Chapter 008
‘Huh?’
What is this… Why is Cheshire attacking me—?
Didn’t everything go well? Is it game over again? What should I do why suddenly ahhh I can’t see anything in the darkness something is uh-huck gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp—.
“Aaaaaaaah!!”
By the time I screamed at the top of my lungs, I had already been spat out of Cheshire’s mouth.
“Heave, gasp.”
Wh-what just happened? What did I see?
I can’t remember a thing. Ah, my stomach is churning. I feel like I want to throw up, but if I do, my brain might just slide out of my mouth bit by bit—.
As I sat there hacking and dry-coughing, Cheshire spoke with a proud tone.
「Cheshire gave you a speciaaal~ bath and even changed your clothes~. You’re all clean now, Alice~.」
True to its word, my body was as fresh and clean as if I had just finished bathing. But crazy, am I supposed to say thank you for this?
“Ugh, uuuuh.”
「No need for thanks~. Cheshire is kind, after all~. Now, here is a spare uniform~.」
A bundle of clothes dropped into my arms. While I hugged the clothes feeling like a complete moron, Cheshire gave me a nudge toward the front desk.
「Now then, Cheshire will be preparing the place where Alice will work~. So Alice should go to the staff dormitory and rest for a bit~.」
“Cough. Wa-wait. I’m not going to work right away?”
In the game, you were deployed to work immediately?
At my dull-witted question, Cheshire puffed out its cheeks in dissatisfaction.
「Cheshire is not such a wicked cat~! Rest is important~. Mmm, I think Alice should use Room R-310~. Not that it matters, since all the dorms are empty anyway~.」
Cheshire’s tail flicked against the wall behind the front desk. Suddenly, a cleverly hidden door revealed itself.
Forgetting to swallow my nausea, my eyes widened.
‘There was… a space behind here?’
It was only a moment ago that I had resolved to find maps that users hadn’t conquered.
Less than ten minutes had passed, and I had already discovered a hidden secret map.
* * *
In the secret space hidden behind the front desk, there were offices for on-duty hoteliers, a breakroom, and two staff-only elevators.
As expected, these were all things I was seeing for the first time.
‘Whoa, why didn’t anyone know about this? Everyone was digging around everywhere in their own way.’
My heart swelled with excitement at the situation suddenly unfolding so smoothly. Perhaps somewhere in here, a clue to seeing the Hard Mode ending is hidden!
Taking a sharp breath, I approached the elevators.
‘Let’s go to the dorm first.’
Looking at the floor guide, the two floors directly below the front lobby were warehouses and offices. It seemed the staff dormitory started from the floor labeled ‘-3F’.
‘If it’s Room R-310… it’s probably on the -3rd floor.’
I got into the elevator and pressed ‘-3F’. The elevator operated normally and stopped at the destination shortly.
「Floor -3.」
The doors opened. A long, stretching corridor with wood tones unfolded before my eyes.
“Phew.”
Calm down. Let’s go steady. Since it’s an unfamiliar place, there’s no telling where or how a bug might pop out.
Settling my excitement, I crept out of the elevator. Because only the minimum lighting was kept on, the corridor was dim. It truly felt like the place was empty, as there wasn’t a single trace of daily life.
‘Since it’s R-310, it’s probably the tenth room…’
Glancing around, it seemed there were about twenty dorm rooms on one floor. I walked down the hall on tiptoe. Fortunately, nothing happened until I found the door labeled ‘R-310’.
I cautiously took hold of the doorknob of R-310 and pushed it inward.
Creeeeeak—.
“……”
Good. No one’s here.
I quickly entered the room and shut the door. Finally, finally, a space of my own with no one else.
“If it’s a dorm given to the player, it’s a ‘My Room’…. If a bug pops out in ‘My Room’, that’s really poor manners…”
Perhaps because it was a game made by Koreans, I had to take off my shoes to enter the room. I took off my shoes, organized them in the corner, and inspected the dorm.
The staff dormitory was a fairly spacious studio apartment of about 350 square feet. There was one bathroom near the entrance, and the room was equipped with basic furniture such as a sofa and a table.
It wasn’t grand, but it passed the test in terms of being overall clean.
And all those thoughts and vigilance evaporated the moment I saw the clean bed in the corner of the room.
“Ah, the bed.”
I’m so… so happy to see it. It would be perfect to just flop down on that right now and wake up after sleeping for about ten hours.
‘Should I lie down for just a bit before getting up…?’
Just for a very short while. Until Cheshire calls. It would be a disaster if I made a mistake in front of Cheshire because of fatigue…
Even during my exam-prep years, I hadn’t craved sleep as desperately as I did now. So, this was an unavoidable choice. I dived straight onto the white, cozy bed.
And then I sat back up three seconds later.
“…….”
Have you ever felt it?
That sudden sense of incongruity that visits during daily life. The chilling realization that something is wrong. A certain misalignment that suddenly makes the back of your neck turn cold…
All of that was radiating from this bed right now.
“…Hoo.”
I slowly knelt on the floor. I wanted to bolt out of the room immediately, but the intuition that I had to check under the bed just once weighed down on my body mercilessly.
It was right after I pressed my cheek to the floor. By the time I regained my senses, I had already scurried away like a bug and was clinging to the opposite wall.
“C-crazy.”
How on earth should I understand this sight before my eyes?
Under the bed. Under the bed of the staff dormitory where Cheshire had clearly said no one was…
A man was lying there.
* * *
A deep, heavy silence flows within the room.
I didn’t dare to break the silence, and the man under the bed seemed to have no intention of opening his mouth first.
Or to be honest, because the man’s face was buried in the darkness beneath the bed, I couldn’t properly grasp exactly what state he was in.
Ultimately, it was I, who had to defend this room, who moved first.
‘I’ll check one more time first, and depending on the situation, I’ll either bolt out of the room or not…’
After finishing my mental and physical preparations to overpower the opponent at any moment, I slowly detached myself from the wall. Even then, the man didn’t make a single movement. By this point, he seemed to be either asleep or unconscious.
‘Is there a flashlight?’
I felt like I would need to shine a light to inspect him closely.
Without taking my eyes off the bed, I rummaged through the shoe rack near the entrance. I didn’t have high expectations, but surprisingly, a long flashlight popped out. Apparently, most items for daily living were provided in each dorm.
‘Great.’
I approached the bed just as I was. Just in case, I didn’t get too close. Only to the point where the man wouldn’t be able to snatch me even if he suddenly reached out.
From that position, I lay flat on the floor and shone the light under the bed.
“……!”
My prediction was correct. The man was sprawling with his eyes tightly shut.
With his face drenched in blood.
“Holy sh*t!”
Anyone could see he was injured. Once I confirmed that, I didn’t have the luxury to weigh my options. I immediately pulled the man out from under the bed.
Now that he was out, the man had a considerable physique with a height that looked close to 190cm at a glance. Yet, pulling him out wasn’t the least bit burdensome.
‘Strange.’
Of course, that feeling quickly withered away after I confirmed the man’s disastrous condition.
“Is he… alive?”
The man’s face was a bloody mess, as if he had poured out a bucket of blood through his nose and mouth. His white shirt was soaked through with a dark reddish color—heaven knows what happened.
If all of this was his own blood, it would be weirder if he were actually alive.
“Please…”
Steadying my trembling hands, I placed a finger under the man’s nose. After waiting a moment, I felt a faint but steady breath.
Next, I placed my hand on his neck to find a pulse. It was somewhat slow, but a definite beat was throbbing regularly.
Yes. He’s alive. He didn’t seem to be in critical condition, either.
“Haaaa…”
Only then did my brain start working again. First, the most important thing.
“Who is this guy?”
Why is he doing this here? I’ve never seen a character like this, whether in the main game or in Hard Mode.
To take a closer look, I brought a towel from the bathroom and wiped his face. As the blood was wiped away, the man’s shapely forehead, thick eyebrows stretching out cleanly, and neat features were clearly revealed.
“Oh.”
It wasn’t something to say in this situation, but the man was remarkably handsome. If a popularity poll for <Hello Happy Hotel> characters had been held, he would have undoubtedly taken a top spot.
But he was still unfamiliar.
‘I wonder if he’ll try to attack suddenly when he wakes up.’
There are way too many NPCs in Hard Mode that are aggressive toward the player.
It was the moment I was contemplating whether it would be better to tie him up. An object that the man was tightly clutching in his right hand caught my eye.
