Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 296

290. The Hotel Owner is Too Strong

 

“I’m not saying I’m giving you permission or anything like that.”

 

“I wasn’t planning on asking for permission, though…”

 

I looked at Dad with a puzzled expression.

 

At that, his face quickly turned gloomy.

 

“Ah, of course, it’s not really up to me to give permission or not—”

 

“No, that’s not it. I’m just not thinking about marriage yet. I mean, how long has it even been since I started running the hotel?” 

 

“…Is that so?” 

 

If I ever got married, I might not ask for Dad’s permission, but I definitely planned to introduce him to the person first.

 

And if Dad reacted negatively, I’d listen to his reasons too.

 

The problem is, marriage isn’t even part of my life plan right now.

 

‘I just became a 5-star…?!’

 

On the first floor, I was planning to fill the space with a bakery, a Chinese restaurant, a Western restaurant, and a Korean restaurant. And today, I intended to hire a pâtissier for that purpose.

 

I could have Megumi handle the contact, but since I already had a few people in mind, I planned to meet them in person and try to persuade them myself.

 

I planned to start by looking for a pâtissier first, and I had already scoped out two places.

 

One of them was a patisserie that had gained popularity through word of mouth on social media, and I was willing to wait no matter how long the contract negotiations might take.

 

They sold cakes lavishly decorated with plenty of expensive, high-quality fruits that matched the latest trends.

 

The prices were outrageous, but many people said it was worth flexing at least once in their lifetime.

 

Besides, since I happened to see that the general manager had written a note about it, I was determined to buy a cake from that place today—no matter how the contract turned out.

 

*Also need to buy one for Hyejin on the way back.

 

And the other one was a place called Happy Confectionery in Jeongcheon County, which wasn’t very well-known.

 

But the taste of the cake I had there not long ago kept lingering in my mouth, so I was thinking of visiting the place again.

 

Happy Confectionery’s cakes were classic fresh cream cakes. 

 

They were old-fashioned cakes, made with retro-style sponge, finely chopped canned fruits layered inside, and even topped with cocktail cherries for decoration.

 

I was surprised a place like this still existed—what shocked me first was the price.

 

A whole cake for this price? 

 

The general manager, who brought the cake, explained the price of the Happy Confectionery cake like this.

 

‘When I was a student and couldn’t afford expensive cakes, I used to buy from here. They deliberately sell them really cheap so students can afford them.’

 

So that’s why they can’t use really high-quality ingredients.

 

Somewhat convinced, I took a bite of the cake—only to be shocked all over again.

 

It’s so delicious!

 

‘It’s delicious?’

 

‘I thought it’d taste bad, right? But the whipped cream here is actually really good. It’s simple, but you just keep wanting more. It’s not overly milky like the fresh cream sold these days, and it’s not greasy like buttercream either. It doesn’t leave an oily aftertaste—just melts smoothly in your mouth. I still buy it from time to time, you know.’

  

 

Of course, kids these days don’t even spare a glance at these old-fashioned cakes.

 

…she added, but maybe I’m not one of those “kids these days,” because I kept digging into that cake enthusiastically.

 

I wasn’t usually that fond of cake, but when I ate it with tteokbokki like the general manager taught me, I just couldn’t stop.

 

According to the general manager, it’s the magic of sweet and salty.

 

‘But no matter how I look at it, the cake design is just too plain…’

 

I tilted my head, comparing Happy Confectionery’s cake with the cake from XX Hotel’s lounge.

 

As expected, Happy Confectionery was still second place.

 

“…What do you think, Dad?”

 

“What. Marriage?!”

 

Why do you keep going on about marriage, marriage, ever since earlier…

 

Did I watch a daily drama?

 

“It’s about the cake. Cake is something you eat on special occasions, with a special taste, right? So shouldn’t everything about it be top quality, beautifully packaged on the outside too? Rather than something that looks plain and uses ordinary ingredients.”

 

“Ah. Happy Confectionery.”

 

Dad understood right away as soon as he heard my explanation.

 

Which made sense, since just a few days ago, we had tried it together because I was unsure about it.

 

“Isn’t what matters more how special it feels to the person receiving it? If it truly tastes special, then I think it’s our job to make the person receiving it feel that specialness.”

 

It’s our job to make the person receiving it feel special.

 

Those words strangely lingered in my mind.

 

What a hotel does is take the ordinary routines of eating, sleeping, washing up, waking, and lounging around—things that might seem mundane—and make them feel special. 

 

“People are like that too, you know.”

 

“….?”

 

“I don’t care about things like conditions. If you see Han Woohyun, make sure to tell him—I’m not choosing a son-in-law based on things like that.” 

 

“….?”

 

What are you talking about?

 

“If it’s special to you, then that’s it.”

 

Most of what he said made no sense to me, but before I knew it, the car had arrived in front of XX Hotel.

 

In front of the brightly lit revolving doors of the hotel, a doorman rushed out from the door desk and opened the passenger seat door.

 

If it’s special to you, then that’s all that matters.

 

I recalled those words as I got out of the car and walked toward the bakery.

 

And then my cell phone rang.

 

Manager

 

(Photo)

 

ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ… 

 

A news article even came out about it… It was an exclusive on MBS during the interlude…

 

A strange banner was hanging at the entrance of our hotel in the photo.

 

I immediately stopped in my tracks and turned around.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“I’ll go back to the hotel. Just buy me a cake.”

 

I already had the master key in my hand.

 

* * *

 

Title: A Situation Straight Out of Today’s Hunter Webnovel. Jpg

 

(Photo of Mrs. Louisa)

 

There was a post from an excited grad student in interpretation studies who managed to get an autograph near the Association right after Dr. Louisa—the very creator of the hunter ranking system program called the Louisa Program—arrived in the country.

 

(Screenshot image of the original post uploaded by the grad student)

 

Everyone assumed she was entering the country to attend a conference hosted by the Association.

 

A few hours later. 

 

(Photo of the banner hung at the Dungeon Hotel)

 

A strange banner was spotted hanging at the Dungeon Hotel in Yeongchun-myeon.

 

Everyone’s losing it because the red and blue letters saying “The Proud Daughter of Gansu County” are already hilarious, but what’s even funnier is that underneath it says “World Ranking.”

 

Up until this point, everyone just thought they had mistakenly written “World Ranking” instead of “Domestic Ranking.”

 

(Photo of the owner)

 

Some guests found the flustered hotel owner, blushing at the entrance, so cute that they took photos and uploaded them online.

 

(Photo of the owner 2)

 

(This photo is attached just because it’s cute)

 

And then, a few days later.

 

(Verification post attached)

 

A verification post was uploaded saying that the interior of the Dungeon Hotel had become more luxurious.

 

People started posting again, saying things like “Isn’t our boss actually not just a hotel owner but really an S-rank barrier mage?” Others argued, “No, they’re an S-rank paladin,” or “An S-rank interpretation scholar,” and all the old rumors started resurfacing… 

 

(The new head of the Hunter Association holding a serious press conference.)

 

The Hunter Association made a weird announcement?

 

‘The next world-ranked hunter may not come from the traditional superpowers. The awakening system will overturn the global balance of power.’

 

……?

 

(Zoomed-in version of the photo above)

 

@: Isn’t that weird creature sitting at the end making a V sign during the Association’s announcement Kim Junsoo?

 

Me: Yeah, that’s right. Once again, the head of the Korean Association—embarrassing no matter where you put him—is out there acting all cringey.

 

And soon, news articles started popping up…

 

(Captures of numerous articles)

 

The newly announced world ranking #1 had their name blurred out, but right next to it, it boldly said “Hotel owner”……?

 

So, the article has already been definitively published?

 

And then Dr. Louisa even gave an interview like this.

 

“I look forward to the era of hunters who hunt not monsters, but people’s hearts. And… I hope that France, too, will be able to benefit from that hunter’s influence.”

 

…Is Dungeon International opening in France?

 

It’s shocking that the world’s number one ranked hunter came from our country.

 

What’s even more shocking is that the world’s number one ranked hunter’s occupation is “hotel owner.”

 

I can think of hundreds of hunter novel titles that would fit this perfectly.

 

Becoming World #1 as a Hotel Owner

 

The Hotel Owner Was Hiding Their Power

 

The Hotel Owner Is Too Strong. 

 

Please drop a few more fitting title suggestions in the comments—I’m off to go join Holyholic now~ (✋🏻)

 

Oh right! Gansu County Office is having a special sale on fermented oysters—leave the link below~ Even though it’s already sold out~

 

https://www.ganjoo.go.kr/letsbuy_youngoyster/

 

* * *

 

“We need to block the hotel entrance…”

 

In the end, even Merlin Grey ended up saying something like that.

 

Because of the banner, the fact that the Dungeon Hotel owner had become the world’s number one almost leaked out faster than expected—but fortunately, that was narrowly prevented.

 

Since the head of Gansu County came off as being a bit too over-the-top, everyone just assumed he had mistaken the domestic ranking for the world ranking.

 

However, the fact that guests had uploaded tons of photos to social media because they found it amusing ended up creating a synergy effect just a few days later—when the Association officially announced the new ‘world ranking.’

 

Reputation: 9,999,999+

 

…Yeah. 

 

How funny would that actually be?

 

The situation where someone actually suggested renting a cargo truck for a car parade because a county resident became the world’s number one—that’s what made it all the more hilarious.

 

‘But the thing is—it’s real.’

 

Don’t you find it funny?

 

I only managed to cancel the car parade after promising a special sale and a festival for fermented oysters.

 

But once this hilarious situation turned out to be true, an even bigger problem emerged. 

 

“We’re fully booked for a month. Both Dungeon International and Yeongchun Hotel—completely.”

 

Damn it.

 

I was hoping things would slow down a bit while we were renovating the restaurant—since the number of guests might drop!

 

“Let’s block that revolving door.”

 

Exhausted by the flood of guests from around the world, Merlin Gray shot up from his seat and pointed toward the revolving door.

 

“Ah, no. Please, no.”

 

In the end, I decided to use my Yeongchun Coins as a temporary measure to summon more spirits.

 

The highest-paid employee.

 

Would you like to hire the ‘Master of Space’?

 

The photo only had a question mark on it, but the description said it was a new spirit—a highly capable one who could handle all sorts of tasks at incredible speed and knew how to lead the staff.

 

We’ve hired a lot—not just housekeepers, but also servers and bellboys—yet it’s still not enough.

 

When I selected Y, the newly hired staff member appeared before my eyes in a burst of radiant light.

 

“Um… you’re…”

 

The newly hired “Master of Space” was… a chubby young bear, scratching its butt with a lazy rub.

 

“Kkyu…? Kkyukkyukkyukkyu! (Hello! I am the Master of Space—Wombat!)”

 

Oh, I see.

 

It’s not a bear.