Chapter 196

Inari foxes.

Sacred creatures that serve the Japanese god Inari, who presides over grain, abundance, and wealth. Transparent and divine beings that cause no harm to humans and exist only to relay the god's revelations and assist people.

'The origin of inari sushi also traces back to the custom of offering fried tofu at shrines, based on the belief that Inari foxes were fond of it.'

Knead, knead—

Inari sushi took shape at the tips of Lee Yeon-woo's fingers.

"……."

"……."

No fewer than eight eyes watched those hands at work. Flanking Coco on either side—with No. 14 perched atop Coco's head—two small foxes sat in the exact same posture, chests puffed out with pride.

"…Would you like some?"

When Lee Yeon-woo cautiously extended the plate, the two foxes began to patter in circles around Coco in the center, trotting round and round. They looked for all the world like giddy children.

"Kong!"

"Kong-kong!"

It was hard to tell whether they liked it because it was fried tofu, or simply because the act of eating itself was delightful.

'In the old days, Coco would have shoved them away in annoyance. Quite the display of patience.'

It felt exactly like watching the eldest child, forced to grow up because a second (No. 14) and now a third (the foxes) had suddenly come along. The newfound maturity was admirable, but at the same time, it left behind a peculiar twinge of guilt and regret.

Lee Yeon-woo straightened his attire and thought.

'Throwing all the tantrums one pleases ought to be a child's privilege.'

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Ah, so you were biding your time for a tantrum after all."

It was closer to being spoiled than throwing a tantrum, but still.

"Coco, I have put extra braised meat inside your sushi, specially."

"Meat!"

"You must have been greatly startled and anxious by my unusual behavior of late. This is my way of thanking you for enduring so well and getting along with the others."

"Hehe!"

"Thank you for your hard work."

"Coco, impressive!"

When Lee Yeon-woo gently stroked the area around Coco's cheek, Coco rubbed its body against his palm so vigorously that its face lost its shape entirely, clearly in high spirits.

"……."

Hmm.

It was imitating a cat, clumsily, but since this being was composed not of soft fur or flesh but of a peculiar substance, the question of how best to pet it for maximum satisfaction always followed.

'It seems perfectly happy regardless, so perhaps it does not matter.'

While Coco emptied its portion, Lee Yeon-woo observed the foxes beside it.

'…I am glad they are eating well, but….'

The conversation he'd had with the foxes came back to him.

Those creatures had called themselves "Inari foxes" of their own accord and said they had arrived here alongside the "Fox Sister" recently hired by the General Manager.

"……."

"No?"

"In that case, what would you think of establishing a company daycare?"

"No."

Coco insisted firmly.

"Not children."

"Oh."

This time, even Lee Yeon-woo was genuinely impressed. He kneaded Coco with both hands.

"That was a splendid sentence construction. The placement of subject and predicate improves noticeably by the day. We have been short on Korean-language study time lately, yet here you are."

"Coco. Impressive cat."

"This time, I cannot help but acknowledge it."

The headache-inducing matter of workplace welfare would be revisited later.

Lee Yeon-woo gazed at No. 14, which was hovering near the sushi and extending a jelly-like part of its body like a hand to poke at it, and at the foxes tilting their heads as they watched No. 14's behavior, and sank into thought.

'In the end, Inari foxes are sacred creatures that serve a god.'

Put simply, the little foxes were accepting Lee Yeon-woo as their "god."

'I want to clear up this misunderstanding somehow.'

"…? No?"

"It really is impossible?"

"Yes."

"I express my deepest regret."

He meant it.

'I must have been out of my mind.'

As if the existing misunderstanding of being "the previous Devil" weren't enough. If only he could say that "General Manager Mode" was not him—but since it was merely a different version of Lee Yeon-woo himself, this was his own karma.

'There is definitely a side effect where human-level intelligence temporarily drops when I enter that mode.'

It was likely because the brain was synchronizing and operating the hotel's vast information in real time. The overloaded brain would be the first to cut away its capacity to process "minor information."

Put simply, the domains of "humanity" and "emotion" that Lee Yeon-woo had built up over a lifetime.

'Because those are not strictly necessary knowledge for living as the hotel's General Manager.'

"No…."

"……?"

Lee Yeon-woo looked down at Coco. Coco, whose mouth had vanished, had gone strangely limp and wilted.

"Strictly necessary knowledge…."

"I share that sentiment."

"General Manager area for improvement: sensitivity…."

"My sensitivity has always been on the arid side."

"General Manager area for improvement: Lee Yeon-woo…."

"Now you have expanded it to an area where my very existence needs to be overhauled?"

In any case.

'As I thought, fundamentally nothing has changed from the Coco I know.'

He gently drew the sulking Coco into his arms.

A weightless, lukewarm, squishy cat went limp in his embrace. Lee Yeon-woo rubbed Coco's belly with gloved fingers.

"I understand well what you mean."

It was Coco's way of expressing worried concern: do not turn into a machine like that.

"By the way, this is a problem. The 'Drenched One' will not let this incident slide, either."

"Yes."

"This has become truly troublesome."

"Hello?"

"The 'Guest Without Taste' may tease me over this, but he will not throw a fit the way the 'Drenched One' will. He is the type who finds it difficult to express 'I missed you' even indirectly, through pettiness."

Whether the man himself was aware of that fact, Lee Yeon-woo could not be certain.

'At the very least, he will cooperate until this situation is resolved.'

Having reached that conclusion, Lee Yeon-woo turned his eyes to the two black bundles of fur.

"Kong?"

"Kong-kong."

Sensing his gaze, the creatures scurried over and sat side by side at the table's edge, posing like carved fox statues. Atop "Kong-kong's" head, No. 14 was perched like a hat.

No. 14, too, seemed to have taken a liking to the fox's soft crown.

'I did not exactly call them over, but.'

If he simply thought of it as temporarily looking after a colleague's children, there was no reason he couldn't get along with them. Lee Yeon-woo was, in truth, fond of people, but….

'I far prefer animals to humans.'

In the sense that the behavior of most animals one might encounter was far more regular and intuitive than the complex psychology of humans. Lee Yeon-woo opened his mouth, slow and deliberate.

"You said you were Inari foxes."

"We serve the god."

"Fox serves the god."

Whether they meant they served a god in fox form, or that they, as foxes, served a god—

'I suspect the latter.'

Lee Yeon-woo continued calmly.

"As I have said repeatedly, I am not the Inari god."

"…?"

"…?"

"……."

He was struck speechless. Looking down at the two small heads tilting quizzically, Lee Yeon-woo dragged a hand down his face.

"The Inari god is, by nature, a being who presides over abundance and wealth. Is that correct?"

"It is abundant, though."

"It is lavish, though."

"Any human with an excess of money and capital lives in abundance and lavishness."

"Human?"

"Human?"

"……."

Lee Yeon-woo was speechless for the second time.

'How maddening that I cannot decisively refute this.'

At the very least, it was an undeniable fact that the system's records and textual citations classified "Velmareth" as a "blood god" or a transcendent being of equivalent standing.

'And at present, I am that Velmareth….'

Reflecting on his memories of operating his own body and riding through the plumbing, he could not help but doubt whether he truly existed within the biological specifications of a complete "human."

Even so, it was only natural for a humble citizen to feel aggrieved.

"Do I still appear that way to you?"

At Lee Yeon-woo's question, the black bundles of fur chattered.

"The fox-god mimics being a person."

"The fox-god mimics being a person very well."

It is not mimicry.

"……."

"Hello?"

"Yes, it is all right. Thank you for your concern."

Lee Yeon-woo expressed his gratitude at Coco's check-in.

'This is more vexing than I expected.'

He could hardly insist on dragging young animals—who could barely form complete sentences—into a deep biological discussion on identity and the bifurcation of self between animal and human.

'Calm down.'

"Yes."

'This is not difficult.'

Lee Yeon-woo forced himself to steady his reason.

'Reflecting on the Fox Sister's reaction when I encountered her, it may well be that this kind of hypothesis is perfectly natural within these young foxes' cognitive framework.'

Above all, the most urgent problem at hand was not the confusion of his own identity.

"You requested that I assign you duties."

At that single line, the two foxes flattened themselves and pressed their forepaws together.

"Fox begs to be of use."

"Fox delivers wishes and spreads the divine will in all directions."

"Fox stands before the gate and drives out uninvited guests,"

"hunts down the vermin and filthy rats that gnaw at the grain,"

"and punishes humans who show insolence toward the master."

The moment a full litany of the Inari spirit's divine portfolio was laid out, a dull ache throbbed at the base of his sternum. Since the organ was made of blood, it was unlikely to be actual inflammation—nine times out of ten, it was psychological, or a variety of phantom pain.

'In simple terms, they are asking to be employed as the shrine's general manager and security guard—collecting human prayers and delivering them to the god, guarding the sanctuary, protecting assets on-site, and monitoring civilians.'

But regrettably, this was not a shrine.

'Let alone that it is smack in the middle of a Western-style horror hotel.'

The self-identity of a Korean who had once been issued a Republic of Korea resident registration card, and the professional identity of a Western-style hotel General Manager, collided with this bizarre situation and produced a cognitive dissonance.

"……."

But given that they were clearly either the bloodline or at least within the domain of a subordinate staff member, he could not very well turn them away coldly.

Lee Yeon-woo adjusted his glasses and continued.

"You mentioned punishing insolent humans. In that case, what do you plan to do regarding humans who deserve to be rewarded?"

"Fox faithfully delivers the reward bestowed by the god."

"Fox watches closest and dotes upon them."

"Very well. Then I shall designate a suitable subject. Among the human guests here, there is a young student by the name of Kwon Do-heon."

Lee Yeon-woo laid his characteristic smile over his lips and murmured gently.

"He is a friend who has rather caught my eye. Would you take responsibility for protecting that guest, above all?"

"Fox protects the youngest one there?"

"Fundamentally, I would like you to ensure the safety of all human guests staying at this hotel."

Tapping the table lightly with his fingertips, he drew the line.

"What I meant was: should an absolute deadlock arise where saving everyone is impossible, please defend that friend as the top priority. In business terms, he would be the number-one VIP for personal security."

"Kong."

"Kong-kong."

"……?"

The two foxes began spinning in circles on the spot, as though chasing their own tails. Presumably, Lee Yeon-woo's clear and specific work order had pleased them greatly.

Presently, having stopped their satisfied rotation, the creatures settled neatly into place.

"Fox delivers the reward bestowed by the god."

"Fox delivers the blessing bestowed by the god."

The words had barely left their mouths before they pattered off, their small feet pattering, and melted away into the dark shadow pooled on the floor. A perfect exit.

"……."

"Coco. Distrust."

"Though they may look like that, did they not introduce themselves as foxes of the venerable Inari tradition? I believe there is a measure of credibility to be found."

"Distrust."

"I will not pretend I harbor no doubts whatsoever."

Their reaction had been, unmistakably, that of children thrilled to have received an errand from an adult.

"But at the very least, we have preemptively avoided the worst-case scenario of leaving them unsupervised to cause trouble or turn hostile toward the human guests."

"Safe checkout."

"So long as no harm comes to those people, that is sufficient."

That much was enough.

***

"—Haah—"

When he came to his senses, everything around him was utterly still.

"Hah, hnngh…."

His breath came fast, as though he'd woken from a nightmare.

'I'm sure I closed my eyes in bed.'

Kwon Do-heon found himself standing dumbly before the cold front door of the guest room.

The chill of the marble seeped up through his bare soles, and one hand was clenched tight around the brass doorknob, as if he'd been about to open it without thinking. And, and probably….

Kwon Do-heon had no memory of walking here.

"What in the world—"

—So close.

"……."

From beyond the firmly shut door, "Seome" whispered.

—I could have taken him.

Then came a dull, scraping sound—like skin dragged across a rough floor—and the entire corridor sank once more into a heavy silence.

Kwon Do-heon stood gripping the doorknob for a long while, then, fingers trembling, slowly released his hand. When he happened to glance down, he saw two pairs of black tails swishing gently in the shadow at his feet.

'I came to my senses because of them.'

But that, too, was chilling.

"…Uh…."

If I had these two pairs of tails to snap me awake, then Seome—where was Seome?

The thought hit him, and Kwon Do-heon looked around in a panic.

"Huh."

Seome was gone.

"Sunbae-nim."

The white owl had vanished.

***

"……."

"I have no excuse."

Lee Yeon-woo delivered his apology with a neat, unsmiling face.

"That this situation was allowed to occur is plainly my failure and my fault."

"That's not… no, it's not like…."

"The fact that the adults around you, Mr. Kwon Do-heon, and you yourself gave your best at every turn does not change. The emotions you are feeling now are the natural product of this unreasonable environment."

"I really, it's not that…."

"In a situation and an environment like this, do not impose standards like 'maturity' or 'being a burden' on yourself for struggling. Denying your emotions does not raise Seome's odds of rescue."

Cha Do-hyeon, who had been quietly listening to that impassive tone, cut in with a crooked smirk.

"Seeing as the General Manager goes out of his way to use the term 'odds of rescue,' our owl friend is at least still alive. Right?"

"Seome has not yet been fully offered up. I currently share a contract with Seome, however partial. On this point alone, you may place your complete trust."

"Wow, is he really going to ignore me this thoroughly?"

Watching Cha Do-hyeon's dumbfounded reaction, Lee Seon-hae murmured quietly.

"They do say kids can spot a bad person like nobody's business."

"That was aimed at me, wasn't it?"

Whether Cha Do-hyeon grumbled or not, Lee Yeon-woo's gaze remained firmly fixed on Kwon Do-heon alone.

"At present, Seome is most likely being held in reserve as a sort of 'bait' to drive the next event. Now that things have reached this stage, I must impose upon you something for which I owe you an apology."

At that, Dan-cheong asked.

"By 'something to apologize for,' do you mean that? The request you made last time—'help me'?"

"Yes. I am making the same request again."

"No thought of coercion? You have a hostage, after all—seems to me that'd be far easier and faster."

"I am well aware that this situation itself already constitutes a considerable form of coercion upon you."

Lee Yeon-woo continued in a composed voice.

"When the situation itself is already a sin, I do not wish to add to it myself."

▶ [SYSTEM] Main Quest Update: General Manager's Commission [Main Performance: 'Lover of Dawn']

"I wish to escort you all to the Grand Banquet Hall."

"Well, would you look at this one."

"Under my authority, no one will be physically harmed or lose their life. However, you may suffer extreme mental fatigue and shock, and upon completion of the event, the relevant memories may be erased by mutual consent."

"Awfully forthright, aren't you?"

"I would like you to clearly recognize the weight and danger this commission carries."

Dan-cheong, having quietly mulled over those terms, tilted her head at an angle and asked again.

"After putting on that fierce face and scaring us half to death, what will you do if none of us agree to attend the banquet? From the look of things, this seems like more than 'Lee Yeon-woo' can handle alone."

"I shall respect that choice as well, wholly. The final judgment and authority over this commission rest solely with you."

"Would you now?"

"I have neither the right nor the standing to demand the sacrifice of others."

Instead,

"I can only use myself."

"For a fellow who looks as pretty and pallid as a courtesan's brother, you say that."

Dan-cheong rested the flat of her blade on her shoulder.

"You have quite the tough streak, little spirit."

She had, at last, decided to define this arrogant yet upright being as a "spirit."

"Open the way, if you would."

"Thank you for agreeing."

And so, Lee Yeon-woo asked courteously.

"Will you attend the banquet?"

▶ [Yes]

▶ [No]

***

▶ [Yes]

***

The Grand Banquet Hall's chandelier, scattering dazzling shards of light in every direction.

Beneath that enormous chandelier, the "Guest Without Taste," who had been calmly reading the hotel's currents and traces with eyes closed, at last smiled in satisfaction.

"It has been a very long time since I prepared a banquet this grand."

For him, too, it was a fairly interesting and pleasant diversion as well as a labor.

"Honored guests will arrive before long."

"Yes, Teacher."

"Attend to them with the utmost devotion, that no hospitality be found wanting."

In the end, their essence and their proudest identity was none other than that of "cooks."

"We must make it enjoyable."

For those who had prepared countless dishes, the task of dressing one slightly larger "bird" upon the cutting board was not so unfamiliar.

However,

"……."

"…Teacher?"

"It is nothing."

As expected, the General Manager's habit of trying to shoulder the matter alone while leaving those trifling slabs of meat to stand idle could not help but grate on him.

'He is making me intervene.'

What manner of god could be this ignorant of putting the right person in the right place?