Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 149
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 149
When an online RPG held an event, what did players care about most?
Right. Rewards.
Experience points.
A cool outfit you could dress up your character in!
Or coins you could exchange for prizes to buy daily necessities, and so on!
In Korean RPGs especially, all of these were things that became far easier and more convenient to get by spending ‘cash,’ so players tended to get pretty fervent about event rewards.
In the World was, naturally, no different.
But not every event could always be stuffed with rewards.
Partly because of in-game inflation, but also…
‘If the rewards are the same every time, your dopamine doesn’t fire as hard.’
So while some events packed a punch, others took a looser approach and let things run at a relaxed pace.
However.
If the phrase ‘hosted by Hotel Easter’ was attached to it, the rewards for that event were invariably sweet!
‘And among those…’
The Easter Egg Event that kicked off around spring, in particular, was so popular it captured the hearts of every player focused on combat, life skills, and decorating alike.
The fact that optimal strategies for the event spread everywhere at the height of its popularity said it all.
Of course, Lion, who was deep into the game, had scraped together the event coins without mercy.
‘In fact, that’s exactly why I started raising an alt character.’
And that was exactly what the game company had been aiming for.
…Of course, here in this place that was now reality, there wouldn’t be any use for things like ‘Egg Coins.’
‘Still, it would’ve been nice if they existed. A bit of a shame.’
Nevertheless, it brought back some good memories of its own.
Lion returned the letter to Rickshel and gazed out the window.
“It’s completely different from the Lungen territory side.”
Perhaps because Hotel Easter was here, this area didn’t feel remote at all.
Wherever you looked, there were houses, and in the places without houses, employee dormitories and dining halls had been built.
“This is practically a village, huh?”
“That’s correct. In terms of actual scale as well.”
It figured. There were probably people who had migrated all the way here to become employees of Easter.
And amazingly, Easter had such an abundance of jobs that it comfortably looked after them too.
Though the work was demanding, Rickshel had mentioned that they put considerable effort into employee training and welfare.
“Ohh…”
Still, prospering this much around a single hotel couldn’t have been easy. Impressive.
‘Feels like the hopeful-episode version of a tourist destination.’
In truth, Lion had seen far more of the ‘despair episode’ version than a special place like Easter.
‘…Impressive.’
The situations where, in the name of austerity, they’d cut full-time employees and bring in contract workers, then pile the work of two or three people onto one until service quality plummeted…
He’d seen far too much of that before the possession.
When that happened, guests who’d come expecting high-quality service naturally stopped coming.
There were plenty of cases where trying to pinch pennies ultimately wrecked the business, but Easter seemed to be different.
‘Well, if they did, Grandfather would never leave them be.’
Grandfather only seemed so ruthlessly cold; in truth, he prioritized the lives of his territory’s people above anyone else.
Right—if the management had ever driven the place into the ground with nonsense, Grandfather would’ve stepped in long ago and probably renamed it Hotel Asteri.
‘Hm, could that actually be true?’
As if reading Lion’s thoughts, Rickshel let out a small laugh and nodded.
“The Family Head… Grandfather evaluates Hotel Easter extremely positively.”
“I see.”
True enough. Just the tax revenue from Easter alone—how much would that be?
On top of that, it didn’t torment the territory’s people and even created jobs for them.
You could call it a model investment.
“It is a venue where we can legally scrape together money from the nobles, after all.”
“…”
Ah, from that angle?
‘Certainly, from that angle, model is still model.’
Heh heh…
“Well then, isn’t that a good thing?”
“It is a good thing.”
Right. If you were going to fleece someone anyway, it was better to pull money out of the rich.
Chattering on like that, the carriage came to a brief stop in front of the main gate bearing the words Hotel Easter.
Employees who appeared to be hotel security checked something, then fell into line on either side of the carriage and bowed their heads deeply.
Soon, the ornate iron gates of the hotel, which had been firmly shut, smoothly opened to either side.
“Aren’t you supposed to get out here normally?”
“That would be the case for ordinary guests.”
Meaning that we weren’t ordinary.
Well, who was going to stop a carriage blatantly painted with the crest of Asteri?
‘As expected, being a silver spoon is the best.’
So that kid Rickshel, right in front of me, could have stood to enjoy a taste of that silver-spoon life himself.
Yet here he was, trying to shoulder nothing but ‘responsibility.’
‘Seriously, what a good guy.’
The carriage rolled a little further like that and arrived in front of the hotel lobby.
The door opened, and as Lion and Rickshel stepped down, waiting before them…
“It is a true honor to escort the sons of House Asteri. I am the manager of this hotel, called Willi.”
The manager came out to greet them courteously and escorted them inside.
The hotel lobby was, in a word, so dazzling it made your jaw drop.
Carpets embroidered with gold thread were spread across the floor, and from the ceiling, a brilliant chandelier crafted of crystal and gems radiated a magical light, glowing softly like the Milky Way across the night sky.
‘The light is faint, but can it be this bright?’
Lion looked around curiously, and soon discovered the reason.
Between the corners of the walls, additional magical lighting had been installed to indirectly illuminate the interior brightly.
It seemed they’d put in the effort to keep guests’ eyes from becoming fatigued.
‘Not bad at all?’
And what about the fixtures?
On one side of the space, an artificial waterfall cascaded down, and sculptures by famous artists were installed here and there, pleasing the eye.
Beyond that, there were plush sofas and tables made of marble.
You could also see tea leaves and elegant tea sets arranged so that tea could be enjoyed at any moment.
Even the guests who’d come here couldn’t hide their astonishment at the splendor and were examining everything around them.
It was, literally, a whole other world, in and of itself.
“Is it to your liking, Brother?”
“The care they put in really shows. It’s very impressive.”
“We are truly grateful for your kind regard.”
At Lion’s words, Willi let out a light, inward sigh of relief.
‘I must do well.’
According to information from a reliable source, of the two brothers before his eyes, the real power was none other than Lion Asteri.
He didn’t know why, but the heir, Rickshel Asteri, was reportedly entirely wrapped around the eccentric eldest son’s finger.
Honestly, he hadn’t been able to believe it at first.
Other nobles who visited this hotel didn’t even treat the eldest son who had failed to become the successor like a person.
So why would Sir Rickshel, who wasn’t from just any noble house but had secured the heir’s seat in Asteri, feel lacking enough to do so?
…Was what he had thought.
He had still thought that up until just five minutes before coming out to greet these two.
But—
Sir Rickshel Asteri was attentively looking after Lion Asteri!
Up to here, it could be possible.
Maybe he was the heir and also a person of exceptional character.
But!
“Thanks to you, I ended up visiting a hotel.”
“Not at all. The Family Head even said he would rent out the entire hotel for as many days as you wished, Brother, provided your schedule allowed it.”
“Grandfather, truly, even going that far is…”
Gulp.
Willi swallowed dryly.
He could tell from the conversation just now.
The rumors about Lion Asteri—that he was an eccentric, half-abandoned by the family—were false!
Hadn’t he just heard it moments ago?
‘Referring to Marquis Petrick Asteri as, as Grandfather!’
And so naturally at that!
Technically, the formal address was indeed grandfather.
But who would dare call Sir Petrick Asteri grandfather?
Willi had to work hard to prevent sweat from beading on his smoothly swept-back forehead.
‘Though I heard that particular rumor had died down somewhat recently…’
Because of the demands of hotel management, he’d received outside information late, and the image of an ‘eccentric’ was still stuck in the mind of Manager Willi.
Of course, the highly capable Willi immediately discarded that information regarding Lion Asteri.
And he made a decision.
He must, of course, show the absolute best service to both of them…
But still, he would pay just a little more attention to the personage of Lion Asteri.
It was the foresight of the manager who’d lifted Hotel Easter to the pinnacle!
“First, allow me to escort you to your room.”
Fortunately without trembling, Willi guided the two to the room with upright posture.
Though he could bring them directly into the room immediately, he’d heard that Sir Lion Asteri intended to evaluate the hotel while experiencing the position of a ‘guest.’
If so, he judged it correct to follow the proper procedures.
Except, with the highest quality of service!
“Oh…”
The VIP Room.
Entering the room bearing those words, Lion let out a soft exclamation of admiration.
It was his first time in a place like this, either before or after the possession, so this room was even more fascinating to him than the hotel lobby.
Lion sat down on the plush sofa.
It was a sofa of a quality equal to the ones in the family estate.
‘Well, Rickshel came for business reasons, so it only makes sense they’d bring us to a VIP room.’
Lion sipped the tea that was served, with its distinctive fragrance, and leisurely surveyed the interior.
It was just out of sheer curiosity, but…
Flitch.
For an instant, Willi’s cheeks twitched rigidly.
‘Those eyes are…!’
Clearly the eyes of someone checking how meticulously maintained the facilities were.
Those subtly violet eyes were pretending otherwise as they slowly swept the area, as if scrutinizing every corner.
‘N-No, it’s fine. There’s nothing here to find fault with!’
Willi forcibly steeled his nerves.
The hotel was perfect.
The moment they’d heard the direct line of House Asteri was coming, hadn’t they spent several days paying even more attention than usual to the cleaning!
Sanitation was a given, and they’d completely tidied away any worn items as well.
So he shouldn’t let himself be shaken by their pace.
…Moreover, didn’t he also have a secret weapon!
“First, allow me to assist you with check-in. As this is a matter that must occur by procedure, I ask for your understanding.”
“Of course. That goes without saying.”
It seemed nobles complained about even this sort of thing.
Looking at the manager who appeared tense, Lion grinned reassuringly.
“…”
Not that it appeared that way in Willi’s eyes, of course.
Watching the two quietly, Rickshel decided not to go out of his way to correct this misunderstanding.
He very much approved of how respectfully they treated his brother.
…And so, through what was and wasn’t a misunderstanding of his own making, the manager earned mysterious bonus points.
As a result, the one who became more impatient was Willi.
‘I have no choice but to use this.’
While explaining the check-in and facility usage, Willi took out a single item from his breast.
“What’s this?”
Lion, who recognized the object in an instant, opened his eyes slightly wider.
“This is a special coin prepared by us at Easter for a more enjoyable hotel stay.”
Of course he knew what it was.
Hadn’t he been thinking just moments ago that it was a shame they didn’t exist!
“Egg Coins? Weren’t those an event that disappeared after the end of the war?”
Rickshel asked back, sounding a little surprised himself.
“Yes. It was Easter II’s decision. However, alongside this business, we were instructed to re-launch them as a form of promotion.”
Yes. Willi’s secret weapon was exactly these Egg Coins.
Egg Coins.
Being slightly elongated ovals, the coins so perfectly resembled an egg that they were called Egg Coins.
Were they not an item capable of instantly captivating the direct Asteri descendants seated before him!
They helped with business, and helped even more with enjoying the hotel!
The thrill of discovering them tucked away somewhere!
“As you continue to enjoy the hotel from now on, you may be able to acquire these coins through fortuitous opportunities. If you gather many coins, Easter will present you with a special gift at check-out.”
“Oho…”
Lion wet his lips with his tongue.
Just as Willi had predicted, Lion was taking considerable interest in the coins.
‘This is straight-up dopamine, isn’t it?’
The only problem was…
He was, maybe, feeling it a bit too much?