Chapter 561 – Great Escape, Voice Phishing
—
– Lee Eunsol
“It has come to pass.”
The thunderous sound of ‘rumble!’ echoed, sending a chill through my opponent’s face.
Unlike me, they seemed to understand what this noise signified.
“What kind of trick did you use to call that thing!?”
It seemed I’d just summoned something rather ominous.
No worries, though. I’m safe—it’s my opponent who should be worried!
— Rumbling!
Once again, the world quaked as a second roar rumbled through the air.
An indescribable, mountain-like presence began to weigh down all around me!
“The Ark is coming! Resorting to such extreme measures…!”
In the next moment, the arrogant threat from my opponent vanished, and they frantically waved their hands, returning the scroll.
The Ark? What on earth is that?
And in such a dire situation, they hand back a scroll, an inheritance?
It’s not some awesome escape artifact like my flute or Songee’s bracelet?
I couldn’t afford to analyze the situation leisurely. The man, who had vanished with the scroll, was starting to morph in a bizarre way!
His physique began to grow larger, transforming into something darkly shimmering!
He started charging at me without a hint of pretense!
— Rumbling!
As if waiting for this moment, the third roar exploded forth.
And with a tremendous shockwave, my body was flung into the air.
“Uwaaaah!”
The place we stood just moments before had vanished!
A whirlpool, a whirlpool!
A gigantic whirlpool erupted from the dark sea, smashing the rotting ghost ship to smithereens!
“Ugh!”
My body floated aimlessly in the air.
The colossal shockwave rippling outwards made me feel like a helium balloon drifting aimlessly through the sky.
What if I collide with the wreckage?
Is Lee Eunsol about to become ‘the pile of meat that used to be Lee Eunsol’?
“Uuugh…”
I must believe. The cost of the Hand of Greed won’t fall upon me!
— Beeeep!
It felt like my eardrums were about to burst.
The noise was so overwhelming, I couldn’t even comprehend its nature.
In the center of the whirlpool, a hazy mass of light appeared.
My head throbbed.
It felt like my brain was melting away.
“Graaaah!”
I faintly heard a scream.
The one who had pretended to be so tough, had a scroll—a mysterious inheritance; they must have been an earlier hotel escapee!
Their screams resonated like a sweet lullaby to my ears.
This is it. This is what I want.
If you’re going to go, please just die here!
“…”
Maintaining consciousness wasn’t easy.
It had been like that since the moment the orb of light had appeared.
— Whooooosh!
I forced breath into my flute of rest.
The chaos swirling around made it impossible to produce a clear sound.
Yet, as if the flute had a mind of its own, it wrapped me in warm energy, suggesting it was enough.
The flute of rest. My precious inheritance.
It couldn’t work miracles like an ancient spell or possess the overwhelming might of a divine sun.
Nor could it turn back time like One More Chance, or summon NPCs into reality like a soul trap.
All it could do was bring a brief ‘rest’ to a chaotic world.
And that one thing, it did better than anything in the universe.
“… Ah.”
A distant gaze fell upon me.
I, we, could obtain the utmost blessing and multiple inheritances, but still not reach this presence.
A being that could dismiss all our efforts as mere ‘bugs flailing about.’
A being capable of instilling humility even in agents who had grasped infinity.
A being akin to a god or a devil; to use a more familiar term, a ‘prisoner’ level existence.
Even when I returned to reality, monsters like this still existed.
No, wait! I’ve met a being similar to ‘this’ before, haven’t I?
If my memory serves me right—
I heard a voice.
“I envy you…”
This was my last memory before falling into that bizarre world.
*
“… ”
I woke up in a soft bed.
– Bubbling!
The sound of boiling soup and the aroma of fragrant chicken congee ignited my appetite.
Dazed, I leaned against the wall, and someone familiar appeared.
“You’re awake?”
“…”
“I found some ingredients in the fridge and cooked chicken congee. Want some?”
It’s Ahri.
Seeing her made me chuckle unexpectedly.
“Pfft!”
“What’s up?”
“I passed out and woke up to the smell of chicken congee… Ahri, what are you, a woodpecker?”
“Should I give you a wake-up kiss too?”
“No thanks. But I appreciate it.”
As I took a few spoonfuls of the congee, Ahri began to explain the situation in detail.
The Esper Ship had come into the harbor, and the administration bureau started an investigation right away.
There was a report of me missing, and Ahri had used the ‘Dream Kingdom’ to track me down in that bizarre world.
“Eunsol, where on earth have you been? If not the Dream Kingdom, it would have been challenging to find you much less bring you back.”
Ahri asked the question I wanted to know.
“Feel free to speak your mind. Just so you know, there are no administration bureau spies in this place.”
Ahri’s bold claim that there were no spies from the administration bureau sounded believable since she was an agent herself, but it also felt meaningless.
After all, Ahri herself was part of the administration bureau.
Can I tell her what I’ve discovered?
A lump formed in my throat.
The man I encountered did seem to be affiliated with the administration bureau.
He knew I was a hotel escapee.
Did Ahri pass along any information about me?
“What’s wrong?”
Let’s just ask.
“Ahri, you reported on me to the administration bureau, didn’t you? What did you say?”
I didn’t want to engage in a tedious psychological duel.
I lacked the energy for that and didn’t want to engage in one with a comrade.
Ahri answered promptly.
“No, not really. I barely mentioned anything.”
“…”
“I said I didn’t know how many got out during the confusion of the escape. I claimed my memory wasn’t intact because I was under some unidentified power.”
Soon, she added an excuse.
“I did mention a tidbit, like a maze or the approximate age range; but core information like inheritances or blessings weren’t conveyed.”
A sense of relief washed over me.
Logically, I should be questioning the potential for lies and navigating through various doubts and psychological twists.
But I decided not to doubt it.
I thought we had developed this level of trust.
Had Ahri made me chicken congee because I was hungry?
What a silly thought.
I answered with a smile.
“No, Ahri, they accepted your vague report?”
Ahri chuckled too.
“Right? I expected I’d be taken in for questioning, but they seemed to take my word for it. Maybe…”
“Maybe what?”
“They think there’s no point in pressing me. Rumors have been swirling too.”
“Rumors?”
“I think I might be getting promoted soon. Maybe become part of the ‘Silent Ones.’”
What an intriguing story.
There seemed to be some complexities involved, but Ahri appeared to be unaware of the reasons behind it.
“I’ll tell you what I faced.”
I proceeded to share three significant stories step-by-step.
Firstly, I encountered someone presumed to be an earlier hotel escapee.
“He was a tall man. I couldn’t make out his features. The inheritance was a rolled-up scroll, which didn’t seem like a combat inheritance. In a crisis, he recalled it.”
Ahri focused intently.
“What about the blessing?”
“I have no idea. He had a strange transformation ability.”
“Participant, tall, inheritance is a scroll, non-combat, transformation ability. Good, what’s next?”
Secondly, he knew I was a hotel escapee and tried to coerce me into joining him.
“He knew all about me. How he found out, I can’t say—”
“I didn’t report on every detail.”
“I know. Well, if that guy is at the top of the administration bureau, he would have plenty of methods. Anyway, he asked me to join him.”
“Did you refuse?”
“… Honestly, if the atmosphere had been peaceful, let’s say if he visited Hotel Delight openly, I might have had a chat.”
“Aha, locking you away in a grotesque otherworld and approaching you with threats made you lose any desire for a conversation?”
“Exactly! Why do that? It only breeds resentment!”
Even reflecting on it now felt ridiculous.
I still didn’t think the administration bureau was our enemy.
This was where Ahri and Grandpa were involved, and aside from that, I felt the tremendous role the administration bureau played during our time at the hotel.
However, when it came to approaching me with threats like this, I couldn’t calmly respond either.
“… Can I give a defense for him?”
Ahri seemed keen to advocate for the unknown man.
I understood.
While Ahri is my ally, she is also an agent of the administration bureau.
That man might be her boss or someone on the same team.
“Go for it.”
“The administration bureau considers hotel escapees to be highly dangerous.”
“…”
“The likelihood that they survived through betrayal, conspiracy, deception, and backstabbing is pretty high—”
“Like your mom?”
“…”
Oh dear! That was way too harsh!
“Sorry—”
“Yeah, just like the mazes from the past.”
Ahri admitted openly.
“Therefore, they thought to chain you down upon meeting face to face.”
“…”
“But I can assure you of this.”
“What part?”
“That person’s thoughts are not representative of the entire administration bureau. There are certainly those who wish to approach you peacefully.”
The man did not represent the entirety of the administration bureau.
I understood that point.
As revealed in Room 202, the administration bureau likely had multiple factions operating within it.
“They’ll approach again before long.”
“Probably. Is that all you need to say?”
“No, there’s a third part.”
Thirdly, the manifestation of a deity from the other world occurred when I invoked the Hand of Greed to escape.
“It was incredibly powerful. As soon as it appeared, it dominated the world.”
“Like a prisoner?”
“Almost at that level.”
Ahri chuckled joyously, considering it amusing as she mulled it over.
“So, you’re saying that as a result of you maxing out the Hand of Greed, this absurd god appeared to tidy up the situation? And then you passed out only to wake up here?”
“Yep.”
“I’m genuinely curious. Was the arrival of the god from the other world linked to my rescuing you? Did everything stem from your Hand of Greed?”
“Probably…”
“That’s amazing! Truly marvelous! What’s your patron got going on? They sent you what’s basically online shopping under the guise of blessings, all waiting for this moment?”
“…”
Could it really be?
If so, then my patron is indeed a formidable being in many ways.
“Mostly, Ahri.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve seen a being similar to this god.”
“?”
For the first time, Ahri’s eyes widened like that of a doe.
“At the hotel?”
“Yep.”
“How is that possible? Deities are supposed to exist only within the hotel.”
“No, I’m sure. Without a doubt. It felt strikingly similar. I just knew.”
“… What was it similar to?”
Seeing the god from the other world, I’d sensed intuitively.
Maybe it was because I could watch ‘that thing’ for quite a while due to the flute’s protection.
“It’s Ju.”
That being is uncannily similar to the ‘Ju’ prisoner of Room 104.
It might not be the same entity, but it is a god formed by a ‘similar principle’!
*
Upon hearing my answer, Ahri pondered seriously and concluded.
“I need to call Kain. You know his number, right?”
“I do, but… you’re still in the dark.”
“What?”
“Kain said the patron told him ‘do not approach the administration bureau first.’”
“… That was directed at Kain?”
“What?”
“Kain was warned not to make first contact with the administration bureau. So, wouldn’t it be fine for us to contact them instead?”
Does that mean it works that way?
Thinking about it, that isn’t entirely wrong.
“Hand me the number.”
Soon, Ahri and Kain’s first call began.
“Hey, long time no speak. How’s it going, Exorcist—”
“Who are you?”
What the?!
“… Cut the crap. This is the administration—”
“Ah~ what administration? Hey! I heard it all on the news! You think I’m falling for your voice phishing!?”
— Click!
The phone cut off.
Ahri’s eyebrows began twitching.
“… ”
— Ring ring!
“Just one more prank, and—”
“You,别想骗人了,能不能老实工作? (You! Don’t even think about pulling scams and just do honest work!)”
— Click!
At this point, I could no longer hold back!
It seemed like Kain truly believes it’s not the right time to contact the administration bureau.
But to treat Ahri like a voice phishing scammer!
Did Kain, in his own way, respond like a ‘normal person’?
If that’s the case, when a regular person receives a call saying, “I’m a prosecutor,” they’d definitely suspect voice phishing!
“Ah, hohoho! Aww! This is truly ridiculous!”
“… ”
“Ahri, don’t pull off a voice scam and make sure to work honestly—”
“I’ll freeze all of Han Kain’s assets.”
“W-Wait a minute—”
“I’m an agent. I follow through with my threats.”
With laughter barely contained, I left Ahri to simmer and stepped into the living room.
“Heh! Haha! Oh! Just when I thought things couldn’t get any sillier!”
As I laughed uncontrollably, a memory that I’d forgotten flickered back.
“… ”
I had left an empty wish in the Hand of Greed.
I had completely forgotten as it spiraled chaos and even summoned a god from another world!
The first wish was for escape, and the second was—
“Please let Hotel Delight become the number one hotel in Korea.”
Unease washed over me.
Nerves began to creep in!
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