Chapter 189

"Why was she so afraid of me?"

At the General Manager's question, the old vampire fell silent as though at a loss for words.

"……."

"I must look absurd to you."

"You are aware, at least."

It was preposterous. Enough to make one laugh.

"You have no idea how you appear to other beings."

"I do not consider myself that oblivious."

"For one who is nothing less than a god, you are rather attentive."

"You know that is not what I meant."

"Very well."

The vampire nodded.

"What are you curious about? I shall answer within the scope of what I know."

"No one has ever feared me to that extent."

"Ah, starting from there, are we…."

The vampire realized anew. That he was a newborn, infant god.

His understanding of humans was rather high among mystical beings, but this peculiar imbalance of knowledge was ultimately a product of his firm belief that he was "human."

"……."

"Why is there no answer?"

"Sometimes, when one receives a question so fundamental, it is hard to know where to begin."

It was like being asked "why is one one?" while teaching basic arithmetic. The vampire proposed.

"Shall I put it simply, or in more complex terms?"

"I would like to hear both perspectives."

"Simply put, you need only memorize it."

"That is not very amusing for a joke."

"Unfortunately, it is not a joke."

It was no difficult matter, after all.

"You are simply a terrifying being. To the majority."

Who in their right mind would not be afraid of a walking, godlike natural disaster?

"Now let me put it in somewhat more complex terms. Here we have a group of humans and a great elephant."

"Are you about to speak of the blind men and the elephant?"

"You knew it after all."

"It is a famous idiom."

Blind men feeling an elephant.

A Buddhist parable illustrating the folly of failing to see the whole of a thing through one's narrow views and subjectivity, attempting instead to judge the entirety from a mere part.

The old vampire smiled.

"The man who touched the leg said the elephant was shaped like a pillar. The one who touched the tail called it a rope; the one who felt the ear, a fan; the one who felt the body said it was shaped like a wall."

"And the one who touched the tusk said it was a radish, was it not?"

"Some accounts say a pipe."

The vampire's eyes narrowed.

"The blind men each insisted that only the part they had felt was real, and quarreled over who was right. I trust you understand why I bring this up."

"So…."

The General Manager blinked his distinctive golden eyes.

"I am that elephant?"

"Well observed."

"And the blind men are the people I have met thus far?"

"Humans and mages, to be precise."

The vampire shrugged lightly.

"Unless one possesses special means, like that impudent lump of flesh called Kwon Do-heon or the 'Hanged Man,' it is difficult to perceive the elephant's true nature. Let alone you—you are a being that cannot even be reduced to a metaphor as paltry as an elephant before the blind."

"I am also a person, you know."

"I expected you would say that."

He was still young, so it was understandable. It was in the nature of many young creatures to live without knowing their own true form. The "Guest Without Taste" resolved to understand the General Manager with good grace.

"To summarize, depending on what kind of being looks at you, under what circumstances, and by what means, your appearance changes. Of course, you yourself are one unchanging being, but from their perspective, that is how it is."

The General Manager then asked.

"I do not appear as a person?"

"You may, to some."

"Depending on the case?"

"Depending on the case."

To some, he would be a child. To others, an adult; to one he might appear human, while to another he would look a monster.

Perhaps he would even be seen as nature itself, or the universe, or a vast god.

"As though one does not know what lies inside a box…."

The vampire wiggled his fingers.

"They will guess at you within the limits of their own cognition. Just as the blind man touches the elephant's leg and calls it a pillar. Because a being that exceeds the scope of what they know cannot be interpreted."

"Even though I am plainly in human form."

"Of course, that outward shape exerts a certain degree of influence."

This immense being was painstakingly molding even his own vessel into a human form, mimicking "a person"—what mortal slab of meat could possibly see through it?

'He would be angry if I said so.'

It was not yet time to provoke the General Manager's wrath, so the "Guest Without Taste" swallowed the thought.

"However, you do acknowledge that you are not 'an ordinary person.'"

"That much is true."

"Consider it a kind of side effect."

"Ah, I see."

The General Manager then asked.

"In that case, why did the newly hired staff member react the way she did?"

"Ah, right—that was the main point."

The vampire felt the bizarre sensation once again. Come to think of it, he had been in the middle of a lengthy explanation of why one is one. Within something close to resignation, the "Guest Without Taste" continued.

"That child entered into a contract with you, did she not?"

"A contract."

The General Manager rolled his eyes dryly.

"Do you mean the same kind as with the 'Drenched One'?"

"The type differs somewhat, but yes—in the sense that she becomes 'family' by sharing a soul, the context is the same."

"Family?"

"Oh."

The vampire's eyes curved in a narrow smile.

"Are you interested?"

"Of course."

"A contract is a ritual of sharing the soul in lieu of blood. Broadly speaking, it is akin to accepting someone as 'my child.' A kind of adoption process, if you will."

"That does not quite sit well."

"You would do well to grow accustomed to the position of a parent."

The vampire's reaction soured slightly. Who in the world would attempt to "adopt" Velmareth as a "child"? Crawling beneath him, perhaps.

"You do have your dignity as the General Manager."

"Hmm…."

It was not so much that—he simply found the metaphor of "adoption" for the process of hiring someone a bit excessive, but.

'I am more suited to the role of caretaker than the one being cared for.'

[Yes.]

'Above all, I am hardly of an age to be adopted as someone's child.'

Even as he thought this, the General Manager chose not to voice it aloud. It was not a misunderstanding that urgently needed correcting. Had he been in "Lee Yeon-woo Mode," the story might have been a little different, but….

For now, there was something he was more curious about.

"Then can all contract holders see the 'elephant'?"

Is that why she was so afraid?

"On that note, the 'Drenched One' would be the same, and even in Seome's case, there seemed to be no major reaction. Is this also related to the 'type' or 'capacity'?"

"Precisely."

The vampire nodded.

"Only to a being who is both your contract holder and possesses the capacity to perceive you does that 'portion' become visible."

"Merely a portion, not the whole?"

"Just because a blind man has opened his eyes, can he take in the whole of a mountain that stretches to the sky? At most, he would see a single tree planted on that mountain, or a vague outline."

And, the vampire added quietly.

"Above all, in Seome's case, she is not a complete contract holder."

At present, Seome was split evenly between the "Lover of Dawn" and the General Manager.

"Seome is but a small, frail water spirit, so even if a complete contract were forged, I cannot say how much of you she could see. Hmm, if I had to guess—about one tree's worth?"

"You are quite dismissive."

"I would call it an objective perspective."

Considering the Artist's soul contained within that spirit, she might see somewhat more, but that was a matter for further observation. At the moment, she was in too unstable a state.

"And that is why my child was a different story."

"Because she has more 'means' to perceive the 'elephant' than Seome?"

"The white birds of the 'Lover of Dawn,' my own disciples—most 'subordinates' of a labyrinth are merely parts of the labyrinth. They cannot become the labyrinth itself."

But,

"'The Fox Sister' became my disciple while remaining a labyrinth. That is why she could see it—a portion of you."

Because she has the ability to withstand it.

"In the Gaps, the more one knows, the more easily one breaks. Yet without knowing, one dies without even understanding why. Of course, that is the story of lowly slabs of meat…."

"Lowly slabs of meat?"

"Unlike those adorable slabs of meat, even the subordinates of a labyrinth, who have their share of skill, cannot see the whole of you. 'The Fox Sister' was merely able to see a portion. That is the only difference."

The General Manager studied the "Guest Without Taste" in silence for a moment, then murmured low.

"I was not asking you to change the modifier."

"Do you think I failed to grasp that?"

"That you grasped it and still did it is what I find detestable."

"I am honored."

He meant it, more or less. In all the world, how many beings could make Velmareth feel "detestable"?

"In conclusion, it would be because she met the minimum conditions to perceive a portion of you as a being. That is why she was so afraid, and simultaneously felt such elation."

"……."

"Ah."

When the General Manager's gaze landed on him, the vampire smiled and offered a courteous bow.

"Of course, in the case of myself or that water-ghost lady, the story is somewhat different."

"You have not even contracted with me yet."

"Ah, but I have received and drunk your blood."

"And my emotions."

"That is what constitutes a different 'type' of contract."

Contracts, after all, take more varied forms than one might think.

"The terms for them vary as well. I call mine disciples, but there are those who, like the 'Drenched One,' treat theirs as water drops, and those who, like the 'Lover of Dawn,' do not even grant them a name and merely use them as servants."

"In my case, it would be 'staff.'"

The General Manager reached his own tidy understanding.

'Isn't this just a level effect, put simply?'

[Yes. Coco, guaranteed.]

'I see.'

Games did have effects along similar lines. Unaware of the General Manager's inner thoughts, the "Guest Without Taste" naturally steered the topic.

"On that note."

"Yes, please go on."

"Have you considered hiring a few more?"

The vampire let slip a touch of wheedling.

"I am in the midst of preparing the banquet, and we are desperately short of hands."

"And it is not that you simply dislike getting your own hands dirty for the sake of appearances?"

"Haha, that reason is not entirely absent."

The vampire replied with easy brazenness.

"For those of us who are labyrinths with a definite narrative, that 'appearance' is itself a vital element of sustaining ourselves."

At those words, the General Manager completed his understanding in his own way.

'Meaning that making a lore error causes damage.'

[Yes? Yes.]

Coco did not particularly deny it, either.

"Understood."

The General Manager nodded.

"I have no idea where the remaining fifty-two are or what they are doing, but…."

"They are in hibernation in the mountain valleys of Gapyeong. I quarantined them separately, as I suspected you would dislike commotion."

"Very well. In that case, please add your judgment as Executive Chef and filter them once more. If you bring the paperwork trimmed to roughly ten, I shall hire an additional four from among them."

Adding four to the new hire would make exactly five. That should suffice for hosting a banquet.

"As you are aware, I do not care for commotion."

"I shall be careful."

The vampire smiled in satisfaction.

'…As expected, even while feigning otherwise, he knows everything when it comes to the hotel.'

How embarrassing, really.

* * *

"Coco, question."

"What is it."

"Blood-water."

"A goddamn business, this."

The Water Wraith clicked her tongue openly. She was clearly displeased.

"Fine—if you, little devil, are to become a proper master of this place, then you must know what there is to know."

Having grown somewhat fond of the creature after exchanging words these past few days, she exercised a measure of generosity and resolved to teach Coco about the "Guest Without Taste's" underhanded scheming.

"First is the meat shield, second is building a temple, and third is emergency rations."

"Meat?"

"It won't taste good, so don't even try."

Setting the General Manager aside, the human "Lee Yeon-woo's" body was dreadfully frail. The vampire intended to assemble a praetorian guard for his master's safety.

It was a notion befitting a wraith who had once been human and an aristocrat.

"Above all, blood too is a liquid, and the more of it that gathers, the greater its power…."

Blood Magic was a discipline founded on religion.

The deeper the faith, and the more believers gathered at the god's side, the more its efficiency was maximized. The very act of vampires assembling here was no different from a grand act of worship and a magic-amplification device.

"And what is a vampire, in the end, if not a mass of blood-water?"

"Blood-water? Yes, Coco. Agree."

"If my friend swallows one bite when he's hungry, there won't even be a trace."

Velmareth was a being made of blood-water.

'A somewhat special blood-water, admittedly.'

Which also meant that if blood ran short, his very existence could collapse. The "Guest Without Taste" surely harbored thoughts of butchering his own kin and disciples to offer up to his god in an emergency.

Even if it was paltry compared to the god's blood, it would suffice for emergency treatment.

"…Ah, and."

From deep within the dark blue hole, the Water Wraith murmured on.

"It seems he also has an eye toward summoning enough strength to control that crow."

"Strength to control."

Coco, melted into the darkness of the deep sea, blinked. It was a habit picked up from watching Lee Yeon-woo.

"The 'Lover of Dawn'?"

"Yes. When the part of my friend that's inside it comes back, that crow will be raging and thrashing for quite some time."

"Coco. Worried."

"In the end, hmm…."

The Water Wraith sank into thought for a moment. After a long deliberation, she succeeded in selecting a clumsy, fabricated word.

"…Preparations for the 'game,' I would suppose?"

A game, of all things.

For a Water Wraith from an oral tradition spanning thousands of years, it was a truly ill-fitting and bizarre word.

* * *

Hyeon Si-gyeong was the person who had waited the longest for this "game" to be completed.