.

“We should head to the control system soon.”

* * *

The control system we saw for the second time was, outwardly, nothing more than a slightly large computer.

Soon, Ga-in-Mi-ro was summoned again and began fiddling with the control system.

The Director had recovered the memories they had forgotten, and we had plenty of time.

As Ga-in-Mi-ro leisurely operated the control system, a hidden protocol appeared, unlike before.

「Would you like to execute ‘True Faith’? (Y/N)」

Everyone froze.

“...”

“...”

The moment I saw it, I knew.

That was the one-touch conversion system the Ipsissimus, leader of the Order of Reason, had prepared.

Press it, and a vast portion of humanity's remaining survivors would become Demon King worshipers.

Honestly, I had no idea how it worked.

The Management Bureau had many methods for brainwashing people, but at most, they could brainwash a few hundred people.

Brainwash over a billion people into Demon King worshipers at once?

Even the Management Bureau's leadership in reality would be shocked senseless if they saw something on that scale.

Then again, the Management Bureau had failed to develop the Soul Furnace, while the Order of Reason had successfully installed it in every city under the name Indomitable Reason.

That meant the Order of Reason's technology had been far beyond the Management Bureau's from the start.

“...”

Would pressing this solve it?

Or was it a massive trap?

I didn't know.

I felt uneasy. Something was wrong.

But I didn't even know why I felt so uneasy.

Was it because I felt guilty about brainwashing billions of people?

Because it was horrifying that surviving humanity would live as Demon King worshipers serving a monster like the Demon King?

... I didn't think I was that sentimental.

“Um... A-riii! Shouldn't we do something now?”

Even in a moment like this, Ga-in irritated me by sounding a little like a middle school girl.

“What is with that way of talking?”

“A-riii! Riii! Iii!”

Was he seriously joking around at a time like this?

I glared at him in disbelief, and Ga-in-Mi-ro grinned.

“Everyone's taking this too seriously. We still have some time, so listen to me.”

Cha Jin-cheol and Elena, who had both been wearing grave expressions, turned toward Ga-in-Mi-ro.

“It is only a hunch, but I think this is a valid solution too.”

“...”

“Turn the Demon King into humanity's god. How much evidence was scattered throughout Room 206 to lead us to that conclusion? Even the ‘urban legend’ that appeared in the latter half of the first attempt was evidence, if you think about it. It proved the Demon King responded to humanity's imagination.”

“...”

“Was all that evidence a lie? A trap the Hotel set to deceive us? I don't think so. Of course, if the Hotel is completely insane, it could be-”

Seung-yeop cautiously cut in.

“Isn't it completely insane?”

“... Anyway. I don't think it is a trap, and I think this counts as a solution. More importantly, who told us about this method?”

Who had told us about it?

“Mi-ro, who woke up from Sealing. We have confirmed many times that the path to a solution opens when Sealing is undone. Are we saying that was all a lie too?”

If all of this was a trap, if it was all lies, then it meant even Sealing, a fundamental Level 2 system, was a deception.

No matter how lacking in common sense the Hotel was, that couldn't be true.

“This is a solution. It is the solution the Ipsissimus found two hundred years ago. It is just a thirty-point solution.”

“A thirty-point solution.”

“By the way, we have half a Ticket left, right?”

We got one Ticket in the Gate Room.

We got half a Ticket each in Rooms 202, 203, and 204.

We failed to obtain them in Rooms 201 and 205.

That made two and a half Tickets in total. We used one for Kim Sang-hyeon and one for Mi-ro.

“We do have half a Ticket left.”

Ga-in smiled as he answered.

“Then we need to fill in that missing half. Let's try it one more time, a different way. There must be a better answer. Honestly, I find this method disgusting too.”

Everyone's expression, including mine, brightened.

Still, that last choice of words felt a little strange.

‘Disgusting, really...?’

- Rumble!

That was the final memory of the third attempt.

* * *

- Han Ga-in

- Whoosh!

The third attempt at Room 206 was ending, and the world had become scorching hot.

Just like in the second attempt, the companions in Deep Paradise had chosen to offer every survivor to Indomitable Reason.

Grandfather, Song-i, and Sang-hyeon had entered the shelter prepared by the Progenitor long ago.

“...”

I came outside because I wanted to see Paradise's end with my own eyes.

- Aaaagh!

- Ugh, urgh!

- Hot... It's hot!

Watching the screaming citizens filled me with complicated thoughts.

Perhaps because many of them were my believers, I didn't feel as indifferent as before.

“...”

After that day, Grandfather, Sang-hyeon, and I held no further discussions.

Was it because we thought the solution of having all humanity worship the Demon King was sufficient?

Or perhaps because we couldn't think of another answer.

Sang-hyeon believed that answer was sufficient, while Grandfather said he didn't like it, but would follow it if it was the only answer.

“...”

I thought differently.

I had absolutely no intention of carrying out such a plan.

“...”

That day, when I asked, the Owl asked me in return.

「Do not seek the answer from Kim Sang-hyeon. Seek it from yourself.」

Why had I suspected Kim Sang-hyeon?

The cause had not been Sang-hyeon. It had been me.

Because I hated the answer he'd found.

Because I had no intention of carrying out such a disgusting plan.

He kept saying things I didn't want to hear, so I even began to suspect him.

Why did I hate the plan to worship the Demon King so much?

“...”

Ha.

Hahaha.

Hahahaha!

No, was I an idiot?

Why hadn't I realized such a fucking easy answer?

Isn't it mine?

The souls in this room are mine, aren't they?

I'd planned that from the moment I first entered Room 206!

What kind of fucking idiot gives another guy the food that's his to eat?

“Heh, hehe! Hahaha!”

Therefore, the absurd plan to worship the Demon King was rejected.

“Everything here is mine.”

From the moment I ‘awakened,’ everything in Room 206 had been mine.

So I would find another solution.

And so-

Amid the destruction, I proclaimed to the little lambs.

(1:1) Little, little children, long ago I gathered you into My fold.

(1:2) You were Mine in the past, you are Mine now, and you will be Mine forever, so do not be afraid.

No one can take what is Mine.

Not even the Demon King!

That was the final memory of the third attempt.

Footnotes:

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