Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual Chapter 5

‘And these books are the knowledge recorded by the fanatics back then….’

 

Setting aside the unpleasantness, he opened the book again.

 

It was filled with content that would make any human with normal sensibilities vomit. But there was no choice. In a situation like this, staying in one place meant obsolescence. 

 

“….”

 

The dry sound of the pen nib continued over the notepad. Information was organized step by step. 

 

‘The beginning of learning is imitation.’

 

That didn’t apply only to Coco. He, too, had to imitate the logic of this world. 

 

No matter how horrific the knowledge, at its root lies the purest form of wisdom. Misusing knowledge is always the part of the ugly human; information itself cannot be evil. He had to find that point. 

 

‘First, grasp the familiar system. Fully understanding this text is step one. Extracting practically applicable knowledge is the next stage.’ 

 

In many situations, ignorance becomes a sin. If one lacks the eyes to distinguish what is right and wrong, the creature called human is one who would throw gems into the mud while holding them in their hands.

 

The more one knows, the more the world turns favorable.

 

Precisely speaking, one can make it favorable to oneself.

 

“…I just had a rather terrible thought. If my mind becomes contaminated before I fully understand this book, that would be a troublesome problem in its own right.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“I have an additional question—could you answer it? If you die and come back to life, will that kind of contamination also be automatically ‘restored’ by this game’s convenient system?” 

 

“No.” 

 

“Still, that’s fine. Being contaminated and altered might be more productive than stagnating and rotting away. Expecting perfection from the start is excessive greed, wouldn’t you agree?” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“I’m not such a narcissist that I believe I’m a flawless being to begin with. If I fail, I simply have to improve upon that. It’s not much different from what I’ve done until now.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“In times like this, I feel that you are on my side.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo rolled his eyes dryly.

 

“Why is that?”

 

He saw a lump of shadow stretched out on the desk. 

 

Coco wagged its tail. It was staring intently at the bizarre sentences in the book Lee Yeonwoo had opened to study, as if it were decoding them.

 

“Why are you favorable toward me?” 

 

“Favorable.” 

 

“You’re doing well—you’re getting used to using intonation. Very commendable.” 

 

To solve the mystery regarding Coco, he needed to know more. 

 

In the first place, why did this game become real and manifest in reality? Why Lee Yeonwoo, of all people—who was kidnapped? Was all this a natural disaster, or someone’s conspiracy?

 

And it seems… a bit too early to know that. 

 

“….”

 

After reading for a while. He pressed his temples firmly.

 

“…If I’d known it would come to this, I would have gone to medical school….” 

 

For someone from a life sciences background, the hurdle was a bit high.

 

“Can I really understand this just by having read a few case reports?” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“I don’t think I can. Does the computer here not work?” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“If you would at least let me use the internet, it would be a rather decent consolation.” 

 

“No.”

 

* * *

 

The books mostly dealt with human experimentation.

 

“As the hotel’s background was ‘a facility to worship and research foreign gods’… it does seem the largest branch heads in that direction.”

 

Are they insane?

 

“I used to be at the forefront of engineering students, and now I’m about to end up studying theology of all things. What a strange twist of fate. Don’t you think so, Coco?”

 

“No.” 

 

“Do you have no pity?”

 

However, he had grown accustomed to this level of indifference. Lee Yeonwoo spoke as he organized the documents. 

 

“Although you probably already know, in general, various research was conducted primarily based on the influence of Foreign God.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“From the weaponization of living organisms to the biologization of weapons, all the way to the methods of creating artificial humans… From a purely academic perspective, it’s quite a provocative curriculum. It’s quite an excellent textbook, in its own way.” 

 

“No.” 

 

“Correct. It’s to the point I’d feel sorry for these bundles of paper to call them textbooks. These are less books and more like the scrapbooks of madmen.”

 

Not to mention the way his mind became contaminated as if covered in filth every time he read them. 

 

“It is an arrogant monologue that has no regard whatsoever for understanding others.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Rude authors who haven’t even mastered the minimum requirements for a scholar….”

 

Still, the depth of knowledge the narrator possessed was worth acknowledging.

 

It’s not once or twice that I’ve developed status ailments while reading, but setting aside the negative level of humanity. Knowledge. Just that much.

 

When he began to understand the content of the books to some extent, he realized.

 

“To summarize, it is black magic in a metaphorical sense—more accurately, a manipulation technology based on genetics and rituals with blood as the medium….” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Since it uses blood, a blood… Ma….” 

 

“Ma?” 

 

“….” 

 

“Blood Magic?”

 

Setting aside Coco, who was uttering a name that sounded like it belonged in a different genre. 

 

“…Am I unable to keep up with modern sensibilities these days?”

 

A sense of powerlessness and skepticism washed over him. He’s someone who stood in line to buy Dubai Chewy Cookies, you know.

 

‘No, there’s no way this is the modern sensibility.’ 

 

Come to think of it, ‘this sensibility’ was born long before Lee Yeonwoo himself. To define it, it’s the sense of our ancestors.

 

‘Then, by any chance, was the author suffering from severe puberty?’

 

That wasn’t it either. It wasn’t just one author speaking like this about things like black magic or blood magic. However, uttering words like these out loud was a little… difficult. 

 

It was subject matter he hadn’t even touched during his hot-blooded teenage years. 

 

‘Now I’ve ended up in a position of learning it seriously.’ 

 

Since it was disgusting deep down and embarrassing on the surface, it was chaotic in every way. The very fact that a middle-aged engineer well into his forties had to study such topics felt like a very malicious joke.

 

“….”

 

He calmed himself.

 

‘…My thinking has become too rigid. There probably isn’t a more rational name than this for this study. Come to think of it, images that some teenagers might like were probably plastered on top of this cruel knowledge.’

 

And above all,

 

‘If my blood pressure rises and I die again, I’m the only one who loses.’ 

 

Being swayed by emotions and throwing his life away was a luxury he wasn’t permitted. 

 

“…Ha.”

 

Thinking that way made him feel a bit more at ease. More accurately, he made himself feel at ease. 

 

This body could die from pure emotion alone. Even if it’s bothersome, it must be handled carefully. I couldn’t endure that shame of dying from blood pressure again.

 

“First of all, I understand that this isn’t content that can be mastered overnight.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Setting my prejudices aside, the layers of knowledge are quite thick. If utilized well, it could be used quite usefully.” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“….”

 

Just in case, he added.

 

“…That doesn’t mean I intend to invite human guests and try practicing it, so please don’t misunderstand. It was a field of study that would be difficult for me to utilize immediately anyway.” 

 

“No.” 

 

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

 

Anyway, it wasn’t bad.

 

‘No, morally it’s a failing grade, but as a tool, it’s quite excellent.’

 

He didn’t know yet where this knowledge was used in this hotel. He wasn’t at a stage where he could know that. But it was a process of exploring new knowledge related to this hotel. 

 

The process of solving the questions one harbored by oneself always gives a sense of euphoria. If the content hadn’t been like this, Lee Yeonwoo could have been a bit more normally happy.

 

“….”

 

So, this is what he ended up saying at this point, 

 

“…Magic, huh. I thought it was only the domain of fantasy, but surprisingly, it actually has substance.” 

 

Power based on constant laws and repeatability. If so, this magic too could be classified as a form of technology. 

 

“Yes.”

 

Coco affirmed.

 

“It had substance.” 

 

“That is surprising news, in many ways….”

 

This was not a domain that could be improvised as a mere game setting. 

 

‘It is a high-level academic field, established over a long period like science or mathematics.’ 

 

He could be certain at this point.

 

“This isn’t a game becoming reality. It’s just that reality has accepted the rules of the game.” 

 

It surpassed a classic metafictional collision. External reality and in-game settings were coexisting without friction.

 

“….” 

 

“In other words, it is possible to infer that someone designed this massive frame with a clear intention.”

 

‘Something’ that clearly exists in this world borrowed ancient wisdom and technology to drag a virtual game into reality.

 

“And I got caught up in it.”

 

But why me, of all people?

 

‘While magic exists, there’s no guarantee there isn’t a concept of karma… but even so, unless my past life was a traitor to my country, isn’t the current situation quite malicious?’

 

He prided himself on having lived as a diligent, ordinary citizen who wanted for nothing.

 

“….” 

 

“Hello….” 

 

“Yes, hello.”

 

It wasn’t that he wasn’t angry, but he restrained himself for the healthy purpose of blood pressure management. He didn’t want to repeat that humiliating sudden death. 

 

“…I understand well that I need to delve into this field more deeply. Even if I don’t know what kind of design I’ve been caught in, since I’ve been thrown into an unknown world, wouldn’t it be fair for me to at least prepare some minimum self-rescue measures?”

 

Of course, it would take a long time to even reach the level of being ‘fair.’

 

“….” 

 

“Sometimes, precisely established knowledge is more valid than crude physical force.”

 

Since Lee Yeonwoo currently lacked any means to develop much power, abundant knowledge was the only key to increasing response possibilities and options.

 

“Now that I’ve confirmed that the magic described here can take on this degree of aggression, the possibilities are endless. Beyond simple defense, I could build a completely new system… or efficiently reconstruct these disorganized techniques.”

 

So, he will continue to study. Yet, a lingering discomfort remained.

 

“So I am asking,”

 

He looked at the black cat.

 

“Who was it?”

 

“….”

 

“You are favorable to me, Coco.”

 

He know that much well.

 

“Although it’s far from universal human ethics and our opinions often diverge, you basically respect and treat me well. Yet, there are times when you cannot help me at the decisive moment.”

 

Why?

 

“Who is limiting us?”

 

That certain functional restrictions are placed on Coco and the others within this system. 

 

If such a hypothesis is established, it suggests the existence of an independent ‘higher rule’ system that exceeds individual will.

 

“Are you trapped here, too?”

 

“….”

 

“…I don’t know if you’re aware, but our cute teacher has a nasty habit of remaining silent whenever a question is difficult to answer. It’s a petty thing to say, but sometimes it’s quite irritating.”

 

“….”

 

“I hope we are on the same side, but well.”

 

He doesn’t know.

 

“When will I be able to leave?”

 

There was still no answer.

 

* * *

 

“….”

 

No matter how he looked at it, it seemed he had no intention of accepting human guests.

 

“….”

 

It’s a fact he had guessed. He knew it would end up like this. This is that type of human. He cannot endure his own incompetence.

 

“….”

 

Many things are included in this one’s ‘incompetence.’

 

Unable to protect others. Causing trouble to others. Not being diligent. Getting caught up in situations.

 

Everything outside of control.

 

“….”

 

As expected.

 

It has to be you.

 

You. It has to be you, after all. I need you. It’s you.

 

Justification. Justification. Justification. This one must take responsibility for this place. The fit. Must catch. Cannot let go. Trap him. The only fit. Justification. Needed. Reason. Disaster. A reason to accept things outside of control. The choice at the edge of the cliff. Righteousness. Control.

 

The hotel must be maintained. The beginning is important. It must not break. Needed. Must persist. Must develop and grow. Help is needed. Help. The fit. Help me. You can do it. Game, game. Like back then. Must grow large. It will grow large. How should it be done.

 

Human guest. You. Human, protect. In that case, use.

 

Use. Utilize.

 

“….”

 

“….” 

 

“….”

 

Found it.

 

The human guest.