NOVEL NEXT Welcome to Dungeon Hotel
Chapter 224
That’s why, now is the time.
Demon King No, but does it make sense to choose the head of the HR department? If you do this, I’ll adjust the difficulty of the quest in the future. Former Hotel Owner When did you ever think of not adjusting the difficulty of the quest? The two reptiles were chattering confusingly, and I turned off the notifications to focus on the conversation with Megumi. Megumi was amazed, saying that she was a regular at this udon restaurant. “How did you find this hidden gem in the alley? The noodles here are really chewy and delicious.” I stared at the udon in my bowl in response to Megumi’s question. Indeed, the udon tasted great. Megumi only talked about the chewiness of the noodles, but even for me, who had never really felt much appeal in clear bonito broth, the refreshing taste of the broth and the well-seasoned fried food that still tasted good even when soaked in the broth were the best. Sudden Quest ‘Ultimate Recipe – Fried Udon’ —You have met a master who possesses the ‘Ultimate Recipe—Tempura Udon.’ Receive the ‘Ultimate Recipe’ from them. —Completion Reward: 100G, 100% guest satisfaction when the recipe is served. So it must be the Ultimate Recipe. I looked at the window that appeared before me and thought. Hmm. If I learn this, I can achieve 100% guest satisfaction. When looking at the growing message inbox, the Demon King is surely grinding his teeth, preparing to give me an enormous quest. This udon restaurant recipe will definitely help me then. ‘But is it enough to just learn this recipe? Really?’ I looked around the interior, which revealed the owner’s taste as a figure collector. This store had its own atmosphere. ‘It would come out well even if I took a picture.’ As expected, it matches the type of place the manager would find. Thinking that, I pointed to the manager next to me with both hands and spoke in English. “The manager looked for it. Our manager has excellent information skills.” I heard that she even searched through Japanese SNS to find this place. I naturally introduced the manager to Megumi. The manager bowed respectfully without overdoing it and took out a business card from her pocket. A business card with the logo of Yeongchun Hotel. We started working together at the Dungeon Hotel Notification Division. “Nice to meet you.” “Oh. Yes. But I don’t have a business card…” Megumi said, looking embarrassed. I recalled the information I had checked in advance through Megumi’s SNS and said. This woman is a self-employed person in this area. “You’re running a small workshop around here, right?” The wooden tableware Megumi gave me also came from that workshop. “Yes. I inherited my grandmother’s pottery workshop and I’m running it. I make ceramic and wooden bowls. Come visit me later after you finish eating. I came out to show you around since you’re staying in Kyoto anyway.” The manager’s eyes turned to me at Megumi’s words. She looks like she’s wondering if this will work. And it was no wonder—Megumi’s face lit up with a bright smile as she explained about the bowls she makes. She loves her work. Would a job offer work… on someone like her? I could read the manager’s thoughts just by looking at her eyes. However, after checking Megumi’s SNS, I had a slightly different opinion. “Yes, I’ll visit. But it seems like you have a strong attachment to this neighborhood. How long have you lived here…?” Megumi clicked her tongue and pointed in the direction where the apartment was supposed to be, making a gesture with her hand as if she had burst. “A dungeon in an apartment.” I coughed at that. “I feel kind of sorry about that. It turns out I ended up owning that apartment…” “Huh? Not at all. Thanks to you, all the residents were safely rescued, and we even received proper compensation. I’m just extremely grateful.” Megumi bowed her head repeatedly. Just when it seemed like the thanks would never end, the manager changed the subject. “Are you moving to a new place with the compensation money?” “I’m not sure. I have a house in another city, so I’m thinking about whether to move there…” The manager’s face darkened even more when the topic of the house in another city came up. It seemed clear that she was someone who couldn’t be swayed by money alone. That’s right. People aren’t fooled by money, they’re fooled by the heart. “But I really like this neighborhood. It’s the most peaceful area in Kyoto, and it has the best udon I’ve ever had. Plus, there are many memories of my family scattered throughout the alleyways.” Megumi sighed with a subtle expression. The udon for Megumi arrived. The server greeted Megumi with a smile. “Hey, Megumi. It’s been a while, right? How are you doing these days? Is the temporary shelter okay?” “For now. Thank you for your concern, Uncle.” Megumi greeted the man in a friendly manner, calling him Uncle. She knew a lot of people because she had lived in this neighborhood for a long time. Her SNS was filled with posts of meals with locals and scenes from the neighborhood. It was no different from how our manager’s old SNS was filled with posts about Yeongchun-myeon. That’s how I knew. What Megumi truly loves is not the pottery workshop but this neighborhood. “Oh, right. You must be worried too, uncle.” “Huh? Well, that’s right. After all, the apartment residents have been the main customers lately. I heard a new hotel is coming here too…” “Ah, the hotel.” Megumi glanced at me. But the man who seemed to be the owner of the udon restaurant didn’t stop talking. “Yeah. I heard there was a coffee craze at that hotel coffee shop a while ago? Of course, people will flock to that restaurant when it opens.” I thought I knew what he meant. When a new hotel opens, it’s usually expected to be a significant boost to the local economy. And that’s often true. ‘To some extent.’ As I listened to the udon shop owner sigh, Megumi seemed worried that I might feel bad, but I didn’t say anything and just sat there until the owner passed by. The manager, unfamiliar with Japanese, seemed to just stay silent. I checked that the owner had gone back to the kitchen and said to Megumi. “There are good and bad things about a hotel.” “Huh? Oh, yes. I guess so.” Megumi laughed awkwardly. Megumi seemed a little worried about what would happen after the hotel was built. It was natural. Dungeon International is only a 4-star hotel, but it is a hot topic in Japan, just like any other large hotel chain. Thanks to this, the number of tourists may increase, but if those tourists do not strengthen the surrounding commercial district and are unevenly concentrated on the facilities within the hotel, the surrounding commercial district will end up being eaten up by a large competitor due to the Dungeon Hotel. However, since this hotel is an international hotel and is supposed to be a shelter for hunters, Megumi cannot help but worry. Especially if it is foreign tourists or hunter tourists, there will be fewer guests who come to see the neighborhood itself. The difference between Yeongchun Hotel and Dungeon International is revealed in this part. Yeongchun-myeon, where Yeongchun Hotel is located, had limited transportation options and was a neighborhood not well-known to people from Seoul. So, even just by having Yeongchun Hotel there, it has already enjoyed a special advantage by bringing attention to the area. However, according to the research I conducted while I was resting, this neighborhood is not as popular as Yeongchun-myeon in Japan. A neighborhood developed as a bedtown for Osaka and Kyoto, it had a stable small-scale economy supported by nearby mansions and residential areas. If Dungeon International were to enter such a neighborhood, all eyes would be on Dungeon International. In addition, if we consider that there might not be any customers flowing through due to Dungeon International, the surrounding businesses would be in a tense situation. This is a different issue from the gentrification I worried about while expanding Yeongchun Hotel. I quietly looked at Megumi, who seemed to be thinking similarly to me. Megumi was looking at the neighborhood scenery outside the glass window, not the udon bowl. She knew the names of all the residents of the mansion, including the owner of the udon restaurant. I could see why she was given the potential to be part of the HR team. It was because she was such a caring person. That’s why. To win over Megumi, the issue with the neighborhood where Dungeon International is located must be resolved. I clenched my fist slightly under the table. “Hashimoto-san, you really care about this neighborhood, don’t you? You’ve lived here for a long time.” “Yes? Ah, of course.” “What if there was a way to show more people the beauty of this neighborhood?” “Yes?” Megumi tilted her head. The manager also looked at me with a puzzled look. Without hesitation, I began to explain to Megumi and the manager about the form of Dungeon International that I had envisioned. My plan was simple. I would create a tourism program that would connect the hotel with the local community. This was already done in small inns that lacked restaurants, parks to walk around, and cafeterias. It’s a common experience for anyone to visit a hotel and find it difficult to explore local tourist attractions due to inconvenient transportation or unfamiliarity with the area. In such cases, small inns often help by recommending nearby restaurants or providing information on bus stops that lead to local attractions. However, in large hotels, everything is managed within the hotel itself. They build a swimming pool to eliminate the need to visit tourist attractions, and they create restaurants and lounges so that they can buy and eat food and drinks inside the hotel. Then, what if Dungeon International does something in between? “Create a one-day class program where guests at the hotel can make pottery at the workshop and enjoy udon from a small restaurant like this for lunch. You could also sell meal vouchers for the hotel and even include udon as a breakfast menu item.” “…!” Megumi’s eyes widened. “B, but do big hotels like Dungeon International do that?” The manager interrupted Megumi’s question. “There are cases where this happens. It’s quite common for hotels to operate large and small programs in collaboration with specific local communities.” The manager’s eyes sparkled. She didn’t panic at the plan she had just heard, and took out a tablet PC from her bag and started writing something on a note app. “I found that this neighborhood has many old stores. While there aren’t any nationally famous places, it’s very charming and enjoyable to explore. Since many of these places are difficult to reach by bus, it might be fun to set up unique programs like a rickshaw tour or bicycle tours, with options for renting rickshaws or bikes, to create a distinctive experience.” The manager quickly brought up a map of the area on a blank notebook and showed me a few stores with lines. “In the morning, you could have coffee at this café, browse books at this secondhand bookstore in the afternoon, and then end the day with dinner and drinks at this BBQ restaurant.” It was a travel plan that made me want to just hear it. I was amazed by the manager’s quick wit, coming up with such an idea in just a brief moment. ‘As expected. I chose people well. ‘ And this time I will probably pick it well. At that moment, the shop owner, who was bringing out some shrimp tempura as a complimentary dish, glanced at the tablet PC the manager was holding and tilted his head in curiosity. “Oh, that’s Shana’s bookstore, isn’t it? Haha, the guests sure know how to plan a trip. This town has so many old shops, so it’s really fun to explore every nook and cranny like this.” “Right, Uncle? The manager here really did her research as if she lived here. It wasn’t a lie that she’s good at gathering information.” It was a compliment from someone who had lived there for a long time. Megumi spoke with her eyes sparkling. “With a plan like this, I think I can continue living here and keep my pottery workshop going. Thank you so much, Manager.” “But, you see…” “Yes?” I borrowed the manager’s tablet PC and accessed my cloud. “To do that, it seems we’ll need more staff.” Then, I opened a contract draft that I had prepared in the cloud and handed the tablet to Megumi. “What do you think? For the local merchants, for our Dungeon International, and most importantly, for yourself, Megumi—” Money is not important. So, there must have been a post like this on Megumi’s SNS. @ME —MY23 (Picture.) I left Singapore, where I had been working for a long time, and returned to Kyoto. After my grandmother’s funeral, I had many thoughts. When I was young, I definitely didn’t want to be a pottery workshop. But if I close this shop, leave my hometown, and return to Singapore, will I be able to live a worthwhile life? Perhaps, at this moment, I am having to think between the career I want and the values I pursue the most. Where should a person’s dream go? The job I want? Or the values I want? I think it’s the latter. In the photo attached to this post, the employee ID of the company called the world’s number one portal was sticking out a little at the end. That’s how I knew. Megumi had previously worked in Google’s HR team. And I learned what values she considered important enough to give up that job. It wasn’t just her affection for her hometown. Specifically, it was a sense of loyalty to the people who remained there. That’s why she bowed her head to me and expressed her gratitude for protecting the safety of the people inside, rather than losing the mansion she had protected while serving as the neighborhood association president, or for the compensation. So isn’t it time for her to make a decision now? Thinking about it, I struck the decisive blow. “Hashimoto-san, please think it over carefully. Is it what you truly want to continue as the owner of the pottery workshop, or would you rather help the local merchants here and strive to coexist with the people of your hometown who have returned?” “…!” A variation of a previous question. I just slightly twisted her sentences on SNS— ‘Hashimoto Megumi (Non-Awakened)’ gains significant enlightenment. ‘Hashimoto Megumi (Non-Awakened)”s trust in you increases by 100%! The relationship with the hotel manager improves, and the potential of ‘Hashimoto Megumi (Non-Awakened)’ increases! …The reaction was intense. Hello! 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