WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 531: Room 207, Gate Room - Fourth Trial ‘The Fallen King’ (17)
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- Han Ga-in
If there was one thing I'd learned from the bizarre trials of the Hotel, it was that plans existed to fall apart.
For example, after recovering the Hourglass, the companions who had joined us through the Kingdom of Dreams were now on a plane with me.
The plan had been for only Sophia and me to fly to Spain, like when we went to Texas, while everyone else joined us through the Kingdom of Dreams.
It fell through because frail Sophia would have struggled to endure it.
Still, Sophia was too valuable to give up on, an Archmage who had borrowed the Mirror Shard's power to somehow defeat even Fortuna.
It wasn't a major loss of time.
Even if I flew while carrying Sophia, I'd have to limit my speed anyway, so it wasn't much different from taking a plane.
* * *
A brief meeting was held on the plane to Spain.
Since Sophia was half-unconscious, the conversation naturally turned to her.
“The Pontiff. Can the Pontiff really fight properly in that condition?”
“Her body is the problem, but I hear she has enough mana. If she burns through the rest of her life without holding back, she can fight.”
“... Burn through her life?”
Grandpa flinched, and A-ri calmly replied.
“Room 207 is already in its final stages. Once it ends, what meaning will Sophia's remaining lifespan have?”
It was cold, but not wrong.
I naturally brought up the conversation Sophia and I had shared a few hours ago.
“Earlier, Sophia asked me for something.”
“What did she say?”
“... She asked me to send her to Heaven.”
A-ri, Grandpa, and even Mi-ro looked at me with slightly baffled expressions.
After a moment, Grandpa regained his composure and asked,
“D-did she ask to become our companion?”
“Something like that.”
“But Ga-in, we don't have the Soul Box.”
“Exactly.”
“Even if Seung-yeop is alive somewhere, Yumi is in the Soul Box... Ah, not anymore.”
The topic had already been gloomy, but hearing Yumi mentioned made the atmosphere grow even more somber.
Maybe that was why.
Mi-ro teared up as she stroked Sophia, who was sleeping so deeply she wouldn't have noticed if someone carried her away.
“Sophia... A-ri! Is there, um, some way we can save Sophia?”
Caught off guard, A-ri hesitated before bringing up something I hadn't heard in a long time.
“Hmm, there are two ways to save an NPC. Use a Resurrection Ticket, or...”
“Can that be used on NPCs too, not just failed participants?”
“I don't know. The second way is to pray to Buddha.”
Pray to Buddha.
It had been so long ago that my memory was hazy, but Sang-hyeon had told us about it back when he was an NPC.
Surprisingly, we still didn't know what those words meant.
We had never even properly met a being called Buddha.
“Is Buddha on the third floor?”
Buddha had not appeared even as the second floor was nearing its end, so the only remaining place was the third floor.
A-ri nodded.
“Probably.”
“Don't you know? I thought a few of the people who escaped the Hotel joined the Management Bureau.”
“...”
Let's consider our current abilities.
Most Hotel participants would die near the entrance to the first floor, but those who endured the trials attained stature high enough to be called demigods.
People like that probably weren't working as low-level employees in the Management Bureau.
They had to hold high-ranking positions, right?
Could one of the Hotel escapees be among The Silent A-ri had mentioned before?
Maybe talk of the Management Bureau made her uncomfortable, because A-ri cleared her throat.
“Ahem! I think we've strayed from the subject. Have you all thought about Aedia's goal?”
Grandpa answered immediately.
“Saving the world, isn't it?”
That was right, but it probably wasn't the answer A-ri wanted.
“That's too broad a goal. Let me change the question. What's Aedia's plan for saving the world?”
As silence settled over us, A-ri continued.
“To answer that, we need to understand what problem has arisen in the world and what dilemma Aedia has been facing.”
Seeing Grandpa's bitter smile, it seemed the Management Bureau already knew.
I'd begun to vaguely realize it myself at some point.
“You understand it by now, but the beings called Chaos Entities are actually vastly different from one another. Think about what connection an alien from beyond the solar system could have with a ghost born on Earth.”
Chaos Entity wasn't a term for a particular group. It was a broad concept encompassing anything nonhuman that wielded supernatural power.
To humans, they were all monsters, but to a yeti, humans might feel more familiar than aliens did.
“But there is one trait that at least ninety percent of Chaos Entities share. They're generally harmful to humans, and they're very interested in humanity.”
There was no need to misinterpret A-ri's words as meaning every Chaos Entity in the universe was interested in humans.
Naturally, there were probably aliens and gods who didn't even know the solar system existed and lived well on their own.
Those Chaos Entities had no reason to come to Earth.
Therefore, the Chaos Entities that appeared on Earth were extremely interested in humans.
“Imagine the universe as a petri dish full of bacteria. Humans are sugar. Our bodies, souls, and advanced civilization tempt Chaos Entities, and sometimes even create monsters.”
That was the root of every problem.
It was why the Holy See and the Management Bureau could kill demons and monsters every day without ever reaching an end.
More than eight billion lumps of sugar were gathered in a petri dish crawling with bacteria.
Even if civilization developed to an extreme degree, it couldn't easily solve the problem.
Technological advancement inevitably increased the population, which meant more invaders coming after even more sugar.
Having understood that structure, Aedia had no choice but to lament endlessly.
Mi-ro, who had been listening, sighed.
“So humans themselves are the cause of the disaster?”
“Something like that. It's why our fight never ends.”
“That sounds so cliché. People are the probleeem!”
“Problems in the world are usually cliché.”
“So what is Aedia going to do about it?”
“...”
Mi-ro still referred to Aedia, the Reptilian princess, as though they were friends.
For Aedia, those events had happened thousands of years ago. For Mi-ro, they had only happened recently.
“People are the problem. I hate sayings like that. It sounds like we're supposed to give up because there's no answer.”
“... No.”
“Hm?”
“Aedia didn't give up.”
“Right, I guess not. But according to what you said, isn't humanity itself why monsters keep appearing endlessly?”
“That's right.”
“How can she do anything about that? There are, um, eight billion people in the world, right? It's not like she can do something to every single one.”
A heavy silence fell.
Grandpa, A-ri, and I all fell silent at once, making Mi-ro flustered.
“Huh? What? Why?”
“... Mi-ro.”
“Yeah?”
“I think this sometimes, but you...”
“Me?”
“You're stupid and smart.”
“Eek?”
Just as we were approaching the heart of Aedia's plan.
“U-uaaaagh!”
A scream came from the cockpit.
“What was that?”
I hurried toward it. A pilot who was supposedly one of Sophia's retainers pointed outside with a terrified expression.
“L-Lord Horus! Look at that!”
Light.
Light That Calls the End!
For a moment, I wondered if I was mistaken. Then I saw A-ri and Grandpa's expressions.
Even two agents who had endured every kind of hardship in the Management Bureau were overwhelmed by fear.
This was the ultimate trial that would conclude Room 207.
It was also a practice test for averting the destruction we would face in reality.
“Ga-in! T-the Hourglass!”
The Hourglass and Room 206's Inheritance, One More Chance.
The tools the Hotel had promised would stop the ‘End Times.’
Of the two, the Hourglass's purpose was to endure one turn when Light That Calls the End descended, then see what came next.
“I'll turn it over.”
Sophia wouldn't be protected by the Hourglass, but there was no other way.
With a faint sense of regret, I gripped the Hourglass.
Then the light descending from the sky suddenly stopped.
“Is that some kind of ultimate move of Lord Horus?”
At the same time, I heard a familiar voice.
A voice recognized by A-ri, Mi-ro, and me.
It was a vision of Holy Mother Aedia.
“A plane? Don't tell me you're on your way to Spain?”
“... Yes.”
“Ahaha! You thought I was in Spain. It's pointless. Neither my true body nor the Mirror is in Spain anymore.”
“...”
It was possible that Aedia and the Mirror had been moved over the passage of time.
That was the problem A-ri had pointed out yesterday.
“Don't worry. I came to tell you where I am too.”
“What does that mean?”
Judging by Aedia's attitude, it seemed we had a little time.
Even so, I couldn't understand why she had appeared.
“Ah... So this moment has finally come. I've waited so very long.”
My companions remained silent in the strange atmosphere.
Aedia was clearly our enemy, yet no one here showed any hostility.
Instead, Holy Mother spoke with an expression full of emotion.
“Everyone, if I succeed, humanity will find a peace it has never known in all of its history. When that happens, please become good citizens.”
A-ri couldn't hold back any longer.
“What did you come here to say? A declaration of victory?”
“If I succeed, it will not be my victory alone. It will be everyone's victory.”
She kept adding the same condition: if I succeed.
Paradoxically, that meant Aedia herself wasn't certain.
That was why I asked.
“What if you fail?”
“Failure... Come to think of it, you said you saw destruction in my plan.”
“...”
“I considered it, but I didn't feel the need to change my plan. Still.”
“Still?”
“I think I need an insurance policy in case I fail.”
“Insurance?”
“You are my insurance. I've made accommodations for you as well.”
We were her insurance in case of failure?
And she'd made accommodations for us too?
--- Clap!
With the sound of clapping, the light descended again.
As I gritted my teeth and was about to turn over the Hourglass, A-ri urgently asked,
“Holy Mother! According to you, we'll still be alive after the light comes down?”
“Of course.”
“You! Where are you?”
“My location is...!”
Seeing Aedia acting like a child even now made me laugh in disbelief.
Had she always been like this?
“I'm on the Moon.”
“What? The Moon?”
The incomprehensible beam began to penetrate even the inside of the plane, leaving me no choice but to turn the Hourglass.
--- Flash!
As my consciousness faded, I had one final thought.
Mi-ro, the stupid yet smart girl, had found the answer herself at the end.
If all of humanity was the cause of every problem, then perhaps all of humanity was the answer as well.
When I looked into the sky outside the plane, I saw a gigantic hand.
The moment I saw it, I understood that it existed in a realm humanity could never reach, even after ten million more years of history.
But...
It was not the ultimate being either.
--- Rumble!
Then began seven days of rest that no force in the universe could intrude upon.
* * *
- ???
“...”
--- Squirm!
Consciousness returned from within the abyss.
For long years, my soul and body had been completely warped by the Witch. I had thought this would be the end forever.
Yet another opportunity had returned to me.
Because the Great One's touch had reached me.
Because the false Creator had given another chance to its pitiful creation.
“...”
In my hazy consciousness, I thought.
If I were given one more chance...
There was something I absolutely had to do.
“Yumi...”
I am Fortuna.
No.
I am Park Seung-yeop.
Footnotes:
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