Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 697
Only Krnovel
EP.697 Episode 697 – The Ultimate Self, the Beginning of the Third Attempt (4) Fin
Episode 697 – The Ultimate Self, the Beginning of the Third Attempt (4) Fin
“User: Han Ga-in (Jihye)
Date: 17th day
Current Location: Tier 1, Lobby
Wise Man’s Advice: 2”
– Han Ga-in
“Hello, creepy Gain!”
The person sitting in front of me was Ari.
It seems that Eunsol told her older sister, “Gain is acting worse today than usual…” and she was so dumbfounded that she had nothing to say.
“I feel like the hotel has a professional counselor these days. Isn’t that right?”
“Are you talking to me?”
Ari giggled and nodded.
“You must have been tired from teaching all morning. Wasn’t it? Was it fun?”
“What about the lecture…”
“There are times when I feel amazed when I look at you.”
“why?”
“The ability to control other people’s bodies. The ability to read other people’s fates.”
In reality, insight is not the power to read fate.
Insight and prophecy seem similar, but they are very different abilities.
However, my colleagues did not necessarily distinguish between prophecy and insight.
From the outside, it’s hard to tell the difference anyway.
“Either way, it’s a power that’s hard to gain the trust of others. Controlling bodies is obvious, and so is the ability to read fate. Think of Cassandra from Greek mythology.”
“Hmm…”
“But we trust you. It will be difficult for me and the past maze.”
Ari was slightly taken aback by her sudden words, but then she continued speaking.
“Anyway, listen to my lecture this time.”
A story about the title of Room 301.
“The title of the room is The Origin of Species. You know, it’s a word that symbolizes the theory of evolution.”
“okay.”
“As always – the title of the room had a significant meaning this time too.”
From the hotel’s perspective, the keyword for room 301 was ‘evolution’.
“The powers of the administration, including the seers, consider humans to be the result of spiritual evolution as regressors. Of course, this is a pseudoscience far removed from science.”
“It doesn’t matter whether it’s scientifically sound or not. What matters is that the key figures within the hotel believe it.”
“That’s right. And, according to what was revealed in Eunsol’s flashbacks, there was a next step for the regressors.”
“participant.”
In the eyes of the seer, the participant is one step ahead of the regressor.
How will the participants be viewed by those who see the regressors as a product of human evolution?
It is the pinnacle of evolution. It is the ultimate destination for humans.
Of course, this analysis is far from scientific.
“That is, the meaning of the room title was that there was an attempt to create participants within room 301.”
He nodded and answered.
“I’m thinking the same thing… but there’s something strange about it. Look at what happened when the King of Iss actually succeeded in obtaining grace.”
At the end of the second round, the King of Is succeeded in obtaining the favor by taking over Eunsol’s body.
“The world was destroyed. Perhaps a huge number of human souls were used as resources for the grace ritual. Is this the ending that the Seer truly wanted?”
Ari immediately shook her head.
“No, I don’t think so. Perhaps the seer dreamed of the spiritual ascension of all mankind through the power of the King of Iss?”
A spiritual leap for all mankind…
It’s a plausible goal, but considering the true nature of the grace revealed at the end of the second round, it was a dud from the start.
Because not everyone could become a participant through grace.
The only people who could become participants were Eunsol, who had a special arrangement from birth.
Even that Eunsol noona, the moment she truly obtained her fate, was difficult for the prisoner to control.
In addition, in the process of carrying out the grace, an incalculable number of people die and even the final judgment appears.
Why is the reality of grace like this?
Because the King of Iss, who is at the center of the plan, has not even a single gram of affection for humans.
The only object of the king’s infinite love is the race of Is.
I said the thought that came to me naturally.
“So, is there any way to bring in the visionaries in the next episode?”
At that moment, Ari frowned slightly.
“It seems like it will be difficult.”
“why?”
“A visionary is not the type of person who can be persuaded.”
“I’m not saying that I’m going to just say it vaguely. I’m going to say it through logic that a visionary can understand -”
At that moment, Ari opened her mouth with a slightly complicated expression.
“Gain, listen to me for a moment.”
Soon, Ari started telling an interesting story.
“I’ve been with you for a long time, and recently I’ve come to realize something after getting to know the wisdom of the past generations. People who belong to wisdom are extremely super-rational.”
It is said that those who belong to wisdom have a strong tendency to be super-rational.
“Did you receive the blessing of wisdom because you were originally like that? Or did the blessing of wisdom change you?”
“It seems to be half and half. I originally had that tendency, and I became more like it after receiving blessings.”
“Yeah. Anyway, you guys tend to come to crazy conclusions after thinking rationally.”
People who arrive at madness after thinking rationally?
It was disconcerting, but on the other hand, it sounded like a reasonable opinion.
“When I think rationally, if my death is necessary, I will commit suicide.”
“…”
“When you think rationally, if you see that the goal you have pursued for eons is wrong, you immediately give up.”
“…”
“These are actions that you and your ancestors have shown wisdom. You may think that these are reasonable and natural.”
“It was actually a reasonable decision.”
“What I’m saying is that there are very few people in the world who think like you.”
Not everyone in the world thinks like the wisdom of our ancestors or like me.
So, Ari thinks that this time I was wrong.
At that moment, I felt a kind of joy.
After gaining insight, most of my colleagues rarely contradicted my opinions.
Ari is usually the one who makes rational rebuttals like this, and sometimes Eunsol joins in.
Or, the maze just falls flat without context.
Ariga said with a serious expression.
“In my opinion, a visionary is someone who is impossible to persuade. No matter what you say, they will never believe you, and there is a high probability that they are obsessed with their own beliefs.”
“Is that your empirical judgment from working at the Administration?”
“That’s right. There are a lot of visionaries in the administration. Due to the nature of the organization, strange information from all over the world gathers, and there are a lot of people who are obsessed with conspiracy theories.”
“Hmm, then I guess we should just proceed with eliminating the seer.”
“Also, it seems like you’re trying to persuade the King of Is in the third round, right?”
“That’s right. I also included the second round of work in the timeline for this.”
“…”
Ari said the following after a long moment of hesitation, as if he wasn’t sure what to say.
“It may be a stretch to discuss the ‘personality’ of a great being who transcends humanity… ”
“Just tell me.”
“I feel that the King of Is has the following characteristics.”
Soon, Ari began scribbling on the whiteboard.
Analysis of the King of Is’s actions
1. Secrecy that hides the entire plan from even the Iss race.
2. According to the manager, the same mistake is repeated many times.
3. Extremely cunning, skilled in schemes, and prone to toying with mortals.
“What do you think? What do you think?”
“Secrecy, self-confidence, a certain disregard for mortality.”
“Can we convince such a being?”
“We are not the ones persuading -”
“It’s the same even if you’re a duke. Should I listen to the duke trying to persuade me?”
“…”
“Of course, the King of Iss loves the Iss race. He would even sacrifice his own life to save the Iss race. Love itself is true. However, loving and believing are different things.”
“…”
“Parents love and cherish their children, but they also know that children are more foolish and weak than adults. The King of Iss must be the same.”
Ari’s point was simple.
The story goes that not only the seer but also the King of Iss is not someone who can be persuaded.
The opinion is that it won’t work whether we go and talk or the Duke goes and talks.
I tried to make a careful, ‘rational’ rebuttal.
“What if the King reads the Duke’s memories to get information about the previous round? No, the King of Iss is a being who can see fate, so he might be able to read the fate of the previous round itself -”
“Gain, you don’t really understand the conspiracy theorist mindset.”
“what?”
“When faced with undeniable evidence, conspiracy theorists say things like this.”
Ari stood up from her seat and shouted like an agitator.
“It’s all fabricated.”
“…”
“Everything, everything, all, everything! It’s all manipulated!”
“…Who manipulates the Duke’s memories?”
“Buddha manipulated it aaaaaaaaaa!!!”
For a moment, I was speechless.
“You, isn’t that a bit too childish of an analysis? You’ve already decided on a conclusion, and you insist that all the contrary evidence is fabrication… The King of Iss isn’t some kind of idiot.”
“Do you think only people with low intelligence fall for conspiracy theories? Then why do the employees of the Management Bureau, which consists of only the world’s top elites, fall for conspiracy theories?”
“…”
Even listening to Ari’s words, it was difficult to accept.
Because, to me, it felt so irrational and foolish.
“No matter how much I think about it, it seems impossible for a prisoner to be that stupid.”
Ari shrugged her shoulders as if she sensed my thoughts.
“It’s too much of your perspective to think this is stupid. Try using the advice. I’m curious too.”
“Advice: 2 -> 1”
‘What do you think about our current conversation?’
The answer was extremely simple.
“heaven”
It was so simple that it was embarrassing.
“what?”
“Why? Did the owl give you another answer that was like a Zen question? What did it say?”
“Heaven. You gave me just two words.”
“Wow~ As expected of an owl. I always feel this way, but there’s no sponsor who helps us as much as an owl at a hotel.”
“yes.”
“It seems like owls are the ones who help me the most, but they’re also the ones who annoy me the most… .”
Ari, who had said this, shook her head and spoke her last words.
“Anyway, think carefully about what I said. You need to keep several possibilities in mind.”
As Ari leaves, I am left alone at the tea table.
I drank my cola in silence and thought about the owl’s advice.
To summarize what Ari said:
Any attempt to persuade or break the will of the seer or the king of Ys seems unlikely to succeed.
Because both of them, unlike me, do not seem to be beings who accept the words of others.
A good example is the conspiracy theorists who have experienced multiple instances in the Ariga Administration.
They never deviate from their conclusions, and when they see contrary evidence, they say it is all fabrication.
The owl, having heard this, answered in just two words.
heaven.
“…”
— Bam!
By the time the empty Coke can was on the table, I understood the meaning of the owl’s ‘careful’ advice.
An attitude that never changes once you have reached a conclusion after much thought.
An unwavering will that doesn’t waver no matter what obstacles lie in the way.
Outrageous sacrifices, apocalyptic tragedies, the heartbreak of many – a mindset that regards these things as mere ‘temporary phenomena’.
Ultimate self.
A spirit that is unbroken even in the face of eternal suffering.
“…”
I raised my head and looked up without realizing it.
At this moment, I took Ari and Owl’s advice to heart.
It is not only foolish beings who are self-confident.
Some beings are so great that they cannot even consider the possibility that they might be wrong.
Such people cannot be persuaded in any way.
“… If words don’t work out, I have no choice but to show you the spicy flavor.”
After that, I discussed with my colleagues late into the night how to proceed with the third round and roughly drew up a plan.
When a very risky plan came out of Eunsol’s mouth, I used the last piece of advice of the day.
“Advice: 1 -> 0”
‘What do you think about the plan?’
“The die is cast.”
Eunsol’s reaction to this was simple.
“No, what kind of aphorism is that?”
*
The morning dawned.
This is the beginning of the third attempt.