Escaping the Mystery Hotel

User: Han Kain (Wisdom)

Date: Day 94

Current Location: Miro’s Hell

Sage’s Advice: 3

- Han Kain

The demonic Santa’s fifth argument: “How can you call yourself Santa when you don’t even have Rudolph?”

What? Rudolph?

Is he really bringing up Rudolph now?

I lost track of this insane conversation a long time ago!

Maybe if we had brought Perro along, we could have claimed that Grandpa’s Rudolph was Perro? But then what if Perro plucked Grandpa’s hair off while we were bluffing? And what if Grandpa hit Perro in anger?

“…”

I need to get a grip. The madness of this situation is making me think weird things.

Perro’s not even here, and without Songee, it’d be impossible to control Perro anyway.

Grandpa threw out a line, hoping for something.

“Of course, I’ve got Rudolph.”

Han Kain: Excuse me?

Kim Mooksung: Do something! Anything!

Kim Ahri: Just stall for time!

What is Ahri planning in the middle of this chaos?

Did she sense that Grandpa was grasping at straws?

Santa started to laugh mockingly, “Hohoho! Have you run out of excuses already? Figures, a third-rate imposter like you wouldn’t be properly prepared. You should know the gravity of the crime of impersonating Santa!”

“I told you, I have Rudolph, you fool! I’m just not some magician like you, so I can’t summon him on the spot! You’re not saying Santa must have magic to qualify, are you?”

“Then where is he? If my eyes aren’t failing me, I see no trace of your Rudolph anywhere—”

- Vroom! Crash!

The school’s front door exploded as an old 1982 Ford Granada smashed its way inside.

The car, barreling forward at an incredible speed, drifted smoothly, sending the reindeer peacefully posing next to Santa flying through the air.

“Screeechhh!”

“Comet! Comettttttt!”

Santa screamed in despair as his reindeer flew across the room.

Who’s the villain here again?

Ahri, however, smiled brightly.

“Rudolph’s here!”

I’m speechless.

“What madness! Who calls a car Rudolph?”

“And why can’t a car be Rudolph, huh?”

“Are you hearing yourself right now!?”

“The world’s advancing every day! This isn’t the olden days when Santa rode a sleigh pulled by reindeer. Now it’s cars and planes!”

“Ha! Enough of this ruse! Can’t you see how terrified the children are?”

Of course, they’re scared.

Until now, the kids had just been confused by two old men arguing nonsense, but when the car crashed through the door, everyone lost it completely.

“You insane fools! Trying to reason with you was a mistake! You’re not worthy of living! I’ll crush your heads one by one!”

<Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way.>

“Wait, wait! Isn’t this enough? We even brought a car!”

“Of course not, why would such an insane stunt work!?”

Both Ahri and I were about to give up, thinking our second attempt had failed completely, when we heard a familiar song.

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer~ had a very shiny nose!”

Huh?

As the school was filled with shock and chaos, Miro, with a look of nonchalant on her face, walked toward the 1982 Ford Granada holding something in her hand.

All eyes—from the children to the teachers, from the Hotel Party members to Santa—were now glued to Miro, wondering what new madness was about to unfold.

In her hand was a cherry from the top of a Christmas cake.

“Then one foggy Christmas Eve~ Santa came to say, ‘Rudolph with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight~?’”

- Plop!

Miro threw the cherry at Ahri’s nose.

“Now here’s Rudolph, right? The nose is glowing!”

The transformation began.

<We wish you a merry Christmas

We wish you a merry Christmas>

The carol changed to Korean.

From the moment we first arrived at the school, the magical carol had never ceased.

Its power was fading.

Ahri’s shocked voice echoed through the room, “D-did that actually work? Just putting a cherry on my nose makes me Rudolph?”

Santa’s body began to crumble like sand.

His voice, weary and drained, echoed through the room, “Ever since I first arrived at this school, I’ve felt something was wrong with the air…. To think from the youngest child to the oldest man, they’d all be madmen….”

Is this really something a child-murdering Santa should be saying?

One person, though, was filled with joy and excitement.

“Did you see that? Did you see that? When I put the cherry on, Santa started to die! Wow! Am I a genius or what?”

“…Yeah. That was impressive.”

“Hahaha! I’m a genius among geniuses! Should I become an exorcist or something? This is so much fun!”

You already are, and you’re a veteran at that.

“Everyone, clap for me! Why isn’t anyone clapping?”

- Clap! Clap! Clap!

Everyone clapped for Miro with clear exhaustion painted on their faces.

Miro, still flushed with excitement, began sticking cherries on everyone’s noses, one by one.

I—now dubbed Rudolph No. 4 by Miro—managed to stay sane enough to observe Santa.

He, on the other hand, was collapsing into dust, leaving behind only a small doll.

The magic-filled carol had faded away, the children were laughing and playing again, unaware of what had really happened, and Miro was basking in her victory.

At least it’s a happy ending!

The nightmare-filled hell of Miro’s world began to crumble, fading away into the depths of time and space.

As I watched Miro celebrate in triumph, Ahri was clearly moved, while Grandpa and I stood by, completely drained.

“…Good work.”

“You too.”

“Quick thinking, Grandpa. I didn’t expect you to handle Santa’s nonsense so well.”

As we exchanged words of relief, everything suddenly stopped.

The falling snow, the carol, the teachers still trying to manage the aftermath, and the children laughing and cheering—all of it froze.

The crumbling world ceased its collapse.

As we looked around in confusion, a voice—familiar yet different—broke the silence, “You’ve really come to save me.”

The tone was wistful.

Ahri’s eyes widened in shock as Miro calmly approached her and hugged her.

“M-mom? Do you recognize me now?”

“Of course I do. It’s only the Hotel’s tricks that kept me from recognizing you until now. We look so much alike, don’t we?”

Something felt… off.

“Mom…”

Something was wrong.

Miro, acting like a mother for the first time, triggered a flood of emotions in Ahri, who burst into tears.

Meanwhile, Grandpa and I looked on in stunned disbelief.

“Wait! Are you in your right mind?”

Ahri, realizing the oddity of the situation, quickly pulled back.

The Hotel’s Miro had been in a state of lost intelligence ever since she created Ahri.

Until now, we had been dealing with a version of Miro from her distant childhood.

But this was different—this wasn’t the child Miro, nor the Miro who lost her intelligence. She smiled at us, wearing an expression of nostalgia.

“How strange. A daughter being surprised to see her mother in her right mind.”

“…Nice to meet you… Mother.”

“Come closer.”

“…”

“You’re not coming?”

Ahri hesitated but eventually approached. Miro took Ahri’s face in her hands, studying her intently.

“You haven’t found the ‘Mirror Room’ yet, have you?”

“No.”

“When you do, be careful. It’s far more dangerous than you realize.”

“Wait! What do you mean? How is it dangerous?”

“By the way, Kain, that ‘See you later! Everything will be fine’ from earlier? That was pretty cool.”

“…So, you remember the first attempt too?”

“Feels weird hearing you use formal speech with me. One of the things I’ve always disliked about Korean. As for the Mirror Room, I can’t give you many details. You haven’t found it yet. My only advice…”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Miro paused for a moment, then spoke again, “I went there with many purposes in mind but lost everything in return.”

“What?”

Instead of explaining further, Miro changed the subject.

“Aah… To think I’d get another chance at life in the Hotel! I never expected it.”

“That remains to be seen.”

“Oh, right. Whether I’ll be revived or not is in your hands, isn’t it? But we’ll meet again, regardless.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Instead of answering, Miro just smiled, as if she knew something we didn’t.

“Our Blessings are never given without reason. You already know that much, right?”

“They’re given to those who are well-suited for them. Though I’ve always felt like I chose mine.”

“I received ‘Justice’. What do you think that means?”

“…”

“You’ve probably heard some bad things about me. I won’t deny them. But there’s something you can always be certain of…”

“What do you—”

“…I have always sought to save the world. Even if it meant staining my hands with blood!”

Miro’s eyes burned with a passion that was hard to describe. The gentle smile from earlier was gone, replaced by fiery determination.

I finally understood.

This was neither the mentally regressed child Ahri knew, nor the innocent girl who had been with us in this hell. Before me stood someone who had endured countless hells, shaped by unimaginable depths of experience.

Blessings are given to those who are fit for them.

That much was made clear by Seungyub’s Fortune.

Through what I had seen over these months, I knew that the current bearer of Justice, Elena, embodied the law.

But what had Miro’s Justice been?

If Miro had to stain her hands with blood to save the world, what had befallen it?

The world around us resumed its collapse.

Miro stood amidst the crumbling space, looking around.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?”

“For the pain, the tragedy, the trauma. There was a time when I believed humans could become accustomed to such things. I thought that if pain was repeated enough, it would eventually lose its impact.”

“…”

“But it doesn’t. On Christmas, I lost everyone I loved—my friends, and my teachers. I alone survived, hiding among the bodies until the Administration rescued me.”

“You endured something horrible.”

“I thought it was all in the distant past. But after falling into this hell, I realized I had never overcome that pain. I’d just forced myself to forget, believing I had moved on. But this hell isn’t something you can ever get used to…”

“…You’ve been through so much.”

“Thank you. I mean it. And if you ever do revive me, I’ll have to choose from among my old Inheritance.”

“I’ve heard that happens.”

“I’m telling you this just in case I’m not in my right mind then, just make sure I pick the ‘Clock.’”

The Clock…

Finally, Miro turned to Ahri and smiled brightly.

“I love you!”

And the hell collapsed.