### Chapter 309 – Room 204, Mission Room – ‘Hotel Cinema’ (31)
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[User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 135
Current Location: Level 2, Room 204 – Mission Room, ‘Hotel Cinema’
Sage’s Advice: 3
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– Han Kain
As the movie ended, the light on the screen disappeared. Shortly after, light began to flicker again, signaling that the next person should enter. Now, the last chance remains with me.
Even at this moment, many of my companions still didn’t understand what had happened on the screen.
“What, what’s going on? Didn’t Seungyub escape?”
Jinchul, confused, spoke up, and even the doctor looked puzzled.
“This isn’t a coffee shop scene; the movie’s over. Does that mean it ended in a flash? If so, who hurt Seungyub? Could it be Dollyphant?”
“Hyung, that elephant was quite far from Seungyub. Plus, knowing its personality, wouldn’t it be more like it caused a ruckus hoisting Seungyub with its trunk and ended up getting killed?”
Elena and Songee also found it hard to grasp why the movie finished right after Seungyub escaped from the mansion.
And I…
I witnessed the being that harmed Seungyub. I realized its true identity!
“Everyone, listen to me.”
After hearing my explanation, my companions’ mouths dropped open. The doctor, looking intrigued, asked,
“How did you figure that out? If it were Eunsol, I’d think she noticed it with her keen eyesight, but it’s interesting you caught on, Kain.”
“To be honest, my eyesight isn’t that special. I just had a similar experience once.”
A similar experience. At this mention, everyone nodded.
Then I shared the questions that had come to mind while watching Seungyub’s progress, along with a better plan I had thought up. We spent some time refining our strategy further.
Songee wondered what I intended to take with me.
“Kain oppa, are you thinking of choosing between the Grimoire and the Blessing? Obviously the Grimoire, right?”
Wisdom’s Blessing alone gives me three pieces of advice and a mental protection filter. Not bad, but lacking in active abilities, making the Grimoire usually the better option. Without that mental protection filter, using the Grimoire would impose limitations, but it’s still more useful than the Blessing in its compromised state.
Yet…
“I’ll choose the Blessing. I don’t think I can use the Grimoire in the movie we’re about to enter.”
Songee nodded thoughtfully, pondering my words.
“Ah, right. At the start of the story, Cha Eun-pyo said his tale wasn’t that remarkable, right?”
“Things like crisis alerts or advice could be spun as luck or quick thinking, but possession is off the table. It’s weird if Cha Eun-pyo suddenly got possessed and then downplayed it.”
The doctor pointed out another issue.
“Kain, for various reasons, your mind and spirit have gained immense strength.”
“That’s true. Recently, I feel like I’ve developed some sort of extrasensory perception.”
“Thanks to that, you can use the Grimoire for short durations without the status window… But isn’t it true that ordinary humans die the moment they open the Grimoire?”
Exactly. I had also used this to leverage the Grimoire as a weapon of mental attacks.
“I think using the Grimoire while transformed into Kevin’s child body is exceedingly dangerous.”
After finishing this discussion, I began moving towards the screen, heart racing even before stepping inside. I was the last person left. No one behind me to save me anymore.
As if sensing this, my colleagues began to tremble, showing signs of anxiety. I noticed Elena, silently praying, with the doctor beside her, hands clasped. Songee was nervously biting her nails, and Jinchul couldn’t lift his head, which made me feel just as frustrated.
…
Meanwhile, watching a parrot pecking at Songee’s head for sunflower seeds made me let out a chuckle, easing my tension. This state was just right.
I recalled ‘the First Human,’ who had a far bolder approach than the original Seungyub. Sometimes, a certain wild attitude is necessary in a place like a hotel.
“I’m going in. I choose the Blessing.”
The initial progress mirrored what Ari and Seungyub had shown. After arriving at the coffee shop and apologizing for being late, Cha Eun-pyo began his story.
“This is a tale from my childhood…”
*
– Home Alone
“Kevin!”
After listening to his mom’s nagging for a while, I raised my hand.
“Mom, I have a question.”
“Hmm?”
“Do we have any snacks at home?”
“Of course! Hmm… But you shouldn’t eat too many snacks.”
“Dear, this time Kevin will be home alone, so let’s at least give him some snacks.”
“Alright. Kevin, I’ll tell you where the cookie box is! Just don’t eat too much, okay? Remember to brush your teeth after!”
“Sure.”
Once my parents left, I took a moment to gather my thoughts.
There were parts I couldn’t wrap my head around while watching Seungyub’s performance. Here’s how he dealt with the toys in the mansion:
– Pressing against the wall to dodge Happy Happy’s attacks.
– Moving furniture to place it in easily jumpable positions to avoid Tom’s assaults.
– Tweaking the rules in the tea time etiquette book to control Dollyphant.
…
How on earth does a 12-year-old do all that?
That’s a strategy that observers outside the movie brainstormed collectively regarding the monsters’ behavior patterns. Are we really supposed to believe a 12-year-old came up with all that on the fly? What, is he Einstein or something?
Jokingly speaking, it’s like watching something suitable to play at a funeral; meanwhile, Cha Eun-pyo said, “My story isn’t that grand.”
In reality, Kevin lived through much easier and simpler methods. The hidden answers lie precisely within the actions and thought processes suitable for a child.
“Meow!”
As I was moving to Kevin’s playroom filled with toys, a cat on the floor stretched and yawned lazily, about to doze off.
“… Come to think of it, your very existence was a clue.”
After the parents disappeared, there were other pets in the mansion besides Kevin, a dog named Suzie and a cat named Cathy.
Suzie had shown incredible loyalty, momentarily stopping Happy Happy during both Ari’s and Seungyub’s incursions to save their owner.
What about this cat, Cathy? Why didn’t she make a single sound, “Meow” at all? That alone was another hint.
I approached the toy boxes and read the labels on them.
“Make cookies with Dollyphant, lay tracks for Thomas and his friends, and play tag with Happy Happy.”
The first two sentences, Ari discovered as soon as we entered. It’s just that nobody attached any real importance to them. To begin with, it’s hard to think of such phrases often found on toys as genuinely significant.
I tried to think of the actions a 12-year-old boy would take.
*
“Kevin! We’re starting the New Year’s party for you!”
Here we go, for the third time. With the announcement signaling the start of the party, the mansion began to shake. By the time the tremors subsided, three toys sprung into action.
“Happy Happy! Kevin, it’s tag time now!”
“Thomas is leaving! Get off the tracks; I need to lay the rails!”
“Dollyphant! It’s tea time! Good children should come to the second floor.”
— Boom!
With a loud noise, the first toy, Happy Happy, made its entrance.
What kind of behavior did Kevin, a 12-year-old boy, display when he opened a gift box only to find this grotesque clown doll? Surely he must’ve gotten mad and started smashing it, right?
“NOWWWW WE’RE PLAYIIIIING TAG -”
“… Man, that’s so slow.”
Having been smashed earlier, Happy Happy, now with its head turned backward, spoke rather sluggishly. It resembled the broken Happy Happy that Seungyub encountered earlier.
Thinking back, Ari’s judgment of kicking that box when she first saw Happy Happy was spot on. She just didn’t kick it hard enough.
“Hey!”
— Smack!
I pushed the broken doll from behind. What does it mean to talk to me with its head turned backward?
It was basically presenting its back to me!
Before even finishing the rules of tag, Happy Happy took a tumble on the floor after I touched its back.
“I touched your baaaack! Keeeevin winss!”
“Shut up.”
Having disabled Happy Happy in three seconds, I now focused on the horn and moved toward it. How about Thomas?
“Thomas, you having fun?”
“Of course! Thanks for laying the tracks for me, Kevin!”
The toy train, Thomas, must have been Kevin’s favorite toy. So, it’s only logical he’d open the box and start playing while laying tracks right away, right?
Thomas, who was endlessly running on the round track I’d laid earlier, looked delighted.
In fact, the train’s primary function is to run along the tracks, not lay them. Perhaps for Thomas, laying tracks might have been an unpleasant task.
After confirming the train had settled into its peaceful routine, I made my way upstairs to check on the third toy.
“Dollyphant! It’s tea time! Good children should come to the second floor.”
I moved as quickly as possible, heading towards the upstairs parlor where Dollyphant was waiting.
“Dollyphant!”
“Dollyphant!”
“Kevin! I didn’t expect you to come so fast! You’re so clever, Kevin?”
“Really?”
“Great! Come sit down!”
Moments ago, I had fallen into contemplation about how to deal with Dollyphant.
The box Dollyphant came in held a small booklet titled ‘Tea Time Etiquette for English Gentlemen.’ Given that Dollyphant follows the book’s contents religiously, one way could be to preemptively tweak the writing a bit.
But I didn’t touch the book. Writing tiny letters in that book would hardly be a reasonable action for a 12-year-old boy.
“Kevin, please wait just a moment. Since you arrived early, I haven’t finished preparing yet.”
“Okay.”
Dollyphant began to pour the steaming tea with immense care. Its clumsy, blunt feet weren’t much help, so it seemed quite challenging just to work with its trunk.
By the time it finished, Dollyphant, appearing cheerful, handed me a cup.
“Drink! It’ll surely be delicious!”
After taking a sip, I opened my mouth.
“It’s a bit bitter.”
“What? Are you saying my black tea tastes weird?”
“Of course not! Black tea is supposed to be slightly bitter. The issue isn’t the tea but somewhere else.”
“Somewhere else?”
“Tea time is supposed to have snacks, right? Black tea is bitter; it has to be paired with sweet pastries!”
In reality, Kevin probably would’ve said this a bit more arrogantly, right? Or maybe, terrified by the talking elephant, he’d been too meek to speak out?
Attitude aside, for kids, tea means more than just bitter water. Naturally, it would remind them of snacks.
“Sn-snacks?”
“There should be snacks for tea time, right?”
Dollyphant, flustered, stared intently at the ‘Tea Time Etiquette for English Gentlemen,’ soon discovering that every illustration in the book had snacks or bread next to the teacup.
“Wait, that’s true! Kevin, you’re smart! Black tea must be enjoyed with sweet pastries or bread!”
“So there are no snacks?”
“… No snacks. What now?”
“I suppose if we search the mansion, we might find some cookies. Want to look for them together?”
“Sounds good!”
Soon, Dollyphant rose its massive body and started rummaging around the mansion. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy for Dollyphant to find cookies.
I mean, Suzie and I devoured them all earlier!
Initially, what kind of restraint would a 12-year-old who cracked the cookie location show? Naturally, they should eat everything right then and there!
“All the toys have been more or less dealt with…”
Now, it’s time to uncover the real culprit behind all these strange occurrences: the mansion itself.
—
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