Chapter 006
“I told you, nothing unusual showed up on Security Bunny B’s camera. So why are you making such a fuss?”
It was a red-haired man and a brown-haired man. Judging by the fact that they were wearing the same clothes as the Security Bunny, they seemed to be hotel security guards.
I pressed myself a little closer to the hole. However, because the lobby was dark, I couldn’t see their faces clearly.
“The sound, the sound, the sound, I heard it.”
“That damn sound again. No new customers are coming in, and the hospitality department has been completely wiped out. What’s the big deal if there’s a little noise? Hey, this is a Security Bunny patrol zone. Not even a mouse shows up here.”
At the red-haired man’s irritability, the brown-haired man lowered his head, appearing at a loss. It seemed the red-haired one was the superior and the brown-haired one was the subordinate.
Hmm. I don’t think I’ve seen a combination like that in the game.
“B-b-b-but.”
“Drop it, you brat.”
Red-head kicked his subordinate’s leg. The staggering brown-haired man fell flat on the floor just like that.
‘Crazy bastard. I should sue him for that.’
Meanwhile, the brown-haired man didn’t show much of a reaction, as if he were used to his boss’s unjust violence. He merely struggled calmly to pick himself up. But somehow, his flailing movements looked incredibly awkward.
Almost like a person who found it difficult to move smoothly because they were wearing a giant mascot suit….
The thought didn’t get a chance to go any further.
“Huh?”
Was it an illusion?
For a split second… I felt like I made eye contact with the red-head.
“Hey, wait a minute.”
Red-head grabbed his subordinate by the scruff of the neck and pulled him up. I hurriedly pulled my eye away from the hole and curled up in the corner of the desk.
‘Please, please just go away.’
It’s this dark, just think it was a mistake and move on!
However, it seemed he had no intention of letting it go without a fuss.
“Haha, I see. Hey, that noise the Security Bunny heard? Looks like that thing over there made it.”
‘Shit!’
It was no use. Was it game over just like this?
‘No. I’m not going to let myself get caught so easily.’
I took out the pocket watch I had tucked away and flipped the cover open. The hologram game screen immediately popped up.
‘Before the game is over, I’m returning to the save point myself…!’
I quickly entered the system window and touched the save file I had created in advance. The text written on the pop-up window that followed was….
《 Oops! You cannot return to a save point unless you have died. 🙁 》
Are you kidding me, you piece of junk game!
‘This is driving me crazy. Should I just attack first and run?’
When playing the game, I had no choice because stepping on a bug would cause it to freeze immediately, but since being possessed, my actions had become free, so somehow….
I braced myself to get up and bolt. However, I never ended up trading blows with the red-haired guy.
BOOM—!
Along with a sudden explosion, the pile of dolls in front of me blew apart into pieces.
Splat. Debris from the Bunny Bunnies, mixed with droplets of blood, flew at me and left sticky stains on my face. I heard cackling laughter from behind.
“I guess those pieces of trash still work even in that state. They’re still twitching. I’ve smashed them to bits now, so they should be quiet.”
“Ye-ye-yes….”
“Let’s go. If you annoy me again, I’ll smash your mask first. A half-wit like you is finished the moment your mask breaks. You know that, right?”
“…….”
“Won’t you answer properly? High-ish, anyway, the employees that bastard Vespery brings in don’t have a single decent quality about them. I don’t know what’s so great about that copycat brat that the General Manager dotes on him so much.”
The sound of footsteps faded away. Soon, I was the only one left in the darkened lobby.
No, I wasn’t the only thing left. Because the remains of numerous Bunny Bunnies, no longer able to maintain a whole shape, were scattered all around.
‘…This sucks.’
I took off the apron I was wearing and used the back of it to roughly wipe my face. But no matter how much I wiped, the afterimage remaining before my eyes wouldn’t disappear.
“…….”
I knew they were just game characters. Especially the Bunny Bunnies—I knew well that they were just dolls. I also knew that this was just that kind of game.
But the black bead eyes of the exploding Bunny Bunnies looked so sorrowful, like living creatures capable of feeling emotion.
“…Ha.”
I tossed the apron aside and approached the doll pile. Because the top of the pile had collapsed, the Room Bunny I had been trying to pull out was now exposed at the very top.
“I’m sorry. Excuse me.”
I pulled the Room Bunny down and carefully stripped off its clothes. Since the Bunny Bunnies only wore tops, I was able to get my hands on the Room Department uniform quickly.
I took off the dress I was wearing and changed clothes immediately.
‘Good thing I was wearing shorts under the dress.’
Otherwise, I would have had to walk around in my underwear.
The clothes fit reasonably well. Perhaps because it was manufactured incorrectly, this particular Room Bunny was smaller than the others. Since I only changed my top anyway, it didn’t really matter if it was a bit big.
For the record, I dressed the black dress I had been wearing onto the Room Bunny I was indebted to. Maybe because the dress was baggy and loose like a sack, it luckily fit that side well too.
After finishing my business, I began to gather the scattered remains of the Bunny Bunnies.
I wasn’t trying to do anything grand. I just… didn’t want to leave them like this.
Like trash that had outlived its usefulness and been tossed away.
“Phew.”
After roughly completing the mound, I wiped my hands again on the apron I had thrown earlier. A bit of concern hit me belatedly.
‘What if that red bastard comes back and throws a fit about who tidied this up?’
I don’t know. Would a game NPC even have that much intelligence?
Well, listening to the conversation earlier, he didn’t seem like the type of character to go out of his way to do something troublesome. The main lobby seemed half-abandoned, so no one would probably come to check on it on purpose.
Alright. Now my business in the main lobby was finished.
‘Let’s move fast.’
The next place to go for employee registration was… none other than the Guest Room Tower.
* * *
Main Tower 1st floor corridor was pitch dark, just like the lobby.
It looked as though it wasn’t being operated at all. At least the light leaking from the lounges situated here and there helped me distinguish what was ahead.
After passing two lounges like that, I finally arrived in front of the Dusk Tower lounge.
As I stepped through the glass doors, a bright space decorated with an immense amount of red flowers unfolded before my eyes.
“Hmm.”
To be honest, I didn’t gasp in admiration. While it looked flashy at a glance, looking closely at every nook and cranny, I could feel that it wasn’t being managed properly. There were footprints on the sofa and some flowerpots were knocked over.
‘A detail I couldn’t see in the game.’
It was fascinating, but I didn’t have time for a thorough look. I quickly approached the three elevators lined up on one wall of the lounge. Fortunately, they were all on the 1st floor.
‘Any of them, any of them.’
It didn’t matter which one I took. I pressed the button for the nearest elevator and hopped inside. The interior, made of dark wood, was classic and cozy enough to reminiscent of an old-fashioned elevator from an old movie.
“Phew….”
Now that I was definitely alone, I felt like I could breathe. I never thought a confined space would be this welcoming.
I lightly stretched my neck while checking the elevator buttons. There were an enormous number of buttons.
‘Up to the 7th floor is the Main Tower… and from the 8th floor is the Guest Room Tower.’
It was exactly like in the game. Thank goodness.
I pressed the 8th floor and leaned against the elevator wall. Reaching the destination was quick.
Ding—.
「Floor 8.」
The elevator doors opened smoothly.
Beyond them, a front lobby with a sophisticated interior revealed itself.
“Oh.”
The lobby, accented with red, had an overall elegant and majestic atmosphere. From the way expensive-looking furniture and props were professionally and harmoniously arranged, I could feel at a glance that this was a space they had put considerable effort into.
‘It looks like this place is being managed fairly well.’
While scanning the surroundings, I looked up without much thought. My jaw dropped automatically.
The core element that they must have poured the most heart into in the overall design of this lobby was right there.
“Wow….”
It was a crimson sunset.
An incredibly vivid hologram of a late afternoon sky was flowing across the ceiling, which seemed to be at least three stories high.
It was such a natural and realistic hologram that for a moment, I forgot I was indoors.
‘Is it because this is the Dusk Tower?’
Whatever the reason, it was certainly good to look at. After seeing all sorts of blood-splattered scenes until now (one of which was my own blood!), facing such beautiful nature felt like my heart was being cleared out.
I was forgetting my original purpose and admiring the reddish sky when it happened.
「Crackle, crack-crackle—.」
The sound of a broken speaker, or something similar, was heard from somewhere.
