The little one’s story was interesting, but there were matters that had to be handled first before I heard it all here.
“First, shall you return the bag?”
“Yes, here it is!”
The little one swiftly took off the bag she had been carrying and handed it to me.
When I glanced inside, there was more than twenty-five days’ worth of food and drinking water left, and the other survival supplies remained untouched as well.
“You did not use the things inside?”
“Mm, I tried not to as much as possible.”
“Why?”
“I thought it would be better not to use them.”
It was a strange answer, but it was close to correct.
Because if she used such items, additional lodging fees would be deducted.
If there was no need to use them, it was right to use them as little as possible.
Aside from those, inside the bag were all sorts of miscellaneous things...... no.
Treasures.
Clatter!
The things I poured out by turning the bag upside down gave off a musty smell, but it was certain that they possessed outstanding value.
“Little one, these......”
“Hehe, I brought everything you taught me about, mister, and everything that looked similar too!”
I had told her about things on the 200th floor that could be used as lodging fees, but to think she remembered all of them, brought them back, and even brought more.
How admirable.
“No. 100.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Take these and check them as lodging fees.”
“If you order it, I must do it.”
With a sullen expression, No. 100 gathered the poured-out items and weighed them on the scale.
There was quite a lot, so even placing them on the scale took a fair amount of time.
“In total, they are worth 184 days.”
The lodging period settled in that way was a staggering 184 days.
What we had to receive from the little one for the bag rental was around 41 days.
Even excluding that, more than 100 days remained.
“Hah, haha.”
“Is it a lot?”
“It is an enormous amount.”
‘This little one’s dimension is truly overflowing with gold and treasure.’
My mouth watered, but I shook my head.
It would be nice if the little one went from time to time and brought these things back, but thinking of the anxiety I would feel each time......
Tsk, fine.
I should acknowledge it a little more now.
That I did not want this little one to be exposed to danger.
“Excluding the cost of the bag rental, I will keep the rest for now.”
“Can you do that?”
“Yes.”
It was special treatment I did not usually give other guests.
“You can use those lodging days later when you think you need help. Though there likely will not be a reason to use them for a long time.”
Did she roughly understand what I meant?
The little one sucked on her milkshake and smiled loosely.
“Now then, the first settlement is complete. Shall we continue the conversation we were having before?”
“Yes!”
I set down the contract I had shown her once before.
The contents of the contract had not changed.
“As I said before, from the moment you sign, your lodging will be free. You will continue staying at the hotel.”
“And in return, I have to run the hotel that much longer in your place later, right?”
“That is right. It will be quite a long time. Perhaps you may have to stay as long as my current age.”
“How old are you, mister?”
“I stopped counting after seven thousand.”
“Wow, that’s a lot.”
“It will be a long time. Longer than you think.”
“Eeh—”
But,“Even so, this will be a special proposal for you. I am certain it will be an unprecedented proposal as well.”
“A proposal that’s definitely good!”
“That’s right.”
“Then what about you, mister?”
“Me?”
“Is it good for you too?”
For me, well, it was a good proposal too.
Because I might be able to make that clock, which had been sluggish until now, spin rapidly.
Even if it had only done that these few times, and did not do so afterward,it was worth investing this much.
“It is sufficiently good.”
“Hehe, then I like it.”
“Then read it carefully and sign at the end.”
“Um, but mister.”
“What is it now?”
“You know the prize I won before.”
“Prize? Ah, first prize.”
I thought she had said she would ask me to play the role of her dad with that.
Why was that being brought up so ominously now?
“What about it?”
“Can I use that to have one wish granted?”
“Did you not say you wanted me to act as your dad for one day?”
“Mm, I’m going to ask for something similar.”
Something similar, was it?
In any case, a wish ticket and a one-day usage ticket were similar enough.
And the little one had also asked that.
“What is it? Let me hear it.”
Even so, I could not simply grant it unconditionally.
I did not know what she would say.
The little one smiled brightly and pointed at the contract.
“I want to change this.”
The part she pointed to in the contract was Clause 21.
The clause regarding mutual relations within the hotel.
Basically, I had established that the little one and I were in the relationship of hotel manager and VIP, and at times, we would be referred to as hotel manager and student.
The little one wanted to change that.
“I want you to be my new family, mister.”
She wanted to establish it as a simple and clear familial relationship.
“......Little one.”
“I went to Dad and told him. So Dad said it was all right.”
This little one.
Your dad is in a grave.
How could someone who cannot speak say it was all right?
Seeing the protest in my eyes, the little one spoke firmly.
“I know. Dad would have said that.”
“Can you read my thoughts?”
“I thought you’d think that.”
“Good grief.”
Family. Family, was it?
“I am sorry, but I do not think that will do.”
“Eh......”
“Instead, let us do this.”
I grabbed that clause from the contract and ripped it out.
Then, after reassembling the wording in my hand, I pasted it back into the contract.
All employees currently working at this hotel shall be defined as having a family-like relationship.
Furthermore, Party B shall be treated as a trainee employee.
Calling her family directly was a little too much, no matter how one looked at it.
Instead, this much should be fine.
After all, there were many “family-like” companies in the world.
Considering the work the little one would have to do at this hotel later, handling it this way did not seem bad.
“This is the compromise I can offer.”
“Tch, that’s petty.”
“If it is petty, then forget it.”
“A-all right.”
She was a quick-witted and cunning little one, more than she looked.
She had realized it would be difficult to receive any further concession than this, and she also knew this condition was quite favorable to her.
‘She seems to have read the contract roughly, but she read it carefully.’
She was thorough when it came to important parts.
Before the little one wrote her name at the end of the contract,I subtly pulled the contract toward myself.
“Mister?”
“I am asking one last time. Are you certain you will not regret this? Once you sign, it will be too late even if you regret it.”
Breaking a contract was impossible except in truly special cases.
Therefore, one had to be cautious, and then cautious again.
The little one pulled the contract firmly back toward herself and smiled.
“Yes!”
“Good. Then.”
The little one wrote her three-syllable name, Yun Hye-rin, at the end of the contract.
Fwoosh!
Blue flames rose from the contract, and the blazing fire split in two, flowing into the little one and me.
As the contract was engraved into my soul, it grew warm.
It was telling me to fulfill the first condition of the contract immediately.
How impatient.
“Now, eat this.”
“What is it?”
“A fragment of my soul. It is necessary for you to stay here.”
If a fragment of my soul was not mixed in, the sense of separation between the body in her dimension and the body in the hotel would grow too large.
A minor side effect would be bodily collapse. A major side effect would be soul collapse.
To prevent that, the little one’s soul had to be tied down firmly.
What was needed for that was a fragment of my soul, and this was the price for binding the little one to the hotel.
“It will become a means to protect you.”
It was an element for the unconditional protection written into the contract.
By offering this, my grade would fall one or two stages,but that was fine.
I had already climbed several hundred stages above, so two stages would not even show.
Guests who had reached divinity might notice, but what could they do?
“Hehe, okay.”
The little one received the soul fragment of No. 10 and swallowed it in one bite.
No. 10’s soul, which seeped into the little one’s body, broke apart like powder and scattered throughout her body.
“Ugh, my stomach feels strange.”
“It will take a few days to adapt. During that time, your body will ache a little as well.”
“I don’t like hurting.”
“Think of it as getting a vaccine.”
“Is a vaccine something that hurts?”
“It is something that hurts a little so you do not hurt a lot. Now, stop talking and lie down.”
I lightly pushed the little one’s forehead and made her lie down.
Seeing cold sweat bead on her forehead did make me feel sorry.
But there was no parent who would refuse to vaccinate a child just because they disliked seeing the child hurt.
If there were, their qualifications as a parent would be the problem.
“Rest well for a few days.”
“Mister......”
“......Yes. What is it?”
“You’ll stay next to me while I sleep, right? Because we’re family?”
“I said family-like.”
“Anyway!”
I placed my cool palm on the child’s feverish forehead.
“It’s coool.”
“Yes, I will stay beside you while you sleep.”
“Hehe. Then I’ll sleep a little.”
The little one smiled broadly, then closed her eyes just like that.
She must already have had a great deal of fatigue accumulated from traveling through the dimension, and now she would have been even more exhausted after consuming a soul fragment.
“It will take a few days for her to wake.”
As I listened to her soft breathing, No. 100 quietly approached.
“Are you all right?”
“What is there to be all right or not about? Have you stopped sulking a little?”
“Phew, what use is there in me sulking at you, Master?”
No. 100 grumbled, yet soon spoke calmly.
“I am simply worried.”
“About what?”
“To you, Master, family is something special.”
That was true.
Even after living through long years, there were only two people I could call family.
“That is why I said ‘family-like.’”
No. 100 smiled faintly.
“Of course.”
“......How pointless.”
I gently stroked the sleeping little one’s nose and lifted her in my arms.
I could let her sleep deeply here, but if she was going to sleep anyway, I should have her sleep in a good bed.
“She is the first employee of our hotel. It should be fine to treat her a little specially.”
“How enviable. Could you perhaps consider us a little that way as well?”
“All right, all right. Is my room clean?”
“It is always kept clean without a speck of dust.”
“Ah, what if we changed it a little with pink walls to suit the child’s mood?”
“You are making a fuss. It would be better to create a new employee bedroom later. Though I do not have a bedroom.”
“You are still sulking, aren’t you?”
“May I write a letter of resignation?”
“That will not do. Without you, the hotel will fail.”
Leaving the grumbling No. 100 alone, I rose from my seat.
“I will go up first.”
“Please rest comfortably.”
With No. 100 seeing me off, I went up to my room.
The 3rd floor, which I had not gone up to in a while, felt only awkward.
Because I did not need to sleep, there was no actual need for a room.
“Heave-ho.”
After changing the little one’s clothes into pajamas and laying her down, the necklace hanging around her neck caught my eye.
Aside from some dirt and dust, it was an ordinary pendant, but.
“It is precious, is it?”
The old photograph inside the necklace.
Seeing this photograph, I felt I could understand, at least a little, what sort of heart the little one had when she returned here and said those words.
“What a cute little thing.”
After stroking her hair once, I placed the necklace beside her.
I had pasted on protection magic, preservation magic, return magic, and so on in layers, so no problem should arise.
While I was at it, I also cast a blessing of deep sleep on the child.
Because of the soul fragment running wild, I did not know if she could fall into a deep sleep, but if she had nightmares on top of that, it would be too hard on her.
“Hehe, mister.”
“Yes, I am right here.”
“Misterrr.”
“All right.”
“I like it.”
“......”
-Family!! I like it sooo much!
-Daaad!
-I like it!
......She resembled her.
She moved the dimensional clock.
She had many talents.
“What...... do you mean to me?”
The heart weathered by over thousands of years was, however slightly, being restored.
“Ueeeh...... Mnyamnyam.”
“......Kukuk.”
I did not know yet.
But there was plenty of time, and someday, I would know.
“Sleep well.”
Little one.
......No, Hye-rin.
***
The little one woke up after a week had passed.
It was surprising that she had slept for that entire week, but if fatigue had accumulated, it was understandable.
There was also the matter of her soul.
“M-mister!”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“I’m strange! This is strange!”
But why was she like this the moment she opened her eyes?
“What is strange?”
“I got shorter!”
“Hm?”
That could not be.
“Reallyyy! I came up to about here before!”
The little one pattered over to the doorway and pressed her head against it.
Most of the hotel’s doors used the same standard, so it was similar in size to the door she used.
Before, the child’s head had come up to the doorknob, but now she was a whole head shorter than that.
She had to stretch her hand upward to grab the doorknob.
Looking closely, even the clothes I had changed her into seemed to have become one size larger.
“I got smallerrr!”
I had not expected this side effect.
But, well, it was something I felt sorry saying to the child.
‘She is cute.’
Now that she had become smaller, it felt as if her cuteness had doubled.
If she heard that, she would complain, but that was the truth.
“It suits you.”
“Aaaaaah!!”