### Chapter 317 – Miro (2)
—
– Miro
I looked intently at the fragments strewn across the table. For some reason, I felt certain this moment was incredibly important.
At first, I was drawn to a crown-shaped piece. A voice whispered in my ear the word “dominate.” It sounded cool, but I didn’t think I needed that kind of power.
Next, I spotted a telescope-shaped piece that caught my eye. Like earlier, the word “clairvoyance” echoed in my mind. I faintly sensed that this power was meant more for my comrades than for myself.
Do I even need a power like that? The comrades can handle things for each other.
Turning my head, I saw a star-shaped piece. This was “premonition.” Very powerful, but I immediately understood it would be a burden for a human to handle, to the point of madness.
… But more importantly, who was this entity informing me of all this?
“Who are you?!”
…
“Alright. I won’t ask who you are, but please tell me what’s good. I’d like a power that’s easy to use and keeps me safe.”
Suddenly, I noticed a stunningly beautiful piece. A blue gem placed against a crimson backdrop. As I approached, I faintly heard a voice saying, “I don’t know about this one.”
“Don’t know? I thought you knew everything. Then I’ll choose this!”
I thought this unknown entity might get irritated with me, revealing its identity, but that didn’t happen. The voice that tickled my ears vanished. Oddly enough, I had a feeling I would hear that voice again someday.
As soon as I lifted the beautiful gem, the whole world began to shake.
“What, what’s happening?”
*
The moment I regained consciousness, my mind went blank. My body was extremely cold, trapped behind a massive wall of ice!
“Ugh! Ugh! Help—”
— Craaaack!
Before I could scream, the ice shattered, and my body was flung outside. Simultaneously, an immense chill enveloped me.
“W-where am I? P-please! Help—”
“Be quiet.”
A cool voice came from nearby. Startled, I turned my head to see a girl with an unbelievable appearance.
“… A mirror?”
“We do look somewhat alike. For now, put this on.”
The girl, with black hair just like mine, wrapped a thick blanket around me. That’s when I realized who she was.
“Ahri? Ahri, where are we? And why do you look so much like me—”
“Stop with the questions. I’ll explain in the hotel. Didn’t you get any notifications or anything?”
I suddenly remembered that a semi-transparent window had been flickering in front of me since earlier.
“Congratulations on starting your second adventure!
You have obtained the Immutable Blessing. You are now an existence that cannot melt in lava or extinguish in the ocean.
External forces cannot break you. As you progress in your adventure, new possibilities will arise from the Immutable Blessing.
The blessing has been activated.”
“Immutable Blessing? Second adventure?”
“Immutable? What on earth is that?”
“I don’t know either.”
“You chose it—right, you probably didn’t know what you were picking. That’s a bit unfortunate. You’ve chosen a blessing with zero info from the Administration Bureau.”
“Administration Bureau?”
“Any other notifications? The doctor said there was a congratulatory message.”
“Doctor? Congratulatory message?”
Just like Ahri said, a new window started flickering in front of me.
“Participant Miro, heartfelt congratulations on starting your second journey.
You’ve acquired many treasures from your first adventure!
Among them, you can re-use one treasure. Please choose.
1. Time Redeemer
2. Ancient Blood (Not selectable)
3. Mortal Spear”
I stared blankly, and Ahri nudged me.
“What did it say?”
“It says to pick one treasure. Everything but the Ancient Blood can be reused.”
“Choose the clock. I heard that.”
“Clock? There’s no such name here?”
Ahri frowned and asked for the names. “Time Redeemer, Ancient Blood, Mortal Spear. It says Ancient Blood is not selectable.”
“Time Redeemer? That sounds like it. As for the Mortal Spear, it’s a ‘spear’ after all.”
“Are you selecting Time Redeemer?”
“Yep.”
I pressed number 1, and suddenly, something resembling a pocket watch fell from thin air.
“A pocket watch?”
Ahri examined the item with interest, then grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
“I see why they called it a clock. Anyway, let’s head to the hotel. It’s freezing!”
Even after that, Ahri kept talking about this and that, but I couldn’t hear a word. The moment I held tight to the watch, an overwhelming amount of information poured into my head.
By the time we reached this place called “hotel,” I finally recognized that this info was an explanation of the Time Redeemer’s function.
*
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 137
Current Location: Level 1, Corridor
Sage’s Advice: 3]
– Han Kain
While Ahri went outside to revive Miro, we remaining folks began discussing how to communicate the current situation to her.
One suggestion was to take a cautious approach and slowly share the news.
“If Miro wakes up and suddenly finds herself in a ridiculously dangerous place, she might have a hard time accepting it… Would it be better to deliver the message gradually?”
But, as always, reality is harsh.
“I understand what Songee means, but we have to enter the Curse Room tomorrow.”
“….”
“We don’t have the luxury of time to slowly explain things. In fact, that’s why I asked Ahri to bring her over immediately. At least today is our day off.”
Fortunately, we don’t have to enter the Curse Room today. After the hotel cinema, we get two days of rest.
At that moment, we heard the elevator descending, and the room fell into silence. Then….
A girl who looked so much like Ahri appeared.
“….”
“….”
“Miro, say hello. These are the hotel folks.”
“Ah, hello!”
After some awkward greetings, we genuinely conversed for a long time.
We informed her that we were in a place called the “Hotel Pioneer,” that she had been with the organization called the Administration Bureau outside, and that she was now in her second visit to the hotel.
Despite our efforts, much of the content was summarized. Detailed stories would naturally unfold over a long period.
Surprisingly, Miro didn’t seem too shocked, which felt a bit strange.
“Isn’t the current situation surprising to you?”
“… It’s more surprising that Kain’s talking to me formally. Can’t you just relax and talk?”
“Cough! I-I’ll do that.”
“That’s odd. Just a moment ago, Kain was only as tall as my thumb, but suddenly now, he’s two hand lengths taller.”
That’s an oddly specific metric.
“Besides that, isn’t the story about the hotel or your own past surprising?”
“… Something’s off.”
“Something off?”
“It feels familiar. It doesn’t feel like this is the first time I’m hearing it.”
Ahri softly added from the side.
“If it feels familiar, does it feel like a memory you briefly forgot, now being recalled?”
“Exactly that!”
“How interesting. You must be different now from the ‘real’ middle school you.”
While dreaming horrifying dreams in Ice Hell, did she kind of know she was in a hotel?
Just as strange was Ahri’s behavior. She was all frantic about wanting to save Miro, right? Shouldn’t she be hugging her and crying tears of joy upon her revival?
Not at all. In fact, she seemed strangely distant and a bit cold.
As the atmosphere quieted down, Miro suddenly raised her hand.
“I want to ask one question!”
“Go ahead.”
“I’ve been curious since I woke up. Who is Ahri? We look so much alike! Why didn’t I know at school, like in the ‘dream’? Am I some hidden sister?”
Miro looked at Ahri with genuine curiosity. I slightly turned my head away.
Among the information I had shared with Miro, I hadn’t mentioned that she created Ahri in the Mirror Room. Honestly, maybe Ahri should say this herself?
Ahri, who had been wearing an empty expression, finally smiled for the first time in a while.
“Mom, I love you!”
“… Don’t joke. Did Dad have an affair? No?”
With a finger, Ahri poked her eye, making tears start to flow.
“Wha—how! How could you not recognize me? How could you do this to me!”
“Seriously! Is she always like this? She’s so irritating!”
And just like that, the conversation hit a wall. Sighing, I nudged Miro’s shoulder and decided to speak casually.
“Kain will tell you.”
I slowly explained that she ‘created’ Ahri to gain a reliable partner during her first adventure in a mysterious place.
Miro’s mouth dropped open as if stunned, and amid the surprise of everything she had heard about the hotel, she suddenly went wild.
“Lies! Everyone must be playing a prank on me! So confess the truth, everyone!”
?
… Just now, I felt something off.
An intense wariness bubbled up that couldn’t be described in words. Simultaneously, Ahri’s expression, which had been playful just moments ago, hardened.
“Miro.”
“Hmph! Now I can understand you—”
“Miro, it seems like it’s time for me to teach you a lesson.”
“What?”
— Whack!
In the next moment, without a second thought, Ahri slapped Miro’s head with a powerful smack. She hit so hard that Miro’s whole head wobbled, and soon tears welled up in her eyes.
“W-what was that for?!”
“Remember this: ‘That power.’ Don’t misuse it on your comrades.”
And then another situation erupted.
“I’m leaving!”
Miro suddenly screamed and bolted away!
Like a little kid—though technically, current Miro isn’t really a child—she ran off while sniffling, and Ahri sighed as she followed after her.
The rest of us stood there momentarily speechless.
“… What was she so calm earlier for?”
I completely understood what my sister meant. It had been remarkably peculiar until now.
“She acted like that before when we met in Ice Hell.”
“What was that just now? Did she use some sort of verbal superpower? To make us tell the truth?”
“Yeah. I felt it strongly just now.”
“Strongly? I didn’t get that at all. More than that, I didn’t feel the need to say the truth.”
Grandpa answered.
“Miro didn’t know it, but we were already conveying the truth, so she didn’t feel anything out of the ordinary. If we had been lying, we’d have felt an uneasy pressure and been forced to spit out the truth.”
“Got it….”
“By the way, thankfully you noticed it, Kain. If that happens again, when Awri isn’t around, you should discipline her.”
“Uh?”
Discipline me? I was utterly flabbergasted when the doctor shot a fierce gaze at me.
“Han-kun, don’t forget why the previous hotel party fell apart. I nearly felt goosebumps just now.”
“….”
“This is for both us and for Miro. If she casually uses that power to manipulate us, who knows what could happen?”
Eunsol nodded in agreement.
“While I have means to resist, like my flute or Songee’s bracelet… if you or Ahri don’t realize it instantly, stopping Miro could be tough. It’s trickier than you’d think when witnessing it firsthand. Next time, Kain, you slap her.”
“… Understood.”
Miro’s revival seems to be bringing several changes to the journey ahead. Around that time, an interesting detail from my conversation with Miro resurfaced in my mind.
“The newly obtained blessing is called the ‘Immutable’ blessing.”
Grandpa nodded.
“An ice that doesn’t melt in lava, and a flame that can’t be extinguished in the ocean… A powerful resistance against malicious external forces? I think I’m getting the gist of it.”
“Shall I show you my grimoire briefly for a test later?”
“That might be a bit too intense. Let’s test it with a weaker one. Elena?”
“Yeah. I’ll prepare something. If possible… gently.”
“I find the description of the time-redeeming pocket watch, just like the grimoire, incredibly intriguing. It almost seems like a… powerful treasure.”
Grandpa smiled widely.
If Miro’s description holds true, this pocket watch must indeed be an overwhelming legacy. There’s a good reason the past Miro unhesitatingly chose the Time Redeemer among her legacy of vengeance.
“I’m not eating!”
“Don’t eat—! Don’t eat! I need to gobble down everything Miro left behind~!”
“I really don’t want to deal with that!”
As I overheard the conversation from afar, Jinchul sighed.
“How old are those two combined?”
“I think if you add their ages together, it’s more than everyone else here, excluding Grandpa.”
“Can you believe their level of conversation?”
“….”
A lot still remained to do today. We had to figure out the functions of Miro’s newly acquired blessing, ‘Immutable,’ and the legacy of the ‘Time Redeemer.’
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