Chapter 695 – The Second Escape, Meeting (2)
—
– Han Kain
“Wow~ This is delicious.”
“Of course it’s delicious, it’s pork belly!”
“Hyung, we’ve tried all sorts of food at this hotel, right?”
Room 105 is known for providing any food at top quality, so indulging in just the usual comfort food feels kind of boring here.
At every meal, there are usually some comrades who summon strange foods.
Whether it’s a Chinese-style roasted suckling pig seen only on TV, or exotic dishes like ‘Molochia’, ‘Shawarma’, or ‘Falafel’—an array of unusual delicacies often graced the table.
Thanks to this variety, we’ve tasted countless unique and rare dishes from around the world while seated in 105. A few of us reached a unanimous conclusion:
“Kain, honestly, nothing beats good old pork belly or kimchi stew.”
“…Actually, I feel the same.”
“Me too!”
Food that unknown pharaohs or emperors enjoyed—most seems to be nothing but marketing gimmicks—are not as tasty as staples like pork belly, fried chicken, or kimchi fried rice.
Of course, I might just be saying this because I’m Korean.
Anyway, for the reasons stated above, summoning strange food during mealtime was never seen as a mistake among us…
…until now.
“Wait! Ahri, do you even know what you’re summoning?!”
Elena’s shocked voice drew everyone’s attention to Ahri.
In her hands, she held a small can with ‘Surströmming’ written on it—
What? Isn’t that the food known for its foul smell?
As everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief, Ahri, with a playful grin, slowly began to open the can!
“Ahhhh! Seriously, why are you doing this?!”
“Why? I’m just eating what I want!”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“Kick!”
Elena tried to snatch the can from Ahri, who was skillfully dodging Elena’s attempts.
At this moment, I couldn’t help but suspect that Ahri’s mental age had regressed to about five years old.
Isn’t that just Miro with black hair?
Sadly, Miro stood beside Ahri, mouth half-open in shock.
“Ugh!”
Finally, Elena managed to wrest the Surströmming can from Ahri’s hands.
From the looks of it, Ahri wasn’t even that serious about it.
If she were, Elena wouldn’t have been able to keep up with Ahri’s nimble movements.
Anyway, It seemed like that funny mealtime mishap was going to end here, but just when I thought we could relax—
—Swoosh…!
A dizzying illusion flashed through my mind.
Amidst the shock and chaos, Eunsol closed her eyes tightly as if giving up on everything, and Miro reached out—
Reaching out?
“Mon-de-mon-de! Ahri wants to eat it! Just let her have it!”
“M-Miro, this is—ack!”
In an instant, Miro snatched the can and opened it in Elena’s grasp!
Several comrades didn’t know what Surströmming was and, caught off guard by Miro’s sudden move, couldn’t react in time.
Then, a smell exploded through the room—a scent that could only be described as seafood that had expired at least a year ago!
“Eew!”
“Wait! Is this the smell coming from food?!”
“What the heck is this?!”
“Ahhhh!”
“No, Miro, don’t scream after opening the can!”
“I had no idea it was this weird of a can!”
The influence of a single can easily overshadowed all the food at the table.
It was literally a force of nature!
No kidding, why did my insight activate at a time like this?
Why show me how Eunsol closed her eyes in disgust while Miro was opening the cursed can?
Because of that, I actually took longer to react!
As everyone panicked and halted their meals, only one person calmly finished their last bite and stood up.
It was Songyi.
By controlling her senses from various angles, she blocked the stench!
Soon, Miro rushed to Songyi.
“Do it for me too! Do it for me too!”
“Sorry. Not happening.”
“Why not?!”
Why the heck not?
The perspective wasn’t something shared among individuals.
Since it had been used on herself, there was no way to use it on Miro—and in that instant, Songyi’s eyes widened in realization.
She looked as if she just recalled something she didn’t even know herself.
Then, with a focused gaze, Songyi scanned Miro, and somehow, Miro’s expression relaxed!
A surprising moment where both Songyi and Miro were protected by the bracelet occurred.
“Hey, hey! Let’s get out of here for now!”
*
“Ugh! What smells so bad?!”
“Over here! Air freshener!”
Eunsol had already ordered some air freshener from the HP Market.
Unfortunately, the stench was way too much for just any old air freshener to handle.
Now, every perked-up piece of clothing and our bodies had absorbed the smell.
People soon shook off their stupor only to look at Ahri with bewildered glances.
“You…!”
The sheer weight of emotions carried in that single word.
Caught by everyone’s stares, Ahri shrugged as if it were nothing and replied.
“Did well, right?”
“…”
Wow…
I never imagined this would happen!
As everyone gaped in shock at Ahri’s brazen attitude, she continued calmly.
“See? Thanks to me, Songyi leveled up a notch.”
“Ah, Ahri you…!”
“Am I wrong? If it weren’t for me, Songyi would never have noticed the enhancement of her heritage’s abilities—”
“Hey! What’s up with you?! You’re not Miro!”
Songyi, wearing a bewildered expression, delivered a low kick, while Ahri showcased an incredible ability to evade that kick.
To my amusement, it was Miro who responded to Songyi’s words.
“Why am I being brought into this?!”
“Shut up! You opened the can!”
“I-I thought it was just a tuna can or something!”
“Well then, it’s your responsibility for not knowing!”
“Can Ahri just be quiet?”
Ahri and Miro were engaged in a beautiful moment of passing blame onto one another.
Of course, the responsibility was quite clear.
Miro’s mistake for not knowing what Surströmming was could be understandable.
But Ahri summoning it knowingly was pure folly!
Anyway, this was how our meal-time shenanigans drew to a close.
*
All of us gathered around the dessert table, looking exhausted.
The conversation shifted to Songyi’s heritage, which seemed to have triggered some kind of function enhancement upon realizing ‘The First Wish.’
The restriction on the number of participants had been lifted, and the usage time felt quite extended.
However, according to Songyi, the performance still fell significantly short compared to what it was inside Room 103.
On the upside, it meant there was still plenty of room for improvement!
Naturally, everyone’s gaze drifted toward Eunsol.
Since there was a change in Songyi upon realizing her wish, everyone was wondering what had happened with Eunsol.
She seemed curious herself, scrolling through her phone to check the HP Market, even attempting to summon her flute.
“I still don’t know well.”
Just moments before revealing everything—why she shared it all—Ahri casually chimed in.
“The hotel is strangely fair in this regard, right? You must have something too. Just don’t know it yet?”
“Hmm…”
“Try recalling the content of your wish.”
The suggestion to recall her wish made Eunsol’s expression turn as if she had suddenly realized something.
“Do you think you got it?”
“…”
“What is it? What is it?”
“I feel like there might be a change after Room 301 ends.”
That didn’t seem to be just some vague hunch.
Eunsol’s character wasn’t one for guesswork.
She had seemingly realized something but was hesitant to explain.
It clearly related to the content of her wish.
Looking back, both Songyi and Eunsol had vaguely bypassed the part about, ‘What exactly did they wish for?’ when they spoke of their past.
I could understand.
The memory associated with their first wish was likely the most shocking experience of their entire lives.
Thus, sharing the specifics of that wish with others would be a challenge.
Interestingly enough, I also had many things I hadn’t revealed to my comrades.
“Actually, I’ve been sensing that the smell of that can has stuck to us as well. Let’s take showers, and call it a day.”
“Yeah, let’s do that!”
“Let’s do it. I’m still struggling to breathe thanks to that crazy girl!”
“Oh, Mooksung! You can’t mean…”
“Somebody slap her already!”
Ahri once again dodged artfully and managed to escape unharmed.
Just before we all go back to 105, I noticed something twitching at Eunsol’s mouth.
Instead of saying something, it felt like the thought she was deeply pondering inadvertently slipped out.
“Address it to me…”
Address it to me?
What does that even mean?
*
– Kim Mooksung
—
Splash!
“Ow~!”
After washing up three times since lunch, I finally felt like the stench clinging to me faded a bit.
Or maybe my nose just rotted away and got accustomed to the smell?
Standing on the 2nd-floor snowy area, I spotted a arrival approaching from the distance.
“You’ve arrived too?”
“… Senior, are you out of your mind?”
The way ‘senior’ slipped out occasionally from just the two of us left shows how deeply rooted those memories from our agency days are.
“Why? Oh, is it about the can?”
“That blasted can has everyone dodging one another still!”
“Anyway, tomorrow is also a rest day. Let’s treat today like a break since everyone’s exhausted.”
“No! If you hadn’t opened that can—”
Ahri stuck her tongue out and said, “You thought I opened it?!”
“I didn’t open it! I just wanted to mess around, I didn’t think Miro would open it suddenly!”
“I think you’re just acting more childish lately?”
“Uh… Maybe it’s because I’m with Miro?”
“Quit blaming Miro! Even she wouldn’t pull off such a stunt.”
“Really? But I’m like Miro’s upgraded version! I gotta have some differences!”
Seeing her playful expression made it seem pointless to pry further.
Well, as this hopeless human deems it, we planned on taking a break for dinner, so it didn’t make it a huge disaster…
Just as I sighed, Ahri suddenly examined me with keen eyes.
“… Are you okay?”
“…”
“The blessing status doesn’t seems normal anymore.”
At that moment, I felt a tinge of gratitude.
After exiting Room 301, Ahri was the only one who had had me on her mind.
Of course, it wasn’t that the others were especially heartless.
Everyone was half-dazed after the unprecedented intrusion of a prisoner into the hotel.
I guess my story would come up later, maybe tonight or tomorrow.
“Well, I’m alright.”
“You’re only alright for now, right? Using one more chance might cause a problem.”
“…”
“When using it in Room 207, the costs of that reverse time were aging.”
“Yeah, it was.”
“In reality, it stripped the right to be a regressor.”
“Right.”
“In Room 301, that cursed room…”
“…”
“Is it your qualification as a participant that’s in question? Did your recovery happen after escaping?”
Honestly, I answered.
“No. It seems whatever was lost can’t be regained.”
“…”
Ahri’s expression turned dark in an instant.
Maybe that’s why?
I had this silly thought of wanting to cheer this childish person up.
“Haha! Why so gloomy? One more chance is the strongest legacy. You have to pay a price for the strongest legacy.”
“… What if it raises the cracks in your qualifications further after using it one more time?”
I don’t know.
At the same time, I felt like I had a vague understanding.
Anyway, I sensed the need to shift the topic slightly.
“Um, Ahri, did you hear what the pioneer said in Room 301?”
“Oh, you’re talking about before the time reversal when I heard it from the pioneer, right?”
Ahri herself had forgotten her memories due to the one more chance, but the people at the Observation Team had kept that from being forgotten.
“The pioneer said that humans, at the end of their spiritual evolution, are called ‘regressors.’”
“That’s not scientific at all.”
“Even that regressor is merely an evolutionary step above a hotel participant, right?”
“… True.”
“From the perspective of the pioneer, hotel participants are literally the pinnacle of human evolution.”
“…”
“Grace is a ritual that artificially produces such participants.”
“Is that why the room title is ‘Origin of Species’? The Genesis of Evolution?”
“Hmm…”
I mumbled cautiously.
“As you know, several secrets remain in Room 301.”
“That’s likely true.”
“I’ll explain in detail tomorrow, but… I believe part of that secret lies with the Administration Bureau.”
“…”
“There’s bound to be more. It’s just a feeling, but I’m sure of it.”
After a brief silence, Ahri suddenly threw a somewhat random question.
“Just out of curiosity, but why is the head of the Administration Bureau in Room 301 called ‘the Pioneer’?”
“That’s right.”
“Why ‘Pioneer’? Who realized what first?”
“…”
At that moment, I contemplated things that were similar yet different from Ahri’s questions.
“Listening to you reminds me, why are they called ‘The Silent Ones’?”
“What?”
“Why was the head of our Administration Bureau known as ‘The Silent Ones’? What are they keeping silent about? The secrets of the world?”
End of Chapter 695
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