Chapter 1 - Hotel in Slime World? (prologue)

Yamato Nahida, 32 years old.

Occupation: owner of a small hotel/inn in a rural area in Japan.

Inside an old two-story building built of wood, a man with short blond hair and a well-groomed beard sighed. No customer had come through the door for more than three days.

"I think I should close this hotel and sell this building. I can take the money and travel far away. I can't take it anymore." He had dark circles under his eyes, which emphasized his tiredness.

He was not tired of working but of his dull life.

He lived alone, had no family, and his ex-girlfriend had dumped him over three years ago. In addition, the business his father had left him (a hotel) was on the verge of bankruptcy. Nothing was working out.

Ring~~~

Then the bell above the door rang.

"A customer?" A smile appeared unconsciously on Nahida's face. An old man came through the door wearing a hat and a suit. He was elegant, not the kind of man who would frequent that city.

In addition, he appeared to be a foreigner.

"Hello, how can I help you?" But Nahida kept a gentle smile. Since he was almost 190cm tall, he needed to look down to speak to the old man.

"Good afternoon, young man. A room, please. I am exhausted from the trip; I would like to rest for a while."

"Yes, of course. It will be 4,000 yen for one night, 5,000 yen if you want a meal." Nahida pointed to the sign with the values just behind him.

"Okay, thank you." The old man gave the money to Nahida, got the keys to his room, and went upstairs. Nahida now had a customer in his hotel—the only customer. Nahida began to laugh, then slumped in his chair.

"Damn, I'm sleepy." Feeling sleepy, Nahida closed his eyes and slept.

####

When Nahida opened his eyes the next day, the doorbell rang.

"Welcome!" He got up and said unconsciously. However, no one was there. "Am I hearing things?" Nahida did not know how much time had passed, but it was already dark outside; night had come.

He couldn't hear any sounds either; no one was outside.

"Hey, I'm right here." Then Nahida heard a voice. It was a fragile female voice. He followed the voice after picking up his glasses from the table.

"Huh? A fairy?" Incredulous, he blinked his eyes a few times.

"Yeah, what about it?" The fairy answered him.

"It's nothing..." Nahida stared at the fairy for a while longer. Blonde hair, yellow eyes, and a tiny body. Her clothes were also very recognizable. "Would you happen to be Ramiris?"

"Yes, that's right. We saw the sign outside. This is an inn here, right?"

"Yes, it is a hotel... an inn. But what are you doing here? Am I dreaming?" Nahida was confused. None of it made sense. Why was a character from a famous anime standing there in front of him?

This is complete madness. His mind was spinning. But like an adult, he kept his composure.

"Dreaming? Huh? We want a room, what's the price? For two people." Ramiris said in a firm tone. Her wings were beating rapidly. Nahida was in awe.

"A room? Well, I don't know how to do that..." He lived in Japan; his currency was the yen. Would a character from an anime have any way to pay for that?

But he had an idea. "You can stay for a day for two silver coins and three silver coins if you want a meal."

"Three silver coins? Hmmm..." Ramiris put her tiny hand on her chin and flew out the door. Nahida was able to see outside. He could see a beautiful forest that shouldn't have been there.

Previously it had a street, and across the street was a convenience store.

"I'm not in Japan anymore. Where am I? Have I gone to the world of Slime? No, that's ridiculous."

Then Ramiris walked through the door again. She was so small that Nahida could hardly see her.

"Here you go." after Ramiris handed over the money, she left the building again, but this time she came in bringing someone else.

"Beretta..." Nahida said in a low voice.

"All right, where's the key?" Ramiris said. Nahida quickly took the key to one of the rooms and handed it to Ramiris. Beretta was staring at him, making him quite nervous.

Fortunately, they walked up the stairs without saying anything else.

"What the fuck is going on?" Nahida withdrew his eyes and slumped over his chair again.

And then he heard the bell ringing again.

And again, no one came through the door.

[ Welcome to Hotel Management ]