WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 482: Party Time - Insight, Arrangements, and Entry (7)
──────
- Kim A-ri
Time flew by like the wind.
Even the week-long Party Time, which had seemed quite long when it was first given to us, was nearly over.
We had visited the Sanctuary of Blessings on the first day and obtained meaningful information through Eun-sol’s ‘Greedy Hand.’
All that remained was for each of us to prepare for Room 207, the Gate Room.
No one forced us to do this or that, so everyone did as they pleased.
Some focused on physical training, some researched the periods of Ancient Egypt and medieval Europe, while others rested and eased their bodies and minds.
Lately, I’d spent almost all my time in the Snowfield.
There was no better place to train.
“...”
I looked at the ominous stone in my palm, glowing dark crimson.
It was mysterious every time I saw it, and I was still amazed that I had obtained the Irregular Polyhedron.
Nominally, it was my second Inheritance, but it felt like my first.
Old Blood, my first Inheritance, had been part of my body since birth. It felt more like an innate supernatural ability than a special treasure.
“Mm.”
As I focused, I could sense the mysterious world shown by the Irregular Polyhedron.
For those living in the material world, space was like a stage.
It was as though an actor who had spent their entire life onstage had finally turned their gaze and recognized the existence of the stage itself.
Invisible walls and ceilings surrounded an area, dividing its inside from its outside.
If that simple task were carried out quickly and over a wide area, it would create a massive structure like the cube in Room 201.
“Urgh.”
In an instant, a sharp pain like a needle boring into my head struck me.
I had felt this pain countless times during training, but no matter how often one experienced it, pain was hard to get used to.
“Phew...”
I had to endure it.
This tool couldn’t be used properly without half-torturing my brain.
Once again, intangible walls that no one else could see began rising here and there.
Then an uninvited guest arrived.
--- Crash!
“Ow!”
“...”
“Whad? There’s an invisible wall in midair!”
“I’m practicing how to use the Irregular Polyhedron.”
“Do they have to be invisible? You could make them white, so I could see them and avoid them.”
“They need to be invisible because you’re not supposed to avoid them after seeing them.”
“... Is thad so?”
“Stop talking through your nose and come here.”
“...”
“I got rid of the wall.”
“Okay~!”
--- Crash!
Ah, my mistake.
Mi-ro, who had trusted me and walked forward only to hit another wall, stared at me with wide eyes.
She looked as though she were asking how I could do something like that to her.
I hadn’t done it on purpose.
“I really got rid of it this time.”
“Liar.”
“...”
In the end, I had to go over and bring Mi-ro myself.
“Right, why did you come looking for me?”
“Do I need a reason to come?”
“...”
After saying that, Mi-ro leaned against me for around ten minutes and talked about absolutely nothing.
Had she missed me because I’d been skipping meals to train with the Irregular Polyhedron and spending all my time in the Snowfield lately?
It gave me a strange feeling.
She was so cute, just like me.
...
The real topic came up suddenly.
“Do you remember the note Midnight Mi-ro left behind?”
“I remember.”
“She said not to use Midnight’s time and save it for Room 207.”
“I know.”
“Should we use it this time?”
“...”
“I don’t know. What did the old me know about Room 207?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Liar. A-ri knows.”
This routine felt familiar.
“You met the old me in a dream!”
“I told you that was a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“The you in that dream wasn’t Midnight Mi-ro. There’s no way a complete self could have been left behind in a dream in the first place.”
“Then...”
“It’s all mixed together. The current you, your past self, and even the time when you regressed into a half-mad child.”
“...”
I had explained it many times, but Mi-ro never really believed me.
“Would my midnight self, um, have known that I’d end up in Ancient Egypt in Room 207?”
“Who knows... And it isn’t certain that you’ll end up in Ancient Egypt. The information from the Dinner Party was given indirectly.”
“Why do you make everything sound so confusing? You should just tell me clearly what it is!”
“How can I be clear when all the information is vague?”
“...”
“...”
“Lately, Ga-in makes a strange face every time he sees me. He looks like he’s about to say something, then doesn’t.”
While everyone prepared for the Gate Room, Ga-in had begun the strangest preparations among us.
He wasn’t discussing anything, he had no interest in training with Inheritances, and he wasn’t resting either.
He would silently walk through the corridors, suddenly approach one of us, and stare for five or ten minutes at a time.
He kept using Insight and Advice as he played a game of chess no one could understand.
The chess pieces were probably us.
At first, Mook-seong reacted good-naturedly, asking, “Yeah, can you see my future? How do I get rich?” Before long, though, even he started avoiding Ga-in.
The others were no different.
They couldn’t even last a day before they began avoiding him, and warning-like notices about Han Ga-in began appearing in the Chat Window.
“He’s preparing in his own way.”
“I know that. But he stares at me for ten minutes without explaining anything, then suddenly sighs!”
“...”
“He’s a little scary lately.”
“You used to say you liked Ga-in so much.”
“Eek! D-don’t say things like that!”
Mi-ro jumped up in alarm, then suddenly shoved a handful of Snowfield snow into my clothes.
“That’s your punishment for saying something bad!”
“...”
“...”
“So, you don’t like him anymore?”
“It’s not, it’s not like that. It’s just...”
Then the familiar warning appeared in the Chat Window.
Kim Mook-seong: Han Ga-in is heading to the Snowfield.
Han Ga-in: Why do you announce my movements every time?
Kim Mook-seong: Ga-in warning issued!
“Gasp! Ga-in’s coming!”
“... You should run away.”
It was already too late.
“Ha ha! Run away? A-ri, that joke is a little too much.”
“...”
“Ahem, Mi-ro...”
“Argh!”
“...”
“M-Mi-ro. There’s something I want to say. And, um, I’d like A-ri to move farther away.”
He wanted to speak to Mi-ro alone.
Normally, Mi-ro would have blushed, which would have annoyed me, but this time she was startled and tried to run before he caught her.
“Argh!”
“Please stay still. I told you I have something to say.”
“... Have fun, you two.”
What on earth did he want to say to Mi-ro?
A little curious, I returned to the Hotel.
* * *
“Mi-ro, A-ri is stored in the Time Lender too, right?”
“Yeah. Right now, the A-ri from this morning is... Huh? If you have something to say to A-ri, why did you send her back?”
“Call A-ri.”
* * *
I woke up in the Snowfield.
The place had changed suddenly, as if I had used Teleportation. Mi-ro was smiling awkwardly, and Ga-in’s expression was stiff.
I understood.
I was a Summoned Entity from the past.
As I took stock of the situation, Ga-in sent Mi-ro far away.
“What? You have something to say to me alone?”
“Yeah.”
For a moment, I was curious.
This was the Hotel’s Snowfield, not a Curse Room.
If he had something to say to me, couldn’t he just speak to the original version of me from this time?
“... It’s something I can only discuss with you.”
“What does that... Ah.”
I understood.
Insight was the power to see concrete futures based on the available evidence.
He had obtained various pieces of evidence about Room 207 over dinner, so Insight must have shown him possibilities that had never been visible before.
The problem was that Ga-in couldn’t tell us about the possibilities he had seen.
If he told us, our actions would change, making the possibilities he had seen meaningless.
“You can tell me now. The original won’t receive the memories of the conversation we have now anyway.”
In an instant, varied thoughts crossed my mind.
The idea of using a Summoned Entity from the Time Lender as a counselor who could keep secrets perfectly was interesting.
It was a small comfort to learn that this man, who seemed to be drifting farther and farther from everyone, couldn’t handle Insight alone.
Thinking about the astonishing information I was about to learn, I even felt a slight forbidden thrill.
Ga-in said it was different, but from our perspective, wasn’t Insight far too similar to Foresight?
Information about the future!
Lastly, I was honestly happy that he had chosen me as his counselor.
“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”
...
I listened to him, answered, offered opinions, rebutted him, and discussed things with him.
I heard fragments of countless possibilities he normally would have told no one about.
Ominous possibilities.
Failures that couldn’t be avoided.
Costs too heavy to bear.
Bleak futures that brought considerable fear even to him, someone who had stepped half a step beyond the bounds of humanity.
“When you work as an agent, you sometimes face situations where someone has to die.”
“...”
“Actually, you don’t even have to be an agent. Any military commander faces it too. A defensive line where the chances of death are extremely high, but someone has to go and hold it.”
“...”
“What matters then isn’t whether sacrifice can be avoided. It’s who should be sacrificed, where they should be sacrificed, and whether that sacrifice can be put to meaningful use.”
“...”
“I hope that helped.”
“It did.”
It had been an interesting time.
And now, this time was drawing to an end.
“Who’s next? Your loyal retainer?”
“... Sang-hyeon isn’t some vassal. He’s just a reliable companion.”
He didn’t deny that Sang-hyeon would be the next person he met after me.
Next was Sang-hyeon, and after that...
...
At this point, I had about five minutes left.
Was this Ga-in’s way of thanking me for the long counseling session?
For those five minutes, he stayed with me and chatted playfully.
“Ah... It’s time to say goodbye.”
“Goodbye? I’m still in the Hotel. Make sure you repay the favor to my future self, too.”
That was my last memory.
* * *
“Ga-in, what is this?”
“An envelope.”
“I can see that. I’m asking what’s inside it.”
“Open it at the most important moment in Room 207.”
“When is that moment?”
“You’ll know when the time comes.”
“... Understood.”
* * *
“Ga-in, what is this?”
“An envelope.”
“W-well, I can see that. What’s inside? A small piece of paper?”
“When Elena’s turn begins in Room 207, check it immediately.”
“As soon as it begins?”
“Yes.”
“Um... If it’s advice you’ll give me as soon as it begins, can’t you tell me now?”
“No. I can’t.”
“... Okay.”
* * *
[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 938
Current Location: Level 2, Central Hall
Sage’s Advice: 3]
- Han Ga-in
At last, the day had come.
The day we had to enter the second ‘Gate Room.’
--- Gulp!
The sound of people swallowing came from all around us.
Even the boldest person among us couldn’t hide their tension at a moment like this.
“Sh-should I open the door?”
Jin-cheol gave an awkward smile as he spoke, but no one answered.
“... Shouldn’t we go in? If we waste time standing around, the Hotel might pull something strange again.”
“You damn boar, just open it instead of talking!”
--- Bang!
The terminus of every cause and effect hidden on the second floor.
The place holding the answers to the many mysteries we had searched for.
The room the Hotel had promised would let everyone escape in the end.
At last, the door to Room 207 opened.
Now it began.
Footnotes:
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