Chapter 007
“?!”
I hurriedly corrected my posture and scanned the surroundings. Finding the source of the crackling static sound, which seemed to originate from a broken speaker, wasn’t difficult.
The painting inside the large frame right next to me was slowly distorting.
‘…It’s here.’
Unbeknownst to me, I swallowed hard. Meanwhile, the paint on the canvas clumped together, forming a black circle.
Then, a shape began to take form.
「Whoooo are youuuu~?」
A black cat with an unnervingly large mouth.
Its luminescent yellow eyes stared directly at me. The white clock-hand pattern etched onto the cat’s forehead was incredibly vivid.
I tightly clenched my cold, numbing fists behind my back.
‘Cheshire.’
The worst bug in the game <Hello Happy Hotel> had made its appearance.
* * *
Cheshire was the mascot of <Hello Happy Hotel> and a secretary character designed to help the player navigate the game smoothly.
In short, it was a special NPC that would run over to provide explanations whenever a new function was unlocked.
But that kind of, cute little kitten… went a bit mad upon entering Hard Mode.
【 Title: Having a Blast Getting X-pennied by Hard Mode Cheshire ♥♥ 】
My soft, cute, tiny, kind baby cat Cheshire turned into some crazy feline brat and blew up my phone. It was summer… f*ck.
Why is Cheshire like this in Hard Mode? Its condition is weird. Its eyes are totally gone.
I was so pissed that I researched how to beat Cheshire. But I failed, lol.
No, seriously, every time I go to meet it, a new behavioral pattern comes out. I spent weeks just digging into Cheshire… sigh.
Still, I think you just need to remember this: Never make Cheshire angry.
Just play with the mindset of treating it as politely as possible. When dealing with it, you shouldn’t even touch the screen too quickly.
Remember. If you make the crazy cat Cheshire angry, your phone will meet its end… 】
In fact, more than a few people had their phones ruined because of Cheshire. I was so scared that I purposefully played on a spare device.
But now, I can’t create a minimum safety device, nor can I exit the game and run away.
It meant I had to face the worst bug of <Hello Happy Hotel> Hard Mode, Cheshire, head-on.
「Whoooo are youuuu~?」
「The clothes are deeeefinitely the Guest Room Department uniform…. But there are no more hoteliers belonging to the Guest Room Department in the Dusk Tower….」
「I asked, whoooo are youuuu~?」
Cheshire pressed repeatedly. I really had to answer now.
‘When I was playing the game, options would have popped up around here.’
But now, nothing appeared before my eyes, and the pocket watch didn’t vibrate either. Apparently, options aren’t given in this state of possession.
Ultimately, I spoke the correct dialogue option that I still remembered vividly.
“I am indeed a staff member belonging to the Dusk Tower.”
「Mmm~?」
Cheshire’s face popped out of the screen. Its head tilted at a 30-degree angle.
「That can’t beee…. You, who are you reaaaally~?」
“I am indeed a staff member belonging to the Dusk Tower.”
Cheshire’s face drew even closer. The angle of its head, now twice as large as before, was now 60 degrees.
「Cheshire hates lies. …You, whoooo~?」
“I am indeed a staff member belonging to the Dusk Tower.”
I must never back down here. I recalled the last item of the ‘Early Hard Mode Strategy’ posted on the game community.
【 (3) When you enter the Dusk Tower lobby, Cheshire will appear.
At this time, Cheshire will keep asking who you are; just keep pressing the option ‘I am a staff member belonging to the Dusk Tower.’ Keep pressing until Cheshire accepts it.
I tried picking another option once on purpose, and suddenly the screen turned bright red and the phone froze. So no matter how much Cheshire pressures you, you have to act shameless until the end.
If you hold out, Cheshire will say that employee registration is complete. Then the initial strategy is over, and you can walk around the hotel with peace of mind.
For now, this route is known to be the only way to register as an employee discovered so far. 】
As I mulled over the warning in the strategy guide, I found myself swallowing dryly. Still, up to this point, it was a pattern I knew.
For now, that is.
「Thennnn, where were you while you weren’t working~? Why are your clothes so dirtyuuu?」
Dammit, no sooner had I felt a bit of relief than an unknown pattern emerged.
I was flustered for a moment, but I couldn’t hesitate for long. Cheshire’s face was already within an arm’s length of me, and its head was tilted at 120 degrees.
In the end, I made something up.
“I don’t know. I can’t remember.”
「You can’t rememberrr?」
“When I woke up, I was collapsed in the Main Lobby. Maybe I was attacked or something? Anyway, it’s certain that I belong to the Dusk Tower. Otherwise, why would I come here wearing the Guest Room Department uniform?”
「Mmm~.」
Cheshire’s eyeballs, which had been staring intently at me, rolled around.
「Buttt, there’s no one on the Dusk Tower Guest Room Department list? It’s completely empty?」
“Is that so? Well, maybe it was an omission.”
It was a comment I threw out lightly. But Cheshire’s eyeballs, which had been rolling and rolling, came to a dead stop.
And then, with its head tilted completely upside down, didn’t it suddenly approach so close that our noses could have rubbed together?
「Omission? Mistake? Cheshire? This Cheshire made a mistake?」
“No, I mean.”
「Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire? Cheshire?」
The black cat’s head grew larger and larger. It drew closer, as if to swallow me in one bite, as if to tear me apart this instant with those sharp fangs.
Did I mess up? Should I not have said it might be an omission? Then is it game over just like this?
Wait. Even the bug where the ‘game was forced to close’ was that terrible. If something more terrible happens in the bug where the ‘phone is completely broken’….
How am I supposed to endure that?
Cheshire’s abyss-like mouth opened wide. My breathing became ragged. Sharp incisors scraped my crown. I couldn’t even bring myself to close my eyes. Some mysterious black liquid trickled down my hair and dripped onto the floor. My brain rang with the scream that erupted inside my mouth.
And so, at the moment those pearly white teeth were about to snap shut with me in between.
「…Ah.」
Cheshire suddenly pulled back its body.
「Oops, myyyy….」
Then it began to spin its head round and round.
「There is. There is. There’s one deleted record…. It seems Cheshire tidied it up because no one came to work even after the hotelier reassignment was finished….」
Cheshire’s face looked a bit embarrassed. Cheshire blinked its eyes gently, shaking its pupils back and forth.
As if the violent act of trying to invite me deep into its throat just moments ago had never happened at all.
「You areee… Alice? Yes. I found you on the hotelier list toooo…. I wonder if you were in a state of suspended animation while caught up in the commotion. It was a commotion big enough for that to happen….」
「Gooddd. I’ve just finished the re-registration, Alice. Now you definitely belong to the ‘Dusk Tower’…. Mmm.」
Cheshire scanned me from top to bottom and then let out a deceitful meow.
「It would be better to change your clothes…. Wait a sec~.」
And then it went back into the frame.
As soon as Cheshire’s tail disappeared from before my eyes, I collapsed onto the floor.
‘D-did I live?’
I was dazed. I couldn’t believe the sound of my heart, which was thumping vividly.
‘Seriously, I can’t do this a second time.’
It was a bit creepy even when playing the game, but the Cheshire I experienced in person… was truly too terrifying.
‘Now is not the time.’
I quickly opened the pocket watch and finished saving at the current point. I managed to survive, so I can’t lose it by a sudden game over.
“Phew….”
I lifted my arm and swept back my damp hair. With Cheshire’s black saliva and the blood of the Bunny Bunnies mixed together, I looked almost like a madman now.
‘Still, I’ve finished the employee registration, so I’ve passed the major hurdle.’
From now on, I will work as a staff member belonging to the Dusk Tower Guest Room Department.
The work of a Guest Room Department employee was simple. When complaints or requests from guests came in, you handled them appropriately.
Therefore, from now on, under the pretext of performing said duties, I could move around various parts of the hotel a bit more freely. Like running errands at the shopping center. I probably won’t be attacked by black Bunny Bunnies either.
But what matters to me isn’t how well I solve the guests’ requests.
‘I need to start exploring in earnest.’
I have to find a way to see the ending of this game, a way to escape from the game.
So far, in the places investigated by <Hello Happy Hotel> users, no information about the ending of Hard Mode has been found. So it would be efficient to try entering ‘places users haven’t conquered yet’ first.
‘While also handling the work appropriately so as not to upset Cheshire. First, I’ll sweep through the Dusk Tower as a whole….’
Progress quickly. Quickly.
While I was quietly burning with resolve, Cheshire returned with a bright face.
「Yes—! I brought a brand new uniform that’s perfect for Alice~.」
“Uh, yeah, thanks….”
I reached out my hand to receive the new clothes. But Cheshire’s charge didn’t stop.
And before I could even avoid it.
「Here we go~.」
Cheshire’s cave-like mouth swallowed me whole just like that.
