Emily
A swirl of light transformed into a human form, taking on a person's shape.
The figure that appeared was a woman wearing a baker's hat, with silver hair and green eyes.
“I'm a novice chef named Emily. I'll do my best for the hotel from today onward!”
She greeted energetically.
【Congratulations! 『Chef - Emily』 has joined the hotel!】
- Position: Novice Chef
- Grade: ★☆☆☆☆
- Can produce general dishes (C)
- Cooking speed +20% (C)
- Meal buff effect +10% (A)
I was thrilled. A 1-star employee was exactly what I wanted right now.
Fortunately, the summoned employee was the lowest grade one.
But Emily? The name was unusual.
Just hearing it, she didn't sound Korean.
Or maybe even from Earth?
Well, it didn't really matter.
Since she greeted first, I responded in kind.
“Hello. I'm Han Doyun. As you know, I'm the one who runs this place.”
“Yes, General Manager. Where is the kitchen where I'll be working?”
Emily looked around the area.
“Hmph.”
There was no way she could find the kitchen.
Building the kitchen and restaurant each required 2000 points.
Right now, I couldn't construct them.
So after a brief pause, I told her the truth.
“...There's none?”
“What?! What do you mean?”
Emily's eyes widened in shock.
“Don't worry. Of course I'll put you to work in the kitchen.”
Emily let out a sigh of relief.
This was no lie.
I planned to have Emily work in the kitchen.
Assigning her to tasks outside her specialty would lower efficiency.
However.
“Not right now, though.”
“...”
I honestly had no choice.
I couldn't leave her watching the front desk alone all day here.
'But hiring a cheap employee when she's free would be a loss.'
At that moment.
She asked cautiously.
“Then if there's no kitchen, does that mean I can just rest?”
“Huh?”
What nonsense was that?
“What? So you're telling me to watch the front desk alone?”
“I'm a chef, though...”
“I'm the general manager?”
“Ah.”
Emily was left speechless by my perfect logic.
'Speaking of which...'
I hadn't paid much attention before, but her ears were quite long.
They were similar to those of the elves who came out on the 30th floor of the tower.
'I haven't actually seen one before,'
I asked cautiously.
“Are you... an elf?”
“...Yes.”
Emily answered with a pout.
'Did I make her upset?'
It seemed the fact that she couldn't work in the kitchen was disappointing her.
I didn't want to assign her tasks I didn't want either.
I wanted to assign her work that suited her aptitude and that she did well at.
So
“I'll build the kitchen and restaurant as soon as possible. Can you hold out until then?”
I said.
This was no lie.
“Um. I understand!”
Fortunately, Emily perked up again.
Anyway, to break the awkward atmosphere, I opened my mouth first.
“Where are you from?”
However.
“Huh? Now that I think about it, where did I come from?”
The fact that she didn't remember where she was from.
“...You don't know?”
“Yes. The only things I remember now are cooking knowledge and that I have to work for the hotel.”
Was this also the system's consideration?
I didn't know if it was good or bad.
“Working for the hotel... so that means watching the front desk too? For the hotel.”
“Why is that? Why would that be?!”
Because I couldn't watch this place 24 hours a day alone.
“First, come inside the front desk area?”
“...Yes.”
Emily's ears drooped.
Still, she listened well despite her disappointment.
“Do you see the screen here? The 101st and 102nd rooms are occupied right now, and the other three are empty rooms.”
“Yes.”
“There's a guidebook on the table here. Read it.”
“...Then what are you doing, General Manager?”
“Me? Watching you work and then resting myself.”
“Ah...”
Her second sigh.
But I had no intention of cutting her slack.
I planned to hand over the reins properly and rest.
“Of course, I'll be right here until you get used to it.”
“R-really?”
She looked relieved.
Did she really think I'd make her watch the front desk alone right away?
I wasn't that cold.
I had kindly taught her the basic customer service methods and how to check in.
Since I wasn't an expert either, I only taught her the very basics.
“Got it?”
“Yes. I get it in theory, but I don't know if I can actually do it.”
She seemed doubtful of herself.
“Then, think of me as a customer and practice?”
“Oh. That sounds good!”
Then it was straight into practice.
I walked to the lobby entrance and slowly headed toward the front desk.
“Huh? Is it starting right now?”
I nodded.
Surprised that I was starting immediately, Emily was taken aback.
Then.
“Welcome! Welcome to Yuil Hotel! Oh, oh, welcome— uwa...”
She bit her tongue and stopped.
Pfft.
The system said that assigning work outside one's specialty lowered efficiency, and this was that feeling.
Still, it was minor.
She seemed embarrassed by her mistake, her ears turning red as she lowered her head.
'As long as she tries her best, that's enough for me.'
“It's fine. It's natural to be nervous at first. Maybe some customers will like seeing this.”
“R-really?”
“Yeah. Let's keep going.”
I changed my tone again.
“Are you checking in? Is there an empty room?”
Emily rolled her eyes around and hurriedly flipped through the guidebook I mentioned.
Her long ears trembled with tension.
“Um, um... General Manager, no, customer. Please wait a moment.”
“Yeah. Take your time.”
Her ears perked up as she read the guidebook, then she started moving the mouse.
But something went wrong, and her mouse didn't stop.
How much time had passed?
“Ugh. I'm really trying my best, but I know cooking but I don't have the aptitude for operating this machine.”
Emily looked up at me with a sad face.
'Sorry about that.'
Actually, it was my own greed that led me to hire Emily instead of a front desk employee.
But it was too late to reverse it.
So I decided to teach her slowly.
“There's a room status tab in the top left of the screen. Try clicking it.”
“Um... found it!”
“Yeah. Click that. Then there are empty rooms and a check-in button. Check in there.”
“Ooh!”
Emily straightened her posture with a serious expression.
“I'll do it from the beginning again!”
“Good. Don't worry.”
“Yes!”
She headed back toward the lobby entrance.
Emily covered her mouth with her hand, cleared her throat, and spoke again.
“Welcome! I'm Emily, the front desk attendant of Yuil Hotel! Are you checking in? We have... a lot of empty rooms prepared! Probably!”
“There are three empty rooms. You should tell me properly.”
“Yes! Understood!”
“Yeah. Then let's practice the checkout situation this time.”
“Yes!”
After practicing various situations, Emily quickly picked up the knack.
'Is it because she's a chef? She has good instincts.'
After practice, she sat in the chair behind the front desk.
“You did well. If you're hungry, there's water and energy bars in the staff breakroom. Feel free to eat.”
“I'm not hungry yet, so it's fine.”
“Really? Then sit and rest. Actually, there isn't much to do if there are no customers.”
At that moment.
Emily pointed down the hallway and said.
“Manager. Someone's coming over there.”
Following her gesture, I turned my head to look in the direction she indicated.
It was Kim Taeseok, who had checked in a few hours ago.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
However, Kim Taeseok's gaze was directed at Emily sitting behind me.
“...Is that person?”
“She's our employee.”
“The baker's hat... are you a cook?”
“Yes. That's right.”
“Oh. Then do you sell food too? I've been eating only meat jerky, so I came to ask if you sell other food.”
“Sorry. We haven't started operating the restaurant yet.”
It was a shame, but since there was no kitchen or restaurant, we couldn't sell food.
“I see. My apologies.”
Kim Taeseok turned away disappointedly.
'Wait a second, has the shop function been unlocked?'
“One moment, customer.”
I stopped Kim Taeseok.
“Yes?”
'Hotel Management'
A message unfolded in front of my eyes.
The 'locked' mark next to the shop had disappeared.
'Shop Browsing.'
【Shop Browsing】
- 1L Bottled Water (10-pack) (1P)
- Energy Bar (10-pack) (1P)
- Meat Jerky (10-pack) (1P)
- Cola 500ml (10-pack) (1P)
……
……
'Bingo.'
As expected, the shop was selling simple foods.
Most other ingredients were still locked and unavailable.
'Still, this is fine? The prices are cheaper than I thought.'
The problem was what price to sell them at.
'You can check the selling price at the front desk.'
The system was always kind.
Immediately, I found the prices on the monitor for water and other items.
- Bottled Water (1) (1P) [Stock: 19]
- Energy Bar (1) (1P) [Stock: 19]
- Meat Jerky (1) (2P) [Stock: 0]
- Cola (1) (2P) [Stock: 0]
'Huh? Stock is already... oh, that one in the staff breakroom?'
I thought it was for staff, but it seemed it could be sold too.
“We're selling energy bars and cola. Do you need any?”
Since I already had water and meat jerky, I asked about the other two.
“Oh. Is this really true? How much?”
“Energy bar is 10,000 won each. Cola is 20,000 won.”
“10,000 won... you said the lowest grade magic stone, right?”
Fortunately, she remembered.
“That's right.”
This was a reasonable price.
Just as water is precious in the desert, this price for the tower wasn't expensive.
'Of course, the final judgment is up to the customer.'
Kim Taeseok pondered for a moment before answering.
“I'll take four energy bars and four colas.”
“Understood!”
I purchased energy bars and cola from the shop.
【Energy Bar Purchased】
【Cola Purchased】
【Remaining Points: 300 → 298】
Two large boxes appeared in front of me.
Because the shop sold them in packs of 10.
'As expected, the system delivers instantly.'
I had expected this from Emily's example, but items arrived immediately upon purchase.
Was this true rocket delivery?
“Emily, can you open this?”
“Yes!”
While I opened the energy bar box, I had Emily open the cola box.
“From thin air... how did you do that?”
“Trade secret.”
Kim Taeseok looked at me with the gaze of someone seeing a god.
'It's just a system click.'
After opening the boxes, I placed the items on the front desk.
“Here they are.”
Kim Taeseok handed me one low-grade magic stone and two lowest-grade magic stones from his pocket.
They were immediately converted to points.
【12 Points Acquired】
'Calculation is accurate.'
“Payment received. You can take them.”
“Thank you.”
Kim Taeseok returned to his room with full hands of cola and energy bars.
Additional profit.
At that moment.
Emily pointed at the cola with curious eyes and asked.
“What is this? The color is like soy sauce...”
“Huh? You don't know what cola is?”
“Cola? What is that?”
Instead of explaining, I picked up one cola.
The sound of the tab opening accompanied the lid.
“If you're curious, try it.”
“...”
Emily looked a bit uneasy at the fizzing, watching it before cautiously tilting the cola.
When she took a sip.
“!!!”
Emily's ears twitched.
“Was it bad...?”
Maybe the carbonation felt strange to someone tasting it for the first time.
However.
“No. It's the opposite! How can you make such a delicious drink?”
Um. This reaction was what I wanted.
I looked at Emily, who perfectly showed the reaction I wanted, with a satisfied expression.
“W-well, can I finish it?”
“Yeah. But if you eat too much, you'll gain weight.”
“Ah.”
Emily put the cola back in her hand.
At that moment.
Ding.
The bell at the entrance rang.
The second customer I had been waiting for had finally arrived.
【A new customer has arrived at the hotel.】