Chapter 75: Hwayang Inn (1)
“Identity verification.”
Seoul Sector 1-8.
A quiet neighborhood where various tiled-roof houses were gathered.
Behind an ordinary-looking teahouse among them, Diesel was arguing with the guards who were standing watch at the entrance.
“She’s my colleague. Let her in.”
“I’m sorry, but only Ghostcatchers are allowed to enter here.”
“She’ll be registered soon.”
“Mr. Diesel, you may enter. However, your companion…….”
“Let her in.”
“……!”
From beyond the entrance, a woman’s voice was heard.
The guards flinched in surprise and turned around.
The one who revealed herself from the darkness was Little Sister, a hacker and Techer.
“Sorry. Madam has quite a lot of work to handle today, so the Ghostcatcher registration procedure is a bit delayed. It’ll probably only be done after daybreak.”
She gave Diesel a faint smile, then looked at Kang Da-hee with a completely different expression.
Diesel frowned.
“In the morning?”
Back when it was Betty Barosi, it had been handled in just a few minutes.
Madam was soone busy every single day, so that couldn’t really be the reason.
“Sis, you didn’t delay it on purpose, did you?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Well. Maybe you wanted a dramatic entrance like this.”
At that, Sis let out a small laugh and turned her body, heading back beyond the entrance.
‘What’s with her today?’
For so reason, Sis’s attitude felt strange.
Was sothing bad going on?
“Let’s go in for now.”
“…….”
Leaving the questions behind, Diesel headed into the Underground Great Hall first.
Kang Da-hee, who had been silently watching the situation, took a small deep breath and followed after him.
“So, what’s your relationship with that woman?”
Inside the elevator descending downward.
When Sis asked bluntly, Diesel replied in a tired voice.
“Let’s talk after you do sothing about my foot. It hurts like hell.”
“Oh my. How did it end up like that?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Remove the ice.”
“……?”
“I’ll make it so it doesn’t hurt too much.”
At Sis’s words, Diesel removed the splint made of black ice.
Then, round drones appeared from sowhere and began scanning the severed surface.
Soon, Sis’s personal drones shaped like small birds scattered so material into the air as if 3D printing, forming an artificial foot.
“It’s cut very cleanly. Diesel, did you do it yourself with that Black Ice Spirit Sword?”
“Yeah. It was unavoidable.”
The drones, buzzing as they flew around, quickly finished their work.
“It won’t hurt anymore.”
The drones vanished suddenly, just as they had appeared.
When he moved his foot, aside from the nerves not being connected, it felt as natural as his original one.
“Hmm……. Not bad. Thanks.”
“This much is nothing.”
After answering like that, Sis slightly lowered her head and looked at Kang Da-hee.
“Um, your na?”
A sowhat fierce gaze, unlike her usual self.
Even so, Kang Da-hee did not shrink back at all.
Instead, she calmly looked at Diesel.
As if asking whether it was okay to tell.
When Diesel gave a slight nod, Kang Da-hee finally introduced herself briefly.
“I’m Yubin.”
“Yubin? That’s a bit different from the na I know.”
Sis said, narrowing the space between her eyes.
“Daughter of Sector Councilman Kang Leon, Kang Da-hee. Graduated early as valedictorian from Yeonhui Magic University, then fast-tracked all the way to a doctorate, and joined Podvig’s Magic Engineering Departnt as a new employee.”
As her personal information poured out one after another, she was montarily flustered, then quickly composed her expression.
“You’re mistaken. That girl is dead.”
“Oh, so that’s the setting?”
Sothing like a battle of nerves passed between them.
Caught in the middle, Diesel looked up at the elevator’s floor indicator.
‘Why is this taking so long again?’
Their destination was the Underground Great Hall’s eighth basent level.
It was already past the ti they should have arrived, yet it felt like it had been moving extrely slowly for a while now.
‘Ha……. She’s really doing this on purpose.’
The only one who could adjust the speed of the Underground Great Hall elevator was probably Sis.
With a slight headache forming as Diesel pondered what he should say, Kang Da-hee instead asked in return.
“I heard you call her Sis earlier, Mr. Diesel. May I call her that too?”
“No. That’s like a nickna. You shouldn’t shorten it—call her Little Sister.”
“Ah, I see. Understood. ‘Little Sister’.”
Crackle— it felt as if sparks were flying between the two.
Thinking they might end up grabbing each other by the hair if this continued, Diesel spoke in a firm voice.
“Enough. What’s wrong with you two?”
“What do you an, what’s wrong? Are you really that clueless?”
“…….”
Sis’s sharp gaze turned toward Diesel.
‘Well, I do understand, but…….’
She already knew who Kang Da-hee was.
She must have thoroughly investigated her background while preparing the Moon Base work.
Naturally, she would have seen everything that happened at Podvig’s interview hall, and perhaps she had even been peeking into this mana power plant operation as well.
If that was the case, it wasn’t that strange for Sis to be this wary.
Diesel himself hadn’t had a particularly good first impression of Kang Da-hee either.
On top of that, in this operation, she was soone whom a spy nad Heavyskull had even tried to pull to his side.
But.
“She saved my life today.”
He spoke not of suspicious circumstances, but of a fact that had clearly happened.
If she had watched the battle Diesel fought with the Andromancer today, she would already know.
Perhaps because of that, Sis did not offer any rebuttal and quietly listened to Diesel’s words.
“And she’s also soone I’m trying to trust.”
“…….”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. Like you, Sis.”
At Diesel’s last words, a strange expression surfaced on Sis’s face.
But soon, she let out a hearty laugh and returned to her usual expression.
“And Kang Da-hee— no, Yubin.”
When Diesel looked at Kang Da-hee, she slightly lowered her head.
“The Sis here is a colleague I’ve worked with. And she’s the one who handled things so you could enter the Underground Great Hall. So don’t be too hostile toward her.”
“……Alright.”
“Sis, sa goes for you. Let’s respect what needs to be respected. It’s not that hard, right?”
“Well…… yeah. I got a bit worked up.”
As they talked, it felt like the elevator was finally coming to a stop.
Their destination was the luxurious hotel within the Underground Great Hall.
“For now, get so good rest tonight.”
“Yeah.”
“Yubin, you too.”
“……Yes.”
Soon, with a ding, the doors opened and a guidance ssage flowed out.
[This is Hwayang Inn.]
The mont I stepped into the lobby, a rich fragrance wafted through the air.
The hotel’s atmosphere felt strangely peculiar.
A lavish dragon engraved in relief on the wall had its mouth stretched wide open, glaring at its surroundings.
Beneath it were ebony furnishings and luxurious velvet sofas.
The structure itself was based on an ornate Victorian Gothic architectural style, but the decorations filling the interior looked like sothing straight out of a late–20th-century Hong Kong film.
‘Unique.’
The lobby, filled with the gentle flow of old jazz, evoked a sense of nostalgia.
Even though there wasn’t a single person in sight, soft yellow and red lights glowed throughout the entire space.
Cutting through that light, I headed toward the front desk.
The hotelier standing guard slightly bowed his head toward Diesel.
At that mont, Ar poked his face out from Diesel’s arms and spoke.
〈It’s a chanical body.〉
〈Who. That employee?〉
〈Yes. Probably a half-android.〉
A woman with black hair tied into a neat bun, wearing a red cheongsam.
Ar stared intently at her, then slipped right back into Diesel’s arms.
As we approached the front desk, the staff mber behind it smiled and asked,
“Do you have a reservation?”
“I’m planning to make one now. I did contact you in advance to let you know I’d be coming.”
“Ah, then you must be Mr. Diesel.”
“Yes.”
“Pardon . I am the general manager of Hwayang Inn, ‘So Ryeo-jin.’”
She bowed politely, then smiled again.
Perhaps because she was a half-android, her face was doll-like in its beauty.
“Would you like to check in right away?”
“Yes, please.”
“I’ll assist you.”
She brought up a string of holographic text and checked sothing, then tilted her head slightly.
“I’m sorry, but your companion is not registered as a Ghostcatcher. In that case, we cannot proceed with a reservation.”
“Ah, she’ll be registered soon, though…….”
“Would you like to wait until the registration is complete?”
I had trailed off, thinking I might negotiate sohow, but the answer that ca back was firm.
Even so, Diesel pressed on.
“She’ll be registered by morning. Is there really no way?”
“I’m sorry.”
Judging by her expression, she had no intention of backing down.
‘Hmm…….’
But waiting until morning with an exhausted body wasn’t an option either.
I could contact Madam directly and urge her, but Diesel didn’t want to owe favors over sothing like this, so he compromised.
“Is cohabitation possible?”
“It is.”
“Then please book one twin room. The largest one you have.”
“…….”
A sharp gaze burned into the back of my head, but I deliberately ignored it.
“Yes. I will guide you to Room 2046. This way…….”
So Ryeo-jin gestured with a crisp motion and headed down the corridor.
As we followed her, Kang Da-hee moved closer to Diesel’s side.
“Is this okay?”
“……We don’t really have a choice.”
“Well, it’s not like it’s the first ti we’ve slept together anyway.”
“W-What……! If you say it like that, other people will misunderstand……!”
“……?”
Her face flushed red as she snapped back, then stomped ahead.
“Please have a comfortable night.”
After finishing the room introduction, So Ryeo-jin offered an elegant farewell and closed the door.
The interior was spacious and neat.
Two perfectly made beds, and bedside tables topped with yellowish mood lamps.
Through the large window, for so reason, the night view of Seoul was visible.
When Diesel once again tossed off his top without hesitation, Kang Da-hee hurriedly turned her gaze away.
“I’m going to shower first.”
“You don’t really need to announce that.”
A short while later.
Diesel erged, wearing a bathrobe and vigorously towel-drying his hair.
Then he noticed Kang Da-hee standing blankly by the window and asked,
“Hey, is your hand still like that?”
The tremor that had co as an aftereffect of the virus.
Her hand was intermittently shaking.
“Ah…….”
Maybe she’d grown too used to it by now.
Kang Da-hee, who hadn’t even noticed, looked down at her own hand.
“I guess so. Well, it was annoying at first, but now it’s kind of okay. It doesn’t hurt.”
“The fingers that turned black look a lot better. Doesn’t that hurt?”
“There’s a bit of pain, but…… it’s not unbearable.”
“In that state, you still can’t use your Seed ability again, right?”
“Yes. Depending on the strength of the ability, the number of fingers that end up like this changes.”
“Can I take a look?”
Since it was an aftereffect of the Seed ability, it was important information for Diesel as well.
With that in mind, he strode over to Kang Da-hee and bent down.
“……!”
She flinched in surprise and stamred,
“T-That, um…… y-your clothes……!”
The front of Diesel’s bathrobe gaped open, revealing the body that had been hidden beneath.
Unintentionally confronted head-on with his perfectly sculpted muscles, Kang Da-hee covered her mouth.
“Huh?”
Diesel’s gaze, which had been on her hand, naturally shifted to her face.
Then their eyes t.
“…….”
A few seconds of silence passed.
Suddenly, Kang Da-hee’s face turned beet red, and she sprang to her feet.
“I-I’m going to get so air for a bit……!”
“What? Now?”
“Yes……!”
And with that, she hurriedly ran outside.
“What’s with her?”
Left alone, Diesel stared at the closing door with a baffled expression.
Then So Ryeo-jin’s words ca back to him.
‘Ah, she said she can’t open the door without a key.’
Normally, even simple Electrosphere manipulation would have been enough, but since Kang Da-hee wasn’t officially registered yet, that wasn’t possible.
With an annoyed expression, Diesel grabbed a spare key and opened the door.
“Hey, take this…….”
And as he stepped out into the corridor.
He ca face to face with soone else standing there.
“Eh……?”
In the hallway stood Kang Da-hee, frozen in embarrassnt.
“Eeh……?”
Diesel, montarily at a loss for words.
“Eeeeh……?”
Eyes widened to the size of fists.
“Eeeeeh……?”
Betty Barosi was standing there.
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