Chapter 24: Sharing Lodgings with a Stranger (1)

About another half an hour later, after traversing several automatic pathways along the way, they finally reached their destination. A building that looked like a double-helix DNA strand from afar stretched far up into the night sky.

"That's our destination," Aster muttered as they approached, pointing at it.

Cassy looked to where he was pointing and ended up opening her mouth wide. "Woah... you live in such a rich-looking hotel?! I'm so envious!"

Hearing her amazed voice, he could only show a wry smile. After all, he was sure about one thing: this place wasn't a location selected to provide him with as much luxury as possible, but rather to keep a close eye on him.

'Rather than a hotel, this place is like a prison to me. A place to keep me and protect me at the same time... and despite knowing that, I have no choice but to stay here.'

In this current era, he not only has zero acquaintances or family, but he is even of a rare race that only appears once in every hundred thousand—a human. As such, he could understand the current government, or rather, the mayor himself, trying to safeguard him to the best of their capabilities.

They soon arrived at the hotel's compound, which was marked by a low-lying electric metal fence. As they passed through the wide-open gates, Cassy let out another soft sigh.

"Woah..." She was rendered breathless by the scenery spreading before her.

The garden lining both sides of the wide path was filled with beautiful, glowing flowers sporting various colors. A tall fountain was just ahead of them, creating a beautiful display of a mix of lights and water. Not only that, there were even arches made of small laminar waterjets, with a beam of laser stuck in the middle of them, making the water glow beautifully.

After passing through the fountain's vicinity, they were greeted with a large, floating, holographic display of the hotel's logo and name. An image, as if an actual DNA strand in gold, followed by the words "Twister Hotel," was simple but pretty eye-catching.

Soon, they reached the hotel's doors. The two guards, both resembling Dobermans-turned-humanoids—dog-beastkin—were standing on either side of it. They saluted right after seeing Aster approach, greeting him in unison.

"Welcome back, Mr. Aster Mistral!"

"...!"

Cassy shook in surprise at their loud voice before she followed right behind Aster, as if trying to hide behind him. The man himself merely waved a hand, not even bothering to reply, as he headed inside.

Of course, he felt intimidated by the guards as well, but since the little rabbit cowered first, he had to stay strong.

Walking through the automatic doors, he was greeted by the gold-themed lobby. At the forefront was a long reception table, where beautiful women with pointed ears and golden hair, elves, were sitting down like mannequins, bowing down simultaneously as they saw him enter.

"Welcome back, Mr. Mistral; here's your room's key. Please have a restful stay." One of the elves, the closest to Aster, pushed a keycard over the counter and bowed lightly.

Of course, one couldn't miss the sharp judging gaze they turned on Cassy, who was acting like a scared pup, clutching Aster's clothes from behind.

"Thanks... And there's no problem with taking another guest to my room, right? There's enough space, after all." Just in case, he decided to inquire.

It would be troublesome if they just entered together and ended up having to be chased out later, after all. The elf receptionist, the one with her gold hair tied into a braided crown, smiled sweetly as she replied.

"Please feel free, Mr. Mistral. As long as it's within the room's guest count limit, then it's fine."

"Great." He nodded with a faint smile before turning to Cassy behind him. "Then, let's go to my room."

As they walked away, all the receptionists turned to look at the pair and frowned.

"Sorry for that." As soon as they went out of sight from the front desk, Aster turned to Cassy and apologized.

"It must've been uncomfortable getting stared at like that, right?"

"Oh, it's fine..." She replied, smiling awkwardly. "I don't know why they're like that, though. Did I do anything wrong?"

Seeing her ponder over the matter, Aster decided to speak. "I'll tell you the reason after we're in my room."

"..."

After that, with nothing but silence between them, they continued walking forward. After passing by the lobby, they entered a wide hall filled with luxurious sofas and coffee tables. They didn't linger there, of course, and headed beyond it, reaching for the glass-tube-like structure at the end of the path, the Magic Elevator.

Aster and Cassy stepped inside, turned toward the entrance, and waited for it to close. No buttons were needed, as the entire thing moved with the mana in the air and operated while skimming the thoughts of everyone inside.

As soon as the magical array shone, reading the signal of the keycard in Aster's hand, it began moving up at an incredible speed. Although the scenery was flashing past them, it was as if they weren't feeling anything. They couldn't even detect the slightest shake or the unique feeling of having your feet pressed toward the floor as the magic elevator moved.

In just five seconds, they had already reached their target floor—the 28th floor.

Even the moment that the elevator stopped was undetectable if not for the transparent walls of the elevator itself, which showed that they came to an instantaneous stop.

'Despite using this a few times, I wonder how this thing really works.' Aster pondered as he stepped out, turned to the right, and walked to his designated room.

Room 2869. The final room of that floor's right wing. Aster stood right before it and grabbed the keycard from his pocket. He tapped it over the middle of the door, causing a resounding click to echo as the door moved an inch up before sliding to the side.

"Come in," he urged Cassy, who was feeling bashful while standing behind him.

"E-excuse me then," she whispered as she slipped past Aster and entered the room. "Woah! Amazing!" And again, she released another gasp of surprise as she saw the inside.

The fully furnished living room, with a holographic display playing the news that Aster left on when he left, welcomed visitors from the entrance.

The light brown sofa perfectly matched the matte white floor, walls, and ceiling, creating a pristine impression.

Not only that, there were even a few exercise tools—things that Aster requested to be delivered to his room. A treadmill, a yoga ball, and a few sets of weights.

After she finished looking around, Cassy turned to Aster with an excited expression, exclaiming, "This place is so beautiful that I almost wanna live here forever!"

"I told you, I'm not renting this room." Aster smiled wryly, scratching his cheeks. "The government is lending this place to me, so basically, I'm freeloading here like you are."