Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 302
Only Krnovel
Episode 302 – Room 204, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Cinema’ (24)
[User: Han Ga-in (Jihye)
Date: Day 135
Current Location: Tier 2, Room 204 – Mission Room, ‘Hotel Cinema’
Sage Advice: 3]
– Han Ga-in
While a battle was taking place on the screen between the nine-tailed fox, including Eunsol’s older sister, and the special forces dispatched by the Holy See, the colleagues began a heated discussion.
Songi seemed a little embarrassed.
“Didn’t your sister make a bit of a sudden decision? “Wouldn’t she have thought about other options?”
Elena showed an understanding yet curious attitude.
“It only flew by on the screen we were watching, but I think she must have thought about it for more than half a day… . Rather, what is that just now? “I’m not some kind of magical girl.”
Ari was glued to the screen so much that he was examining each and every one of the ‘magic spells used by nine-tailed foxes’ and discussing them with the doctor.
“Are you doing this by making gestures with your hands? It’s versatile, but there’s a delay right before casting the spell. “We are being targeted because of that.”
“If Miss Ari comes in, can you make up for the delay with old blood? If we can subdue the Vatican’s special forces, things will be quite easy… .”
“I need to see a little more. “It feels like Eunsol is taking turns writing this and that to show us?”
“What about that move just now? “It seems like it created a shock wave, right?”
In this atmosphere where everyone was doing their best, I just relaxed on the sofa and thought.
Detailed analysis of the nine-tailed fox’s abilities, the time it takes for the Vatican special forces to arrive, etc. is making other people lose their minds anyway, so let’s think about more fundamental concerns.
How on earth am I supposed to wake up?
Just looking at the inside of the movie, the appropriate scenario seemed clear. All you have to do is kill 28 humans and turn into humans.
After that, it will be up to Han Yu-ri herself to wash the past by using the secret art of forgetting, or to adapt to the human world by creating a false identity.
Eunsol couldn’t accept this scenario, so she rejected it and asked the person behind her to find another solution. It seems like she was having some kind of ethical concern.
I am… .
Well, those concerns didn’t really hit me. Beyond the people in the movies, they are the people of the movies within the movies. Is there a need to think of these beings as whole people?
However, regardless of ethical concerns, it is true that there are problems with the civilian hunting scenario. Honestly, it’s not a ‘happy ending’ in anyone’s opinion, right? It was obvious that the guide would nod his head.
Is it possible for there to be a scenario where both groups of nine-tailed foxes and humans laugh at the same time? How on earth can this have a happy ending?
Just when I felt my head hurting, Ari tapped my shoulder.
“ah. Aria. Have you done a detailed analysis of the movie? Yay with the doctor in front of the screen! yap! “I was dancing.”
“I wasn’t dancing, I was just imitating the magic moves while you were sleeping in the back.”
“I didn’t sleep, I just had deep, philosophical thoughts.”
“What are you worried about?”
“Can you make a happy ending for this?”
“hmm… .”
“A happy ending without sacrifice, if that were possible, I don’t think anyone would know except you, the Bureau agent. “Because my grandfather disappeared.”
“It exists, but it is difficult to realize.”
“Tell me in detail.”
“Instead of arrogantly lying down on a chair and asking me to talk, try staying in a polite position.”
I corrected my posture and knelt down on the chair.
“Teacher Ari, please talk to me. Songi and Elena over there are also pricking up their ears.”
Songi also flinched and knelt down together. Ari chuckled and explained briefly.
“They said it with their own mouths, right? It is said that monsters like the nine-tailed fox are bound by folk tales. Why do you have to eat 100 livers to become human? This is because such tales are real and have been reproduced as creations. In this case, if it is a not-so-famous tale, you can just remove the tale itself or change the content.”
Songi asked a question.
“But the nine-tailed fox tale is very famous. “Can you change everything?”
“It’s difficult. It requires a lot of time and resources. In fact, there is no reason for the Vatican to do that. Why would you do something like that when you can just kill two nine-tailed foxes?”
It was so true that I was speechless. Even if I were a high-ranking person in the Vatican or the administrative bureau, I would rather just kill two nine-tailed foxes and be done with something like that.
“Is there any other way?”
“There is also a way to change it into a tale that is similar but has different details. But this is also very difficult.”
“Umm… .”
“In my view, the essence of that scenario is to eat people. All other scenarios are far-fetched or ignorant.”
“But how can that be a happy ending?”
As Songi pointed out, the theater became quiet. Ari didn’t seem to know the answer to this part.
As time passed, the movie naturally ended with the sister’s death, and a signal appeared for the next person to enter. Around that time, a thought of my own occurred to me.
“It may seem like a simple problem… .”
Ari looked at me.
“A simple problem?”
“There is no need to satisfy all three people in the first place.”
Ari understood right away.
“You give up on being a guide and only get tickets for merchants and souvenir girls?”
“Shouldn’t we go for something that is plausible, yet bizarre and terrifying? “Forget the happy ending.”
“What kind of story is plausible yet bizarre and terrible?”
Ari, who had been speaking up to this point, momentarily raised his eyebrows slightly.
“One thing came to mind. listen.”
After hearing Ari’s explanation, not only my expression but also the people around me kept their mouths shut. After a while, Jincheol finally expressed his opinion.
“Yes, I think the merchant will like it. So, are you planning on going in this time?”
“That would be nice. “I think it might be difficult for other people anyway.”
Ari stood up in the theater and shouted as he approached the screen.
“Guide! “I’ll bring blessings!”
“Eh? blessing?”
Song-i showed signs of embarrassment because Ari was someone who usually had a very low level of dependence on blessings. However, the doctor who analyzed the abilities of the ‘Gumiho’ in front of the screen with Ari touched Song-i’s shoulder.
“This is the conclusion I came to while discussing with Ari earlier.”
“is it so? If that’s the case… .”
*
– Kim Ari
When I closed my eyes and opened them, I started in the same downtown area where Mukseong and Eunsol started. But the time seemed a little different. no way? When I entered the Black Cafe at 25:00, it was as expected.
— Ding dong!
“aha! Are you here? “I wondered if something had happened since you were late.”
“… I guess I’m late.”
“it’s okay. Since it is not an easy confession, you must have thought about it until the end. By the way, Park Soo-mi has already ‘confirmed’ the story. “Now it’s Yuri’s turn. Would you like to come this way?”
“All right.”
Do In-ho suddenly said he was ‘confirming’ while looking at the theater, so I thought it was impossible, but it looks like the first scenario ended up being completed by Eun-sol. From now on, we can proceed from the second scenario.
“Hmm! Now – ”
“Wait!”
He walked up to Han Yu-ri and grabbed her hand tightly. While she was greatly embarrassed by the amazingly beautiful girl, she closely examined her eyes and hair.
“…”
“Um, over there?”
“Miss Ari? Why are you like this all of a sudden?”
“sorry. He looks so similar to someone I know… . “Excuse me.”
I bowed my head a couple of times and everyone laughed awkwardly. Everyone must be thinking that they called someone with a scary story and a crazy girl came.
I wanted to check if Han Yu-ri was actually human right now. The conclusion is that, with a very high probability, it is human. It looks like she will have to proceed according to the scenario set up outside.
Soon, Han Yu-ri entered the play-within-a-play, recalling the past.
*
– 21st Century Nine-Tailed Tiger Story
— Ding dong dang dong!
With a loud bell ringing, something unexpected happened. Immediately, I firmly grabbed the arm of Saerom, who was chattering next to me, and whispered in his ear.
“Yuri! Tomorrow time – huh?”
“Take me outside.”
“uh? uh?”
“There’s a problem with the secret art of forgetting.”
Saerom’s expression instantly became as frozen as ice and he nodded quietly. The secret art of forgetting that suppresses the spirit of the nine-tailed fox is touching my memories in real time like an eraser in my head, so it is necessary to break the secret art itself.
While moving quickly, I once again grabbed Saerom’s arm strongly in front of the shoe cabinet.
“Is it Yuri?”
“There, you!”
The idiot behind the shoe cabinet said nothing.
“See you on the rooftop at 8pm tonight.”
With those words, we moved to the playground. Saerom was puzzled.
“Who did you tell?”
“Confession Killer.”
“Eh?”
As soon as I arrived at the playground, my head became clear and the wisdom and power of the nine-tailed fox began to seep into my head. With this, the most dangerous timing has been passed. I believed in the power of this nine-tailed fox and chose blessings over old blood.
Also, if there is a story like the first story where supernatural powers cannot be used carelessly, it would be easier to use ‘Girl Without Presence’ or ‘Compass’ rather than ‘Old Blood’, which has obvious supernatural powers.
“…”
Saerom, who was looking around, slowly approached.
“Sister, are you okay? “If you reveal the secret art here, you will be very hungry.”
“I see.”
I found out why Eunsol almost went crazy. If I were to exaggerate a bit, would it be understandable if I told every student walking to school the smell of well-grilled steak and hamburgers?
“Lunch time will be over soon. Would you like to go in now?”
“Go in first.”
“sister?”
“I’ll be in soon.”
Perhaps because I was different from the usual Han Yuri, Saerom tilted her head and went back to class alone. Instead of entering the school, she went out through the front door. There are quite a lot of things I need to prepare to proceed with the plan I have made.
“Yoo, Yuri!”
There is a boy on the baseball team on the playground at this time.
“… Senior Jiho.”
“My, my, my, I-”
“8pm.”
“what?”
“See you on the school rooftop then.”
The boy on the baseball team looked at me with a puzzled expression as I quickly walked to the front door.
If you think about it, the current ‘travel time’ is a meaningless scene. There is no way it will be included in the edited film for my colleagues to see. At least it will show a cut of the person being teleported to the next location. As I thought about that, various thoughts began to come to mind.
…
…
…
When was it? 30 years ago? 50 years ago? I don’t remember very well.
The first person I met after leaving the deep sea hotel. He was the manager of the Korean branch of the management bureau. He died so long ago that even his face remains a blurry image.
…
‘Agent Kim Ari, do you think people are equal?’
‘That’s what I learned at school.’
‘It’s not wrong. Human lives are equal. In most situations, we believe that too. ‘Try to save as many people as possible without discrimination.’
‘okay.’
‘But there is an exception. It means that there are people who are not equal. ‘Who do you think it is?’
‘Exception? uh… . A person possessed by an evil spirit? ‘A person infected with a neural parasite?’
‘Those things aren’t people, they’re just objects to be eradicated.’
‘High-ranking politician? Conglomerate?’
‘We don’t really care about status in the civilian world.’
‘… I don’t know.’
‘The answer is easy. It’s you.’
‘yes?’
‘A man who can fight against monsters and ghosts, cultists and evil gods. If you, the agent, or the Bureau dies, who will protect the world? So we are not equal. Follow me. All humans are equal. ‘Except us!’
‘…’
‘Follow me.’
“All humans are equal. “Except us!”
I was surprised by the sound that suddenly came out of my mouth. I never thought the day would come when this funny and full of sense of choice that I learned a long time ago would come out of my mouth again… .
…
But this is 95% true. To change it to 100%, a little expansion of the concept is enough.
All humans are equal. Except for Bureau agents and those who would become agents!
So, unlike Eunsol, I didn’t have any worries.
Even if the people here were real people and not NPCs in a movie, I wouldn’t have worried. Because I didn’t worry about similar situations I’ve already experienced countless times.
“Please give me a lighter.”