### Chapter 214 – Room 104, Cursed Room – ‘Prestigious Hotel High School’ Re (8)
—
– Lee Eunsol
After bringing Aurelia back to our hideout, we were able to gather various pieces of information related to the cult. As we organized the intel late into the night and made a few plans, Sanghyun arrived at our hideout.
His appearance, unscathed and completely contrary to our predictions of him being dead in the underground city, left us shocked.
“Ugh! Sanghyun? How on earth did you survive?”
“…”
“Sanghyun?”
“Eunsol, step back.”
Hearing Grandpa’s cold voice startled me, and I instinctively took a step back. He was pointing a gun at Sanghyun!
Startled, I reached out to grab Grandpa’s arm, only then realizing something strange. Sure, it was lucky that Sanghyun survived the collapse of the underground city, just like we did.
But why had he only now come to this location? The fact that Grandpa was the only one left holding the escape button is something everyone except Kain already knew. The location of the hideout had also been confirmed among the teacher team early on, which is how I could bring Pero Kain and Elena here.
In the tense atmosphere, Sanghyun calmly spoke up.
“Everyone, do you remember what I said before?”
“What did you say before?”
“I mentioned that in a dangerous space like a hotel, ‘strong leadership’ is essential, right?”
“…”
“I’ve brought someone suitable to take on that leadership role. The moment has now come upon me. What I say is the will of that person, so be careful with your ‘conversations.'”
With that statement, a faint light radiated from Sanghyun’s body!
Suddenly, sparks flew from Elena’s eyes as she stood beside him, the golden light illuminating her face!
“Doc! No way! I know Kain was the one who wanted to save you, but—”
Grandpa grabbed Elena’s arm to restrain her.
“Alright, you’ve come this far for a reason. I doubt you’re here just to greet your new master.”
“Of course not. The Lord has instructed me to convey an offer to you all.”
“Go on then.”
“The Lord says you are already in a deadlock. You know that the source of the curse in Room 104 is the cult itself, right? The moment you eliminate the cultists and the saint, the issue will be resolved. The saint has already ‘fallen’, so only the cultists remain. Do you know where that cult is and how many are left?”
“… There must be some leftovers in Hotel High.”
“Hahaha! You really don’t think that’s all, do you? You can’t possibly think a lavish structure like Hotel High was raised into the air through miracles? If that were the case, the Administration Bureau would have declared war long ago. Obviously, it’s a mundane building. But where do you think that kind of money came from?”
“So, are you saying that the cult has enough power to fund the construction of both the Hotel High and the underground city?”
“That’s right. Finding that power will not be easy for you, and even if you do, it will take considerable time to deal with them. By the way, the Lord will be up and about by this time tomorrow. Do you think you can resolve this overnight?”
“…”
“However, the Lord is not an oppressive demon. He possesses wisdom and mercy to lead us. Although you are in conflict with the Lord in Room 104, once outside, you will be his hands and feet, navigating the treacherous hotel. Therefore, the Lord has chosen to show mercy.”
“So what? Are you saying that we should grovel and beg because we have no answers anyway?”
“The Lord will give you a day to ponder. Come to the teacher’s office tomorrow evening.”
“Hey! You little—”
At that point, Elena could no longer hold back and charged at him! This time, I had to grab both of her hands and pull her back.
… Didn’t he say ‘it came down to me’ when we started talking?
“Elen, please!”
At the moment I pulled Elena back, the doctor’s gaze turned towards me. His eyes sparkled with gratitude as Sanghyun left the hideout.
*
“Why are you all stopping me? That guy—”
“Please! You were so quick-witted and smart earlier, but why are you suddenly like this now?”
“Huh?”
“Elen, was everything Sanghyun said backed by truth detection?”
“… Yes.”
Grandpa sighed and muttered.
“What did Kain make you think?”
Pervy Kain, who had been extremely quiet until now while pecking at some nuts and pretending to be a parrot, finally spoke up.
“It seems like the teacher is trying to be clever. He’s behaving as if he must enter the tiger’s den to catch the tiger….”
“Wasn’t the start of that a bit odd?”
“His action of glowing while stating ‘the Lord has come upon me’ was unnecessary. Essentially, this conversation was a warning to us that the Lord is listening.”
“‘Be careful with your ‘conversations.’ That expression seemed odd to me, too. There are many other expressions about being careful, but saying ‘careful with conversation’ clearly feels like a warning to watch out for the conversation tab.”
Elena responded slightly flustered.
“Does that mean the Lord can now spy on our conversation tabs since he has gained the status of a participant? But the conversation tab has distance limits! It’s quite a distance from here to the teacher’s office even by car.”
Grandpa shook his head.
“Right now, as Elena said, we’re not far. Sanghyun’s words were meant to warn us not to speak carelessly about the conversation tab when we get close to him.”
“If Sanghyun really betrayed us, there would have been much better ways to pass on the Lord’s intention than to act as a messenger.”
The ‘better way’ was clearly expressed by Grandpa.
“After all, our party tends not to distrust each other, right? If he had broken a bone or sustained wounds beforehand, we wouldn’t have suspected him. If he ambushed us after joining us, we’d all be dead, and this room would be in the hands of the Lord.”
Unlike Elena, who had reacted emotionally and was slow to grasp the situation, the other three shared a unanimous opinion. Sanghyun was trying to convey something to us through that conversation.
“As we gathered previously, the dialogue Elena discerned through truth detection indicates Sanghyun’s words were all true. So the fact that the Lord has passed on a negotiation proposal is indeed accurate.”
Grandpa pointed out immediately.
“Don’t forget. Truth detection applies to Sanghyun. Just because he spoke the truth doesn’t guarantee we won’t be deceived by the Lord disguised as him.”
“I know. The Lord might be deceiving Sanghyun as well. Anyway, let’s each share our thoughts. The part that seemed strange to me was about the cult’s power. It’s oddly different from what we heard from Aurelia.”
“Aurelia said that the external groups don’t know the cult’s true nature, except for the core forces in Hotel High. Of course, these people have no idea about the Lord, nor even about Aurelia herself. They are merely hands and feet of the cult.”
“Exactly. So, the claim that it would take a long time to deal with the cult’s power seems like pure bluff. In reality, we only need to deal with the leftovers in Hotel High.”
The parrot nodded in agreement.
“I concur. I also noticed something. ‘I’ll give you a day to think before you come tomorrow.’ What do you interpret that as?”
Grandpa’s lips curled into a smirk.
“You felt the same as I did. That statement is designed to waste our time.”
Pervy Kain responded right away.
“The Lord will indeed recover by tomorrow or the day after. It’s not because the doctor said so, but it aligns with what I estimated right before I came out of my body. Also, the Lord still has time before he can cast his next descent.”
The situation was clear. Tomorrow, or at the latest the day after, the Lord would recover. After that, we would have no chance. Conversely, it meant this was the weakest moment for him!
This is exactly the Lord pretending to propose negotiations while setting a trap. He wants us to waste our most valuable time— ‘today’— deliberating over whether to accept his proposal.
“Alright. Let’s not waste time and set off soon. Time seems to be working for the enemy, so we need to wrap things up today.”
As Elena, who was blushing while trying to understand the situation, spoke softly, she cautiously continued.
“Um… I have something to say.”
“Go on.”
“Do you really think we can win by going to the Lord now? We almost died against the Lord while he was just standing still.”
“That was when the Lord was in a state of descent.”
“I don’t believe I can rely solely on the Lord’s descent.”
That was the one thing I could agree with. What kind of being was the ‘Lord’ that we had encountered thus far? Digging traps, setting up traps along the way, and even leaving snipers ready to shoot anyone who hesitated to turn back.
Pervy Kain, who had been listening quietly, chimed in.
“I have some thoughts.”
Elena stopped arguing further.
*
– Lee Eunsol
In the dark hour, as we were getting ready to head to the teacher’s office with a rough plan in place, another person joined us.
“I’ll join as well.”
“Aurelia? I thought you were meditating alone in there.”
“I had a lot to think about. You’re going to the teacher’s office now, right? You promised me, you would give me a chance to solve my doubts.”
Honestly, this woman seemed overly suspicious. While she did share useful information about the cult after being somewhat awkwardly captivated, I’m still not convinced. Is it really possible for a being like the saint of a cult to turn back in an instant? Such an act would be akin to denying her entire life!
Unexpectedly, Grandpa accepted her coolly.
“Follow along. You might need to see your own conclusion.”
“Grandpa?”
Kim Mooksung: Hint.
I understood. If the hints we had interpreted were correct, Aurelia clearly has a role in this room. At the very least, what she’s sharing about the cult is not the end of her usefulness. I decided to trust the hints rather than trust her. After all, it was a scenario where even her remaining little strength would be awarded.
— Vroom!
Tonight, we hunt the god dreaming of escape into reality.
*
A luxurious bed with a young man who appeared to have fainted on it.
At a glance, it looked like someone could press a pillow over his face and he’d be dead in no time. But the doctor treating him knew very well that this young man would not flinch even if a missile dropped nearby.
Had it not been for the bizarre blood toxin writhing endlessly through his veins, this room would have already been at his mercy. Could such feats be performed using ‘ancient blood’? As far as Kim Sanghyun knew, even a ‘maze’ couldn’t manage such operations.
I heard a voice in my head.
“Did you convey my intentions?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm… I’m sure I said to observe the situation and kill a few, didn’t I?”
“You said to act according to the situation. I understood it to mean if you can kill, do so, and if not, just convey the intent.”
“You merely passed on my words because you lacked confidence?”
“Yes.”
A slight smile appeared on the lips of the young man lying down. Kim Sanghyun gazing at him was suddenly filled with an unexplainable fear. Is this how it feels to stand in front of a wolf as a rabbit?
“Child, do you think I wouldn’t see through your shallow schemes?”
“…”
“Your efforts are commendable, but I’ll take them as a cute little trick.”
What does that even mean? The young man’s voice fell silent after that.
*
On the shoulders of an elder, a parrot with the highest intelligence known to mankind contemplated as it plucked its own white hair. Everything was unfolding more smoothly than expected. According to past experiences, beginning to unravel this easily usually meant being incorrect.
Something unexpected would likely happen when they arrive at the teacher’s office. But that’s fine. Regardless of what tricks they have prepared—
We possessed countermeasures that could outsmart all those plots.
The moment of conclusion is approaching. It’s time to settle the long-standing relationship with the Lord.
“… So why are you plucking my hair?”
“Oops! Just a habit I guess.”
“…”
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