Chapter 560 – The Secret of the Esper Ship (5) Fin
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 27
Current Location: Esper Ship
Sage’s Advice: 1
—
– Han Kain
I reported that Eunsol’s location was showing as ‘Searching…’
“Ah! What should we do?”
“We need to find her right away!”
“But we have no idea where she is!”
“That’s—! Ugh! The hotel promised us some rest—”
Elena’s last remark echoed my own thoughts, which I’d pondered many times.
“… What is this?”
“Oppa?”
“How is this supposed to be restful?”
“Exactly!”
No matter how extreme the hotel’s judgment standards may be compared to the average person, this crossed the line.
But it was strange.
Wasn’t the hotel one to hide the truth without outright lying?
“…”
Just before escaping, I recalled something the merchant had said.
*
“Things like this are within discretion, a sort of guideline.”
“Just take a rest for about six months.”
“Take it easy for six months, just let it flow, and in the next six months, only collect information. The actual game starts after a year.”
*
“They never said it was safe.”
“Excuse me?”
“The hotel, the merchant never said it was safe for us.”
“Excuse me?”
“Just that we could take a break.”
“Excuse? Excuse?” Songee blurted out, struggling to contain her disbelief.
“What kind of wordplay is that? Saying we could take a break basically means it’s safe!”
Sometimes, what seems obvious just isn’t in the hotel world.
“The first thing the merchant said was, ‘This much is discretionary.’”
This means, anything beyond that can’t be revealed.
“Let’s say the total information is 100, the merchant’s discretion is less than 5. They can’t share everything, so they just gave us a ‘guideline for our actions.’”
“What does that even mean?”
Elena looked confused.
“The reality is already dangerous. We all knew that, right?”
“Right. That’s why Ahri and Grandpa showed up at the hotel.”
“‘Take a break’ doesn’t mean that outside is safe; quite the opposite, it’s never been safe.”
They didn’t say to rest because outside was safe.
“Then why tell us to take a break?”
“Because acting rashly would make things worse.”
“Ah?”
“If you poke around blindly with insufficient information, you’re just climbing right into the opponent’s palm!”
Songee’s expression went wide-eyed with panic.
“Who’s the opponent?”
I recalled what had just happened.
The past I saw through Insight.
The man who spoke to me at that moment in the past.
What he said was,
“Shouldn’t you check the location of your companions?”
He wasn’t simply viewing the future.
He knew about the Status Window’s ‘Companion Location Information’!
“… I’m a participant.”
“Ah?”
“Those who escaped from the hotel before us.”
“…”
“And probably those who currently dominate the administration bureau,”
Depending on how you think about it, this was a massive crisis that also made me want to chuckle.
A tingling sensation prickled my skin in a weirdly delightful way.
I asked my last question.
Advice: 1 -> 0
Did you pass on information about me to your fellow participant? Where is he—
— Beep!
It sounded like a warning.
This question violates the rules!
An absurd smile crept across my lips while relief washed over me.
If I can’t gain information about ‘former participants’ through advice, then they won’t be able to get info about ‘me’ either!
And then came the next response.
It’s not too late. You made a truly wonderful wish.
If the previous warning was sent by the hotel, this response seemed to come from a benefactor.
What does it mean it’s not too late? Why was my wish considered wonderful?
As always, there’s no detailed explanation.
“…”
But for a simple Owl, this wasn’t a hard-to-understand answer!
I felt like I understood what was happening.
What’s transpiring at Hotel Delight and the Esper Ship isn’t coincidence!
Did they raise events precisely because they knew those two places belonged to my companions?
Probably not.
Just as I confirmed while using my advice earlier, I can’t directly find out the hotel’s other participants using the powers it granted me.
Did they unwittingly stir up dozens or hundreds of suspicious areas?
Observe the reactions of those who got swept up?
“Let’s take a break.”
“Oh, Oppa?”
“It seems like we can just lay low.”
“What’s this about, Kain?”
“When it comes down to it, Eunsol noona’s hotel problem was the same. Instead of making a fuss, waiting quietly together would have sufficed.”
“That’s just how ordinary people act. Waiting patiently for the administration bureau.”
Now, I realized.
“Our very process of solving things is a trap.”
Songee and Elena were silent.
Both began understanding what I meant.
Some of our companions might already be riding high on someone’s palm.
But remembering the Owl’s words, “It’s not too late.”
Thanks to my wish, info about me would naturally be scrutinized, so I’m not in an irreversible situation!
Six months. Since a month has already passed, five to go?
I must also heed the merchant’s advice to take it easy before that period runs out.
What changes after that time?
No idea.
But when unsure, it’s wise to follow the advice of someone who knows.
From now on, I’m just an average Joe who knows nothing, not some hotel party-crasher.
So…
“Eek!”
“Oppa? Why the scream all of a sudden—”
“Eek!”
“K-Kain?”
“Help me! Please, help!”
“Does it really have to be like this?”
Now, I’m blind, deaf, and a fraud exorcist.
“W-What about Eunsol noona!?”
I choose to trust my sister.
She’ll figure something out.
*
– Lee Eunsol
— Creak!
The air was thick and murky.
The planks trembled beneath my every step.
“…”
What on earth is this place?
I clearly boarded after receiving an invitation from Elena at the Esper Ship’s dock…
And when I came to my senses, I found myself in some ghost ship rather than a luxurious cruise ship.
Even the sky was filled with a swirling scarlet, a sight that definitely didn’t belong on this earth.
— Roar!
Using the flute of rest didn’t change the scenery.
It wasn’t an illusion.
“Is this another one of those things…? At Hotel Delight, the elevator was making a fuss, and now the whole ship?”
Looks like we’ve hit a chaos disaster again.
What kind of chaos disaster shows up every week? It’s just laughable.
In many ways, it’s worse than the hotel.
The hotel at least gives you a reward for solving trials, right?
What about reality?
After dealing with the strange elevator at Hotel Delight, the stock price plummeted, and malicious rumors spread, drastically reducing guests.
“Ugh… this is too much.”
At that moment.
— Clack!
Footsteps echoed.
“What’s all the worry about?”
A man appeared in this shabby, ghostly place.
He’s tall, though not as intimidating as Cha Jinchul.
And…
“A mysterious one indeed.”
I couldn’t discern his facial features.
He was standing right in front of me, yet I couldn’t recognize how he looked.
If I had the ‘Eye of Insight’ I returned to the hotel, I might have pierced right through him!
Not that it matters since it’s an object I can’t take outside the hotel.
“Mysterious? No, I’m just someone who cares about privacy.”
“…”
“Haha, have you never thought that people recognizing you is uncomfortable? Wouldn’t it be nice to live without being seen?”
This sounded like something Kain would say with his magical thinking.
“Well, if I wanted to live without being seen, I wouldn’t be running a business.”
“Oh…! A valid point.”
The scarlet swirl filling the sky.
Thick, stifling air, sinking floorboards.
Any ordinary person would scream in terror in this place, yet the man was calm and collected.
He definitely was no commoner.
Yet, he wasn’t a monster either.
What was left after filtering everything?
“Are you with the administration bureau?”
The man smiled broadly.
I couldn’t be sure since I couldn’t fully see his features, but it felt like it.
“Yes, indeed. Lee Eunsol.”
“Then will you save me?”
“Is there a reason I should?”
“Isn’t there?”
“To me, I don’t see anyone planning to hurt you.”
His hint of goodwill was unconvincing.
I couldn’t take everything he said at face value, but I might as well avoid a hasty clash.
“Look at the sky. This world is clearly not what it seems, right? I’m a cowardly businessman. If you wish to talk with me, you might as well do so somewhere safe.”
“A cowardly businessman, huh? That’s not what we’ve been hearing.”
“…”
“Didn’t it make headlines? The bizarre phenomena at Hotel Delight! The CEO solved it with ingenuity.”
“Ingenuity, huh….”
“According to the articles, they say you have connections with the administration bureau.”
That was a white lie I spun to pacify the staff on site.
Yet something caught my attention.
Though he knew about ‘the CEO with connections to the administration bureau,’ he had no clue about the ‘young exorcist’ who worked alongside me.
Did Kain’s wish erase that knowledge?
“If you’ve picked up on that, I owe you an apology. It was a fib. If you’d like, I could arrange for a corrected report—”
“A fib, you say?”
“Yes?”
“Why would you mention that? You wouldn’t have any reason to sunbathe with us?”
“…”
“Isn’t that right? You’re Kim Ahri’s comrade!”
Chills ran down my spine.
At this moment, it felt like I was the Monkey King on Buddha’s palm.
Did Ahri pass on information about me?
I always had that possibility in the back of my mind, but seeing it confirmed left me feeling heavy.
Of course, it wasn’t a clear cut betrayal.
The relationship between us and the administration bureau is hard to define as hostile, and we can’t be sure if Ahri has shared anything.
But then again, why mention ‘Kim Ahri’ specifically? What about ‘Kim Mooksung’?
“Let’s cut to the chase.”
“… Indeed.”
“Lee Eunsol participant, congratulations.”
The word ‘participant’ made his congratulatory tone clear.
“You managed to escape from the hotel! That’s truly a heroic feat. No one has known to escape all the way to the second floor throughout human history.”
“I’ve never heard that before.”
“Well, if we count participants, including aliens, it’s a bigger number, right? Regardless, it’s a rare achievement. Congrats once more.”
“… Thank you.”
The man shrugged with an exaggerated manner.
“I hope you will join us.”
“…”
“Let’s share the secrets of the world and share our crises.”
“…”
“Let’s illuminate the fate of mankind caught in distress. Become a hero, a messiah. You are more than qualified.”
“…”
“Do I have to decide now?”
“Is there a reason to think?”
“Well, after experiencing all the strange happenings at the hotel, I start wondering.”
“Haha! Speaking of hotels, this is already amusing. I’m eager to hear it.”
“Why’d you stuff me in a temple place like this if you came with good intentions?”
I calmly pointed towards the sky.
The swirling darkness, faint screams that had been escaping since earlier echoed ominously—
A place I could nod my head to if someone were to call it hell.
Can you believe someone, all friendly and dandy, would stuff someone in a place like this for negotiations?
“A bit dark, isn’t it?”
“…”
“The moment you mention your experience at the hotel, I should share my own.”
“Your experience?”
“The most meaningless thing in the world is words and promises.”
“What are you—”
“Isn’t it just so? The moment words leave your lips, they dissipate into nothing. That’s why whatever answer you give, we won’t be able to believe you.”
In the next moment, from the man’s waist came a scroll—
A damned scroll!
I instantly knew at a glance.
This scroll isn’t just some random oddball or magical tool lying around the administration bureau!
“It’s an inheritance!”
“You figured it out right away. Now, let’s get into the real negotiations—”
With dialogue, there goes dialogue.
With threats, there goes threats!
[Hand of Greed: 1 -> 0]
“Wishing for max output! I’m leaving right now, and Hotel Delight becomes the top hotel in Korea!”
“Just what the hell are you rambling—”
— Rumble!
I made my wish.
And then.
[Granted.]
“Thank you, Dragon God!”
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.