Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 699
Only Krnovel
EP.699 Episode 699 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘The Origin of Species’ (33)
Episode 699 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘The Origin of the Species’ (33)
– Kim Ari
When starting the third attempt at 301, one thing that concerned me was where the maze would start.
Because I thought it would be a hassle to suddenly start alone in Jeju Island.
Luckily, the hotel set up the maze in the house where I and Mukseong live, with Miro as my younger sibling.
Now, Miro is trembling in fear before me.
“Ariya… Will the Duke listen to us?”
“What’s wrong? Didn’t I already summon you once during the meeting yesterday?”
Yes, we already summoned the Duke last night and had a brief conversation for about two minutes.
I think the Duke’s attitude was quite cooperative.
“Well, back then, there was Gain! But now, there isn’t.”
“…”
Facts confirmed in the first round.
The Duke can easily overwhelm everyone except for Ga-in.
So it’s not strange if Cain’s attitude changes when he’s there and when he’s not.
So, the fear of mazes is well-founded.
“What if they kill us or brainwash us as soon as they summon us? I, I can attack them before I can even counter-summon them!”
In times like these, it’s a shame that there’s no function to control the summons during the time zone.
However, unlike the maze, I wasn’t too worried.
“It’ll be okay.”
“Why? You said it at the meeting! You said it would be difficult to persuade the king or the seer.”
“Those two are like that, but the Duke will be able to communicate.”
“What are you talking about? The Duke may be weaker than the King, but he is much, much stronger than the Seer!”
The logic is that A may not be able to convince, but B may be able to.
Miro seems to have understood the above logic to mean that A is stronger than B and cannot be controlled.
“It’s not like the King is strong and cannot be persuaded, and the Duke is weak and can be persuaded. It’s not a matter of strength, it’s a matter of disposition.”
“tendency?”
“In the first round, the Duke and Ga-in who appeared after the apocalypse negotiated more easily than expected. It was the same during the meeting yesterday. Those two have similar personalities. Regardless of strength or weakness, they have a strong super-rational nature.”
Whether or not you can be persuaded is a matter of disposition rather than strength or weakness.
Soon, Miro spoke as if he knew something.
“Oh, so the peacock is also a T?”
?
“… what?”
What are you talking about? Tea? What is tea?
When I asked again in confusion, Miro shook his head.
“Ah~~ Ari doesn’t even know this? Ugh… She’s really slow, she’s so slow.”
“…”
“Ariya, do you know that cell phones these days are smartphones? Aren’t they? Do you know about the Internet?”
— Boom!
He immediately grabbed Miro’s tiny head.
“Whoa!”
“Stop talking nonsense and just summon me.”
Miro summoned the Time Machine, puffing up his balls.
— Clang!
Soon, the peacock’s form appeared through the hazy mist.
“…”
An unintended silence that lasted about ten seconds.
I thought I had already finished preparing myself mentally, but when the Duke actually appeared before my eyes, I found myself shrinking without realizing it.
I opened my mouth, trying to straighten out my wavering mind.
“I briefly conveyed this yesterday, but I will say it again. Your king will only lead everyone to destruction. Not only humans, but even the race of Is will become lost in heaven. You experienced it firsthand, right?”
A silent opponent.
“In other words, the King of Iss has taken the wrong path. If he is loyal, shouldn’t he be able to correct the King?”
Still no answer came back.
Surely, you’re not saying that you won’t talk to someone of lower status?
“I have two demands. First, I want you to convince the King. The path he takes is doom. Everyone will be lost in heaven. That’s what I want you to say. I’m not asking you to lie. I’m asking you to tell the truth, from your own experience.”
To be honest, I’m skeptical about the possibility of persuasion.
I said the same thing to Gain, and I said the same thing at the meeting.
I don’t think a being like the King of Iss can be persuaded.
However, since my colleagues had different thoughts, I will just relay that information as well.
“Second, the cessation of the ‘rite of grace.’”
For the first time, the peacock’s vague shape stirred.
It seems like he’s lost in his own complicated thoughts.
“Ultimately, the root of all destruction is the grace that the King of Iss is carrying out.”
Solution Condition for Room 301: Uproot the ‘grace’ that is taking place underground in Gangwon-do.
This is the conclusion everyone reached at the end of the meeting.
Although opinions differed on other topics, everyone agreed on this one.
“If we stop the magical ritual currently underway in Gangwon-do, we can resolve the current situation.”
I slowly feel the peacock’s gaze turning towards me.
“Grace is a type of extremely high-level magic ritual. It will involve precious materials, equipment that is difficult to restore, and irreversible procedures. You probably know a lot about Grace. You also know how to stop it, right?”
The duke answered first.
‘You can stop it.’
“Thank goodness. In that case, please stop the grace ritual that is the root of the destruction. If possible, it should be irreparable. And…”
Can we skip the part about you guys going back to the world you used to live in?
— Suaah…!
At that moment, the peacock’s momentum began to surge forward like a wave.
A feeling of oppression that feels like it’s crushing both physically and mentally!
What if the Duke tries to kill me now? There’s no way to resist.
Maze’s reverse summoning? The opponent can also knock out Maze immediately if they want to.
“… If you have something to say, I wish you would just say it.”
“I have 55 minutes and 27 seconds left.”
“Yeah -”
‘If everything goes according to plan, I won’t have too much time. Rather, I’ll have more than enough.’
“…”
A tone that suggests he has already guessed our plans.
In some ways, the current Duke is more demanding than the King of Iss who crouched underground in Gangwon Province.
Because, like us, they remember what happened in ‘heaven’.
Because of that, I felt quite anxious.
At that moment, the Duke conveyed an unexpected opinion.
‘Give me a chance to meet the princess.’
“what?”
‘5 seconds is enough.’
At that moment, the thought that came to my mind was not, “What is the Duke thinking of saying to Eunsol?”
What kind of conversation are you having for just 5 seconds?
*
– Lee Eun-sol
.
..
…
I, so…
I woke up in room 301, in my car, and was on my way to burn the maze.
“…”
It was definitely like that a little while ago, but what’s the view now? A beach?
Did you fall asleep on your way to pick up Miro?
At that moment, someone’s voice was heard.
“Meet the princess.”
“… princess?”
I was momentarily confused, but soon I was able to guess the other person’s identity.
“Hey, Duke?”
“You can call me that.”
“Right now… what is this situation? A dream?”
“Similar. It’s to have a private conversation with you. Also, since my remaining time is limited, I needed to save time.”
“…”
I don’t know what the other person thought of me, but at least the tone of voice felt polite.
Anyway, I am the daughter of the creator god of the Iss race.
“It feels really strange to be called princess. It seems like ‘mother’ doesn’t really think of me as her child.”
What were my brothers and I to my mother?
A slightly expensive tool to save the race of Is, the true children?
At that moment, the Duke brought up an unexpected story.
“No.”
“…”
“If the princess thinks so, it is because she cannot distinguish between small and big loves.”
“Small love and big love?”
“Love for a wife, children, friends – a chosen few is a small love. It is also the general form of love that humans think of.”
“… Then, what is great love?”
“Great love is love directed toward billions, hundreds of billions, trillions – and beyond, untold numbers. This is the form of love that God bestows upon His creatures.”
“…”
“The King loves you. He loves the dead princes and princesses too.”
“How do you know that?”
You didn’t even see the first wish, so how did you know about the deaths of your older brother and younger sister?
“He simply loved us as he loved a princess and a prince.”
At that moment, unable to control the anger welling up inside him, he strongly retorted.
“Lies! We were nothing more than expendable tools created for you.”
“Why are you here?”
“Why? To save you, I sacrificed not only my older brother and younger sister, but also myself.”
“Princess, please have a broad perspective.”
“what?”
“The nature of small love is discrimination. It distinguishes between the few who cherish it and the many who do not. Great love does not discriminate. However, because it does not discriminate, great love is sometimes cruel.”
“What, what do you mean?”
“Because a being who loves 100 billion equally can mercilessly burn 100 million to save 99.9 billion.”
For a moment, I was speechless.
“I believe that the princess is well aware of this principle, isn’t she?”
“…”
As the Duke said, I immediately understood the concept of great love.
Since the object of loyalty is a race, not an individual, a mindset that allows one to slaughter 100 million people for the sake of 10 billion people.
Isn’t this the true nature of the service that the Administration offers to humanity?
When I understood this far, I understood the meaning of the peacock.
“… Are you saying that we are not the first time that our mother has sacrificed someone?”
“It has happened countless times. The princess distinguishes between ‘us’ and ‘you,’ but you must understand that in the eyes of the king, you and we are no different. It has happened countless times throughout the history of Is.”
So, this is what the Duke is saying.
It would be wrong to think that I and my brothers, who were mere humans, were sacrificed for the sake of the Iss race.
In the eyes of the king, the race of Is, as well as me and my brothers, are all ‘creations’.
The King has mercilessly sacrificed 100 million in the past to protect 99.9 billion creatures, and the tragedy my brothers and I have experienced is merely an extension of this.
I understand what you mean.
However, I don’t particularly agree with this claim.
“So? What, accept the infinite love of the great king?”
Suddenly, I realized that I was speaking quite roughly now, unlike before.
Perhaps the duke was annoyed by the way the king spoke in his defense.
“No matter what you say, the King of Is is leading everyone to destruction.”
The next moment, the Duke began to tell a truly bizarre story.
“Princess, I am not asking you to follow the King’s will.”
“what?”
“I am saying that it is inevitable for a great colony to consume some in order to survive. This applies not only to the Yith race, but also to the human race to which you feel a sense of belonging. You cannot deny it.”
Some sacrifices are inevitable for the survival of the colony.
It was harsh logic, but it was not easy to refute the Duke’s words, considering the way the Administration ruled over humanity.
“so?”
Instead of answering right away, the duke suddenly paused.
It seemed like he was preparing a plausible story to make me understand.
“In this land where the princess lives, there are colonies of creatures called bees.”
“…”
“They say that in winter, the drones are driven out of the hive and freeze to death. They are not needed in normal times, so they must be sacrificed during harsh times.”
“…”
“Infected worker bees do not return to the hive but die outside. This is also a behavior for the good of the colony.”
“Is it natural for an individual to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the colony? I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”
“Princess, it’s not just the drones and worker bees that are sacrificed. The princesses themselves are sacrificed for various reasons.”
“So, you’re saying that I and my brothers’ sacrifices should be accepted as a given? You call this persuasion now -”
“sometimes.”
The Duke’s next words were truly unimaginable.
“The Queen must make sacrifices too.”
“…”
“Worker bees kill queen bees that have lost productivity or whose lifespan has expired by biting them and raise new monarchs.”
“…”
“The queen bee with poor judgment can also be seen as falling into this category. Just as everyone has come together for the sake of one throughout the eons… Sometimes, one must sacrifice for all.”
“…”
“Not everyone can sit on the throne. Just as only the princess who can control the worker bees by emitting pheromones from birth can sit on the throne of the hive. You were born with the power of a king.”
“…”
“You are a smart person, so I believe you will understand what I mean.”