Escaping the Mystery Hotel

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 45

Current Location: Floor 1, Room 107 (Gate Room)

Sage's Advice: 1

- Han Kain

I pretended to sleep as I eavesdropped on the strange conversation. Perro had transformed into his Grotesque form.

The faces, which had been quiet for a while, started speaking ominously again.

“What is that? Do such creatures exist?”

“In a world with demons, a monstrous bird isn't surprising.”

“You speak lightly. Have you forgotten that we need to offer someone today?”

“...Why isn’t that bird asleep? Does the music box not affect animals?”

“That can't be. It always worked on dogs and cats before.”

“Perhaps it’s different because it’s not an ordinary animal. Should we just kill it?”

“Lady Amiens, fighting might wake these people. Besides, seeing that they control such a monster, they don’t seem like ordinary people. Let's avoid making a fuss. Let’s subdue that monster quietly when we get the chance. We do have a suitable ‘cage’, don’t we?”

“Then for tonight…”

“Let’s use the ‘reserve’. It was always a tricky situation to offer someone tonight anyway.”

“That’s true. They were all tight-lipped. We barely even learned their names. We need to gather more information.”

Since I was peeking through squinted eyes, I couldn’t distinguish the speakers precisely.

Based on their voices, there seemed to be two older men, a woman called “Amiens” with a high-pitched tone, and a younger man who suggested using the “reserve”.

After finishing their discussion about needing more information, the ominous presence left the room.

Still, I didn’t move a muscle until morning, just in case.

I analyzed the conversation I had overheard until I was about to fall asleep.

***When I came to, my companions were already awake and having a simple breakfast.

Grandpa waved at me as I woke up.

“Hey~! Finally awake? Come and have some bread.”

“Kain-oppa, you’re up? You must have been tired. We couldn’t wake you this morning.”

...Why is everyone in such a cheerful mood?

Shouldn’t they have sensed that something was amiss, considering they fell asleep waiting for the Scenario to update?

Yet, they all sat there with no suspicion, looking relaxed.

I immediately pointed out what happened last night.

As I started explaining, everyone’s eyes widened, and they stopped eating to listen to me.

I relayed the conversation of the “faces” as I remembered it.

Afterward, Grandpa shared his thoughts.

“I didn’t notice anything before you mentioned it. You’re right. We suddenly passed out while waiting for the Scenario to update at midnight, so we should have been suspicious as soon as we woke up.”

Ahri seemed to intuitively grasp the cause.

“We all fell asleep when the music box played, right? It must have some kind of hypnotic effect. Perhaps it suggested for us to feel as if nothing happened and we had a restful night?”

“Kain-oppa, did you check the scenario?”

“I couldn’t open my eyes last night because I had to pretend to sleep all night. I’ll check it now.”

Scenario: The Gate Room - ‘The Secret of Esper Ho’

At midnight, the Hotel Party faced danger, falling asleep due to the power of the music box.

Fortunately, they survived the first night of the contract thanks to the Grotesque Parrot’s intervention.

However, the claws of those who seek them draw ever closer.

Can the Hotel Party survive tonight’s crisis?

Check the next part at midnight.

The first two lines described what had already happened, with the phrase “first night of the contract” catching my eye.

What does “contract” refer to?

It also warned about “tonight’s crisis”.

This likely means we will face a similar danger tonight.

Reflecting on it, the Scenario Comprehension was remarkably convenient for getting through the Cursed Rooms without fully understanding them.

We began our meeting to discuss the suspicious conversation I overheard last night and the Scenario I had just read.

Ahri started with her insights.

“I noticed two things from the conversation last night. First, ‘we need to offer someone today.’ This suggests that they have some evil ritual planned and intend to use one of us as a sacrifice. Second, ‘let’s use the reserve.’ When Perro interfered with their ritual, they decided to use a ‘reserve’ sacrifice, which means they have another victim somewhere on the ship.”

“The latter part of the conversation is intriguing. ‘It’s tricky to offer someone; we barely learned their names.’ They seemed to need a bit of personal information about us to activate their ritual. Remember how eager they were to learn about us at the dinner party?” Grandpa added his thoughts.

I spoke up as well.

“Combining the information we have with the scenario, it seems the enemies are planning some evil ritual, and they intend to use us as sacrifices. To that end, they need our personal information. This ritual might be what the scenario refers to as the ‘contract’. It looks like they’ll attack us again tonight.”

Elena raised a question.

“I’m curious. Why are they waiting until night? Many of the ship’s staff members have guns. Why not just threaten us with force? It’s not like they know I can retaliate with Justice.”

“Perhaps they have restrictions of their own. Just as they need our personal information for the ritual, they might be restricted during the day.”

“That’s plausible,” Grandpa agreed, “If they could act during the day, they would have used the music box to take us away by now. Since they can’t act during the day, they leave us alone. The scenario repeatedly emphasizes ‘midnight’.”

Songee, who had been quietly listening, spoke up.

“I keep thinking about the last part of the conversation. They said they would subdue Perro when they had the chance and mentioned a ‘suitable cage’.”

“Even after seeing Perro transform into his Grotesque form, they seemed confident. It’s probably not an ordinary cage. It might even be capable of trapping a monster.”

A silence fell over the table.

Ahri broke it again.

“The plan is good, but let’s handle the immediate issue first.”

“Immediate issue?”

“The music box. If it plays again, everyone will fall asleep except Kain with the filter. It played from various spots around the room. We need to find and destroy them all.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and stood up.

Plans were plans, but our immediate threat was the music box, so we needed to find and destroy them.

We spent the entire morning searching the room.

Under the bed, beneath the chairs, behind the table, inside the clock—the music boxes were everywhere.

When we gathered them on the table, the table was nearly full from the sheer quantity of them.

Seeing so many made us uneasy.

“Did we find them all? It feels like there might be more hidden somewhere.”

Grandpa seemed to ponder for a moment before turning to Ahri.

Ahri nodded.

“There’s a way to find out.”

“What is it?”

“Um... I actually have a ‘Compass’ ability.”

…???

What is she talking about now?

While Songee, Elena, and I looked half-baffled, Ahri continued.

“I got this ability when I enhanced my Blessing. It helps me find things I’m looking for. There are quite a few limitations though. It can be blocked by powerful supernatural forces, and I need to know what the object looks like and its characteristics. It doesn’t work on people. But I can find these music boxes.”

Songee, who had been listening in a daze, spoke up.

“Why didn’t you mention such a useful ability earlier!”

I awkwardly pulled Songee aside.

“If she got it during her enhancement, she hasn’t had it long. Things have been complicated. Let’s just be glad she told us now.”

After giving a brief apology, Ahri began waving her hand in the air.

Soon, we found three more music boxes.

“Is this all of them?”

“Probably.”

“Well, at least that’s a relief. If we hadn’t found these, we’d have fallen asleep again tonight.”

“Yeah... So, Songee, please take this thing away.”

“Perro seems to like you. What can I do?”

During trials, it’s not really the time to argue, and after our heart-to-heart conversation, I somewhat understood Ahri’s guarded psychology.

It is what it is.

But Songee seemed slightly annoyed with Ahri and instructed Perro to do “something”.

Perro, the ever-obedient minion, tried to bite Ahri’s ear over ten times before the morning was over.

***When we threw the collected music boxes out the window and into the sea below, a bell rang from outside the door.

- Ding!

Tension filled the air.

After glancing at each other, Grandpa opened the door.

“Who’s there?”

Two people who looked like the ship staff members were standing outside.

“Good morning. Did you have a good time last night?”

“The sleeping arrangements were a bit unsettling. Do you have something to say?”

“We received complaints from guests staying in nearby rooms last night.”

“Complaints?”

“They mentioned that you have a bird making quite a racket.”

A chill ran down my spine.

The conversation I overheard last night about subduing the bird came to mind.

“Our bird isn’t noisy. You must be mistaken.”

“No, it was definitely this room.”

“What nonsense... Do you have any evidence? If not, I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”

-Thunk!

Ignoring the staff member’s words, Grandpa attempted to close the door, but the staff member wedged his knee between the door.

The staff member casually put his hand on his waist, revealing a threatening gleam on the revolver.

“What’s that? Are you threatening us?”

“Haha! Sir, it’s not a threat. We have a duty to maintain order on this ship. Please cooperate.”

While we had a gun too, their numbers were greater.

In the end, Grandpa reluctantly stepped back.

The other staff member held a rusty birdcage.

It looked ordinary at first glance, but I was certain it was the “suitable cage” mentioned in the conversation last night.

The tension in the room was palpable.

The staff member with the revolver suddenly burst into laughter.

“There’s no need to be so tense. We’ll take good care of the parrot. We’ll provide high-quality nuts daily, so you don’t need to worry.”

The staff member holding the cage approached nonchalantly.

What should we do?

As everyone’s gaze shifted to Perro, Songee casually petted Perro and seemed to communicate something.

-Flap!

Suddenly, Perro took flight!

Before we could react, Perro flew straight out the open window.

Just as the staff member with the revolver drew his gun, Grandpa quickly diverted the gun’s aim.

-Bang!

“What is the meaning of this!”

“That’s what I should be saying! You bastard! You think it’s okay to shoot just because a bird flew away?”

Grandpa took advantage of the situation and started whaling on the staff member.

From an outsider's perspective, it would look like the bird just flew off on its own, and the staff member immediately tried to shoot at it.

Clearly, we had the moral high ground. The staff member, who now had blood flowing from his nose, retreated.

Regaining his composure, the staff member bowed his head.

“S-sorry. I panicked when the bird took off. This is entirely my fault.”

The other staff member also apologized profusely, and they both left the room.

We turned to Songee with our mouths agape.