Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 564
Only Krnovel
EP.564 Episode 564 – A World You Can’t Remember (3)
Episode 564 – A World You Can’t Remember (3)
“User: Han Ga-in (Jihye)
My memory is manipulated
Something to doubt
Wise Man’s Advice: 3”
– Han Ga-in
I woke up in a soft bed.
As soon as I woke up, I saw an ominous message written on the status screen.
My memory has been manipulated?
I leaned against the wall and thought about it for a while, but I couldn’t figure out what was wrong.
Should I write some advice?
“…”
It makes no sense.
It was the owl who advised me to accept it and not resist in the first place, but if I asked him how to resist, would he tell me?
Rather, it seems like I wrote that sentence hastily in a hurry.
Instead of enlarging the blank space next to the status window, I just wrote it on top of the status window, so the date and current location were not visible.
So I deleted it again.
“User: Han Ga-in (Jihye)
Date: Day 38
Current location: Reynolds Institute
Wise Man’s Advice: 3”
Day 38?
A day has passed in the meantime.
The location is listed as Reynolds Research Institute.
Is Reynold a person’s name?
“…”
No matter how much I think about it, I don’t feel like there’s a problem with most of my memories.
Of course, it could be that the person who manipulated it is so good that I don’t notice it.
However, this thought occurred to me.
It doesn’t seem like a large-scale memory manipulation to the extent of reconstructing the self.
If it was that serious of a blow, the owl wouldn’t have accepted it.
Small and simple information.
But very important information.
It seems like that’s the only thing that’s been twisted.
*
As I came out of the room, I saw an old man drinking tea with a view of an old mansion.
Looks like you woke up before me.
“Oh, you’re out?”
“Yes. Is everything okay?”
“I met a guy who said he was the owner of the mansion.”
“… Is that person a former participant?”
Grandfather tapped the air silently.
People who don’t know will wonder what this is, but that location is where the conversation window is visible from Grandpa’s perspective.
“Hmm….”
“Don’t relax.”
“Of course.”
“But listen to me and don’t be surprised. It seems like some of our memories have been edited.”
“Grandpa noticed it too.”
I knew it right away because I wrote it down in the status window, but Grandpa noticed it too?
Looking at this, it seems like the title of former agent wasn’t given to him for nothing.
“It’s been a while. I don’t know the exact date -”
“It’s one day.”
“Aha! I’m glad you’re here. You came here yesterday afternoon and it’s morning now… Are you having a vague memory of half a day?”
“Hmm….”
“Anyway, because of this, I lost a very important memory.”
“What is it?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know how to get out of here.”
“ah….”
This is another world, a place that cannot be entered or exited through normal means.
Was Grandpa’s manipulated memory ‘how to get out’?
Where did my memory change?
…
The confusion subsided.
What can we do with memories that have already disappeared?
If you have any trouble, you can go outside and get help from Eunsol.
If you don’t come out for a long time, Ariga will come to the rescue, so there is insurance.
“It’s okay. It’s not like I don’t have insurance.”
“Phew… Right.”
A moment of silence.
And then, an intruder appeared on the railing.
“Both of you are awake.”
He appears to be a white male in his mid-40s.
He was about the same height as me, in the mid to late 170s, and judging by his frame and the muscles visible through the gaps in his clothes, he seemed to be well-trained.
Other physical characteristics are –
“Why are you looking at me so openly?”
“Since he touched my memories and those of my colleagues, I can’t help but be suspicious.”
“Huh! Let’s get this straight. This is my house, and you are intruders who barged in without warning.”
“…”
If you think about it, this is also true.
At that moment, the old man behind him took out a gun and aimed it at the other person.
“Ha! You idiot, stop talking nonsense.”
“… You are such a rude person.”
Isn’t it a bit excessive to point a gun at someone from the start?
Did something bad happen while the two of you were talking before I woke up?
— Ziing! Swish! Squeak!
This time it was the middle-aged man’s turn.
As he glared at his grandfather with an eerie glare, mechanical sounds began to be heard throughout the mansion.
Guns were pointed at us from various places – on railings, under chairs, in flower pots, next to paintings.
“Shoot? If you have more bullets, you win? Even so, you only have one head, right? One bullet should be enough.”
“…”
At that moment.
— Squeak!
“Oh, Dad! What’s going on?”
Suddenly the second floor door opened and a white boy let out a frightened voice.
“No! Joshua, I told you to stay here so Daddy could take care of it!”
“Ugh!”
The voice of a surprised woman, and the sound of another sobbing child.
“Olivia! Take the kids in!”
“Arthur!”
“…”
Arthur?
Is that guy’s name?
Anyway, this is really home.
It appears to be the place where Arthur, who is believed to be a former participant, lived in seclusion with his family.
When I realized this, my grandfather’s situation became more ambiguous.
If someone saw it, they would think it was a robber who broke into an ordinary house with a gun!
“…”
“…”
My grandfather and I shared similar thoughts as we locked eyes.
There is no need for this.
Let’s think about the fact that the people from the management office who infiltrated a world they couldn’t remember in the first place returned alive with only their memories lost.
The enemy is not so violent as to kill intruders out of the blue, and this is where his family lives.
— Bam!
Grandfather lowered the gun without saying a word.
Soon, Arthur also disabled the mansion’s security system with a single gesture.
“Excuse me.”
“Let’s be polite to each other from now on.”
“Let’s try.”
At this point, it was almost certain that Arthur was the owner of the mansion and a former contestant, but just in case, I checked one last time.
Han Ga-in: Arthur, we didn’t come here to fight.
If you are the master of communication, you will be able to answer.
I hope so too.
“…”
It was the same yesterday, but the name of the person speaking was not visible.
Even when I concentrated, all that appeared were the meaningless words, ‘Searching…’
Suddenly, I thought I knew how that person might have ‘exploited’ the chat window while climbing up the hotel.
*
Arthur said as soon as he came out of the mansion.
“I don’t like the outside world.”
“…”
“It’s a place where ugly things happen all the time.”
I agree with this point to some extent.
The reality outside the hotel was so different from the peaceful world I remembered from long ago.
“Do you know which is the most terrible of all? It’s the Administration.”
“…”
“That’s the lesson the hotel taught me.”
amazing.
Regardless of the content of the conversation, the experience of talking to other hotel attendees rather than colleagues was refreshing.
“So you lived in seclusion with your family in a place like this?”
Arthur answered with a slight nod.
“Olivia, that’s my wife’s name, it’s true fate.”
“True fate?”
“I’m saying that it’s not a fantasy created by dreams! I don’t love such ridiculous hotel toys. I -”
It seems like the story is that his wife and son were created naturally in reality, not through manipulation of reality through ‘dreams’.
I get what you mean, but Arthur and I aren’t the only ones here.
Wouldn’t this be a very unpleasant story for the grandfather who resurrected his family through dreams to hear?
“It’s not even funny. If someone saw me, they’d think I had a dream but didn’t write it down. I just escaped from the entrance of the second floor by luck!”
“Even if I had my dream, I wouldn’t have created a fake family.”
Did Arthur use the escape tool while progressing through the first part of the second floor?
By the way, I knew that their relationship was bad from the moment he pointed a gun at me out of the blue, but now I know why.
When I was away, the two of you were talking about your family and it looks like you even brought up dreams!
Even so, he is a bit emotional, which is unusual for a grandfather like him.
The impact of family and memory editing?
Or was the issue involved too sensitive?
“Let’s calm down, Grandpa. We didn’t come here to fight, we came here to get information.”
“…”
“Arthur, I heard from my grandfather. He said he forgot how to get out.”
“…”
“Since you didn’t let us go out, I guess you have something to talk to us about.”
A moment of silence.
I suggested it first.
“Let’s start with our full names. My name is Han Ga-in.”
“Yes. It’s not a planned meeting, but I hope we can gain a lot from each other.”
“I have many questions about this place and about you, and I’m sure you do too. Let’s take them in order. And…”
— Flutter!
Arthur became noticeably wary when the grimoire appeared.
“… legacy.”
“Let’s not lie to each other. Isn’t it a waste of time?”
Bluffing as if a lie could be found out by the Grimoire.
That’s not entirely wrong.
Because you can find out if you ask.
Of course, if the opponent has a mental defense legacy, that would be a different matter.
Arthur was silent for a moment, then asked his first question.
“Did you guys really get through to room 207?”
Was this what you were so curious about?
Judging from the argument with his grandfather, he seemed to already know, but he seemed to want to confirm it with me.
First answer.
“Yes.”
“Wow… That’s amazing.”
A groaning voice and honest admiration.
“I escaped from the entrance of the second floor just like the old man said. Even if you call me a coward, I won’t argue.”
“I don’t intend to do that.”
A while ago, your family suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and this time, unlike you who made it to room 207, you showed your weakness by saying that you escaped at the entrance of the second floor.
Although the pretense was unpleasant, this kind of ‘weakness’ was also embarrassing.
To begin with, a hotel is not a place that becomes stronger just because it has been around for a long time.
Consider the past maze that was eliminated in the middle of the second floor, and that almost all of its colleagues were overwhelmed by its individual strength.
This guy is the same.
Who knows, maybe he planned a scheme to seize a significant portion of the first-floor inheritance and monopolize the means of escape?
Second question.
“It’s my turn. What is the purpose of this place?”
“Didn’t I tell you? For me and my family to live in seclusion -”
I took out the grimoire again.
“Let’s stop this unnecessary psychological warfare. I looked in the mirror when I came in.”
“…”
Therefore, simple seclusion cannot be the goal.
Arthur smiled awkwardly and corrected his words.
“You know about mirrors.”
“…”
“I’m not lying. My goal is to live safely with my family. If you have any doubts, you can check it out in that book.”
“…”
It doesn’t seem like a lie.
“Then what about the mirror?”
“It’s my father’s goal.”
father?
“Is your father’s name ‘Reynold’ by any chance?”
Arthur’s eyes grew wide.
“How did you -! Is there still information about my father in the administration?”
“…”
It has nothing to do with the management office, I just poked around because the status window said my current location was ‘Reynolds Research Institute’.
“Are you, Mr. Reynolds, a former agent? This was a place where mirrors were studied?”
“… Yes.”
Second answer.
This location is a research institute established by Reynold, a former agent and the participant’s father.
Soon, my grandfather said in disbelief.
“Huh! Mr. Arthur. According to what you said, that old man Reynold pushed his son into the hotel?”
“…”
“Haha! That’s right, what an admirable father. Is he still alive?”
“He is no longer a normal person. The mirror….”
Arthur’s eyes were complicated and he mumbled the words, but I could tell without having to hear any more.
Wasn’t it confirmed several times in #207 that mirrors can distort people in bizarre ways?
“It’s my turn now. The management has been putting countless people in the hotel to prevent the end of all things.”
This is a story I heard from Ari.
“And you came out. Did you accomplish your purpose?”
“…”
“The question is, did you get the power to prevent destruction from the hotel?”
Third question.
‘Did the Hotel Party get the power to prevent the apocalypse from the hotel?’
This is the goal of the administration, and it is also a question that former participants who have been hiding in secret locations are curious about.
“maybe.”
Got it.
Also, both items are in this spot.
Because I have the hourglass and my grandfather has the one more chance.
Arthur’s eyes lit up with excitement as he heard the answer.
“Can you show me how much I -”
“It’s not here.”
First lie.
I don’t know about anything else, but it would be better to hide what the other person desires the most until the very end.
“Huh… To your colleague?”
“Yes. I don’t carry valuables around carelessly.”
“That’s true.”
Now it’s my turn again.
“Do you know how many participants there are in reality?”
“As far as I know, there are less than 20.”
Less than 20 people? Is that too few?
I looked at my grandfather in slight surprise, and he tilted his head as well.
“Does that make sense?”
“Why do you think it’s strange?”
“Since we all know each other, let’s be honest. The hotel has been repeated countless times in places that transcend time and space. There are many cases where no one has escaped -”
“There must have been many escapees, and once they escape, they can withstand the loop and won’t die easily. That’s what I’m trying to say.”
Since we knew each other well enough, the conversation was comfortable.
“You are missing one important point.”
What did I miss?
“The third floor.”
“…”
Hotel Pioneer has three floors.
It may not seem real now, but isn’t it a problem that will come someday?
“As you said, there were more than 20 escapees, but many of them were killed in reality by demons or the Administration. And… .”
“and?”
“Some very strong people leave for the third floor. Those who leave like that never return.”
People who leave for the third floor don’t come back?
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“…”
“If you find out, please let me know.”
“…”
“We, who were left on the ground because we were not good enough, half-jokingly and half-seriously call those who went to the third floor ascenders.”
The word that the remaining participants in reality call those who went to the 3rd floor, ascenders.
I got information about the 3rd floor out of the blue in an unexpected place.
This alone did not mean that it was a wasted effort.
Then, a soft voice was heard.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?”
This is Arthur’s wife, Olivia, whom I saw earlier.
She looked at me and my grandfather with an anxious expression and placed three cups of coffee on the table.
A cup of coffee to clear your head during an important conversation.
It is appropriate.
Finally, it felt even more appropriate because we had at least some minimal trust in each other.
So I was suspicious.
I still don’t know which parts of my memory were edited.
No matter what, the other person is not a trustworthy person.
Arthur’s arm reached unnaturally toward the coffee cup in front of me, and his eyes shook greatly.
It can be embarrassing when your hand moves on its own to grab someone else’s coffee cup.
Soon, Arthur grabbed my coffee cup and was about to take a sip.
— Clang!
Olivia slammed her coffee cup down with a pale expression.
There’s a lot to figure out between us, so I doubt we’ve been poisoned… .
I heard that the administration has several strong confession systems.
If your father was an agent, then that’s understandable.
“…”
The three men were silent.
Soon, Arthur smiled bitterly.
“Oh, by the way, I have developed a bad habit at hotels. Excuse me.”
It’s a habit of putting unpleasant additives in coffee cups.
“It’s okay. That’s just how hotels are. I’ve developed some weird habits, too.”
Arthur’s eyes waver.
Because the words just now came out of Olivia’s mouth, not mine.
“Eek!”
Olivia’s terrified voice.
It has a peaceful and quiet atmosphere.
In my opinion, the hotel attendees, excluding ‘our party’, were mostly like this.
“Let me ask you one more question.”
“Isn’t it my turn now?”
“I guess it’s Arthur’s turn since we had coffee a little while ago.”
“…”
“What did you find out by studying mirrors?”