WETRIED TRANSLATIONS
The Legendary Newbie of the Ghost Story Labyrinth
[Translator – Aren]
Chapter 90 - At a Hotel with My Girlfriend (2)
Our tour of the suite had finally come to an end. Without either of us planning it, we naturally ended up sitting side by side on the enormous bed.
Our shoulders were close enough that they nearly touched, but Seol Suyeon didn’t move away. That said, the atmosphere had become so awkward there was no salvaging it.
"......."
"......."
Neither of us spoke. I was acutely aware of Seol Suyeon’s presence beside me.
Sneaking a glance at her, I saw that she was staring down at her lap. The way she digested with her fingers was adorable, yet it also betrayed her nervousness.
It felt certain that something was about to happen. Like the unbearable tension, just before a bomb goes off.
A man and a woman, keenly aware of each other, yet with no intention of backing away.
We hadn’t been dating for very long, but we’d already risked our lives together more times than I could count.
"Erm, Suyeon……”
"Hey, Oppa…”
At the exact moment, we both spoke and turned to look at each other…
The room’s telephone suddenly rang. Both of us practically jumped out of our skins. The heavy mattress bounced beneath us.
I hurriedly picked up the receiver.
-Hello.
-Good evening. This is the Hotelier. I’ve called because I’d like to offer the two of you a special dinner.
-Really?
-Indeed, although all of the hotel’s restaurants are currently closed, we’ve decided to open one of them exclusively for the evening. It would be our honor if you would join us.
-The honor would be ours.
-The restaurant is called Le Sourire. Take the elevator down three floors from your suite, then follow the corridor, and you’ll find it.
-Understood. Should we head over right away?
-It will remain open until 10 PM, so please come whenever it suits you.
-Thank you very much.
When I told Seol Suyeon the news, her face lit up.
"Really? We’re having a fancy dinner?”
"Yeah, let’s go.”
"Oppa, go change. Hurry.”
I changed into the clothes I’d brought for our date and left the room with Seol Suyeon.
As we walked down the hallway arm in arm, it really sank in that we were dating.
Seol Suyeon seemed to feel the same way.
"I never imagined I'd end up going on a date in the Backrooms.”
"Me neither."
We took the elevator down three floors.
-Ding.
Beyond the opening doors stretched a magnificently luxurious corridor.
A deep crimson carpet, classical paintings lining both walls, a row of elegant chandeliers overhead, and the faint fragrance of flowers drifting through the air.
Someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to create the perfect atmosphere.
"This hotel really is incredible."
Unable to resist, Seol Suyeon pulled out her phone. We barely made any progress because she spent so long taking pictures.
Eventually, we spotted a small plaque beside a doorway.
[Le Soupir]
This must be it. He said it was called… Le Sou…something. French is damn difficult. I couldn’t remember the name properly.
As soon as we stepped inside, the interior evoked the elegance of the Belle Époque. An old French chanson drifted softly through the restaurant.
Nearby, a mannequin Faceling dressed in a tailored suit approached us. Standing perfectly straight, it carried itself with impeccable posture.
"Welcome to Le Soupir, lady and sir. Allow me to escort you to your VIP table.”
Every movement of the staff member was graceful and precise, as though it had repeated the exact same duties countless times before.
Every other table in the restaurant was empty.
"I guess they really weren’t kidding. We’re the only guests.”
"They did say they opened the restaurant just for us.”
"Wow, that's amazing."
The VIP seating was extravagantly luxurious. The table and chairs were trimmed with gold. Silver cutlery had been arranged with meticulous precision.
"We will now be serving this evening’s special course."
"Yes, understood.”
Apparently, there wasn’t a menu to choose from. It was a fixed course meal. That was fine with me. I wouldn’t have known what to order anyway.
"Suyeon, have you ever had French food before?”
"I’ve been to one of those places near Hongdae that serves French home-style cooking with my friends, but nothing like this.”
"Oh, you actually had friends?”
"Hey! I had friends before I started streaming as a VTuber, you know?!”
Starting with the appetizers, the meal was delightful. There were a few dishes that felt unfamiliar and a little intimidating, but overall, everything tasted wonderful. Just as our anticipation for the main course reached its peak, a large plate covered by a golden cloche was placed before us.
The mannequin Faceling bowed politely.
"This is tonight’s main course. We hope you enjoy it."
The golden cloche was lifted. I expected a cloud of fragrant steam to rise from the dish.
But there was no steam nor fragrance.
Only something grotesque
Because lying on the plate was the severed mouth of a woman
"Gyaah—!”
Seol Suyeon instinctively cried out before clapping a hand over her own mouth. Her eyes darted frantically from side to side, trying to make sense of the situation.
"Oppa……What is that?”
I had no idea how to answer. Fortunately, I didn’t have to think for long.
Although it had been severed, the beautiful lips began to move.
"I’m relieved that you came.”
An elegant woman’s voice flowed from the severed mouth. It certainly wasn’t speaking Korean, yet through some anomalous means its meaning was translated directly into my mind.
"Who are you?"
I asked without lowering my guard. The answer I received was the last thing I expected.
"I am Princess Cavaletto, the Executioner Princess. And the original owner of the eyes your woman now possesses.”
"Holy…”
I knew exactly who Princess Cavaletto was. She was the one who had executed the Hanged King and witnessed the end of the world.
After defeating the Hanged King, I’d obtained a map showing the locations of Princess Cavaletto’s scattered body parts. I’d always intended to search for them someday. I just never imagined one of them would find me first.
“The very same Princess Cavaletto who hanged the Hanged King?”
"That’s right. So you do know of me.”
"But why…? This is all so sudden.”
This was the sort of encounter I never could have anticipated. Keeping my composure wasn’t easy.
"My apologies if I’ve startled you, but I needed to speak with you. Park Minho.”
"More importantly, where exactly are we? Isn’t this the restaurant the Hotelier directed us to?”
"It merely bears a similar name. It is a different place.”
The restaurant the Hotelier had invited us to was Le Sourire. This place was Le Soupir.
"How underhanded..."
"I won’t deny that it was deception, but it was the only way to invite the two of you here.”
"Then start by telling me what this place actually is.”
"It is a subfloor attached to Floor 4. As its name suggests, this floor is called Le Soupir. A world where an old restaurant repeated endlessly.”
".....Then why did you want to meet us?”
"Very well. Let us get to the point.”
Princess Cavaletto’s mouth said that there were things she needed to tell me and a proposal she wished to make.
"First, you should know that the Hanged King has returned to the Backrooms.”
That wasn’t something I could brush aside. Even now, my memories of being hunted through the auction house were still vivid. More importantly, the noose I now possessed had originally belonged to him.
"Is that true?”
"What reason would I have to lie? I shall explain.”
According to Princess Cavaletto, the boundary between floors had been torn apart by what I'd done on Floor 15. That breach had allowed the Hanged King to return.
"Damn it......."
I frowned. This had become a real headache. Not only had the Hanged King returned, but approaching the Error Junkyard had now become even more dangerous.
The King undoubtedly hated me beyond measure. If I so much as approached Floor 15, he wouldn't let me leave alive. Even if I’d stolen the King’s Noose from him, there was no need to say that he remained an utterly terrifying enemy.
"That is not even the greatest problem.”
"Then what is?”
"From this point onward, you must concern yourself with the King’s next move. The Hanged King will undoubtedly seek out the remaining pieces of my body.”
"Why?”
"If he gathers the body that executed him, he can break the curse placed upon him. If you wish to avoid your own destruction, you must stop him. For once the curse is lifted, the King will regain the power of a God-class entity.”
"......That is some really bad news indeed.”
The Hanged King becoming even stronger because he’d broken his curse? Somehow I had a feeling I wasn’t going to sleep peacefully again starting tonight.
"And so I have a proposal for you.”
Princess Cavaletto was the Hanged King’s enemy. The enemy of my enemy was my friend, right? Maybe she was about to offer me a way out.
Instead, my hopes were shattered in the worst possible direction.
"I shall help you escape the King’s grasp, Park Minho. In exchange, sell me the woman who travels with you.”
"What?"
"She is an ideal vessel for my scattered body. She already possesses my eyes. If my remaining three body parts are joined through her, I shall be restored completely. And afterward, I swear I will protect you from the King."
“If you’re resurrected, what happens to Suyeon?”
“She will disappear. But she is merely a single human. What possible issue could there be?”
"...You damn—."
I rose to my feet, grabbed Seol Suyeon’s hand, and pulled her safely behind me.
"Not a chance.”
At the sight of me Princess Cavaletto let out a derisive snort.
"So what you wanted was a beautiful woman? In that case, I shall give you myself.”
With those words the severed mouth floated into the air. An illusion enveloped it.
Before me stood a golden-haired beauty clad in an extravagantly magnificent gown. She looked like an elven princess. And gazing at me were the very same violet eyes that Seol Suyeon now possessed.
"What do you think? Do you not find this form far nobler than that insignificant girl? I shall not only save you from the King, I shall also give myself to you. For a human such as you, it is an honor beyond your station. Become my consort, and you, too, may ascend to the rank of a God-class entity. Walk across the dimensions with me and witness the end of the world.”
It was without question an extraordinary offer. But to me Suyeon mattered infinitely more.
"Oppa...”
Hearing her uncertain voice behind me, I tightened my grip on her hand. Then I answered Princess Cavaletto without hesitation.
"I refuse. So get out.”
"What was that?”
"I said leave. I’m not interested in you. We’re leaving this floor.”
"How insolent! Beyond belief! This is precisely why one must never show mercy to commoners!”
Princess Cavaletto flew into a rage. Every mirror around us exploded simultaneously.
I instantly assumed a combat stance and summoned the King’s Noose from my shadow. I fastened it around my neck.
"Ghk!"
The collar restricted my throat the instant it locked into place. This was the first time I’d put it on at the very start of a fight. That alone showed how overwhelming the pressure she radiated was.
'Disappear!'
I thrust out my hand. If I erased Princess Cavaleto’s mouth, then neither she nor the hanged King would be able to accomplish what they wanted.
But she merely laughed.
"Hahaha! How foolish! Who do you think completed the power of that noose?!”
Of course, Princess Cavaletto had been the one who placed the noose around the King’s neck in the first place. Perhaps because of that, its power had no effect on her whatsoever.
"...!"
Until now, my Reality Manipulation had always possessed overwhelming force despite its many limitations. To see it rendered completely useless was unimaginable.
Instead, I was overwhelmed by Princess Cavaletto’s own Reality Manipulation.
"Ugh!"
Before I knew it, I had been forced face-first onto the floor.
"Oppa! Let him go!!”
Hearing Seol Suyeon’s scream, I struggled desperately to stand. But at that very moment the King’s Noose tightened even further, and darkness swallowed my consciousness.
'Damn it.......'
* * *
"Uugh......."
Was I still alive? When I open my eyes, will I be in the afterlife?
No, since I’m the owner of the laptop, if anything, it should be the White Room.
Fear gripped me. I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. What if I were alone in the White Room?
"You're even more timid than I expected.”
A voice came from above my head. When I opened my eyes, I found myself locked inside an iron cage.
Standing before me, Princess Cavaletto had fully manifested. Beside her, Seol Suyeon floated unconscious suspended in midair.
“What are you planning to do to Suyeon?”
“Heh, you would do better to worry about your own situation. Do you truly have no idea what is about to happen to you?”
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