NOVEL ONLINE FREE Welcome to Dungeon Hotel
Chapter 229
Demon King Aah, right. You know that if you fail, it’s over, right? Do you think I don’t know?
I forced myself to start thinking, even though I wanted to grab the Demon King from the system window by the collar and shake him vigorously. Let’s think calmly. So, the quest “The Tavern was also a Hotel” requires increasing the reputation of this Goblin Tavern as the success condition. Reputation. The number of people who want to visit the hotel. ‘It means that people should want to visit this messy hotel.’ I frowned as I looked at the empty hotel lobby, or rather, the first floor of the tavern. This time, it’s impossible to dispatch staff because of the difficulty patch. So I have to use the staff of this hotel— “Ugh! I just had my tail fur pulled out by that woman!” The gumiho, who had been called near the entrance and returned, was crying and shouting, “Mr. Kim, come here—” The evil ghost was haunting the remaining guests, walking through the second-floor corridor with an eerie presence. In short, the hotel’s staff training was a mess. I urgently typed a message. Hotel Owner Maybe… switching the quest… Demon King Will it work? Since I had used tricks like leveling up and such, the Demon King’s reaction was cold. Even Merlin Grey, unable to offer any real help, could only shed tears. Former Hotel Owner ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Yeah. Maybe the mini-game was a bit too easy considering it was supposed to grant me the ‘power to protect the world.’ ‘I should start working with the goblins from now on and focus on training the staff diligently to raise the reputation.’ “Tell him to come out.” I spoke to Gildal, who was holding the painting of the pavilion. I don’t know how a person could have entered a painting, but since it’s a goblin, I’ll just accept it. Now it’s time to come out. “W, who…?” “Of course, it’s Bihyeong. Shouldn’t he come out and run the tavern or not?” I said that while staring intently at the painting once again. Then this time, I saw the masked man who had been pouring the drink climb up to the pavilion and make a fuss. What? Are you drunk? Running a Tavern like this? ‘I want to kill you.’ I felt murderous intent, but I thought I would forgive him to some extent if the goblin came out of the painting. If he comes out, I’ll really need to give him a few hits. However, my resolve didn’t last long. “There is no way to get Bihyeong out.” It was because Gildal said this with a troubled expression. “This painting belongs to Bihyeong. Therefore, the only person who can come and go freely in and out of it is Bihyeong.” “So that’s how Lucifer was able to be trapped in here.” Han Woohyun came up beside me and lowered his head, looking at the painting. Now that I think about it, that boy sitting on the pavilion drinking— He’s Lucifer. Although Han Woohyun had mentioned earlier that it was the “scroll painting that sealed Lucifer in the banquet hall,” I hadn’t known exactly how the goblins dealt with Lucifer in the banquet hall. It was only now that I realized the truth. Moreover, Bihyeong is inside the painting that sealed Lucifer and can’t come out. So, there’s really no way to get the goblin out of this painting, is there? “So, did Bihyeong call us to take his place?” I asked Gildal with a bewildered face. In response to my question, Gildal put the painting down and looked around. But there was no one around—no guests and no staff. “Bihyeong’s disappearance has caused such a significant disruption in running the tavern that we called for you. The ghosts are restless.” Gildal spoke in a low, secretive voice. Even as he spoke, groans could be heard here and there in the tower. “What if they are making a fuss?” “When this Goblin Tavern was built, Bihyeong made a promise to the ghosts. The tavern is a place where many humans gather, naturally drawing in human energy, which the ghosts can feed on to strengthen their own powers. Bihyeong must have promised the ghosts that they would be able to feed on the energy of living humans—” Gildal trailed off and glanced at the empty first floor. He made the promise, but with no living humans in sight, there’s no energy for them to feed on. “At this rate, the ghosts might even come after me for my energy. Should we shut down the tavern now?” Gildal sighed deeply and looked at me with a desperate expression. Han Woohyun also had a look that suggested it might not be a bad idea. He had been on high alert since the eerie wailing started. If it weren’t for the quest, I would have told Gildal to do that and left. However, since I can’t leave until the quest is complete, it’s as if I have no options left. I decided to persuade Gildal, who looked as if his will had converged to zero. There weren’t many ways to persuade Gildal, who was always dragged around by Bihyeong and rarely acted of his own free will. Unlike Lim Sehwan, the manager, or Megumi, who had personal stakes or a sense of professional duty, Gildal had none of that. Then there was only one way. I looked straight at Gildal and said. “Business is about keeping promises with customers. Do you understand what that means?” “No.” Gildal answered right away. “If you shut down this business, you’ll be breaking your promise.” “…!” Gildal’s eyes widened. Personal circumstances, professional consciousness. If there’s nothing like that, there’s only one thing to attack. The goblin’s cause and effect. The absolute law that a goblin can’t lie. Gildal was a goblin like a formless form. I could see in Gildal’s eyes that he had now become absolutely determined not to give up on this tavern. “Let’s start by looking at the guest list.” It was when I reached out that Gildal said with a startled expression. “Guest list…? What’s that?” He doesn’t know what a guest list is? I sighed involuntarily. Former Hotel Owner Ha… It seems there’s another being feeling a similar frustration as I am. * * * “So, if we don’t raise the reputation of this hotel because of the quest, we won’t be able to return to Yeongchun Hotel?” After searching through the counter and finding the guest list, I explained the quest to Han Woohyun. Of course, I didn’t mention that the penalty was the extinction of humanity. Talking about the impending extinction of humanity would only add to the confusion, so it was obvious there was no point in bringing it up. “Mhm. So, it looks like you’ll have to help me out. Is that okay?” Han Woohyun’s answer was, of course, a yes. Since Han Woohyun was also trapped in this world with the tavern, it was only natural for him to agree. With that, Han Woohyun and I, guided by Gildal, took a quick tour of the hotel’s interior and exterior. The Goblin Tavern had a total of six floors. The first floor was a ‘tavern’ where alcohol and food were sold, and from the second to the sixth floor were the guest rooms. First, the tavern. Since we had already seen the tavern earlier, we decided to first take a look around the kitchen. As soon as we entered the kitchen, we spotted a white, fluffy creature sprawled out, mouth wide open, snoring loudly. “Snore… snore… snore… gasp!” Is it sleep apnea? I locked eyes with ‘it’, which snored loudly, then suddenly stopped breathing and woke up with a loud noise. When I made eye contact with the creature with its bright red eyes, I found myself muttering without realizing it. “…Toto?” Indeed. It wore what looked like clothing from the Silla era and was unmistakably a creature resembling a rabbit. When I called the creature “Toto,” it quickly ran over to me, looking up at me with its waist-high stature and a bewildered expression as if questioning my choice of name. “What? How dare a human like you come into this kitchen! Hmph. Although I, Master To, am bound to serve the pitiful humans as I’m under the thumb of that rascal Bihyeong, how dare you enter here! Do you think so little of me?” Master To? At that moment, Gildal hurriedly calmed down the rabbit chef. “It’s not like that. There’s a bit of a situation, and the person who came to help with the tavern’s work. So please calm down, Master To.” “Ehey, let go of this. Let go!” The rabbit, throwing a tantrum and rejecting Gildal’s attempts to calm it, emitted a strong smell of alcohol from its mouth. It seemed that despite being a rabbit, this one was entirely different from Toto. Our Toto never drinks alcohol. “His name is Jang Mito. It’s a rabbit monster with a long tail. It loves drinking, so it spends its days in a sake barrel and often misses orders.” Gildal finally put the rabbit back to sleep and came to me to say. Jang Mito. The rabbit monster, whose long tail swayed behind it, once again snored loudly, fitting the description of a rabbit monster with a long tail. And next to it, there was a large clay jar big enough for two rabbits to bathe in, which was now empty. The chef was drunk, so all the ingredients were spoiled and on the verge of being thrown away, and aside from the ingredients, the kitchen was in a mess. The sewer smelled bad, as if it hadn’t been cleaned on time. “…Let’s get out.” I left the sleeping rabbit and left the kitchen. There was nothing more to check. With the hygiene conditions being like this, no matter how good the cooking skills are, what use would they be? Unfortunately, it was hard to find any place better than this afterwards. Gildal guided us to the guest rooms, and the condition of the rooms was even worse than the kitchen. The door in the guest room was either absent or had holes all over it. “This hole…?” “Ghosts are creatures that revel in bright colors…” Gildal coughed in vain and trailed off. I furrowed my brow and shook my head. I understood what he meant, but I didn’t want to know any more. The guest rooms were covered in cobwebs, and the moldy bedding had been left untouched. I glanced down at the guest list I was holding and couldn’t help but be surprised. “Are there people who want to stay in this situation?” “There are indeed two guests. Only two, though. One has been staying long-term, and the other arrived yesterday but passed out drunk. It seems the Goblin Tavern is situated in a convenient location… Lord Bihyeong designed it so that those who lose their way in the most rugged mountains would end up gathering here at the Goblin Tavern.” An accommodation for those who lost their way. “…It’s plagiarism.” “Yes. I guess.” Gildal didn’t deny it. It’s more like benchmarking than plagiarism, but if you’re going to benchmark, do it properly! What on earth is this sanitary condition and service condition? After checking all the rooms, Han Woohyun and I explored the splendid garden, the beautiful bridge, and the moat flowing beneath it. It seemed that if you wandered through the rugged mountainous regions, you would see this bridge, and if you crossed this bridge, you would be directly connected to this tavern. The appearance of this tavern, which was undoubtedly built by overworking the spirits including Gildal, was so enchanting that anyone who discovered it while wandering would surely want to step inside and take a look. However, lodging facilities are not all about being flashy on the outside. Lodging facilities should be places where travelers want to rest, and places where they can comfortably solve their food, clothing, and shelter as if they were breathing. However, this tavern was a place where one might catch a disease just by breathing. In this case, it was more like a trap set by the spirits to lure in guests rather than a true ‘rest stop’ found in the mountains. That’s why the complaints keep coming! There were so many things to fix that it was hard to open my mouth carelessly. I felt my head pounding and looked up at the 1:1 chat window with Merlin Grey. Hoping for some tips or hints to appear. But even though the chat with Merlin Grey, who usually made a lot of noise, and the group chat were usually active, they were both silent now. ‘Could it be that he can’t help during the quest?” As I tried to piece together my own reasoning, I began to recall the time when I first started the hotel. The first thing I started back then. No, the thing I had to start. I should start from there. I realized it and said to Gildal. “First, let’s start with staff training. Please gather everyone in front of the bridge in 30 minutes… no, make it one hour.” Hello! You can also buy the advanced chapter in Ko-fi now, just click the ko-fi button and look for the title of the novel in shop. Thank you for your support!
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