Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual Chapter 48

Lee Yeonwoo was a light eater and a gourmet. It was the result of a palate that grew increasingly fastidious in proportion to his loathing for the sensation of being full.

 

“To think the day would come when my palate finally adjusts to blood.” “Hello?” “I find myself wondering what kind of human I am if I’m ‘doing well’ while like this….”

 

Lee Yeonwoo bit into another blood pack. It was already his thirteenth.

 

‘This feeling of having become a vampire.’

 

An unbearable sense of self-loathing washed over him. Irritation and fatigue welled up, but even those were chilled into silence by the vivid taste of blood touching the tip of his tongue. It was a cycle of contradictions.

 

‘But is this not the natural result? Fresh blood would be the most perfect nutrient for my current body. Furthermore, I feel none of the revulsion of autophagy—the act of licking up my own spilled blood.’

 

The issue was that, because his perception of blood magic had heightened, information regarding the blood was read the moment he drank it. Details such as a man in his sixties, or a woman in her forties, for example. 

 

Unexpectedly, most of the packs stored in this refrigerator contained the blood of middle-aged or elderly people.

 

“Mhm.” 

 

It was nauseating. He was quite troubled by being forced to acquire information that he would have been better off not knowing.

 

‘Even so, my situation is too dire not to drink it.’ 

 

According to the records, consuming blood through the mouth was an extremely rudimentary technique. However, he had no desire to become proficient in such an act. It was a dilemma.

 

“Still, it’s better to process the aversion than to suffer the penalty of death once more. If I resurrect here one more time, I might not even be able to maintain a human form.” 

 

“Blood pack. Blood pack.” 

 

“It’s a bit chilling when you emphasize that word.”

 

But her words held logic. He set aside the empty packs, drained of every last drop, and pulled more fresh blood packs from the refrigerator. Approximately thirty of them.

 

“It feels truly strange that I’m not even getting a water bloat.”

 

Since he was absorbing it rather than merely eating it, it was natural in a way.

 

‘It means it spreads throughout the entire body, not just the stomach.’ 

 

To restore a broken and scattered physical form, a mere dozen packs were nowhere near enough. The cause was his poor conversion efficiency due to his clumsy operation of Blood Magic.

 

It wasn’t a problem that could be solved simply by swallowing blood.

 

“It seems it will take some time.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“A conversion process is required.” 

 

When consuming another’s blood, there is a process to substitute it entirely into ‘me.’ Unless that is performed first, it is no different than temporarily storing someone else’s blood in a leather sack called a body.

 

Whether it was a trick of his mind, his head throbbed with a dull ache. 

 

“Can’t something like this be automated?” 

 

Once he obtained control over the central control room, he would have to research this algorithm first. It was truly a field that required much study. This damned Blood Magic.

 

“However, this thought occurred to me. Listen, Coco.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Right now, I can grasp general information when I drink blood, can’t I? At the very least, I seem to be able to distinguish age and gender without difficulty.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“As my knowledge of Blood Magic deepens, will I be able to perceive even more detailed areas? Things like underlying conditions—diabetes or gout—or even specific personal details….” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“It sounds convenient, but for now, I find it regrettable.” 

 

This was a clear invasion of privacy.

 

Lee Yeonwoo resolved that he must strictly refrain from direct blood consumption from others. In the first place, it would have been difficult to even attempt had the blood not been in the processed state of blood packs.

 

“I should draw my own blood in advance on a regular basis.” 

 

“Ing.” 

 

“Do I not have the bed in the administrator quarters? As long as I draw only as much as won’t kill me, I can easily recover from a bit of anemia.”

 

Blood would be replenished just by sleeping once.

 

“I’ll need to determine the maximum amount of blood that can be drawn without reaching a lethal dose. Having roughly gauged my limit through this event, it shouldn’t be difficult. Now then, to prepare the blood collection equipment…” 

 

Wait, blood collection equipment? 

 

“…?”

 

Was there such a thing?

 

“No.” 

 

“Are they not in the interface store either?” 

 

“No.” 

 

“I asked because it wasn’t in my memory either.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

Things had become troublesome.

 

“At this point, I don’t care about the process of drawing blood, but if blood is stored externally without vacuum packaging, it will certainly oxidize or denature. There are limits even to refrigeration.”

 

No matter how much it was ‘my’ blood that had undergone the conversion process, it was difficult to avoid biological deterioration.

 

“Furthermore, it is currently summer… Of course, the hotel itself always maintains a pleasant temperature, but this doesn’t seem like a problem that can be handled that way.” “Yes.” “This isn’t an area I can solve through sheer willpower.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo stood up with a pack still in his mouth. He adjusted his disheveled gloves. The hand that had been severed was already perfectly restored.

 

“….” 

 

“Yes?” 

 

“Mhm.”

 

Coco successfully understood the muffled affirmative answer given while biting the pack.

 

‘While I’m at it, I’ll take some blood collection tools too.’ 

 

“Yes?” 

 

‘Unless it can be delivered via courier to this address, stay quiet.’

 

“Yes!” 

 

‘It is possible?’ 

 

“Yes!” 

 

‘Even if it is, that’s also a problem.’

 

Who were they planning to kill this time? The delivery driver? Lee Yeonwoo could not accept that.

 

* * *

 

….

 

….

 

…It constitutes the core central body forming the ritual of blood-entity transfer, functioning as a fixed point that determines the direction of restoration within the ritual structure. 

 

It does not merely play the role of a caster or priest, but exists as the structure itself that the blood chooses to remember, and is often mistranslated as the master of the blood.

 

This corresponds to the First Memory Pillar in the restoration point sector of the structural formula. All blood-entity rituals initiate a regressive restoration using its memory as the origin point. The blood of Ridmar operates as a circulatory medium refining the path, emotions, and instructional information of that regression. 

 

Some of the blood-script commands act as declaratory phrases that make the blood recognize this, and the blood calls upon them first when it seeks to protect itself. Do not allow the boundary between the two to collapse. Malfunction and coagulation must not be tolerated.

 

This is a structure. You shall remember it and become it once more. Ridmar is emotion. You shall harbor that blood and refrain from speech. This signifies the position of circulation, not qualification. Worship him.

 

From the moment you stand in that place, blood is no longer something to be restored. It comes to choose the target to be restored on its own. Please, remember that….

 

Remember….

 

….

 

“Ah.” 

 

“Ah.” 

 

“Ah.”

 

Ah?

 

“May I eat,”

 

Teacher?

 

* * *

 

“…!”

 

Lee Yeonwoo suddenly stopped and looked back.

 

“….”

 

“Hello?” 

 

“…Hah.”

 

Holding Coco under his arm with one arm, Lee Yeonwoo let out an exasperated sigh mixed with disgust. 

 

“The guest who likes blood has approached quite closely.”

 

“Yes?” 

 

“Because he consumed so much of my blood, it seems I have begun to mix with that side to some extent as well. I read a portion of that guest.” 

 

“Yes?” 

 

“If the synchronization rate has risen this much, it means the amount he consumed is quite substantial. He likely swept through the remains I left in the ventilation passage. It would have been better if his gaze remained tied to the blood I scattered for luring… what a pity.” 

 

“Ing.” 

 

“I agree. No matter how much he likes blood, the ‘Guest Without Taste’ shouldn’t have this much gluttony. If a pursuit has dragged on this long, he normally would have given up.” 

 

“Iing.” 

 

“I don’t know what part of my blood he found so charming.”

 

When he tasted it himself, the flavor wasn’t particularly pleasant. He didn’t know if it was due to the revulsion of autophagy or if it was truly a terrible taste.

 

What was certain was that the ‘Guest Without Taste’ was heading exactly in this direction, following only Lee Yeonwoo’s scent of blood. He moved through the darkness with swifter steps.

 

“I saw a teaching about a certain ritual within his memories. It seems there was a specific teacher he studied under, and from what I know, it was a part of the Crimson Core. It was content organized far more sophisticatedly and cleanly than the records in the quarters.” 

 

“Hello?” 

 

“I’m not as confused as I expected. I clearly recognize that this is a dangerous situation, but strangely, it doesn’t feel dangerous. Rather, I even feel a bizarre confidence that I could devour the opponent as they are. I need to be wary of this.” 

 

“….”

 

Coco, tucked under his arm, kicked her four paws as if swimming.

 

“No.” 

 

“You say no?” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Your faith is excessive.”

 

He wasn’t that sturdy of an existence. Not in body, nor in mind. If he made a mistake, he could end up merging with a part of the guest’s ego, causing irreparable pollution.

 

“It’s not a pleasant feeling either.”

 

He felt a pressure as if trapped inside narrow, suffocating, hot, and damp flesh.

 

“My blood also has many… complaints regarding him.”

 

The arrogance that it would tear apart this troublesome, impudent outer skin, and swallow down all of those brains, heart, and nerves scrambled his mind. 

 

That was not Lee Yeonwoo’s own will. He ignored that sensation.

 

‘Conceited enough to think it can do anything when it can’t even gauge the opponent properly.’

 

If the guest were easy to handle, he wouldn’t be going through all this trouble to avoid him in the first place. The guest was strong, and Lee Yeon-woo possessed a body that would crumble at the slightest touch. 

 

“It’s quite distressing… having my thoughts and will diverge as if I’ve developed a split personality.” 

 

“Hello?” 

 

“It is difficult to give a definitive answer, but the blood that has separated from my body has such terrible control. I merely vaguely hope it is an aspect that can be improved through research or training.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Haa…” 

 

Someone else’s memories flickered before his eyes like an afterimage. The process of how a man, whose only weapon was arrogance, degenerated into a monster flashed past like a panorama.

 

‘There was no such content in the game.’

 

This, too, must be the influence of the hotel becoming reality.

 

“I understand the situation. However, at this rate, the monster on this side and the monster on that side might encounter each other head-on. Coco, what is your view?” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“As expected then.” 

 

It wasn’t just the ‘Guest Without Taste’ pursuing Lee Yeonwoo. This Room 14 event was, from the beginning, a scenario where a chase was scheduled.

 

And he was facing the first pursuit.

 

“….”

 

Step.

 

Lee Yeonwoo came to a halt at the edge of a precipice.

 

“…It’s much higher than what I felt in the game.” 

 

“Ing?” 

 

“I mean that is how it appears from my field of vision.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Yes.”

 

Far below the dizzying height, dark red flowing water was swirling.

 

“It’s considerably fast….”

 

It wasn’t simple contaminated water. Pieces of flesh and organs of unknown shape drifted on the surface like flotsam. The first pursuit takes place right inside that water.

 

In the early stage of the event, the ‘Hand Monster’ that had been split off beyond the isolation shutter would reach up its hands from holes throughout the water facilities. All to seize Lee Yeonwoo.

 

‘Not that I’ll die in this pursuit anyway.’

 

There is only one route in this section where the player dies.

 

‘Drowning.’

 

Suffocation due to water.

 

But for Lee Yeonwoo, who was currently contracted with a water ghost and whose body itself was turning into blood, death by suffocation was a story far removed from him. He planned to utilize the given environment as much as possible since things had turned out this way.

 

Lee Yeonwoo adjusted his hold on Coco. Her two round eyes stared at him.

 

“Will you be alright, Coco? The flow will be quite fast.” 

 

“Yes!” 

 

“If you say so, then.” 

 

Lee Yeonwoo threw himself into the abyss without hesitation.

 

“Let’s go for a bit of a swim.”

 

Splash—!!

 

* * *

 

“….” 

 

“…Hello.”

 

They were inside nauseating water, yet the voice flowed out with extreme tranquility.

 

“Friend.”

 

A tail, so long and massive it seemed to fill the entire waterway, swallowed Lee Yeonwoo’s vision. Subsequently, a mouth tore open, revealing sharp teeth.

 

The fish trapped in the water mimicked Lee Yeonwoo’s words.

 

“Friend.” 

 

“….” 

 

“Hello?”

 

It was the ‘Wet Man,’ whom he hadn’t seen for a while.