Chapter 95

Our Hotel Is Open for Business as Usual

Lee Yeon-woo absolutely did not consider himself the sociable type.

If there was anything he'd learned from the incident with Director Lee Seon-hae, it was that allowing others to develop reckless feelings of obligation or familiarity toward him was an extremely dangerous element for both parties in this place.

'Excessive trust will only cloud those students' judgment.'

[Yes!]

'I'd also rather my information not spread through some unknown society. So maintaining a thoroughly businesslike distance while finding the exit and sending them out as quickly as possible is the rational course.'

[Hello?]

'Yes, fortunately it seems The Drenched One will play along with our tune.'

When their eyes met, he'd read a will that said something like 'I'm absolutely livid and annoyed, but I'll let it slide for now.' So he should be able to guarantee the safety of himself and the two students to some degree.

"......"

"......"

...Probably.

"...Your patience wasn't as long as I'd expected."

Lee Yeon-woo looked down at the Girl in the Raincoat—The Drenched One—who had drawn close enough to touch, and raised an eyebrow.

"I can see you're thoroughly peeved."

"......"

Bloodless, pallid hands slowly raised a chilling kitchen knife.

"Oh my, really?"

A thoroughly sulking face. Watching her slow, deliberate brandishing—as if she wouldn't rest until she'd drawn blood—Lee Yeon-woo clicked his tongue briefly.

'More a toddler's tantrum at seven than killing intent.'

The Water Wraith's characteristic neediness and sadism, manifesting in a twisted form.

'The fact that today's appearance is a minor's makes it look even more like that.'

If that was how it would be. Lee Yeon-woo, in the deeply weary mindset of a guardian forced to receive a sulking adolescent Water Wraith's tantrum bare-handed, obligingly opened his arms.

"......"

Come on, then. Stab away.

'If I ignore that temper now and a stray slash reaches the kids behind me, cleaning that up would be twice as hard.'

[No?]

'Lost blood can be regenerated.'

This was no time to weigh cost-effectiveness.

'Showing them something ugly in front of the kids versus just taking a few holes in this body—the latter is the surest and cheapest option. This much isn't hard.'

Even if he wasn't the one who'd drawn them into this place, once he'd decided to get them out alive, this much blood was owed. Responsibility, after all, was always this exhausting.

'She knows she's doing this because she can't control her own temper.'

[Water Wraith. Temper. Bad.]

'Save the customer gossip for after hours, Coco. Personally, I find that a highly valid statement.'

[Coco. Guarantee.]

'No need to guarantee what the entire staff already knows.'

Even so, the fact that she was restraining herself this much was the effect of 'friendship.'

'That said, if I rely on that alone, I can't know how long the grudge will last. The water-affinity contract we signed at the Aqua Park is that kind of thing.'

A token of friendship. The price of trust.

'And I tried to move away from that....'

[...? No?]

'I'm saying that's how it looks from her perspective.'

[Oh.]

So he could understand why The Drenched One felt that sense of betrayal.

'People who've only ever had one friend tend to be that way.'

But that was that, and this was this.

"Fair warning—I'll pass on a fatal wound. I trust you won't be stupid enough to break your only friendship on impulse and then cry about being lonely later."

"......"

"Think I'm annoying?"

The girl split her mouth into a grotesque grin, then drove the blade in without hesitation—like a child slitting open a cherished doll's belly to peek inside.

The cold sensation of fabric pierced, skin parting.

'Cold.'

Despite that chill, he didn't so much as furrow his brow. Soon his bloodless lips delivered a dry remark.

"What a shame."

The affection of a madwoman.

Even as blood spattered, Lee Yeon-woo moved the arms he'd held open, and with a face settled in faint fatigue, silently embraced the little killer.

[Hello?]

'Yeah.'

As always, it was something he could do.

***

Clatter—

Seome bolted upright.

"......"

"...S-sunbae-nim?"

"No, hold on."

"What happened?"

"Well...."

Just as Seome, white-faced, moved to step forward—

"You're awake."

"......"

'Lee Yeon-woo' entered through the broken door.

"......"

Seome's eyes raced over 'Lee Yeon-woo.'

"...Just now, um...."

"Is there a problem?"

"A moment ago, I'm sure...."

Whatever Seome had been about to say, he bit down hard on his lip.

"No."

He added slowly.

"Must have been my imagination."

"I see."

A face crumpled as though he'd woken from a nightmare, beaded with cold sweat. Rawi, noting Seome's dubious reaction, rolled his eyes. His gaze caught 'Lee Yeon-woo's' coat.

The fabric at his side had been slashed.

'...That coat was fine just a moment ago, wasn't it?'

But in a split second, the hole in the coat sealed shut as if regenerating.

As though it were alive.

"......"

Rawi's gaze swept over Lee Yeon-woo's face. The same pale, composed features as before. He couldn't find anything particularly off about them.

And that fact was what made him feel uneasy in return.

'If nothing had really happened, there's no way our sunbae-nim would have reacted like that.'

Being a water-attribute mage, his senses shone even brighter in this kind of mist.

"......"

"Did you rest enough?"

"Oh, uh, yes. Thanks to you."

Rawi shrugged.

"Don't you need to rest, Yeon-woo sunbae-nim?"

"Well."

In his dry voice, Lee Yeon-woo continued.

"Standing outside a door breathing in damp fog hardly warrants rest."

"Ah, I see...."

Somehow, that didn't seem entirely true.

'Doesn't he look... a little worse than before?'

Rawi glanced at Seome's face, then let it go with a smile. If the man himself said otherwise, what more could he add? Best to behave well while the kindness lasted.

Confirming this, Lee Yeon-woo continued.

"If you're in shape to move, let's resume searching for the exit."

"The exit being...?"

"I intend to send you back the way you came. Rather than an elevator with inherent risks, I've determined it's better to choose a method that's safer, even if less certain."

"Hmm...."

Rawi glanced at Seome and asked.

"A safe method?"

To that question, 'Lee Yeon-woo' answered in a composed tone.

"Of course."

"Oh."

"You won't be hurt."

Rawi couldn't help but ask.

"What about you, Yeon-woo sunbae-nim? Any chance you'll get hurt?"

To that, Lee Yeon-woo turned to look at Rawi and asked in return.

"Would you like me to?"

"What kind of joke is that?"

"I'm glad you have energy left to worry about others."

Adjusting his gloves, he said.

"Short of something extreme, I won't die, so there's no need to concern yourselves."

"Oh my."

"I'll manage my own affairs, so the two of you can focus on your own safety."

"How reassuring~"

"Then follow me."

At that detached, unhurried attitude, Rawi didn't ask twice.

'I mean, someone of his caliber wouldn't fear a little injury.'

Whether injury was even possible was questionable. In every sense, he didn't seem to be at a level where wounds or pain would concern him.

And yet something nagged.

'No matter how I look at it, something feels off.'

He'd only noticed it belatedly, but.

...There was a smell of blood on him.

***

"Tidal rocks."

"Yes, if we head that way...."

"We should start by finding where the shipwreck is."

Answering Seome, Lee Yeon-woo checked the two of them for color.

'I stand watch so they can get proper rest, and they come out looking like they've seen a corpse.'

Why? Lee Yeon-woo ignored the lingering sensation in his abdomen and arrived at a dry conclusion.

'I may have wiped the bloodstains, but I couldn't fully mask the smell. In this damp fog on top of it, their stomachs must be turning.'

[Yes.]

Lee Yeon-woo had no intention of wringing out emotions he didn't have to make excuses. He simply wrote it off as the kids being spooked by the blood scent he'd shed, or the killing intent of the Water Wraith that had been lurking outside the door.

They'd called themselves 'mercenaries,' so they'd have senses sharp enough to detect that.

'Then these reactions make sense.'

[Why?]

'Your vocabulary has grown quite impressive.'

Lee Yeon-woo was happy to explain.

'If a stranger who promised to guide you reeks of blood, most people would be scared.'

He saw no reason to inform them that The Drenched One had come right up and gone on a stabbing spree. How would he explain that he'd been knifed while indulging an adolescent Water Wraith's tantrum?

'I don't want to create a situation that slows their mobility, either.'

Explaining it would require starting from the relationship between Lee Yeon-woo and The Drenched One, including just how childishly the two of them had been bickering.

'It would be troubling if her body growing younger meant her mind did too. At the time, I thought letting her stab me was the smart call, but I didn't expect it to actually sour The Drenched One's mood instead....'

[Hello?]

'No need to worry too much. Even if she's upset, it's what you'd call a sulk or a tantrum at most... at the very least, she won't be as angry as before, so we're actually in safer territory.'

[Hello!]

'Yes, it worked out well.'

Lee Yeon-woo's willingness to take the stab had been worth it. The Drenched One had seemed grateful that Lee Yeon-woo accepted her anger—and equally embarrassed.

Even if it wasn't entirely resolved.

'Still, she seems likely to play along with our tune while we bicker back and forth....'

She knew it too. That venting her rage on Lee Yeon-woo—who would accept anything, no matter what—was a better deal than tormenting or killing those students.

She wouldn't want to be locked in a cold war with Lee Yeon-woo himself, either.

'So even if she throws another tantrum, there's no reason those two should get hurt.'

[Eee.]

'Coco, enough.'

Though how long the Water Wraith's patience would hold was anyone's guess.

"......"

"Oh, over there."

"Is that the shipwreck?"

"Yes, we came through the harbor area past that point."

"I see."

Following Seome's guidance, Lee Yeon-woo scanned the surroundings.

'...Speaking of The Drenched One, this place feels a bit different from when I came last time. What do you think, Coco?'

[Yes!]

'So it has changed.'

Back then, it had been a simple Hunting Ground. Whether due to The Drenched One's influence, a damp energy unique to the Water Wraith pervaded the area. The attack patterns seemed to have shifted as well.

'Like a horror film.'

Yes, that was the feeling.

'Has The Drenched One taken a liking to this place? Or perhaps she's done something to it. Claimed it as a secondary habitat, maybe.... If so, would that affect the Aqua Park?'

[Huh? Yes.]

'So this is something even you don't know much about. Understood—I should be able to get an answer if I ask her personally later. Though she'll need to be in a better mood by then.'

[No?]

'My thoughts exactly. She's not the type with a good temperament. But I'd prefer she not torment young students who are already scared out of their wits.'

When it had been Director Lee Seon-hae's group, it had looked like adult versus adult. This was adult versus minors. If he had to witness that sight, he'd find it not just troubling but pathetic on The Drenched One's part.

'But surely even she knows that much?'

How pathetic it is to be an adult tormenting children?

[Hello?]

'...Hmm....'

Coco had a point.

'As you say, I should keep in mind the possibility that we never find the exit.'

[Hello!]

'If it truly comes to that, there'll be no choice but to bring them up to the hotel.'

Having thought that far, Lee Yeon-woo pressed his throbbing forehead and swallowed an exhausted sigh.

"......"

Showing that deranged sadist's den to those kids was something he'd rather die than do.

'Something tells me this won't end well.'

[Sixth Sense]

'There is no ■ here.'