Chapter 169. Madam Rabbit
The elevator descended from the ceiling.
Inside, a rabbit beast-person emerged.
The rabbit introduced herself as the hotel manager, stating her name as Lady Luna.
【Pururu】─Lady Lunaris?
【Mysticism】─😮 Sage Luna?
【Bubble Bubble】─It’s Lady Luna.
【Rizenova】─Hmm. The name sounds familiar, though.
【Yumi】─It does sound similar to Sage Lunaris, right? Even “Sage” and “Lady” sound kind of alike.
【Hwang Mir】─It’s Luna-chan in rabbit form!
【Luna-chan】─I’m suing for name plagiarism.
After introducing herself, Lady Luna began to kindly explain the hotel, her expression blank.
According to her explanation,
the place was a hotel created by a being known as the “Landlord,” a resting spot in the Ancient Labyrinth that provided various conveniences to visiting monsters.
And,
she added that anyone could stay there as long as they paid a price, and that all the facilities could be used for free.
Apparently, they welcomed all guests without much discrimination.
─［The payment for using the hotel is only accepted in biological forms. We do not accept them alive, only in a deceased state. You can also offer just a part of a biological body, so please keep that in mind.］
Lady Luna explained that one could offer parts of other creatures or even a part of one’s own body to stay at the hotel.
─［Additionally, our frequent visitors usually pay with parts of their own bodies. Few guests offer other creatures as payment to use our hotel.］
【Pururu】─Doesn’t seem like a dangerous place, then.
【Mysticism】─😮 That’s a relief!
【Hwang Mir】─You never know. Better stay cautious.
【Luna-chan】─Exactly. Let’s not let our guard down.
After finishing her explanation, Lady Luna looked over our monsters, and finally, her ears perked up as she stared at Iris.
─［Ah. I was wondering why my strength had waned, and it turns out the only explorer of this generation is here as well.］
To be precise, she was looking at my image in Iris’s screen.
─［Just as I heard, it seems you explore the labyrinth not by wandering around yourself, but by navigating it safely from a distance. The fact that my strength weakened, even though you’re not physically here, must be because of your severed arm, Explorer?］
“…Hm? How did you know about that?”
─［Explorer… there are quite a few rumors about you, Gauntlet, circulating throughout the labyrinth. I’ve heard many stories from the guests who visit the hotel.］
【Pururu】─What? She even knows Kang’s name.
【Mysticism】─😱 Stalker!
【Pururu】─You’re the stalker here.
【Yumi】─Looks like Kang has become quite well-known in the labyrinth.
Clack, clack.
Lady Luna slowly approached Iris.
She didn’t seem to be cautious around our monsters at all.
─［As it happens, a guest who’s been telling stories about Gauntlet is currently visiting the hotel. Would you like to meet them? I believe you know their face.］
Snap-!
Lady Luna snapped her fingers.
And then, a large elevator descended.
It was three or four times larger than the one she’d come down in.
【Hwang Mir】─Hmm. Is it safe to get in that thing? Something’s suspicious.
“Since Abyss Lord is with us, well…”
It should be fine.
I added that and instructed the main exploration team to follow the rabbit.
We’d better go.
I was curious who had been spreading stories about me.
【Bubble Bubble】─I think the one spreading stories about Gauntlet might be that Wandering Merchant.
【Yumi】─That’s likely. He did meet Kang, and he seemed like the type of monster who’d travel around a lot.
【Mysticism】─But why is that rabbit’s tail so long?
【Mysticism】─Is she maybe not a rabbit? 🤔
【Pururu】─Rabbit tails are usually long.
【Mysticism】─No, they’re not. Rabbit tails are short and round! 😠
【Pururu】─It’s because they bundle up their tails.
【Hwang Mir】─Dan-bi is correct.
【Mysticism】─😟 I see.
The newly arrived elevator opened.
Lady Luna boarded first, and the main exploration team followed her cautiously.
I quickly took note of the locations of any markings within the short interval.
“But we haven’t paid any price yet. Is it alright to just follow along?”
─［Oh? As for the payment, it’s already been received.］
In response, Lady Luna held up something in her hand for Iris’s screen to show.
It was an ominous-looking black substance.
─［I’m not sure when I received it, but suddenly, it was in my hand. Weren’t your guests the ones who provided it?］
What was that?
As I was wondering about it,
─［We’re the ones who paid. I offered a part of my soul as the price. Doodoomba.］
Abyss Lord spoke, shaking her hips.
“…I didn’t see you give anything. When did you hand it over?”
─［As soon as we finished listening to her explanation, I gave it to her while doing the Doodoomba dance.］
As expected from an SSS-rank, she was swift.
【Pururu】─She just hands out her soul like it’s nothing.
【Yumi】─Right? Didn’t she say that robe of hers was made by detaching her own soul? She must have plenty of soul to spare.
【Luna-chan】─She’s SSS-rank, after all.
【Bubble Bubble】─Giving away pieces of her soul may sound dramatic, but to her, it’s probably no more significant than shedding dead skin.
【Mysticism】─🤢 Gross, dead skin.
Anyway, with that, the elevator doors closed.
The elevator rose swiftly, passing through the ceiling of the hotel.
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened.
A vast bathhouse stretched out before us, so large it seemed to go on forever.
【Pururu】─Whoa, they even have a place like this.
【Yumi】─Wow. That’s an enormous bath.
【Mysticism】─😮
【Hwang Mir】─Can’t even see the end. Just how big is it?
─［The guests I mentioned are here.］
In the endlessly sprawling bathhouse.
Only two guests were using it.
And then,
“Huh?”
The two were familiar.
─［Oh, oh?］
─［I am warm… Hm?］
The two figures soaking in the bath turned to look at the main exploration team.
It was Snake Head and Mummy Skeleton.
【Pururu】─??? Who are those guys?
【Rizenova】─It’s Snake Head and Mummy Skeleton, isn’t it?
【Bubble Bubble】─What are they doing here?
【Hwang Mir】─Why are the residents of the desert village showing up here?
【Mysticism】─🧐
【Yumi】─Aren’t they just members of the same species?
【Luna-chan】─Exactly. They’re probably just different individuals from the ones Gauntlet tamed.
“No. They’re the very ones I tamed.”
【Luna-chan】─??
【Yumi】─What?
【Mysticism】─😮
The two were undoubtedly the desert village residents and my tamed monsters.
It was only natural that I knew.
There was no mistaking it.
I always felt a kind of invisible connection with my tamed monsters.
Sensing it, Iris drew closer to them.
I soon found myself facing them.
“…Guys, why are you here?”
─［Snake Head told me he’d bring me to a nice place, so I followed…］
─［Oh, oh. I come here occasionally to rest. Even after becoming your friend, I’ve visited a few times while everyone else was sleeping. This time, I got leave from the village to come play. But why are you here, ssiiih?］
“Why else… We’re here to explore, of course.”
─［I see, oh, oh.］
Now that I thought about it,
they had visited headquarters last night, saying they had somewhere to go, and had headed toward Passage No. 8.
It seemed that this hotel was the place they’d gone to.
“I never would have guessed one of my monsters already knew about this hotel…”
【Hwang Mir】─I’m speechless.
【Pururu】─I mean, if they knew about a place like this, they should’ve told Kang. Damn it.
【Yumi】─Seriously.
【Mysticism】─😠
In a way, it was understandable that they hadn’t mentioned it.
I had never specifically told Snake Head about the door in Passage No. 8, nor had I ever asked if there was such a resting place.
He was the opposite of Hedgehog.
Unlike Hedgehog, who eagerly told me everything he experienced without being asked, Snake Head preferred not to share every little thing with me.
Of course, if asked first, he would tell me.
Anyway.
I had no intention of reprimanding him for this incident.
Where the monsters went during their free time was up to them.
I had no intention of interfering in their private lives.
Tamed monsters weren’t like subordinates, so I didn’t expect them to report their exact whereabouts.
Still, I felt a little disappointed.
“Snake Head, I don’t mind where you go on your days off, but if there’s such a nice place, you could have told me about it even if I didn’t ask. It feels a bit disappointing.”
─［Oh… I was planning to tell you later. I come here often, but I wasn’t sure if it was a safe place yet. I was going to check a few more times before introducing it to you…］
【Pururu】─Liar, no way.
“You didn’t tell me on purpose because you were worried about my safety? Fine, I’ll take back what I said about feeling disappointed.”
─［Oh, oh!］
【Pururu】─He actually believes him…
Well, I had to believe him.
It was something said by a monster I had tamed, after all.
“So, you were the one who told the hotel manager about me?”
─［Oh! I bragged a lot! Told her you’re an amazing explorer!］
I decided not to make a big deal of it.
He’d only spread things that anyone could know; it wasn’t like he’d leaked any threatening information.
【Luna-chan】─But where did Snake Head’s body go? Doesn’t he usually have a human body attached under the snake head?
【Bubble Bubble】─Looks like he used that body as payment to enter the hotel.
【Yumi】─As long as Snake Head’s snake head isn’t destroyed, he should be able to regenerate a new human body even if he loses one.
Anyway.
I had confirmed who’d been talking about me.
I told the two to enjoy the rest of their vacation and then called Lady Luna for the next matter.
“Luna.”
【Luna-chan】─Yes?
─［Yes.］
“We didn’t come here to rest… Do you think you could guide us to the Landlord of this hotel? I’d like to have a chat.”
Because I wanted to tame him.
I stopped myself from saying that and corrected it to say I wanted to have a chat.
If I said I wanted to meet him to tame him, it might provoke hostility.
─［I’m afraid I cannot grant that request. The Landlord doesn’t wish to meet anyone.］
“What if I pay a higher price?”
─［Regardless of the price, you cannot meet the Landlord.］
“…”
Lady Luna’s expression remained steadfast, as if she had no intention of changing her mind.
Well, she had always been expressionless.
【Bubble Bubble】─She’s firm on that.
【Pururu】─Stone-cold witch.
Nothing could be done.
I had to use that method.
“…I guess if I tame her, she’ll introduce me. Alright, guys, grab her.”
If she wouldn’t grant my request, I’d just have to tame her without further discussion.
Once tamed, everything would be resolved.
The main exploration team immediately surrounded Lady Luna.
But Lady Luna’s expression remained calm.
─［I’m afraid, but you won’t be able to defeat me.］
Her actual danger level was S-rank.
There was no way she could overpower our exploration team.
Even so, Lady Luna showed no signs of agitation and instead looked around at the team with a gaze that seemed dismissive.
─［No matter how powerful you were outside, once you enter this place, you lose the ability to use force. You lose any power that could negatively affect another being, and you cannot attack the hotel staff. That is the rule and law of this hotel. The rules within this hotel are absolute, and no one can defy the order set by the owner of this space.］
It didn’t seem like she was bluffing.
Our exploration team looked shocked as they realized they couldn’t use their powers.
─［Doodoomba? Come to think of it, my bottom feels a bit heavy!］
─［Those words are determined not to be lies. All abilities are sealed except for shared sensory perception.］
Hedgehog and Iris.
─“I can’t use my powers either.”
─［I think I’ve lost my power too, dear.］
Even the SS-rank Azeras and Nyara Nepenthis.
It seemed that once inside the hotel, even beings with SS-rank danger levels were not exceptions.
But it wasn’t a problem.
There was one among us unaffected by the rules set by the so-called Landlord.
─［The order, you say?］
Before entering the hotel,
the spirit summoned by Hedgehog was already present.
─［I do not follow the order of the weak.］
The SSS-rank Abyss Lord.
With a simple wave of his hand,
thud.
Lady Luna fell to her knees on the floor without resistance.
─［…Huh?］
Lady Luna, who had kept a consistently calm expression.
Her face twisted with shock in an instant.
【Pururu】─Surprised? First time seeing an SSS-rank? Haha.
【Hwang Mir】─Haha, looks like she’s never seen an SSS-rank before.
─［Doodoomba? My bottom feels light again. Looks like the hotel rules don’t apply to me.］
Hedgehog was able to shake her bottom freely again.
─［I have sealed your movements. Now, please submit to being tamed quietly.］
─［This is absurd…］
Lady Luna’s expression looked incredulous at Abyss Lord’s words.
It seemed that the hotel had never hosted an SSS-rank visitor before.
Or perhaps an SSS-rank had visited but had obediently followed the hotel’s rules.
Since she was the manager, she probably wasn’t a newly employed rabbit.
At any rate, one thing was clear: Lady Luna did not truly understand the greatness of an SSS-rank being.
In this space, she’d probably believed that the Landlord was the ultimate power.
In other words,
she was a frog in the well… or rather, a rabbit confined in a hotel.
“Hedgehog, the marking is on the back of her left ear, in the direction you’re facing.”
─［Doodoomba, doodoodoomba.］
Holding my severed arm,
Hedgehog wriggled her hips from side to side as she approached Lady Luna.
─［Wait…!］
─［Doodoomba. Doodoodoomba.］
Wriggle wriggle.
─［Stop! This is a warning!］
─［Doodoodoomba. Doodoodoodoomba.］
Wriggle wriggle wriggle wriggle!!!!
─［D-don’t come any closer!!!］
─［Time for you to submit to taming! Doodoomba!!!］
Thwack!
Hedgehog slapped Lady Luna in the face with my severed arm, climbed onto her head, and attached the arm to her left ear. Fortunately, the arm fit perfectly on the marking.
【Pururu】─Pathetic. Haha.
【Mysticism】─🤭
【Hwang Mir】─A rabbit who can’t resist… It’s a little exciting.
【Yumi】─?
【Hwang Mir】─Just kidding.
As I watched the scene unfold, I opened my Monster Guidebook.
While updating my records, I called out to her.
“Lady Luna.”
Lady Luna, the manager of the hotel.
Her name sounded similar to that of Sage Lunaris, one of our Assistants.
To avoid any confusion, I decided to give her a new name.
“From now on, your name is Madam Rabbit.”
She had no veto power.
■Madam Rabbit
─Actual Danger Level: S-rank.
─Current (Nerfed) Danger Level: B-rank.
─Ability: Hotel Management.