Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual Chapter 55

He fitted the elevator button into the empty slot. Click. With a pleasant sound of friction, the button settled into place and immediately lit up.

 

The only key to reaching the 14th floor.

 

“….”

 

With his gloved hand, Lee Yeonwoo lightly caressed that light for a moment. Applying a gentle pressure, he pressed it, and soon the elevator began to glide upward.

 

“….”

 

After a few seconds passed, and the elevator doors opened.

 

“…As expected….”

 

“Yes.”

 

“It will be difficult right now.”

 

What unfolded before his eyes was a passage shrouded in a desolate chill, its lights completely extinguished. 

 

“It will take quite some time to reach the Central Control Room.” 

 

“Hello?”

 

“I don’t think reaching there is impossible. Even though my physical condition is at its absolute worst, did I not clear Room 14 safely nonetheless?” 

 

“That is correct.”

 

“I merely meant that it isn’t an issue to be resolved by rushing in haste.” 

 

As much as his body was frail, he had to secure ample time to substitute for it. 

 

“At the very least, I must devise a plan so I do not die.”

 

“That is correct.” 

 

“Good grief….”

 

Lee Yeonwoo rolled his eyes dryly.

 

“They certainly have a knack for wearing a person out.”

 

* * *

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

“…Hello?”

 

Adjusting his glasses, Lee Yeonwoo answered calmly.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“Ing.”

 

“I am truly fine.” 

 

It was just that the current situation, standing in the middle of the dining hall’s main kitchen, was slightly absurd.

 

“It’s not that I lacked an interest in cooking, but I never expected to dive into the food service industry in earnest like this. They say running an independent business is so difficult these days, so I never imagined such a future for myself.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Of course, I have been mentally preparing for the past five years. Thanks to you kidnapping me and installing me as the manager of this hotel, even ancillary facilities like the restaurant have fallen within the scope of what I must oversee.”

 

“Iing.”

 

“Acting cute is not going to brush this matter aside. However, out of courtesy to you as a co-owner on equal footing, I shall let it slide just this once.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo swept his gaze over the kitchen staff. It was the result of the employees lining up with geometric precision the moment he stepped in. Even an army would likely not be drilled to such sharp angles.

 

“….”

 

When he gave the bell a light shake, the employees scattered to their respective stations as if on cue. Two of them approached, guided him to an open workstation, handed him an apron, and soundlessly returned to their duties.

 

Having gained a place to cook thanks to this, Lee Yeonwoo spoke.

 

“…I am feeling a sensation somewhere between convenience and strangeness.” 

 

“No.”

 

“Even if you tell me there is no need, from my perspective as a former ordinary office worker, I cannot help it. My humble, commoner ego is trembling. I wonder if something similar happens at the conglomerate owned by Mr. Baek Moojin.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“I have no intention of implementing it, so do not get your hopes up. Though I cited Baeksan Enterprise as an example, it was literally just an example. If something like this actually occurred, the lower-level employees would all stage a revolt.”

 

“No?”

 

“This hotel truly needs to start by offering the four major insurances.”

 

Yet, it was true that it was convenient. To be able to assign duties to the staff with just a single ring of a bell, without specific instructions. In whatever sense, it was proof that they and Lee Yeonwoo were connected.

 

‘Ever since completing the tutorial, this kind of comprehensive communication has grown even stronger.’

 

Though bizarre, arguing that it defied common sense was futile at this point.

 

‘Let’s do what I came to do.’

 

Lee Yeonwoo tied on the apron. It was a plain, solid black square apron.

 

“This is my first time cooking in earnest since Baek Mujin-ssi.” 

 

“Yes!”

 

“Coco, your role is very significant. Quite a few failures will precede a successful dish, and you will have to eat every single one of those failed creations.”

 

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

 

“How surprising that you are so thrilled. At this rate, you’ll be laughing before long.”

 

“Hee-hee.”

 

“…?”

 

Lee Yeonwoo turned to look at Coco.

 

“Did you just laugh?”

 

“Ing?”

 

“Let us… move on for now.”

 

“Yes.”

 

A child could laugh, after all. He gathered his scattered thoughts once more.

 

“First, we must buy back the time that was reduced because of the variable known as myself.”

 

“Hello?”

 

“If that is difficult as you say, I must at least create a pretext so that he cannot kill me.” 

 

The Crimson Core ritual had already succeeded. It was not merely spilt water, but water that had evaporated, meaning it could never be gathered back up. As a result, Lee Yeonwoo had chosen the path leading to the kitchen.

 

“Normally in situations like this, one uses two strategies. Providing a substitute, or becoming the goose that lays the golden eggs. If it cannot be avoided, one must find a way not to be treated recklessly.” 

 

“Oh.”

 

“Hearing you marvel like that makes me embarrassed. There is nothing to be surprised about. It’s a common way of navigating the world that anyone knows. Yet even though I said this, providing something to replace me is practically impossible in reality.” 

 

Naturally.

 

“What the ‘Guest Without Taste’ desires is a completed Belmares. Coveting a successful work because he himself is an incomplete failure is as absurd as the First Emperor of Qin drinking mercury in pursuit of eternal youth… yet in a way, a plausible desire.”

 

Blood Magic is a field perfected through devouring and being devoured. Indeed, the possibility existed that by consuming Lee Yeonwoo, the ‘Guest Without Taste’ could achieve completion.

 

“Of course, this is quite a gamble for that side as well. Even if he consumes me, would my ill-tempered blood obediently allow itself to be absorbed?”

 

“No!”

 

“It’s embarrassing since it amounts to speaking ill of a part of myself, but yes, that’s correct. Even the portion of blood lost in Room 14 is something the ‘Guest Without Taste’ has not yet digested.” 

 

“Hello.”

 

“That is also correct. Placed before the sole success case that is me, it would be a shame not to even attempt it. Even if the risk of being counter-devoured is great.”

 

It wasn’t a pleasant matter. 

 

“Since the blood superiority lies on this side, even if I am devoured, the likelihood of taking control of the opponent in reverse is high, but well. I have no wish to throw myself into such a gamble without cause.”

 

At that, Coco stared at Lee Yeonwoo.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Room 14 was a different matter.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“It was different.”

 

“No?”

 

“Tsk.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo clicked his tongue dryly.

 

“…Indeed, it is enough that the gamble succeeded by luck in Room 14.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Back then, because the monster’s sense of self was faint, I was able to swallow it, but the ‘Guest Without Taste’ is an opponent on an entirely different level, is he not? The foremost priority on this side is that ‘I’ do not die.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“In the end, since I can neither give myself up nor make him a Belmares, only one method remains.”

 

“Golden egg?”

 

“That is correct. I must become an existence too precious to dare lay a hand on.” 

 

Fortunately, the ‘Guest Without Taste’ possessed enough intelligence not to slit the belly of the goose. The proof was his slyness in refraining from lunging forward even after having already tasted Lee Yeonwoo’s blood, instead holding out the severed hand and lying.

 

“Then the key now is what sort of golden egg we should present.”

 

Something alluring enough to buy time, or to guarantee survival.

 

The fortunate part was that the most precious value to the opponent was gastronomy. Had he prized honor or protocol more, an approach of this sort could never have been considered.

 

‘So if I can satisfy that part….’

 

Lee Yeonwoo sank into thought.

 

“….”

 

“Hello.”

 

“Yes, certainly… he doesn’t give the impression that such petty tricks would work well on him. A negotiation relying on the vague goodwill of an opponent roughly guessed holds a high possibility of failure, or even a high probability of backfiring completely.” 

 

If the opponent was an aristocrat with sophisticated intellect, there was no way he would be satisfied with a mere plate of food and step down. Rather, this exquisite hospitality could turn into poison that further stoked the opponent’s desire.

 

The possibility of misjudgment, or the probability of a backfire.

 

“It could be quite dangerous,”

 

Having shared all those variables of failure in his head, Coco asked.

 

“Hello?”

 

“No, but even so, that is no reason not to do what can be done.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo quietly curled up the corners of his mouth.

 

“The world is divided among those who make the attempt.”

 

Whether it would turn out to be a misjudgment or an unexpected masterstroke was impossible to know, but Lee Yeonwoo quietly drew a knife.

 

A red film caught the light and shimmered across the keen blade.

 

[Time of Butchery]

 

[Warm blood has seeped into every pore of the metal, staining it crimson. Blood swallowed until no more could be drunk is now being vomited back out. You may place your trust in this blade forged amidst flesh, bone, and screams.]

 

[When crafting dishes for a specific guest, quality grade increases by +1] 

 

Lee Yeonwoo recited calmly.

 

“So, let’s give it a try.”

 

He had to satisfy the palate of the ‘Guest Without Taste.’

 

* * *

 

Lee Yeonwoo fed food into Coco’s mouth as he asked.

 

“How does it taste?”

 

“It is delicious.”

 

“Would it be delicious if an ordinary person ate it?” 

 

“No.”

 

“Dear me.”

 

A failure, then.

 

Lee Yeonwoo took solace in watching Coco happily accept and eat it, sinking into deliberation once more. 

 

“As expected, it seems difficult to anticipate a high-level result from the rudimentary ingredients of early gameplay.”

 

The objective was to allow the ‘Guest Without Taste’ to experience once again the ‘taste’ he had felt back when he was an intact human. If he could finally perceive the flavor of an ordinary meal upon eating it, that would be a success.

 

“Since he is also a kind of blood mass, I have been attempting combinations using the sensations I felt when drinking blood as clues, but…. Then again, there is no way an experiment of this sort could conclude in a day or two. That was something I had already taken into account.”

 

While he believed nothing was impossible, this too ultimately belonged to the realm of research. There was woefully little physical leeway to produce specimens one by one and verify the results.

 

“I believe we should conclude the first round of experiments here.”

 

“No?”

 

“You have already eaten enough.” 

 

It was fortunate the staff helped out; otherwise, the kitchen would have been paralyzed long ago. The dishes he made already exceeded a hundred, and the combinations he had mapped out in advance had all ended in failure long since. 

 

Lee Yeonwoo touched his lips.

 

“As expected… I’ll have to utilize the hunting ground.” 

 

A space existing beneath the hotel: the ‘Hunting Grounds.’

 

It was a special zone for acquiring cooking ingredients or nightmare resources. Though he had never utilized it for such a purpose, ingredients capable of satisfying the ‘Guest Without Taste’ certainly existed there.

 

“I had intended to go after completing my physical improvement, but considering it carefully, it seemed safer than the path heading toward the central control room.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“I have something to rely on in my own way, after all.”

 

Lee Yeonwoo lifted a plate.

 

“Let us head to the Aqua Park, Coco.”

 

“Yes.”

 

In the end, the world runs on connections.

 

* * *

 

“Friend.”

 

“….”

 

At his call, the ‘Wet Person’ poked its head above the surface of the water.

 

“….”

 

“Yes, good to see you. It didn’t take too long, did it?”

 

“….”

 

“If so, that is a relief.”

 

Today, it was a male form. Its hair hanging long like seaweed was the same, but its countenance was fiercer than last time. He briefly wondered what the criteria were for determining its appearance, but soon brushed it from his mind.

 

Lee Yeonwoo offered the plate he had prepared.

 

“I would like to ask for some help, and feeling embarrassed to make a request empty-handed, I brought some food. I am not sure whether it will suit your taste, however.”

 

The dish on the plate was a fluffily baked soufflé cake.

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

The guest was thoroughly delighted.

 

‘What a relief.’

 

It seemed this palate had not changed.

 

“I was worried that as the hotel changed in this manner, your tastes might have changed as well.”

 

“….”

 

“Yes, I am glad as well. Seeing you enjoy it so deliciously makes it rewarding for the person who made it.”

 

“….”

 

“Ah… the whipped cream? If you wish, I can increase the amount, but is it not too sweet?”

 

“….”

 

“I see.”

 

Prior to the contract, the ‘Wet Person’ was a guest who did not take meals. But after the contract, it primarily enjoyed sweet desserts. The compendium description came to mind: that it craved tastes directly opposite to the briny sea.

 

‘Even so, it loves sugar far too much.’

 

Do water ghosts get adult diseases too?

 

‘Surely that wouldn’t happen.’

 

Lee Yeonwoo picked up Coco, who was eyeing someone else’s soufflé cake. He caught and restrained its flailing, soft front paws. It surely had a black hole attached to its stomach.

 

Was it that Western souls were mingled in after all? Or had it acquired this with age? Watching it naturally enjoy dessert with a fork and knife, Lee Yeonwoo added.

 

“I will bring some from time to time.”

 

Because they were friends, for now.

 

‘I must take responsibility for the relationship.’

 

Even if it ate meals, the ‘Wet Person’ never directly visited the restaurant even after the contract. It was only natural, as it was an entity that suffered numerous inconveniences once outside the water.

 

“Even in the past, you never took the initiative to eat unless I brought it to you.”

 

“….”

 

“In the water… if you ask like that, I shall do some research so that there is no change in taste even if consumed underwater. It will certainly bring peace of mind to dine in a comfortable place, after all.”

 

“….”

 

“Well, I imagine it might take some time. There are far too many tasks to handle immediately.” 

 

“….”

 

“Yes.”

 

Checking the empty dish, Lee Yeonwoo brought up the main topic.

 

“Will you assist me with hunting?” 

 

The water ghost smiled deeply.