ITGS 07

Chapter 07

“Do not enter without permission. And stop standing at the door as well.”

“A contract… no, Ordelfia doesn’t know since she’s asleep, right?”

“If she finds out, she’ll be extremely displeased. So don’t even think about doing something like this. A human wouldn’t do such a thing, after all.”

Killian frowned as if dissatisfied with Sebastian’s strict words, but he soon acquiesced.

“Well, there’s plenty of time anyway.”

He disappeared leisurely into the darkness.

Sebastian stayed in front of Room 201 until Killian was completely out of sight, and once he vanished, he moved on.

Thus ended a nocturnal meeting unknown to Ordelfia.

The next day after arriving at the hotel.

Ordelfia greeted around ten staff members in the morning.

“E-Excuse me… the manager?”

“Good day. I’m Hans, I’ve worked at this hotel for five years.”

“Oh my, so you’re the manager. I wondered if I was still dreaming, seeing such a beautiful lady enter the kitchen. Hohoho.”

Some staff had very distinctive personalities, but most were ordinary people.

“Some staff are off today,” said the manager.

Ordelfia nodded. She had been wondering why she hadn’t seen Sebastian, who looked exactly like the manager.

“I see. I’ll greet them later when they come in.”

Throughout the greetings with the staff, she tensed up, half-expecting something strange to happen. Luckily, the morning passed without incident.

Thinking back, the elderly gentleman she had met on the train had only mentioned that this hotel was a good place to rest. Nothing he shared seemed unusual or out of place.

“Seems such things aren’t common, then.”

Luckily, no one heard her mutter the thought, and she shook her head to erase it.

Right now, there were far more pressing matters.

After exchanging brief greetings with the staff, she moved to the basement to look for past hotel operation records.

Knock, knock.

“Excuse me, ma’am.”

Having spent a long time in the basement archive poring over the hotel’s history and operational records, Ordelfia looked up at the knock.

Her face remained expressionless, but the bloodshot eyes and deep shadows beneath them made her look extremely tired.

Although she had gone straight to her room upon arriving at the hotel yesterday, she hadn’t gone to sleep immediately. She had searched the room for clues regarding her grandmother, her cursed ability, and her father.

She had spent almost the entire night doing so, and then from early morning, she toured the hotel and met the staff.

After that, without a moment’s rest, she had been examining scattered historical documents in the basement. So it was no wonder she looked exhausted.

She rubbed her dry, sore eyes and finally gave permission.

“Come in.”

Adjusting the flickering orange gas lamp to shine brighter, Ordelfia tilted her head upon seeing the visitor.

“Manager?”

“I brought a snack. I heard you skipped lunch, so I asked the kitchen.”

“I wasn’t very hungry.”

Buried in her work, she hadn’t felt like eating anything. But when she saw the plate of neatly arranged bite-sized sandwiches, her hunger suddenly returned.

The manager poured her a cup of well-steeped Earl Grey tea with milk and slid it across to her.

“Is everything going well?” he asked.

“I’m just observing. I don’t know much about hotels or management, so I can only cram into my head the paths others have taken. The hotel’s situation is tighter than I expected.”

“I apologize.”

“No, a manager who runs a hotel this well without an owner deserves praise. I look forward to working with you.”

“Of course. Rather than praise for me, would you eat the dish the chef prepared before it gets cold?”

“…Yes.”

Ordelfia, unused to such genuinely warm concern, awkwardly and hurriedly ate the sandwiches and sipped the warm tea.

After refilling her cup, the manager spoke.

“I’m sorry to trouble you while you’re busy, but…”

Ordelfia paused while wiping her fingertips with a handkerchief and looked at him.

“One of the staff who was supposed to handle the front desk today is absent.”

“Are they sick?”

Ordelfia casually asked as she picked up the last sandwich, but she paused at the unusually warm gaze from the manager.

“They’re not absent due to illness. I checked since they didn’t come in, and it seems the route from their home to the hotel was blocked.”

Ordelfia hastily shoved the sandwich into her mouth at the sudden, inexplicable compliment, swallowing it almost without chewing. She covered her mouth and asked,

“The route was blocked?”

“There was heavy rain from early this morning.”

“Oh, right. It was a downpour. Is it still raining?”

“Yes, it hasn’t stopped. That staff member has to cross a wide river to reach the hotel on the hill.”

“So the river swelled due to the rain and the bridge was submerged.”

“Yes. Fortunately, only one staff member lives across the river, so the others came without issue.”

As she listened, Ordelfia finished the last of the sandwiches. Engrossed in the food and the heavy rain, she forgot to ask if the absent staff member was Sebastian. And even if she had asked, she wouldn’t have known the answer would be ‘no.’

She nodded.

“The other staff must have tasks today, so the front desk is empty. That’s why you want me to cover it briefly, right?”

“Exactly. You mentioned it a moment ago.”

“You said you wanted to experience hotel work firsthand, so you’d like to spend at least one turn at the desk when it’s free.”

Ordelfia marked the 20-year-old records she had been reviewing and lightly loosened her stiff shoulders.

“Alright. I’ll get changed and go immediately.”

A pleasant smile spread across the manager’s face.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. On a day with this much rain, issues are likely to arise throughout the hotel, so I need to check personally.”

“Ah, yes. That’s hard work.”

“This is nothing.”

As he polished his monocle, Ordelfia asked a small question.

“Manager, have you ever cleaned my grandmother’s room? Not just cleaning, but organizing the belongings.”

“No. Since Lady Adel passed away, I considered her belongings as relics and haven’t touched anything. As you said, I only maintained and cleaned the room consistently.”

“I see.”

So there weren’t any obvious clues in that room, or perhaps she just hadn’t found them yet.

That could be. She recalled hearing from her father that the Greu estate had secret rooms only the butler could enter.

So it was possible the hotel had such a place too. And such important rooms are usually in the most private area of the owner.

“Do you have any other maps of the hotel besides the ones kept here?”

“No. Aside from the complete hotel blueprint, the originals of maps indicating repair areas are also kept here.”

“I see. Thank you.”

As expected, no secret room was indicated on the map. Though the survey markings gave a glimmer of hope, it seemed unlikely that a crucial location would be easily revealed.

She sighed lightly, realizing she would continue searching through rooms at dawn for clues about her father.

Then she asked the manager one more thing.

“Have you arranged for the artist who will draw the composite sketch?”

“With this much rain, it will likely be delayed.”

“Alright. I look forward to it today as well. I’ll do my best too.”

Standing at the reception desk, Ordelfia let out a faint sigh with a perfectly expressionless face.

The tasks themselves weren’t complicated or technically demanding.

She simply had to confirm the names, room numbers, and dates for arriving guests, and allocate vacant rooms meeting the requirements for walk-in customers.

〈You don’t need to handle special requests or miscellaneous tasks for the guests.〉

〈Hmm, even if you want to experience it, should I stop you?〉

〈If so, get familiar with the basic duties at the desk first, then try.〉

She obediently followed the manager’s advice.

There was no rush. Yes, she had already decided when leaving the house that had spewed harsh, cursed words—whether from worry or curse—about her.

She would make this hotel her home.

So there was still plenty of time left for herself.

“…Or is there not?”