He fitted the elevator button into the empty socket. With a satisfying click of friction, the button settled into place and the light ca on at once.
The only key that could reach the 14th Floor.
"......"
With gloved hands, Yeon-woo briefly traced that light. He pressed it with a gentle push, and the elevator began to glide upward.
"......"
Several seconds passed, and the elevator doors opened.
"...As expected...."
"Yes."
"It will be difficult for now."
What lay before him was a corridor with its lights extinguished, exuding an eerie chill.
"It will take considerable ti to reach the Central Control Room."
"Hello?"
"I do not believe reaching it is impossible. My physical condition may be at its worst, but even so, did I not successfully clear Room 14?"
"That is correct."
"I only ant that this is not sothing that will be resolved by rushing."
Given his body's weakness, he needed to secure ample ti to compensate.
"At the very minimum, I need to devise a plan that keeps
from dying."
"That is correct."
"Well now...."
Yeon-woo rolled his eyes dryly.
"They certainly have a talent for wearing a person out."
***
"......"
"......"
"...Hello?"
Yeon-woo, having adjusted his glasses, answered calmly.
"I am fine."
"Hm."
"I am truly fine."
It was simply that the current situation -- standing in the middle of the main kitchen of the dining area -- was a touch absurd.
"I was not without an interest in cooking, but I never imagined I would be entering the restaurant business this seriously. They say self-employnt is so difficult these days that this kind of future never even crossed my mind."
"Pardon?"
"Of course, I have been ntally preparing for five years now. Thanks to you kidnapping
and installing
as this hotel's manager, the restaurants that co as auxiliary facilities have fallen within my scope of responsibility."
"Hmhm."
"Flattery will not resolve this matter. However, as a gesture of respect toward you as a fellow Co-owner of equal standing, I will let this one slide."
"Yes."
"Yes."
Yeon-woo swept his gaze across the kitchen staff. The mont he had entered, the employees had lined up as if asured with a ruler. Even the military would not have been this precisely ford.
"......"
He shook the bell lightly, and the staff dispersed to their stations as if on cue. Two of them approached, guided him to an open station, and even handed him an apron before silently returning to their posts.
Thanks to that, Yeon-woo had secured a place to cook. He opened his mouth.
"...I am feeling sothing between convenience and uncanniness."
"No."
"Even if you say there is no need, as soone who was an ordinary office worker, I cannot help it. My sensibilities as a common citizen are trembling. I imagine sothing similar might happen at Baek Mu-jin's conglorate."
"Oh."
"I have no intention of implenting anything of the sort, so do not get your hopes up. I used Baeksan Group as an example, but it was rely that -- an example. If sothing like this actually happened, the rank-and-file employees would revolt."
"No?"
"This hotel truly needs to start with the Four Basic Insurances."
But the convenience was undeniable. That he could delegate tasks to employees with a single shake of a bell and no specific instructions was proof that he and they were connected in so manner.
'This kind of broad communication has grown even stronger since the tutorial ended.'
It was strange, but at this point, there was no use protesting that it was irrational.
'Let
focus on my work.'
Yeon-woo tied on the apron. It was a solid black, unadorned square apron.
"This is the first ti I have done this kind of serious cooking since Baek Mu-jin."
"Yes!"
"Coco, your role is considerable. There will be quite a few failures before a success erges, and you will need to eat every failed result that cos out of those."
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
"Such excitent is surprising. At this rate, you will be laughing soon."
"Hehe."
"......?"
Yeon-woo turned to look at Coco.
"Did you just laugh?"
"Hm?"
"Let us... move on for now."
"Yes."
A child could laugh. He gathered his scattered thoughts.
"First, I need to buy back the ti that has been reduced because of
as a variable."
"Hello?"
"If that is as difficult as you say, then at the very least, I need to create a reason why he cannot kill ."
The Crimson Core Comntary had already succeeded. This was not spilled water but evaporated water -- there was no scooping it back. As a result, Yeon-woo had chosen the path to the kitchen.
"In situations like this, there are typically two strategies. Provide a substitute, or beco the goose that lays golden eggs. If you cannot avoid it, find a way to make yourself too valuable to be mistreated."
"Oh."
"Your admiration is flattering. There is nothing remarkable about it. It is common wisdom anyone knows. But even as I say this, providing sothing to substitute for myself is realistically impossible."
Naturally.
"What The Guest Without Taste wants is a completed Velmareth. Because he himself is an incomplete failure, he covets the success -- a desire as absurd as the First Emperor drinking rcury and dreaming of immortality, yet... in a way, not without reason."
Blood Magic was a discipline completed through consuming and being consud. In truth, there was a possibility that The Guest Without Taste could beco complete by devouring Yeon-woo.
"Of course, this is quite a gamble for the other side as well. Even if he devours , would my notoriously ill-tempered blood ekly allow itself to be absorbed?"
"No!"
"It is embarrassing to be disparaging a part of myself, but yes, that is correct. The Guest Without Taste has not yet digested even the blood I lost in Room 14."
"Hello."
"That is also correct. Having the sole successful case before him and not even attempting it would be a sha. Even with the significant risk of being consud in reverse."
It was not a pleasant thought.
"The advantage in blood lies on my side, so even if I were devoured, there is a strong chance I could overpower the opponent in reverse. But, well. I would rather not stake my body on such a gamble."
To that, Coco fixed its gaze on Yeon-woo.
"Pardon?"
"Room 14 was a different case."
"Pardon?"
"It was different."
"No?"
"Tch."
Yeon-woo clicked his tongue dryly.
"...You are right. The gamble that succeeded by luck in Room 14 is enough."
"Yes."
"At that ti, the monster's sense of self was faint, which is why I could consu it. But The Guest Without Taste is an opponent of an entirely different caliber. My top priority is ensuring that 'I' do not die."
"Yes."
"In the end, since I can neither hand myself over nor make him a Velmareth, only one thod remains."
"Golden egg?"
"Correct. I must beco an existence too precious to touch."
Fortunately, The Guest Without Taste had enough intelligence not to slit open the goose's belly. The very craftiness of holding out the severed hand and lying, even after having already tasted Yeon-woo's blood, was proof of that.
"Then the question becos what kind of golden egg to present."
Sothing enticing enough to buy ti, or guarantee survival.
The one consolation was that the value most precious to the opponent was gastronomy. Had he prized honor or protocol above all, this type of approach would not have been an option.
'So if I can fill that void....'
Yeon-woo fell into thought.
"......"
"Hello."
"Yes, certainly... he does not seem the type for whom petty tricks would work. Negotiations that rely on a vague impression of the opponent's uncertain goodwill carry a significant chance of failure, or even backfiring entirely."
If the opponent was a nobleman with highly refined reason, he would not be satisfied by a single dish and withdraw. Rather, this elaborate hospitality could beco poison that further inflad the opponent's desires.
The possibility of miscalculation, or the probability of it backfiring.
"It could well be dangerous."
Coco, having shared every variable of failure in his mind, asked.
"Hello?"
"No, but that is no reason not to do what can be done."
Yeon-woo quietly raised the corners of his mouth.
"The world belongs to those who try."
Whether it would prove a miscalculation, or an unexpected masterstroke -- that remained to be seen. Yeon-woo quietly drew a knife.
Upon the keen blade, a red mbrane glistened under the light.
[Ti of Slaughter]
[Warm blood has seeped into every pore of the tal, staining it red. The blood it swallowed until it could drink no more is now being disgorged. You may trust this blade, tempered amid flesh, bone, and screams.]
[Quality Grade
1 when crafting dishes for a specific guest]
Yeon-woo murmured evenly.
"Then let us give it a try."
He needed to satisfy The Guest Without Taste's palate.
***
Yeon-woo placed food in Coco's mouth and asked.
"How does it taste?"
"Delicious."
"Would it taste good to an ordinary person?"
"No."
"Dear ."
A failure, then.
Taking consolation in watching Coco happily eat, Yeon-woo sank back into deliberation.
"As expected, it seems difficult to achieve high-level results with the basic ingredients available in early-stage play."
The goal was to let The Guest Without Taste re-experience the 'taste' it had once known as a whole person. If what Yeon-woo cooked could make it experience the flavor of an ordinary al, that would be success.
"Since he is also a type of Mass of Liquid Blood, I have been trying to combine elents using the sensations I felt when drinking blood as a clue.... But then, an experint like this was never going to conclude in a day or two. That much I accounted for from the start."
He believed nothing was impossible, yet this, too, was ultimately the domain of research. The physical margin to create samples one by one and verify the results was woefully insufficient.
"I believe it is ti to wrap up the first round of experints."
"No?"
"You have already eaten more than enough."
It was only thanks to the staff's assistance that the kitchen had not already ground to a halt. The dishes he had made already exceeded a hundred, and every pre-planned combination had long since ended in failure.
Yeon-woo touched his lips.
"As I thought... I will need to use the Hunting Grounds."
The Hunting Grounds -- a space that existed beneath the hotel.
It was a special zone for acquiring cooking ingredients and Nightmare resources. He had never used it for this purpose before, but there was certainly material there that could satisfy The Guest Without Taste.
"I had planned to visit after completing my physical improvents, but upon careful consideration, it should be safer than the path to the Central Control Room."
"Yes."
"I have so reason for confidence, too."
Yeon-woo lifted a plate.
"Let us go to the Aqua Park, Coco."
"Yes."
The world ultimately ran on connections.
***
"Friend."
"......"
At his call, The Drenched One raised its head above the water's surface.
"......"
"Yes, good to see you. It has not been too long, has it?"
"......"
"I am glad if that is the case."
Today it was the male body. The hair hung long like seaweed just as before, but the features were fiercer than last ti. He briefly wondered what determined the form, then cleared the thought from his mind.
Yeon-woo held out the plate he had prepared.
"I would like to request your help, but it felt rude to co empty-handed, so I brought a dish. I am not certain it suits your preferences."
On the plate was a fluffy, baked souffle cake.
"......"
"......"
It was very well received.
'What a relief.'
This palate had not changed.
"I worried that your tastes might have shifted along with the hotel's transformation."
"......"
"Yes, I am glad as well. When you enjoy it this much, it gives
great satisfaction as the one who made it."
"......"
"Ah... the whipped cream, you say? If you wish, I can increase the amount, but would it not be too sweet?"
"......"
"I see."
Before the Contract, The Drenched One was a guest that did not eat. But after the Contract, it primarily enjoyed sweet desserts. The Archive description ca to mind -- that it craved the polar opposite of the briny sea.
'Even so, it likes sugar far too much.'
Could a Water Ghost develop lifestyle diseases?
'Surely not.'
Yeon-woo scooped up Coco, who was eyeing The Drenched One's souffle cake covetously. He caught and restrained the flailing soft paws. Its stomach surely housed a black hole.
Perhaps because a Western soul was also part of the mix? Or had it simply learned over the years? Watching the figure naturally enjoy the dessert with fork and knife, Yeon-woo added:
"I will bring them by regularly."
It was a friend, after all.
'I should take responsibility for the relationship.'
Even though it now ate, The Drenched One never ca to the restaurant in person, not even after the Contract. Being a creature that experienced various discomforts outside water, it was only natural.
"In the past, too, you would never eat on your own initiative unless I brought it to you."
"......"
"From the water... if that is what you are asking, I will research thods to ensure the flavor does not change even when consud underwater. It would surely put you more at ease to eat sowhere comfortable."
"......"
"Well, I expect it will take so ti. There is simply too much work that needs handling imdiately."
"......"
"Yes."
Confirming the empty plate, Yeon-woo broached the main subject.
"Would you be willing to assist
with a hunt?"
The Water Ghost smiled deeply.
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