Welcome to the Goblin Hotel - Chapter 17

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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 17
Rustle, rustle—
Following Lina’s finger, I lifted my gaze toward the staircase.
Miho was descending the steps, her three fluffy white tails swaying gently behind her.
‘Her tails have grown a bit.’
What had been 2.5 tails had somehow expanded to roughly 2.7 now.
How did she even gather Spiritual Power?
I’d asked her once, but she’d just snorted at me.
Miho walked in with dignified steps and came to stand before Lina.
“Meow!”
— You! How dare you point at me like that? Put that hand away this instant.
Lina’s face flushed at the sight of Miho.
Since Lina had no Spiritual Power, she wouldn’t be able to hear Miho’s words.
It seemed I’d need to translate.
“Please put your hand down.”
Lina’s body went stiff; she only turned her head to look at me.
“Sir, what is this creature?”
I gently took Lina’s rigid arm and lowered it.
“She’s a guest at our hotel.”
“A guest?”
“Yes. A VVIP guest who paid quite generously for her stay.”
Lina blinked several times in rapid succession.
“Wow…! A fox is a guest?”
— Hmph! You’re really a talkative human, aren’t you?
Miho turned her head to look at Minju.
— I’m hungry, Chef. Food, now.
Minju sprang to his feet.
“Yes, Lady Miho. I’ll have your meal ready right away.”
As Minju bolted toward the Dining Area, Miho hopped up onto the seat he’d vacated.
I introduced Lina to Miho.
“Miho, this is Lina. She’s going to sing Jeong Yuri’s songs.”
— That ghost’s songs, you mean?
“That’s right.”
A blue gleam flickered in Miho’s eyes as she regarded Lina.
— I thought I sensed a Charm of Attraction on her. So she’s a singer.
That was when Lina suddenly shrieked, her face flushing crimson.
“Kyaaaaa! Oh no!”
Lina had already rushed to Miho’s side and was stroking her tails.
“Wow! So soft! Is this one’s name Miho?”
— Get your hands off me!
Miho twisted around on the seat.
Undeterred, Lina bent down in front of Miho and extended her hand.
“Miho, give me your paw!”
Oh no. This is getting out of hand.
This isn’t supposed to happen.
“Meowwww—!”
— Boss! Get this human off me right now. She’s treating me like some common dog!
“What? Why are you suddenly so angry?”
Minjae and Songi watched the scene unfold, pressed together as they snickered.
“Hm… hehehehe…!”
“Tee-hee-hee…!”
I grabbed Lina and pulled her to her feet, separating the two of them.
“Lina, this isn’t just any fox. She’s a Three-Tailed Fox. Don’t you see those three tails?”
“Three tails. I see them. That’s exactly why she’s so beautiful!”
She wasn’t like this when we talked about music.
Why does she suddenly seem to have lost her mind?
“If she grows six more tails, she becomes a Nine-Tailed Fox. This fox has lived an extraordinarily long time. Much longer than any of us.”
I turned to look at Miho and asked.
“Isn’t that right?”
Miho raised her tails proudly and spoke with evident satisfaction.
— That’s right. I’ve lived over three hundred years. Building up Spiritual Power isn’t easy, you know.
This time, I looked at Lina.
“Over three hundred years old. Think of her as your grandmother, and show respect—”
“Blegh…!”
— A grandmother? Among foxes who cultivate Spiritual Power, I’m on the younger side!
“Ah, not a grandmother then. Still, please do show respect.”
Lina laughed, shaking her shoulders at me.
“Manager, you understand everything Miho says?”
“Yes. All our hotel staff understand her.”
Songi and Minjae nodded in unison.
Like those bobblehead dolls perched on a dashboard.
‘When did these two get so chummy?’
While I was eyeing the pair.
Lina let out a heavy sigh.
“So right now, I’m the only one who can’t hear what Miho’s saying?”
Lina’s face fell in an instant.
“That’s not fair.”
“There’s nothing unfair about it.”
We’re hearing things we shouldn’t hear, seeing things we shouldn’t see.
There was nothing to envy or complain about.
Lina asked carefully.
“Could I just pet Miho once? Just once?”
“That’s not possible. Our guest finds it unpleasant.”
Lina closed one eye slightly and held up a single finger.
“Pleease…! Not even once?”
She made a cute expression worthy of a music broadcast finale.
But I had a duty to protect my guest.
“No. It’s not possible.”
Miho jumped down from the sofa and spoke.
— Ban that human from coming here from now on.
Miho bared her teeth at Lina and bolted into the Dining Area.
“You’re banned from entering for a while, she says.”
“What? You’re really going to ban me?”
“I’m the manager here. That’s a decision I need to make myself.”
I turned to Lina and asked.
“Is there a reason you need to visit our hotel?”
“…Do I really need a reason?”
I nodded shortly.
Lina seemed to think for a moment, then suddenly jumped to her feet.
“Settlement! Once the album sells, I need to pay you the settlement—”
“Please handle that through bank transfer.”
Lina’s expression grew dejected, but then her head snapped up.
“Oh…! Information. I have information about Gold Enter.”
“You mean Jeong Yuri’s former agency?”
“Yes. That one.”
I tapped my thigh thoughtfully with my fingers.
I was curious, certainly.
But did I really need to hear it?
Lina, growing impatient, spoke first.
“The head of that agency and the managers—they were all gangsters.”
“…Those kinds of people can really pull off something like that?”
Lina ground her teeth.
“It’s possible. They put up one or two front figures, then rotate the rest outside the company.”
The image of that manager from Spirit Insight flashed through my mind.
There was something off about his appearance—not ordinary at all.
I really wanted to hit that guy just once.
Then, in that moment.
As I thought of him, a strange premonition flickered through my head.
‘Their fortune is already declining.’
“…Huh? What is this?”
The thought that surfaced in my mind wasn’t truly my own.
Does Spiritual Power grow with these sensations too?
Lina fixed me with a steady gaze and asked.
“Gold Enter. You’re going to leave them alone?”
“Let’s watch. See when they collapse. Ah, but I’m still curious about that pig of a manager.”
“Pig of a manager?”
“The one who handled Jeong Yuri’s team.”
“Oh, I see. I’ll find out for you.”
Lina left only after receiving several urgent calls from her own manager.
The way she looked at Miho was quite wistful.
“I’ll come back! I want to get closer to Miho. You understand, right?”
It was already too late.
Miho had made her judgment at their first meeting. Recovery would be difficult from here on out.
***
One day. Two days. Four days….
With each passing day, Choi Il-ju’s waking time crept earlier and earlier.
As the sun set and darkness settled over the Hotel, it fell quiet once more.
‘What time will he come down tonight?’
I was listening to Songi’s soft, rhythmic snoring when I leaned down and pressed a brief kiss to her forehead.
As I crept toward the door, my eyes met Hwang Geum-i’s directly.
“Shh—!”
Fortunately, Hwang Geum-i settled back down quietly to sleep.
The Lobby of the Hotel with everyone asleep.
The bustling air from daylight hours had faded, replaced by a calm, settled silence.
I leaned back against the sofa in the Lobby, closed my eyes, and waited for Choi Il-ju.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Light footsteps descended the stairs.
The clock read 2:05 a.m.
Choi Il-ju was coming down a little earlier than he had yesterday.
“Sir.”
Choi Il-ju bowed to me first in greeting.
His voice was clearer than before.
Without any preamble, I asked him a question.
“Would you care for a walk?”
“Yes.”
Choi Il-ju walked along the stone wall, then paused.
His gaze was fixed on the buckwheat that had grown to ankle height.
He crouched down and gently traced the buckwheat stems with his fingertips.
“It’s grown this much already.”
All I, a novice farmer, had done was plant the seeds and water them—and yet they’d grown this far.
I smiled slightly and answered.
“They’re growing faster than expected. It feels like the earth itself is nurturing them.”
During our walk, Choi Il-ju’s eyes lingered long on the buckwheat.
***
Early the next morning.
【 Guest Detailed Information 】
*Room 205:
Choi Il-ju
Wandering
Exhaustion
D-11
‘What time will he come out today…?’
I stepped outside around midnight and settled back against the Lobby sofa.
Watching the stairs for Choi Il-ju, I felt a presence from outside.
Creak— Creak—
Choi Il-ju was already sitting on the bench swing.
It was far earlier than I’d anticipated.
“You came down early?”
“I woke up early today.”
His gaze turned toward the buckwheat along the stone wall.
Choi Il-ju spoke slowly, drawing out his words.
“…I was curious how much more they’d grown.”
“Is that so?”
‘Does he have a fondness for plants?’
I asked, studying him carefully.
“Would you like to visit the vegetable garden with me?”
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
I introduced him to the plants growing in the garden.
“These are tomatoes. My daughter waters them every day and tends them with great care.”
Choi Il-ju crouched down and lifted the tomato stem gently with his hand.
“You can’t leave it like this. It needs a support stake.”
“What happens if you just leave it?”
“If you leave it, the stem will touch the ground, there won’t be proper air circulation, and pests and disease will take hold.”
“Ah… I see.”
Choi Il-ju walked a little further and spotted a pepper seedling.
“This one will snap at the stem if you don’t set up a support stake as well.”
He moved on and examined where the lettuce shoots had sprouted.
‘Now that one’s coming along nicely.’
I straightened my shoulders proudly and asked confidently.
“The lettuce is growing quite well, wouldn’t you say?”
Choi Il-ju’s brow furrowed slightly.
“…Did you scatter the seeds here?”
Looking at the delicate lettuce sprouts pushing up through the soil, he spoke without mercy.
“They’re far too crowded. You need to thin them out.”
I turned to Choi Il-ju.
“How do you know so much about this?”
“Growing plants used to be my hobby.”
“Is that right?”
“I’d fill plastic bottles with soil and plant cherry tomatoes in them, and sow lettuce in plastic containers.”
Choi Il-ju continued with a faint smile.
“Someday, I thought, I’d tend my own garden and live quietly. That’s what I dreamed of.”
His expression grew brighter than it had been in a long time.
I looked at him and asked.
“Would you consider taking charge of maintaining this garden?”
“I’ll be leaving soon—”
“Before you go, teach me how to do it. Show me the proper way to care for these plants.”
This way, the garden would gain a semi-expert caretaker.
And Choi Il-ju would gain a place of healing.
“Am I really allowed to grow these?”
“Of course you are.”
“A dead man… can really nurture life like this?”
I gazed for a moment at the seedlings breaking through the soil.
Their leaves glimmered in the moonlight, swaying gently in the breeze.
“Plants don’t judge who tends them.”
I met his eyes as I spoke.
“They judge whether you water them, set up supports, thin them out—whether you show them care and devotion. Isn’t that right?”
Choi Il-ju’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“You’re right.”
Then, in that moment.
An unexpected visitor notification appeared.
【 An Underworld Messenger has arrived. 】
There was still time before Choi Il-ju needed to leave.
‘Why would an Underworld Messenger show up so suddenly?’
I approached Gang Lim and greeted him.
“What brings you here today?”
Gang Lim grinned widely and spoke.
“Ah, Boss. You were outside? To give me such a warm welcome—! Thank you so much.”
“That’s not what I—”
Gang Lim didn’t even wait to hear my reply.
He straightened his shoulders and spoke with unwarranted confidence.
“Shall we have a meal? Ah, today I’ll cover the bill. Ha ha ha.”
This Grim Reaper really never changes.
Meals. Meals. Meals.
It was four in the morning.
‘Minju should be sleeping right now.’
But looking at that hopeful face, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
Besides, he was offering to pay this time.
I had no choice but to text Minju.
[ Minju. You awake…? ]
The Goblin Hotel Inherited
Author
: Why So Startled
Date of Production
: August 25, 2026
Publisher
: ACESMEDIA Co., Ltd.
Editor
: ACESMEDIA Editorial Team
Address
: 10F, Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work has been published by ACESMEDIA Co., Ltd. according to a contract with the copyright holder.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the express written permission of the publisher and author.
This e-book is protected under copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or distribution may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260730113

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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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