Hotel Manager

* Re:newal
* Hotel Staff

The **Hotel Manager** is a side character in Tasokare Hotel. He is a tall, flame-headed creature responsible for running the hotel between life and death.

## Appearance

The Manager has a very tall and broad body build with a flame for a head. He wears a black swallow-tailed coat with a red interior, gold linings and six gold buttons. There is a gold chain connected to the buttons and a red bowtie around his neck. He also wears a white collared shirt, black pants, and black formal shoes. His flame head changes shape depending on his mood, such as drooping downwards when he is sad.

## Personality

For the most part, the Manager is rather childish. He often skips out on work or shows up late to his shifts, yet berates his employees when they do the same. When he is called out for these things, he gets flustered, as he does not like being yelled at.

While working, he constantly craves beer and sweet treats. He gets drunk extremely easily and, after consuming large amounts of alcohol, he completely forgets the day's events. In his free time, he does calligraphy and creates fake sweets. He also enjoys some gambling, though he is very bad at it.

At times, the Manager can also become almost uncharacteristically serious. This is mainly when it comes to matters regarding Hell, as displayed when Neko asked him to send Osoto there to save Atori. When faced with this request, the Manager is revealed to be idealistic almost to the point of hypocrisy. He believes that nothing can justify taking the life of another, and that it is his job as the hotel's guardian not to meddle with lives, even at the expense of Atori being targeted.

No matter what mood he is in, the Manager always holds respect and compassion towards his employees. He is fascinated by his human employees in particular, as he enjoys being a part of their lives and watching their relationships grow. He becomes very depressed when it is time for a human employee to check out, and always does his best to remember them throughout his eternal lifespan.

## History

### Background

The Manager is some sort of fire spirit who is the self-proclaimed guardian of the Tasokare Hotel. It is unclear how old he is or how he started working there. He has been in the business for a lengthy amount of time, hosting both human and non-human spirits alike. It is hinted that, as a non-human creature, he did not always have compassion for humans, but instead grew to like them after meeting so many within the hotel. By the time the game takes place, he has hosted so many humans that he is beginning to forget some of them, much to his dismay.

Prior to Neko's arrival at the hotel, Ruri and Atori check in and become his employees.

### Tasokare Hotel

One day while working at reception, a young girl walks into the building, catching the Manager by surprise as her face has not been changed, unlike the majority of guests who check in. He assigns Atori to be her concierge and assist her in regaining her memories. Later that day, the girl remembers her identity as Neko Tsukahara, but cannot recall her real world status or reason for coming to the hotel. Bored, she asks the Manager to become an employee as well.

Over the course of the next week, the Manager grows closer to his trio of human employees while helping them help new-coming guests. The one guest that sticks out, though, is the criminal Masaki Osoto, who he narrowly prevented from killing his employees. Although Osoto is a threat, the Manager realized there was nothing else that could ethically be done about the situation, so he allowed him to stay at the hotel. His position as the hotel's guardian also prevented him from kicking the criminal out.

Near the end of the week, the Manager is approached by Neko, who asks him to send Osoto to Hell in order to save Atori from being targeted by him. Although the Manager cares for Atori, he refuses to do this, claiming that nothing can justify taking the life of another. Despite Neko's incessant pleas, he refuses to budge on the matter. Afterward, he gets drunk and passes out, then wakes up with no recollection of the conversation.

When he goes back to reception, the Manager is unknowingly tricked by Neko to eat a cake laced with strong alcohol, causing him to pass out once more. When he wakes up, he finds that the master key has been stolen, so he goes back to his room to look for his gun only to find out it has been taken. Realizing something is horribly wrong, he hears a gunshot from outside, so he runs out of the building to find its source.

Outside, he finds Atori holding his gun, Neko beaten up, and Osoto dead with a shot through his torso. Even after they explain that it was an accident, and even after Neko tries to shoulder all of the blame, the Manager disappointedly drags Neko back to the hotel while Atori and Osoto are taken to Hell. Afterward, he promptly fires Neko on the spot.

The next day, the Manager manages to catch Neko before she checks out so he can give her her salary. It is then that he reveals the hotel salary is not money, but time that can be redeemed to go back in time before her near-death experience in the real world. Paired with Atori's salary since he cannot use it, as well as Ruri's salary which she donates, the Manager is glad to hear that Neko has a chance at saving Atori before he was killed by Osoto in the real world. Before her departure, the Manager reassures Neko that he enjoyed working with her and that he hopes to never forget her.

### Special Stories

After Neko goes back to the real world, the Manager comes back to the waiting room only to find the place completely trashed as a result of Neko's rush to create a wax seal to open the lift. Ruri arrives not long after, and the two reminisce about Neko and how difficult it was working with her. When Ruri jokes that she shouldn't check out and leave the Manager to operate on his own, he tells her that she should look forward to going back to the real world, as it's not good for humans to stay at the hotel for too long. Ruri says she understands, and the Manager thinks about how much Neko and Atori positively affected Ruri's view of her life in the real world.

After Ruri goes back to the real world, the Manager becomes extremely depressed as he no longer has any human employees to talk to. He goes to the bar for a drink, where he, Menow, and Kiriko talk about how interesting Neko, Atori, and Osoto were. While Menow and Kiriko only express their sentiments for those three, they note that the Manager has consistently held compassion for humans, even though otherworldly creatures like them normally have no interest in human affairs.

## Relationships

### Neko Tsukahara

Despite being Neko's superior, Neko is often the one who chastises the Manager for not doing his work properly. She thinks he's a bit childish and gets annoyed whenever he is late for his shift at reception, even though she sometimes slacks off as well. Although the Manager is easily flustered at her teasing, she doesn't seem to be as entertained by him as she is with Ruri.

When it comes to more serious matters, the Manager is very stern with Neko. Even if she begs him to change his mind about certain things, he remains steadfast in his ideals. In return, Neko stubbornly goes against his wishes behind his back, causing him to become disappointed in her. Nevertheless, he can't stay mad at her for long and continues to treat her fairly no matter how she may have treated him.

By the time Neko leaves the hotel, the Manager becomes very depressed and hopes to remember her for as long as he is able to.

### Haruto Atori

To outsiders, their relationship as hotel manager and employee seem reversed due to how much more seriously Atori works. The Manager finds Atori to be reliable and a good worker, and in contrast, Atori thinks the Manager can be irresponsible at times. He often chastises the Manager whenever he slacks off, much to the latter's dismay; the Manager thinks that Atori is scary when he's angry.

Although the Manager respects and cares for Atori, he is not willing to betray his ideals for his sake when Neko reveals that Osoto is planning to hurt him. Instead, he allows reality to run its course, even if it is at the expense of Atori dying.

### Menow

Menow is perhaps the Manager's longest working employee at the hotel. Because she is often stationed in the bar while the Manager is at the reception, the two don't interact very frequently. When they do interact, it is usually when the Manager wants alcohol. As revealed in Special Stories, the Manager seems to frequent the bar whenever his human employees check out, causing Menow to question why he is able to become so attached to humans.

When Neko sneaks into the Manager's room, she finds smoking pipes identical to the ones Menow uses, causing her to briefly question whether the two have some sort of intimate relationship.

## Trivia

* The Manager stores keepsakes of past employees in the Waiting Room in order to remember them. He also seems to create dolls of especially memorable employees.