Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual - Chapter 76

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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 76.

…So I’m eating right now.

“….”

The Blood-Loving Guest remained motionless for a long while.

The richness of the pâté, the fragrance of butter, the warmth of freshly baked bread. Those complex sensations dancing across my tongue ignited a ravenous hunger—one I had forgotten for centuries, primitive and utterly bestial.

An unwelcome warmth settled into my body, which should have been cold as marble. The sensation was repulsive, as though I had become a living, breathing human.

Mere dishes of food had demolished in an instant the perfection I had built over centuries of blood, casting it into mud.

‘This is poison.’

The shame of my own weakness—knowing it was poison yet swallowing it eagerly—cut deep into my bones.

Honor, custom, and that brilliant rationality that separates human from beast—these are what bind. The more one is constrained, the fainter the monster’s nature becomes, until at last it hesitates to hunt.

I was certain that before his self shattered, that tiresome humanity would bloom completely within me far more swiftly.

“Ah….”

That bitter shame stretched into murderous intent.

Or perhaps it was an ill-fitting longing, a sense of inferiority.

That exalted god maintains reason even while tearing away positive emotions and crawling along the ground, yet why do I tremble so pathetically, gasping like a beast over mere scraps of bread?

‘Isn’t that profoundly unjust.’

And so, until now.

“….”

Before a table bearing only fragrance, the Tasteless Guest had exhausted all patience.

“…What you’ve built tastes quite exquisite, I must say.”

The Tasteless Guest laughed at the empty seat across from him. As always, he laughed again.

“Just one bite.”

No.

“Just two more bites.”

No, no. All of it. Every last morsel.

He intoned the words with the weight of everything he had consumed.

“May I eat…?”

Jealousy tightens around his throat, and greed hungers for perfection.

‘There is no need for order anymore.’

I should have known sooner. Before my meager humanity could shackle my hunter’s instinct, I should have devoured him whole. I thought it a gamble, but I never imagined the odds would be so stacked against me.

‘I can shake his sense of self, but I cannot corrupt his humanity.’

Haven’t I already lost half the battle from that moment?

This space suppresses the Guest so that he dare not defy its rules, and yet—there is no gain without suffering. And now the Tasteless Guest was prepared to pay the price for his insolence.

So emotion and blood mattered little. What mattered to him now was a single thing.

“….”

I want to watch Lee Yeon-woo crumble.

‘For that to happen… it would be better if he remained consumed by negative emotions.’

I must improve the odds of this gamble, however slightly.

Calculations? Those had long since gone awry. This was no longer an honorable hunt. It was the karmic debt of dismissing the quality and weight of Belmarés’s emotions.

The vampire, the Tasteless Guest, whispered into the void.

“Tell me it is not my sin alone.”

Like all those I have consumed until now.

Blood that failed to become divine rose in rebellion, breaking the rules.

* * *

Lee Yeon-woo tilted his head as he checked the system.

‘The Tasteless Guest has vanished from the interface.’
[Huh?]
‘Ah, no, that’s not it. They’ve appeared in an unexpected location.’

But… why are they on the 2nd Floor?

‘Not through any normal route.’

This was a movement that never occurred during the Game. Unless some event was happening, the 2nd Floor was completely empty. Neither the Grand Banquet Hall nor the Restaurant were currently in operation.

“….”

During the Game, there were times when the Tasteless Guest would occasionally mutter to themselves in the banquet hall.

Though an indescribable unease crept over me, I pushed that heavy feeling aside.

‘I’ll confirm this again later. Though there’s a difference between whether it’s in operation or not, in the Game the Tasteless Guest did visit the Grand Banquet Hall frequently. Though it doesn’t seem to be that case now…’
[Yes!]
‘For now, I should finish my own work first.’

I lifted the worn but still somewhat legible file folder.

“…Hmm.”

It was the sixteenth and final closure record.

[Document Number: EO-14/Classified/East-0227]
[Issuing Agency: Research Bureau ██ Branch (Headquarters Code: EAO-7)]
[Date of Issue: February 27th, 19██ A.D.]
[Classification Level: Top Secret/Clearance Level III or Higher Required for Access]

[Reason for Closure]
[A mass contamination incident occurred in the Central Control Room, the control zone overseeing all surveillance and experimental control authority throughout the Complex Linked Research Institute. As a result, the surveillance system operated in reverse, causing research personnel and portions of the Suppression Team to enter an uncontrollable state….]

‘Quite certain, then.’
‘Yes.’
‘This is the closure record I remember.’

Lee Yeon-woo recorded the item in the Codex.

‘One of the troublesome aspects of the Game becoming reality is work like this.’

There was no distinction between ordinary objects and Game items. Anything Lee Yeon-woo recognized as an item could be stored in his inventory.

‘I should keep in mind that the Codex carries the same possibility.’

He worried that collecting erroneous records might corrupt his strategy, but Lee Yeon-woo remembered nearly every entry in the Codex. In practice, such a mistake was virtually impossible.

“….”

Yet one detail troubled him.

‘It’s not just records from a single facility, is it?’

This record had been written in Chinese. However, the document recorded in the interface appeared translated into Korean—just as it had been when he played the Game called Ho-won.

‘Most were in English, but there were Spanish, Arabic, and Russian as well. There was one in Korean too. I saw records in Japanese as well. Yet when I played Ho-won, every entry in the Codex was in Korean.’
[Yes!]
‘The content matches perfectly… but the language is different.’

A fleeting curiosity stirred, but Lee Yeon-woo squeezed his bloodshot eyes shut and forcibly swallowed a sigh.

‘I don’t want to feel drawn to such bloodstained clues.’

Even the smallest ripple across his withered emotional landscape grated against him. A headache like needles piercing his brain struck his temples.

[Yes.]
‘What a troublesome situation.’

Why had this happened? Where exactly had I been dragged to? Such thoughts crossed my mind, but I closed the compendium while pressing my throbbing temple with my thumb.

‘First, let’s find the Central Control Room.’
[Yes!]
‘It’s not far from here.’

I recalled the structure of this map. At least items remained intact even after leaving—or rather, if only the Tasteless Guest hadn’t interfered with me from the start,

‘Shut up.’

I needed to shut up.

“….”

I pressed my temple with my thumb again. My brain throbbed as if it were burning. Or perhaps it was merely an illusion. What was certain was that my condition was deteriorating by the moment.

‘…At this rate, it’s no joke—actual ego dissolution could occur. This isn’t an ordinary human body, and given that it’s Belmarés’ form, composed of blood with an inherently strong sense of self….’
[No!]
‘…Thank you for the encouragement.’

But I felt no reassurance.

“….”

Thud….

I stepped carefully into the corridor.

The corridor remained dark and, above all, unsettling. The occasional crackling of panels and the distant sound of footsteps made my heart race—in the worst possible way.

This time was no exception.

‘…There’s a Watcher nearby.’
[Yes!]

Damn it.

‘Even an Auditory Supervisor.’

Thump, thump, thump.
Scraaape―….

A grotesque friction sound reached my ears with vivid clarity—flesh scraping against a rough surface.

The sound of something crawling on all fours, probing the floor. It was utterly different from the Visual Supervisor, which at least mimicked human footsteps. The mere sound of it made my skin crawl as though insects were swarming across my body.

I waited, holding even my breath, and soon its form revealed itself.

“….”
“…Ah, aah… ah….”
“….”
“Ah….”

What a damnable thing.

“….”
“Ah… aah….”

…No matter how many times I looked at it, I could never grow accustomed to such a grotesque form.

‘When I saw it as a dot, it wasn’t nearly this horrifying.’
[Yes.]
‘I’m aware of that myself, obviously.’

Its eyes were sewn shut so tightly that the eyelids protruded like seams. Its ears were shaped like enormous trumpet-like funnels, tilting toward the direction of sound as ears on animals do.

It crawled on all fours, dragging its long arms behind it, pressing those massive ears against walls and floors to track sound. Lee Yeon-woo had forcibly cut off the blood flow.

“….”
“….”

My heartbeat was too loud—I feared those enormous ears would detect it.

‘…Revolting….’
[Yes!]

I couldn’t even draw a single breath. Frozen in place, I couldn’t afford to let that Monster know my location in this narrow corridor.

‘Calm down.’

Hadn’t I witnessed this countless times already?

‘This is no different from before.’

The situation was identical. If I responded the same way, I would inevitably achieve the same result. I had hammered this truth into my mind so relentlessly it had become tedious. If my heart wouldn’t obey, then my brain would have to be the one pulling the strings.

As my breathing steadied, the Watcher began moving methodically.

“….”
“…Ah….”

It lifted its head.

“….”

For a moment, I could have sworn our eyes met.

Then the Watcher lowered itself again, pressing its face to the floor, and crawled away.

How much time passed? The sound of its four limbs scraping against the corridor grew fainter and fainter. The wet drag of flesh followed the same trajectory. All that remained in the corridor were Coco, myself, and silence.

After an eternity of stillness, I exhaled slowly.

“…Haah….”

I fought to regulate my blood flow, to steady my racing heartbeat.

‘Is there a function in the interface to lower image resolution?’
[Yes.]
‘Damn.’

My head felt like it might split open.

‘No, in this case…’

Lee Yeon-woo’s brow furrowed as he inserted the purification sample into his neck.

“….”
[What?]
‘Let’s move as quickly as possible.’

My stomach churned.

‘This one’s going to be hard to endure.’

…I had to arrive before then.

* * *

I always imagined the worst.

It was a long-standing habit of mine. By envisioning every possible catastrophe, I could protect myself within all those scenarios. I believed that once a situation arrived, it would be too late to prepare.

Even after being appointed manager of the Hotel within the Game, it only intensified—never diminished.

“Ugh…!”

Hack, cough, retch!

“Gasp….”
“Are you alright?!”
“No.”

It was absolutely miserable.

“There’s literally nothing good about this…!”

Clamping my lower jaw shut with my hand, I ran. Blood vessels bulged across my face as emotion surged to the crown of my head.

‘Damn it!!’

Beep——! Beep——! Beep——!
Whirrrrr—! Whirrrrr—!

Truly, his audacious movements triggered alarms from every direction.

How had things spiraled to this point? Because the path ahead was a straight line with nowhere left to hide.

Blood flowed freely, his head throbbed, and despite the interface clearly showing the red marker that had been stuck on the 2nd Floor suddenly shoot up to the 14th Floor right before his eyes, there was nothing he could do about it.

‘Watcher or not, I have to run.’

Every Watcher on the 14th Floor had rushed toward him, and leading the charge—tearing through the Hotel’s rules and leaping between floors—was the Tasteless Guest. This was the worst-case scenario Lee Yeon-woo had anticipated.

He didn’t even look back, his tone dripping with sarcasm. His insides twisted with fury.

“So you came scrambling all the way here without any dignity just because you caught a whiff of blood?!”

And from such a distance, no less.

“Were you afraid you’d be devoured first if you followed the proper order?”
“We dine together.”
“Worried that your precious reason would make you hesitate, so your heart grew impatient?!”
“May I eat?”
“How many times must I say no…!”

He’d apparently decided to abandon reason altogether.

‘This person is truly hopeless.’

If only he could use a Hunting skill. But that only worked in the Hunting Ground. To face this madman head-on, he’d have to be prepared to die here.

‘Then I’d really become nothing but a lump of blood.’

That couldn’t happen. Even as these thoughts raced through his mind, his opponent continued to speak.

“Tell me. Let’s talk now.”
“It seems the conversation you know and the one I know are quite different…!”
“Tell me. Exactly.”
“Exactly what?!”
“What’s different?”
“…Ha!”

Amid the spine-chilling wails of vengeful spirits and blooming carnivorous flowers, Lee Yeon-woo laughed loudly.

“What a surprising question that is!”

To ask such a thing—it seemed even centuries of learning had proven insufficient.

Gnaw, gnaw, gnaw, gnaw—wraiths crawled from all directions. I couldn’t even tell whose they were. The history of the 14th Floor? Hunting hounds of the Tasteless Guest? Lee Yeon-woo laughed with a look of exhaustion.

‘I don’t even know why I’m laughing.’

One thing was certain: it was so vertiginous I felt I might lose my mind.

“That’s why you’re in such a state!”
“Together.”
“You can’t even act your age—!”
“Together, let’s descend into the abyss.”

The entire world turned crimson. Walls, floors, empty space—the gates of hell opened.

“Damn it.”

Dodging skeletal hands stretching through pools of blood, purification samples piercing my neck until the skin tore, Lee Yeon-woo muttered with a hollow laugh.

“Who set this as an open-version limited guest?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to sue.”

I would report it to the labor board for violations of industrial safety and health regulations.

* * *

Whoooosh—
Water cascaded through the Aqua Park.

“….”

The Wet Person draped themselves over the edge of the swimming pool, resting their chin on their hand.

A tail vast enough to fill the deep pool undulated. It was as ornate as a betta’s, as long as a dragon’s. That ominous, smoke-like undulation belonged to the Wet Person.

My eyes roll sideways, heavy with boredom.

“Ah….”

Dissatisfaction accumulates across the feminine face.

“What are they doing out there?”

Water had always been singular, and the same held true for my friend. Su-gwi, who prided himself on his massive form, could sense the state of his companion. He was drying out, becoming parched.

A legitimate Su-gwi does not treat blood as mere water.

“They should just come into the water.”
“Doesn’t it hurt?”
“I’m bored. So tediously bored.”

If they entered here, they wouldn’t hurt anymore.

“….”

But who was I to speak, given that I became friends with him precisely because of that foolishness?

“…Hmm.”

I respected my friend. I understood that countless forms of death exist in this world. And just as varied as death, so too are the forms of life. This massive Su-gwi, tightly bound in one place, knew this very well.

But the boredom—I simply could not endure it.

Ah, this sensation submerged in water.

“It’s raining.”
“There are no people….”

That was what it murmured.

“It’s not warm.”

In the end, I emerged onto dry land.

Splash—

“….”

Let me think.

‘…Where was that narrow passage again?’
‘The Hunting Ground.’
‘The Corpse Field shrouded in water mist.’

I’ll head there.

‘My body won’t dry out there.’

Clad in a raincoat and boots, my footsteps squelching through the water, I made my way toward that narrow Elevator.

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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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