WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 82: Party Time (4) - Souvenir Shop
──────
[User: Han Ga-in (Wisdom)
Date: Day 25
Current Location: Level Basement, Hiking
Sage’s Advice: 3]
- Han Ga-in
“Catch her! Catch her!”
Frantic shouts rang out.
“Eeeeeek!”
A scream echoed across the entire mountain.
...
What the hell was going on all of a sudden?
The girl who had appeared out of nowhere on the mountain suddenly started running, and we chased after her in a panic.
Even as we chased her, I had questions. Why was she running away after seeing us? Why were we chasing her so desperately? I had no idea what was going on, but we had to chase her first!
The mountain terrain was rough enough already. As we ran off the trail through uneven ground and between trees, our clothes were quickly covered in dirt. If we'd been wearing regular clothes, they probably would have torn already.
“What? What is this?”
Eun-sol's voice came from somewhere. It seemed she'd seen our chase and joined us late.
“Eeeeeek!”
No, stop screaming! What was wrong with her? You’re making us look like bad people!
Thankfully, the fleeing girl's physical abilities weren't on the level of A-ri's, someone half beyond human. Grandfather, on the other hand, moved like some legendary martial arts master. It took him less than ten minutes to catch up.
Grandfather's furious shout rang through the mountain.
“Why are you running away?!”
“Why are you chasing me?!”
“You ran away, so I chased you!”
“You chased me, so I ran away!”
...
This was ridiculous. Come to think of it, we were the ones in the wrong. A girl meets an old man and a young man on a mountain, smiles at them, and then the young man suddenly shouts while the old man comes charging at her like mad. Wouldn't anyone run away?
* * *
When Eun-sol finally arrived at the chaotic scene, the girl suddenly grabbed Eun-sol by the collar and burst into tears.
Why did she keep making us look like the bad guys?
“Hey, hey! That's enough. I don't know if you're an NPC or what, but stop acting weird.”
At that, her expression brightened as if by magic, and she said teasingly, “Was it that obvious?”
Grandfather looked dumbfounded.
“Obvious or not, why would there be an ordinary kid in a place like this? So what's your role?”
“I'm a souvenir shop clerk~.”
Now that she mentioned it, the girl's outfit made her look like a staff member at a tourist site, dressed in traditional clothing to attract customers. She got to her feet with a suddenly cheerful air and began leading us somewhere.
“You can meet me when you wander around the hotel with fewer than half the group!”
Half or fewer?
“It shouldn't be half or fewer. Five of us came into the mountain.”
“Ah.”
Eun-sol seemed to understand something.
“Eun-sol?”
“Seung-yeop said he was too tired, so I told him to go back and rest. Song-i stopped somewhere along the way too, and I passed her. I guess they both left.”
“Hah! You young ones are already getting too clever for your own good!”
“Grandfather, if you suddenly drag young people up a mountain these days, it's normal for them to run away. Ga-in and I are impressive for not running away.”
“Doesn't this feel like we're about to get something? They say if you listen to your elders, rice cakes will fall into your mouth even while you're asleep.”
“Anyone listening would think you brought us here because you knew there was a souvenir shop...”
After walking for around thirty minutes, a shop suddenly appeared where its presence in the middle of a mountain was impossible to believe.
The inside was exactly what you'd expect from a souvenir shop. It was full of the sort of things usually found in one, such as dolls, postcards, toys, and simple clothing.
The clerk spoke cheerfully.
“Everyone who finds the shop will receive one souvenir each! Please choose only your own item. You can't choose gifts for those who aren't here.”
I'd expected it, but I asked to make sure.
“They aren't ordinary items, are they?”
“You'd be disappointed if they were ordinary, wouldn't you? Of course they're hotel exclusives! You can check their specific functions after you receive them.”
...
What should I choose?
It felt like each item had a different special function, but I had no idea which one was the right choice. Eun-sol came over and poked me.
“I have no idea. Use your advice.”
“It won't tell me properly in a situation where I know nothing.”
“Use it anyway.”
I focused for a moment and asked what I should choose.
[Please choose a familiar item.]
“It says to choose something familiar.”
“That's way too vague. There are plenty of familiar things.”
“When I ask questions without knowing anything, it gives me answers this pathetic.”
“Ugh, Seung-yeop should've been here. If he activated Luck at just the right time, he would've picked the three best things in this shop!”
“Then you should've dragged him here so he couldn't leave.”
“If we'd brought him, this shop probably wouldn't have appeared.”
We talked it over, but none of us could figure out what to choose. Still, I decided to use the advice as a reference.
‘A familiar item.’
Before coming to the hotel, the biggest thing in my life had been college entrance exams, and I'd spent the most time studying from books. If I had to pick something familiar, it would be writing supplies.
I'd used the Dagger quite a lot since coming to the hotel, but there was nothing like that in the shop. In the end, I picked up a pen. HP was printed on it in large letters. Was that short for Hotel Pioneer?
When I turned around, Eun-sol had picked out a badge with HP printed on it as well.
“I chose something easy to carry around.”
Grandfather had found a glove somewhere.
“Doesn't it look expensive enough? I chose it because it felt nice.”
The three of us stood before the clerk with a pen, badge, and glove in hand.
“Are you sure about these items?”
“What, do you have something else you'd recommend?”
“Every item in our shop is a hotel exclusive! They're all excellent, so I recommend them all!”
“You sure took a long time to say you can't tell us anything. I'm sticking with this glove.”
“I've decided on the pen too.”
“I'll take the badge.”
The clerk clapped lightly, then pointed toward the door. I was about to leave when I stopped.
...
This clerk was an NPC too. Maybe one of the failures who had experienced the hotel before us.
Was there anything I could ask?
“Can't you tell me anything about the hotel?”
The girl's bright, smiling face froze like ice in an instant.
“...”
“I don't even know what to ask. Just anything, even something simple. If it comes to it, you could tell me your real name.”
“That is one of the things I absolutely can't answer.”
...I remembered the conversation I'd had with the doctor, Kim Sang-hyeon, long ago. He had implied that as long as my mind was intact, I couldn't have a normal conversation.
Was it impossible for the clerk to speak outside her role as a clerk?
The clerk stared blankly into space for a moment, then spoke.
“The other two.”
“What?”
“Grandfather and the young lady have already obtained their items, so why don't they leave?”
That came out of nowhere. The clerk suddenly told Grandfather and Eun-sol to leave, excluding me. The two looked puzzled, but did as they were told and went outside.
Only the clerk and I remained in the shop.
“You want to leave, don't you?”
“Of course. Who would want to stay in a strange hotel like this forever?”
“There are several Escape Routes in the hotel. You've already discovered quite a few of them.”
‘Several.’
As she said that, the clerk stared straight at me.
I understood instinctively. The clerk knew that I knew the most Escape Routes among my companions!
“...”
“You must be curious. Whether there is a way for everyone to leave, not just one specific person.”
“Is there?”
“The third floor.”
“The third floor?”
“There's a path on the third floor where everyone can leave without conditions. You don't need to clear the rooms on the third floor. You only need to reach it. In effect, the moment you pass through the Gate Room on the second floor, all of you can leave.”
My heart pounded.
When I learned about the Escape Route through the elevator, I instinctively hid it. I couldn't deny that a shallow, selfish part of me had wanted to use that route alone.
Still, a route that only allowed one person to escape would inevitably become a seed of division. Its very existence had to be hidden.
There was a way for everyone to escape. That fact alone filled my heart.
The clerk lowered her head as though she had no intention of speaking further.
Why had she told only me?
I was about to ask, but stopped. Her knowing manner had already given me the answer.
Perhaps information about escape was only given to someone who already knew more about escape than anyone else.
---Click!
I opened the door and left the shop. When I looked back, it had disappeared as if it had never been there. Even if I brought my companions back later, we would probably never find the shop again.
Grandfather and Eun-sol, who had been waiting outside, asked what we'd talked about. I told them exactly what I'd heard: that there was a way for everyone to escape once we reached the third floor.
I made up an explanation that the clerk had probably revealed this only to me because of my blessing, Wisdom.
* * *
When we left Hiking and arrived at Room 105, we found Seung-yeop and Song-i, who had returned first and were resting. Not knowing what had happened, they approached with vaguely guilty expressions and explained that their legs hurt too much, so they had gone back down.
Grandfather, Eun-sol, and I were speechless for a moment.
Because those two had left, we'd met an NPC that appeared only when fewer than half of us were present and unexpectedly obtained treasure. Should we thank them?
...
After a brief conversation, the mood completely changed. The three of us who had gotten treasure couldn't hide our delight and instead started comforting the other two, while the two who had left began rolling around on the floor.
They were literally rolling on the floor.
Seung-yeop, maybe, but wasn't Song-i too old for this?
“What are you two doing? Are you elementary schoolers? Are you sulking?”
“I really am angry! You went somewhere like that and didn't even think to call us!”
“Hey, you two suddenly disappeared. How were we supposed to call you?”
“Grandfather could've called us through the Chat Window!”
I'd thought of that too. But I decided not to call them because I worried the shop might disappear if Song-i or Seung-yeop showed up.
After taking some time to comfort them, everyone eagerly began testing the functions of the three new items.
Footnotes:
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