Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Prayer Receiver
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"Princess. I've got some new work for you. Wanna hear about it?"
Se-hwa, who had been sitting on the bed, suddenly spoke up.
Judging from her expression, she seemed a bit tense somewhere.
"Sure. I'm in a pretty good mood right now anyway."
Not long ago, I'd won the cooking contest and snagged a Grade 5 keycard as the special secret prize.
Se-hwa had secretly tipped me off about what the prize was, so I'd gone all out and taken first place.
At first, the prize she'd whispered about was Grade 4, but the actual winner's prize I'd received was Grade 5.
It felt a little off, but good things were good things.
Grade 5 had to be better than Grade 4, obviously, so I decided not to sweat it.
"I need you to go down to the research lab basement and have a chat with one of the entities."
Se-hwa brought it up with a dead-serious expression.
The research lab basement.
As far as I could sense, there was a pretty spacious area underground too.
But I'd never once seen an entrance leading down there.
"A chat? I can do that anytime. Sounds simple enough."
"There's a condition, though."
"A condition?"
Se-hwa paused, drawing my full attention.
Then she lowered her voice and spoke.
"This time, you absolutely cannot eat the entity."
"Got it. I won't eat it."
"Huh? Really? You're agreeing just like that?"
Se-hwa's eyes went wide as she asked again, like she couldn't believe it.
Hmph. She must think I'm some glutton who shoves every entity she sees straight into her mouth.
"Do I look like the type who puts every entity in sight into her mouth?!"
"...You're not?"
"Argh! No, I'm not!"
I snapped back a little, and Se-hwa looked embarrassed and awkward.
She quickly raised both hands in apology.
"Ahaha. Sorry, Princess. My mistake."
"Hmph. I'll let it slide this once."
"Thanks."
With the keycard putting me in such a good mood, I let it go without getting more upset.
Se-hwa turned serious again and spoke up.
"Anyway, you really can't eat this one. It's actually useful in its own way. The research lab—and the nation itself—manages it carefully because of that."
"Understood. I'll keep it in mind."
"Good. So, can you come with me to the basement now?"
"Yeah, let's head to the basement together."
I finished answering and set off with Se-hwa.
As we made our way to the research lab basement, I naturally realized why I'd never seen a door leading underground before.
The path to the basement itself was designed like a kind of maze.
The lab interior had no windows and repeated similar structures, so it was easy to get lost if you weren't careful.
We passed several small passages along the way that would be easy to overlook.
After walking for a while, a plain-looking door appeared—no different from the ordinary ones around it.
"This is the door to the basement. Let's go, Princess."
We opened the unassuming door and stepped in, revealing a long, straight corridor.
Soon, a massive, thick iron door blocked the way.
"Use the keycard here."
I swiped the keycard as Se-hwa instructed, and the iron door began to open.
A staircase leading underground came into view.
The space containing the stairs was fairly large, and our footsteps echoed as we descended.
"Who would've thought I'd be coming to the research lab basement using the Princess's security clearance? It really hits me that your security level is higher than mine. Feels kinda weird..."
The quiet space filled with Se-hwa's grumbling.
After descending all the stairs, another corridor stretched out ahead.
We'd arrived at the research lab basement.
'I've got it memorized.'
I committed the path to the basement to memory.
Now I could come alone next time.
As we walked down the basement corridor, Se-hwa spoke up.
"I was expecting some grand facility since it's the basement, but it's not really anything special. Looks exactly like the above-ground structure."
"Yeah. If no one told you, you couldn't tell if it was underground or not."
"True. The research lab building is so barren even above ground—no windows or anything. Makes sense it's no different from the basement."
We walked the corridor, sharing our first impressions of the basement.
Eventually, Se-hwa stopped in front of an isolation room.
"We're here. This is the isolation room for the entity nicknamed the Prayer Receiver."
There was no one in front of the isolation room.
It felt refreshingly different from the other entity isolation rooms, where researchers always greeted us.
"This entity has the ability to prophesy the future."
"Hmm, that's a pretty intriguing talent."
I'd encountered entities with odd abilities like that in the Backrooms sometimes too.
They might be trickier than ones that just relied on brute strength, but nothing major.
"Recently, the Prayer Receiver prophesied that 'the end is coming.'"
"Ominous prophecy."
"Right? Afterward, the lab staff tried to get more details on what this 'end' meant, but the Prayer Receiver clammed up and stayed silent."
Se-hwa finished her calm explanation, caught her breath for a moment, and continued.
"I'll tell you what you need to do, Princess. Talk to the Prayer Receiver and find out what this 'end' refers to."
"Hmm. Just talk to it?"
I stared straight at Se-hwa.
If it were something solvable with a normal conversation, someone else would've handled it.
There had to be a reason they called me.
Se-hwa hesitated a bit before speaking.
"A little intimidation is fine. But don't push too hard. Its future prophecy ability is useful in a lot of ways."
"Hehe. Got it. I'll just scare it a tiny bit."
"And you know you can't eat it, right?"
"Yes, yes. I know. You're worrying over nothing, Se-hwa."
I brushed off Se-hwa's nagging and entered the Prayer Receiver's isolation room.
Compared to the complicated path to get down here, the isolation room itself had a relatively simple structure.
For some reason, I wondered if this room wasn't meant to contain the entity so much as to keep others from contacting it.
With that thought, I arrived inside the isolation room.
"Applaud!"
The entity's shout echoed through the isolation room.
I observed the Prayer Receiver's appearance.
It looked like a man with a muscular bodybuilder's physique.
It wore shabby cloth garments that seemed straight out of a history book, covering its upper and lower body.
Its bearded face had a strong exotic feel.
"Applaud!"
The Prayer Receiver raised both arms toward the sky and shouted.
With its burly, muscular build, it looked fairly imposing.
But I'd noticed something.
This guy was definitely a weakling.
"Why do you keep saying 'applaud'?"
"I mean applaud this body of mine, little one."
"Why should I?"
"Because this body is the one and only in the world."
"I'm the one and only in the world too."
"Hmm..."
The Prayer Receiver pondered my words for a moment.
Soon, it grinned brightly and spoke.
"Then I'll applaud you too, little one! Respect and applause for the unique existence! Hahaha!"
It laughed loudly for a while, clapping its hands.
Once the laughter died down, it cleared its throat a few times and returned to a serious expression.
I decided to ask again since its logic about applauding unique existences didn't make sense.
"Aren't all beings in this world unique? No two people are exactly alike."
"Ahem. You make a pretty mature point for a little one. That's just an excuse, really. Anyway, just applaud me."
The Prayer Receiver shamelessly deflected my question.
Then it stretched both arms high toward the sky again.
"Now, applaud me, little one!"
"No thanks."
"...You're a stubborn one. Haven't met someone who won't listen in a long time."
The Prayer Receiver lowered its arms, looking disappointed.
Enough chit-chat. Time for the main topic.
"I heard you made a prophecy recently."
"Hm? Which one? I've made more prophecies than I can count."
"You said the end is coming."
"Ah... that one."
The Prayer Receiver scratched its face.
I looked it straight in the eye and stated my demand.
"Tell me in detail what the 'end' means."
"Sorry, little one, but I can't talk about that in detail. It goes against this body's beliefs."
"Beliefs?"
"Yes. As a prophet, this body has duties and convictions to uphold. Speaking in detail about the end would violate them."
Beliefs, huh.
Se-hwa had said a little scare was okay.
I wondered how long those beliefs would hold.
The moment I took one step forward.
The Prayer Receiver's left eye turned blue.
"Gasp! W-What is this?! What are you doing?! What are you, anyway? How can you do something like this so casually?!"
The Prayer Receiver yelled and hurriedly backed away.
It pressed itself against the isolation room wall, staring at me with eyes full of shock.
"Hehe. I haven't done anything yet."
I flashed a slight smile.