### Chapter 174 – Party Time – Elena’s Dilemma (1)
—
– Han Kain
As everyone read the announcement, their expressions hardened.
The upper section was the usual congratulatory message and party time info we’d heard umpteen times, but the real kicker was in the ‘additional announcements’ section.
“Check your tickets? You’re talking about the reward for the Gate Room, right? Where’s my ticket now?”
My sister dashed over and brought back the ticket.
The ticket already shimmered with a faint glow. As soon as it arrived, another small notification popped up.
“You, who had to sacrifice one out of many treasures! Isn’t that unfortunate? Worry not! The rewards you missed can also be obtained by using your ticket in the ‘Mirror Room.’”
Seeing this notification, I felt certain.
The existence of a separate ‘Mirror Room’ for missed rewards meant absolutely something.
Choosing between two rewards isn’t just a quirk of Room 201!
In other rooms on the second floor, we could also choose one out of two rewards, and any missed reward could be obtained with the ticket.
Songee’s guess about finding more ways to get tickets seemed all the more plausible.
With so many uses and even a designated room for tickets, it couldn’t just be that one ticket was the end of it!
“The missed reward refers to the irregular polyhedron, right?”
My sister blinked her eyes wide as she answered.
“Looks like that’s what it means. You can use your ticket in the ‘Mirror Room’ to get the missed reward. But where is the Mirror Room, Ahri?”
Ahri’s blessing, ‘Secrets,’ specializes not only in keeping her own secrets but also in uncovering ‘hotel secrets.’
“Hang on.”
Ahri, who had seemed deep in thought, tilted her head.
“Nothing’s coming up.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing’s showing up. Usually, hidden NPCs and rooms pop up, right? For example, the NPCs on the first floor were a merchant and a doctor, and the rooms were the Sanctuary of Blessings and the Souvenir Shop.”
Ahri walked over to the whiteboard for a moment and jotted something down.
‘Real Real’ Secret Information (2nd Floor)
Hidden NPCs: –/?
Hidden Rooms: –/?
Location Info: ?
Function Description: ?
“I have this gut feeling whenever I see something, but as you can see, all the main content is a question mark. They typically provide hints for finding rooms or NPCs, but not this time.”
It dawned on me that Ahri’s knack for finding the Sanctuary of Blessings first might be linked to the time Grandpa suddenly took us to the ‘Hiking’ room before leading us to the Souvenir Shop because of that blessing.
“Can it really have nothing? The ticket alert says there’s a place called the ‘Mirror Room,’ right?”
Listening to Eunsol and Ahri, I pieced it together.
“It seems like the ‘Hotel Repair’ needs to be completed before things can be activated properly.”
Eventually, we returned to square one.
All the hotel notifications are focused on the ‘Hotel Repair’ for fixing the messed-up second floor.
Jinchul sighed deeply.
“Can you believe this hotel exists in the real world? If the facilities are messed up, shouldn’t they apologize and refund customers, sending them home?”
In the quiet atmosphere, Seungyub finally said tiredly.
“Anyway, it’s not like Party Time doesn’t start tomorrow? How about discussing the rest then?”
Having just come from Room 201 and having gone through another headache of discussions during dinner, it was honestly draining.
Just as we were about to disband, my sister spoke about the plans for tomorrow.
“Get plenty of rest! As soon as we wake up tomorrow, everyone needs to come out! Let’s hit the Sanctuary of Blessings first. Once Party Time starts, we need to enhance our blessings!”
From tomorrow, I’d have to think about where to use my ‘advice’ too.
Suddenly, Ahri asked a question.
“Elena said she was going to take a nap first, right? Does that mean she’ll be in the bedroom alone?”
“Probably? Guys! Be careful. There’s still a few minutes left of mealtime, so if you go into the bedroom, Elena might be there.”
“Yeah.”
“Han Kain.”
“Hmm?”
Ahri suddenly called out to me.
*
— Creak!
… It’s noisy.
— Creak! Creak!
… Should I check it out?
But that shouldn’t happen. Every time I checked, things only got worse.
…
“AAAH!”
— Crash!
As I momentarily opened my eyes, shocked, I stumbled back and hit the wall.
I mean, seriously, what’s up with the thing under the blanket?!
A living cuckoo with a saw-like beak popped out, its sound oddly vivid.
The picture of mountains and waterfalls in the frame on the wall began to twist bizarrely, and the waterfall turned a crimson hue.
There didn’t seem to be any dolls on the table, but suddenly a creepy clown doll was glaring at me.
And just earlier, as I couldn’t endure the noise and opened my eyes, a hand shot out from under the blanket!
In an instant, my stress skyrocketed, and I felt like I might just lose my mind.
The bedroom door swung open.
“Do, don’t come in! It’s dange—”
— Slit!
As a clown with blood dripping from its mouth spewed something sharp and turned, a translucent blade cut through thin air and shredded the clown doll in an instant.
“What danger? It’s nothing big, right?”
…
Ahri giggled as if something funny had happened, and soon she tore down the picture from the frame, snapping the living cuckoo’s neck as well.
“Were you having that much fun alone?”
“Ahri…”
As Ahri hopped up on the bed, a hand suddenly shot out again.
“What’s this now?”
Ahri yanked the hand from under the blanket, and it vanished like dust.
“Seems like you didn’t get any sleep at all.”
“…”
“Oh— I’ve never seen a power as fun as this before. If I’d gotten it, it would’ve been a blast!”
…
This girl is something else. I’ve always known, but never as clearly as I do right now.
How can she brush off such monsters with a laugh? Even I, the creator, struggle to handle it!
Watching Ahri’s nonchalant attitude, I felt my heart calm down little by little.
Ahri glanced at her watch.
“Dinner time ends in about two minutes. We’ll break off into our spaces.”
“Yeah.”
“You should sleep on the first floor sofa at the tea table with me today.”
“Ahri?”
“You won’t get a wink of sleep if you stay like this. Am I wrong?”
It was impossible to reject. Ahri grabbed my hand and pulled me out of Room 105.
*
– Han Kain
From a distance, I watched as Ahri pulled Elena out of Room 105.
Just as Ahri predicted, it seemed Elena hadn’t slept a wink. Creating those monsters without a break must have been quite the feat for a peaceful nap.
I squeezed in as naturally as possible near the two. With these two together, it felt like light emanated from their actual space.
If I had bumped into them outside, I might have felt pressured just making eye contact.
“Elena! How many times have you used your power?”
“… It wasn’t so much me using it; it just kind of happened.”
“Wow~ I’m curious. I saw earlier and honestly, it looked like a really fun power! You can create a wolf just by looking at it? Isn’t that amazing? It was super cute!”
“To be fair, I don’t think it was that cute…”
— Thump!
In the meantime, Ahri kicked my thigh, signaling me to lighten up!
She’s been wanting too much from me since earlier.
Sitting near the tea table, we began chatting about our everyday lives before entering the hotel.
“When did you start dreaming of becoming an actor, Elena?”
“Since I was a kid! Traveling with my parents, I didn’t have many friends… Just watching plays or movies was my joy. And I thought, well, I might be able to be an actor.”
If I were born with Elena’s looks, I’d probably think about becoming an actor or celebrity every time I look in the mirror.
Ahri chimed in.
“Isn’t it about time you two spoke comfortably? You both still seem so awkward talking at our party.”
Our party’s top destroyer of boundaries, who speaks informally to everyone, had a persuasive tone as she urged us to relax.
“Ehhehe… I think I need a little more time.”
“Kain, just call her ‘Elenanuna’ right now.”
“… Elenanu…?”
“Please really don’t do that.”
“Better not.”
If that’s the case, then why even suggest it?
The topic of our casual chat shifted to me.
“So, Kain, you started getting grades from second year in high school, right?”
“Haha! Yep! To be honest, through my first year—”
“Kain, tell us something more interesting! Do you have anything other than studying to share?”
“…”
“Oh my, I was really getting into your story. Hearing about high school brings back memories of my childhood…”
Oh no! That’s a bad sign! Elena’s ‘childhood’—that’s a taboo subject, isn’t it?
Similar topics might include Ahri’s ‘age,’ Jinchul’s ‘dream,’ or Seungyub’s ‘LoL rank.’
Ahri’s expression darkened for a moment.
“I was worried if I could even sip a cup of tea without hesitation back then.”
Elena’s cup started bubbling with purple foam.
“Even when walking outside, I used to worry about who was behind me.”
From everyone’s shadows, something began to twitch.
As Ahri’s expression looked like it was fading, I made a decision.
“Is this the warm love-filled black tea that represents Elena’s homeland?”
I seized Elena’s teacup and poured it into the shadow.
— Ssssssss! Whooosh!
A bizarre sound and smell erupted from the floor, as if sulfuric acid was being poured.
“…”
“…”
“…”
Suddenly, Ahri burst into laughter once more.
“Aha! Elena, you really know how to make everyday life fun! Who knew having a cup of tea could turn into such a tension-filled—no, thrilling affair!”
“I’m so sorry…”
“No, Elena, it’s genuinely entertaining! I’ve never had a cup of coffee that was this exciting!”
In the awkward atmosphere, tea time came to an end.
As I sighed and headed back to my room, I recalled the conversation I had earlier with Ahri.
“Elena’s power is quite interesting, isn’t it?”
“What nonsense are you spouting? I’ve never seen a power that horrible before.”
“Drop the ‘horrible’ definition from your vocabulary. Fear is contagious. From now on, just think it’s fun. Believe it’s fun until Elena believes it too.”
“…”
… Now it seems like the daily fun will last for a while.
I reflected on the chief researcher’s memories. What kind of training did they undergo for Beatrix to control that power?
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