Escaping the Mystery Hotel-Chapter 251: Room 202, Cursed Room - ’The Little Mermaid’ (29)

“Sorry for the tight space.”

“No, I’m not complaining about that. I just really want to know what these devices are.”

I understood her curiosity.

This limousine was originally spacious enough to comfortably seat all eight of us, minus Elena-noona, who was still sealed away on the island.

But now, even with just Grandpa, me, and Liringanaur inside, the space was packed to the brim.

That was because we had reclined all the seats and filled the empty space with delicate and crucial equipment.

“You really don’t know what these are?”

“Huh? Should I?”

“You don’t have to know, but I thought you’d figure it out. Looks like the Administration’s technology is even more advanced than I thought.”

Even with the transport device right next to her, the Sea God’s daughter didn’t even realize what it was.

Once again, I was struck by the thought that the Administration’s technology had reached the realm of miracles.

Standing up slightly, I checked the rearview mirror and saw the massive trailer following behind us.

Good thing the doctor was capable of driving a vehicle like that.

About ten minutes later, we finally entered the overwater road leading to the Sea God’s Island.

At some point, Liringanaur had stopped asking about the machines and now just seemed flustered.

Who was the one who set up the curse that struck us every time we entered this road?

So far, the most likely suspect was Liringanaur.

The only ones capable of such an act were Serenade, the Administration, Lee Suho, and Liringanaur—and neither Serenade nor the Administration had any reason to do it.

During both the first and second attempts, we had preemptively triggered and dispelled the overwater road’s curse before bringing Liringanaur to the island.

But this time, the curse was still active.

“Uh, excuse me!”

“…”

“Excuse me!”

“What is it?”

“Could you, uh… stop the car for a moment? I really, really need to use the bathroom!”

“Pfft!”

Grandpa finally couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Excuse me?”

“Kid, looks like the curse you set up on this road doesn’t have a way to distinguish friend from foe, huh? Don’t worry, we were planning to stop midway anyway.”

For a moment, Liringanaur’s expression turned ice-cold.

The lively girl who had been chatting with me just moments ago seemed to vanish completely.

“…That’s a strange thing to say.”

“Not as strange as the thing you set up.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was simply following you to the island because you said there was danger. By the way, can such a weak road really support that heavy trailer—”

“Hey! You’re trying to use some weird power, aren’t you? Shut your mouth! Even Elena-noona, who has the original version of your ability, can’t use it so recklessly. What’s with you?!”

“Mmmpf! Mmmph! Get your hand off me this instant!”

“Aaaargh! Stop biting me! Stop biting me! I told you, we’re not here to fight! It’s the opposite—we’re here to apologize to the god you serve!”

Is this girl insane?!

In just that brief moment, Liringanaur bit my hand so hard it started bleeding.

And with that, whatever faint affection I still had for her completely burned out.

Is she even human? Ah, right—she’s not.

She’s a merfolk.

But honestly, right now, she feels more like a rabid dog.

“You came to apologize to the Sea God? What nonsense are you—?”

There’s a saying: seeing is believing.

Rather than wasting my breath arguing a hundred times over, showing her was the fastest way.

I immediately opened part of the transport device inside the limousine.

The moment she saw what was inside, Liringanaur’s face went completely blank.

For the rest of the ride to the Sea God’s Island, the limousine was utterly silent.

***

Serenade listened to Grandpa’s lengthy explanation and summed up her emotions in a single sentence.

“…Are you seriously expecting me to believe that?”

Honestly, it was an outrageous story.

Even if someone explained it, it wouldn’t be easy to believe.

The former Saintess of the Abyss had sold off the Sea God’s offspring to the Administration, and the Administration had been using them for live experiments for over 20 years.

As a result, the Sea God, consumed by rage and despair, planned to unleash a great catastrophe through Lee Suho and Liringanaur.

Of course, the same evidence we used to convince Liringanaur could be shown to Serenade as well.

Though still skeptical, Serenade followed Grandpa to the limousine.

The moment the transport container opened before her eyes, she was left speechless.

Opaque tanks, tangled wires, and small snail-like creatures floating inside—each no larger than my fist.

As the dazed Serenade reached out, the Rudah clung to her arm as if desperately pleading for salvation.

Meanwhile, the doctor who had driven the trailer opened even more transport containers right in front of her.

Upon seeing nearly 200 Rudah, Serenade finally broke the silence.

“…Is there more?”

“Governor, these are merely a fraction. The Administration has been mass-replicating and cultivating Rudah for decades. Unfortunately, we couldn’t save them all.”

“Then… what about the remaining ones?”

“We’ll take you to the research facility. At least 20 more trailers of this size would be needed to transport them all. The Rudah themselves are small, but these transport units are quite large.”

“…Wait. Before that, there’s something I need to do. I have some time, don’t I?”

“Rather than asking me, you should ask your younger sister. Liringanaur, what do you think? Do you believe that saving the Sea God’s offspring from this massacre will help ease the Sea God’s wrath?”

“…”

Serenade, overwhelmed by the shocking revelations, turned to face Liringanaur as if she had finally regained her senses.

Until now, Serenade had always thought of Liringanaur as a naive, immature younger sister.

Yet, this child—the one she had underestimated—turned out to be a harbinger of the Sea God’s wrath, carrying out its will even further than she ever had.

What is Serenade feeling right now?

Betrayal?

Sorrow?

Or pride?

The two sisters locked eyes, an unspoken atmosphere settling between them.

At that moment, the doctor placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Governor, we’ll wait outside.”

“Take this. On the outskirts of the island—oh, but I suppose you already know the location. Show this token at the hospital, and you should be able to awaken Elena.”

- Click!

“This seems like a family matter. Let’s give them space to sort it out themselves.”

The doctor fiddled with the wooden token Serenade had handed him and suggested we go wake up Elena.

That was when Grandpa let out a strange noise.

“Hmmm…”

“Grandpa?”

“Both of you, come look at this.”

The sky looked strange.

A murky, incomprehensible color stretched out like a stain, spreading across the heavens.

“Sir, is that the ‘means to shake the Administration’ that Ahri mentioned yesterday?”

“…Probably.”

“It’s ominous. Just to be sure—this isn’t one of those ridiculous endings where the world collapses because we couldn’t stop it, right?”

“…Who knows.”

“Grandpa?”

“Stop asking me. Seungyub, you should know by now—there’s a huge experience gap between Ahri and I. Just because she knows something doesn’t mean I do. I have no idea what the hell that is.”

Ugh.

The moment Grandpa mentioned Ahri-noona’s “experience”, I flinched.

I might be clueless, but even I had noticed by now that Ahri-noona’s experience and age were not normal.

“Uh… Grandpa.”

“Hmm?”

“Has Ahri-noona… ever been married? I mean—what if she actually has a son who’s older than me?!”

“…Ask her yourself. And for the love of god, find someone your own age—preferably human.”

“…”

***

“Sir, do you think Eunsol and Songee will succeed?”

“What, are you worried?”

“Honestly, yes. If the Administration decides to go all out, won’t our final measure be useless?”

“It’ll be difficult for them to act that way. We’ve set the stage so they can’t.”

“The stage?”

“The Administration is an organization that believes in its own righteousness. No amount of external opposition can shake them if they’re convinced they’re right. But—”

“But?”

“Now, even their own faith in the ‘Project’ will waver. They just witnessed the so-called ‘New Humanity’—something they believed in so deeply—turning against them, controlled by Jinchul. Facing such a shock, Eunsol and Songee’s plan will be much more effective.”

“You think so?”

“Besides—”

“Besides?”

“I’m not even sure the Administration is in a position to properly respond to external interference right now.”

Following the old man’s pointing finger, Sanghyun gazed at the ominous, ashen sky that seemed to be rotting away.

A fully functional Administration might have handled this situation differently, but the current Administration was too preoccupied with dealing with an unknown calamity.

That meant they wouldn’t have the capacity to stop what Eunsol and Songee were about to unleash as the final strike.

For a brief moment, Sanghyun wondered

When all of this was over, who will get the Inheritance?

There were plenty of survivors, and no single person had solved everything alone.

That meant multiple people had a claim to the Inheritance.

But then, he chuckled to himself.

He had momentarily forgotten.

This party wouldn’t fall apart over such an issue.

The matter would be settled appropriately.

If they had been the kind of people to fight over the spoils, they wouldn’t have made it this far in the first place.

By evening, Elena had been freed from her seal, and together with the three Daughters of the Sea God, the merfolk of the island held a requiem ceremony.

A prayer for the Sea God’s tormented offspring, that they might finally find peace.

And with that, we, too, wished for our liberation from this Room.

***

https://ko-fi.com/genesisforsaken