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Chapter 10: An incredible fear never before felt….!!

Right on the dot at 2 a.m., I arrive at Room 104, carrying the new guest, the ‘Doll Lady,’ in my arms.

Click.

Using the key in my hand, I open the door, revealing the interior of the room. Unlike Room 305, it’s ‘somewhat’ organized.

By my standards, though, it’s still far from passing muster.

Thud.

I carefully set the tall but delicate ‘Doll Lady’ down beside the bed.

Then, I begin inspecting the condition of the room where she’ll be staying tonight.

‘The trash can hasn’t been emptied, and the bedding’s a mess. The floor and bathroom seem decent enough, though…’

It’s not as bad as Room 305, but for a ‘stay,’ there’s definitely some cleaning and tidying to be done.

“Please wait a moment, my lady. I’ll clean the room as quickly as possible.”

“…”

With no response, as expected, I step out of the room and head to the lobby’s storage.

Clunk!

From the cleaning supply box in the storage, I grab a trash bag, a broom, and some fresh bedding.

Returning to Room 104, I notice—

“…”

‘Huh? Did I leave her by the entrance?’

The Doll Lady, standing stiffly by the entrance, greets me as I return to the room.

“Hmm…?”

“…”

“Uhmm??”

“…”

“I’m pretty sure I left her by the bed…?”

Before I left, I distinctly remember placing the Doll Lady beside the bed.

But for some reason, she’s now standing awkwardly by the entrance, staring at me with lifeless eyes.

Faced with this odd situation, I think to myself,

‘Aha! I must’ve misremembered.’

To be honest, I don’t trust my memory.

Not only am I clueless and slow, but being scatterbrained is also part of my personality.

No matter how high-quality the doll is, it can’t move on its own, right?

Unless this is some cursed doll from a horror movie, which this world definitely isn’t.

So, the reason the Doll Lady is by the entrance is obvious: ‘I must’ve placed her there.’

‘I put her there and forgot. Ugh, you idiot…’

Chiding myself for forgetting something that just happened, I mentally smack my head.

Then, I move the Doll Lady, who must’ve felt awkward standing there, back to the side of the bed.

‘Alright, let’s clean quickly and get out. A butler shouldn’t linger too long with the lady!’

With that thought, I start cleaning the room.

“…”

Inside Room 104.

With the door closed, I continue cleaning alone with the Doll Lady for 5 seconds.

10 seconds.

Click.

The door to Room 104 locks.

“…”

Creak.

The Doll Lady’s head slowly turns toward the ‘butler’ who’s gotten closer.

“Phew, this should do it.”

After focusing on cleaning for about four minutes, I’ve perfectly tidied up the previously unsatisfactory room.

The now much cleaner Room 104 comes into view, and I feel a surge of satisfaction.

As I gather the trash to leave the room—

“…Gasp!?”

“…”

The Doll Lady’s face, which I’d set by the bed, is now turned toward me.

‘What? Why is her head facing me on its own…??’

I didn’t touch her while cleaning, and I’m certain I positioned her head straight.

So why is her head turned toward me?

‘…Wait, no way.’

‘No, it can’t be, right? I must be mistaken??’

A suffocating ‘fear’ I hadn’t felt before starts to creep over me.

And the source of that fear is—

‘Did I… actually break it??’

The fear of having to compensate for damaging a high-class client’s property.

Logically, a well-secured doll’s head wouldn’t just turn on its own.

And it’s unlikely such a meticulously crafted doll would have a manufacturing defect.

That leaves one explanation for why her head turned toward me:

An external force caused minor ‘damage’ to her neck joint.

And I’m the one who personally carried her here.

What does that mean?

I desperately hope it’s not true, but if there’s damage, the most likely cause would be the ‘princess carry.’

‘…Why does everything keep going wrong?’

If I really broke it, I’d have to compensate as the manager. How much would it cost to repair something like this?

‘I haven’t even figured out the motel’s revenue structure yet…!! Please, save me…!!’

Forget roleplay—this is a matter of the motel’s survival. My vision goes white.

…

But there’s still a faint glimmer of hope.

“Uh, my lady… excuse me for a moment.”

“…”

Call it professional instinct.

I can’t immerse myself in the roleplay like before, but with a trembling voice, I ask the Doll Lady’s permission.

Creak.

I carefully reposition her head to face forward.

“Please… stay like that and don’t move…!!”

With my hands clasped, I pray desperately to the heavens, sitting in her room.

Staring straight into her eyes to check if her head moves again.

10 minutes.

20 minutes.

“It’s not moving…!!”

Thankfully, the doll’s head stays put.

It wasn’t broken—just turned on its own(?). I let out a sigh of relief.

If I’d damaged such a valuable item and a high-class client demanded compensation… ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.

‘But why did her head turn…?’

Sure, it’s a bit strange that the doll’s head moved,

But things like that can happen with dolls, right?

More important than that minor detail is the joy and relief of not having to pay for damages.

“Then I’ll take my leave, my lady. Rest well.”

“…”

With the cleaning done perfectly and no compensation needed, I’m fully immersed in the roleplay.

I offer the Doll Lady a refined, old-fashioned farewell I picked up somewhere.

As I reach for the doorknob to leave—

Click.

“Huh? Why’s the door locked?”

The door, which was open when I entered, is now firmly locked.

Rattle.

“Hmm… It won’t open…”

I try a few more times, but the doorknob, seemingly broken, won’t budge.

“…Ugh, no choice then.”

If I stay stuck in here, I’ll have to use the method I used in the storage room earlier.

But this time, I’ll be more careful with my strength.

This isn’t a storage room—it’s a guest room where someone will stay, so I can’t just break the door.

“Alright… As gently as possible…”

Crack…

I carefully grip the doorknob with both hands, applying minimal force to avoid damaging the internal components, and twist.

The key here is that the door is wooden, not metal, so even a little extra force could break it off.

Crack…!!

Next, I detach the twisted metal knob, open the locked door, and step out.

‘Alright… If I twist it back this way, it’ll straighten out.’

Before closing the door, I reshape the bent knob, reassembling it like a LEGO piece.

Voila—the broken doorknob works perfectly again.

It’s a temporary fix, so I’ll need to repair it properly later, but it’ll hold for a day or two.

Click.

With that, I’ve completed the check-in for the 2 a.m. guest, the ‘Doll Lady,’ and there’s nothing left to do immediately.

According to the manual, no guests will arrive after this time.

So, until closing at 6 a.m., I’ve got some unexpected free time.

‘…Kinda quiet. Maybe I’ll read the manager’s manual.’

With nothing else to do and my body feeling oddly tired despite not cleaning much,

I return to the counter, open the manager’s manual, and start reviewing the precautions one by one.

Room 104.

In the dark room, the doll standing stiffly slowly turns its eyes.

“…”

Her lifeless eyes fixate on the door of Room 104.

Creak…

A grotesque sound follows as the door opens.

Red liquid flows from the door, and the room number begins to shift.

-104

-305

-305-

“…”

Blood-soaked ropes, impossible to break, begin to bind the motionless doll.

Around her wrists.

Her legs.

Her neck.

One by one.

“Mine…”

“…”

“It’s mine…”

“…”

Inside Room 305.

She, reeking of thick blood, slowly approaches the doll.

“…”

The doll doesn’t respond.

A lifeless doll can’t respond.

Her dead eyes, filled with emptiness and darkness, simply gaze at the figure before her.

Creak…

The joints bound by ropes twist, and the doll’s head, tilted 90 degrees, looks down at the small figure.

“…”

Something beyond her gazes back at the same time.

“Got it—?”

In that moment, the corners of the timid one’s mouth slowly begin to rise.