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Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈

Episode 558: The Secret of the Esper 2 (3)

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「User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)

Date: Day 27

Current Location: Esper

Sage’s Advice: 2」

- Han Ga-in

「Advice: 3 -> 2」

「Stop what Elena is about to do.」

The moment I saw the notification that had appeared out of nowhere, I looked toward Elena.

I had no idea what Elena was about to do that warranted stopping her, but I had to stop her first!

Deep concentration.

For one fleeting instant, it was as if everything stopped.

Elena was walking casually, about to say something to the people around her.

Shout? She probably wouldn't hear me.

Run to her? Too slow.

Teleportation? Too many people were watching.

Then I had to use the Grimoire's power!

--- Flap!

A pitch-black line that only I could see shot out from the book. The instant it touched Elena's body, my consciousness was pulled away.

* * *

I woke up in Elena's body.

I was about to give the people around me instructions. No, Elena was.

The guests watched me with curious expressions.

The crew looked as though they knew it was finally about to begin.

“...”

The Grimoire quickly searched through Elena's mind.

Soon, I understood what Elena had been about to do.

A masquerade ball?

A cosplay party?

Was she planning some kind of roleplaying party where everyone wore amusing outfits?

At that moment, an indescribably chilling pressure gripped my soul.

The Grimoire was an ancient treasure fashioned by the illegitimate child of a great god. Few powers in the world could match its authority.

Yet Clear Mirror, Still Water, which was trying to drive me out now, was one of those rare powers.

--- Whoosh!

Just before Clear Mirror, Still Water forced me out, I spoke desperately, hoping Elena would hear me.

“Elena, stop what you were about to do.”

* * *

- Han Ga-in

I returned to my body.

“... Ngh!”

Because I'd possessed Elena and returned in such a rush, my body had slid across the floor.

Song-i was supporting me, her expression startled.

Elena was at a loss for words for a moment.

“Ga-in, are you okay? Why did you suddenly-”

“Elena...!”

“Ga-in?”

She understood what I said, right?

Or did I need to possess her again and stop her?

...

Thankfully, that wasn't necessary.

Elena understood the situation and froze before speaking to those around her.

“Ahem! Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you're all looking forward to tonight's exciting event. What could be happening this evening? The answer is... still a secret!”

Elena glossed over what she had been about to do, mixing in a few jokes.

The employees looked flustered, but the guests seemed to think this was part of the event and didn't pay it much attention.

* * *

Around evening, Elena sent an employee to call us over.

At last, only the three of us remained, free from prying eyes.

“Ga-in, Song-i! It's been a while.”

After a brief greeting, I explained what had happened earlier.

Just as Elena had been about to do something, my Blessing had warned me to stop her.

“Hmm... That's strange. It's not like I was about to set off a bomb.”

“Elena, what were you going to do?”

“You know, don't you? Like always, I was just preparing a simple event. I was going to explain tonight's event to the guests aboard the Esper.”

“A cosplay party, a masquerade ball. Something like that, right?”

Elena nodded lightly.

When Sage’s Advice activated without my request, it never did so for trivial reasons.

That meant the situation earlier had been a serious crisis.

Song-i and Elena understood that much too.

“Was there something strange mixed in with the masks I prepared? Most of them were bought from ordinary stores.”

“Elena, maybe we should check the items ourselves-”

“That won't work.”

“No.”

Elena and I spoke at the same time, and Song-i quickly nodded.

“Right. If we're sure they're dangerous objects, we shouldn't touch them carelessly. Back at the hotel, even knowing something was dangerous, one or two people would still go in for the sake of the next run.”

The difference between a Curse Room and reality was that reality didn't offer a second chance. There was no resurrection, either.

“...”

The room fell silent.

An unknown crisis had come, and we'd dealt with it quickly.

But we didn't know what the crisis had been.

That meant we hadn't really stopped it at all.

What should we do?

“Ah...”

“Did you remember something?”

“Ga-in. My head's been hurting for a while now.”

Her head hurt?

It was something Song-i had said before the Danger Alert appeared.

“Huh?”

Elena's voice sounded slightly surprised.

“Like someone's poking your head with needles, right?”

“Huh? Elena, you too?”

“I've had a headache for the last thirty minutes! I thought it was some kind of seasickness, but...”

The symptoms Song-i and Elena were experiencing.

Listening to their descriptions, not only were the symptoms identical, but even the time they began was the same.

Had they instinctively sensed some wicked curse or magic?

Both of them had climbed the hotel, and their Soul Ranks had risen. It wouldn't be strange if their spiritual sensitivity had developed.

But that raised another question.

“Ga-in, are you okay?”

“... I'm fine.”

Why was I fine?

I wasn't trying to brag, but my extrasensory perception was the most developed among us.

It was possible for my companions not to notice something I sensed. But it was strange for them to sense something I couldn't.

There was no need to think about it alone.

「Advice: 2 -> 1」

‘Was there a wicked curse or ritual? If so, why did only my companions sense it?’

「A phenomenon created by your wish. You are not a passenger. Consider what this means.」

“...”

A phenomenon created by my wish.

“Ga-in? You just used Sage’s Advice, didn't you?”

“... Song-i.”

“Yes.”

“When you booked the Esper, did you use my name?”

“No. You know a reservation doesn't go through properly if we use your name. I contacted Eun-sol and-”

People other than my companions couldn't recognize me properly.

Perhaps it was a small mercy, but even my fundamental identity, things like my resident registration, hadn't vanished completely. But that was the extent of it.

When making reservations and things like that, we often had to borrow someone else's identity.

Which meant...

There was no guest named Han Ga-in on the passenger list.

In other words, I officially wasn't a passenger aboard the Esper!

“I'm not on the passenger list.”

“What?”

“Something is happening to the guests aboard the Esper!”

The instant that realization struck me like lightning, I heard an urgent voice.

“S-Shipowner! A-a monster has appeared!”

I hurriedly got to my feet and thought.

An evil attack of unknown origin, targeting the passengers aboard the Esper.

Since I wasn't on the passenger list, no attack was targeting me directly.

But what did it mean that Danger Alert had activated?

The current situation was a serious threat to me too!

* * *

The first thing I found was a wolf.

Coarse fur sprouting here and there, a drooling muzzle, and bluish fangs made that clear.

“Aah! S-Seok-hyeon!”

“Dad!”

A young woman screaming nearby and a boy who seemed to be their son made the situation obvious.

A passenger had turned into a monster!

“Grrrr...!”

It wasn't just that the passenger's head had turned into a wolf's. They seemed to have lost their human intelligence entirely.

Just as I was about to subdue them, Elena shouted in shock.

“A wolf mask!”

“... A mask?”

“W-What is this? The masks were being kept in storage-!”

Was this one of the masks Elena had bought for the planned masquerade ball?

What, had the evil spirit inside a cursed mask twisted whoever wore it?

Then how had the masks in storage suddenly ended up in the passengers' hands?

Had someone among the Esper's crew betrayed us?

Countless thoughts flashed through my mind.

But this wasn't a situation where I could think at leisure.

“Aah!”

The passenger had completely lost their intelligence and was trying to bite the wife and son.

Without hesitation, I used the Grimoire's power.

“Hyah!”

I tried to slam them to the floor in one blow-

“...”

The resistance was strong.

An ordinary person shouldn't have been able to resist the Grimoire's power at all, but this werewolf was already half a Chaos Entity.

Even so, they weren't difficult to subdue.

--- Crash!

After throwing the werewolf to the ground, I walked over and grabbed their face.

“Ga-in! I-I think it's coming off!”

“... That's a relief.”

In the worst case, I'd been prepared to kill the victim, but it didn't look like I had to.

“Gasp! Heek! Cough!”

Once I removed the mask, the man foamed at the mouth and convulsed.

The aftereffects looked serious, but surely they weren't enough to kill him.

I hoped not.

More importantly-

“Aah!”

“M-Monster!”

“Argh!”

Screams and the howls of supernatural entities echoed from every direction.

With my hair standing on end, I asked Elena.

“How many are there? The masks, I mean.”

“... More than a hundred.”

All three of us went pale at once.

If the werewolf we'd just subdued was average, then each one was nothing much by our standards.

But if there were over a hundred of them, that was a huge problem!

Soon, the three of us hardened our expressions and ran off in different directions.

No matter what, we had to stop Elena's amusement park from filling with corpses!

...

The Sacred Sun still had a little power left.

If I used it, I was confident I could bring the Esper's chaos under control in an instant.

“...”

It was a difficult choice.

Unless I planned to start a religious organization in reality, recharging the Sacred Sun wouldn't be easy at all.

I couldn't recklessly expend the Sacred Sun on such a small event.

* * *

We scattered in all directions and began subduing the rampaging passengers one by one.

Unfortunately, the unharmed crew and passengers were too busy crying and screaming in terror to be any help.

“Yohoho~! Set sail! For the glory of the Esper-”

I smashed the skeletal sailor's head into a table.

“...”

Damn it! The skull shattered. How was I supposed to take off the mask now?

Did that just kill them?

Who knew!

The next one was-

“Everyone! The End Times have finally arrived!”

What was that bastard supposed to be?

“Our Father in Heaven has said that this era is an age of chaos unlike any in human history.”

What kind of mask made someone spout nonsense like a cult leader?

I headed toward the voice, too dumbfounded to speak, and saw an utterly ridiculous sight.

More than fifty people had gathered in a place that resembled a small theater.

At the center stood a man who seemed deeply immersed in his role as a cult leader. He wore a Crown of Thorns on his forehead.

No, even if this was a cosplay event, were they allowed to bring something like that?

“Everyone! Can you hear it? Can you hear the lofty voice rising beyond the waves? The angel whispering beyond the sky-”

It was a completely absurd apocalypse sermon.

I knew this line of work well enough to say that, far from speaking to the believers' pain, the sermon was nothing but vague nonsense.

And yet, not only people, but even the passengers who had turned into monsters were listening to that bullshit politely!

“...”

Was that the power he had gained from wearing the Crown of Thorns?

If so...!

I hurried up to the stage.

“Father!”

“Hm? Haha! Student, I'm not a priest, I'm...”

“I pray to the Father in Heaven in Buddha's name! Allahu Akbar! Inshallah! At least one of those should work, right?”

Get the idea already!

“I am the Messi of this corrupt world-”

“Messi! I thought you looked like you'd be good at soccer!”

“No, not Messi, Messiah-”

“Savior! This isn't the time to stand around in this tiny theater spouting meaningless sermons!”

“M-Meaningless? What do you mean-”

“Go around the whole ship and gather your believers right now!”

You bastard, this will only end if you use your power to gather the crazy passengers in one place!

“B-But the Lord has not yet given me a Revelation!”

“Bastard! What do you need to receive a Revelation?”

“The Father's words-”

Let's use just a little of the sun's power.

Really, just a little!

--- Fwoosh!

The moment flames flared up, every passenger in the theater went blank.

The one wearing the Crown of Thorns was no exception.

“Ahem, you-”

What was this bastard's name again?

“... My faithful servant, Messi. I give you a single commandment. Calm the suffering that fills the Esper. Roam the ship and gather the faithful sheep.”

At that, the man absorbed in playing Jesus fell to his knees.

“Ah...! Father, can one as inadequate as me bear such a heavy calling? If there is someone more worthy than I- Urk!”

I smacked him on the head.

“Go right now, you idi... Messi. Do I need to split each of your limbs in half and double their number before you'll move?”

Footnotes:

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