The Innkeeper

Lex felt pretty good about how things were going in general, especially after the race. He reminded himself to let off a little steam now and again. There was nothing about the Innkeeper that said he had to stay serious all the time. As much as he had to overview everything and make sure everything was running smoothly, he should also enjoy the Inns amenities himself.

Though, he couldn't say that he was disappointed that Gerard was, as it was called, 'suffering from success' rather than him. Even from a distance he could see him being thrown up and down in the air by the crowd. Lex had heard things about crowd surfing that he'd rather not experience himself. Better Gerard than him.

He turned his attention towards the next event. He did not think a stadium was a fitting venue for the fishing tournament, so he had to pick another spot. He teleported to a small lake near the village and found the place to be suitable. The area was filled with small hills with gentle slopes and a few scattered yet large trees.

He moved the well to a clearing at the base of a hill and placed wooden benches all around. He formed stalls that would sell food and placed a few grills nearby. The workers would man some of the grills, but some would be left in case the guests felt like cooking on their own.

Single, wooden swings were attached to the branches of the trees. Bonfire pits were created and a few, fixed huts were placed here and there.

He couldn't consult the turtle as it was still occupied, so after talking to the gardener Lex placed various bushes in the area that grew edible berries and fruits.

Compared to the festive and exciting events such as the grand prix or the amusement park, this event felt much more calm and homely. Lex wanted to turn this place into a permanent camping spot. He even placed a few fishing boats in the lake in case anyone felt the itch after watching the tournament.

He told the planning division to take care of any last minute touches the place needed, but should stay in keeping with the theme of camping.

He spent the next few hours taking care of a few miscellaneous issues relating to the Inn, such as a few other guests who wanted to meet him, approve the latest worker rotations for the Immortal Bastion and set prices for the new food being grown from the new desert farm.

For one of the tasks, he called Luthor to his office.

"You called, Innkeeper?" he asked as he stepped in. To his great disappointment, the Innkeeper did not give him as many tasks as he hoped. It was only once in a while that the Innkeeper assigned him a task. He thought it might be because of his previous failure where he proposed plans that the Innkeeper didn't like. He was determined to change.

"I'm sure you're aware of the event going on related to Minor realms at the Inn," the Innkeeper said, looking up from his work. "I've tasked a few workers to compile a detailed list of all the realms discovered and their conditions. I want you to go over that list and find a realm suitable for the workers. I plan on having all the Inns employees colonize that realm."

"You- you're sending us away?" he asked, alarmed!

"No, no that's not what I mean," the Innkeeper said, chuckling when he realized how Luthor had perceived it. "Right now, the only thing most of the workers know is the Midnight Inn. While that is not a bad thing, if they never experience normal life, or what the rest of the universe is like, their growth will be completely stunted. They will lack an understanding of common experiences, which will not only taint their world view, it will keep them from understanding the guests' perspectives. If they lack such perspective, how can they better serve the guests?"

Realization dawned on Luthor. This was not a punishment, but a reward as well as a test! The Innkeeper was trusting them with more responsibility to see how they performed. On one hand it provided them a peek into life outside the Inn, while on the other hand it tested their survival skills without the handholding of the Innkeeper.

In truth, Lex just felt bad. He treated the Midnight Inn like his home, so the workers naturally took the place of his family. As great as the Inn was, if they were never allowed to leave then what would be the difference between this and a prison? But at the same time, he did not want to send them to other worlds yet. They were too weak.

Speaking of weakness, Lex had been stuck in a unique conundrum of late. Although he had given Jotun his response to the Henali's requests, he did not know how they would react. While he could not give up his strong front, he also could not afford to cross them. He had not forgotten how simply entering their conference room, of sorts, was enough to put Lex into a coma.

Lately he had begun thinking of returning to the Crystal realm to complete his quest. If he could have the Midnight Inn exit the Origin realm, he would not be beholden to the Henali any longer. But he decided to wait till they gave their response before making any judgments. He had spent a long time in the Crystal realm, and he did not feel eager to return. Besides, the Inn was flourishing now that he could give it all his attention.

"I'll get it done," said Luthor with conviction. "Do you have any special requirements in mind?"

"Pick a suitable place, that's all. While I'll give you a starting budget for your colonization, after that everyone will have to rely on harvesting local resources to cater to your needs. You can take a poll to see what kind of environment everyone would like."

"It will be done!" he said with vigor, before excusing himself.

With that out of the way, Lex was momentarily done with all tasks that urgently required his attention. There was always more work to be done, but nothing that he needed to take care of at that exact moment. So he turned his attention to personal matters.

Using his personal hologram, he sent Larry a message.

"Larry, there's been a change of plans. I won't be joining you and Marlo, but I've found a way we can avoid any negative repercussions of attacking those prisoners. Thoroughly document everything they've done, or as much as you can, and try to get a confession from them if possible. Make a good case for why earth, even as a part of the empire, has been severely neglected and its people have been left to suffer. Once you're done, give me everything you've gathered. If things go according to plan, not only will we avoid any fallout, the situation on earth will drastically improve."

After sending the message Lex couldn't help but sigh. His connection to the empire will greatly benefit his home planet, even if he had decided to leave it behind. It seemed like he had a magic touch. Everything just got better under his influence.

Lex chuckled. Such thoughts were too self absorbed, even for him. In truth, he was a man in an extremely precarious situation putting on an excellent balancing act.

With that done, and everything else being handled well enough by the system, Lex couldn't help but turn his attention towards the new Minor realm that had been given to the empire. He was a little curious about this pagoda. If he wanted it to serve as a training ground for his workers, he first needed to get a deeper understanding of its difficulty.

After a quick scan that showed that William was still at the manor, Lex decided to pay the pagoda a visit. He was curious to see how difficult these trials really were. He did not at all harbor any thoughts that he might complete all the trials in a single go, thereby gaining an incredible heritage that put him on the same level as the emperor. It was not like he had begun to suffer from an MC complex.

Yes, he was totally just going to scope it out. He teleported to his room to change, but then realized he hadn't really gotten any new gear to suit his new realm. With a shrug, he changed into jeans and a T-shirt, and teleported to the Immortal Bastion.

"Mary, I'm going to be a little busy for a while, so if anyone has a tribulation similar to the one Ragnar had, warn me well in advance so I can set enough formations."

He really could not think of anything else going wrong while he was away. He had taken precautions against everything he could think of, and had enough guards to protect the Inn in case other trouble makers arrived. Besides, he would only be gone for a short time. What's the worst that could happen?

Shortly after Lex entered the Minor realm, Adrus who had spent an extended amount of time at the Inn finally returned to Earth. Not everyone was a multi billionaire. As much as he wanted to continue to party at the Inn, he couldn't afford it!