LIGHTNOVELWORLD Welcome to Dungeon Hotel
Chapter 215
The time I sent the invitation to Merlin Grey was right after I entered this hotel with Georg Schulze.
The manager seemed to hesitate a little. “Are you really going to send the invitation to the previous owner of this hotel?” “Yes. Why?” The manager made a strange expression at my question. “Well, I was just wondering… if that person—oh right, you said he’s not a person. Anyway, if he were to ask for the hotel back, what would happen? Since you mentioned he’s incredibly strong, he might take the hotel away. And if you get hurt during a fight—” That’s right. He’s the owner of a five-star hotel, so he’s definitely stronger than me. But— “I won’t fight him.” “Yes?” “I won’t fight him, and if he asks for the hotel, I’ll just give it to him.” “…Yes?!” I gave a smile to the flustered manager. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to ask that our hotel staff’s employment is secured.” “No, what is that…!” “Oh, if Merlin Gray says he will run the hotel from another world starting now—then I’ll make sure to provide the separate severance allowance.” “Is the severance allowance the issue?” The manager asked as if she was screaming. Isn’t that not the point right now? It seems like that’s what you’re saying— “That’s a big problem…” I know because I only received half of my severance pay from my previous company. Severance pay is a bigger problem than you think. “…I actually bought my mom a new car while working here… Do you have any idea how hard it is to buy a car for my mom while raising two kids?” I don’t know. I haven’t raised them. But I remember the face of the women’s association president in her new car that I saw on my way to the fish market a while ago. The sight of the women’s association president wearing sunglasses and lipstick asking, “Yeongchunjang, do you want a ride?!?” made me shiver, even though I wasn’t her daughter. She looked really happy. “But more importantly, this is the first time I’ve started working without having to worry about it. I used to struggle with whether I should live as a mother, as a daughter, as an employee, or as a person named Kang Miyeon. When work wasn’t enjoyable, I used to struggle a lot with these questions.” I thought about it for a moment. I think I know what the manager is trying to say. “After working at the company like a fighting dog, I always wondered if this was what Kang Miyeon wanted. Is it right to invest time like this when I could be doing my best as a mother, a wife, and a daughter? But here at Yeongchun Hotel, for the first time, I didn’t hesitate. Because this is the right thing.” “….” “If I do my best at this hotel as much as I do as a mother and a daughter, our guests will definitely be happy. I will be happy too. I think the reason I was able to do that is because the boss treated the guests sincerely. Since the boss wanted that kind of hotel, I think we all didn’t have to worry about losing money if we treated the guests sincerely.” “….!” In the manager’s—no, Kang Miyeon’s eyes, there was sincerity. “But if that hotel disappears, me, Sehwan-ssi, and even Hunter Lee Semyung will lose those jobs. It will be heartbreaking. With a heartbreaking heart, I will return to being a mother and a daughter. But boss—aren’t you losing something more than just a job? Something that might be even more important than a job?” Something that could be more important than work. Those ambiguous words struck my heart. While many guests were truly satisfied, resting, and happy at the hotel, I would have been lying if I had just gotten stronger and taken advantage of it. At first, I saved guests out of a sense of indebtedness to the hunters, and treated them as if I was being pushed around because of quests, but gradually I realized. After losing Dad and feeling helpless for a while, the fact that I was needed by someone, this sense of accomplishment, was what kept me alive. But now, can I continue to live without that sense of accomplishment? I said this to that question. With a firm face. “It’s okay if I lose it.” I can live, you know. “…!” The manager’s eyes widened. I saw her biting her lips. What I said wasn’t a lie. It’s okay if I lose it. If I want to continue in the hotel business, I can open another small inn in a corner of the Yeongchun-myeon beach. Just bring in the coffee machine, buy fluffy bedding, and greet the guests by sweeping and cleaning every day with my own strength. It’s painful not to be able to save hunters in danger inside the dungeon with my own strength, but that’s a task that should be left to people like Uncle Junsoo. If I just think about it from my own perspective, now— I don’t plan on losing myself just because I lose something more. The manager, who had been looking at me for a moment, nodded. “…I understand what you mean, boss.” * * * ‘…But I didn’t know the answer would come this quickly.’ Actually, I thought I should drag the conversation out a bit longer. That’s why I was concentrating so that I wouldn’t miss any little things about the Demon King— “Merlin Grey.” I looked at the profile of the man with red hair. Yeah, in just two letters, the man was standing in front of me. The man, who looked even more handsome than when he was the Corrupted Hotel King, smiled as he looked at the Demon King. “‘Guardian of the World,’ huh? My father used to say that you can’t trust those who adorn themselves with grand names.” As he said that, Merlin Grey’s smile disappeared, and I felt a stronger energy from his body than when he was the Corrupted Hotel King. ‘I can feel the mana.’ After coming out of the dungeon that looked like a hotel, I could definitely feel the mana properly in my body. More precisely, it was after completing the strange quest of providing a service that impressed the demons at the demon banquet hall. ‘…My body has become sensitive.’ Is it because I’ve completed the 5-star hotel quest several times? There is someone over there who could answer my questions about the change I’m experiencing, but I couldn’t approach recklessly. The mana flowing out of Merlin Grey’s body was too strong. What happened? Usually, corrupted beings gain greater power with their corruption, but this one feels stronger after being purified. “Crazy brat. Did you really run all the way here just because of that cute human girl? If you have eyes, why don’t you use them? That’s not your wild daughter causing trouble. She’s just a weak woman who happened to find a hotel by chance.” The Demon King said, grabbing my chin. The feeling of his cold fingers gave me goosebumps. I quickly took out a dagger from my goblin pocket and aimed for the Demon King’s finger. “….I’ll take back what I said about being weak.” The Demon King quickly dodged and added, “of course.” “Don’t touch me.” Guardians or not, I won’t let anyone lay a hand on my body. I made that promise. Even if it means dying, I will keep it. While I was making that promise, Merlin looked at me and snickered. “How foolish. A hotel doesn’t just ‘accidentally’ go somewhere and fall. How did you come to think otherwise? Look at her. She’s strong.” The hotel doesn’t ‘accidentally’ go somewhere and fall? So does that mean that my acquisition of the hotel wasn’t a coincidence? What does that mean? But there was no time to ask that question. “And I’m strong too. You should know that, right? I absorbed the power that Georg Schulze had. I had planted a small mark on him. The moment you were summoned, Georg Schulze’s power was destined to flow into me as well.” When Merlin Grey pointed to the place where Georg Schulze had been, light flowed out from there. Then, a runic sentence written like this was engraved into the air. Salvation is self. …What is this? Ah, really. As if reading my absurd expression, Merlin Grey tilted his head. “Don’t be like that. It’s true, isn’t it?” Oh, that’s enough. This reptile displayed consistent character both inside and outside the system, and that was always more helpful… I get King. So, the source of the immense power felt from Merlin Grey’s body was that it was half of Georg Schulze’s power that had been ‘shaken’ off. So it became stronger after being purified. I glanced at the Demon King’s expression. When he had that expressionless face, it meant he was cornered. ‘I can roughly understand this character now.’ I think I understand why the Demon King was wary of Merlin Grey’s appearance. Since they are of the same dragon lineage and use similar magic, he must have noticed it to some extent when he absorbed Georg Schulze’s power. That the power was leaking out somewhere. I stood next to Merlin Grey, watching the Demon King’s face harden more and more. “Do you know? If the world here collapses, the world where your daughter is will also be at risk. The Demon King will absorb more power. So, fight alongside me.” “…?” Merlin stared at me. “You…” Wow. Is this supposed to be touching or something? Did you think I was going to run away? That’s when I thought that. “Did you think I would fight?” “Yes?” “I’m not going to fight, you know?” What kind of nonsense… I got goosebumps all over my body. So you’re saying you’re just going to let this world be destroyed? What kind of reptile are you…! You gave me the hotel. There must be a reason behind that…! And you just did that…! I reached out with my hand, trying to persuade Merlin Grey through action if words failed. But at that moment, the words floating in the air— Salvation is self. This sentence shot quickly into his body. Like a bullet made of light. The moment the bullet hit Merlin Grey’s chest, his eyes flashed white. The Demon King’s muttering was heard from behind. “Ah… that crazy snake b*stard…” …? And when I opened my eyes, I was in a hotel. Important Quest: ‘5-Star Hotel You Can Do It Too (Final Stage): Become the Guardian of the World!’ —A quest to save the world begins. —Any future quests will incur penalties in case of failure. —Penalty: Death of all humanity. With this crappy quest. Tiring! With a cheerful sound, something like this was also created. A new chat room other than the reservation chat room will be activated for the Final Stage quest. The room title will be forcibly assigned. Loading 0%… 30%… 100% Room title: ‘Those who want to destroy the world vs. Those who want to save the world vs. The hotel owner caught in between’ ‘Former hotel owner’ has been invited to the chat room. ‘Hotel owner’ has been invited to the chat room. ‘Demon King’ has been invited to the chat room. Demon King This snake b*stard, you’re using up all your remaining mana to open something like this. I told you to make a human game. F*ck. That’s what I’m saying. Can’t you leave the group room? Hello! You can also buy the advanced chapter in Ko-fi now, just click the ko-fi button and look for the title of the novel in shop. Thank you for your support!
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