Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 695
Only Krnovel
EP.695 Episode 695 – The Second Escape, Meeting (2)
Episode 695 – Second Escape, Meeting (2)
“User: Han Ga-in (Jihye)
Date: 16th day
Current Location: Tier 1, Room 105 – ‘Room of Rest’
Wise Man’s Advice: 0”
– Han Ga-in
“Hey, this is delicious.”
“It’s pork belly, so of course it’s delicious!”
“Brother, you’ve tried all kinds of food at our hotel, right?”
The specialty of 105 is to provide you with whatever food you want in the best quality.
It would be a shame to only eat familiar and common food in a place like this.
There are always coworkers who summon up unusual dishes at every meal.
The Chinese-style roast suckling pig that I’ve only seen on TV is basic.
It was not uncommon for exotic dishes with unfamiliar names such as ‘Molokhiya’, ‘Suwarma’, and ‘Falafel’ to appear on the table.
Thanks to sitting in Room 105 and sampling countless unique and rare foods from around the world, some of us have come to one conclusion.
“Gain, I just think pork belly and kimchi stew are the most delicious.”
“…Actually, me too.”
“me too!”
Common foods like pork belly, fried chicken, or kimchi fried rice were tastier than the mysterious foods enjoyed by pharaohs, czars, emperors, and padishahs – most of which are considered to be mere talismanic delicacies.
Of course, this may be because I am Korean.
Anyway, for the above reasons, summoning up unusual foods at mealtimes was not considered particularly wrong among us.
…it was like that until then.
“Eww! Ah, Ari! You, did you know what that was when you summoned it?”
Everyone looked towards Ari at Elena’s surprised voice.
In Ari’s hand was a small can, the lid of which had the words Surströmming written on it –
What is that? Isn’t that food famous for its stench?
People’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment, but Ari slowly tried to open the can with a playful expression on her face!
“Eww! Why is this kid like this!”
“Why? I just eat what I want to eat.”
“Stop talking nonsense!”
“Kick!”
Elena tried to snatch the can away from her as if it was ridiculous, but Ari swung the can around to avoid Elena’s reach.
At this moment, I began to suspect that Ari’s mental age had regressed to that of a five-year-old.
Isn’t that Miro with only her hair dyed black?
Unfortunately, Miro was still there, his mouth half open, next to Ari.
“Eight!”
Eventually, Elena snatched the can of Surströmming from Ari’s hands.
Looking at the situation, it seems Ari wasn’t particularly sincere.
If she was serious, there was no way Elena could withstand Ari’s moves.
Anyway, I let my guard down for a moment, thinking that this is how the funny incident at mealtime ended!
— Suaah…!
A dizzying vision flashes through my mind.
In a room filled with shock and chaos, Eunsol closed her eyes tightly as if giving up on everything, and Miro stretched out her hand –
By reaching out?
“Mondemonde! Ari wants to eat it! Just let her eat it!”
“Mi, Mi-ro, this is – yikes!”
Miro quickly reached out and opened the can that was in Elena’s hand!
Some of his colleagues didn’t even know what ‘Surströmming’ was, and Miro’s actions were so sudden that no one could react.
The next moment, an outrageous stench, as if the smell of seafood that had been expired for a year had been concentrated and exploded, enveloped the room!
“Eww!”
“Eww! T-That’s the smell coming from food?”
“What is this!”
“Whoa!”
“No, Miro, don’t open the can and scream!”
“I didn’t know there were such strange canned goods!”
The momentum of one canned food surpassed all the food on the table.
It’s literally a battle between one man and a thousand men!
No, why does insight work so uselessly in this situation?
Why are you just showing me Eunsol noona closing her eyes because she’s sick of the smell and Miro opening the can lid?
That’s why I was so late in reacting because I was thinking deeply on my own!
The moment when everyone stopped eating in confusion.
There was just one person who stood up and drank the last sip with a calm attitude.
It was a mushroom.
Blocking bad smells by controlling the five senses from various perspectives!
Soon, Miro was attached to Songi.
“Me too! Me too!”
“Sorry. No.”
“Why not!”
Why is that why?
In the first place, various viewpoints can only be used on one entity.
Since I’m writing this to Songi, I can’t write it to Miro – At that moment, Songi’s eyes suddenly opened wide.
It seems as if he has just now realized something he didn’t even know about.
Soon, Songi was staring intently at Miro, and Miro’s expression became relaxed!
It was an amazing moment when Songi and Miro were protected by the bracelet ‘at the same time’.
“Hey, hey! Let’s go out for a bit!”
*
“Ah! What is that smell?”
“Here, here, deodorant!”
Sister Eunsol had already ordered a deodorant from HP Market.
Unfortunately, the smell of that damn canned food was too strong to be blown away with deodorant.
Because of this, not only their clothes but also their bodies were already stinky.
Soon, people who came to their senses looked at Ari with bewildered eyes.
“you…”
A situation where the feeling of arrogance is contained in this one word, ‘you’.
Ari, who was receiving everyone’s attention, shrugged her shoulders as if nothing had happened and answered.
“Did you do well?”
“…”
and…
Wow, I honestly never imagined an answer like this!
While the group was shocked by Ari’s shamelessness and just gaped, Ari continued speaking calmly.
“Look, thanks to me, Songi has improved a step.”
“Ah, Ari, you…!”
“No? If it weren’t for me, Songi might not have noticed the enhancement of the inheritance’s function -”
“Hey! Hey! Seriously, why is this kid like this? It’s not a maze!”
Songi threw a low kick with a dumbfounded expression, and Ari showed amazing skill in avoiding the low kick flying from behind.
Funnily enough, it was Miro who reacted to Songi’s words.
“Why, why are you doing this to me!”
“You be quiet too! You opened the can!”
“I, I didn’t know it was a canned food like that! I thought it was a can of tuna at best -”
“Then it’s the responsibility of the person who doesn’t know!”
“Ari, why don’t you be quiet?”
A beautiful moment where Ari and Miro pass the buck to each other.
Of course, responsibility is clear.
It’s possible that Miro made a mistake by not knowing what Surströmming was.
However, it is the worst thing in the world that Ariga summoned Surströmming knowingly!
Anyway, the mealtime incident ended with this feeling.
*
Everyone sat around the tea table with tired expressions on their faces.
The topic of conversation was Songi’s legacy, and it seemed that some sort of functional enhancement had occurred when the owner realized his ‘first wish’.
Not only has the number of people been lifted, but the usage time has also increased considerably.
However, there was also Songi’s opinion that it was still far behind the performance it had when used inside Room 103.
On the other hand, let’s think positively because it may mean that there is still a lot of room for improvement.
Naturally, the colleagues’ gaze turned to Eunsol.
Song-i, who realized her wish, experienced this change, but her older sister seemed to be wondering if there was something missing.
My sister must have been curious too, so she opened her phone to check the HP Market and even tried summoning the flute.
“I don’t know yet.”
Ari, who had just revealed everything by herself – why did she reveal everything by herself? – said naturally.
“Hotels are secretly fair in this regard, right? You must have something going for you too. Maybe you just don’t know it yet.”
“Hmm…”
“Think about what your wish is.”
Advice to recall the content of your wish.
At those words, my older sister looked as if she had realized something.
“Do you think you know something?”
“…”
“What is it? What is it?”
“I think there will be a change after the end of 301.”
I don’t think it’s something said with a vague feeling.
To begin with, Eunsol isn’t that kind of person.
He realized something, but he didn’t seem to want to explain it. It must have something to do with the content of the wish.
Looking back, when Song-i and Eun-sol both talked about their pasts, the part about ‘what exactly did you wish for?’ was left vague.
I understand.
The memory associated with one’s first wish is likely to be the most traumatic experience of one’s entire life.
So, it is not easy to tell others the specific details of one’s wish.
If you think about it, there are quite a few things I haven’t told my colleagues.
“I’ve been feeling this for a while now, but I think that canned food smell has gotten to us too. Let’s all take a shower and get some rest today.”
“Okay, let’s do that!”
“Let’s do that. My nose is still blocked because of that crazy girl!”
“Oh my, Mukseong! You’re not talking about me -”
“Someone give him a beating!”
Ari dodged this time too, not getting hit by anyone.
Just before they each returned to room 105, Eunsol’s mouth trembled slightly.
It felt more like a deeply contemplative thought just blurted out unconsciously, rather than something I had intended to say to anyone.
“Give it to me…”
Give it to me?
What does this mean?
*
– Kim Muk-seong
.
..
…
— Bam!
“Oh my~!”
I washed myself three times since lunchtime.
Now I feel like the bad smell on my body has gone away a bit.
Or is it that my nose is so rotten and worn out that I’m used to the smell?
As I was out on the second floor snowy area and feeling the cold wind, I saw passengers approaching from afar.
“You came too?”
“…Senior, are you crazy?”
I still sometimes hear him call me senior when we’re alone, so I guess the memories of my time as an agent are still strong in me.
“Why? Oh, canned food?”
“Everyone is still avoiding each other because of that damn can!”
“Tomorrow is a day off anyway. Let’s each consider ourselves resting today.”
“No, Inma! If you hadn’t opened the can -”
Ariga stuck out her tongue and said, “Me-rong.”
“I didn’t open it. I was just playing around, but did you think the maze would suddenly open?”
“Why do I feel like my behavior is becoming more and more childish?”
“Hmm… Could it be because I’m with Miro?”
“Don’t make excuses about Miro! Miro wouldn’t have done something like this.”
“I’m an upgraded version of Maze! Whatever I do has to be different.”
Looking at his playful expression, it seemed pointless to pursue it further.
Well, as this incompetent person says, I was planning to rest tonight anyway, so it wasn’t a big deal…
That moment when I just sighed.
Ari suddenly looked at me with sharp eyes and said.
“… are you okay?”
“…”
“The state of blessing is still not normal.”
At this moment, I admit I felt a little moved.
After I left room 301, the only person who cared about my condition and didn’t forget about it was Ari.
Of course, the other colleagues are not particularly heartless.
Everyone was half out of their minds because of the unprecedented incident of prisoners barging into the hotel.
Maybe my story will come out this evening or tomorrow.
“Well, it’s okay.”
“Isn’t it okay just for now? If I use One More Chance again, something big will happen.”
“…”
“When I used it in Room 207, the price of reverse tidal wave was old age.”
“That’s right.”
“In reality, it was a loss of qualification as a regressor.”
“right.”
“Room 301, the room of curses…”
“…”
“Are you unstable as a participant? Have you recovered after escaping?”
I answered honestly.
“No. It seems that what has already been lost cannot be recovered.”
“…”
Ari’s expression darkened in an instant.
Was that why?
I had a funny feeling that I wanted to at least make this childish person feel better.
“Haha! Why is that? One More Chance is the strongest legacy. It is inevitable that the strongest legacy comes with a price.”
“… If I write it again, what if the cracks in the participant’s qualifications become even bigger?”
I don’t know either.
At the same time, I felt like I vaguely knew it.
Anyway, I felt the need to change the subject a bit.
“Ahem, Arya. Did you hear what the seer said in room 301?”
“Oh, you’re talking about what I heard from the seer before you turned back time, right?”
Ari herself is a forgotten memory due to One More Chance.
Of course, the people at the observatory did not forget and passed it on.
“It is said that the seer called the being that reached the peak of human spiritual evolution a ‘returner.’”
“It’s not scientific at all.”
“Isn’t that regressor a hotel participant who has surpassed even that one step?”
“…That’s true.”
“From a visionary’s perspective, hotel attendees are literally the pinnacle of human evolution.”
“…”
“Grace is a ritual that artificially creates such participants.”
“So that’s why the room is titled ‘Origin of Species’? The beginning of evolution theory?”
“Hmm…”
I muttered cautiously.
“You know, there are still some secrets left in Room 301.”
“It will be like that.”
“I’ll explain in detail tomorrow… but I think part of the secret lies with the Administration.”
“…”
“There’s got to be something more. It’s just a feeling, but I’m sure of it.”
After a moment of silence, Ari started talking about something rather unexpected.
“This is just out of curiosity, but the leadership of the 301st Management Bureau is called a ‘visionary’?”
“yes.”
“Why are you a visionary? You realized it first? What did you realize?”
“…”
At that moment, a question that was completely different from Ari’s, yet similar, came to mind.
“I just remembered something when I heard you say that, why are you silent?”
“what?”
“Why are the top management of the administration that you and I worked for called the ‘silent ones’? What are you silent about? The secrets of the world?”