Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 236

230. Goblin NOM 

 

Should I go back…?

 

While it was concerning that the baby Junghyo fans were occupying the hotel and demanding to see me, I couldn’t help but feel— 

 

The guest room is fine.

 

The lounge is fine.

 

The cafe is also fine.

 

I held the last invitation spat out by the envelope from the Yeongchun Hotel.

 

In any case, there is generally nothing wrong with the hotel. Just a little…

 

These words followed the traces of hesitation.

 

I miss you.

 

– Toto

 

Because I also want to go back to my staff and the hotel. 

 

There is a place to return to, a place I must return to, and a place I want to return to.

 

This clear fact made me feel a little strange.

 

I was always the one waiting, but now it was because I thought there was a place I wanted to return to. 

 

It feels faintly distant to see myself from the days when I waited for someone who wouldn’t come. 

 

I guess the world is really unpredictable.

 

I thought that way and started a simple checkout behind the wooden counter designated at the front desk.

 

It was a quiet time between lunch and dinner, with all the dining guests having left and the drink customers not yet arriving. 

 

For guests who had suddenly lost their way in the forest, we inevitably received sweet potatoes, pheasants, and other in-kind items as lodging fees. 

 

However, the number of guests who had recently increased was that they were women who had lost their way, and they had been collecting money because they wanted to see the grim reaper and the tiger spirit, so they paid for their meals and lodging without fail.

 

‘I’m sorry I can only offer this.’

 

Leaving behind such strange words. 

 

Thanks to that, the total profit for ten days was 30 nyang.

 

I don’t know how much it would be in terms of current currency value, but Gildal said with an emotional voice.

 

“The goblin tavern is making money!”

 

The fact that money was coming out of the tavern that was on the verge of collapse seemed to be a joy.

 

“Even 30 nyang!”

 

“Is that a lot of money?”

 

“Of course. And regardless of whether there’s a lot of money or a little, the Goblin Tavern has always been unable to avoid deficits thanks to Bihyeong.” 

 

I tilted my head at that.

 

“But I heard he won a lot of bets during that time, right? Since the game we bet on was unfamiliar to me, I can understand that, but here you usually play Go or chess, so your winning percentage should have been quite high.” 

 

“Isn’t that so?”

 

Gildal shook his finger as if my judgment was wrong.

 

“No matter how high the winning percentage is, isn’t it common sense that you lose once out of ten games? But that Bihyeong… No, Lord Bihyeong would get so arrogant whenever he won, pushing his opponents to raise the stakes each time. Then he keeps playing until he loses.” 

 

He keeps playing until he loses?

 

I frowned. Then Gildal said happily.

 

“Right, isn’t that strange?”

 

“Yes? Yes…well…” 

 

“This means that for every loss his opponent suffers, Lord Bihyeong also loses something in return.” 

 

Bihyeong also lost something, huh?

 

I turned around and looked at Bihyeong in the painting. He was drunk and now sleeping. 

 

Zzzzz…

 

Was that guy running away over there also related to ‘something he lost’? 

 

“Did Bihyeong happen to lose a lot just before he disappeared?”

 

When I asked, Gildal tilted his head.

 

“Just before Lord Bihyeong disappeared? At that time, he was quite busy betting with the guest in Room 303… I don’t think he lost any bets during that time…” 

 

Gildal took out a wooden board from under the counter as if he was familiar with it.

 

The shape of several grooves resembling sticks, painted with red or blue dye, looked quite familiar to me as a modern person.

 

‘Scoreboard.’

 

Perhaps Gildal created scoreboards like that every time Bihyeong played to serve as a fair judge. 

 

Well, if I were to make a bet with Bihyeong, I would have let Gildal be the referee. Gildal is a goblin who can’t lie. 

 

But there was something strange about the scoreboard Gildal was holding right now.

 

三⚪三

 

In the slot next to the letters that said 303— 

 

“Huh? In the games with Room 303, Bihyeong has never lost.” 

 

There was only a red mark.

 

Bihyeong played until he lost?

 

“That’s right. If he kept winning like that, then why did Bihyeong have such a face?”

 

“What kind of face is that?”

 

I looked at Bihyeong in the painting with a puzzled expression, at the man who was wearing a mask and was drunkenly slumped over.

 

Did Gildal recognize the face behind that mask?

 

“His face shows a sense of loss. But rather than having lost something, it seems more like he’s envious of something he’s never had… That kind of face. Hmm… Soon, the tiger spirit… No, the young master will leave, and Lord Bihyeong really plans to live there? I can’t even enter until I’m invited from within, so it’s quite perplexing.” 

 

I raised my head at Gildal’s expression, ‘envious of something he’s never had.’

 

Come to think of it, what would Bihyeong want to do with this tavern after I leave?

 

He wanted it so badly, but now he doesn’t care if this tavern goes out of business.

 

I was a little curious, but there was something I had to take care of first.

 

“I’ll go take care of the room service for the guests in Room 303.”

 

I smiled at Gildal and handed him the organized ledger. 

 

“Please pay the staff according to what is written below.” 

 

* * *

 

The guest in Room 303 got up from his bed. 

 

The surroundings were dim and dark…

 

‘It’s morning.’

 

Having drunk excessively and enjoyed dancing with the nine-tailed foxes last night, he got up with a satisfied expression, roughly rolled the blanket into a corner, and stood in the middle of the room.

 

Then, as if he were doing choreography, he pointed to the entrance of the room and flicked his hand, and a sound was heard from outside the door.

 

“Your room service, pork has arrived.”

 

Pork? It would go perfectly with makgeolli.

 

He sat down at the table in the center of the room with a happy expression. Of course, his jacket was in a crumpled mess.

 

Of course, it was fun to bet with the previous boss.

 

But since the owner of this inn went on a trip or something, the nine-tailed foxes who brought food to the room seemed a little more friendly.

 

In the past, he had to hand over gold nuggets to have his room cleaned, but nowadays, even just a trip to the bathroom resulted in the room being tidied up without that.

 

Before, there were martens crawling all over the hallways, so even he, who wasn’t particularly scared of anything, hated going out into the hallways—

 

Now, not only the hallways, but every corner of the room felt clean and even smelled good.

 

‘Hehe… It was worth coming to the tavern.’

 

“Come in~!”

 

At his gesture, the door opened, and a gumiho entered with her hair half tied up and a beautiful hairpin stuck in. 

 

“Huh? I’ve never seen that face before?” 

 

The gumiho who entered was a different person from the one who had drunk with him until midnight yesterday. 

 

It was fun yesterday; they even played some drinking games… 

 

He licked his lips in regret.

 

But the gumiho who entered smiled gently after setting the table for the meal. 

 

“The gumiho who drank with the guest yesterday is currently on suspension for drinking during work.” 

 

“Suspen…sion?”

 

The guest in Room 303 stared at the gumiho with a look of disbelief. 

 

Then, the gumiho, with her pitch-black eyes and not a hint of concern on his frowning face, smiled softly and said. 

 

“Is it okay if I clean up a bit since the room is a mess?” 

 

“Huh? Oh, yes…well….” 

 

Although her voice was undoubtedly kind and warm, there was a power in her gaze that inexplicably made him speak formally, and he stammered his response.

 

The gumiho came to the center of the room at his acceptance and muttered something. 

 

‘…ping….’

 

Ping? What ping?

 

While he was thinking that.

 

The air surrounding the nine-tailed fox shimmered, and in an instant, the room was clean.

 

The rolled-up blanket was put away, and the room that had reeked of alcohol now smelled like flowers, with the food stains on the floor completely cleaned up. 

 

“!”

 

And at the same time, something came to mind.

 

 

Room Number: 303

 

Hygiene: Very Good

 

Effect: The recovery speed of the guest in the room increases by 150%.

 

He widened his eyes and approached the window.

 

“Oh. So this is how it works. Wow…”

 

As he muttered, a pair of pitch-black eyes glared at him from beyond the window.

 

“Alex. What are you doing here?”

 

Hiiiik—! 

 

Alex unconsciously stepped back at the terrifying gaze.

 

“What, what is it…! You…!”

 

And at that moment, Alex realized.

 

This nine-tailed fox was his partner, Lee Junghyo, in disguise. 

 

Junghyo looked up at Alex and asked with wide eyes. 

 

“So lately… you’ve been wasting the money coming from the second branch at the Goblin Tavern…?”

 

Alex quickly averted his gaze.

 

But he had already been caught.

 

* * *

 

The guest room is fine.

 

The lounge is fine.

 

The cafe is also fine.

 

However, the spirits of the Gray Hotel have been worried lately because they can’t get in touch with boss Alex. 

 

She will come back when she runs out of money, so it will be okay. 

 

It all started with Toto’s letter.

 

She said that boss Alex has not been reachable. 

 

From there, the dots start to connect.

 

A guest who had stayed long-term at this beggarly tavern.

 

But that guest—

 

“Are you saying that the guest in Room 303 has lost about 30 games and squandered his fortune, yet continues to stay at this tavern?” 

 

“Yes. He didn’t even seem particularly upset, and he had fun with the nine-tailed foxes.” 

 

It means that even after losing 30 games and being thoroughly fleeced by the goblins, he showed no signs of anger and hasn’t checked out.

 

That means that guest—

 

1. Has a lot of money.

 

2. And yet, there is no reason to be sad even if you lose that money.

 

3. It means that you are a being who doesn’t feel the need to go back even if you get lost in the forest. 

 

Even this is a tavern where goblins, nine-tailed foxes, and Jang Mito grill meat…! 

 

‘No matter how you look at it, it’s a suspicious guest.’ 

 

However, it was difficult to associate the guest in Room 303 with Alex to that extent.

 

I have a feeling.

 

So I asked Gildal to change my face and approach the guest in Room 303 to confirm the evidence.

 

If I suddenly appear, Alex will naturally try to avoid revealing herself, so I thought I would serve from the side and cautiously engage in conversation—

 

“Oh. This is how you do it. Wow….”

 

But…

 

What is this?

  

This transparent reptile… 

 

I knew that Alex could see the same window as I did, so I used my housekeeping skill in front of her.  

 

I was planning to take a quick look.

 

But I didn’t expect her to react so quickly.

 

‘Isn’t this the level where you have no intention of hiding it?’

 

“Alex. Are you really not planning on coming back to the Grey Hotel?”

 

I immediately turned back when her bright red hair revealed her identity and asked Alex, who was eagerly chewing—no, eating—the pork I had served. 

 

‘Right now, your dad and his friend aren’t fighting over the extinction of humanity, are they?’

 

I held back the question I wanted to ask. 

 

“Me? Ey~. I know what you’re getting at. Traveling is really my thing. Working in the hotel industry just doesn’t suit me.” 

 

“Can you call it traveling if you’re stuck in room 303 for two weeks and just drink alcohol?”

 

A message window popped up as if it had been waiting for my question.

 

Demon King

 

Look at that. Your egg looks like that.

 

You must be so~~ proud.

 

The only daughter of the Grey family! 

 

Her father runs a hotel with great mana, and the daughter acts like a fool with great mana!

 

Former Hotel Owner

 

…Shut up. 

 

She’s my daughter, and I would be ashamed to show her, you know? 

 

Demon King

 

What?

 

Former Hotel Owner

 

Ah… it’s a typo.

 

Demon King

 

ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

 

It’s not a typo, it’s more like his sincerity leaked out. 

 

“Wow, you were just like my dad.”

 

“…About that dad….”

 

I don’t know where to start.

 

I had been wanting to hear Alex’s advice since the dragons had been fighting so much in the message chat. 

 

“When it comes to playing, it’s important to enjoy it fully in the moment. I have my own philosophy about ‘having fun,’ unlike Bihyeong.” 

 

It’s different from Bihyeong. 

 

I momentarily forgot what I was going to say.

 

“He ran away somewhere again? Well, he was always running away.”

 

He was always running away…?

 

“Did he go to Lucifer’s house?”

 

“What? Did you know?”

 

“Of course I knew. When I went to the Kumari Hotel back in the day—”

 

“You went to the Kumari Hotel too? It’s a rival hotel, right?!”

 

When I glared at her with betrayal, Alex coughed in vain and avoided my gaze.

 

“I played together for a bit back then. Let’s see… I should have their contact information?”

 

Contact information?

 

What demon has contact information?

 

Oh, come to think of it, how did Alex and the spirits communicate with each other all this time?

 

That question was soon resolved.

 

Alex looked into the air and a message window appeared in the air.

 

Alex skillfully flipped through the window in the air and said proudly. 

 

“Dragons are good at this kind of thing. Creating systems.”

 

Demon King

 

Yes. That’s right.

 

Former Hotel Owner

 

Yes~

 

 

…I think so.

 

No, wait.

 

Then?

 

I thought of Gildal’s words.

 

He said that no one can enter the painting unless the being in the painting invites them.

 

“Then can I ask Lucifer to invite me to the painting?”

 

“Of… course?”

 

As soon as I heard Alex’s words, a message appeared in the chat window.

 

Former Hotel Owner

 

Oh, this is it.

 

 

And this quest also popped up.

 

Quest ‘Goblin NOM – Let’s Catch the Goblin’

 

—Find the Goblin NOM’s Bihyeong and bring him to the Goblin Tavern.

 

—Time Limit: One Day

 

—Completion Reward: Lots of EXP, Lots of Market Gold.

 

 

Demon King

 

Ha…Lots of it. What is that!

 

Former Hotel Owner

 

Hehe…I’m in a hurry.

 

Demon King

 

These scammers!