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"Phew… Infiltration successful!"
Fujiwara Chika let out a sigh of relief, cautiously looking around.
"We are law enforcement officers, what 'infiltration' are you talking about?" Amamiya Natsuki said solemnly, "We are clearly walking in openly to conduct an business inspection."
Looking around, the hotel seemed quite dilapidated.
A tattered white lantern hung at the entrance, its characters blurred, but a faint light still stubbornly flickered inside, illuminating the building's outline.
The floor was covered in dust, and a section of the wall had peeled off, lying on the ground, uncleaned.
Amamiya Natsuki looked back.
The door had closed at some point. He pushed it, and it seemed an unknown force had sealed it, making it impossible to move even slightly.
"Welcome…"
A low, hoarse voice came from behind the counter.
Amamiya Natsuki held up his flashlight and shone it behind the counter. A Grandma, wearing a yukata with white hair, sat behind the counter.
A cute loli wearing a yukata, with her hair tied in buns, who has to shoulder the family hotel business at such a young age?
This is a town with extremely severe aging; cute lolis are nowhere to be seen.
"She only says 'Welcome'." Shinomiya Kaguya whispered, "All the staff and guests in the hotel are like this."
Amamiya Natsuki took two steps forward, arriving in front of the counter. As he swept the flashlight, he realized the Grandma only had black eye sockets; she was a genuine, standard Wraith.
"Grandma." Amamiya Natsuki pointed at Secretary and said sternly, "This is Inspector Fujiwara. We suspect there are people involved in illegal activities inside your hotel. Please cooperate with our inspection."
"That's right." Fujiwara Chika folded her right arm across her chest, "Please cooperate with our enforcement."
The Grandma sat on the chair, as if she hadn't heard a word they said.
"Welcome…"
Fujiwara Chika then said,
"We are from the Industrial and Commercial Bureau. The hotel's hygiene conditions are substandard, and it needs to be temporarily closed for rectification."
"Welcome…"
"Grandma, how old are you this year?"
Secretary reached out and carefully waved her hand in front of the Grandma.
"Welcome…"
The Grandma still showed no reaction.
Shinomiya Kaguya said from the side,
"Everyone in the hotel is like this. Even if you touch their bodies, you won't be attacked."
"How strange." Fujiwara Chika tilted her head, "Could the oddities in the hotel be repeaters?"
"Like the Madame we encountered before, subtly influencing others' memories, eventually turning everyone into robots that only repeat."
Amamiya Natsuki suddenly spoke, "We want to check in."
The Grandma, who had been sitting on the chair, suddenly looked up, then shakily stood up: "…Two thousand for an overnight stay."
A hotel with such poor hygiene conditions actually wants two thousand yen for an overnight stay? You're robbing us!
"Eh eh eh?"
Fujiwara Chika widened her eyes and said in surprise, "What's going on? She's not saying 'Welcome' anymore?"
"It's obvious." Amamiya Natsuki looked at Secretary, "This Grandma is not a repeater."
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her arms over her chest, her pretty lips pursed, her eyes slightly bright as she said, "In previous restarts, this situation didn't occur… Was it what you just said?"
"She heard we wanted to check in, and then she stated the price." Shinomiya Kaguya analyzed and deduced, "Is that sentence the problem, or is there another reason?"
Amamiya Natsuki said, "We'll know if we find someone else to verify it."
The three left the hall and walked along the hallway. In the hotel's courtyard, there was also a thick cherry tree, but unfortunately, it had withered at some point, leaving only bare branches, looking quite eerie and sinister.
Soon, they met another Grandma, holding a broom and with a towel wrapped around her head, cleaning. However, she only cleaned a small area beneath her feet, and there were even cobwebs above her head.
"So tired, when can I retire…"
Even though she was already a Wraith, she was still thinking about retirement. This country is too tragic!
"So pitiful." Fujiwara Chika's voice was full of pity, "This Grandma's hair is all white. She must be almost eighty, right?"
"What if she's eighty." Amamiya Natsuki said, "The legal retirement age has already been postponed to ninety."
"That's an exaggeration." Fujiwara Chika chided, "It's clearly only postponed to seventy."
"In other countries, seventy-year-olds are already buried, congratulations."
"…"
"She is a hotel employee." Shinomiya Kaguya pursed her pink lips and took half a step forward, "…We want to check in."
"So tired, when can I retire…"
The elderly woman slowly repeated.
"It seems useless." Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her right arm over her chest, "That was an exception just now… No, there's another possibility."
Shinomiya Kaguya gently exhaled and rephrased,
"Please take us to a room."
"…"
The Grandma, who had been sweeping, turned her head, "Please follow me."
"Eh?" Fujiwara Chika said in surprise, "The repetition was broken again."
"It's instinct." Shinomiya Kaguya quickly determined, "Receiving guests has become their instinct. Only specific interaction topics can trigger their work instinct."
Their instinct is actually to receive guests. This world should just be destroyed!
"Only instinct, but no consciousness…" Fujiwara Chika mused, "Where is the consciousness of these employees?"
Amamiya Natsuki said, "Let's meet up with Marin first."
"…"
The three continued to walk forward.
Along the way, besides the hotel staff, they also saw a few tourists, most of whom were elderly, with only one young couple.
After turning a corner, someone suddenly pounced, grabbing Amamiya Natsuki's neck from behind.
"There's a monster!"
Fujiwara Chika jumped in fright and quickly called out.
"No need for skills." Shinomiya Kaguya quickly said, "It's the player we met before."
Amamiya Natsuki glanced back with the corner of his eye and saw that the woman behind him was dressed in white with disheveled hair, somewhat frightening at first glance, but her hand indeed had warmth; she was human.
"All men must die…"
A resentful voice came from the female player's mouth.
Shinomiya Kaguya said from the side,
"This is the sentence she repeats. For some reason, even after a restart, it's still the same."
Although she was trying to choke him, the female player behind him clearly lacked strength. Amamiya Natsuki calmly said,
"Miss, do you have some prejudice against men?"
"All men must die…"
"Although I don't know what you've been through, please don't generalize and extend your prejudice to all men." Amamiya Natsuki said solemnly, "For example, me. I'm honest and reliable, true to my word, no cavities, I jog five kilometers every day, go to bed promptly at eleven, drink a glass of milk in the morning and evening, a high-quality male. Get to know me."
"…"
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