Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 341
Only Krnovel
Episode 341 – Time to choose (2) Fin
– Kim Ari
Ga-in turned towards me and opened his mouth like a goldfish.
Conversation through voice still seemed difficult.
“Don’t you have a pen? “If you know how to write, try it.”
Soon, I realized that my suggestion was meaningless.
This is because the current Gain is the one who had a hard time cutting meat with a knife and borrowed my hand.
Writing with a pen requires much more precise hand movements, making it very difficult for him now.
So, Ga-in started using the method that was most convenient for her.
“Who are you? I – don’t talk with my throat!”
If you find it difficult to speak with your own throat, is it easy to manipulate my throat to make me speak?
I couldn’t understand what state Cain’s brain structure was in now!
With those words, Gain leaned against the wall and fell into deep thoughts.
It seemed like he was trying to recall memories from his ‘human days’.
Feeling tired, I went back to Sanghyeon and before I knew it, Sanghyeon was praying somewhere with his hands clasped together.
“Have you made a decision?”
“That’s right.”
“I told you to speak comfortably.”
“What I am going to do from now on is to confess my mortal sin.”
“A mortal sin?”
“First of all, you haven’t done what you need to do.”
With those words, Sanghyun turned towards me and bent his waist 90 degrees.
“…”
“I couldn’t figure out the timing because Ari treated me as if nothing had happened, but I was so captivated by the prisoner’s voice that I almost harmed everyone. “I apologize for that.”
“are you okay. “Anyone other than you would have done something similar or worse.”
I’m serious.
I think Sang-hyeon’s mental breakdown at the end of Episode 203 would have been no different or would have broken down earlier even if it were someone else.
He nodded with a somewhat complicated expression.
“Thank you for saying that… .”
“Have you made a decision? “You want to leave a memory, right?”
“Of course.”
After giving a short answer, Sanghyeon looked at the window and began to explain the reason for his choice.
“I also had an idea to put my mind at ease. “It was a waste of some of the talents I gained through the power of blessing, but they don’t disappear completely.”
“…”
“It’s painful. Memories of people I loved long ago echoed endlessly in my head.”
“…”
“I had this thought later. My family, my people… . None of them made it to room 203. “I am the only one who came out.”
“Because it’s the cursed room.”
“If I forget them, all evidence in the world that they ever existed will disappear forever. The time we spent loving and caring for each other, the glorious history of building a city from a wasteland… . “The only proof of it all now is my memory.”
“…”
“I have sinned.”
“If it’s the same story as before, I don’t think it’s really a big deal -”
“This is not a story about being possessed by a demon. Of course, that part was a serious sin that I would have to remember for the rest of my life, but fortunately, it was something that could be reversed. Eventually, everyone came out of room 203.”
“Then what crime?”
At this point, Sanghyun started looking at some distant place instead of looking at me.
This may be because it was not an apology to me or the hotel party, but to other beings.
“I am a husband who deceived his wife, a father who deceived his children, and a king who deceived his people.”
“…”
“I promised them salvation countless times. He promised that there was a paradise flowing with milk and honey, and that if he couldn’t get it while alive, he would get it by dying… .”
“…”
“I knew very well that it was a lie. Where on earth is paradise and salvation in this hotel? “I couldn’t even save my own body, so how can I save my family and people?”
“You had no choice but to make them follow you.”
“That’s no excuse.”
“…”
“What happens to the NPCs who die in the Curse Room? We know what the future holds if the participant dies. Because I experienced it. They either suffer while trapped in the cold ice hell or live as NPCs. So, what happens when an NPC dies?”
I know that when a participant dies, he or she can become an NPC.
However, this does not mean that all NPCs are former participants.
In the first place, one star was realized as a whole in each room, but it seemed that not all of the billions to tens of billions of intelligent beings were former participants.
Well, you never know.
“I don’t know.”
“If it disappears cleanly, if it disappears when the cursed room you were born in disappears… . I’m rather glad. “What if that’s not the case?”
“…”
“What if my wife, my children, and my people fall into hell?”
“Sorry. “I don’t know about that part.”
“There is a story I heard from Gain a while ago.”
“Cain?”
“The hotel said there were two ways to pay for the dead. One is ‘Resurrection’, which we have already confirmed. “I heard the other one is ‘Buddha.’”
“I remember. For reference, the management bureau was also aware of the resurrection. “This is the first time I’ve heard of Buddha since I came here.”
After talking up to this point, I realized something.
The being who informed us that there is a second way to salvation called ‘Buddha’.
“He said I told Ga-in.”
This is Sanghyun Kim. Before his resurrection, Kim Sang-hyeon was the doctor of Room 105 and a hidden NPC in the hotel.
“that’s right.”
“This is ridiculous. “Now I don’t even know what it means, but back then I knew something.”
“He was a hotel employee at the time, so he must have known the hotel’s secrets inside out.”
“Where on earth is ‘Buddha’?”
“…”
I’m curious too.
“It’s already on the second floor. There are quite a few cursed rooms left, but most of the hidden elements on the second floor have been found! The Hall of Mirrors, the Room of Resurrection, and the Mysterious Craftsman! “Have you found everything now?”
“There are two hidden rooms and two hidden NPCs, so I only have one NPC left.”
“I know. I don’t know why, but I just knew. He, the Buddha, is looking down on us from the highest position.”
What does this mean? Sanghyeon’s vague memories of his NPC days? Or just a hunch?
“He is the cause of everything. He is the one who holds the answers to all the questions we will reach in our final moments, and the originator of all mysteries.”
“What are you doing now-”
“I have a wish. “For the first time since I entered the hotel, I have a wish more earnest than escape.”
A person who was trapped in the hell created by the hotel, in the most painful moment of his life, came to have a wish more earnest than escape.
“When I was young, my father was a drunkard, right? He beat his mother and children every day. I don’t know how earnestly I wanted the moment when the dog was shot on the night. ”
Sang-hyeon’s words began to become increasingly incoherent.
“My mother worked hard to raise us even in that environment. She always said Live honestly and sincerely. If you do that, the world will reward you. In my life, it was bullshit. “I lived an honest and sincere life, but when I came to my senses, I found myself in a hotel.”
It seemed as if the torrent of boiling emotions had taken away logic and left only a flow of thoughts.
“But, it wasn’t until I found myself in Room 203 that I had become the leader of a cult and a fraudster. No, my mother didn’t lie, but I was punished because I wasn’t an honest person.”
It was an absurd story.
Sang-hyeon didn’t get sent to the hotel as punishment for lying, but because he got put in the hotel, he lied to survive.
“I want to turn around. “I want to make sure that the lies that have been told for hundreds of years are no longer lies.”
“you… .”
“He is lurking somewhere in the hotel, in the dark. The one who looks down on everyone from the highest position. I must meet Buddha. And I will pray and pray again. Please, may there be salvation for those who died in Room 203!”
Before I knew it, I looked back at the man kneeling.
He was a husband who apologized to his wife and children, and a priest who confessed that he had deceived his believers.
In addition, he was a human being who repeatedly broke down and stood up in trials he could not bear.
So I also knelt down on the other side and prayed.
“Please, may there be salvation.”
“… Please, may there be salvation.”
*
As time passed, we started talking about Sanghyun and Ga-in.
“Speaking of Cain, wouldn’t it be too dangerous to go out in that state?”
Seeing Sanghyun falter instead of answering reminded him of reality.
“I think you really feel like you owe something to Ga-in.”
“Gain gave me a second chance when I was trapped in hell. Also, in room 203, it was Ga-in who faced the monsters instead of me, who was avoiding danger to save the tribe.”
“that… . okay. I understand how you feel, but try to repay that debt when you two are together. “Right now, for everyone else’s sake, please take a step back and speak calmly.”
“…”
“Because you are the one who knows best what kind of condition he is in.”
Sanghyun leaned on the train’s chair, thought for a moment, and then answered honestly.
“It seems dangerous.”
“Which part? “Are they suddenly taking over our bodies?”
“For example, when we face the room of curses together, Ga-in, who has become the best among us in many ways, may find our handling of the work frustrating.”
“I guess that’s possible.”
“If it were him in the past, I would have tried to persuade him somehow… . “If it were him now, I think he would just move his body and handle it in the direction he thinks is appropriate.”
“…”
“Because Gain-kun thinks it’s efficient.”
“What if I tell you not to do that?”
“There is a gap between the values of ordinary human beings, for whom the body itself constitutes their identity, and the values of those who regard their bodies as clothes that can be thrown off at any time, that cannot be narrowed with a word or two. “He will feel that we look foolish.”
I felt like I knew what Sanghyun was trying to say.
Fundamentally changed values are not something that can be persuaded with just one or two words.
Even if we protest strongly, the current Cain would not consider body snatching an ‘evil act.’
Maybe they will try to manipulate us more cleverly and thoroughly to avoid getting caught.
This is something that Bureau agents often experience.
Civilians who are half-way into the darkness of the world often get angry and say that the Bureau is the greatest evil in the world.
It would be even more strange not to feel indignant at burning the life of an innocent person as lightly as a feather.
Of course, we have our reasons.
It’s just that they know that no matter how hard they try to explain the reason, they can’t persuade the general public, so they just point guns at them instead of persuading them.
“good. Looking at the catalog, it seems like if you get off the train when it arrives at the last stop, it’s a memory, but if you stay on the train, it’s a forgetfulness.”
“It says so.”
“Have you decided everything between you and me, leaving Ga-in alone?”
The next moment, the air froze.
Sanghyun and I couldn’t take a deep breath and just turned our heads slightly to the side.
Beside him, Ga-in, who had come nearby, was smiling brightly.
“…”
“Why are you angry? “By borrowing your voice again?”
This sentence is not something I or Sanghyun borrowed from my voice.
It seemed that Cain had now learned how to speak with his own mouth.
“…”
“Isn’t that too much? “You’re talking about me and ignoring my opinions?”
“… Just a little while ago, I was like a child who had to be treated well.”
“no way! I just didn’t know how to talk. By the way, I apologize for cutting the meat with your own hands. Listening to it, it seems uncomfortable too.”
“…”
“Well, I feel uncomfortable about everything. Couldn’t I use your hands? “You can use my hands too.”
“…”
Ga-in looked at my expression carefully and suddenly carefully picked up the remaining cold meat on the plate and held it out.
“ruler!”
“what?”
“You’re angry because I cut the meat with your hands earlier, right? This time, I will take the meat off with my own hands and serve it to you. “Don’t you understand this?”
I was dumbfounded, but I had no choice but to take it because I knew I would have to put it in my mouth a little longer.
“Now that’s enough! “Okay?”
“…”
“That’s it. And is this the catalog you were looking at earlier? “What is this?”
When Ga-in pointed to the first page, Sang-hyeon calmly explained.
“This is the page where you choose your legacy.”
“I guess I can’t choose. “I see a notification that the participant has already lost his/her eligibility.”
“sorry.”
“Why are you sorry? “That’s the rule.”
“…”
An inexplicable tension slowly filled the train.
At that time, a sound was heard that broke the silence.
— Clap!
[This station is hotel, hotel. There is no next stop.]
“Looks like we’ve arrived.”
“Miss Ari, let’s get off.”
On the contrary, Sanghyun walked towards the door with a relaxed expression on his face.
He, who had been feeling quite indebted to Ga-in earlier, seemed to consider the current situation rather fortunate.
Now that Cain understands the situation, he will decide for himself.
The moment I was about to walk to the door, Ga-in reached out and grabbed my shoulder.
“you… . Now I remember the name. “It’s Ari, right?”
“that’s right.”
“what do you think about it? Should I get off or not?”
“… handle it yourself.”
“Aye~! “The answer is in your expression.”
“…”
“good. I’ll stay here. Then the me outside will forget quite a lot.”
“… Bye. “See you later.”
Just before the train door closed, the young man remaining across from me suddenly grinned and said.
“Ari, spilled water cannot be put back, and someone who hatches from an egg cannot go back into the egg.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What I’m saying is that other than forgetting, it’s not as important as you think. We will meet again. hi!”
This was my last memory of him.
… maybe.