Spirit Hotel

Translated by satellite of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Usually, the werewolves tried to arrive well in advance, but because Noah"s Ark was closed this time, they could only scramble to get there right before the full moon on the fifteenth. Feisha was originally well prepared to receive them. However, before the werewolves had arrived, the dwarven army showed up early instead.

It seemed like Layton wasn"t kidding when he said the dwarves had declared war on the t.i.tans- this time it seemed like it would be a large-scale operation. It was a grand army of a hundred thousand warriors, all suited up in perfectly polished armor that shined like mirrors. They unloaded boxes upon boxes, filled with weapons of all kinds, from their chariot.

Feisha was so nervous, he didn"t dare move a muscle. He slowly asked Gin, "What if Layton"s also a spy for the Liberation Resistance?"

Gin looked completely relaxed as he replied. "Not possible. In the Novem Union, the dwarves and faeries benefit the most, so they"re also the staunchest supporters for the Union. Especially the Dwarven King."

Feisha looked through the gla.s.s panes towards the lobby. Layton was wearing a bright red jacket and looking rather pleased with himself. He stood on a temporarily built stage and waved his horn about as the temporary commander.

"The Dwarven King is coming." Gin whispered in his ear.

Feisha turned his head immediately, his face full of smiles. The Dwarven King slowly descended from his chariot.

Although Feisha had seen him once before at the Novem Conference, there were too many other eye-catching people crowded about at the time and he had only taken a cursory glance. So he was still rather unfamiliar with the Dwarven King"s appearance. At least he definitely didn"t notice the very prominent beauty mark on the king"s forehead.

"Gin, it"s been a long while." The Dwarven King walked over to them. That beauty mark on his forehead stuck out like a pearl dropped onto a pile of cow dung.

But Gin was obviously used to it already. He bent down naturally to give the king a gentle hug. "It is my honor to serve you again."

The Dwarven King laughed loudly. As he turned to look at Feisha however, his laughter faded. "Oh. Is this the clever human that Layton keeps talking about?"

Feisha replied modestly. "Layton has been exaggerating."

"Hnn, I think so too." The Dwarven King gave him one last glance out of the corner of his eye, then walked away.

Feisha was left alone with cold, bitter confusion.

"You and the Dwarven King are pretty close?" They had been patting each other on the back as soon as they met.

Gin shrugged. "He pretends to be pretty close to everyone."

Feisha pursed his lips and said, "Then I"d really like to ask…when did I do anything to offend him?" Or was he just not part of this "everyone" for the king?

"Well, this goes back to a long, long time ago."

"Was I born yet?"

"Nope."

"So he"s just taking it out on me?"

"Yep." Gin said. "Do you know why time pa.s.ses differently for the human world compared to everyone else?"

"Isn"t it a really complex "crack in s.p.a.ce-time" or something like that?"

"No. It was G.o.d"s intention."

Feisha frowned a bit. "Maybe human lives are too short, so the time difference acts as a balance?"

Gin was a bit taken aback.

"Wait, really?" Feisha was stunned.

Gin slowly replied. "I was just thinking…that you really do have a rich imagination. You"re the only one that could think of such a convoluted reason."

"A rich imagination can be a type of intelligence."

"The problem with humans is that they"re entirely too intelligent. Although they are the weakest of all the races, they hold the greatest amount of knowledge. Especially when it comes to new and creative inventions. Even the dwarves, who have always been known as innovators, would be hard pressed to catch up. Thus, to balance the relative development of the human world with the rest of the nine realms, G.o.d adjusted the pa.s.sing of time to be slower in the human world."

Seeing the growing pride in Feisha"s expression, Gin quickly added. "But this whole theory of humans being more intelligent than other races is only recognized by G.o.d. Among us, at least the Blood Clan and the dwarves, definitely don"t agree."

"Ah, such is envy."

Gin"s lips curled a bit. "I heard you were the front desk manager. Shouldn"t you be heading in to a.s.sign rooms?"

"I don"t think the bartender has any reason to be standing around here either."

The two of them looked towards the lobby and the busy bundle of bright red. They both spoke at the same time. "Layton"s doing a great job."

Since Layton had it covered, Feisha and Gin both continued to stand around the front desk in idle conversation, chatting while they waited. During it all, Gin tried several times to subtly bring up the whole issue of Isefel and Heaven. But Feisha seemed to be playing deaf, and quickly brushed it aside.

The two of them, each with their own ulterior motives, continued chatting until night fell when Gin suddenly felt like something wasn"t right.

Antonio rushed out with a shovel in his hand. "They haven"t arrived yet?"

Feisha looked down at his watch. "It"s five already. Maybe it just happened to rain tonight? And since the moon isn"t coming out with all the clouds, they"ve decided to cancel?"

Gin rubbed his chin. "Huh, I"ve never thought of that before."

Antonio replied. "Impossible. They said this morning that they were going to come. But now I"ve lost contact with them."

"Lost contact." Hearing this, Feisha felt his heart drop and his face pale. But clearly, no one cared about his complexion right now. The situation with the werewolves right now was all too similar to what happened on Genesis.

The more Antonio thought about it, the more uneasy he became. "I"ll go take a look."

Gin grabbed hold of him. "Are you crazy!? In just a little bit, the magnetic fields of the worlds will align. Leaving now is just asking to die!"

Antonio replied. "If I"m fast enough, I"ll be able get through in time!"

"Even if you"re fast enough, so what? Don"t forget that you"ve got the Lunatic Syndrome as well. Even if you get there now, it would be like sending a deranged killer their way!" Gin blurted out without thinking.

Antonio"s expression suddenly lost its fervor and his eyes dimmed.

Feisha recovered from his stupor and said, "Isn"t calling him a "deranged killer" a bit much?"

Gin glared sharply at him. "You know my tongue slipped already, so could you not re-emphasize it?"

Feisha noticed that Antonio was gripping his shovel tightly, his hands trembling just a little. Knowing how furiously anxious he must feel, Feisha couldn"t help but try and rea.s.sure him. "No news is good news. Perhaps things aren"t nearly as serious as you"re thinking. There are still a lot of normal people among the werewolves, and they must have other ways of controlling the Lunatic Syndrome."

Antonio face twisted in pain. "It"s all my fault! It was me, I…" He suddenly turned and and ran back inside.

"Is he okay?" Feisha worried as he watched Antonio running off.

Gin replied. "He"ll be fine. At most we might need to drink a bit more water at dinner."

"…What"s that supposed to mean?" But Feisha would soon realize what those words meant.

Not just him, but all the dwarves as well. The fish was salty, the vegetables were salty, and even the rice was salty. That night, all the water was drunk very quickly.

That night, the continuous sound of toilets flushing filled every room. The Dwarven King and his army stayed in Noah"s Ark for one night, then set out towards the t.i.tan clan. Layton wanted to leave with them, but the Dwarven King"s earnest words convinced him to stay.

His words were as follows, "This whole getup of yours is embarra.s.sing enough in Noah"s Ark, don"t go embarra.s.sing yourself on the battlefield too."

Thus Layton, moved to tears, remained behind. As a representation of Noah"s Ark, Feisha expressed his deepest condolences.

His words were as follows, "The red jacket of yours was quite cheerful to see, really. At least it was better than wearing white. Because compared to white daikons, I much prefer red peppers."

Not long after the Dwarven King departed, they finally heard news from the werewolves.

It turned out that the werewolves were a.s.saulted by the Liberation Resistance before they had even set out. The Lunatic Syndrome struck all affected werewolves, and the Liberation Resistance took advantage of their chaotic interwarfare. The battle continued the entire night.

The next morning, the werewolf patriarch discovered the werewolves" sacred relic was missing- the Moon Prism. (1)

Feisha frowned. "Why is it that the Moon Prism and Serena "Bunny" Moon both sound so familiar?"

"This was the sacred relic left behind by our hero, Serena. To the werewolves, it is of the utmost importance!" Antonio"s expression grew coldly determined. "I need to get it back no matter what!"

Feisha said. "How about I got with you?" He had been to Genesis and the faerie world, but had never visited the werewolf clan. It was a rare opportunity to come aboard Noah"s Ark, and he wanted to see everything he could. That way, even if he had to leave eventually, he"d have less to regret.

Gin replied. "You"d better not. The werewolf clan is in chaos, and unlike before, you don"t have enough protection…ow!"

Hughes jabbed him in the side.

Feisha"s face stiffened. He finally smiled emptily, scratched his head, and said, "That"s true. I heard the Interworld Exchange is beginning soon, and Noah"s Ark will be busy preparing. I should stay behind to help."

Hughes smiled. "I can conceal myself and make it easier to search for things. I"ll go with Antonio."

Gin immediately followed-up. "I"m going too."

"You stay and help prepare for the Interworld Exchange." Hughes gave him a meaningful look, then glanced at Feisha.

Gin was extremely unhappy.

Antonio was also unhesitant in replying. "Okay. Then let"s set out immediately."

Gin pouted. "Can"t you stay for another hour?"

"Why?" Antonio asked.

Gin grabbed hold of Hughes and refused to let go. "I can"t bear to see him go."

"……" Antonio was rendered speechless.

One hour was cut down to ten minutes. Under Gin"s woeful and longing gaze, Hughes finally departed for the werewolves" clan with Antonio.

Layton looked into the empty darkness of the pitch black sky and sighed. "They"ve all left."

Gin nodded sorrowfully.

Feisha asked, "Aren"t the three of us still here?"

It would have been fine if he hadn"t said it out loud. But somehow the idea of just "the three of them here" made it seem all the more vast and bleak.

Gin spoke. "We should really recruit some more people."

"Ah, right." Layton suddenly jumped up.

"What happened?" His sudden exclamation left both Feisha and Gin rather nervous.

Layton"s voice was heavy. "Now Antonio"s gone. Who"s going to cook?"

Gin and Feisha looked to each other, then both stared straight at Layton.

"……."

The battle of the dwarves and t.i.tans raged on like a wildfire, completely unstoppable. The battle reports flew about like dandelion seeds in the wind, the news spreading to every world.

Every time, Layton would proudly hold up his newspaper, standing on the table to loudly proclaim how many t.i.tan the dwarves had captured with their ingenious weapons and how many kilometers the t.i.tans had been forced to retreat. As for the dwarven casualties, he crossed all of them out with a black marker.

Feisha and Gin, on account of watching his valiant struggles in the kitchen every day, could only endure the noise without complaint. They could only pray for the Interworld Exchange to come soon. More people, they just wanted a few more people. Preferably someone that could take over in the kitchen. After all, sampling these strange and unprecedented flavors daily…wasn"t exactly living the high life.

—

Translator"s Notes

1. The Moon Prism is also, like the Serena "Moon" Bunny as it was translated in an earlier chapter, a reference to Sailor Moon. Moon Prism Power, Make-Up!

The original text also doesn"t say the relic went missing, just that the patriarch "discovered" it. I believe this was a typo from the context of the rest of the chapter, so I"ve filled it back in.