Welcome to the Goblin Hotel - Chapter 41

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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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Episode 41
The next day.
I entered the address Jang Young Seok had given me into the navigation system and drove according to its directions.
As I drew closer to the destination, a high-end residential complex with long stretches of towering walls came into view.
Min Jae’s eyes widened as he craned his neck, peering around.
“Wow…. I’ve only ever seen houses like this in dramas. Seeing it in person, it’s really massive, isn’t it?”
With its enormous walls and heavy-looking iron gate.
A place where fortresses like these stood clustered together.
“Don’t envy them. Our place is nice too.”
As I spoke to Min Jae, I suddenly remembered that I’d forgotten to upgrade the hotel’s facility level.
With the points I’d received yesterday, I could have raised the facility level to 2.
I smiled, imagining how it might change.
Min Jae, who’d been craning his neck to look out the window, straightened up in his seat and spoke.
“Ha-ha…! Of course our place is better.”
“It probably will be soon, at least.”
“You’re remodeling it?”
Min Jae tilted his head, muttering ‘It’s not bad as it is now.’
“We’ll see what happens.”
Either way, it’ll improve.
I let out a soft laugh and gave a small shrug.
After a moment of curiosity, Min Jae turned his gaze back to the long stretch of fortress-like walls.
[You are now approaching your destination.]
[Navigation has ended.]
A house with tile-topped eaves running along the high wall.
A familiar figure stood in front of it.
It was Jang Young Seok’s secretary.
“Min Jae, let’s get out.”
“Yes.”
I smiled at Min Jae, who swallowed nervously, and stepped out of the car.
At that moment, the man standing by the gate came running over and bowed in greeting.
“Good morning. The chairman is waiting for you.”
“Long time no see. By the way, would it be alright if I leave the car here?”
“Of course. If you’d prefer, I can park it in the garage for you. Just give me the keys and I’ll—”
“Ah… no, that’s fine.”
I waved both hands broadly in refusal.
My car’s current condition was far from presentable.
I’d hastily rinsed off the dirt and dust from yesterday’s trip to Samyeong Mountain, but….
The damage from when Min Jae drove to escape the corrupted entity was still glaringly evident.
I wanted to spin it as a ‘badge of honor,’ but the truth was I simply hadn’t had time to buy a new one yet.
‘The garage is bound to be full of luxury cars, and then there’s that?’
No way. Absolutely not.
Click.
Min Jae pulled out the styrofoam box from the trunk and stood beside me.
The secretary, Kim, gave Min Jae a puzzled look.
“You have a companion?”
“Ah, he’s one of my employees.”
Min Jae gave an awkward bow in greeting.
“I’m Kim Min Jae. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yes, nice to meet you. You can just call me Secretary Kim.”
The secretary opened the sturdy iron gate.
Clang.
“This way, please.”
Following the secretary’s lead, I stepped through the gate.
A well-manicured garden with verdant grass and landscaping came into view.
‘The garden is quite spacious.’
Beyond the expansive grounds.
A large two-story house caught my eye.
It was a luxury structure where modern design and traditional sensibility blended seamlessly.
The first floor was built of high-end stone, while the second floor was a traditional Korean house with wooden pillars and tiled eaves.
It was a house so enormous that taking it all in at once was difficult.
“Wow….”
Min Jae, hugging the styrofoam box, turned his head about in wonder and let out a murmur of admiration.
Secretary Kim smiled faintly at Min Jae, then opened the front door.
As we stepped inside, Chairman Jang Young Seok came rushing toward the entrance to greet us warmly.
“Welcome, welcome!”
“Chairman, it’s been a while.”
“Yes, yes. Come in, come in. You’re looking well, I must say. Your face has improved even more!”
“Is that so?”
“Heh-heh-heh…. Business must be going well for you. But who is this young man?”
“An employee who assists with my work.”
“How do you do! My name is Min Jae Kim!”
Min Jae offered a vigorous greeting.
“Ha-ha-ha…! Yes, a pleasure to meet you. A spirited young man indeed.”
Chairman Jang led us toward the sofa and asked a question.
“Tell me, are you in business yourself?”
“Yes. I’m running a small hotel.”
“A hotel?”
Chairman Jang’s eyes widened in surprise.
Surely he wasn’t thinking of a five-star establishment?
“It’s quite modest.”
“Ha-ha-ha. So you’re a businessman too. I must be getting old. I can usually spot a businessperson just by their eyes, but I don’t know how I missed it.”
When I first met Chairman Jang, I was still uncomfortable with hotel operations, and it hadn’t felt like my true calling.
Now I’d grown to enjoy running the hotel, and I’d picked up the knack for it too.
More than anything else.
I’d developed a genuine will to grow the business.
So I became curious all at once.
What did my eyes look like now?
“Then, what about now? Do I have the eyes of a businessman?”
Chairman Jang stepped back and peered into my eyes.
“Hmm…. You haven’t been in business long. Those are the eyes of someone who’s just beginning to find it enjoyable.”
I drew up the corners of my mouth in a smile and answered.
“Spot on.”
“Be careful. I’ve seen plenty of people who get excited early on and push their business expansion too hard, only to collapse under the strain.”
“I’m grateful for the advice.”
“What advice? This is just common sense anyone would offer.”
“But there’s concern in your words, so it’s no longer common sense, is it?”
“Ha-ha-ha-ha! That’s true enough.”
Just then, Secretary Kim approached quietly and asked softly.
“What kind of tea would you prefer?”
“I think we should verify that first before tea.”
I shifted my gaze to the Ice Box that Min Jae was holding and answered.
Chairman Jang followed my gaze and asked.
“Ha-ha-ha…! So that’s the Cheontjong Wild Ginseng?”
“It is. Let’s take a look directly.”
Min Jae carefully set the Ice Box containing the ginseng on the table.
“Since you mentioned it beforehand, I had someone come by earlier.”
Chairman Jang gave a signal to the secretary, who brought someone out from a room off to one side of the living room.
Graying hair, deep wrinkles, weathered hands.
A formal suit hastily put on, the fit not quite right.
For someone to verify the Cheontjong Wild Ginseng at a time like this, it could only be….
“Are you a Geomancer?”
“That’s right.”
Chairman Jang nodded and continued speaking.
“My friends are so envious! I’ll keep what I need for myself and sell the rest to them.”
Shim Mani stepped closer and spoke.
“I just need to verify what’s inside here, correct?”
“Yes.”
Min Jae quickly lifted the lid of the Ice Box.
The fragrant, slightly bitter aroma of wild ginseng spread throughout the spacious living room.
“Ah!”
Shim Mani’s eyes flew wide open,
“Ah…!”
The secretary seemed to be struggling to hide his shock, but his eyelids trembled noticeably.
Jang Young Seok, who had been fidgeting in his seat with barely contained excitement, finally spoke.
“Haha! Eight roots, you say. You truly are blessed by the mountain spirit, aren’t you?”
‘Mi Ho is indeed something like a mountain spirit on Samyeong Mountain.’
The memory of Mi Ho carefully digging up the ginseng with her front paws made me smile.
“It was simply a matter of chance.”
I answered with a smile.
Shim Mani lifted the thickest root with trembling hands, examining it with meticulous care.
He drew in a slow breath, inhaled its fragrance, and scrutinized the shape of the leaves, berries, and crown in detail.
One root, two roots….
He confirmed all eight roots in silence.
Min Jae’s gulp was unnaturally loud in the tense quiet.
‘Why is he so tense all of a sudden?’
Now that I thought about it, I’d never told Min Jae about the value of Cheontjong Wild Ginseng.
Had I done so, he surely wouldn’t have had the nerve to carry the Ice Box containing the ginseng.
Watching him with a slight smile, I took a closer look around the house.
The interior, like the building’s exterior, harmoniously blended traditional and contemporary design.
‘Whoever arranged this has excellent taste.’
I spent a considerable time admiring the details that came into view.
“I’ve verified everything.”
Shim Mani set down the ginseng and flexed his trembling fingers as he continued.
“All eight roots are indeed Cheontjong Wild Ginseng. This mother root here is 110 years old….”
Shim Mani’s assessment had only a slight discrepancy with the system’s evaluation.
The dense crown must have made verification difficult.
‘A two-year margin of error is practically dead-on.’
I nodded inwardly, accepting his assessment.
His trembling voice continued.
“…and the youngest root is 42 years old.”
Once he delivered his final assessment, silence settled over the living room.
“…….”
I broke the silence and spoke.
“It seems the mountain spirit really does favor me.”
“…….”
I’d attempted a joke, but Jang Young Seok remained quiet for some time.
Had he not expected all of them to be Cheontjong Wild Ginseng?
If the price was a concern, I could always negotiate a discount.
‘Why has he gone so quiet?’
I tilted my head, puzzled.
Jang Young Seok looked at Shim Mani and spoke.
“You’ve earned your pay. Take what the secretary prepared for you.”
With that, he sent Shim Mani out of the room.
Only then did Jang Young Seok meet my gaze and speak.
“One point five billion. I’ll handle the tax issues as well. How does that sound?”
One point five billion.
It was similar to what the system had shown as the appraised value.
‘And here I was doubting the big spender for even a moment. My apologies.’
His silence must have been him running calculations in his head.
With a figure like that, it made sense.
Even spending hours thinking it over was reasonable.
I nodded.
“That works for me.”
Hearing my agreement, Jang Young Seok smiled, deep creases forming at the corners of his eyes.
“I’ll have it processed within four days. The tax situation will take a bit of time to sort out.”
I adjusted my posture and replied.
“Understood. Now then, would you mind telling me why you sought me out?”
This was the moment for the real conversation to begin.
“Bear with me a moment.”
Jang Young Seok rose and brought back a refreshing glass of orange juice.
“Come now. I’ve sent all the household staff out, and it’s tedious having to manage things myself.”
Gulp, gulp.
Jang Young Seok drained his juice in one go, then opened his mouth to speak.
“Park mentioned you’d handled that Mirror. Is that right?”
“Yes, sir. That’s correct.”
He wetted his lips with juice and waited for the next thought to surface.
“There was once a rumor that the Mirror was a cursed object.”
“You knew about it, then?”
“I knew the previous owner. Tsk…! That man didn’t believe in curses, but in the end his daughter’s face was badly scarred.”
“Such a thing happened, did it….”
“Everyone refused to take it, but Park took it anyway.”
“Do you believe in such things, sir?”
Jang Young Seok laughed quietly.
“After years in business and reaching this age, I’ve seen all manner of things. Enough to think that cursed objects might very well exist.”
…….
Jang Young Seok leaned back slowly against the sofa and spoke.
“In fact, I have an object with a problem of my own.”
So at last he was getting to the real matter.
‘What kind of object could it be?’
I looked around the room, but felt no strange Qi, saw nothing amiss.
Jang Young Seok, who had been building suspense, finally spoke.
“It’s land.”
I blinked.
“Land? As in… property, sir?”
“Land is something bought and sold like any other good, isn’t it?”
‘I suppose it is.’
“I’d like you to take a look at that land for me.”
No matter how I considered it, this was an unusual request.
“…What kind of problem does the land have that made you seek me out?”
Jang Young Seok exhaled deeply.
“Well… I purchased that land to build a villa. I was quite taken with it.”
…….
“The air was excellent, the water source was ideal. The mountains had a beautiful shape. Above all, the Qi I felt there was wonderful.”
The chairman knitted his brow slightly and continued.
“But here’s the thing—though the land’s Qi was clearly fine, it deteriorated within a few months.”
“Deteriorated? In what way….”
“I’m not sure. The environment hasn’t changed. It’s just that whenever I look at that land now, I can only think it’s become utterly worthless.”
I tilted my head and asked.
“You’re saying it’s merely a feeling?”
“It’s not just me. The Geomancer who originally found the land says its Qi has become distorted.”
I reached for the simplest answer.
“Then perhaps you should simply abandon that land?”
It wasn’t as though money was the issue. There would be other parcels to choose from….
The chairman shook his head as if I’d spoken nonsense.
“Abandon? Give up the land? Ha ha…! Money isn’t the problem. Such a place doesn’t come around again just because you wait.”
‘He really was taken with it, wasn’t he.’
Jang Young Seok turned his head with an embarrassed look and continued speaking.
“And besides, when my wife saw that land, she smiled.”
“Is that so?”
“A woman who showed no interest in anything I bought her—she saw that place and was delighted like a child.”
‘Ha ha. For all appearances, he’s quite the devoted husband.’
“Then it must be that very land.”
Jang Young Seok’s eyes brightened as he spoke.
“Exactly. I’ll have all the earth turned over if that’s what it takes—I’ll make it usable.”
The chairman’s love for his wife was plainly deep.
‘What kind of land could warrant such devotion…?’
I moistened my throat with juice and spoke.
“Chairman, I’m uncertain whether I can resolve whatever problem has befallen the land. However….”
…….
After deliberation, I opened my mouth.
“I think I’ll understand once I see it with my own eyes.”
Jang Young Seok nodded heavily.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Inheriting the Goblin Hotel
Author
: Why So Granola
Production Date
: August 25, 2026
Publisher
: ACESMEDIA Inc.
Editor
: ACESMEDIA Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by ACESMEDIA Inc. in accordance with the copyright holder’s contract,
and the content may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the publisher and author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or copying 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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