2nd Floor.
Ms. Go Yeongeun asked the guide machine a question with an air of familiarity now.
“Did the guests who finished their viewing and headed home go from this 2nd floor to the floor below?”
Nod.
“…!”
It was over.
With this, the answer sheet had practically been derived.
‘If the exit is on one of the ground floors, and it’s below the 2nd floor….’
Since the only one left was the 1st floor.
“Then, now all we have to do is go to the 1st floor and ask for the entrance…!”
“Let’s go quickly!”
“Yes!”
Baek Saheon and Go Yeongeun’s opinions coincided for the first time.
‘To think the entrance was on the 1st floor, just like common sense for modern people. It fits perfectly by chance like this.’
I felt a bit dejected as if I had taken a long detour, but I hurried my steps with even greater anticipation.
Now, once I find out the entrance and tell the bosses waiting on the terrace, everything will be ready.
-Oh, are the exhibition viewings over? How unfortunate. It feels like you haven't even properly looked through five halls yet...
Hehe. If we look around more, your friend's eyes, nose, and mouth might disappear.
Or he might pass out before then!
‘Even now, these three are barely holding on by sticking together with a light.’
I tapped the pocket containing Braun as if to soothe him and then moved my feet.
Ms. Go Yeongeun’s footsteps, as she held the candle, became vigorous.
That momentum did not shrink even when she met the guide machine on the 1st floor. It seemed her desire to leave quickly overwhelmed all fear.
“Hello!”
This time too, the machine responded politely, influenced by the candle, and Go Yeongeun made her request forcefully after taking a deep breath.
“Please guide us to the entrance!”
But.
…….
Silence.
The machine stood without a single movement.
“……?”
There was no response.
“N-no way.”
Go Yeongeun peered into the candlelight with a face turned pale white. She seemed worried that the candlelight might not be working.
The candle was shining perfectly well.
After lowering her eyes to check a few more times, Go Yeongeun spoke again in a trembling voice.
“Please… guide us to the entrance.”
Silence again.
“…….”
“…….”
The atmosphere froze over.
‘Damn it.’
I opened my mouth.
“……Ms. Goral.”
“Ye-yes….”
“Ask it like this.”
I spoke a familiar sentence, and as she pronounced that sentence, Ms. Go Yeongeun’s eyes turned dark and hollow.
“Did the guests who finished their viewing and headed home go… down from this 1st floor? …If so, please nod.”
Nod.
“…!!”
The testimonies of the guide machines clashed.
“Why….”
Go Yeongeun swallowed hard.
“Clearly, the guide machine on basement level 1 said that the people leaving went up…!”
“That’s right.”
A chill ran down my spine.
‘What on earth is going on?’
It didn't make sense.
In the basement, they say to go up, and on the ground floor, they say to go down.
Even if there were two or more entrances nearby, this was nonsensical. They were signals that contradicted each other entirely.
‘I wondered why there were so few survivors in the <Dark Exploration Record> despite the entrance being so obviously on the 1st floor.’
“Instead of wasting time saying the same useless things, let's go to the basement and ask ourselves? Don't waste the candle when there's still some left.”
“……Ah.”
At Baek Saheon’s urging, we moved our feet to find the stairs leading to the basement.
That path down to the basement felt strangely long and heavy for some reason…….
And the result was.
Nod.
“To go up? Ha….”
The same response I had asked for came back.
According to the guide machine, the visitors who finished their viewing on basement level 1 definitely went up.
“…….”
“…….”
Now even Baek Saheon had fallen silent.
It was a point where everyone’s heads were becoming complicated.
“Um.”
Go Yeongeun lowered her head deeply.
“Actually… maybe there’s no such thing as an entrance.”
“…!”
“It’s just a place that deceives and torments, giving false hope just to make it more painful… there are many ghost stories like that, aren't there?”
True.
But not this time.
“The exit definitely exists.”
I wasn't saying this because I had read the <Dark Exploration Record>.
“Do you remember? Didn’t you receive a simplified manual before coming in here?”
Even though the information was contaminated and it became an exhibition invitation.
“The fact that a survival record exists means they succeeded in escaping through the entrance, and it was registered as Darkness at Daydream Inc.”
“Ah…!”
Go Yeongeun lifted her head.
“That’s true. You’re right.”
And after taking a deep breath, she continued in a much clearer voice.
“Whew! I’m sorry. At times like this, I shouldn't get buried in emotions for no reason. There must be an answer.”
“Yes.”
It looked like a contradiction, but there must be something we haven't thought of….
It was just as I was lost in thought.
“Hey.”
Baek Saheon asked me with a mysterious expression.
“You, the doll.”
“Braun?”
“Yeah. What does… Braun say?”
-I am waiting for my friend's wonderful answer!
Of course, he wasn't asking because he thought Braun was actually speaking, but because he thought I was a madman who talks to dolls….
‘I know you want to hear some fresh ideas, but.’
I stared intently at Baek Saheon before speaking.
“How can a doll talk?”
“…….”
“Think before you speak.”
Baek Saheon clenched his fists tightly!
“But the idea itself of throwing out ideas is a good one.”
“…!”
“Ms. Goral, do you have any thoughts that come to mind?”
“Ah, um…….”
“Be as positive as possible. Assuming that there is definitely an exit nearby.”
“Then… a secret space.”
Ms. Go Yeongeun narrowed her eyes.
“Just like there’s an attic above the top floor, maybe there’s another space between the basement and the ground floor? Like a parking lot….”
I hadn't seen any record of that kind of secret space in this exhibition hall.
Of course, there was a possibility. There is a clear difference between experiencing something directly and reading a written description.
There are cases where you know but can't match it.
‘Just like I didn’t know the window was actually a door leading to the terrace.’
But… the entrance seemed like it would be in a more obvious location.
‘Conceptually speaking, it’s strange for the official entrance to be in a secret space.’
Which means, the entrance is right there as it should be, but we just haven't noticed it.
Prejudice, way of thinking, cultural factors…….
“…!”
Wait a minute.
“M-Mr. Roe Deer?”
I sprang up from my seat.
I looked down at Baek Saheon, who looked at me with startled eyes as I stood up, and Ms. Go Yeongeun, who couldn't bear to look back because of the candle’s effect.
“Do you have enough physical strength left to go up and down the stairs a few more times?”
“What?”
“I-I do, but.”
“Then let’s move.”
“Eh?”
I stood up from my spot.
“I need to go up to the top floor.”
“…??”
Back to the stairs.
“…We just have to go up, right?”
“Yes.”
I moved my feet.
But instead of mindlessly climbing until the next floor appeared, I counted.
One floor.
Two floors.
Three floors…….
Until no more stairs appeared.
“Pant.”
“Huff.”
I lifted my head.
“This is the end.”
We had climbed to the very top floor of this massive mansion.
We met the guide machine about three times on the way up, and every time my colleagues asked the machine, the result was the same.
They probably have this thought:
‘They say to go down, so why on earth did we come up?’
The answer to that question lay within this top floor itself.
“Ms. Goral. How many floors do you think we’ve climbed?”
“Pardon? Well……. Eh?”
“…….”
“Wait a minute. If my count isn’t wrong…….”
“6th floor.”
Baek Saheon said.
“It’s the 6th floor, not the 7th!”
That was it.
“You said this mansion has up to seven floors!”
-Also, it is said that this historic grand mansion consists of 7 floors above ground and 7221 floors below ground.
This time, it contradicted Braun’s explanation.
But because Braun is a ‘Good Friend,’ he doesn't tell lies.
So… if everything is the truth.
“…….”
I knew it.
“You purposely lied about it being the 7th floor….”
“Ms. Goral, do you know about that?”
“Hey!”
There are many ghost stories like that.
A situation where a correct answer is logically derived for some people, while for others, the correct answer does not appear to the point of being unreasonable.
Due to cultural and environmental differences.
Ghost stories that enjoy the chills coming from that.
Though the type is different, it’s just like that Darkness from before where I found the clown picture because I knew the difference between a pierrot and a clown.
Environmental knowledge.
“The way of counting building floors varies by culture.”
“……Eh?”
“In the US, and in East Asian countries including our country Korea, the floor numbering starts from the 1st floor.”
But.
“However, other cultures use a slightly different method.”
The reason why I felt the stairs going from the 1st floor to basement level 1 were particularly long.
It wasn't just my perception.
“They start from the 0th floor.”
“…!”
The floor also called the Ground Floor.
“It must be true that the ground part of this mansion consists of 7 floors. …From the 0th floor to the 6th floor.”
I looked down the stairs.
“Now we just need to go to the 1st floor and ask to find the way to the 0th floor.”
And we did just that.
-Please guide me to the way leading to the 0th floor.
Following the path where the 1st-floor guide machine kindly led the way, surprisingly, a different type of staircase from the existing ones could be seen on the opposite side of the main exhibition hall on the 1st floor.
A massive spiral double staircase.
And if you walked down following either side of that spiral… of course, you could go to the exhibition hall on basement level 1 where the brass color turned to bronze as you had descended before.
But you could also make the choice to stop in the middle and open a massive door.
And I opened that grand door and walked out.
Creeeeak.
A magnificent and elegant space filled with silver light unfolded.
It wasn't an exhibition hall.
It was… the lobby.
“…!!”
The 0th floor, which didn't have a passageway from the regular stairs used for the exhibition halls because it functioned as a lobby without any exhibits.
We had finally entered that floor through the most standard passage.
And the stained-glass style glass door visible right in front of us….
“…The main entrance.”
The light was so bright that the outside was not visible, but it was certain.
We had finally found the exit.
“I’m saved!!”
“Haaaah….”
Shouts and sighs of relief echoed through the lobby.
And cheers of joy too.
“Mr. Roe Deer! Mr. Roe Deer, your deduction was right! You were right again! Waaaaah!! Let’s go out right now!”
Seriously. Although I sincerely wanted to scream and cheer and run out right now….
“I have to find the bosses and go out together.”
“Ah, ah!! Then… you’ll need the candle.”
Go Yeongeun, who looked as if gauging the amount of candle left, soon shouted vigorously.
“…Let’s go together quickly!”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Really, thank you so much…….
I already used up all my energy just finding my colleagues while wandering around here alone….
Thus, Ms. Go Yeongeun made a choice that fit her character.
Of course, so did Baek Saheon.
Meaning he headed straight for the door without any hesitation.
“Do whatever you want. I’m going out!”
Fine, do that.
I stared intently at Baek Saheon.
‘I should check what kind of effect occurs at the door when someone goes out, and what kind of reaction happens.’
However, Baek Saheon faltered.
“…….”
“…….”
And he slinked away from the entrance.
‘…?’
Why.
“I thought you were going out?”
“…After I check someone else going out.”
Gosh.
‘It’d be more convenient in many ways if you just went out.’
I glanced at Baek Saheon with a slightly disappointed feeling and turned my gaze.
-Hahaha… this is quite an interesting situation. Mr. Roe Deer!
I’m not particularly amused, but it’s quite a comfort that someone finds it interesting….
-Now must you go to tell your mediocre bosses the location of the entrance?
That’s right.
‘They aren’t exactly mediocre people, but….’
I don't know how many times I'm going to scour this grand mansion……. My legs are about to fall off, but let’s go quickly.
-Wait a moment. Are your legs hurting, my friend?
-Oh, then it seems the time has come to introduce my new ability.
…Eh?
‘New ability?’
-That’s right! Thanks to the wonderful bathtub and bath my dear friend gifted me, I will show you my rejuvenated power….
-Now, then, please take me out of your pocket.
It was a slightly pretentious, boasting tone, but strangely, it was a mysterious way of speaking that also felt a bit like gratitude.
Anyway, I took the plush doll out of my pocket as told.
“Mr. Roe Deer?”
“Please wait a moment.”
-That’s right. There is no need to wait long! A true host is always prepared…… like this!
Snap!
The sound of snapping fingers echoed dully from the fingerless hand of the doll.
And I…….
Somehow, I felt a sensation as if something was ‘cleared’ in my chest and mouth.
A sense of resonance.
A strange feeling as if a massive space had been created….
[Ah.]
“…!!”
“Vo-your voice….”
I closed my mouth.
The vibration coming through my vocal cords echoed through the entire lobby.
-It’s reasonably good.
-In my show, any guest can comfortably and accurately convey their words to the audience and viewers without having to raise their voice.
That’s…….
‘A microphone?’
-Ah, what a popular expression!
-Mr. Roe Deer, my dear friend’s words will be clearly delivered to everyone…. If they are in the same studio, that is.
-Judging by this space, yes. If they are on the ‘same floor’!
My goodness.
He really has become more capable.
-You flatter me.
I was impressed.
‘But unfortunately, I don't think this ability is suitable for the current situation.’
-Eh?
I’m only trying to call the bosses in the terrace room, but if everyone on that floor hears it…….
“…….”
-Friend?
Wait a minute.
Wouldn't that be not so bad?
Discussion