Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 53

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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 53.

I couldn’t remain here indefinitely. Even if I wanted to wait, circumstances wouldn’t allow it. Room 14 was already warping and crumbling in on itself now that the event had concluded.

Lee Yeon-woo straightened his composure with unruffled poise, then stepped through the door with practiced ease. The moment his foot crossed the threshold, Room 14’s entrance vanished without a trace.

“….”

What a stingy Hotel this was.

‘With that, my escape route has been completely severed.’

Surprisingly, the Tasteless Guest didn’t immediately pounce.

“…Thank you for visiting our Hotel. How may I assist you?”
“May I eat?”
“Oh.”

Lee Yeon-woo maintained a soft, courteous smile as he gazed down at the guest’s hand. What the Tasteless Guest was brazenly holding aloft—it was a gloved hand belonging to someone else.

More precisely, it was my own severed hand.

‘A limb I lost during my descent into Room 14.’

Lee Yeon-woo asked, a suspicion crystallizing in his mind.

“Might I trouble you with a question?”
“Please do.”
“Was it perhaps that hand which drove you to pursue me, Guest?”
“Of course.”
“I see.”

The Tasteless Guest—an erosion-type entity that devours human emotion. When a victim’s emotions are completely depleted, it drinks their blood, and it possesses the peculiar trait of licking up any bloodstains that appear within the Hotel.

If the blood’s owner is alive and a being worthy of respect, it continues to ask “May I eat?” with increasing pressure as time passes.

‘That’s why if I let this Guest into the Hotel, it’ll be difficult to pinpoint the moment a bloody incident occurs.’

Lee Yeon-woo asked again.

“So I’m to understand you followed me to ask whether it would be acceptable to consume it?”
“Oh, of course.”
“Indeed, that appears to be the case.”

Ah.

‘I didn’t expect him to respond this way.’

This Guest is lying right now.

* * *

[Vision]
‘His gaze holds your severed hand, yet he does not actually look at it.’
‘His pupils show none of the contraction and tension that appear when prey is spotted.’
‘The focus of his gaze drifts subtly beyond your shoulder.’

He’s watching Coco. If he had simply wanted to consume Lee Yeon-woo’s already severed hand, there would be no need for that. The one whose permission he seeks is his prey—Lee Yeon-woo—not Coco.

If his gaze were genuine, it should be fixed on the hand he holds or on Lee Yeon-woo himself. The direction of his pupils and gaze contradicts his stated purpose. In other words, the hand is likely merely a pretext.

[Touch]
‘Your severed hand remains sensually connected to you.’
‘Yet the grip with which he holds it is not the obsession of refusing to release his target, but rather the careless lightness of merely holding something.’

Even a detached body part continues to exist as ‘me’. This is what I sense from the severed hand. It is what I know from the ‘me’ he has consumed before.

Both tell me the same truth. What he ultimately desires is not ‘Lee Yeon-woo’s severed hand’. The hand is merely a snack, a means to an end. The reason he pursued Lee Yeon-woo with such obsession does not lie in that hand.

[Sixth Sense]
‘The purpose emanating from him leans toward something other than the hand.’

Therefore, the Tasteless Guest lied.

“….”

Lee Yeon-woo tilted his head.

So what he wants right now is me, then?

* * *

“It’s probably because I’m blood, after all.”

Manager’s Quarters. A whiteboard had appeared once more in the center of the living room. Lee Yeon-woo stood before it and adjusted his glasses with an indifferent expression.

“That’s what I thought. That he was coming to consume me. The Tasteless Guest has a habit of arbitrarily drinking the bloodstains scattered throughout the Hotel.”
“Yes.”
“The fact that he appears at the scene immediately when a bloodshed incident occurs is also a characteristic of the same nature. Even if the blood belongs to the Hotel General Manager, that wouldn’t be an exception.”

Lee Yeon-woo wrote “blood consumption” on the board and circled it.

“Simply asking multiple times and seeking permission doesn’t mean he patiently tolerates it every single time. There’s no way such a benevolent monster guest would come to this Hotel.”

He does place importance on “permission.” But the number of times he seeks permission varies depending on each designated prey. Some he’ll tolerate once, others ten times—it differs for each.

“It’s easy to overlook because of his awkward speech, but the Tasteless Guest is the type skilled in deception. He even knows how to manipulate situations in his favor without resorting to lies.”
“Yes!”
“Such enthusiastic affirmation—it seems refusing his request just now was indeed the right call.”
“Yes!”

When the guest asked if he could eat the severed hand, Lee Yeon-woo refused. When the guest asked for his reason, Lee Yeon-woo consumed his own hand right before him. The guest then exclaimed “oh” in admiration and obediently turned to leave.

As long as one presents a “reasonable justification,” he accepts it readily.

“During the Game, I remembered him as more of a troublesome guest than a difficult one.”

The strategy is simple. Keep refusing him. The Tasteless Guest respects the Hotel General Manager sufficiently and doesn’t stay indefinitely at the Hotel.

It means simply repeating “I can’t,” “I don’t want to,” and “don’t do that” throughout the entire stay.

“That’s why the Tasteless Guest is limited to the open version.”
“Yes.”
“The problem is that the conditions have changed from when this was a game. As I keep saying, the fact that I’ve become blood itself is making this… quite difficult.”
“Yes….”
“That’s how it is.”

No matter how much the Tasteless Guest loves blood, even it distinguishes between “person” and “blood.” It perceives humans as blood vessels and treats the blood within them as sustenance.

So it goes through that tedious “permission” process before hunting….

“I’m not in the right state to buy time by exploiting that point like I used to.”

Lee Yeon-woo wrote several words on the board.

“What am I to the Tasteless Guest right now? Prey? Or just food? I suppose I’m receiving some “respect” thanks to my position as Hotel General Manager, but….”
“Yes.”
“No matter how optimistically I look at it, the fact that I’m closer to blood than an ordinary human is undeniable. The threshold of respect has likely dropped significantly compared to when I was the Hotel General Manager in the game. Dragging out time doesn’t seem to help at all.”
“Yes.”
“But if I don’t drag out time, what can I do? Force a checkout? I don’t meet the conditions. Keep refusing? Then I’ll just get eaten and it’s over. Mental preparation? Should I really just accept my death date?”
“Whimper.”
“I feel like crying too.”

The guests at this Facility have extremely difficult checkout procedures.

“I could forcibly evict them, but it’s a long-term loss. It heavily impacts the Hotel’s reputation.”

When reputation drops, the difficulty of entertaining monster guests skyrockets, and the Hotel System becomes far more violent. Above all, a guest forcibly checked out becomes nearly impossible to handle on their next visit.

“And this isn’t just a systemic issue.”
“Yes.”
“Something felt strange… ah.”

[Sixth Sense]
‘Someone holds deep reverence for you, Belmarés.’

“The moment I mention it, something like this happens.”

Lee Yeon-woo clicked his tongue dryly.

“Belmarés—I’m familiar with that term as well.”
“Belmarés!”

The center and pillar of the Red Heart Experiment ritual. The subject of the ceremony that transmutes flesh into eternal blood—in short, it refers to the First Caster.

“All the others were called by the name ‘Riedmar.’ Beings who labored and were sacrificed for Belmarés’s birth. If Belmarés was the master, then Riedmar seemed closer to servants.”
“Yes.”
“All attempts at becoming Belmarés failed, while Riedmar actually had successful cases. The dominant records suggested that most who challenged Belmarés ended up falling to the rank of Riedmar.”
“Yes.”
“Perhaps only biased records remain due to the peculiar nature of the books I consulted… I see.”

Lee Yeon-woo removed his glasses and wearily dragged a hand across his face.

“…Now that I think about it, this is actually quite serious.”

I had been too frantic in Room 14 to fully grasp it then. The fact that the Tasteless Guest was connected to the Red Heart Experiment was no trivial matter.

“Yes, I understand. I saw it clearly while investigating Room 14. The Tasteless Guest attempted the Red Heart Experiment ritual to… probably become Belmarés themselves.”
“Huh?”
“Of course, that failed too. Now they’re merely something warped by the aftermath of the ritual’s failure. If anything, they currently lean more toward the nature of Riedmar.”

Users of Blood Magic are thorough meritocrats. They instinctively revere blood stronger and more noble than their own. The notification that “someone deeply reveres Belmarés” fell within that same context.

“But the longing to become Belmarés wouldn’t have vanished entirely. That’s surely one reason they pursued my blood so relentlessly. Though that’s not the whole story, of course….”

One thing was certain.

“My blood must feel exceptionally precious to the Tasteless Guest.”
“Yes.”
“What a troublesome creature.”

It was escalating beyond measure.

“There is one silver lining, though.”
“Yes?”
“The Tasteless Guest is approaching more cautiously than expected.”
“Cautiously?”
“Given that I’m essentially a mass of blood, they could simply devour me outright. Yet they still seem to regard me as ‘someone worthy of respect.’ Remarkably, they restrain themselves despite that arrogance.”

Of course, it wasn’t quite that fortunate.

“In other words, it means they’re being cautious and watching for opportunities. Honestly, it would be easier to deal with if they just charged in recklessly.”
“Hello!”
“Yes, but… the fact that the Tasteless Guest is an erosion-type is what troubles me.”

They knew how to gnaw at one’s nerves. Like most open-version monster guests, the Tasteless Guest was skilled in pretense and deception. They had perfected the art of appearing polite and innocent.

“The Tasteless Guest’s stay was supposed to be….”
“Four days!”
“Ah.”

That was welcome news.

“They’ll be leaving soon, then.”
“Yes!”
“Then we can afford to relax a bit.”
“….”
“….”

A brief silence fell. Lee Yeon-woo wiped his mouth, seized by an ominous premonition.

“Don’t tell me…?”

* * *

That premonition became reality.

“How unfortunate.”
“Yes.”

The Tasteless Guest had extended their stay.

“It’s an event I’ve rarely seen even when this was still a Game.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not sure if it’s right for it to appear at this timing. It seems I’ve gone mad.”
“Yes.”
“Of course, this Hotel has been running mad for a long time already.”
“No?”
“I told you not to cover it up and defend it.”

Extended lodging periods. A system that occurs only rarely—something that should only manifest with Close Version exclusive monster Guests. In other words, it was a variable that should have appeared only in the late stages of gameplay.

‘And strictly speaking, this place is no longer a Game.’

That’s simply how the service industry works. As the Hotel General Manager, Lee Yeon-woo had no choice but to respond with “Yes, thank you” whenever a Guest expressed their intention to extend their stay.

‘Even a Hotel like this is operating normally, after all.’

Capitalism lived and breathed even here.

“Sigh….”

The temptation to barricade myself in my quarters crossed my mind for a moment.

After all, the Tasteless Guest does ask for permission first. And the more I refuse, the harder they press. In other words, if I avoid them entirely, the probability of problems arising becomes extremely low.

But that couldn’t be the answer.

‘If I hole up avoiding that person, when would I conduct my physical enhancement research?’

No matter how monstrous Lee Yeon-woo became, I could never match Guests who were born as monsters. I mustn’t underestimate the monsters this Hotel officially recognizes. Neither the Hotel nor its Guests were entities to be taken lightly.

‘My limits will arrive before theirs.’

My current condition is dire. If luck turns against me, I could die simply breathing. I’ve brought blood packs and phlebotomy equipment from Room 14, but those are merely temporary measures at best.

‘Fundamentally, I cannot afford to die right now.’

Whereas they have nothing to lose.

‘Time overflows for them.’

No matter how many times I turned it over in my mind, hiding in my room wouldn’t solve this.

“…For now, there’s no clear answer….”
“Yes.”
“Shall we rest for a moment?”
“Yes.”

I was exhausted from facing two monsters at once.

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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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