### Chapter 387 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (3)
—
– Kim Ahri
“Miro, wait a second.”
Kain stopped Miro’s confession.
In that moment, my tension dissipated, and I let out a sigh without even realizing it. But why?
“Kain?”
What’s he trying to do now?
Back when we planned this, I told Kain to accept Miro’s confession, but honestly, that’s still a huge deal.
What happens if Miro doesn’t forget this memory?
How in the world do we clean up this mess?
Just then, Kain started to spout some bizarre nonsense to Miro.
“Love ultimately leads to marriage, right?”
Suddenly, marriage? That’s bound to freak Miro out!
“Uh? M-marriage is too early—”
“Miro, such an important matter can’t just be discussed between a middle schooler and a high schooler.”
“Then who should I talk with?”
“You should talk to your parents.”
What on earth is Kain talking about?
“Parents?”
“Oh, but there’s a catch. My parents are outside of the hotel, so I can’t communicate with them.”
“… My parents are probably dead.”
Why is Miro taking that nonsense so seriously?
“Your parents might be gone, but there’s still someone you can trust and rely on.”
“Is someone like that really around?”
Does Miro even have someone like that?
Everyone, including the dazed Elena, seemed to be captivated by Kain’s every word.
And then…
Out came the ridiculous line.
“It’s the Midnight Miro!”
“Uh, what?”
“AHHH!”
“What the heck, Kain!”
“Oppa? What are you talking about out of the blue?”
As the guests gasped in shock, the conversation tab blinked.
Hangain: I have a plan.
What do you mean you have a plan?!
“W-Wait, the Midnight Miro? Me as an adult?”
“Exactly! The adult Miro is the one you can trust the most. So go ahead and summon her.”
“But summoning the adult Miro would make you disappear…”
Of course, a past existence summoned through the time travel device can only be one at a time.
“After hearing the adult Miro’s judgment, you can summon me again.”
“Is that how it works?”
Miro pulled out the time travel device with a somewhat dazed expression.
Kain quickly scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to Miro.
Moments later, Miro’s body started vibrating like a broken clock.
?
Kain wore a perplexed expression.
“What’s going on? Why am I not disappearing—”
In that moment, Miro looked furious and reached out to grab Kain’s neck.
The Midnight Miro had awakened!
“You!”
“Urkh!”
“Do you even know how precious my time is? Don’t mess around with pointless pranks—”
“L-Let go of me—note!”
“Huh? A note?”
After reading the paper Kain gave her, Miro fell silent for a moment, her eyebrows raising in surprise.
“The time spent now will recover once I wake from the dream?”
“Absolutely. Think about it. Originally you and I talking was impossible. We are both summoned via the time travel device, right?”
“The time travel device can only summon one at a time…”
“The presence of two summoned beings at once means the heritage judgment is different than usual.”
“…”
“Because it’s a dream. Perhaps what we have now is not the heritage, but something imagined based on memories of the heritage.”
“… I get it now. I owe you an apology for earlier.”
Miro looked around with a more relaxed expression.
Mooksung, Seungyub, Elena, Songee, Kain, and I.
“I can’t believe I’m seeing you with my own eyes…”
Looking into Miro’s eyes, filled with complicated emotions, I became unsure how to respond.
At that moment, Kain opened his mouth.
“Do you understand the situation now?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know why I called you?”
“I must have a lot of questions to ask.”
So that’s what Kain was aiming for!
I wondered why Kain had been babbling about such crazy stuff all of a sudden, but he actually wanted to lure the adult Miro out by charming the middle school Miro.
She has about 30 minutes left.
Normally, you wouldn’t waste a powerful being’s time on questions and answers.
But ‘now’ it’s possible.
The moment the dream ends, everything that happens will revert back to nothing!
Miro smiled lightly.
“Well done. Not a bad decision. But before that—”
“Before what?”
Miro’s expression morphed into that of a playful girl.
“Hey! About that confession!”
I didn’t think we’d be back on the confession talk again in this situation, and Kain was utterly taken aback.
“No, that’s—”
“What’s with that? You said you’d consult with a ‘trustworthy adult’, right? Are you trying to trick me?”
Kain opened his mouth in shock, experiencing a rare moment of flusteredness.
Seeing this, Miro nearly exploded with laughter.
In that instant, there was no way to distinguish between the Midnight Miro and the younger one.
“I’ve made a decision!”
“… What decision?”
“Having a romance in the hotel is foolish. That’s something you should do outside! You think the same, right?”
“…”
“Just remember this!”
“Yes?”
“It’s not you who chose me; it’s me who chose you.”
With that statement, Miro physically kicked Kain away.
And then—
Laughter erupted from Mooksung, setting off a chain reaction around us.
“Cough, haha! Yeah, this is it. Who does Kain think he is to be dumped?!”
“Right?”
“Of course, it’s right for the older to be rejected!”
“Ugh, ugh!”
“Why don’t you just laugh it off? Your name was… Songee, right?”
“Hahaha! Sorry! I didn’t know you had this kind of personality!”
“What did you think I was like?”
Elena, regaining her senses, chimed in with a laugh.
“Serious, secretive, intimidating, tyrannical, and—”
“… You’ve got a lot of preconceived notions about me.”
“Well, thinking about it, since Miro became Miro, it’s strange that her personality changed completely.”
“Miro became Miro because she grew up; that’s true, but it sounds really weird. By the way, you woke up suddenly, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I kinda woke up on my own.”
I could see why Elena had awakened.
“Miro’s words of ‘having a romance in the hotel is foolish, so do it outside,’ seemed to be her way of addressing her and Elena’s thoughts.
It’s like postponing their worries for the future, but not all problems can be resolved in the moment.
As we chatted about it casually, the tension drained away from everyone.
Kain, still on the floor, chuckled softly.
“Hey! Now that the mood is lighter, how about revealing the secret stash that Miro’s been hiding—”
Just as the main topic was about to come up—
—BAM!
The entire hotel shook as black cracks began to open up everywhere.
“What the heck! Suddenly—”
—AAHH! Help me!
—Urgh! Please… kill me….
—Kill the women and rape the men!
“AHHH! What the heck is this!”
“Is this still a dream?”
“What’s going on? This isn’t just another event, right?”
Screams filled with pain echoed throughout the hotel.
Monstrous beings that resembled writhing human forms began to pour out from all directions!
The next moment, a fierce wave pierced the air, creating a split in the void.
As the ‘Spear of Mortality’ spun through the hall, over ten monsters ignited like black ashes.
It was utterly meaningless.
Beyond the black cracks lay so many spirits that I couldn’t even count—far more than the ones we had destroyed.
—RUMBLE!
Pieces of stone began to plummet from the ceiling.
“AHH!”
“Songee!”
A rock the size of a head slammed into Songee’s back.
Songee, unable to react properly, was lifted off the ground by Mooksung at the last moment.
Fortunately, everyone was on the first floor, so Room 105 was close.
“Everyone, run to Room 105!”
With Mooksung’s shout, we all started sprinting.
“Of all times, why now?!”
Kain’s desperate shout was no different from our inner thoughts.
Just as our comrades reached Room 105—
Someone grabbed my shoulder.
“…”
“You stay here.”
The moment Miro snapped her fingers, a golden flash of light blazed forth, forming a wall between the spirits and us.
“… I forgot. You could use the power of justice as well.”
“Of course. It’s easier than for Elena. I can use it even against the spirits. Of course, she gets defensive powers due to her more complicated conditions.”
“Why didn’t you use this power sooner?”
“Because I wanted to be alone with you.”
My eyes locked onto Miro’s.
Hers were fixed on mine.
Two faces, nearly identical except for their hair color, observed each other’s eyes.
“So this is what I look like.”
“…”
“My perfect creation. Finally—”
“I’m not a creation.”
“Why not? Every child is a work of their parents.”
“…”
“Kain, you have quite the quick wit.”
“Yeah. To figure out the dream’s nature and think to summon you in that short time is impressive.”
“However, there’s something I don’t like.”
“What is it?”
“Secrets should only be known to deserving people. But revealing it in front of all those people…”
“…”
“Right?”
The arrogance of regarding others as being on the same level as you.
The secretive nature that tries to hide information as much as possible.
“You’re just like me.”
“Opposite. You’re the one who resembles me.”
“…”
Miro whispered soothingly, as if to calm me down.
“I know. Unlike me, you chose to share quite a bit of information with everyone.”
“In the hotel, my choice was the right one.”
“That might be true. Anyway, I failed, and you haven’t failed yet.”
“…”
“However, just as I respect your choice, I hope you understand mine.”
“What do you want me to understand?”
“They’re ‘your’ comrades, but they’re not ‘my’ comrades. I only have one comrade.”
As she said this, Miro tightened her grip on my hand.
This overwhelming display emphasized our relationship.
I felt like I could dimly grasp her intention.
“You still remember what I said earlier, don’t you?”
“… Regardless of what you remember, you are my daughter.”
Was that sincerity?
Or was it just a strategic move to steady my wavering heart?
I couldn’t tell. But…
This conversation was definitely starting to shake my heart.
Maybe the ‘genes’ that the mirrored room injected into me were working.
“I have something to tell you.”
“…”
I learned a lot.
I understood why Miro wanted to convey something only to me.
There might have been some selfishness or secrecy, but there was also a purpose to prevent disruption among the comrades.
I learned about Room 207.
The very existence of Room 207 is one of the biggest reasons the hotel exists.
However, there was one thing I couldn’t grasp at all.
In Room 207, everyone meets their ‘individual conclusions.’
Once satisfied with that ending, there’s no need to move forward anymore.
So then…
What’s the reason for the stage beyond that conclusion, and what lies in the third floor waiting for us?
That’s something I could never know.
About 30 minutes later, Miro gently hugged me.
“…”
“Whatever happens next, just remember this.”
“…”
“I love you. I really do.”
In that moment, I couldn’t tell if the feeling was fabricated or genuine.
*
– Cha Jinchul
I’m sane.
No wait, I’ve been half out of it for a while now.
Am I ignoring what my comrades are saying?
No, that’s not it.
A madman can’t realize he’s gone mad.
The very act of realizing your madness is proof that you’re sane.
What kind of nonsense is that?
If I realized my madness, it means I’m mad, right?
So—
“Calm down.”
That voice wasn’t mine.
The only voice I could hear in this world.
“Cha Jinchul, calm down. I’ve isolated part of your brain by touching the corpus callosum. Normally, messing with the brain this much would be tough even for me, but…”
“…”
“Your question is simple. Parts of your brain are split—part is mad, part is sane. Thus, you can be both sane and mad. In reality, it’s not craziness but a dream state.”
“…”
“I had no hope. Just a soulless spirit or worse.”
“…”
“I dug through your head to find the best word to describe me. It’s ‘computer virus’. I’m a virus that has seeped into the computer called Cha Jinchul, nothing more, nothing less.”
“…”
“I’ve discovered a miracle. Really, in this hotel, nothing is impossible.”
“If you’re talking about the vessel of the soul, you can’t enter since you have no soul.”
“Is that the info Hangain acquired? There was an additional explanation added to it.”
“… Unorthodox methods.”
“Haha! Unorthodox? Only when you guys are the standard!”
“…”
“In my view, there’s a very clear and straightforward method.”
“What is it?”
In that instant, she, who was nowhere to be found, grinned in a chilling manner.
“If the problem is the lack of a soul, then just obtain a soul.”
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.