The Landlord (8)
"Mmph…! Mmmph…!!"
"Hey, quit thrashing around, would you? I'm not going to hurt you. I'm simply kidnapping you to get some coins!"
"Mmph!! Mmmmph…!!"
At my words, tears streamed down the woman's swollen, bright-red eyes. She twisted and writhed, muffled sounds spilling past the duct tape sealing her mouth as she struggled for all she was worth.
I scratched my head with a troubled look, watching her. Pinning down this woman who looked to be in her twenties and wrapping her arms and legs in duct tape had gone fine enough. The problem started the moment I tried to put her in My Room. She'd screamed for help at the top of her lungs, so I'd set her down for a second, slapped tape over her mouth, and prepared to toss her through the door.
Except this woman was thrashing like crazy. Like a caterpillar fighting for its life with every last ounce of strength. Not that it would do her any good.
"It's fine. We're just simple coin robbers. We won't take your life. Probably?"
"Mmph…!!"
She shook her head wildly from side to side, tears pouring down her face. Had I said something weird?
"Dokja-ssi, did I say something wrong? This woman won't calm down!"
"…Even I would burst into tears if some strange man said something like that to me…?"
I turned toward Kim Dokja behind me with an aggrieved expression, but she only answered with her face scrunched up in a deep frown.
"But it's true, isn't it? We're not trying to take her life. We just want four hundred coins. And if she doesn't have four hundred coins, we could always work her for free until she's paid it off…"
"Hic… hic… hic!"
The woman was a wreck of tears and snot, her face twisted with pure terror. I looked down at her meaningless thrashing with a thoroughly fed-up expression, grabbed her around the waist, and chucked her through the door.
"Whew! That makes twenty-four people! Nine thousand six hundred coins total! Feels great!"
"Please stop looking at people as coins… You really seem like a lunatic…"
The Constellation, Demon-like Judge of Fire, stares at you with confused eyes.
The Constellation, Demon-like Judge of Fire, looks at you and heaves a great sigh, asking if this is supposed to be a good deed.
The Absolute Good constellation faction is thrown into confusion, saying that while your intentions are good, the actions you are currently carrying out are not good deeds but evil ones.
The Demon King, Demon God of Wrath and Lust, says he would love for you to become his subordinate.
The Absolute Evil constellation faction widens their eyes at the Demon King, Demon God of Wrath and Lust's proposal!
The Constellation, Demon-like Judge of Fire, glares fiercely at the Demon King, Demon God of Wrath and Lust, demanding to know what the ■ kind of nonsense that is!
I ignored the constellations' messages and clapped myself on the shoulder.
"Man. Kidnapping people is surprisingly hard labor."
So kidnappers had extreme jobs too, huh?
"What kind of garbage are you spouting……"
Kim Dokja shot me a look of pure disgust.
5 minutes remaining until the Third Main Scenario activates!
"Dokja-ssi, let's go find the room Jihye's staying in."
"Jihye's room? Why are we looking for that all of a sudden?"
"I want to open the door next to hers, leave the window open, eat some cup ramen, and teabag them a little."
It'd be even better if Yoo Joonghyuk was in the room next to Jihye's too. We could teabag them together.
"Wow……. Jinwoo-ssi, are you even human?"
"I am human, which is exactly why I think of things like this."
Kim Dokja looked at me with a mixture of awe and the expression of someone staring at a devil worse than any actual devil.
"So, you don't want to?"
"What a stupid question. Let's do it right now."
"I firmly believed you'd be on board, Dokja-ssi."
Kim Dokja and I stuck out our right hands at the same time, shook on it, and nodded with matching smiles.
"Less than five minutes left. We need to hurry!"
"Jihye's probably somewhere on basement level two!"
A number of Constellations stare at the two of you in disbelief, wondering why your hearts always sync up at times like this.
And so the two of us ran and ran until our feet were sweating, searching for the Green Zone where Lee Jihye was staying.
1 minute remaining until the Third Main Scenario activates!
"Huh? Dokja-ssi! Over there! I found Lee Jihye!"
"Only one minute left! Run like your feet are on fire!"
After about four minutes of madly tearing around basement level two, we finally found Lee Jihye.
Fortunately, it looked like Lee Jihye and Yoo Joonghyuk were sharing the same room. I was overjoyed at the prospect of teabagging both Jihye and Yoo Joonghyuk at once.
Kim Dokja and I sprinted toward the Green Zone where Lee Jihye and Yoo Joonghyuk were staying. Jihye must have spotted us running in their direction, because she pointed a finger at us and spoke.
"Huh? Master, Dokja unnie and Jinwoo oppa are running this way?"
"…What?"
Yoo Joonghyuk turned her head at Lee Jihye's words and looked our way.
"Aigoo, I'm gonna die… So Jihye and Joonghyuk-ssi are staying here! Wow! What a coincidence!"
"Hah… hah… hah…! I-I'm dying…"
"……………."
Yoo Joonghyuk stared at me and Kim Dokja with an utterly dumbfounded expression. Then Lee Jihye, standing beside her, called out to us.
"Uh… r-right? What a coincidence…? But why were you two running around like that? You said there was a way to survive without going into a room, didn't you?"
"Well, the thing is, we were looking for you guys."
"For me and Master?"
Lee Jihye looked at us with a bewildered expression.
"We just moved in next door. Nice to meet you, neighbors!"
"Huh? Moved in? What are you talking about?"
Lee Jihye's face filled with confusion, unable to make sense of my words. Even Yoo Joonghyuk beside her frowned, as if she couldn't grasp what I meant either.
"What do you mean by that? Moved in? A Green Zone's location can't be changed."
"I mean this."
In answer to Yoo Joonghyuk's question, I placed my hand on the wall right next to the Green Zone where she and Lee Jihye were staying and generated the door to My Room.
"W-whoa? A door just appeared in the wall?"
"I see… So this is the identity of that skill I'd never seen before, separate from Shop User."
Lee Jihye's eyes went round as a rabbit's at the sudden appearance of the door. Even Yoo Joonghyuk looked mildly surprised, her eyes widening slightly as she stared at it.
"Anyway, we moved in, so take care of us, neighbors? Come on, Dokja-ssi, let's head inside."
"Understood, Jinwoo-ssi. Hey, Yoo Joonghyuk — looking forward to being neighbors."
"………Haa."
As Kim Dokja and I grinned and told her to take care of us, Yoo Joonghyuk's eyelid twitched. She let out a small sigh and leaned back against the wall to rest.
The Third Main Scenario has been activated!
Kim Dokja and I confirmed the message that the Third Main Scenario had activated, opened the door to My Room, and stepped inside.
"Man, I thought I was gonna die from exhaustion."
"Tell me about it. Today has been a really rough day."
Having made it safely into My Room, Kim Dokja and I wiped the sweat from our faces and walked deeper inside.
"H-hey! I already paid the four hundred coins! Why did you lock us in here?! You said it was safer and more comfortable than a Green Zone!!"
As we walked through My Room, a man's voice rang out. I turned toward the sound and found a man locked inside a prison cell — the middle-aged guy in his forties who'd been my very first customer.
He gripped the iron bars and stared at me with an expression of pure injustice.
"A space wider than a Green Zone, plus iron bars to protect you. Was anything I said incorrect?"
"W-what?! What do you mean…!!"
Clang clang!
Apparently enraged by my words, the middle-aged man rattled the bars back and forth.
Looking past him into the cell, I saw one other man in his thirties — and the remaining ten people sprawled haphazardly on the floor with their arms and legs bound in duct tape.
I turned my head the other way and spotted a cell holding only women. Mm, they were all face-down on the floor, but they seemed fine, which was a mild relief.
"Don't worry. I was just messing with you."
"R-really? This is a joke, right? Then you'll let us out now…"
"Hm? Ah, no, not that. I mean I'll untie you now. You'll still be staying inside the bars for one night. I haven't even collected lodging fees from anyone except you and the guy behind you yet, you know?"
"W-what?!"
The middle-aged man shouted, his face contorted in shock.
"Dokja-ssi, you go on ahead to the others."
"Please don't be too rough."
Kim Dokja answered with a weary face and headed off toward the room where our companions were.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"Alright, everyone? Could I have your attention for a moment?"
I clapped three times to draw the eyes of everyone inside My Room. From the people sprawled on the floor to the middle-aged man gripping the bars, every single person inside turned to look at me.
"I'm sure you were all startled by the sudden kidnapping. I'm a hospitality professional who accepts coins in exchange for saving your lives. Now, applause!"
………………………….
Silence filled My Room.
"You're not clapping? Can't read the room?"
Clap……… clap…… clap clap clap!
The moment I scowled hard, the only two men in the men's cell whose hands and feet were free started clapping frantically.
"Ah, right. Everyone except those two has their arms and legs tied up. Sorry~ My bad!"
I'd momentarily forgotten that everyone but those two was restrained with duct tape. Scratching my head sheepishly, I addressed the crowd.
"Alright, my dear kidnapped guests? You can all hear me clearly, right?"
All twenty-four of them looked terrified, but I ignored that and pressed on.
"Those two gentlemen over there have already paid four hundred coins for their room, so excluding them — the remaining twenty-two of you? Listen carefully."
I paced between the cells as I spoke.
"From this moment on, if you pay four hundred coins, I'll let you stay here for one night. Got it? If you pay four hundred coins, I'll provide bunk beds where you can rest comfortably, pillows, blankets, bathroom access, laundry service, and more."
"W-what if we can't pay four hundred coins?"
The middle-aged man asked, his body trembling.
"That's a Good Point!"
I pointed a finger at him.
"If you can't pay four hundred coins, I'll throw you outside where the monster wave is happening right now."
"……………What?"
The middle-aged man helpfully voiced what every other guest wanted to say.
I paused and looked around. Everyone's faces had gone deathly pale, their bodies twitching with fear.
"Pay four hundred coins and you're a guest. Don't pay, and you all know how you'll be treated, right?"
Hand over the coins. Unless you want to be monster food.
When I finished speaking, everyone froze and stared at me with blank expressions.
"Hey, you two. Take these and untie the people with their arms and legs bound."
"U-uh…? Y-yes…!"
I tossed two small box cutters into the cell, and the two pale-faced men scrambled to start cutting the duct tape.
Watching them, I entered the women's cell, freed one person with a box cutter, handed it to her, and instructed her to free the others the same way the men were doing.
Nod! Nod! Nod! Nod!
The woman nodded her head up and down like mad and began freeing people just like the men.
"Haa… Saving people is seriously hard work, you know? Where else are you gonna find someone who saves people for a mere four hundred coins like me?"
See? I really am a good person. I was congratulating myself and killing time when a voice came from beside me.
"I-I've… finished untying everyone."
"I-I did everything you told me too! Please don't throw us outside!"
Looking at the people speaking in trembling voices, I felt a slight twinge in my heart.
"What are you shaking for? When did I ever say I was going to kill you? Geez!"
"Eek!"
I'd only made a vaguely threatening gesture, and they all pressed themselves flat against the wall in terror.
"It's a joke, a joke! You people really can't take a joke."
"Ah, ahaha… Then the part about throwing us outside if we don't have four hundred coins is also a joke, right? R-right?"
"No, that part's serious."
"……………."
A young man who looked to be in his twenties forced an awkward smile and asked if that was a joke too — only for his face to freeze solid at my answer that it was dead serious.
"You might not believe this, but I'm showing you all mercy."
"Mercy…? This is mercy?"
"Hey, you. Open that mouth one more time and you're going outside. Let's all be careful, yeah?"
"Eek… I-I'm sorry!"
Some guy had butted in with a local broadcast of dissent mid-speech, so I called him out on it, and the place went dead quiet in an instant.
"Ahem! There should be a window behind all of you. Go ahead and open it."
At my instruction, the people opened the window and looked outside through it.
Bihyung floated in midair and snapped his fingers, and messages appeared before our eyes.
A Scenario Penalty has been triggered!
Some existing Green Zones have been deactivated.
Ah, no…! U-uaaaaah!!
Kyaaaaagh!
N-no, get away! P-please save me!!
Kyaaaaak!!
Hwaaaaagh!! Get the hell away! A-ah…!!
I-I don't want to die! Please, somebody save me…!!
The people stared blankly at the sight of others outside being torn apart by monsters.
"You all saw that, right? As long as you pay your coins properly, nothing happening out there will ever happen to you here. Do you understand a little better now why I called this mercy?"
"I-is it really… just four hundred coins?"
An old man who looked to be in his seventies spoke up.
"Of course. Four hundred coins — a mere four hundred coins — and nothing happening outside will ever touch any of you. As a bonus, you get a good rest in a real bed, showers, and laundry service. And if you pay additional coins, I'll treat you to delicious food and the finest service available."
I looked at each of their faces one by one, a smile playing on my lips.
The choice is yours, of course. So what'll it be?