Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 247

241. Soldier Doll

 

“Wow. I’ve awakened! Mom, Dad, Grandpa~! I’m a hunter now~!” 

 

“Be careful, Wonyoung~!”

 

I laughed along as I watched the boy, who was about as tall as my thigh, running around excitedly. 

 

Of course, I told the hoteliers to be especially careful so that the child who was running around looking at the air wouldn’t get hurt.

 

Thanks to Megumi, the head of the HR department, we were able to increase the number of hotel staff, making it possible to carry out this event. 

 

We had to place staff throughout the hallways to ensure that those encountering the system interface for the first time wouldn’t get hurt. 

 

I passed by a couple of guests admiring the experience, saying it really felt like they were playing a game, two hunter guests chuckling and asking if they had been re-awakened, and families holding their children, happily enjoying the moment, all the while observing the expressions in their eyes. 

 

The eyes of those who were having a special time.

 

Eyes that seemed like they would remember this moment for a very long time. 

 

As I looked into those eyes, I gained a sense of certainty—though not absolute—that this event would end in success. 

 

“This is all thanks to the guests.”

 

Passing by the happy guests, I approached a woman in a hoodie sitting in the lounge with a warm cup of coffee in her hands. 

 

The woman with large, horn-rimmed glasses and a beanie was staring blankly into the air. She took a sip of the coffee I offered and muttered.

 

“Whoo… extra pay, please…” 

 

“Of course.”

 

The reason we were able to display the system interface to so many guests was all thanks to Alex, who was disguised as an ordinary college student. 

 

I discovered at the Goblin Tavern that Alex inherited some of the ability to create system windows from her father. 

 

If you have such a skill, of course, you should put it to use. 

 

When I parted ways with Alex at the Goblin Tavern, I gave him a ton of hotel stay vouchers for Yeongchun Hotel. 

 

“Alex, I’m glad you made up with your father. Be sure to visit the hotel next time. We should take lots of photos and boost your blog views too.” 

 

I don’t know who reads that travel blog.

 

Is that something that demons or dragons would see? 

 

Anyway, Alex’s eyes sparkled at the word ‘blog views.’ 

 

Alex seemed to have changed her career path to become a ‘travel writer.’ Alex, unlike how she looked, was in her teenage years.  

 

“M, mhm! I’ll definitely go!”

 

And, of course, it didn’t take long—just a few days—before Alex was spotted at Yeongchun Hotel. 

 

Old habits die hard—I caught her this time disguised as a super hip female guest. 

 

“Ms. Yeo Jinjoo?”

 

“Yes. I’ll make a reservation for 2 nights.”

 

This time, Alex had been careful enough not to get caught, and even the general manager at the front desk almost let it slide. However, the issue arose when Alex tried to take a photo. 

 

Photography was prohibited inside the Dungeon Hotel. 

 

I approached the guest taking pictures, noticed Alex’s camera, and asked.

 

“Alex, why are you disguised again?”

 

“….”

 

Alex was caught without even being able to pretend. 

 

“I thought if they recognize me, they’ll start nagging me to go back to the second branch! Plus, there are so many spirits dispatched from our hotel here! Every time they see me, they keep asking when I’m coming back to the second branch.” 

 

Alex pretended to be pitiful and threw tantrums at me, but of course, my tantrums didn’t work. 

 

Former Hotel Owner. 

 

This brat. 

 

Beat her up. 

 

 

“Ey, Dad, you’re too much! Didn’t we have that tearful conversation last time?”  

 

Former Hotel Owner. 

 

That was then, and this is now.

 

“Tsk.” 

 

I decided to listen to the two reptiles’ banter up to that point and join in on their conversation. 

 

“Taking pictures is prohibited at Branch 1.”

 

“Wh, where does it say that? You told me to come and increase my blog views when you gave me this.” 

 

Alex pointed to the reservation voucher I had given her and spoke with a sense of injustice.

 

I smiled and replied.

 

“I told you to come and get your blog views, I didn’t tell you to take pictures.”

 

It was just bait.

 

“Ha. You’re really scary.”

 

Seeing Alex speak with disbelief, I realized it was time to offer her the carrot. 

 

“Alex, you want to take photos, right? There must be a lot of otherworldly beings interested in Yeongchun Hotel these days.” 

 

“Of course!”

 

Oh, there are so many. That’s difficult.

 

I hid my feelings and said affectionately.

 

“Then I’ll let you take it.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. But there’s a condition.”

 

“What is it?!”

 

Former Hotel Owner. 

 

Our daughter is so innocent.

 

It seems she has been blinded by love.  

 

“It’s simple. It’s just a small display of ability. There’s no one better at this than Alex. Plus, it’ll be a lot of fun. They say traveling is about discovering new scenery every day, right? It’s something like that.”

 

“Ooh, it’ll be fun!” 

 

I laughed along with Alex’s cheerful smile.

 

The moment Alex realized that she had been fooled was already a moment of no return.  

 

“No matter how much I thought it was impossible for me to make something like this.” 

 

Alex sipped on the ‘Mana Recharge Americano (A)’ and said with a look of disbelief. 

 

I looked at Alex with admiration and answered.

 

“It’s only possible this much because it’s you, Alex.” 

 

Alex, who cleverly picked up on the emphasis I put on “this much,” responded with a sour expression. 

 

“Why is there any substance to the words?” 

 

“No way.”

 

“You know, you seem really kind, but you’re actually scary.” 

 

“….”

 

In fact, Alex said that she couldn’t create a status screen with quests and rewards like Merlin Grey. 

 

However, since I had seen Alex create her own message window, I asked her to create just that kind of message window. 

 

‘Actually, since we’ll be giving the rewards in real life, there’s no need to provide them like Merlin’s status window. Just think of it as sending a message to the guests.’

 

‘Also, they asked me to display a map.’

 

‘We need to organize that.’

 

‘Then it should be like sending a photo in a message!’

 

‘Alex, don’t you want to take a picture?’

 

‘….!’

 

Alex used her full abilities to display the quest window to the guests in the design of a 2D arcade game notification.

 

She even went as far as mapping the hotel and hiding toys in specific locations.

 

“Honestly, the reason why this game was possible was because the power of the Yeongchun Hotel was strengthened.”

 

“Strengthened?”

 

Alex came after our hotel had already become a 4-star hotel.

 

But what does it mean that it has become stronger since then?

 

“Yeah. Can’t you feel it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“That’s amazing.”

 

Alex said in a surprised voice.

 

“Right now, Yeongchun Hotel is about a 4.5-star level. It’s grown to the point where it’s almost on par with the old Grey Hotel.” 

 

“Even though the facilities on the outside haven’t changed much…”

 

I looked around the hotel, which was still the same.

 

“If a hotel grows this big, most people would struggle just to maintain it, but you’ve been handling full bookings and all without feeling a thing. You’re quite the fascinating person. Are you really human?” 

 

Is it related to the fact that I recently became the president of a S-class hotel?

 

This is what a max-level stat looks like.

 

I was deeply moved when I recalled the time when I collapsed after losing mana with just one Housekeeping skill.

 

“It turns out your mom’s side of the family has dragon blood or something.”

 

“If my mom were a dragon, she wouldn’t have been so easily killed by a monster.”

 

I said it jokingly, but Alex’s eyes widened.

 

“Oh, she passed away…?”

 

“Yes.”

 

It was a long time ago, so I didn’t feel much, but Alex apologized awkwardly.

 

“If you’re sorry, please keep working hard.”

 

I seized the opportunity and decided to make use of this moment to boss Alex around. Alex nodded with a look on her face that clearly said she had been caught.

 

“That was an unnecessary thing to say…” 

 

I left Alex to focus on maintaining the system and returned to the desk. 

 

When I returned to my desk, a familiar face was waiting for me. 

 

“It’s been a while, boss. The Christmas concept is really unique.”

 

“Hello, boss. I just woke up~!”

 

“?”

 

It was Yoojun and Shim Jiyoon. It seemed like they had already completed check-in, as Shim Jiyoon was holding the room key in her hand. 

 

Why are the two of you at the hotel…

 

As if reading my gaze, Shim Jiyoon explained. 

 

“I’ll be using this room alone. Jun said he had a baby Junghyo fan meeting today.” 

 

“Ah.”

 

That’s a relief.

 

I almost blurted out that without realizing it.

 

“Boss, what were you thinking just now?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

I quickly answered Yoojun’s sly voice.

 

I didn’t want to feed him. Yoojun licked his lips as if he was disappointed. 

 

“Today, you’re like the soldier doll, boss.”

 

“Yes. Today, all of our employees are soldier dolls.”

 

I answered while fiddling with my long hat.

 

We were going to cosplay with toys that matched each other, but we thought it would ruin the uniformity, so we all wore uniforms with shoulder straps and dressed as soldier dolls with toy guns. 

 

The spirits are cute, so I thought it would suit them well, but I was worried it wouldn’t suit me. However, the guest from Room 201 complimented me before leaving. 

 

‘It’s just like the soldier dolls I saw when I was little, Miss.’

 

Guest Choi Eulseong. 

 

A special note is that he suffers from dementia.

 

After selecting an ornament from the event tree, I bowed my head and thanked the customer, Mr. Choi Eulseong, who seemed bright and clear-eyed. 

 

“But is the condition for joining that baby Junghyo fan club an S-class hunter? It’s a little sad.” 

 

Shim Jiyoon asked me.

 

The conditions for joining the baby Junghyo fan club. That organization is a private group, so I don’t know.

 

“Yes, only S-class hunters! Anyone who looks down on our Junghyo will never be approved for membership~” 

 

At that moment, a familiar voice answered from behind Shim Jiyoon’s back.

 

It was Uncle Junsoo.

  

Uncle was the first among the baby Junghyo fan club members to arrive and was waiting for the other members in the lounge. 

 

“Junghyo, Junghyo. Don’t mess with this unnie. She’s a really scary unnie. Last time, she tried to bribe Hwang Mi-soon with money and hack the baby Junghyo fan club chatroom.”

 

“Hello, President. That attempt ultimately failed. As per current laws, crimes are punished after they are committed. I look forward to working with you in the future.” 

 

Shim Jiyoon admitted to the hacking attempt as if it was nothing.

 

“I’m not someone who can be bought with money! I’m different from Hwang Misoon!”

 

“Yes.”

 

Shim Jiyoon is reliable when she’s on my side, but scary when she’s on someone else’s side.

 

“Why don’t you two have a coffee and chat for a while? I’ll pay for it.” 

 

Yoojun disappeared into the cafeteria, taking Shim Jiyoon and Junsoo, who were grumbling, with him. His eyes looked as if he was going to help me.

 

That guy seems to have some social skills.

 

While thinking that, I was working on my desk for a while.

 

A window popped up before my eyes.

 

The ‘VIP guest’ is thinking about wanting the soldier doll.

 

A soldier doll?

 

When I raised my head, I saw a pair of brown eyes.

 

“Penthouse, I’ll check in.”

 

It’s Han Woohyun.

  

In his hand, there was clearly a soldier doll ornament, one that must have been taken from the tree.