Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 134

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 134.

“Ah, so you’ve heard up to that point.”

Upon recounting my conversation with Seme, the Tasteless Guest nodded in acknowledgment.

“It seems you grasp the fundamentals, then.”
“Was it really just the basics?”
“Then what should I tell you….”
“Anything you know would be appreciated.”
“Haha.”

The Vampire couldn’t help but smile.

“It feels rather peculiar explaining this to you.”
“…?”
“No, let’s get to the point.”

Eyes disguised in black rolled across the space.

“The Twelve Card. I know of that person as well. A massive scale measuring the sins and merits of living concepts—that was their distinctive feature, if I recall correctly.”
“A scale?”

Lee Yeon-woo blinked behind his glasses.

“If my memory serves me right, the Twelve should be The Hanging Man.”
“Correct. A friend with such a broad perspective that their gaze upon the cosmos often reaches even me. Perhaps that’s why I’ve observed them struggling to remain grounded in this narrow land.”
“Is that an abstract metaphor? Or….”
“It could be an abstract metaphor, but that’s what makes the Arcana Members fascinating—they can become that literally. It’s something beyond human comprehension.”

So I was being urged to abandon human logic. The suggestion left me unsettled, particularly because it reminded me of the Wet Person, who was constantly watching for an opportunity to drag me toward the water.

“Even in this situation, you’re still trying to manipulate me?”
“One can always attempt, can’t they?”

The Vampire shrugged and shifted the conversation.

“I understand the peculiarity. A scale doesn’t quite fit with ‘The Hanging Man,’ does it?”
“I learned card 12 as one that recommends voluntary pause—to remain without acting, to wait, to view circumstances from a different perspective, to temporarily set aside present comfort for something greater.”
“It could also be interpreted as meaning that no matter how much you struggle, the situation won’t change right now. That would be the upright interpretation, but you already know that well.”

The Vampire who spoke that way stared intently at Lee Yeon-woo. Lee Yeon-woo spoke.

“Just say it plainly.”
“You said you learned it?”
“It was mostly self-taught.”
“Mostly?”

Why was I being nitpicked right now?

“Am I perhaps being scolded?”
“Oh, we wouldn’t treat a noble such as yourself that way.”

Yet the gaze he directed at Lee Yeon-woo remained quite consistent.

“I’m simply disappointed.”

Disappointed about what, exactly?

“It seems the guests who visit this Hotel have a tradition of not speaking at length.”
“It’s less a tradition and more that only twisted individuals come here in the first place.”
“You’ve managed to objectify it.”
“Well, that much is necessary.”

Watching the Vampire shrug, Lee Yeon-woo became certain he wouldn’t provide a proper answer. Tapping his empty hand as if checking a clock, Lee Yeon-woo soon nodded.

“I don’t understand why ‘The Hanging Man’—a symbol of free thought—is holding a scale. Rather, the one holding the scale is… card 11, what I know as ‘Justice.'”

A card depicting a figure seated with a sword in one hand and a scale in the other.

“But it’s strange that it’s not good and evil, nor a scale measuring sin and merit.”
“You’ve observed well. The two aren’t opposing concepts, are they?”

Even within merit, sin could exist; even within sin, merit could be found. The Vampire readily acknowledged this point.

“Even before a member dies, if someone closer to that fate appears, the card has the characteristic of moving to the new person. Do you understand?”
“I remember.”
“In that same vein, depending on the card holder’s capabilities, they can influence other holders. The scales that Number 12 possesses is one such example.”

He added further.

“Because Number 12 seized it from Number 11.”
“….”

Lee Yeon-woo removed his glasses and pressed his temples firmly. There wasn’t a single normal person here.

“…Seized it, you say? Yet the scales of Number 12 seem to serve a different purpose than those of justice.”
“It would be more accurate to say he tore away a portion rather than stole it entirely. That’s precisely what makes that man fascinating. He’s not merely an observer—he’s someone who knows the moment.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“A skilled hunter.”

It was an appreciation befitting a nobleman from centuries past.

“Hanging upside down, he contemplates the cosmos for eons, and only moves when the moment arrives for him to intervene and orchestrate fate. With the most optimal timing, armed with the most optimal materials.”
“He doesn’t create the tools himself, then.”
“There are several reasons for that. It results in less backlash, and above all, it suits his nature… Yet despite possessing such vision, his will to beautify this narrow planet is what I find grotesque.”
“….”

Lee Yeon-woo rolled his eyes and spoke.

“…He sounds like a good person.”
“Indeed, does he appeal to you?”
“Yes.”
“That is certainly your taste.”
“And you know what my taste is.”
“How could I not.”

The Old Vampire stroked his chin slowly as he spoke.

“The preferences of a newly born spirit are predictable enough without looking.”
“Did you just call me a spirit?”
“It seems you’re called a native Dokkaebi in this place, but returning to the main point….”

The vampire, who had drawn blood from his own hand and shaped it into the form of a card, continued speaking.

“Cards select their holders, but while they may represent them, they cannot define them. I suspect that’s precisely where many flesh-sacks—no, humans—tend to misunderstand.”
“You called them flesh-sacks.”
“At least I didn’t call them blood pouches. Please don’t be upset, Teacher.”
“I’ve never had a student quite like you.”
“How cold of you.”

Lee Yeon-woo adjusted his glasses and spoke with a sigh.

“So in the end, cards are merely cards, then.”
“Precisely. They simply select and serve their masters directly, but they cannot influence their masters—not unless the holder wishes it.”
“Which means the holder isn’t entirely bound to follow the card’s fate either.”
“This instrument was designed merely to seek out the one who could accept it most completely. To put it more bluntly, I’m searching for a container capable of holding me.”
“Is there a reason for this?”
“Otherwise, you’d be cursed.”

Lee Yeon-woo, mulling over those words, asked:

“That’s not a metaphor either, is it?”
“That one was a metaphor.”

The Vampire flicked his hand, and the blood-formed card crumbled to ash and vanished.

“Though from a human perspective, it wouldn’t make much difference. If that instrument had chosen its master arbitrarily without criteria, this world would be far more entertaining by now.”
“It doesn’t sound like it would have been entertaining for me either.”

Just hearing it was exhausting.

“….”

Lee Yeon-woo blinked slowly before asking:

“Then what manner of person was The Devil?”
“So you heard the story from those bite-sized morsels.”
“Have you seen him yourself?”

This time, it was the Tasteless Guest who fell silent. He answered only after a long pause.

“…Yes, I saw him.”
“I’m curious about the person you saw.”
“A mechanical doll without a fixed biological body—not a single person in the entire world knows his true form. He was an exquisite puppeteer and a Blood Mage of legendary caliber.”

For someone who had fallen silent, his tone was remarkably flat, somewhat dry, yet perfectly smooth—as though he had been waiting for Lee Yeon-woo to ask about him.

Lee Yeon-woo, who had been lost in thought, finally spoke.

“So I’m currently holding a card that belonged to someone like that?”
“That would be my assessment, yes.”
“A card that represented the identity of a world-class pseudo-terrorist organization executive? Me, an upstanding citizen who was just culturing cells in a lab?”
“Despite your distaste, I thought it was a card that suited you rather well.”
“I won’t hear it.”

Don’t talk nonsense.

“Is there any other information?”
“One of his other officially recorded identities was a knight belonging to the Order of Azure—the very organization you mentioned. As for what other puppet shows he may have performed, I’m afraid that’s beyond my knowledge.”
“You seem to have been close.”
“Oh, not at all. I simply knew him and maintained contact with him.”
“That’s…”

Lee Yeon-woo regarded him with a transparent gaze, speaking without particular intent.

“Usually what people call friendship.”
“….”

The Vampire meeting that gaze parted his lips in a smile as taxidermied as a mounted specimen.

“…Do you know about the Fifteenth Card?”
“Irresistible temptation and bondage.”
“And in reverse?”
“Freedom gained by breaking one’s chains.”
“Then why do you remain here.”

As Lee Yeon-woo’s brow furrowed slightly, the Vampire continued.

“He was the most peculiar human I’ve ever encountered. While the Labyrinth instinctively rejected humans, he possessed an aberrantly harmonious affinity with them—so much so that humans called him the worst ‘Devil’ in history.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“The Foundation attempted a massive Labyrinthification of our entire Headquarters, using it as a sacrifice. They destroyed themselves in the process and vanished. Humans claim he died then. Though I wonder if that’s still true now.”
“I still don’t understand.”
“His primary stage was the Hotel, where he simultaneously served as Manager. His actions were so grotesque that initially, even those who recognized him as human were few and far between.”
“Wait.”

Actually, I understood perfectly.

“You’re mistaken.”

That’s why I had no choice but to say it this way.

“I acknowledge there are similarities, but I’m not that person.”
“Hmm, did your memories scatter during the Labyrinthification process after all?”
“That’s not it.”
“The connection seems difficult to deny.”
“I was an ordinary Researcher.”
“He was an excellent Researcher too. I heard your self-introduction well.”
“This guy really…”

There was no reasoning with him. This senile Vampire was already intoxicated by his own grandiose narrative, deaf to Lee Yeon-woo’s humble truth.

“Don’t you see how I’m clinging to this miserable job without even receiving overtime pay?”

Lee Yeon-woo protested.

“Despite my circumstances, I lived perfectly fine until I was forty-five.”
“I see.”
“Though I suppose I’d be fifty now,”

Before he could even finish speaking, the Vampire suddenly drew close and seized both his shoulders.

“―So it really is you.”

He grinned, his fangs bared.

“It wasn’t even a disguise—it was truly you.”
“….”
“You’ve always had a rather cold streak to you.”

A vast shadow loomed over me.

“Yes, yes. So this is what you looked like… such an innocent face that you’ve been hiding it away so carefully. To think I’m the first to witness the bare visage of that renowned Demon—what an extraordinary honor.”
“That’s not it.”
“I thought it was straightforward, yet you interpreted it backwards? Deceiving the world wasn’t enough, so you deceived the Labyrinth itself—how very Belmarés of you. They said you failed, but was it actually a success? Or perhaps only now….”
“I said it wasn’t.”

Lee Yeon-woo exhaled a hollow breath that couldn’t even muster a bitter laugh.

“You have no intention of listening to what I’m saying.”
“You should know that I’m not the only one who thinks this way.”
“And you should learn to respect people.”

I’ll have to file a defamation suit soon.

Brushing away the Vampire’s hand, Lee Yeon-woo rose from his seat. The Tasteless Guest, as if he hadn’t just grabbed his shoulder moments ago, returned to his usual demeanor and smiled as he asked.

“Are you leaving already?”
“My raven looks impatient.”
“Then you won’t leave right away.”
“It’s advantageous for me as well….”

Brushing off my shoulder, I looked down at him seated below me.

“I’d rather not have more guests who don’t listen.”
“I’m at a loss for what to do, feeling so apologetic.”
“I was trying to buy some time, but instead I hear strange news.”
“Strange news? Wasn’t it rather timely information for you as well?”
“That’s precisely why I’m troubled over what to do with it.”

Troubles pile upon troubles.

“If all else fails, I’ll simply have to ignore it.”
“You certainly have a terrible personality.”
“I never claimed otherwise.”

Lee Yeon-woo soon broke into a smile.

“I’ll do what I can.”

Whatever it takes.

* * *

“Senior, if you’re free, shall we grab something to eat now…?”

Rawi surveyed the empty Guest Rooms.

“…Senior?”

Rawi’s face drained of color.

Seme had vanished.

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