Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 256

250. Apocalypse or whatever.

 

[Starting with the giant worms that appeared in northern Seoul, the entire city is now under attack by strange phenomena. The Blue House has announced the formation of a special task force to respond…]

 

Dad’s expression hardened as he watched the incomprehensible news. 

 

Our home, located in an ordinary villa neighborhood, was still one of the few areas in Seoul where cell phones could get a signal. 

 

Even though I was too young to have even started elementary school, I knew for sure. 

 

That even this place, which had been relatively safe after the Great Disaster struck, would no longer be safe.

 

I clenched my small fists and dug into Dad’s neck.

 

As if he had read my anxiety, Dad quickly picked me up and placed me in my ‘hiding place.’

 

He placed a blanket over the drying rack and brought my favorite toys and a flashlight into the triangular space—a spot I loved.

 

Dad watched as I nestled into the spot, then turned his head with a faintly complicated expression and looked back at his phone. 

 

Dad, who was looking through a few more news articles, wrote something down in his notebook.

 

Gangwon-do Circuit.

 

It was an unknown address.

 

* * *

 

System

 

Press Y.

 

I snickered as I read the commanding message.

 

System

 

I worked really hard on this, you know?ㅠㅠㅠ

 

You asked for help with a Christmas event, but suddenly disappeared and started giving me tasks like thisㅠㅠㅠ

 

Seriously!

 

It wasn’t just because I was laughing to tease Alex. 

 

A sense of relief washed over me like a wave, and it felt like blood was returning to the tips of my fingers and toes, which had turned pale. I just briefly enjoyed that feeling. 

 

‘Y’.

 

I pressed the button without further delay.

 

I don’t know what it means to turn this strange Chinese restaurant into a hotel, but given that monsters are swarming outside and the association probably hasn’t been established yet in Seoul, it was clear that a stronghold was necessary to increase my chances of survival. 

 

Gyeongseong Hotel: ☆☆☆☆☆

 

Satisfaction points remaining to reach a 1-star hotel: 100

 

 

As soon as I pressed the button, a window appeared above my head, and Alex exclaimed in admiration. 

 

System

 

…This works.

 

‘This works, really.’

 

I felt the same way. 

 

Administrator

 

If the Demon King takes me to another world, could you link the hotel’s power to me then? It’s convenient to use skills in places where the hotel exists, but things get complicated where it doesn’t.

 

Last time I saw it, Alex’s power seemed to be stronger in the picture, but if it’s a world created by the same dragon clan, wouldn’t it be easier for Alex to manage the system?

 

System

 

Well, that could be possible…

 

…But…

 

Why am I being persuaded?

 

And you sure make requests pretty easily, don’t you?

 

Do people often say you have good leadership skills, or, to put it bluntly, that you’re good at making others do things for you?

 

  

….

 

Well, we had this conversation.

 

But I didn’t know if it would really work.

 

I couldn’t experiment because there was a high chance of getting caught by the Demon King. 

 

I’m glad that it’s been designated as a hotel for now. 

 

One question remains. 

 

Administrator

 

But why not make it a 4-star hotel right away and start from 0-star…? 

 

System

 

…Think of it as loading.

 

For now, just build up some satisfaction from there. 

 

As you know, a hotel becomes stronger when it satisfies other people, right? 

 

That’s true, but… 

 

“Ugh…cold…It’s cold…” 

 

It was then that I took off my jacket and put it on Watanabe’s body, which was groaning in pain. 

 

At that moment, Watanabe let out a soft sound, “Eung,” and tightly hugged my jacket to his chest. 

 

“It’s warm.” 

 

5

 

At the same time, a number appeared above his head. 

 

This… the design is a bit different, but is it that? 

 

‘Satisfaction.’

 

Watanabe muttered as he held my jacket in his arms.

 

“Strange woman… who fell from the sky…” 

 

He frowned, then opened his eyes with difficulty and looked at me.

 

He seemed to have come to his senses a little, but for a moment, he just looked dazed.

 

After about a minute of silence—

 

Watanabe’s eyes widened.

 

“What! You’re the woman who was jumping over the wall so cutely!” 

 

He raised his upper body while exuding a sense of wariness.

 

Watanabe’s substitute. 

 

When we met in the present, he seemed a bit more mature, but seeing him here like this, I think I understand what the term ‘model student’ means. 

 

As I thought that, I gave a gentle smile toward Watanabe’s substitute. 

 

Inwardly, I used my ‘Front Desk’ skill.

 

“Welcome. Welcome to our hotel.”

 

Oh, I don’t know.

 

Let’s start with running the hotel, even if it’s an apocalypse or something.

 

People should do what they were doing.

 

Tiring!

 

With an unfamiliar notification sound, a new satisfaction level appeared. 

 

10

 

“Y, you’re speaking Japanese…?” 

 

System

 

Are you one of those? Like a hero who fell into another world, but turns out to be a hotel prodigy?

 

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

 

* * * 

 

Okay, first of all.

 

Apocalypse or whatever, the first thing you need to do to run a hotel is set up a place to sleep.

 

Isn’t that obvious?

 

A hotel is a place where people come to sleep.

 

But there’s no way an old Chinese restaurant building would have beds… 

 

“There is.”

 

I climbed up to the dusty attic and couldn’t help but marvel. 

 

I swept the dust away with my hands.

 

Gyeongseong Hotel

 

I should have known when that notice popped up on the system window—

 

It turned out that this place had once operated as Seoul’s first hotel under the name ‘Gyeongseong Guesthouse.’ 

 

The old Gyeongseong Hotel building

 

To be precise, that was over a hundred years ago. Now, it had a new owner and was being used as a Chinese restaurant. 

 

A small newspaper article was scraped above the current front desk and the counter of the Chinese restaurant.

 

Next to it hung a black-and-white photograph of a woman named “Juliette Delphi,” the former owner of Gyeongseong Hotel.

 

The woman in the poorly resolved photo had curly hair tied up in braids and wore a hanbok. She was a middle-aged white woman of considerable age. 

 

Founder Joo Riae

 

Her name written in Chinese characters was also written below.

 

It was written that she, who had a close relationship with Sunjong, had renovated a Western-style house granted to her by him to create Seoul’s first hotel. 

 

That’s all in the article.

 

‘Hotelier’s Eyes’.

 

This is what I looked at with my skills just in case.

 

Black and white photo of founder Joo Riae

 

—A photo of a French woman who helped the independence movement.

 

—If you go to the attic, there are a few more photos of women sleeping under the beds used by independence activists.

 

—If you collect the photos, you can get a glimpse of what Joo Riae looked like when she was alive.

 

Come to think of it, the interior of the Chinese restaurant felt smaller than the height of the building I had seen from the outside. 

 

I naturally thought it was because there were other stores on the upper floor— 

 

‘There was a secret space.’

 

I examined the old metal bed frame and the mattress, which seemed to be rotting from age. 

 

There were indeed some beds that had been used by independence fighters, but I also noticed a few that were just ordinary beds. They seemed to be ones that hotels, which had been operating during World Wars I and II, had kept around, too lazy to dispose of them and just tied up for storage. 

 

‘The smell….’

 

It couldn’t be anything but a terrible quirk.

 

There was even a box of ramen and coffee mix next to the bed.

 

This was relatively recent, and it seemed like the employees of the Chinese restaurant had collected their own snacks.

 

Truffle oil.

 

The expensive ingredients in the middle were probably for quick meals.

 

It’s good for me, though.

 

While I was having those thoughts, I heard Watanabe’s voice from below the attic.

 

“Is it alright? Do you think you can come down on your own?” 

 

Can I come down on my own? 

 

What do you mean?

 

I carried a mattress on my back and went down the narrow, precarious stairs from the attic to the floor—

 

I didn’t come down, I just threw myself down.

 

Thud.

 

And when I landed, my eyes met with Watanabe’s surprised expression.

 

“…!”

 

20

 

Why is his satisfaction increasing after seeing this? 

 

Young Watanabe is truly an unfathomable person. 

 

I thought that and shook the Jajangmyeon bag I had in my mouth.

 

“Have you heard of Jajangmyeon by any chance?”

 

His stomach groaned loudly as he heard the rustling of the noodles shaking inside the bag.

 

Growling. 

 

Seeing his face turn red, I naturally opened my mouth.

 

“I’m sorry. I’m really hungry. If you don’t mind, let’s eat together.”

 

Watanabe’s eyes shook greatly.

 

40

 

And his satisfaction rose even more.

 

System

 

You really…

 

You’re a guilty human.

 

You’ve been saying some strange things since earlier.

 

I ignored the system notification for the time being and went downstairs.

 

It was time to show off my cooking skills, which I had accumulated by preparing all kinds of vegetables.