The Innkeeper

"Is that all you've been asked to do? Deliver this message?" Lex asked, his voice as calm and unperturbed as ever. It seemed like this was a minor matter to him, and one which he did not pay too much attention to.

Jotun shook his head and said, "I was also tasked with assessing the degree of aid the Midnight Inn could provide in military efforts against the Fuegan."

"Oh? And what is your assessment?" Lex asked with genuine curiosity.

"Excellent potential for aid, but at the moment, it is only potential. All the Inn members I've come across are quite weak, and won't have a sufficient impact on the war efforts. But within 50,000 years I believe it will have a strong presence."

Lex chuckled and said, "The Midnight Inn is in the hospitality sector, not military. My workers are trained to serve food, not fight in wars. I just want to run a simple Inn, I wonder why people keep interfering in that."

Jotun tensed up, though he did nothing else. If the Innkeeper became discontent, there would be nothing he could do to fight back, but nothing of the sort happened.

"To be perfectly honest, I have not paid much attention to things besides my Inn. But if my actions have caused an oversight, I don't mind remedying the situation. Since you have stated yourself that the Inn's military power is not enough to contribute, but the Henali require a contribution nonetheless, why don't we instead focus on how the Inn can contribute?

"No doubt, you've already realized the massive benefits the Inn provides, even if with nothing else, with the ability to teleport here from any location. Moreover, the Inn also has a connection to the Henali portal.

"The way I see it, this is the perfect place to host a logistics and command center for a campaign against the Fuegan. As a part of my contribution, I can even give a considerable discount on hosting the command center at the Inn. What do you think?"

The brothers had imagined many ways that this meeting could go but… they did not anticipate that it would turn into a marketing pitch for the Inn. To be fair, the idea was excellent. Even if nothing else, just using the Inn and the Guild room as a transport hub would save an immense amount of wealth and time, completely revolutionizing the war industry. But at the same time, it would involve trusting the Innkeeper and the Inn with direct control and influence over their assets and personnel. It was an extremely risky move.

"I will pass on your suggestion," said Jotun, not making any decision himself. To be honest, he was extremely loyal to the Henali, for they had played a great role in his growth, but he was not blindly loyal. The way he saw it, if the Henali could be bothered to do any of this themselves, no extra effort would be required on anyone else's part. Since they didn't care enough to do anything personally, then he saw no reason why he should care too much about their campaigns, either. He had his own agendas to focus on, after all.

"I hope you're not in a rush to leave too quickly if your business is concluded," said Lex, noticing the brothers visibly relaxing with how the conversation turned out. "There are more festivities coming up that you can enjoy. Even if you're not interested in that, there is a matter I will take the liberty to say on behalf of one of my guests. I believe Ragnar Asulf is a general in one of your armies. I will not intrude on the privacy of one of my guests, even if he is your subordinate, but I believe you and he, all, will benefit greatly from having a… discreet meeting within the Inn."

The Innkeeper's statement both confused and alarmed the group. They were confused because, while they knew of Ragnar, he should not have faced any situation prominent enough to attract their attention personally. The fact that the Innkeeper thought that it was otherwise meant that there was a very serious flaw in the flow of information within their network.

This was a critical flaw that could threaten the very foundation of their empire. After all, controlling various galaxies was most definitely not easy, and there were more than just a few factions that created problems for them. Still, with the help of the Henali, they had always been able to keep everything under control. But at the end of the day, the Henali would only help them, not rule the empire for them. If there was a flaw, it needed to be addressed immediately.

The confusion was because they wondered why the Innkeeper would point this out to them. Though they had exchanged some banter, and the meeting had gone relatively well, they could still not be considered on friendly terms. The only logical conclusion they came to was that.. the Innkeeper had a good relationship with Ragnar.

They were not far from the truth. No matter what his motives had been, Lex did not forget the help Ragnar extended when he needed the Entis Core. Moreover, the general still had a room rented at the Inn, where he kept some items hidden in case of his untimely demise. He had laid out instructions of who were to take the items were that to happen.

The mere fact that he had done such a thing meant that he was expecting some kind of trouble. And then there was the matter of the 1 trillion MP task. Everything pointed towards the man being in some kind of trouble.

Even though he had not asked for it, Lex did not mind lending a hand to help him out, especially if it was as simple as speaking a few words. Perhaps it had been the same with the general and the Entis Core.

"As it so happens, I might become his in-law soon," said Jotun with a smile, "so I was planning on meeting him, anyway. And fret not, Innkeeper, there is no way I'm leaving the Inn before I get to reunite with my wife."

Jotun was winking again, and his brothers were trying hard not to facepalm.