“Kyaaa!”
Splash!
A spray of water flew into my face.
Beyond the water dripping from my bangs, I could see the little one.
‘This little thing.’
Even after dumping water on someone, the little one giggled as if it were the most enjoyable thing in the world.
“Mister, you look like a puppy. A puppy caught in the rain.”
“So you’re saying I look like a dog?”
“Yes! You look like a dog!”
“To say such a thing to a person, I cannot forgive you.”
“Ueh? Kyaaa!”
I swept the little one away with a wave I summoned.
She had a tube on, and there were clones stationed here and there as lifeguards, so she would not get hurt.
Look at that.
She was surprised, but she was giggling as if she found it fun.
“Mister, mister.”
“What? Do you want to ride something else?”
“Do you like it too, mister?”
“Hm?”
What was she saying now?
The little one came pattering over, stood on tiptoe, and placed her hand on my chin.
“What are you doing?”
“Until a little while ago, the space between your eyes was all like this, mister.”
“Mine was?”
“Yeah. You looked like you weren’t feeling good.”
Not feeling good, was it?
Looking back, that was true.
Something that had never happened until now had taken place, and I could not understand its cause.
My mood had not been very good.
“Are you okay now?”
Yet strangely, while I was with this little one, I had not thought about it.
I had simply liked seeing her smile.
“I’m okay.”
I roughly stroked the little one’s head and lightly sorted out my thoughts.
A variable was called a variable because it could not be predicted.
I needed to keep thinking about it, but I did not need to fret over it.
After sorting out my thoughts, my heart felt a little lighter.
-No. 100, there is no change in the clock, right?
-Yes, I am continuing to watch it.
-Do not stare only at that too much. If there is a change, simply report it.
-Understood.
It would be a lie to say I did not feel impatient, but “Shall we go ride the next one?”
thinking a little more about it would not change anything greatly.
For now,“We have to conquer them all today before we leave.”
“That’s right!”
I would simply continue training this little one’s stamina.
***
“Hehe, fun, heh.”
“She’s fallen fast asleep.”
I had told her to lie down on a sunbed for a moment, and in that short time, she had passed out.
No matter how infinite children’s stamina might be, trying over fifty kinds of water slides could not help but leave her short on strength.
‘She will probably writhe in muscle pain tomorrow.’
It could not interfere with her lessons or training, so I should cast a blessing of recovery on her in advance.
I should also give her medicine to prevent muscle pain.
And......
“Proprietor, I acknowledge it.”
“......What are you talking about?”
“This will serve as training. Mm, indeed it will.”
There was no need to even mention the two men I had brought as assistant instructors, who had enjoyed themselves to the fullest.
The faces of the two men lying on sunbeds were full of satisfaction.
“It was not training. You simply had fun.”
“Ahem. When the age changes, should training methods not change as well? We were merely considering how to adapt to the generation.”
“Mm, this time, it seems the Heavenly Demon is right, Proprietor.”
If only these old men could not talk.
Well, whatever it was, if they were satisfied, that was enough.
I turned my head away from the two old men and tidied the sleeping little one’s hair.
“Mmnnya- hehe.”
“The child is smiling.”
“She must be having a good dream.”
Seeing the little one’s smiling face reminded me of the old days.
It felt as if I had lived vicariously through her for the first time in a while, so it was not bad.
But.
“If we continue this training, the two of you will likely do nothing but play. From now on, how about doing the ‘proper’ training the two of you mentioned?”
“No! What are you saying?! When there is such an excellent training method right here!”
“Proprietor, I think you should reconsider!”
And yet they had been going on about whether it was training or not.
The two of them had completely become children. Completely.
Good grief.
“Understood. We will come here occasionally. Occasionally.”
I smiled faintly and stroked the little one’s head.
Just then,-Master!
An urgent sound transmission came from No. 100.
-What happened?
-The second hand, the second hand moved!
......Hah.
The moment I gave up, the clock moved again?
-One second.
-So it moved.
-Yes!
I immediately observed the Dimensional Hotel, but I discovered nothing unusual.
In that case, the situations that might have created the variable were......
‘Only the change in my daily life and the new guest I received.’
My thoughts accelerated.
-Mnya. Hehehe.
-Sometimes, this isn’t bad either.
When No. 100 first heard the sound.
-I will stay for just five more minutes.
-Yes!!
When the anomaly in the dimensional clock was detected.
And,-Mmnnya- hehe.
-Well, if only occasionally.
Now.
“......”
After hearing No. 100’s message and chewing over those previous moments, I said,“Alliance Leader, Lord Heavenly Demon. It seems this sort of thing will happen often.”
“You thought well. Would it not be absurd to leave such a fine training method behind and use old-fashioned training?”
“Ahem! Since the Proprietor says so, there is nothing to be done! But why did you suddenly change your mind?”
I had a feeling.
“It seems this little one will bring me to that person.”
***
“Let us stop here for today.”
“I want to play more.”
She had slept deeply, but the little one had not fully recovered her stamina.
That also meant the child’s stamina had fallen that much, and it was also proof that she had spent today well.
The little one, who could not even open her eyes properly, was personally carried to her room in my arms.
“It’s too bad. I wanted to play more.”
I changed the half-asleep little one into pajamas and laid her on the bed.
Even though she was fully drunk on sleep, her face was filled with satisfaction.
“You can play more next time. The pool is not going anywhere.”
“Ueh, I can go again?”
“Of course.”
“Then tomorrow.”
“That will not do.”
“That’s petty.”
Petty, she said.
I lightly held her protruding lips.
Of course, I barely used any strength and held them gently.
“If you want to play, you can keep playing. You can do that. At our hotel, we grant everything the guest wants. But you do not want to do that, do you?”
“Ubbubu.”
“You want to learn more magic too, right?”
“Ueeeh.”
The little one nodded with dazed eyes.
Playing was good, but this little one had a stronger desire.
I removed the hand holding her lips and lightly patted her cheek.
“That is why we will have proper lessons starting tomorrow. We will also practice Mana.”
“Okay.”
“Sleep well.”
“Mister.”
“Yeah.”
“Stay...... just a little longer......”
“Fine. I’ll leave when you fall asleep.”
“Hehe, thank you.”
The little one smiled broadly and soon fell asleep, breathing evenly.
I looked at the expression of the child sleeping peacefully for a moment, then rose from my seat.
“Sleep well.”
May she have better dreams than usual today.
I lightly cast a blessing of deep sleep on her and left the room.
***
As I had warned in advance, unlike yesterday, today we properly followed the lesson routine.
The difference was,“Why are you here again, Lord Heavenly Demon?”
“Am I not an assistant instructor? Should I not be present so that I can help at any time?”
“......Just do not drink. It is not good for the child’s emotions.”
“Mm! Do not worry.”
that another old man had appeared behind the child.
It seemed he really had simply been bored.
“Now then, let us begin today’s lesson.”
“Okaaay!”
Perhaps because she had slept soundly, her condition looked better.
Her attitude in class was not bad either, and especially in magic, she asked questions and showed that she was trying to absorb even more knowledge.
Perhaps because of that,it seemed she would soon rise to the level where she could handle beginner magic.
She absorbed what I taught her as I taught it, so I found it quite satisfying to teach her as well.
“That is all for the morning lesson. Let’s go eat.”
“Heh heh, is it already lunchtime?”
“How about somyeon? A warm broth would be good.”
“You drink broth? You’re not supposed to drink that.”
“Somyeon is a food that is eaten with broth from the beginning. Here, it is fine.”
Together with the Alliance Leader and the Heavenly Demon, who had naturally joined in, we ate somyeon.
When the little one’s eyes widened at encountering noodles for the first time, I felt full even without eating.
“You can have more, so do not worry. You two, please enjoy your meal as well.”
“Mister, where are you going?”
“Something came up for a moment. I will be back soon.”
“Heh heh, understood.”
The Heavenly Demon and the Alliance Leader, who had long since noticed, merely nodded.
With those two, who belonged among the strong even within the hotel, there was no need to worry about the little one’s safety.
Now then.
THUD.
After leaving the restaurant where the three were eating, I lightly stamped my foot.
“Uwaaaah!”
“W-we’re screwed!”
“Run!”
At the same time, the cockroaches scattered from various places with a rustling sound.
But they must know it as well.
From the moment I took action, it was already too late to run.
“Shall I go find you? Or will you come on your own?”
“Ahem. Ahem.”
“M-Master. We were just, you see.”
“I told you we should just stay quiet! You have to deceive someone you can deceive.”
“Not someone, but a monster.”
“Do you think I called him a person because I didn’t know?”
Those who had scattered soon gathered before me.
Well, the fact that not a single one was missing was worthy of praise.
I took out a chair, sat down, and spoke lightly.
“Your heads are rather high, aren’t they?”
Thud!
The gathered guests differed in species and temperament.
However, as if discipline had been drilled into them, they knelt before me in perfect order.
Their rows and columns were lined up exactly, befitting problem guests who had been rolled through this a few times.
I quietly looked at one of the guests among them.
“Lord Beelzebub.”
“Huheup.”
“If you had something to say, why did you not call me?”
The one with the form of a giant fly rolled his eyes without rest.
At this, the other problem guests, thinking it was their chance, added their words.
“Innkeeper, this was all because Beelzebub tempted us.”
“Right, right. We were just curious, you know? We were going to ask quietly later, but he said we should stalk......”
“Y-you cowards! You all agreed too......”
“You are all the same. All of you. Why make excuses?”
What guests utterly devoid of loyalty.
By the way, what should I do with these guests?
As I quietly watched them, Pai, a lower angel, cautiously raised a hand.
“Um, innkeeper. You see, we weren’t trying to do anything stupid. We were just a little curious, that’s all.”
“I know. It is about Miss Yun Hye-rin, yes?”
“Uh, yeah! That’s right. That guest!”
My eyes and ears were everywhere in the hotel.
In other words, there was no way rumors circulating among guests would fail to reach my ears.
The greatest topic among them had been about the little one, Hye-rin.
“Those of us who are regulars all know that the innkeeper is waiting for someone. But seeing you stay by that child’s side all the time these days, we wondered whether she was that person.”
“That’s right, that’s right. So we were only going to ask.”
“Then you should have asked me. If you had, I would have answered.”
“Uh, that is, um......”
“......W-we were scared.”
The problem children here were people who had been scolded by me at least once.
The fear deeply engraved in their minds must have operated like Pavlov’s dogs, preventing them from asking.
Good grief.
“I only inflict harm upon all of you when you make me uncomfortable. You do not need to fear me so much.”
“Your smiling face is scarier.”
“I believe I just said not to make me uncomfortable?”
“I’m sorry!”
What was the use of saying it a hundred times?
It was best to quickly resolve their curiosity and disperse them.
“To answer what all of you are curious about, Miss Yun Hye-rin is not the person I am looking for.”
While I was at it, it seemed good to notify them in advance.
“However, I should say in advance that she is an important guest. Therefore, if you are caught doing something improper.”
“C-caught?”
“You will be scolded quite severely.”
Touch this child, and you die.