Escaping the Mystery Hotel-Chapter 247: Room 202, Cursed Room - ’The Little Mermaid’ (25)

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 106

Current Location: Floor 2, Corridor

Sage’s Advice: 3

- Han Kain

It only took about 30 seconds for Elena to calm down after she had screamed and run off.

When she returned with an awkward expression, she apologized to Ahri, explaining that she had been so traumatized by the horrifying sights right before escaping that she seemed to have lost her mind temporarily.

After that, we had to spend quite some time talking things out.

Our party had split, and Seungyub and Elena had each gathered different pieces of information under different circumstances.

Organizing the scattered, chaotic data everyone had collected took longer than expected.

For the latter part of the second attempt, Elena had handled everything on her own.

As she recounted her experiences, we couldn’t help but sit with our mouths agape.

Strange and grotesque incidents were common across all rooms in the Hotel, but what Elena went through was uniquely harrowing.

As we sifted through the chaotic information, everyone was feeling a bit disoriented.

That was when Noona stood in front of the whiteboard, deep in thought.

“I think we’ve pieced together most of Room 202’s scenario. Instead of recounting our individual experiences further, let’s organize the events in chronological order. It’ll make everything clearer.”

Soon, the key events started being listed in sequence:

Firstly, 800 years ago, poor fishermen along the coast accepted Rudah, the Sea God’s offspring, into their being and became merfolk. Eventually, it became clear that the side effect of their transformation was turning into marine animals. The merfolk couldn’t accept this fate. The Daughters of the Sea God, who hosted higher-order Rudah entities, used their powers to allow the merfolk to remain on land.

Secondly, 20 years ago, the previous Saintess of the Deep Sea, Imelda, tormented by long-standing nightmares, made a deal with the Administration, selling Rudahs as test subjects. The Administration began a project to enhance humans using Rudah. This betrayal enraged the Sea God, making the merfolk’s nightmares far more severe.

Thirdly, present day, the Sea God prepared to rise from the depths to judge the sins committed by the merfolk, enlisting Lee Suho and Liringanaur. It seemed Lee Suho was meant to act first, with Liringanaur as a contingency in case of failure.

Most of the major events seemed to be accounted for.

Noona continued her explanation, “We can look at the story in Room 202 through the lens of ‘sins’. The first event relates to the original sin of the merfolk: their ‘rejection of life in the sea’. The second is the betrayal: ‘selling the god’s offspring for experimentation’. And the third is the Sea God’s response. If anyone has questions, speak up now.”

Jinchul-hyung raised his hand first, “This is something I’ve wondered about through both attempts. That cursed mist on the bridge to the Sea God’s island—whose doing do you think it was?”

“We need to think about the purpose of that mist. It was clearly meant to kill us. Only a few forces in the scenario are capable of such power: Serenade, the Administration, Lee Suho, and Liringanaur.”

“It couldn’t have been the Administration. At that point, we didn’t know about the ‘project,’ so they had no reason to eliminate us.”

“It wasn’t Serenade either. If Administration agents heading to the island were suddenly massacred, the Administration would react harshly. She’d be too afraid of the fallout to do such a thing.”

“So it must have been either Lee Suho or Liringanaur. They wouldn’t care about the aftermath since the Sea God was set to descend the next day. Their goal was likely to prevent the Administration from interfering before the descent.”

“Exactly. The same purpose probably applied to the tsunami in Busan. We just didn’t notice because we entered the island before it reached us.”

At the mention of Liringanaur, Seungyub raised his hand.

“Do you think Liringanaur knew her fate from the beginning?”

His expression made it clear what he meant.

During the first attempt, Seungyub had seemed to grow close to Liringanaur.

Although that bond had been lost in subsequent attempts, the memory remained.

Instead of Noona, who hesitated to answer, Ahri responded, “It’s hard to say. But whether she knew or not, she’s a major threat to us. She’ll probably have to… be dealt with.”

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That aligned with my thoughts.

Liringanaur might have known she was merely a tool for the Sea God’s resurrection from the start.

Or perhaps she only realized it after Lee Suho’s death through dreams sent by the Sea God.

Either way, she was incredibly dangerous to us.

Elena raised her hand cautiously.

“Do you all remember the messages from the Sea God? The ones Kain heard in the first attempt: ‘Bring an end to my suffering,’ and the ones I heard in the second attempt: ‘Once more,’ ‘Almost there,’ and ‘Why are you still a merfolk?’ What do you think they mean?”

Grandpa offered his opinion, “‘Bring an end to my suffering,’ could be asking us to stop the Administration’s experiments with the Rudah or to solve this room’s scenario entirely, letting the god rest.”

Like the prisoner in Room 103, the Sea God might simply long for peace.

“‘Once more,’ and ‘Almost there,’ likely mean we’re close to resolving the scenario but still need to push a bit further. The last phrase is the most puzzling: ‘Why are you still a merfolk?’ How do you interpret it?”

The room fell silent. Cautiously, I spoke up, “In context, the ‘you’ is clearly Elena. So… ‘Why is Elena still a merfolk?’”

Does it imply that Elena’s being a merfolk is the reason we can’t finish this scenario?

Or does it suggest there’s some deeper meaning to her being a merfolk that we need to uncover?

It wasn’t clear.

Silence lingered in the room once more.

Finally, Noona, still standing by the whiteboard, raised her hand.

“There’s something else that doesn’t sit right with me. The flute—it’s just so strange.”

The flute held several mysteries.

According to Elena’s experience during the second attempt, when her mind grew closer to the Sea God, the flute seemed like a “soothing lullaby” crafted to ease the god’s suffering.

Elena also mentioned that when the flute’s melody filled the air, the Sea God appeared to regain its sanity.

Elena tilted her head.

“What part seems strange? That the god created something to ease its own pain but gave it to the merfolk instead?”

Noona shook her head.

“No, that part’s easy to understand. The flute was useful for the god but also for the merfolk, as it weakened their nightmares. It makes sense to give such a treasure to its followers. What bothers me is the ‘timing’.”

“The timing?”

Noona paced the room, organizing her thoughts.

“The Sea God is suffering—that much is clear. It even told Kain, ‘Bring an end to my suffering.’ Here’s the real question, what’s causing that pain?”

Grandpa answered, “The Administration experimenting on Rudah, right? Its offspring being turned into lab rats would definitely cause immense pain for a god.”

“Exactly. And according to what we know, the Daughters of the Sea God noticed an increase in nightmares and other issues starting 20 years ago. But… when did the god give the flute to the merfolk? Elena?”

Elena’s eyes widened in realization.

“Uh… I’m not exactly sure. Since it’s been passed down for generations, it must be hundreds of years old.”

The Sea God’s suffering began 20 years ago, yet the flute, created to alleviate that pain, had existed for centuries.

How could a cure precede the disease?

It was then that Noona pointed out the timeline inconsistency.

Around that time, Ahri slapped the table with a loud thud.

“I think we’re getting too hung up on the details. To solve this room, we don’t need to unravel every single mystery in Room 202. With the information we’ve already gathered, I think we have enough to resolve it.”

Grandpa shared a similar sentiment, “Isn’t it all about stopping the Sea God’s descent? We’ve figured out the cards the Sea God prepared. First, Lee Suho, who we thought was dead but is actually alive. Second, Liringanaur, who seemed docile but turned out to be an absurd monster. We just need to deal with those two.”

I understood Ahri and Grandpa’s perspective.

If we had a month, we could debate every imaginable question about this scenario.

But we were heading back tomorrow.

We didn’t have time to endlessly dwell on problems that might not even yield answers.

It was time to plan what we’d do upon re-entering Room 202.

Step by step, we formulated a strategy:

Plans for dealing with Lee Suho, who was plotting schemes on the Sea God’s Island.

Strategies for handling Liringanaur, with her array of extraordinary abilities.

And as a last resort, in case everything else failed, a plan to use the Administration’s “living flutes” to make a final escape.

The discussion about the flutes naturally led to talking about the original flute bestowed by the Sea God, the prototype of the “living flutes.”

“The living flutes are just imitations made by the Administration. The original is a divine artifact from the Sea God. Wouldn’t the original be much more powerful?”

Elena seemed to have a different opinion, “In my experience, not necessarily. The living flutes made by the Administration… well, it’s strange to put it this way, but they’re ‘mass-producible’. Even if they’re inferior in quality compared to the original, sheer numbers more than make up for it.”

“Regardless, if we can secure the original flute, we should. Even in the worst-case scenario, we could use it to calm the Sea God’s wrath, which could be our ticket out of here. It’s an invaluable artifact.”

If we couldn’t secure the original flute, we’d have to use the living flutes.

I asked Elena, “Using the original flute seems pretty straightforward, but the Administration’s living flutes seem harder to use. They require controlling the conductor Rudah, right? Elena, do you think you can create another one of those moth monsters?”

Elena’s eyes suddenly widened as she stared at me.

“…”

The intensity of her gaze made me lower my eyes, but where they landed only made me more uncomfortable.

“Never.”

“Huh?”

“Never again.”

“Oh.”

“Never. Never. Never!”

“Okay, I get it.”

Ahri chuckled softly.

“Alright, then. Let’s aim to secure the original flute if possible. There’s no need to create another uncontrollable monster. Liringanaur has one, Serenade has one… doesn’t Elena have one too?”

And so, we continued to fill in the details of our plan.

At some point, I realized Noona had been unusually quiet for a while.

“Noona? What are you thinking about so intently?”

“Hmm… I just had a sudden realization.”

“A realization?”

“I think I’ve figured out what the Sea God’s last message meant.”

“‘Why are you still a merfolk,’ right?”

“Kain, has Advice recharged?”

…

…

…

The next day, we entered Room 202 for our third attempt.

***

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