WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 551: School Alone (1)

──────

- Park Seung-yeop

There were countless reasons why I hated school.

I hated having to spend time in the same classroom as kids I wasn't even close to, and I hated being forced to study things that made my head hurt.

--- Bzzzt!

‘Without school, you'd be closer to an Australopithecus than a person, wouldn't you, sir?’

Was that supposed to be rude or polite?

I also hated Sophia, who threw insults at me whenever she got the chance.

‘I hate you too.’

--- Bzzzt!

She was even childish.

Yumi wasn't like this at all!

She said she was Yumi's disciple, so what had she even learned?

‘About as much as you learned from Yi Ja-seong.’

“Cough!”

For a moment, I was speechless.

She'd never even met my master. What did she know?

--- Bzzzt!

‘Didn't you just mark that one wrong?’

“I don't make mistakes.”

Anything that looked like a mistake was simply Luck's guidance...

“Be quiet during the test!”

There was a huge difference between Yumi's magical abilities and Sophia's.

Sophia didn't have powers related to manipulating the body like Yumi did. On the other hand, she could do something Yumi couldn't, like converse in my mind. That made things convenient.

The only problem was that, because I wasn't used to it, I sometimes made mistakes like now.

‘No matter how I look at it, number 17 seems like answer three.’

It's four.

‘You're just guessing. Why are you so confident?’

I believe in myself.

‘No, you're just guessing!’

I'm Lucky Boy.

--- Ding-dong!

“Hand in your test papers!”

The Korean history pop quiz ended.

* * *

I got seventy points.

My assessment was...

‘It was that easy, and you got seventy? The questions practically came straight from the textbook.’

It was the highest score I'd ever received on a Korean history test.

‘Are you Chinese or something?’

“Hey!”

When I couldn't hold it in and shouted, the students around me looked over in surprise.

That left me awkwardly smiling as I left the classroom.

I was still more used to speaking out loud.

“That's too harsh! I even scored above the class average.”

‘Come to think of it, you did well. The other kids solved the questions, but you guessed. You got seventy on a five-choice test just by guessing? That is impressive!’

“So...”

‘And you're proud that you guessed your way to seventy.’

“Of course. My Blessing is one of my abilities too.”

I had no doubts about that.

The Greatest Martial Artist Under Heaven didn't care about the jealousy of ordinary mortals.

‘Was your wish really to become good at guessing test answers?’

That caught me slightly off guard.

My ability to guess answers had nothing to do with Dream. It came from my Blessing of Luck.

My companions wouldn't mix the two up, right?

It had been about ten days since Sophia and I returned to reality, and Sophia still didn't know much about my powers.

“No, this is my Blessing. My wish was something else.”

‘D-don't tell me! Bangbae Middle School's number one...’

“Th-that really isn't it!”

Sophia sometimes acted like I was an idiot!

Was she crazy?

Why would I wish to become number one at Bangbae Middle School?

I had made two big wishes.

First, to bring my parents back to life.

That wish had been perfectly fulfilled.

Second!

“Hehe...!”

Just thinking about the new ability I'd gained made me proud already.

Then a tiny voice tickled my ear.

‘Why didn't you revive your master? She was my master, but she must have been your beloved.’

“...”

* * *

Around lunchtime, I headed to Class 5, Grade 3.

Quite a few boys besides me were already standing on tiptoe and peeking into the classroom. I could guess why.

There was a rather famous person in Class 5, Grade 3.

“Hey, did you hear?”

“She's going to become an idol trainee soon!”

“Huh? I heard she was going to be an actress?”

I couldn't help but laugh at the rumors about her becoming an actress or idol trainee already.

As far as I knew, she wasn't the type to go somewhere and diligently practice dancing.

Then something strange happened.

The students' gazes suddenly lost focus.

As though waking from a dream, they lightly shook their heads before scattering in different directions.

It was the power of the Recognition-Inhibiting Barrier, a strange function on the Management Bureau smartphone.

As if she'd been waiting, a girl stepped out of the classroom.

“Yaaawn!”

“...”

“Idiot! Why are you standing here? Let's go to the cafeteria.”

Bangbae Middle School's number two, Mi-ro.

‘Did you get her consent before ranking her?’

“Ahem. Let's go.”

As we headed to the school cafeteria, the students began murmuring again.

Mi-ro was simply too striking to live without drawing attention.

“Ugh, what a pain. Watch carefully. This is why special people like me have it so hard.”

What was with that random princess act?

I wanted to tell Ga-in about this later.

“I need to make them leave again...”

--- Snatch!

The moment Mi-ro took out the Management Bureau smartphone she'd received from A-ri, I quickly snatched it away.

“Eek! Wh-what's wrong with you?”

“Idiot. Didn't A-ri tell you not to use it too often?”

“...”

“You just used it, and you're going to use it again?”

She really did whatever she wanted.

Was she stupid?

It wasn't quite that.

She knew that using the Recognition-Inhibiting Barrier too often negatively affected ordinary people, but even knowing that, she simply didn't care.

In other words...

‘So she's not stupid, she just has a bad personality.’

Sophia's cutting remarks often contained sad truths.

* * *

--- Click!

“Done. No one will be able to come in now.”

I didn't ask how she'd done it.

It was probably one of Sophia's spells, and I wouldn't understand even if she explained it.

Either way, the three of us could relax in the empty classroom now.

“Ahh! I really hate school!”

“Me too...”

Mi-ro and I shared that honest feeling.

Then the pale-blond young lady sighed.

“Sorry, but you two need to spend another ten years in school before you become proper people.”

“Seung-yeop, why does she always say things that make me feel bad?”

“You know that saying, tadpoles don't remember when they were frogs?”

“What do tadpoles and frogs have to do with this?”

“Tadpoles grow into frogs.”

“No, they don't.”

“Yes, they do.”

“Seung-yeop, you've never raised tadpoles before, have you?”

“Uh...”

“Idiot. I have. Tadpoles just wriggle around in water for about a month, then they all die.”

“D-didn't they all die because you raised them badly, Mi-ro?”

“Ha! You've never even raised tadpoles, and...”

--- Clap!

Sophia clapped her hands, cutting off the conversation.

“Please! Both of you, be quiet.”

Sophia looked like she was about to cry.

“Seung-yeop is right that tadpoles grow into frogs. What he meant was that frogs don't remember being tadpoles. He was probably saying that I've been in school for so long that I don't remember what it was like when I was young.”

“Haha! That's it! Did you hear that, Mi-ro, you idiot...”

“Please. Shut up.”

“...”

The classroom fell quiet.

As Sophia wore a tired expression, Mi-ro grumbled.

“Her personality is so weird. Even the way she talks keeps changing!”

“I always try to speak politely to you all. The problem is that sometimes you break my spirit.”

“I miss Ga-in.”

Whenever Mi-ro said she missed Ga-in, I found it a little strange.

Quite a few people liked him, but few said it as openly as Mi-ro did.

What did Sophia think of Ga-in as she frowned slightly?

Was he still an object of worship?

Or...

There was no way to know.

More importantly, there was another reason we had met today.

“I have a message from A-ri!”

Sophia and I both focused on Mi-ro.

“First, the answer to Sophia's request.”

Sophia's request.

After arriving in reality with me, Sophia had realized her situation inside the Soul Box and made a request.

‘Can you take me out of the Soul Box?’

To an NPC, the Soul Box was like a boat that crossed dimensions.

It was a tool that allowed someone who wasn't a participant to enter Curse Rooms or leave them for reality.

There was no reason to remain on a boat after already reaching reality.

Honestly, it was a welcome request for me too.

Keeping Sophia inside the Soul Box was extremely inconvenient for me as well.

More than anything, this wasn't Sophia's place.

“They think it should be possible. Since the soul inside the Soul Box can be swapped out, they can take your soul out. They said they could seal Sophia's soul in a ‘special tool’ after removing it, then transplant it into a body prepared by the Management Bureau.”

Just hearing about it made it sound incredible.

Honestly, it was a little creepy.

“But they asked if you're prepared to ‘serve’ the Management Bureau.”

“... I'll think about it some more.”

“Next! This one's for you, Seung-yeop.”

“Huh?”

“They said to be careful. A-ri and I were ‘recovered’ by the Management Bureau as soon as we started, and you started at the same school as me.”

“That's true.”

“They said all of us are under the Management Bureau's watch.”

“...”

“So they said not to rashly approach our other companions who haven't been exposed yet.”

“I'll remember that.”

Mi-ro and A-ri had fallen under the Management Bureau's watch as soon as they started.

Since I attended the same school as Mi-ro, I was probably already being watched too.

There was a high chance they'd discovered Sophia's existence as well.

Of course, Sophia wanted the Management Bureau's help to leave the Soul Box, so maybe she didn't mind.

In other words, we were already compromised.

That was why we had to refrain from rashly meeting companions who hadn't yet been exposed to the Management Bureau.

Sophia replied calmly.

“It's strange.”

“Hm?”

“A-ri, I mean. Seeing how she joined the Management Bureau as soon as she started, she seems extremely loyal to the organization, but...”

“...”

“Listening to this conversation, it also seems like she puts all of you before the Management Bureau.”

“Um, and this is Grandpa's question.”

Grandpa's question?

“Ahem!”

Soon, Mi-ro playfully imitated Grandpa's voice.

“Seung-yeop, why didn't you revive Yumi? I thought you would bring her back with Dream.”

“...”

It was the second time I'd gotten that question today.

The other companions would probably wonder about it too when they met me.

Why I hadn't summoned Yumi with Dream.

“... Because it only works once.”

“What?”

“The Merchant said that overwriting reality with Dream is only possible for a single Loop.”

“...”

“I don't want that kind of revival. If I ever wake Yumi, I want it to be an eternal reunion where we never have to part again.”

My face turned red without me realizing it.

Aaargh!

T-those words came out of my mouth?

Unlike Mi-ro, whose face had turned red as well, Sophia asked sharply.

“Then why did you bring your parents back? Is your master, your lover, more precious to you than your parents?”

“...”

“That could be it. They say once children grow up, they forget their parents.”

Another cutting remark at a time like this!

“More importantly, you're considering the possibility of moving on to the next Loop?”

“Huh?”

What was she talking about?

“Rather than considering it, is it just a feeling? If so, it's a very ominous intuition.”

That was the end of the three of us' brief meeting.

* * *

Math class again, seventh period.

As always, I fell into a deep sleep.

...

I woke up feeling refreshed.

Something was wrong from that moment onward.

A nap during class was supposed to be sweet, but waking up refreshed wasn't normal.

Usually, the teacher or the student next to me woke me before I'd slept enough.

I felt refreshed.

Because no one had woken me.

Because there was no one who could wake me.

In other words...

“W-what is this?!”

Every human being except Park Seung-yeop had vanished from Bangbae Middle School!

Footnotes:

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