Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Chapter 378 - Webtoon Side Story: Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Branch 4 (49)

Webtoon Side Story: Welcome to Dungeon Hotel Branch 4 (49)

 

Dragons who live in a different dimension from us possess a special ability. And the dragons call this ability ‘Guardianship.’

 

‘A race that really loves protecting things….’

 

Thinking that way, I chewed over the words Gray had spoken earlier.

 

‘The head of the Liber family is guarding time.’

 

Guarding time.

 

What exactly does that entail?

 

Then again.

 

It is pointless to make assumptions based on a family name. 

 

The Black family said they guarded the world but went around destroying it, and the Gray family said they guarded wanderers but ran a hotel business.

 

“Does anything come to mind when you hear the name ‘Guardian Deity of Time’?” 

 

When I asked, Merlin furrowed his brow.

 

The reason I secretly summoned Merlin here was because I judged that the master of Liber was likely a ‘reptile.’

 

From the use of strange quest windows to forming contracts with spirits, no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t shake the familiar feeling.

 

‘This is definitely a racial trait.’

 

I made that judgment and decided to call in Merlin.

 

It was possible because Merlin was currently registered as an employee of the Dungeon Hotel.

 

Like that, Merlin secretly entered the Liber Hotel, disguised himself as a guest, and collected information up to this point.

 

He observed Ilmiho, and he observed the Grays.

 

And as a result, he confirmed that the energy of a fellow reptile was indeed flowing through the Liber Hotel.

 

“Guardian of time, you say…. White…. Ah, I think that’s a familiar name.”

 

Merlin tilted his head and said.

 

“But as far as I know, the head of the White family is extremely old.”

 

“You’re old too, Merlin.”

 

“…I’m on the younger side!”

 

Reptiles age remarkably slowly. 

 

Thinking that, I appeased the bristling Merlin.

 

“You do look young. It’s just that your actual age is old.”

 

Looking young.

 

But speaking of looking young, isn’t there no human who looks as young as the master of Liber I saw?

 

I recalled the man who was wearing a floral shirt.

 

I took out my phone and, using the Wombat’s Wi-Fi that was blazing fast even in the basement, showed him a picture of the master of Liber Castle.

 

It was the photo originally posted on AirC&C.

 

The photo of the middle-aged man in the floral shirt taken with the grandmother.

 

“Is this person White?”

 

“…Hmm…?”

 

He narrowed his eyes.

 

“Was the White family head a female form?”

 

“No. Not that one, this one.”

 

When Merlin Gray pointed to the grandmother and spoke, I moved his hand to the man next to her and said.

 

“Ugh, what vulgar clothes. A floral pattern. When the trend these days is Y2K.”

 

“Is that why you’re wearing this……?”

 

I pointed at the headphones hanging around his neck.

 

Lately, he made it a point to wear headphones over his uniform.

 

Even when I asked if it wasn’t like he could listen to music through the headphones while working anyway, all I got was the bizarre response that this was simply ‘fashion.’

 

‘Why are headphones fashion…?’

 

“What do you know about fashion?”

 

He clicked his tongue and replied.

 

“I don’t really remember what form the White family head took when polymorphing. Honestly, the White family head is like a unicorn even among dragons.”

 

“So he was a horse.”

 

“….”

 

Merlin shot a cold glare at my joke.

 

“Can you please stop with those dad jokes? I really feel a sense of distance.”

 

Tch.

 

“But why is he like a unicorn?”

 

“Because he’s a wanderer.”

 

A wanderer?

 

“Time isn’t in the form of a simple straight line like humans think.”

 

“Didn’t Einstein already say that.”

 

“Right. It’s a secret known only to special humans like that. Time is twisted, sometimes clumped together, and then at certain points it even snaps or gets wounded.”

 

Merlin said with a quite serious face.

 

“So guarding time is quite a tricky job, you see? To put it in a way, it’s similar to raising a Samoyed that molts endlessly. You have to brush its fur every day, check if there are any skin diseases, and check its ears too.”

 

I tried imagining time as a gigantic, white-furred dog.

 

A dog that sheds its white fur all over the place every day.

 

A dog whose fur gets tangled in places, gets wounded, and even begs to be taken on walks.

 

I felt like even studying physics wouldn’t lead to thoughts like this.

 

“So what can he do? He wanders through time every day to repair the broken parts. Because of that, it’s hard to catch a glimpse of the White family head. I saw him when I was very young, too, but the White family head was already quite old back then. The problem, however, is that there’s no way to know if that was the White family head’s present appearance, future appearance, or past appearance. Because the White family head wanders randomly through time.”

 

“What did he look like back then?”

 

“It was the Middle Ages back then, so he had the appearance of a plague doctor. Wearing one of those weird beaks and all.”

 

Reptiles, seriously. Their adaptation to the human world is so fast it’s a problem.

 

Thinking that, I chewed over what Merlin had told me.

 

If the White family head can wander randomly through time, could the reason we can’t find the master of Liber right now be—

 

‘Because he’s currently in the past.’

 

Thinking of it that way, it makes sense to some extent.

 

The reason the master of Liber Castle is so hard to contact becomes clear, and above all, the reason that man had this wine that shows the future becomes clear too.

 

I looked down at the wine clutched in my hand and thought.

 

This wine might not have been made by the mice.

 

“If it’s the White family head, he could make a wine like this, right?”

 

“A wine that lets you visit the future?”

 

Merlin nodded.

 

“It’s entirely possible. Didn’t you say there was also a fox spirit with future sight? It’s highly likely that ability also came about from forming a contract with the White family head.”

 

Meaning the White family head shared a part of his ability with Ilmiho.

 

But reaching this point, a question arose.

 

“Then wouldn’t it have been faster to use that fox spirit to accomplish the ‘task’?”

 

Why wouldn’t he use the fox spirit he went out of his way to share such incredible power with?

 

“Well. Who knows the reason…. Maybe the fox spirit had a fatal flaw when it came to accomplishing the ‘task’.”

 

A fatal flaw.

 

Hearing those words, Gray’s words naturally overlapped in my mind. 

 

‘But the task of guarding time is incredibly difficult and grueling work. It can’t be done without a strong sense of duty. So, when passing that power down to humans, a method to assimilate among humans and share that power was necessary.’

 

‘Assimilation’ into the human world.

 

Right.

 

Come to think of it, raising affinity with humans was exceptionally difficult for the fox spirit.

 

That’s why the quests related to the fox spirit were also quite difficult.

 

In that case, wasn’t the fox spirit’s difficulty in assimilating with humans the crucial problem that made accomplishing the task so hard?

 

“Whatever the case. What are you going to do now?”

 

“Pardon? About what?”

 

Merlin shrugged and said.

 

“No, think about it. Regardless of who the master of Liber Castle is, it doesn’t really have much to do with us, does it. Unless the master of Liber Castle shows up and suddenly claims this is his land, there ultimately won’t be any major problems running Dungeon Hotel Branch 4. Especially if the master’s true identity is the White family head, it’s highly likely he won’t appear in this timeline for the next 300 years or so, right?”

 

That’s true.

 

Honestly, running a hotel business and uncovering who the master of the old castle is don’t have much correlation.

 

However, there was one problem.

 

“…The mice keep getting closer to the guests and building affinity. And when that affinity rises, the White family head’s ability will probably be transferred to me through the wine.”

 

“Oh, that’s a bit burdensome. An ability that lets you control time would have plenty of people lusting after it. Then how about this?”

 

Merlin smiled broadly and offered an idea.

 

“We drive the mice all the way back down into the basement!”

 

“…Please say something that makes sense.”

 

“Why doesn’t it make sense?”

 

Merlin furrowed his brow.

 

I replied.

 

“What happens if Geumdong isn’t taken for a walk for more than a week?”

 

“…That’s a disaster. That guy acts like he’s going to die of depression if he doesn’t meet the guests for even a single day.”

 

Merlin shuddered as if the mere thought was terrifying.

 

As he shuddered, scales sprouted on his body and then disappeared.

 

At times like this, it certainly hit home that he was a ‘reptile.’

 

“It’s the same for the mice here. They get sad if they don’t get to see the guests eating something.”

 

At my words, Merlin made a weird ‘whoosh’ noise and became sullen.

 

“It’s really hard to watch spirits get sad. I’m a total F, you know.”

 

I spoke to him as he spouted nonsense.

 

“That’s why I need to find out before the mice hit 100 affinity. Exactly what it is the White family head wants to achieve through the mice once their affinity reaches 100.”

 

“You should do that!”

 

Merlin shouted, clenching his fists.

 

Then, as if suddenly sensing something strange, he tilted his head.

 

“But how……? White isn’t here.”

 

“We have to go there.”

 

To the past.

 

I pointed to the wine bottle I was holding and said.

 

“Because the wine our mice make is really delicious.”

 

And it can even run right through time.