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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 557: The Secret of the Esper 2 (2)

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「User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 27

Current Location: Esper, Second-Floor Cabin.

Sage’s Advice: 3」

- Han Ga-in

The first thing I thought of when I saw Elena’s Dream, the Esper, was that it resembled a gigantic castle on the sea.

Its white and gold exterior reflected against the blue sky and water, making it truly magnificent.

And the way it elegantly cut through the gentle waves!

As expected of a world-famous luxury cruise ship, every passenger around us looked wealthy and relaxed. Considering the ticket prices, that was only natural.

Maybe I was the poorest person aboard.

“Ga-in, isn’t it amazing?”

“Because the ship’s pretty? It is impressive.”

“That too, but... this ship is world-famous. Like the Titanic?”

“Is it?”

“There were tons of articles saying some famous magazine gave it five stars for five years straight, or that some famous entrepreneur praised it.”

“That’s funny.”

“Isn’t it? Because we know when this ship actually came into existence.”

The Esper had been created by Elena’s wish.

In other words, the Esper had suddenly appeared on Earth just twenty-seven days ago.

“It was really created twenty-seven days ago, but people see it as a luxury passenger ship that’s been famous for five years. What does that make you think?”

“That the power of a Dream is stronger than I imagined.”

“Is that all?”

“I’m also a little suspicious about whether the Management Bureau really knows nothing about all these changes.”

“Not that.”

What was Song-i trying to say?

“What did it make you think of?”

“It feels kind of...”

“Kind of?”

“Like a dream.”

“It is a Dream.”

“No, I don’t mean the Hotel reward. I mean reality itself. It makes me wonder if even the ‘memories from before we entered the Hotel’ in our heads might have been altered by someone.”

“...”

“There were Hotel participants before us, right? They must have made wishes that warped reality plenty of times too.”

Was a family created through a wish a real family?

Jin-cheol hadn’t used his wish because he believed it wasn’t.

On the other hand, there were people like Song-i, who had created a family with a Dream.

I had wondered what went through the minds of people like that, but I vaguely understood now.

In Song-i’s view, there might never have been such a thing as a “real family” to begin with.

That meant there was no reason a family made through a wish had to be fake.

Eun-sol still hadn’t appeared by the time we boarded.

She seemed busier than I’d expected.

* * *

As soon as we boarded the Esper, I called over a crew member and asked where Elena was.

“Elena? Ah, do you mean the owner of the ship?”

I’d been ready to show the invitation in case they found it strange that an ordinary guest suddenly wanted to meet the ship’s owner, but there was no need.

“Haha! The owner is very busy at this hour. You know how it is.”

What was I supposed to know?

Just as I was about to get flustered, Song-i grabbed me with a grin.

“Ga-in, I don’t think you looked into the Esper very much.”

“Um...”

Trying to book anything online under my own name only caused strange problems, so I’d left it to Song-i.

Besides, I’d been busy with my so-called exorcist work too.

“This cruise ship is famous for its unusual events.”

“Events?”

“A skeleton captain suddenly appearing, or a treasure hunt beginning out of nowhere!”

“... What is that?”

“Like amusement park events. I heard Elena runs them herself. It’s one of the reasons the Esper is so popular.”

She really was enjoying life to the fullest.

I was jealous.

Maybe I should’ve lived as a mysterious heir to five hundred billion won, surrounded by fifty servants in an enormous mansion.

As I looked around the luxury cruise ship, it truly had everything.

There was a swimming pool and spa, of course, along with incredible restaurants, bars, a gym, a casino, and even a movie theater!

Curious, I went to a bar and ordered wine, just like Eun-sol often did at the Hotel.

“Want some?”

“Ga-in, I’m underage.”

“...”

Why did Song-i insist on keeping a setting like that?

Even counting only the time she’d spent in the Hotel, there was no way she could still be underage!

“Come to think of it, that’s strange. You’re underage, and it isn’t even school break.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“... But can you come somewhere like this alone without your parents?”

A high school girl was taking a cruise alone during the school term.

Which iteration of Earth considered this normal?

My dear Hotel companion answered simply.

“I’ve never worried about such trivial issues.”

“... Right.”

She’d handle it.

From what I’d heard, the circumstances around Song-i were just as bizarre as Elena’s, so maybe it didn’t matter.

Apparently, she lived like a manga protagonist.

More importantly, I tried something Eun-sol often did at the Hotel.

--- Ting!

“You have to flick the wineglass like this once.”

“...”

I held the round wineglass in one hand and savored its fragrant grape scent.

“Haa...!”

“...”

“This is the flavor of twenty-seven-year-old Borgundy wine-”

“Don’t you mean Burgundy?”

“... This is the flavor of twenty-seven-year-old Burgundy wine-”

“Could you tell the difference if it were changed to three-year-old wine?”

“...”

I was trying to set the mood. Why was she interfering so much?

--- Slurp!

“Mmm.”

“How is it?”

“...”

“Be honest.”

Fine. I’d be honest.

“I don’t understand what alcohol is supposed to taste like. Cola tastes much better.”

The bartender, who seemed to have found it difficult to stay quiet any longer, spoke up.

“Haha, handsome guest! There is a proverb in France. Just as wine needs time to mature, a person needs life experience to understand its flavor.”

Was that really a saying?

The compliment about being handsome was probably empty flattery, but it still felt nice.

“You are young and handsome, sir, so it is not yet time for you to understand alcohol. Haah... Once you have weathered the storms of life-”

“...”

I didn’t think anyone on this ship was older than me or had suffered more than I had.

* * *

We moved somewhere no one could overhear us.

Though it was quiet, soft classical music tickled my ears. The longer I listened, the more it felt like even my heart was growing richer.

“This is nice.”

“It is. It feels like a very long Party Time.”

“Yeah. By the Hotel’s standards, it’s an incredibly long Party Time. Elena seems to be having so much fun with her life. I’m jealous... Why am I doing something like exorcist work?”

“Why are you really putting yourself through all this trouble, Ga-in?”

“I somehow ended up doing it.”

Maybe because we were alone, the conversation naturally turned to what I’d been doing lately.

“It wasn’t like I decided from the start that I would become an exorcist. After I happened to resolve the problem at Eun-sol’s hotel, I just naturally began noticing the ‘distortions’ scattered throughout the world.”

“Is that so?”

“I’ve never even been paid for it.”

Not that I particularly needed money.

I wasn’t living as extravagantly as Elena, but the Hotel had already provided plenty of money in my bank account.

“Everyone is enjoying their rest now, but in six months, we’ll need to start getting ready.”

“... Right.”

“And in one year, something will begin.”

“Ga-in, you sounded like some prophet of doom just now.”

“...”

“I’m joking.”

“I found out something strange recently.”

“Something strange?”

“Maybe... even the Management Bureau hasn’t noticed. I’ll have to ask A-ri to be sure.”

It was a bizarre fact I’d discovered at some point.

There was a high chance the Management Bureau didn’t know.

They didn’t have a Status Window like I did.

“Now I’m interested. What did you find out?”

“You know how the Status Window shows your current location?”

“Yes.”

“... Sometimes, that location suddenly changes.”

“What?”

Song-i’s eyes widened as if asking what I meant.

“For example, I had a reason to go near Hwigyeong-dong three days ago. The address would show something like Hwigyeong-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul.”

“That makes sense.”

“But inside a particular building, the location suddenly changed to ‘Searching.’”

“...”

“If I waited in that state long enough, a really strange address appeared. The address I saw at Eun-sol’s hotel was ‘Atlantis.’”

“A-Atlantis?”

The word was so unexpected that Song-i looked thoroughly startled.

“The name that appeared three days ago was ‘Artio City.’”

“Where is that?”

“I don’t know either.”

After a brief silence, I shared my own hypothesis.

“It feels like unknown places, unknown spaces, are invading parts of the world.”

“That’s strange. Hmm, could it be related to the End Times that will begin in a year?”

“I don’t know.”

I couldn’t be sure about that.

After thinking for a moment, Song-i brought up Room 207.

“Didn’t we analyze Room 207 as a mock exam for reality?”

“We did.”

“Right now, we’re taking the College Scholastic Ability Test.”

“Something like that.”

“At the heart of Room 207’s problems, there was always a Mirror. There must be a Mirror in reality too, right?”

“Probably...”

Could the phenomenon of distorted place names be related to the Mirror?

It was still too early to say.

* * *

At around five in the afternoon, an announcement told us to come to the top deck.

After changing into the nice clothes I’d prepared beforehand, I found Song-i dressed in a neat beige dress.

“Wow! You look really pretty like this!”

“I look pretty like this? Did I look bad otherwise?”

Just as I panicked, Song-i giggled to show that she was joking.

When we reached the top deck, a cool breeze swept past us, carrying the faint salty scent of the sea.

Many of the guests were families, so there were plenty of chattering children.

People smiled beneath the warm sunlight pouring down from the sky, surrounded by a happy atmosphere.

There was classical music tickling our ears and trees that looked like they belonged only in tropical regions rising here and there!

There could be no better image of heaven.

Soon, a distinguished figure appeared, someone who would make the atmosphere on this heavenly ship even more exciting.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the owner of the Esper has arrived! Please welcome her with applause!”

People laughed happily and clapped.

Normally, a cruise ship owner probably wouldn’t command such attention, but Elena’s arrival signaled the beginning of an interesting evening event.

The children who had come looking forward to it, along with their parents, began smiling brightly.

It truly felt like an amusement park.

“What do you think Elena prepared this time? A treasure hunt? I heard there was an event called Find Elena before.”

“Find Elena? She really has been living a fun life!”

The moment Elena appeared, the ship’s lights subtly changed with a flash.

It felt as though everyone’s eyes, even the lighting itself, had naturally turned toward Elena.

Under ordinary circumstances, I might have wondered why a ship owner was acting like a celebrity. Yet when someone with such extraordinary beauty did something like this, I couldn’t help admiring her.

“Wow...”

There was no need for a long explanation.

She was simply beautiful.

Standing with the sunlight behind her, Elena looked as if she had descended from the sky.

She didn’t seem human, but like living light.

Perhaps Song-i found my admiration amusing, because she nudged me.

“Close your mouth. I can’t believe she likes this kind of thing!”

“Wasn’t she an aspiring actress?”

“That does mean she enjoys other people’s attention.”

For a moment, Elena’s eyes met ours.

The way she smiled slightly, as if happy to see us, was beautiful too.

“Oh my, Elena! She isn’t going to come straight to us, is she?”

That would attract too much attention.

People would forget me after half a day because of my unusual power, but Song-i would draw attention from people wondering why she was so close to the ship’s owner.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Elena had enough tact to make small talk with the people around her and slowly approach us without anyone noticing.

“...”

I was relieved that there would be no trouble, but a little disappointed too.

Had I wanted Elena to ignore everyone else and come straight to us?

“Ga-in.”

“Hm?”

“You prepared the gift, right?”

“I’m holding it right here.”

“Give it to Elena as soon as she arrives.”

“...”

Song-i had a mischievous expression.

I smiled too.

“Pfft! Fine. I’ll give it to her right away!”

This was a happy moment.

I wished it could last forever.

“... But, Ga-in.”

“Hm?”

“Haven’t you felt a little... strange for a while now?”

“What?”

“It feels like something’s been pricking at my head.”

Pricking at her head?

「Advice: 3 -> 2」

Footnotes:

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