WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Escaping the Mystery Hotel ◈
Episode 86: Party Time (8) - Heart-to-Heart Conversation, How to Use the Pen, Strategy Meeting (1)
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Afternoon, Day 3 of Party Time
- Elena
After listening to Song-i’s “lecture” about Room 103 throughout lunch, my head was throbbing.
Maybe that was why everyone disappeared once the lecture ended.
This was the perfect time to have a heart-to-heart talk with A-ri.
When I headed toward the front desk, A-ri was pacing near the refreshment table.
“A-ri!”
“Elena, sis?”
I walked over to A-ri.
Where should I start? Are you hiding something from me?
As I hesitated, A-ri spoke first.
“Is there something you wanted to say?”
I should just be honest.
“On the first day, when I enhanced my blessing at the Sanctuary of Blessings, I met a mysterious being called a Sponsor, just like Ga-in said.”
“What were they like?”
“I couldn’t make out their form. They were sitting in a place that looked like a garden. They seemed to know you.”
Interested, A-ri turned toward me.
“What did they say about me?”
“...”
“Did they say something bad?”
“They said something strange. Something that sounded a little odd.”
“...”
“A-ri, they said you were leading me in the wrong direction.”
“So that’s why you came to confirm it.”
“Yes.”
A-ri paced as if deep in thought before answering.
“Was that all they said?”
“They also seemed to dislike you. I’ll tell you what I remember.
‘Like a blind person feeling an elephant, she experienced only a tiny part of the hotel and escaped through luck, yet mistakes herself for someone who has gained profound insight into the hotel and blessings.’
“They also said the way I’m using my blessing now is the right path.”
A-ri thought for a long time afterward. She seemed to need time to organize her thoughts. I sat at the next table and waited with a cup of coffee.
Nearly twenty minutes passed before A-ri spoke.
“You said you could detect lies after enhancing your blessing, right, sis?”
“I’m not saying I suspect you.”
“There’s no need to leave room for misunderstandings. Please use that ability now. I’ll tell you everything exactly as it is.”
To be completely honest, I did suspect A-ri.
I thought my new ability, Lie Detection, would be incredibly useful in a hotel full of lies, but it had one problem.
The moment I used it, my eyes turned gold, so I couldn’t hide the fact that I was using some kind of power.
That was why I felt relieved when A-ri openly told me to use Lie Detection.
My eyes began to glow as A-ri started answering.
“To summarize what the Sponsor said, I understand blessings incorrectly and tried to sway you, sis, based on that. I’ll explain that part first.
“During my first run through the hotel, I saw a different wielder of Justice, not Elena. Unlike you, she used her power freely, without any restrictions.
“She didn’t need her target to be evil, or even need to recognize that they had done something evil.
“She could do that because of how she thought. She had the mentality of a very young child.
“To put it simply, ‘I am justice itself. Anyone who makes me feel bad is evil.’
“Watching her, I learned that the restrictions of a blessing are created by the person themselves.
“Later, I became certain when I saw Elena, who had the same blessing, suffering under restrictions much like criminal law.
“That’s why I tried to persuade you of various things right before the fifth attempt in Room 101.
“You remember what I tried to persuade you of. Was there any lie in what I’ve said so far?”
“I didn’t sense any at all. Thank you for being honest.”
There had been no lies, but I did notice that A-ri freely alternated between calling me “sis” and “Elena.”
Other people did that sometimes too, but A-ri was strange about it.
Almost as if she kept getting her own age confused.
“What do you think after hearing that?”
“I’m a little surprised. Even if I’d known, I don’t think I could’ve followed that example. Arbitrarily judging right and wrong, then punishing people however I see fit, is the mindset I hate most. And also...”
“Why did you hide it?”
“... Why did you hide what you knew about blessings from me?”
“I was worried you might become like that person if you learned it, sis.
“I was worried you might try to convince yourself that ‘I am justice itself’ in order to enhance your blessing. Sometimes people change their beliefs to suit their needs.”
“But you’re telling me now instead of hiding it.”
“I’ve learned that there were flaws in how I thought about blessings, and Elena knows that too.
“Even if you know a blessing’s ‘evil potential,’ you won’t be swayed by it.
“Next, I’ll explain what I thought about the ‘right potential’ the Sponsor mentioned.”
The “right potential” of a blessing.
“I hadn’t noticed it before, but after hearing what the Sponsor said, I thought about it again.
“It’s true that Elena’s belief in Justice hasn’t only created restrictions. It has created powerful advantages too.”
“Powerful advantages?”
“For example, you become immune to mental attacks while carrying out an execution. The previous Justice didn’t have that power.
“My Suggestion worked on her easily. But while you’re carrying out an execution, you gain resistance that makes you almost invincible.
“Why is that?
“The answer lies in Elena’s beliefs. ‘Justice must not be shaken by the will of any particular individual.’
“That’s why even the person using the blessing can’t control it as they please, but neither can anyone else sway it.
“And there’s the fact that you can strike even invisible enemies. That was also impossible for the previous Justice.
“Why?
“Because the law is supposed to find hidden offenders and enforce its judgment against them. Something like that, right?
“I’m sure there are many more advantages too.”
I thought deeply about A-ri’s words.
When I used Justice, I did become immune to curses, brainwashing, hypnosis, and the like. I could even remain seated in a car and carry out an execution against an enemy I couldn’t see.
A-ri said these were powers the previous Justice hadn’t possessed. Were these advantages the “right potential” the Sponsor had spoken of?
The Sponsor had been critical, but A-ri clearly understood blessings better than I did.
“What other advantages do you think there could be?”
“Think about what those two advantages I mentioned have in common. Both come from one trait in Elena’s beliefs.”
“One trait?”
“Elena doesn’t seem to think that she herself is the one carrying out the execution.
“Something metaphysical. A representation of absolute justice. An ideal law.
“You believe that something transcendent and conceptual like that is ‘true justice.’
“If Elena’s blessing grows far stronger than it is now, couldn’t you give physical form to that ‘avatar of metaphysical justice’?
“Maybe it would be an invincible summon? How could anyone defeat something metaphysical and conceptual?
“Of course, this is all just my imagination.”
An invincible summon... It suddenly felt like the genre had changed.
Even if my blessing grew stronger, I didn’t think it would work that way. Still, I was beginning to understand what A-ri meant.
As I considered it, A-ri continued.
“That’s the part where I accepted the Sponsor’s argument. May I share a slightly different perspective now?”
A different perspective. Was A-ri going to refute the Sponsor’s words?
“Go ahead.”
“Understanding blessings. Understanding the hotel. The Sponsor is probably right about much of that.
“As the Sponsor said, I escaped through luck after experiencing only a tiny part of the hotel.
“But Elena, remember this. The Management Bureau has an old saying. Only people truly stand with other people.
“Does the Sponsor truly want your ‘escape’?”
A-ri fell silent after that.
Around then, the duration of my Lie Detection ended as well.
On the way back to my room, I thought about A-ri’s final words.
Did the Sponsor truly want me to escape? If not, what did they want from me?
* * *
Afternoon, Day 4 of Party Time
- Han Ga-in
It was finally almost over!
What was?
This exhausting Party Time!
The senile old man who had been following me around from the start of Party Time, going on about physical training, made me go Hiking on the first day.
That much was okay. Hiking for one day wasn’t bad, and I got some unexpected gains out of it, so I was satisfied.
But getting an unexpected souvenir during that first hike only made the senile old man even more fired up!
Being sore all through the second morning and getting beaten to death by dinosaurs at the safari that afternoon had already been miserable enough.
By the third day, Grandfather made me run around the park all morning, then dragged me to the gym in the afternoon.
And as if that weren’t enough, he tormented me through the morning of Day 4 too!
For some reason, Seung-yeop and Song-i were let off at some point, while the senile old man kept chasing only me. Everyone else ran away the moment they saw Grandfather, worried they might get dragged into it too.
Jin-cheol, the only person who could stop Grandfather, seemed to have lost his mind after visiting the safari once.
He asked Eun-sol to get him a really high-performance camera, then went crazy taking pictures of dinosaurs and strange animals from the Neolithic Age. He had no intention of leaving the safari.
So today, around lunchtime on the fourth day of Party Time.
I made a decision.
“Hey! Hey! Han Ga-in, you crazy bastard!”
Yeah, can’t hear you~
“Hey! You little punk! Aren’t you going to erase this?”
What’s wrong?
“... Ga-in?”
Song-i, who had been walking down the hallway, looked at me.
“Yeah, Song-i. How’ve you been?”
“Did you do something to Grandfather’s eyes? He’s been rubbing them for a while now.”
“The pen I got from the souvenir shop works really well! I colored in Grandfather’s eyes.”
“...”
“It’s fine. I’ll erase it before we go into a Curse Room.”
Song-i was left speechless, then eventually walked past me.
Ha! My pen from the souvenir shop!
At first, I wondered what the hell it was for, but who knew it would be this useful?
Thud!
Hearing my voice, a single hand flew in from somewhere and grabbed my hair!
“Aah! Ow! Grandfather! Let go of me!”
“You erase what you drew on my eyes first!”
What did this senile old man eat to get so strong? Even when I grabbed Grandfather’s floating hand with both hands and tried to pull it off, it was so strong that I couldn’t get free.
Grandfather rolled around clutching his eyes while I rolled around holding onto Grandfather’s hand.
Eun-sol saw the whole scene as she passed by, suddenly turned invisible, and disappeared.
* * *
- Han Ga-in
Evening, Day 4 of Party Time
It was time for our scheduled meeting. Everyone gathered around the dining table in Room 105.
Even Jin-cheol, who had shown no sign of leaving the safari, came back by then. The moment he arrived, he looked at my head.
“... Ga-in?”
“...”
“You’re not old enough for bald patches yet, so why is your hair...”
“...”
“Grandfather apparently ripped Ga-in’s hair out.”
“Why? No, where the hell is the old man now?”
“Grandfather couldn’t see all afternoon, so he kept walking into walls. He said he was hurting, so he’s lying down now.”
“What happened while I was at the safari?”
Eun-sol sighed and started the meeting.
“All right, all right. That’s enough. Let’s begin the meeting. Some of you may have heard already, but we decided everyone would leave one another alone tomorrow and rest. That’s why we’re deciding which room to enter next today.”
It was an agreement between me and Grandfather, and by extension, everyone else.
On the final day, we would leave each other alone and rest.
Because of that agreement, we started the meeting today. Eun-sol spoke again.
“There are three places left for us to go. Room 102, House of Horror. Room 104, Hotel High. And Room 107, the Gate Room. You can all guess where we should go, right? At least out of those three, Room 102 is the best option.
“It seems best not to step into Hotel High carelessly until we figure out the strange phenomenon affecting Ga-in, and the Gate Room will probably be the hardest. Does anyone think differently?”
Nobody did.
If only Rooms 104 and 107 remained, we would probably need a long discussion to decide where to go. But as long as Room 102, which clearly seemed easier than the other two, remained, there was no reason to worry about it now.
“Let’s make a rough plan for Room 102. I think there are two major things we need to consider. Interpreting the hint we received as a reward from Hotel Land of Hope, and figuring out how to escape.”
Around then, Grandfather returned to the room.
...
Everyone was speechless. Lines had been drawn all over his face, not just over his eyes.
“Hey! Han Ga-in, you bastard! Aren’t you going to erase this?”
No way.
My ripped-out hair was still gone! He pulled it hard enough to make my scalp bleed! I had absolutely no intention of erasing it before we entered the Curse Room.
I think I got myself a seriously useful tool.
Footnotes:
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