Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Aftermath at Saint Maria (2)
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The shelter where everyone had gathered was a large, nearby swimming facility called Aquamarina.
It wasn't operating since it was so late, and it was spacious enough for a large group of people.
A heated indoor space. Considering these conditions, it was the perfect place for a shelter.
Sabrina and I walked hand in hand, carefully following a Fixer's guidance into the shelter.
There, we were able to meet up with David and Reine, whom we had been worried about.
“Reine...! David...!”
“Sabrina, and Yuria. We found you.”
“We were so worried! We couldn't reach you at all!”
“Ugh, sorry....”
“...”
Reine, her eyes wet with tears, pulled both me and Sabrina into a hug.
I was suddenly pulled into the embrace, but it didn't feel particularly burdensome.
After all, we'd been out of contact during an emergency where undead were roaming the hotel.
I suppose it's only natural for a guardian to worry.
But why am I getting hugged too? Well, it's warm, so I don't mind.
After our tearful reunion, we shared stories of what had happened to each of us.
It seemed the two of them had been enjoying their time together, wandering around, when the undead suddenly began attacking people.
Still, David was a skilled enough fighter to protect himself.
He had apparently managed to beat down the undead with his bare fists while quickly evacuating people from the hotel.
Seeing the bandages wrapped around his body, it was clear the process hadn't been easy.
Then again, these were undead created by someone said to be the pinnacle of necromancers. I guess it couldn't be helped.
“On our end, some kind of dangerous gas suddenly appeared....”
“So that's why we don't see Alice or Raven.”
“That must have been quite a disaster.”
As we explained what we'd experienced at the Enigma Auction, their expressions quickly darkened.
Just hearing about it must have made them realize how much Alice and Raven had gone through.
They probably felt a bit guilty that we had been separated from them. They really are good people.
I wonder how long we waited at Aquamarina, sharing our experiences at the hotel.
A long time passed, and it was after 2 a.m. when Alice and Raven finally joined us.
And when the two of them suddenly suggested returning to the hotel, Reine tilted her head in confusion.
“Oh, are we going back to the hotel? Hmm, I feel a little uneasy about that....”
“Where else can we go at this hour? It's peak season, so all the nearby hotels are likely full. In the end, we have no choice but to spend the night here.”
Reine seemed quite reluctant to return to the Saint Maria.
Her reaction wasn't hard to understand.
The hotel was the very scene where, just moments ago, undead had been swarming and causing chaos.
To go back to a place like that... Most people would find it hard to agree.
Her point wasn't wrong.
Normally, staying in a hotel that had just been overrun with undead was out of the question.
But Raven scratched his head as if it couldn't be helped and offered a half-hearted excuse.
Not only was there no place that could accommodate hundreds of guests at this late hour,
but there were no other hotels in this resort area. We really had no other choice.
Still, perhaps understanding how Reine felt,
Alice took her hand reassuringly and spoke with a confident gaze.
“It's alright, Reine. All the undead inside have already been cleared out, and the Fixers will be patrolling inside and outside the hotel. You don't have to worry about something similar happening again.”
“Ah... well, if that's the case....”
“Did it take so long because you were clearing out the undead?”
“That, and we were delayed dealing with the people who absolutely refused to stay at the hotel. There's nothing left for us to do. Let's just go up, wash up, and get some rest.”
As if he just wanted to kick up his feet and rest, Raven abruptly turned and strode toward the hotel.
If there was a reason, we had no choice. We trailed behind him back to the hotel.
However, on the way to our rooms, something strange happened.
Raven suddenly stopped the group from heading to the elevator for our rooms and went higher up.
Did he perhaps leave something upstairs?
Puzzled, we followed him until we reached our destination, only to stare at him in bewilderment.
“Raven, where are we?”
“This doesn't seem to be our room. This is the top floor's....”
“That's right. The Royal Suite. One of the most luxurious rooms in the Saint Maria.”
*Beep.*
When Raven brought the keycard from his pocket to the door, it opened smoothly without a sound.
It was a naturalness that seemed to welcome its rightful owner.
What in the world was going on?
I, too, was completely caught off guard and looked at Alice and Raven in confusion.
Noticing my gaze, Alice gave an awkward little smile, took my hand, and led me inside.
“Ooh, this is...!”
“It's huge! Way bigger than the last one!”
“Is that real gold on the ceiling? Wow... There's a chandelier and even a mini wine cellar?”
The inside was a scene of such splendor it was hard to believe it was real.
It was two, no, three levels more luxurious than the Premier Suite we were originally supposed to stay in.
If the previous room made me think, "I'm so happy to be staying in a place like this,"
this one was far beyond that level, making it feel as if I were in a dream.
“Yuria! Look at this! A super expensive-looking bed!”
“...!”
This is definitely on another level of quality. It's like they tore a piece from a cloud in the sky.
As I was poking the bed with my hand, enjoying its extraordinary texture,
I heard David and Reine's voices from behind me and Sabrina, who were still busy looking around, demanding an explanation.
“Raven, what is all this?”
“That's right. Have our rooms been changed?”
“The people who were supposed to stay here left, said they couldn't stay in the hotel any longer. Some rooms became unusable because of the undead, so after some rearranging... well, this is what happened.”
He explained it away vaguely and collapsed onto a luxurious-looking sofa as if exhausted.
The material looked bigger and much plusher than the sofa at the agency, so I sat on it too.
It was clearly an expensive item; the sensation on my skin felt worlds apart.
But David and Reine didn't seem satisfied with Raven's brief explanation.
Alice gave them a wry smile and added to the explanation.
“Actually, Mr. Victor strongly insisted that we played a significant role in resolving the situation... So the owner of the Saint Maria gladly gave us permission to use this room. For free, too!”
“That... Hmm, that makes sense.”
“Not that it matters. Everyone staying at the hotel right now is staying for free. The owner's the only one getting the short end of the stick.”
Raven said, shaking his head.
All the guests staying for free. Just how much of a financial loss would that be?
I did a quick calculation in my head and flopped over sideways, my mind suddenly cluttered.
Still, from what I heard, no one died, which was remarkable considering the attack came from one of the Seven Extremes.
In terms of casualties, it was a result bordering on a miracle.
Perhaps this point would be highly valued, and the place might be even more packed with people starting next year.
After all, we live in a dangerous world where you never know when or where an incident might occur.
The focus is more likely to be on how they handled the incident rather than the fact that it happened.
“Hurry up and wash so you can sleep. After we rest, we need to decide whether we're heading back to Nighthaven tomorrow or staying here a bit longer.”
As I was rolling around on the sofa, organizing my thoughts,
Raven spoke, his face etched with exhaustion.
Right. It was already getting close to 3 a.m.
I should probably wash my dirty body quickly and get into bed.
Our new room was a top-class Royal Suite.
It had three huge bathrooms, so it wouldn't take much time.
“Yuria, want to bathe together? It's been a while.”
“Ah, I... want to bathe with Yuria too....”
“Fufu, since it's come to this, why don't all the ladies just bathe together? The bathroom is plenty big, after all.”
“...!”
Why do these people want to bathe with me so much?
I felt a little troubled by the requests from Sabrina and Alice to bathe together.
But then again, I'd already shown them my face.
And it felt like a bit of a waste to monopolize such a large and splendid bathroom.
Unable to put up any resistance, I had no choice but to be dragged to the bathroom.
“Oh my, how cute. Yuria, you look just like an angel.”
“Right?! It's because Yuria always wears a mask, but her bare face is seriously adorable!”
Of course, perhaps it was because this was the first time Reine had seen my face without the mask.
She calmly delivered compliments that would make anyone hearing them blush.
I mean, I'm quite fond of this face myself, but being called an angel or a work of art at every turn...
I still had no idea how to react. I doubt I'll ever get used to it.
“It's a shame to keep it hidden all the time. Still, the thought of having it all to ourselves is rather nice.”
“...”
Alice said this as she carefully rinsed the thick lather from my hair.
All to themselves, huh. Well, that wasn't too far from the truth.
The number of people I'd actually shown my face to could be counted on one hand.
And most of them were people I could trust, both in character and in skill.
After our lively bath time was over and every last drop of water was dried from my hair,
I was assigned a bed far larger than I was tall and was able to wriggle my way into it.
*Ugh, so sleepy... My eyes are closing the moment my back touches the bed...*
I slowly drifted off to sleep under the thick covers, with only my head peeking out.
So the first day of our trip finally comes to an end.
It was a truly, exhaustingly long day.