Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 494

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 493: Room 207, Gate Room - Second Trial ‘Witch’ (1)

──────

- Elena

Erenheim was a trading city in the south of the Castilian Union Kingdom.

Simply put, it was a port city in the southern part of the region that would one day be called Spain, and the setting of the second trial.

The year was 1382, when the Reconquista was in full swing in Spain.

I was Elena Gray.

The cherished daughter of House Gray, which ruled Erenheim like royalty.

That alone threw me off.

Was there even a city called Erenheim in Spain?

And what was House Gray?

Then again, arguing over city and family names seemed pointless.

After all, I was someone who had received a Church-recognized Talent, a blessed daughter.

In other words, I was something like a saintess recognized by the Church.

This was medieval Spain, where saints and saintesses who could perform miracles truly existed.

* * *

According to the trial's setting, the grace I had received was called Judgment.

It was the power to uncover the truth behind a sin, find the guilty party, and pass judgment.

The Blessing of Justice was being called God's Grace here.

There was no separate setting for Ominous Imagination. That was probably because an Inheritance Sealing notification had appeared shortly after the trial began.

“So my Inheritance is sealed, and I can only use my Blessing...”

I'd expected it.

I'd received a Blessing enhancement right before entering Room 207. It would've been a little strange if the next trial sealed it away.

Still, I was worried about Eun-sol.

Wealth was useless inside a trial by its very nature.

Didn't that make her practically powerless?

“Pardon? A Blessing?”

“Valentina, I'm talking to myself. Don't mind me.”

Focus on my situation.

‘Elena Gray’ held a position similar to that of a saintess or judge with tremendous authority in the city.

I didn't handle trivial matters, but if a major crime threatened the city, I was expected to personally find and punish the culprit.

There had to be a reason the Hotel had given me this position.

Something threatening enough to endanger the city would surely happen, and there would be a boss behind it.

* * *

What came to mind when people thought of premodern medieval Europe?

Most would probably imagine a deeply patriarchal society.

A woman in her early twenties like me couldn't possibly defy her father, Duke Gray.

When the time came, most noblewomen probably married whoever their fathers chose.

It had little to do with me.

Even in an era like this, Joan of Arc had led the French army into war.

This was an age when the authority of God surpassed not only that of my father, Duke Gray, but even that of Juan I, the ruler of the kingdom.

And I was a blessed daughter recognized by the Church.

“Elena, um, I received an unsettling letter yesterday.”

“An unsettling letter?”

Duke Gray had always ruled Erenheim with confidence, but now he was frightened like a teenage boy.

“Have you heard of Tomás de Torquemada?”

Of course I hadn't.

Still, it seemed right to pretend I was shocked.

“Ah! Th-that man!”

“Whew... So his infamy has reached even your ears.”

“Of course!”

So who was he?

“Tomás the inquisitor. The purest, the faithful blade of the Holy See, a will that cannot be swayed...”

Tomás de Torquemada.

The moment I heard the word inquisitor, I was already uneasy.

“...And some call him this as well.”

“...”

“Master of the stake. Enemy of witches.”

“Oh my.”

By then, I had a good sense of what kind of person Inquisitor Tomás was.

“He says he wishes to meet you.”

“...”

“...Be careful.”

* * *

The next day.

He arrived through the fierce, torrential rain that had fallen since morning.

Tomás de Torquemada was as gloomy and ominous as the storm clouds covering the sky.

“Sir Tomás, welcome to House Gray.”

“Thank you, but I do not believe I bring good news.”

“...”

Tomás put everyone on edge with his very first sentence.

“Duke, you must have received my letter already, so I won't waste time. Let us come straight to the matter.”

“... I-I am listening.”

“We have received intelligence that a witch exists in Erenheim.”

“...”

“Please cede to me complete investigative and punitive authority over all of Erenheim.”

Asking for complete investigative and punitive authority was practically the same as demanding control of the city's judicial power itself.

Even if he was an inquisitor sent by the Holy See, it would be hard to simply say yes to that, wouldn't it?

“J-Judge Tomás. Calm yourself, and let us discuss this further. A witch, all of a sudden? In the twenty-four years since I began ruling Erenheim, there has not been a single disturbance.”

“Because Your Grace turned a blind eye for twenty-four years.”

“...!”

Duke Gray was shocked, and so was I.

Naturally, all the retainers around us were shocked as well.

“Judge! Show respect to the duke!”

“You wretch! Do you know where you are...”

“Hey!”

My father wasn't some village chief. He ruled all of Erenheim, yet this man was acting like this?

“Duke, I apologize for my rudeness. But I have clear evidence of Erenheim's Corruption.”

“...Speak.”

Clear evidence of Corruption.

The inquisitor gestured to one of his attendants and told them to bring in a box.

--- Thump!

“What is this?”

“Evidence of heresy.”

“I asked what this is...”

“See for yourself.”

“...”

“No danger will come from simply opening the box.”

The box rattled without pause, as if something alive were inside.

Duke Gray opened it with an uneasy expression.

Then everyone recoiled in horror.

“Argh! W-what in the world is that?!”

“Aah!”

“What a terrible thing!”

“Father in Heaven, embrace us poor wretches...”

“Tomás! Explain what this is!”

Inside the box was a lump of flesh that squirmed without stopping.

At first glance, it looked like a lump of meat in rigor mortis, but on closer inspection, it resembled a heart.

Needle-like protrusions covered its outer surface, while its blood vessels were twisted in every direction.

It was as though some unknown evil power had violently mangled a human body...

“...Are you all right?”

“Hm?”

I suddenly realized the room had gone quiet and looked up.

Not only the retainers, but even my father was staring at me with wide eyes.

“...”

A grotesque lump of flesh warped by a bizarre power.

A heart that was still beating even though whoever it had belonged to was already dead.

It was enough to make even someone with strong nerves fall over in shock.

A young lady in the bloom of youth had no reason to remain calm, much less study the shape of the heart.

Just as I was about to make an excuse, the inquisitor smiled faintly.

“As expected, one blessed by God differs from ordinary young ladies.”

“...”

“What did you sense?”

“I'm not sure. I'd rather hear more of your explanation, Judge Tomás. Why is this proof of Erenheim's Corruption?”

“Gladly. Before I departed, there was a Church-dispatched Temple Knight in Erenheim.”

If there were blessed daughters like me, there would naturally be blessed sons as well.

I'd heard that many men who could perform Church-recognized miracles became Temple Knights and formed the Church's fighting strength.

“And?”

“Two days ago, Cha Jin-cheol, a faithful son who had received the Lord's Grace...”

“Eek!”

Cha Jin-cheol, all of a sudden?

“What's wrong?”

“...Nothing.”

“...”

“Temple Knight Cha Jin-cheol was brutally murdered. This heart is the ‘most intact’ piece recovered from his body.”

Ah, ah, ah!

The questions that had confused me for days were cleared up all at once.

Two days ago was when the second trial had begun!

Jin-cheol had died as soon as the trial started.

Some incomprehensible force had horribly twisted his body.

Something... something clicked.

If I could use my Blessing, perhaps the earlier Ancient Egypt party could use their Inheritances.

Had Mi-ro summoned Jin-cheol with the Time Lender?

And had Jin-cheol used a Star Fragment without a Blessing, only for his entire body to twist apart and kill him?

“Haa...”

One last thing.

Ga-in, who had foreseen all this, had left me a letter.

「I'm sorry. It looks like Elena and Eun-sol will have to handle the second trial alone. You can do it!」

That was too much.

Jin-cheol and Mi-ro were both too much!

If one of the three of us was eliminated right at the start, what were Eun-sol and I supposed to do?

And Ga-in too. If he'd predicted it, he could have let us prepare...

A surge of complicated emotions welled up in me, and the others reacted as well.

“...”

“Elena, seeing such a horrible thing seems to have upset you. Would you like a glass of wine?”

“I'm fine.”

Thankfully, it was hard for anyone to stay calm in this situation, so no one found my reaction strange.

Calm down.

No one dies because they want to.

There must have been a terrible crisis in the first trial, and Jin-cheol must have met with an accident while doing his best.

It was already over.

Blaming him wouldn't bring a dead companion back, so I had to accept it.

...

Whatever the reason, the grotesque flesh Tomás had shown us had shocked everyone deeply.

“Duke, you understand me now, do you not?”

“...I do.”

“I would like an answer to my request.”

The inquisitor's request.

He wanted all judicial authority over Erenheim, the city ruled by Duke Gray, handed over to him.

It had sounded absurd earlier, but the atmosphere had changed.

Everyone had seen proof of an evil power with their own eyes.

“...”

In truth, it seemed to be the aftermath of something that had happened in Ancient Egypt, but that was only because I knew everything.

To people of this era, it could only look like the work of demons.

“Judge Tomás. I grant you the authority to exercise investigative and punitive power over all of Erenheim.”

“Thank you. For Your Grace's active cooperation...”

“But!”

“...”

“Can House Gray stand idle in the face of such evil?”

“...”

“Elena!”

“Yes.”

“I ask you. Work with the inquisitor, punish the corrupt witch, and restore peace to the city.”

“Gladly.”

Duke Gray's intention was simple.

He had found proof of Corruption, so he would accept the request. But the inquisitor was to act alongside his daughter, who had received the Lord's Grace.

The inquisitor nodded as well.

“It is an honor to be able to protect the city alongside Your Grace's blessed daughter.”

It was beginning.

Oh, there was one thing to do first.

“Valentina, I have a favor to ask.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“...I heard there's a foreign woman with an unusual name near the harbor.”

“Ah, you mean Lee Eun-sol?”

“Could you deliver this letter to her?”

“It won't be difficult. But how does my lady know such a strange woman...”

“Don't ask. Just deliver the letter.”

I should share what I knew with Eun-sol.

* * *

- Lee Eun-sol

The contents of the letter gave me a headache.

The rough setting was one thing.

What did it mean that Jin-cheol, who had been in the position of a Temple Knight, died as soon as the trial began?

Think calmly.

We had the hint obtained at the Dinner Party.

This stage wasn't the ordinary Spain I knew.

It was a world where Elena and Cha Jin-cheol, people blessed by God, were accepted naturally.

If divine grace truly existed, the curses of demons could exist too.

Witch hunts in reality were no more than a dark chapter in human history, a massacre of innocent people. But witch hunts in this world could be completely different.

If witches truly existed, if they were plotting some evil scheme somewhere in Erenheim...

Thinking of it this way, something became clear.

Regardless of Cha Jin-cheol's death, Inquisitor Tomás would have come anyway.

The Holy See must have found evidence of a witch through a separate route.

Then what had the death of Temple Knight Cha Jin-cheol changed?

It had made the inquisitor's attitude much more extreme.

“Mom, Mom!”

“...”

“I'm hungry...”

“Yes, Sophia. Just wait a little longer.”

“Okay!”

I stroked the head of Sophia, the girl assigned the role of my daughter, and thought.

What was my situation in the second trial?

My husband, whose setting had him die eleven years earlier and whom I had never even seen, had been a wealthy merchant in life.

I was set to be the daughter of a Ming merchant he had met while trading, which was why I was East Asian.

To put it simply, I was a wealthy widow and a foreigner.

“Ah.”

“Mom?”

I was the perfect target to be accused of witchcraft.

The conditions were so perfect that I almost laughed.

Perhaps because I felt uneasy, I slipped a hand into my clothes and touched the beautiful blue brooch.

My precious treasure, formed from no fewer than four uses of Greedy Hand. In a sense, it was a tool I trusted more than even the Inheritance, the Flute of Rest.

Butterfly Dream.

I let out a hollow laugh.

My precious tool controlled Nightmare Butterflies, intimidated people, induced hallucinations, and even granted invisibility.

Wasn't it clearly a witch's item?

And look at my eyes reflected in the mirror.

“...Even I look like a witch.”

“Mom?”

I steeled myself.

Still, who was the boss of the second trial?

* * *

In a dark private chamber, Tomás rose after praying on his knees with a devout expression.

One of his attendants, Santiago, asked cautiously.