#464. Not bad.
* * *
After leaving the hotel.
Limon headed toward a dark alley.
A narrow alley through a crack in the wall.
A shabby bridge penetrating the building.
An old underpass that seemed to be closed, etc.
The further we headed inward, the more complicated the road became, and the more shabby it became.
The unmanned vacuum cleaners that used to roam all over the place became rarer and disappeared altogether, while old buildings and clutter increased.
It’s good that the guide is Limon.
If it was someone else, I would have been suspicious.
Yuna-kyung, who was following her on an unmanned vacuum cleaner, grumbled dissatisfiedly.
[It looks like you’ll be kidnapped if you pass by without knowing why.]
Upon hearing that, Limon replied calmly.
“Don’t worry too much. From the looks of it, there are very few actual kidnappings.”
[That means kidnapping is rare, doesn’t it?!]
“Because there is no such thing as a crime-free neighborhood in the world.”
[This is something a civil servant in charge of a slum where crimes happen every day would say.] Although she
grumbled in words, Na-kyung did not actually show any signs of anxiety on her face.
Kidnapped while Limon and Charlotte were traveling together.
Even the Liberation Brigade, who couldn’t tell where to go and where not to wear it, was a composition that would be enough to run away in a fright.
Maybe that’s why, unlike Yuna-kyung, Charlotte’s face showed no sign of dissatisfaction, let alone anxiety.
Like the princess who came to the back alley for the first time.
He just made an interesting face.
Because of that, Yuna-kyung had to complain alone, even Charlotte’s share.
[Is there really a hotel in a place like this? No matter how much I look at it, it doesn’t look like that.]
“I didn’t say there was a hotel.”
[Then what is it? A motel or inn? There’s no way there’s a campsite.]
“Don’t talk, just keep quiet and follow me.”
[It’s because I’m curious.]
Limon took the lead, laughing at Yuna-kyung’s question.
It’s been a long time since I moved like that.
In the end, it was after going for a long time along such a dark alley that Limon stopped.
“Here it is.”
[…!]
And a moment.
Yuna-kyung closed her beak.
A corner of the city where everything is covered with all sorts of machines.
A shabby vacant lot surrounded in all directions by towering steel buildings that seemed to have been left as remnants of space.
There was an old building where weeds and wild grass grew.
The second floor is small compared to the surroundings.
Moss and vines covered the walls.
Even a heap of dust there.
An old and antique building, as if it had been neglected for decades.
Nevertheless, rather than a shabby abandoned house, for some reason, the building exuding an antique atmosphere like an old ruin caught Yuna-kyung’s attention.
[…This is the lodging?]
“I’ll give you that answer later. You have to check to see if you can get in first.”
How long has there been no outside entry?
Limon strode through the weedy garden where even the road was gone.
And the moment I put my hand on the door.
Beep.
―Check biometric data.
―Entrance qualification verification completed.
―Welcome, Mr. Limon Aspelder. We welcome your visit.
machine beeps.
The tightly closed door opens.
The fragrance of time spread out.
The air itself is no different from the outside, perhaps because it was constantly ventilated.
Nevertheless, looking at the interior of the building, which smelled strangely old, Limon muttered quietly to himself.
“Fortunately, it seems that the registration has not been canceled yet.”
Turbuck.
There seems to be no reason to hesitate any longer.
Limon took the lead and stepped into the building.
I blinked my eyes for a moment while watching it.
Because of the unmanned vacuum cleaner that started to move slowly, Yuna-gyeong, who followed Limon into the room, looked around.
Wood ceiling and floor.
Pictures and guns adorned the walls.
Lighting with lamps and candlesticks coexisting.
Truly a high-color window.
At the end of looking around the inside of a building that seems to have been built in the Western era because it is not behind the times.
Yuna-kyung asked.
[Chief… Where is this place?]
A question repeated several times.
However, Limon took a step instead of answering that question, which was much more cautious than before.
And a fireplace in the living room.
No, he opened his mouth quietly as he picked up the photo lying on it.
“This is where the Rushmore branch of the Sword Tower used to be.”
When Yuna-kyung heard that, her eyes widened, and Charlotte also made an unexpected expression.
[…A sword tower? Are you going here?]
“Hmm, that’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”
“You will hear it for the first time. In the first place, there was no branch that could be called a sword tower, and this place was not actually a place that could be called a sword tower.”
Limon answered calmly.
There is only one sword tower.
He didn’t set up any other branch, and no other sword master had ever done anything similar.
Because Sword Master’s holy ground, Sword Tower, was a place where you couldn’t make it like a franchise store, and even if you made it, it was meaningless.
“Still, the sword tower is right here.”
So, Limon asserted.
The important thing in the Sword Tower is neither the building nor the location.
At least in that respect, this place met the minimum conditions to be called the Sword Tower.
Because…
“This is the place where I taught Geomrang.”
A black and white photo taken from the fireplace.
To be precise, looking at the image of a gunman photographed there, Limon said bitterly.
* * *
Geomrang was quite unusual.
Of course, among the only 13 sword masters in history, there was not a single mediocre one.
Even so, the reason why Geomrang was unusual was because he originally insisted on not wanting to learn the sword.
In the end, it was to the extent that he even thought of learning the sword after proving the miraculous logic that Limon became a sword master and became good at shooting.
…Actually, fists and threats also played a big role.
Anyway, as long as there was such a reason. Like Limon’s other students, Geomrang did not learn the sword at the Geom Tower.
Rather, Limon taught them the sword as they wandered the wilderness together.
That’s why Yuna-kyung admired it.
[The team leader must have been really talented to teach that way.]
“No. He was a great jerk.”
[Yes?]
And I was dumbfounded.
It really seems like a normal thing.
Limon said sullenly.
“Would a sane guy break into the headquarters of the Golden Dragon Clan just to rob a few bucks?”
[…I don’t think that’s what the team leader would say.]
“Don’t treat me the same way. It’s rare for me to go to the headquarters of the Seven Dragons alone.”
[You’re saying there’s no such thing, right?]
The person who had robbed the Chilryonghoe since the Bronze Age shrugged his shoulders at Yuna-kyung’s point.
And he spoke calmly.
“Anyway, because of his personality, Geomrang was the second most difficult to teach among my disciples after Geom-gwang.”
Don’t you run away from time to time?
Aren’t you using yourself to make money?
If you earn money, don’t you spend it on a spree?
Even if I gave in a million times, it was hard to say that I had a good personality even if my mouth was torn.
“While teaching, I thought about a hundred times whether I would just kill this bastard.”
[…you didn’t manage to kill him.]
“That bastard was an idiot, but he wasn’t a bastard.”
Limon sighed.
Although there is still such a tendency, the wilderness of the United States at that time was a land where the boundary between good and evil was especially unclear.
Gunslingers and law-defying sheriffs who served as agents of justice while carrying bounties themselves were also commonplace.
Geomrang Billy the Kid was quite an average human being in such a wilderness.
Especially after living with racism all my life as a white man.
“Even if you look at him, if you leave him alone, he was a guy who would become a robber, so he needed someone to teach him how to live like a human being.”
Anyway, the problem Limon had to teach such a sword was also about the place.
Even if it was in the wilderness, when staying in the city, it was because you couldn’t teach by wielding a sword at an inn or hotel.
So Limon solved the problem simply.
In a place where they could stay for more than a few months, they bought the building altogether.
At that time, it was the age of heroes when sword masters were absolute.
It wasn’t as difficult as the Seven Dragons, but it wasn’t difficult to find a suitable building since Limon had quite a lot of money.
[…and you’re saying this is one of those buildings?]
“Yes.”
[If there is a place like this, why don’t you just come here. Then you wouldn’t have to go around looking for an empty room.]
“I didn’t know this place would still be there.”
Limon smiled bitterly.
After Geomrang became a Sword Master.
He left the wilderness and passed on the building he had bought until then.
It was useless anyway even if he had it, and he wanted Geomrang not to forget his teachings.
Of course, the results weren’t great.
“I thought I would have sold the sword and that guy a long time ago…”
He said softly.
Limon ran his finger across the fireplace.
And when he saw the dust, which was not as much as he thought, he murmured quietly.
“Unlike a guy, it looks like he put in a lot of management fees.”
No one had ever set foot in it in over several decades, but looking at how clean it is, it seems that the spirits have been steadily managing it.
Limon said quietly and turned to Charlotte.
“How are you, boss? I think it would be better than sleeping here.”
“…not bad.”
Take a moment to look at the various guns hanging on the wall with interest.
Charlotte muttered quietly.
Of course, to her who has always seen and experienced only the best, an old house like this would never be out of sight.
It had to be remodeled to the extent that it could barely be used as an accommodation.
In fact, she had the ability to renovate an entire house without lifting a finger.
But…
‘That’s interesting.’
It is fun just to look at the black and white photos on the walls and the traces of Limon left throughout the house.
It’s strangely comfortable.
Charlotte muttered involuntarily as she tapped her smartphone with her finger.
“Definitely not bad.”
“I’m glad you like it, boss.”
I don’t know if I know her intentions or not.
Limon picked up Yuna-kyung.
Then, she rolled up her sleeves as she watched the unmanned vacuum cleaner she was riding begin to roam around the house.
“Now then, shall we start cleaning?”
* * *
“…All reservations have been cancelled?”
“yes.”
“Kkeuh, why did you think it was strange from the moment you suddenly booked all the rooms… In the end, someone did it as a joke.”
“It’s a bit strange to be a joke, but don’t you usually ask for a refund in that case? But this time there was no refund request.”
“of course! I already canceled the reservation time past, do you think you can get a refund?”
“If that was the case, I would have done the same, but the balance and additional money came in.”
“huh? Any extra money?”
“The account was only marked as a tip.”
“Are you kidding me that you booked and then canceled and left a few pennies as a tip?”
“If you say that, check the amount that came in and say it.”
“What do you mean by confirmation…?”
short silence.
“Isn’t this unit a bit strange?”
“If you feel strange, you’ve got it right.”
“Really? Did you hear that the tip is more money than we paid for our hotel charter?”
“So you said it was strange.”
“…Hmm, now that I think about it, seeing that the reservation was suddenly canceled, the customer must have had something to do with it.”
“Can I text you to give you a discount next time you stay at our hotel?”
“Yes, say that you will serve them with the very best service. They will definitely be great VVVIPs.”
“yes.”
I don’t know who it is, but it’s clear that I’m a guest who doesn’t have enough money to rot.
While thinking about it, the manager said he liked the unexpected free money.
…not knowing that the same thing is happening at every hotel across Rushmore City.
