### Chapter 398 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream (14) Fin
—
– Kim Sanghyun
The next morning, I returned to Mama Sherry’s house.
Had she been waiting all night by the window for the two men to come back?
Mama rushed out to greet me even before I could ring the doorbell.
“Johnny! What on earth happened?”
She was flapping about so much that it was hard to gather my thoughts.
“Why are you so hurt?”
“Mama, I can take care of myself. Just please look after Timothy. He probably needs a bath and some food.”
With a worried expression, Mama turned to take Timothy into the bathroom.
“Phew…”
As Mama pointed out, I wasn’t in the best condition either.
Even though I shouted “THIS IS AMERICA!” so boldly, the fight had dragged on longer than I expected.
What kind of weapon is a double-barreled shotgun?
No lengthy explanation is needed.
Just the sound of it cocking is every man’s fantasy, isn’t it?
…
It’s not manly to overthink and calculate things.
In other words, men’s fantasies are usually inefficient.
Thanks to that, I spent all night thinking about it over a thousand times.
I should have just snagged an AR-15 somehow!
Well, whatever. What matters is I managed to deal with that skeletal menace, right?
*
Around lunchtime, I had a serious discussion about Timothy with Sherry.
Mama promised to take care of him, but raising a child isn’t something decided by mere sympathy.
So, I explained to Mama what kind of illness Timothy had and the potential problems that could arise.
Mama’s resolve was unwavering.
I realized once again that she is one of the kindest people I know.
Also, she happens to be quite wealthy.
Wealth is a critical factor when it comes to raising a child with an incurable disease.
At this point, there was nothing more I could do.
What remains is for those who will live in this world to decide.
As time was running short, I bid farewell to Sherry.
What could I do with the last few hours?
… A good idea came to me.
*
[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 231
Current location: Floor 2, Central Hall
Sage’s advice: 0]
– Han Kain
The interminably long hotel day was gradually coming to an end.
We had fought so fiercely to get to this point!
The fact that the number of advice sessions is at 0 proves that.
Leaning against the hole-ridden walls, Ahri muttered.
“Is this event finally about to end?”
“Probably. In fact, it’s been quiet for about 20 minutes now.”
“Gah! That was exhausting!”
Beside her, Songee also complained.
“I thought we’d get a break since we were given a week for party time.”
Same here.
What kind of party was this?
I only remember some absurd heretics outside and a joke of a show, and then we caught a demon!
And when we came back to the hotel, even more exhausting fights awaited us.
“…”
Before I knew it, the surroundings had quieted down.
Even at this moment, time ticked on without pause.
Only about 10 minutes remained until party time ended.
And….
The teacher still hadn’t returned.
My teammates began murmuring one by one.
“I always thought something like this would happen someday. After all, he’s fallen into hell once.”
Ahri, giving up, echoed Elena.
“I understand the teacher. Every moment in this hotel must have been agonizing…”
Songee seemed a bit disappointed.
“B-but! To leave just like this! Don’t you think this is a bit much, Pepper?”
— Beep!
The elder seemed to completely surrender.
“This was always bound to happen. What I mean is, one of us could have made a break for it.”
Ahri chimed in.
“Mooksung said Sanghyun would definitely return, right?”
“Well, that’s just a wishful thought! You think things ever go as I imagine them?”
Thus, as my comrades started to lower their hearts and accept reality.
— Ding!
The sound of the elevator arriving echoed.
— Bang!
Everyone frantically scrambled towards the elevator!
Beyond the slowly opening doors stood a man dressed like he was on a tropical vacation.
“Long time no see everyone! I trust you all had a good rest during party time?”
Everyone’s mouths dropped open halfway.
“I took a refreshing break at the beaches of California. After strolled along the shore with a cool cocktail, all that stress just melted away!”
At that moment, the only thing I could say was one thing.
“Teacher!”
“Ah, Kain?”
“Everyone believed in you!”
“Really?”
And thus, the blissful ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ came to an end.
… It was indeed a happy ending, right?
[Ending ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream!’]
*
As the date changed, truly magical things unfolded.
Rather than a hotel, the building that resembled a ruin after the destruction of mankind returned to its splendid normal appearance in the blink of an eye!
Even my usually indifferent comrades were wide-eyed, busily looking around.
Many things returned to their original state as well.
Miro cheered while checking his pocket watch.
“It’s real! The maze at midnight has been refilled!”
— Clink!
The teacher caught the white spacesuit that fell from midair.
“Phew! I was worried the protective suit would vanish after turning into an entrance ticket!”
Of course, my own powers were the same way.
[Descend: 1]
“Whoa! It feels like everything’s come to an end. However, we have urgent matters, so gather at the central table!”
Hearing my sister’s confident voice again was quite comforting.
As soon as we sat at the table, Ahri opened her mouth.
“Everyone must be tired, so let’s keep it brief. First, let’s share what each of us got. It’s been so chaotic that we might not even know what’s happened to each other.”
In summary, I gathered information about the outside along with finishing my wing boots, and I would be coming back tomorrow.
Eunsol got a powerful tool through the High-Powered Hand of Greed, and she’d be back tomorrow too.
Elena, Ahri, and Miro relieved the burdens on their minds.
Jinchul and Seungyub had new questions regarding Arima.
The elder and Songee obtained new blessings.
It seems the doctor had a good rest while away.
Next, we discussed opinions on the next room.
“There’s no question as to which room we should head to.”
Everyone nodded at the teacher’s words.
“Of course, we should exclude the gateway rooms. Room 104 should be skipped since Kain’s descend stack has returned. So it seems… Room 206 is the only option.”
“Precisely.”
Room 206, the last room of curses on the second floor.
Amid a charged atmosphere, Ahri cautiously muttered.
“Everyone remembers, right? Room 206…”
“Is particularly difficult because of the curse.”
“Right. What was it again from the Revelation of Secrets?”
I recalled vividly.
“Three-way confrontation, a common theme in creative works, check the date often.”
The elder quickly emphasized.
“Don’t forget what’s important. Remember what Kain obtained from the hotel cinema?”
The power to save the world that the Administration Bureau seeks.
The hotel responded accordingly.
There isn’t just one treasure; there are two. One of them is an hourglass. The other is given in the ‘most difficult curse room.’
In other words, it’s the legacy of Room 206.
We discussed interpretations of the Revelation of Secrets and speculative discussions on Room 206’s legacy late into the night.
*
Han Kain: Ahri, come out for a minute.
Kim Ahri: …
Han Kain: … What is this? Is this a joke?
— Creak!
“Yawn! Did you ask Mooksung for a private chat? We’ve had this late-night meeting, so what’s up now?”
“Sorry, I couldn’t hold back because I was so curious about something.”
“What is it?”
“What I experienced outside. It felt like I had to tell you.”
“Hmm, I was curious about that. So, how does it feel to have ‘made an escape’?”
“The outside is not my reality.”
“…”
“I had no parents or friends. My graduated middle school didn’t exist. Even the high school looked different.”
“…”
“But I heard your and the elder’s names from the Administration Bureau. It seems you and the elder are the world, huh?”
“That makes sense.”
“Did you know?”
“…”
“Well, I didn’t call you here to nitpick about that.”
“What did you want to say?”
“…”
I recalled yesterday’s events when I used my descend to deal with Apollyon and returned to the hotel.
“I used my descend outside. Of course, the numbers were restored upon return.”
“You must have done something spectacular.”
“I mentioned before, the descend isn’t just a simple power boost. It’s far more… complex.”
“Complex?”
“If you could distinguish the shape of each of a million snowflakes falling from the sky, would you believe it?”
“… That truly is divine power.”
“Thanks to that, what I felt when I used the descend was something I would never notice otherwise.”
“… Could you discern those vague, truly vague realizations? At the time, I didn’t know what I figured out but as time passed, I started thinking, ‘Could this be its meaning?’”
“….”
“Is this reality? Is this it?”
I lightly waved my hand in front of Ahri.
∞
This signifies infinity.
“… What on earth.”
“What on earth?”
“How did you ‘sense’ that?”
“Because it’s the descend.”
“That’s truly nonsensical power.”
Ahri didn’t refute my answer.
Soon, a sense of anxiety glimmered in her eyes.
“If you realized that fact, then you must know another truth too.”
“Truth? What truth?”
“In this universe, there is no ‘the world Han Kain lived in’—”
“There’s none? The reality I’ve lived through has already vanished, and there’s no way to turn back my parents or friends?”
Was it because I was smiling as if this didn’t bother me?
Ahri’s eyes widened in panic.
“Are you… okay?”
“Of course, I’m fine.”
“Are you really fine? How can it be fine when your parents don’t exist? Are you a fire-attribute good son?”
“… Why is the fire-attribute good son even coming up now?”
“Oh, I was just surprised.”
Honestly, I was not bothered at all.
It’s not that I nonchalantly accepted my fragmented reality within infinity.
“Ahri, this is why you’ve been hiding it all this time, huh?”
“…”
“You thought I’d go berserk if I learned this?”
“Even if I don’t go mad, it could be quite a shock.”
“I’m fine. I’m really fine.”
“Why?”
I laughed broadly, enough to make Ahri feel reassured.
“Because I made a promise.”
“A promise?”
“I told you, right? When the hotel cinema finished, the hotel made me a promise—that if I managed to overcome all trials…”
“They’d give me a happy ending I can accept.”
“Exactly.”
“No, there’s no happy ending or whatever—”
“Ahri, do you honestly think that you and the Administration Bureau have comprehended everything in this universe?”
She seemed at a loss for words and closed her mouth.
“Of course, I have my gaps in knowledge. Still, there’s one thing I know.”
“…”
“As far as I’m aware, there’s no place as omnipotent as the hotel. If it says it can ‘do something,’ then it can. Think about it. Why did you and the elder come here in the first place?”
“…”
“Didn’t you attempt to achieve impossible things with the hotel’s help instead of the Bureau’s?”
“True.”
“I’m just like you guys.”
The next day, we entered the last curse room.
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