The Saintess’s lessons began the next day.
I told her she could take it slowly, but.
“No, I have to start right away. More seriously.”
Perhaps the point that she might be able to shake off her stalker had worked greatly, because she showed more enthusiasm than at any other time.
And as for the little one learning from her,“I want to use sacred power well.”
her interest in sacred power had risen to nearly the same level as her interest in magic.
If magic had caught her interest because it protected her from enemies, then sacred power must have appealed to her because it could save injured people.
Both were attractive, so she wanted to catch both rabbits.
If it had been anyone else, it would have been impossible, but because the little one overflowed with talent, she could pick and choose what to learn.
Being born with several innate talents was a blessing.
However, I did have a small worry.
The fact that she possessed several things most people found difficult to possess even one of was like a prophecy that this child would one day face a great fate.
As for how large that fate would be, I could not yet sense it.
All I could do was prepare her.
Thus, I entrusted the morning lesson to the Saintess.
I occasionally observed and lightly supplemented explanations about divinity, while adding explanations about similarities and differences with the concept of magic.
By around noon, the little one had reached the level where she could use the miracle of recovery better.
“She really is a genius.”
“Hehe, really?”
“Yes. Do you want to visit our dimension someday? I want to hold you up as an example to our believers.”
“Hehe.”
“You will be severely hurt if you cross dimensions as you please.”
“I was only saying it, only saying it.”
How could I know whether it was truly only words?
“After we eat, I will teach you about the miracle of protection.”
“The miracle of protection?”
“It creates a wall that protects you from the outside. Among magic, is it similar to Barrier?”
“The resulting value is similar.”
“Heeh.”
As we exchanged various words about the differences and common points between sacred power and magic,“Ahem. In Murim, there is also something called body-protecting astral qi.”
“Otherwise, there is also a method of releasing inner arts to protect oneself for a moment.”
The two martial artists, who had been standing one step away, each added a word.
Very subtly.
“Even apart from that, if one trains in martial arts, one can move faster and evade danger.”
“The Heavenly Demon is right. If there is danger, should avoiding it not come first?”
These old men were suddenly making their appeals quite diligently.
‘The reason is obvious.’
While running the Dimensional Hotel, I had found several common points among dimensions.
One of them was that the creatures called men remained children no matter how old they got.
And one of the conversations children always had was who was the strongest.
Since this was a place where beings from various dimensions gathered, the main forms of force used in each dimension naturally differed.
It would have been stranger if this debate had been absent.
And the ones who never failed to participate in this debate were Murim people.
“Ahem, that strange power called magic is good, but training in martial arts as well......”
In other words, they could not accept that martial arts was being pushed back while only magic and sacred power were being taught first.
Good grief.
“You two should stay still.”
I meant that they should preserve some dignity in front of a child,but it seemed the two heard it differently.
“Hoh, how could we stay still? Our martial arts are being slighted.”
“We cannot simply continue watching such an unreasonable situation.”
“Then what, what do you intend to do?”
Were they going to spar with me?
When I stared quietly at them, they subtly avoided my gaze.
“Things have been rather quiet lately, have they not? As you know, this place must hold a splendid festival once in a while.”
“......I have been a little negligent.”
We had held the Treasure Hunt not long ago, but it had only lasted for a brief moment.
And compared to the number of guests staying here, not that many had enjoyed it.
“That is why I am saying this. What about holding something on a more proper scale this time? While we are at it, I wish to show the child the greatness of martial arts as well.”
“To put it simply, you want to open the Colosseum?”
“Ahem, that is exactly it.”
“What is the Colosseum?”
The Colosseum.
The Colosseum prepared on the 72nd floor was a space where sparring could be held among participants who desired it.
It had been specially prepared because there were many who constantly argued noisily.
Events featuring this Colosseum had always been popular.
Because powerful people from various dimensions stepped forward, it was enjoyable to watch.
Spectators also tended to enjoy betting on who would win the sparring matches.
Most of all, first place had the honor of being a dimensional powerhouse and lodging tickets at stake.
From the perspective of the guests, such an event was always welcome.
However, if it was held too often, the atmosphere would overheat, so I had only opened it once or twice while watching the guests’ reactions from time to time.
‘True. The recent event was somewhat lacking.’
Due to elements like the little one’s solo sweep and the Saintess’s outside interference, it ended more sluggishly than expected.
We had not gathered as many lodging fees as expected, and had instead suffered a loss.
No. 100 had been worrying about this matter as well.
Mm. Good.
“That is a good idea.”
To lift the overall atmosphere of the hotel,and to show the little one something fun.
Opening the Colosseum after a long while seemed acceptable.
***
“If it is a Colosseum event, I have prepared thoroughly. You may trust me and leave it to me!”
The moment No. 104 confirmed my intent, he printed promotional pamphlets and posters and scattered them throughout the hotel.
In addition, he did not forget to gather the clones in the 500 series and expand various convenience facilities in the Colosseum.
He had slipped up once, but he was still a clone who had inherited my memories, so when he worked, he worked hard.
“The Colosseum, is it?”
“It has been a while, has it not?”
“Hohoho, what events are there this time? Anything-goes victory? Two-on-two team battles? Survival?”
“It seems they are going with sparring for now.”
“Tsk, I shall taste fresh blood after so long.”
The moment the promotion began, the hotel’s atmosphere grew hot.
Those confident in their martial might loosened their bodies and expressed their intent to participate.
The honor of standing above the powerful of other dimensions.
That was what set their hearts aflame.
“In other words, this is a chance to earn big?”
“The gambling board will open officially, so should we make a killing unofficially?”
“Luiard the Red Dragon won last time, right? Let’s make a cheering set with that dragon as the main theme.”
Those who did not participate also burned with fervor.
Since permission was freely given to those who wished to run personal sales booths, many saw it as a good opportunity to pull in lodging fees.
Well, this time, I moderately loosened restrictions even for those from the shadows.
If I only tightened them too much, guests of evil or chaos alignment tended to become displeased.
Even though there were still more than five days left until the Colosseum opened, the guests prepared for it in their own ways.
“We have also prepared changes to the interior throughout the hotel to match.”
No. 103, who was in charge of interior design, added a medieval touch to the luxurious interior in accordance with the overall purpose.
Thanks to that, the hotel over the past few days created an atmosphere different from usual.
“Looking at this, I really did educate my clones well.”
Seeing the ones who worked well did make me proud.
But could I entrust everything to them?
That was another matter.
“Master, there has been another disturbance on the 23rd floor.”
“Why there this time?”
“They say it is a plagiarism controversy. It seems they filed product applications with similar phrases. Ah, and there has also been a quarrel on the 52nd floor. This one is about coins.”
“Coins?”
“They say they are issuing coins whose value rises when the winner is predicted correctly.”
“That is gambling.”
“They are defending it by saying it is, strictly speaking, a different kind of product from gambling.”
“I’m losing my mind. Truly.”
Clones basically only had self-defense ability and power related to the roles they were assigned. They did not have all authority.
As a result,I naturally ended up being the one who had to take charge of mediating such disputes.
“I will go to the 52nd floor first and then the 23rd, so tell that side to wait with a clone.”
“Understood. Ah, and......”
“What else?”
“They say a fight broke out on the 40th floor.”
“Argh.”
There were more than one or two who could not control their hot blood and ran wild.
This was why I did not open events like this often.
Snap.
After lightly settling the situation on the 40th floor with divinity, I relayed it to No. 100.
“I just handled the 40th floor, so go there later and just tell them to behave appropriately.”
“Understood.”
“And you take care of the matters related to mediation as you see fit, No. 100.”
“I will take preliminary measures for now.”
“Please do.”
What did it matter if I had several bodies?
The important work ultimately had to pass through me.
It was giving me a headache. A headache.
“Hye-rin, you take your lesson from the Saintess.”
“The Saintess said she is busy too.”
“She said she is busy? Why?”
“She said she needs to do some coin? That she’ll earn money with it?”
“......”
So the culprit of the 52nd floor was the Saintess.
At any rate, she would feel disappointed if she were left out of trouble.
“Thank you for telling me. Thanks to you, I can settle it quickly.”
“But mister.”
“What? I am a little busy right now.”
“Can’t you leave all the work to your clones?”
“I am leaving a lot to them right now.”
“Um, you can just let them use magic.”
Flinch.
At the little one’s words, the lobby fell silent for an instant.
The clones with some reason quietly glanced at No. 100.
No. 100 glanced at me briefly, then went back to doing his work.
He really had gained a lot of experience.
Seeing that he was not shaken even by this sort of thing.
“I did that before.”
“Really?”
“But there were some problems. Quite a lot of them.”
Problems of truly absurd levels had occurred, where holes the size of a finger became large enough for dozens of trucks to pass through.
Without exaggerating at all, the hotel had almost closed its doors.
Thinking about it again, it truly was...... dreadful.
“That is why I do not lend my clones much of my power. I only give them exactly what they need for the work they are assigned.”
“Um, I see.”
“I do not know if the time will come when you learn it later, but there are downsides, so be careful.”
The little one learning clones would be a far-off matter, though.
“I will be busy for a while, so keep reviewing what the Saintess and I taught you. Ah, the Saintess will come find you soon.”
“Okaaay.”
At least she answered well.
After stroking the little one’s head once, I moved my steps.
There were still five days until the Colosseum.
Until then, it seemed there would be no time to rest at all.
***
Five days passed in the blink of an eye.
The door to the 72nd floor, where the Colosseum that had remained closed was located, opened.
“Waa.”
What came into view the moment one entered was a gigantic dome stadium.
I had considered making it in the form of a medieval colosseum, but after rolling the idea around a little, this was cleaner and looked better.
“How is it?”
“It’s super big. This kind of thing doesn’t break?”
“It absolutely does not.”
No matter what was done inside, the Colosseum would not be destroyed.
Of course, no harm would fly into the audience seats either.
“Ice cream for sale.”
“Have some cookies before you go. Cookies.”
“How about squid? Squid grilled directly over hellfire.”
Around such a Colosseum, guests calling for customers lined up in rows.
Foods sold here could be procured as much as one wished from the restaurant floor and café floor, so this was closer to playacting.
Of course, they sold things other than food too.
“Cheering sticks for sale! Dragonia cheering sticks!”
“T-shirts engraved with the rising powerhouse, Gladiator Luxeiton! You can only get them here!”
“You, too, can become a believer of the Blood Cult! As long as you have this rosary personally carved by this Seat!”
These handmade goods were items sold after receiving permission from the hotel.
We simply took a moderate commission, but......
Why was the Blood Demon there?
“It’s Grandpa Blood Demon.”
“Do you wish to know the secret of blood arts? The method of weaving the pure qi flowing through blood! With this martial arts manual alone, you can follow in this Seat’s footsteps!”
After speaking deeply with the Alliance Leader and the Heavenly Demon,the man had changed somewhat.
In a somewhat strange direction.
“Join the Blood Cult!”
“Good grief.”
What suffering.
What suffering indeed.