WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 492: Room 207, Gate Room - First Trial ‘Eternal Life and Resurrection’ (10) Fin
──────
- Aedia
Memphis lay in burning ruins, filled with wailing people.
An incomprehensible being had appeared beside my old friend, a beautiful girl who resembled a snowflake.
Horus's gaze turned toward me.
“Lizard Princess, what are you thinking right now?”
My breath caught.
My heart pounded wildly, and my frozen soul melted in an instant.
Words to describe that being came to mind one after another.
The one who reads fate.
The greatest of all.
The august god, Horus.
...
Not a god.
The end of Egypt.
A monster, a demon, my sworn enemy!
The thought of my pitiful kin being slaughtered by rioters every moment filled me with unbearable rage.
“Argh! Die!”
I screamed like a madwoman and charged forward.
Of course, I knew perfectly well that I couldn't kill Horus.
Even the great Menes had been unable to defeat that devil. What could someone as young and weak as me possibly do?
I knew better than anyone.
Today, I would die at the hands of that cruel god.
But...
Even if I was going to die, I wanted to swing my sword at least once.
“Die!”
At that moment, a book as dark as the pitch-black night appeared.
--- Flap!
A horrific power stopped my body at once.
It was evil magic that someone as weak as me couldn't understand or resist.
Then my hand, beyond my control, began choking my own throat.
“Ghk! Hrk!”
I couldn't breathe.
I'd been subdued before I could even properly swing my sword once.
I hadn't even touched that vile demon's collar!
Both my body and heart wept.
Just yesterday, I had been Egypt's princess. Today, I was dying while being toyed with by my enemy...
It was unbearable.
“Hngh!”
I gritted my teeth and raised my head.
At the very least, I wanted to die with dignity.
And that became the finest decision I made that day.
“Yaaah!”
A man in black became a streak of light and pounced on Horus!
What a miraculous turn of events!
Horus, the Evil God who had brought even Menes to his knees, allowed an ordinary human to strike first.
In an instant, Horus's clothes were stained red.
The being who looked as though his expression wouldn't change even if the world ended tomorrow lost his balance in shock!
“Ghk... You bastard!”
At that moment, the hand choking my neck returned to my control, and my throat was free again.
“Taio! How did you...!”
As if he'd been waiting, Taio answered.
“Lady Aedia! Run! You have to live!”
Ah...!
Taio was right.
I still didn't have the strength to defeat that monster!
I ran and ran without thinking.
I heard someone collapse behind me.
That meant Taio could no longer hold out and had collapsed.
Could I escape?
When I looked back through fear strong enough to swallow my soul, I witnessed my second miracle.
A girl held Horus back by gripping his bloodstained collar.
Mi-ro was stopping Horus with tears in her eyes.
Ridiculously, that sight gave me some comfort.
Just as much as I loved her, she must have cared for me too.
...
How had this happened?
How had someone as weak as me escaped that terrible demon's grasp?
A realization struck me like lightning.
Even Horus's seemingly endless foresight had a flaw.
And look at that blood!
That arrogant god was still a being made of soft flesh.
In other words, he was something that could be killed.
“Ha!”
My great ancestor, the absolute ruler of the lizards.
The words he had boldly cried before Horus.
‘From now on, I will decide my fate with my own two hands.’
So I swore to myself, not to the sky or the sun.
I am Aedia.
One day, I will kill Horus when he returns to this land.
* * *
- Mi-ro
I was speechless.
I had no idea what to say.
Even now, the image of Aedia fleeing with her bloodshot eyes wide open lingered in my mind.
“...”
Ga-in ran a hand over his bloodstained clothes. A man in black lay before him.
Soon, ‘Taio’ got up.
Aedia would have fainted from shock if she'd seen it, but the man hadn't actually died.
“Wow, this is incredible from an observer's perspective.”
The man spoke to Ga-in like a friend.
“What is?”
“Your acting! Your acting! You only scratched your skin, but anyone looking would think your heart had been pierced!”
“Was it okay?”
“I thought you were a movie star.”
“Hey, hey! Stop praising yourself. We don't have time.”
Then ‘Taio’ smiled and vanished.
“...”
It wasn't strange.
There had never been a Taio here in the first place.
That was only a clone Ga-in had created with the Grimoire.
It had never looked like Taio to me. It looked like a black, gleaming shadow.
When had Ga-in gained this kind of power?
“Ga-in... Is it done?”
Song-i's voice rang out. She was the one who had made Aedia mistake that unknown shape for ‘Taio.’
“Yeah.”
“Phew... I don't know what it was, but that's a relief...”
“You did well.”
With those words, Song-i slowly closed her eyes.
It wasn't sad.
Ever since Menes had cut off her hand, Song-i had wanted to rest in peace.
Teacher passed away while clutching his pierced abdomen.
After summoning a Star Fragment to stop the robot's rampage, Jin-cheol had turned into a twisted mass of flesh.
Song-i would die soon too.
The ones left were me and Seung-yeop, perhaps Yumi too.
I would soon fall into a long sleep.
What would happen to Seung-yeop and Yumi?
“Mi-ro, get into the sarcophagus.”
A black box filled with viscous liquid.
The Immortal Sarcophagus.
--- Splash!
“What is it?”
A handsome young man smiled.
My precious person, my first love.
“Do you have a question?”
With fewer than thirty seconds of Ga-in's time left, I couldn't hold it in any longer.
There were far too many question marks in my head!
Ga-in, what are you thinking?
Weren't we supposed to kill all the Reptilians?
Why did you let Aedia live when you could have killed her?
Even if you had a reason to let her go, couldn't you have just stayed out of sight?
Why did you deceive Aedia by pretending to be Taio, who had already died?
And finally!
Why do I have to...
sleep in the sarcophagus?
“I can tell just by looking at your eyes. You have a lot of questions.”
“...”
“You'll find out soon enough. I don't have a hobby of playing twenty questions, so once Room 207 is over, I'll explain everything without leaving anything out.”
Then his face suddenly moved close.
“Uh...!”
“Good night.”
--- Clunk
The sarcophagus lid closed.
...
I thought he'd at least kiss me, but ending it with a hug in a moment like this was too cruel.
That was my final memory of the first trial.
「Eternal Life and Resurrection, Fin」
* * *
[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day ---
Current Location: Room 207, Gate Room
Sage’s Advice: 3]
- Han Ga-in
“The date disappeared from the Status Window.”
--- Clack! Clack!
The train raced on without pausing for even a moment.
What trial awaited at the final station, at the end of the tracks where I would get off?
Across from me, Eun-sol, Jin-cheol, and Elena were holding a strategy meeting.
“Jin-cheol, you're probably a knight. Elena looks exactly like a young lady from a noble family, doesn't she?”
“What about you?”
“Who knows? Ga-in said he didn't know either. Maybe I'm a young lady from somewhere too?”
“Come on! Can there be only two young ladies? There has to be a maid too.”
“Wow! Cha Jin-cheol, what was that just now? You're telling me to be the maid? I'm the daughter of a respectable family, and this is what I have to hear?”
“Gah! You know I was joking, right?”
“Jin-cheol, you can forget ever finding work in Korea again.”
“Ha ha! Seriously, stop joking around.”
It felt half like a strategy meeting and half like the three of them were getting closer.
It wasn't bad if it helped them relax.
They were next, after all.
Then someone sat beside me.
“Ha ha, guest. Are you enjoying your train journey?”
“...”
That unpleasant voice. The Merchant.
“Please call me the conductor now instead of the Merchant.”
“Did you get promoted or something?”
“Not exactly, but conductor suits me better on a train.”
“...”
“I enjoyed watching the first trial. You have no idea how impressed I was. Ha! I've served the Hotel for many years, but I've rarely seen a guest like you.”
He enjoyed watching the first trial?
It carried two meanings.
Unlike us, the Merchant could observe the progress of the trials.
And the first trial had ended just now!
Without thinking, I rose and looked into the carriage ahead.
“...”
Jin-cheol, Eun-sol, and Elena.
All three were laughing and chatting as they ate snacks.
The Merchant was sitting beside me in this shocking situation, yet they didn't seem to care at all.
Perhaps some kind of magic had veiled my companions’ sight.
“What's wrong? Are you surprised that the people entering next are all fine?”
“...”
“You thought at least one person would collapse, didn't you? Ha ha! This is a secret, but no matter what happens in a trial, it doesn't affect anything on the train.”
What happened in a trial couldn't affect the train.
“To put it simply, say Miss Mi-ro summons Mr. Ga-in and Mr. Ga-in dies. Even then, nothing happens to Mr. Ga-in on the train. Why?”
“...”
“Because you mustn't know what happened in the earlier trial. It's to prevent spoilers. You understand, don't you?”
Why was he talking about spoiler prevention?
He was telling me everything right now!
What else could be the reason the Merchant was saying all this out of context when I hadn't said a word?
I'd read it with Insight. It meant Jin-cheol had fallen in the first trial.
Even so, the Jin-cheol on the train remained unaffected.
But what about the Jin-cheol in the second trial?
... I had a feeling my ominous prediction would come true.
“You're grateful, right?”
“... What?”
“Ha ha, participant Han Ga-in. Surely you're not the kind of beast who doesn't recognize a favor?”
“...”
“I believe I just gave you a considerable hint.”
“I had guessed.”
“A guess and certainty are different. I gave you certainty.”
He wasn't wrong.
“What are you trying to say?”
“This is a matter of my personal curiosity.”
He wanted me to satisfy his personal curiosity because he'd helped me?
“Ask.”
“Do you consider yourself a hero, or their dependable companion?”
“I don't understand what you're getting at.”
“Let me make it more specific. The path for humanity, or the path for you and your companions. If you had to choose one, which would you choose?”
The path for humanity, or the path for me and my companions.
“... If possible, I'd save both.”
“How greedy! Choose only one, only one.”
“...”
“Only one. If you try to hold on to both, you'll lose both.”
As I hesitated because I didn't know what to say, the Merchant suddenly said something dreadful.
“Unlike someone as greaaat as you, I can't read fate, but I do know one thing.”
“What?”
“I think we'll be together for a very long time.”
“No, what kind of ominous crap are you spouting...”
“Mr. Ga-in, let's get close in advance. Next time we meet, call me big brother.”
“You bastard!”
When I turned my head to curse at him some more, there was no one beside me.
--- Clang!
「The second trial will now begin! Participants, please prepare yourselves.」
“Good luck, everyone!”
“Yaaah! Let's do our best, the three of us!”
“Eun-sol, Jin-cheol, let's all hang in there!”
* * *
「Second Trial: Witch」
- Elena
The floor was hard marble, and an antique wooden table stood before me.
The clothes I was wearing... Oh, silk!
Silk was a luxury fabric even in the twenty-first century, so in the Middle Ages, it went without saying.
Another upper-class start in Room 207, success!
I was secretly delighted.
The Hotel was dangerous no matter where you started, but beginning as a rich young lady was much more comfortable than beginning in a slum.
That wasn't all.
--- Chirp!
A bird cry I had heard countless times and knew all too well.
“Huh? Is that Pero?”
What? What?
What was this, really?
I started as a rich young lady, and Pero, the greatest helper, was beside me too?
Was the Hotel really such a kind place?
It's awkward to say it out loud, so I'll just think it instead!
Look at the role the Hotel gave me.
In Room 205, I was an Apostle of God. In Room 206, a famous actress. In Room 207, a rich young lady with a mysterious parrot.
Why did it keep giving me such good roles?
Because I'm pretty!
I'm pretty, so roles like that suit me!
“... Um, I'll restrain myself.”
Get a grip.
The Hotel was being so kind that it felt ominous.
“Mr. Hotel... Mr. Hotel. Why are you acting so unlike yourself?”
Maybe because I was anxious, but I found myself talking to myself.
--- Rustle!
I felt something firm inside my clothes. It was the envelope Ga-in had given me.
When had he told me to open it?
‘Check it right away when Elena's turn begins in Room 207.’
He had told me to check it immediately.
--- Flap!
I opened the envelope and unfolded the small piece of paper.
Only a few simple words were written on it.
「I'm sorry.」
“?”
「It looks like Elena and Eun-sol will have to handle the second trial alone.」
“???”
「You can do it!」
“Eek!”
Footnotes:
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