Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 127

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 127.

“I’m relieved you remembered what I said earlier.”

At Lee Yeon-woo’s words as he handed over the teacup, Rawi’s expression grew awkward.

“All I did was watch some kind of mess unfold.”
“If things had gone differently, I was planning to ask you to inject a sedative into this man’s neck.”

Lee Yeon-woo pointed to Seme, whose face bore a somewhat vacant expression.

“….”
“Of course, I was joking.”

He added in his characteristically dry tone.

“Unlike what you see in most media, directly injecting a needle into someone’s neck is quite dangerous.”
“So that’s what you meant by joking.”
“I went through the trouble of keeping him alive, and it would be problematic if he died in a place like this.”
“Wouldn’t it be problematic for us as well?”

His expression was decidedly disgruntled.

“I apologize for being of no help, but is this actually resolved? Please handle this reasonably. I’m an extremely fragile person—I’m confident I’d burst instantly if caught between warring whales.”
“Warring whales? I’m no different from a shrimp myself.”
“If you say that, what does that make me?”

Lee Yeon-woo shrugged instead of answering. His gaze turned toward Seme.

“Are you coming to your senses now, Seme?”
“….”

Seme gazed at Lee Yeon-woo with clouded eyes.

“…My mind has been clear since earlier.”
“Then let’s address this attempted murder incident just now.”
“Am I confused?”
“Would you prefer not to be?”

Lee Yeon-woo’s expression turned serious.

“Since when did shoving a blade at someone’s throat without warning become called rescue?”

Rawi, who had been sipping his tea, thought privately to himself.

‘Lee Yeon-woo makes a reasonable point.’

It was the first sensible reprimand I’d heard since arriving in the Gap.

“I understand that my daily life appears grotesque to your eyes. But that’s merely your perspective. From my position, I was simply pursuing the most efficient solution—one that’s cleanest and leaves no messy aftermath.”
“…?”

Rawi tilted his head. Wasn’t that supposed to be reasonable?

“Yet with your one irrational act of ‘salvation,’ all my efforts nearly became worthless scraps. How do you intend to take responsibility for that?”
“Uh, well.”

Rawi studied Lee Yeon-woo intently.

‘Was that really the problem?’

Not the threat to his life?

But Lee Yeon-woo continued speaking, indifferent to both their reactions.

“Don’t use others as an excuse to assuage your shallow guilt. What you did wasn’t saving me—it was projecting your own broken past onto me to find solace.”
“That’s not—”
“A rather unique tantrum, I must say. But no matter how you dress it in good intentions, it remains attempted murder. I’m not cheap enough to warrant such sentimental culling.”

Rawi’s brow furrowed. So unsentimental culling would be acceptable?

‘He’s making reasonable points, yet his focus has been slightly off the mark since earlier.’

But Lee Yeon-woo’s words continued with measured composure.

“Do you understand? Behind that arrogant word ‘save,’ there always lies the premise: ‘you are weaker than me.'”
“That….”
“A seasoned mercenary should never wield their weapon like an emotional garbage disposal. Do not presume to measure my life’s worth by your trauma.”
“Ah, ah….”
“If you truly wish to help someone, you must first confront your own fractured emotions honestly, and relearn how to simply ask the other person what they actually need.”

Lee Yeon-woo bent at the waist, meeting Seme’s gaze directly. At the very least, this was no rebuke.

“That is basic courtesy. To me, and to yourself.”

Tap.
He knocked gently against Seme’s forehead.

“Do you understand?”
“….”
“Seme.”

When no answer came, Lee Yeon-woo added:

“When asked a question, you must provide an answer.”
“Yes, yes.”
“Excellent.”

Rawi began to applaud.

“…?”
“Ah, I couldn’t help myself.”

It was far too clean a conclusion.

“Did you attend a speech academy or something? You break people’s bones with words. Honestly, you reminded me of a student affairs teacher from a movie—I got chills.”
“…Did I sound like a fossil?”
“A bit old-fashioned?”
“….”

He gazed down at his own finger that had knocked against Seme’s forehead. Slowly, he unclenched his fist and lowered his hand.

“That was my mistake.”

Lee Yeon-woo exhaled softly, pressing his fingers to his brow as if to suppress embarrassment.

“You’re right, Rawi. Using the pretext of pointing out rudeness as justification for uninvited physical contact—that’s something I owe an apology for. I have no right to lecture unilaterally.”
“No, if you get all serious like that, what does that make me for teasing you about being old-fashioned?”
“It makes you someone who teased an old-fashioned person.”

Ignoring Rawi, Lee Yeon-woo turned to Seme.

“I apologize for the discomfort you just felt. It wasn’t that I didn’t know such behavior was rude—old habits from dealing with my younger brother lingered. I mistook you for someone I needed to teach and spoke down to you.”
“Ah, no. Actually, if we’re being fair, I was more….”
“Comparing the severity of wrongs to cover my own mistake isn’t how I operate. We can address the matter of attempted murder separately later, but for now, would you accept my apology for my rudeness?”
“That… yes, I understand. I accept your apology….”

Seme added hesitantly.

“I’m sorry too.”
“Then let’s consider both our mistakes settled for now.”

Watching the two of them, Rawi spoke.

“Ever heard the word ‘gentleman’?”
“I choose not to.”
“Wow.”

Rawi laughed.

‘If my school had someone like this, it would’ve been fun.’

The type who would’ve been student council president, or at minimum a team leader.

Instead of that black suit, which fit him almost unnaturally well, Rawi pictured him in a school uniform. Perfectly creased trousers, a name tag affixed above the left chest pocket, a dark-colored cardigan.

As Rawi imagined Lee Yeon-woo’s ‘ordinary appearance,’ a thought suddenly struck him.

‘Since he’s from the Outside, he must’ve gone to school… right? Surely?’

As Rawi internally tried to gauge Lee Yeon-woo’s age, he continued speaking.

“Rawi.”
“Yes?”
“It seems Seme overexerted himself earlier. He’ll need to calm down.”
“I’m actually pretty familiar with this routine.”
“You know it well, then.”

He watched Seme’s blinking eyes, then turned back to Rawi.

“If you have the strength for it, would you mind stopping by the Dining Area and bringing back some warm tea or something sweet?”
“There was just a sword fight, and you’re telling me to leave? Just the two of you?”
“As you can see, he’s calm now. And….”

Whatever he was thinking, Lee Yeon-woo hesitated, and Rawi narrowed his eyes with a murmur.

“…You’re being awfully obvious about wanting to have a secret conversation without me here.”
“We can’t know how the situation will unfold from here on. More importantly, the Lover of Dawn is a troublesome guest who can easily access and manipulate others’ memories. What you don’t need to know is better left unknown.”

At those words, Rawi looked at Seme. That bewildered expression suggested this hadn’t been agreed upon beforehand. Besides, they’d been together constantly—if something like this had been arranged, Rawi would have known.

Rawi, who had been scratching his chin with the gun barrel, asked.

“So the strange behavior you’ve shown recently was aftereffects from the Lover of Dawn?”
“You’ve grasped it well.”

Lee Yeon-woo continued.

“A guest with the bad taste of shoving ghosts of the past right in front of your eyes. For someone already carrying trauma, it would have been fatal. Seme’s sword-wielding included those aftereffects as well.”
“It sounds like a warning that we need to be careful. I agree with that, but….”
“And Rawi.”

Lee Yeon-woo glanced indifferently at Rawi’s hand.

“That careless habit of scratching your chin with a loaded gun barrel during conversation—you should break it. If an accidental discharge happens, it’ll be troublesome for me.”
“Ah, I forgot again.”

Rawi was quick to pick up on things. Though some unease lingered, he nodded.

“Oh, I’m frightened to go alone~.”
“I shall call a Staff Member for you.”
“The Hotel Staff here are equally terrified.”
“I assure you, no harm will come to you.”
“Well then.”

Rawi straightened with a sense of purpose.

“…Please look after our senior.”

Though I couldn’t discern precisely what transpired beneath the surface, even without Rawi’s careful observation, it was evident that Lee Yeon-woo desired to return them all safely and unharmed.

And from Rawi’s perspective, since Seme wasn’t welcomed at this hotel…

* * *

….
….
By the window where the moonlight of dawn streamed through, Seme organized the narrative.

“Shall we proceed tomorrow night?”
“Let us wait a little longer still.”

Lee Yeon-woo continued speaking to Seme, who gazed at the paper.

“We may yet discover a superior method.”

At those words, Seme’s gaze shifted to the notebook handed over with the paper—its pages densely filled with neat, meticulous handwriting. At that look, Lee Yeon-woo extended his hand in offering.

“Therefore, it would be best if you kept these, Seme.”
“If I lose them in my distraction, it would be catastrophic either way.”
“Of course, I am confident in my safekeeping, but the memories will certainly be read.”
“In that case, there is no helping it.”
“Yes.”

Then he added:

“I apologize that this is the only method available.”
“Not at all.”

Seme stared at the documents written in neat handwriting, then smiled.

“If anything, it’s more than I deserve.”

For a mere sorcerer living by stealing his younger brother’s body and life—it was far too generous.

“You really are a good person, aren’t you….”
“….”

Silence persisted until Rawi arrived.

* * *

“A thought just occurred to me.”

Rawi spoke as he carefully set food and drink on the Table.

“Isn’t it strange that I’m perfectly fine while such a terrifying Guest roams about?”
“Is that a question?”
“Walking around at this hour with the silent Staff Members, all sorts of thoughts cross my mind. I wondered if it was like you, Senior—if you’d simply forgotten. But there’s no sense of wrongness in my memories. I’ve never panicked or felt entranced by anything.”
“Your survival instinct is excellent.”
“I can’t tell if that’s an insult or a compliment….”

Rawi shrugged at Lee Yeon-woo’s words.

“Our Senior here was completely torn apart. I’m not hiding anywhere or anything. We’re walking together, so I thought the difference in our conditions was too stark.”

Lee Yeon-woo answered as he skillfully arranged the refreshments.

“Rawi, you’re not to that Guest’s taste.”
“Pardon?”
“That Guest feeds on relationships where they deeply involve themselves in others’ lives and cling blindly. People like Seme—those willing to bear responsibility and affection—are that Guest’s preference.”
“I think I’ve heard something similar before.”

The crispy fried fish came to mind.

“Is it love or something like that again?”
“It’s closer to obsession.”
“The nature of the relationship doesn’t matter?”
“It doesn’t.”
“Family, friends, lovers—it makes no difference.”
“Yes, which is precisely why someone like Seme becomes such an exquisite delicacy.”
“Our senior was in exactly the sort of vulnerable state that makes for easy prey, wouldn’t you say?”

Rawi rolled his eyes as he asked.

“Then what about me? I was right beside our senior the whole time—why didn’t you touch me?”
“Someone like you, Rawi, who draws boundaries and avoids entanglement of their own accord, simply isn’t appetizing.”

He glanced dismissively at Rawi.

“Congratulations—your individualism kept you alive.”
“….”

Rawi’s expression turned incredulous at that casual tone.

“…The fact that you say such things with that expression makes you sound like a real villain.”
“I’ve never denied it.”
“You’re basically admitting you’re a loner.”
“I’m not so impolite as to put it that way.”
“You’re making me sound like a complete social outcast.”
“In this place, it’s a trait favorable to survival—take it as a compliment.”
“Why do you speak as though you’ve seen it all….”

Lee Yeon-woo let out a soft laugh.

“I was joking.”
“I think it would be better if you didn’t joke, Lee Yeon-woo.”
“At least I won’t end up causing a scene like Seme and getting scolded by you.”
“Come on, I’m perfectly well-behaved.”
“I believe you.”

Lee Yeon-woo continued.

“So I may hope that you will live up to my faith in you, yes?”
“….”

I had dug my own grave.

“…May I take back my words?”
“If you can take back that heart of yours as well.”
“This really isn’t easy.”

In that moment, Seme, who had been hesitating, opened his mouth while looking at Lee Yeon-woo.

“Um, your neck….”
“…?”
“It seems like you’re doing something, but blood is still coming out. I’m the one who did it, though.”
“Ah.”

A hand clad in black gloves casually wiped away the blood trickling down the neck.

“Work intensity has been high lately.”

But unlike before, the wound did not disappear at his gesture. Rawi, who had been watching the continuous trickle of blood with an uncomfortable gaze, asked.

“Before, you just regenerated instantly?”
“To be honest, I’m running low on blood.”
“Ah, Blood Magic….”

And with a clatter, Seme nearly fell from his chair as he spun around to face Lee Yeon-woo.

“Blood Ma―?!”

His face had gone pale with terror beyond mere shock.

“You, you learned Blood Magic…? Could you be a Blood Mage…?”
“Where did that audacity go when you held a blade to my throat? Your complexion has turned quite ashen.”
“No, I, no. I… I….”

Seme, stammering and gasping, collapsed back into his chair.

“…No, it’s rather amusing to be surprised by such things at this point.”
“The reputation of this profession certainly seems to have hit rock bottom.”
“I only learned today that a Blood Mage could retain their sanity and maintain a fully human form. I’d heard that there are no proper Blood Mages left anymore.”
“By that standard, it would be quite a respectable qualification.”

Lee Yeon-woo placed a cup before Seme as well, then settled into his seat with composure.

“Tell me more. I’m rather uninformed about industry trends, having learned through self-study.”
“It’s something you’d likely know already….”
“I don’t.”
….

Clink.
Seme’s expression grew suspicious as he touched his teacup.

“…You don’t know?”
“The texts I studied on my own didn’t contain information about industry reputation.”
“Can Blood Magic even be self-taught? It requires quite a bit of blood, and—”

Realization dawned on his face.

“So that’s why….”
“Why do you look at me like that?”

Lee Yeon-woo’s expression grew subtly displeased. Undeterred, Seme pressed on.

“In this Hotel, you’re essentially immortal, aren’t you?”
“Not entirely unkillable, but close to half.”
“Then your blood would replenish infinitely.”

He continued.

“That’s why you never used anyone else’s blood.”
“Why would I resort to using someone else’s blood?”

Lee Yeon-woo frowned, as if he’d heard quite enough of this conversation.

“Blood Magic is a computational operation requiring exceptional precision. If blood from an unknown source were mixed in and variables arose, it would become troublesome to manage. There’s no need to invite such a situation.”
“So you chose to sacrifice your own body instead?”
“My blood is the highest-purity reference I can fully control. I understand everything—my diet, sleep duration, my mana circulation cycle.”
“Is… that really important?”
“If the situation doesn’t demand it, why would I introduce external variables when I possess the only reagent capable of converging the margin of error to zero?”

He added further.

“Besides, I’m far more accustomed to this approach.”

Lee Yeon-woo recalled his previous Laboratory.

‘Managing test subjects was the worst task imaginable.’

The fury from that day when I had to discard an entire month’s worth of data because a subject violated protocol and secretly ate late-night snacks remained vivid even now.

‘After that incident, I began adding my own name to the test subject roster to minimize experimental variables and construct more rigorous control groups.’

The memory of those sleepless nights spent submitting justification documents to the Ethics Committee and writing corrected research expenditure reports became a kind of administrative trauma for me.

‘Of course, now the research has become an entirely different subject that requires neither justification documents nor incident reports…’

Above all.

“There’s no ethical problem with it, is there?”
“It seems you don’t include yourself in your ethical considerations.”
“Personal risk that causes no harm to others isn’t subject to criminal prosecution. Rather, it’s closer to maintenance costs that must be paid for system stability.”

Rawi let out a hollow laugh, his expression exhausted.

“So in summary, you took all the burden because you didn’t want to see innocent people suffer? Truly, what touching self-sacrifice.”
“I must dispute that characterization.”

My optimized work methodology, accumulated through a lifetime devoted entirely to the sciences, was being treated as sacrifice—a non-scientific, sentimental concept. I found such crude definitions intolerable.

“I won’t claim such elements don’t exist at all, but that’s not the sole reason.”
“You even make excuses about caring for people like it’s some hygiene protocol. You really do live exhaustingly.”
“It’s not an excuse—it’s risk management.”

Even as he spoke, Lee Yeon-woo cleanly abandoned any further attempt at clarification in the face of Rawi’s firmly entrenched misunderstanding. There was no point wasting precious mental energy explaining the truth when it was obvious it wouldn’t get through.

Seme, who had been listening to their exchange, interjected.

“Though I must say, there is something concerning about this.”
“Concerning? There’s no need to—”
“Blood Magic works that way, doesn’t it? Every time you cast it, the blood’s owner experiences terrible pain, and the more anguished and tormented the blood, the more exponentially the Blood Magic’s effectiveness rises….”
“….”

Lee Yeon-woo thought to himself.

‘Is that how it works?’

I’d cast Blood Magic several times, yet I’d never felt such pain. Even if I’d suppressed the sensation, I would have been aware of it—there was no way I could mistake that.

‘Or perhaps the penalties vary depending on rank….’

The answer came from Seme, the veteran mercenary.

“The higher your mastery, the greater the convenience becomes, but the fundamental rule underlying Blood Magic is originally like that. That’s probably part of why Blood Magic’s reputation has deteriorated.”
“Senior, senior. I have a question.”

Rawi raised his hand.

“Does Black Magic have ranks too? Like proper titles or something?”
“Huh? Strangely enough, you know about that? How did you find out?”
“I heard Black Magic has something like that.”
“Where on earth did you learn Gap-world knowledge from? Why are you bringing up Black Magic from the start?”
“I heard if you run into a Black Mage, you’re basically screwed.”
“That’s true, but it’s clear you’ve only learned what’s strictly necessary for survival.”

Seme continued speaking, his expression weary.

“Black Magic ranks are divided by mastery level too. From lowest to highest, the order goes Smelth, Harna, Braim, Marbel, and Riedmar… or so I believe, anyway.”

At those words, Lee Yeon-woo blinked.

‘…I’ve never learned anything like that.’

Why isn’t there a rank called ‘Belmarés’ in the first place?

“…Why that reaction?”
“I’m hearing about it for the first time.”
“Hearing it for the first time—just like before, could it be….”

Even the act of making assumptions seemed to weigh heavily on him.

“You didn’t learn it willingly, did you?”
“Who would voluntarily study such an exhausting discipline?”

Rawi interjected at that dry response.

“I heard you learned it so that you, me, and all of us wouldn’t die.”
“What? When did you hear that? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was worried you’d charge at Lee Yeon-woo to eliminate him.”
“I’m not so unhinged as to recklessly attack a Blood Mage who maintains human form.”
“Haven’t you been on thin ice mentally since coming to the Hotel?”
“Well, I can’t really argue with that….”

Listening to their exchange, Lee Yeon-woo understood something.

‘Learning Blood Magic carried a heavier penalty than I’d anticipated.’

The word ‘eliminate’ came naturally enough. At this point, they treated him less as someone in a specific profession and more as simply a Monster to be dealt with.

‘Even if I safely send these people out and leave later, life on the Outside will be quite exhausting.’

That’s precisely why I hadn’t disclosed my personal information. Yet this was something Lee Yeon-woo would eventually have to hear. If it had to come out, it was safer to reveal it to these two with whom I had a favorable relationship.

Fortunately, Seme seemed to have quickly accepted his own tragic conclusion.

“If I may be so bold—shall I kill you?”
“That’s quite bold indeed.”

Though the direction of his acceptance seemed somewhat off.

“The Hotel alone is quite sufficient as a threat to my life.”
“But that’s the thing, ah… in a situation like this, wouldn’t it be more merciful to just… die….”
“Now that I’ve observed basic courtesy, you’re making increasingly passive demands.”
“Isn’t Blood Magic inherently painful just to learn, let alone practice?”

He said that?

‘Why haven’t I understood this until now?’

Seme explained to Rawi, apparently not noticing Lee Yeon-woo’s racing thoughts.

“As a newcomer, you probably don’t understand this well, but Blood Magic is painful for both the caster and the sacrifice. Naturally, it’s thousands of times more agonizing for the sacrifice.”
“Ah, but Lee Yeon-woo is managing both sides on his own….”
“Which is why dying now would be the merciful way.”
“I see.”

I’d prefer they didn’t rationalize my death among themselves without including the person involved.

“Unfortunately, that won’t be possible. I have a mountain of work piling up.”
“But this is really….”
“I understand what you’re imagining, but I’ll decline your premature sympathy. I’m fine.”
“That can’t be right.”
“It doesn’t hurt.”

In truth, my condition wasn’t particularly painful.

‘When I first succeeded in manifesting my consciousness, there was the inconvenience of my body threatening to flow away as blood, but I’ve blocked that with the system now.’

There was nothing so agonizing that I needed to say it to this extent. Seme, however, seemed to find it difficult to believe. Disbelief was written all over his face.

“I don’t tend to believe it when people like Lee Yeon-woo say they’re ‘fine.'”
“My credibility has fallen that far? I feel wronged.”

Lee Yeon-woo made no attempt to explain further. Explanations would only exhaust him. Then Seme, who had been earnestly contemplating something, continued.

“In Lee Yeon-woo’s case, it’s not technically a crime… but the perception is so poor.”
“Ah, it’s not? I thought learning a forbidden art would get me hunted down and all that.”
“No, that’s Black Magic.”

He drew a circle in the air with his hand as he explained.

“Only those unfamiliar with it fear Blood Mages. Even now, some of the bolder Salons and Guilds treat them as rare talent. Especially in the Medical Field—there’s simply no magic as revolutionary as this.”

Revolutionary in the Medical Field—so I wasn’t the only one thinking that way. I muttered to myself inwardly.

“Besides, killing people in the Gap-world doesn’t even count as a crime.”
“…?”

Shouldn’t it count as one?

“If you touch someone with proper resident registration, that’s a crime.”
“I thought about it even during basic education, but the criteria are incredibly vague.”
“The Gap-world is chaotic in terms of population and infrastructure overall, so they don’t scrutinize such things one by one.”

Shouldn’t they scrutinize it at least a little?

“Blood Magic’s reputation really hit rock bottom about ten years ago. Actually, until the Foundation started openly running rampant, Blood Magic was quite a mainstream field.”
“But now it’s treated just like Black Magic, isn’t it?”
“Exactly—that’s because of the Foundation. Blood Magic, when used properly, has tremendous applications, and in a sense, it’s quite efficient… so it was apparently a profession that received quite a lot of offers.”

Seme sighed.

“You already know this well, Lee Yeon-woo, but this is magic that causes chaos if you touch it even slightly wrong. In other words, it was specialized personnel handling ultra-high-risk technology.”
“Like technicians working with nuclear power…?”
“Incomparably more dangerous than that. Blood Magic—if the caster makes even a single mistake, it turns both the caster and everyone around them into Monsters. And on top of that, well, it’s difficult to procure research materials.”
“Research materials… you mean blood?”
“Especially since a mage’s blood doesn’t yield good research efficiency.”

High technical failure risk, difficult to study because blood serves as the medium, ethical problems since human blood must be used when first learning, and easy to misuse the technique unintentionally.

Having organized my thoughts to that point, I reflected alone.

‘I really did choose a garbage profession.’

To think I’d end up in a research position with such hellish infrastructure.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————