The Innkeeper

One last thing Lex did before returning to the Crystal realm was add the Patisserie. Since it had been brought to his attention by his prophecy, he would not ignore it. Like the Recovery room, meditation room and such, the Patisserie was a standard Inn service, so not only could it be repeatedly be put across the Inn. As soon as he redeemed the building, he first upgraded it to the fourth level, which was in tandem with his authority level.

Some buildings, such as the Recovery room, had been upgraded beyond his authority level using various cheats, but in general that was not a good thing as it put additional pressure on the system. Lex wasn't exactly sure why something as simple as a service building would affect the system's functionality, but then again, each of the services was quite magical.

It had been a long time since he himself had visited the Training room, but it was quite popular at the Inn amongst many cultivators, so it must be good.

The Patisserie, the first store for which was opened on Main street, immediately attracted the guests attention. The Main street was the street that had the most exclusive stores, such as the Barber shop, which had recently reopened, and the Battle Ax. The street had become the elite district of the Inn, and represented the best it had to offer.

The small red brick building had a few flower pots hanging out front, and a massive window which showed the quaint little shop. There was one counter running across the length of the shop, with several rows of pastries shown through the glass windows in the counter.

The Patisserie naturally needed patissiers, and Lex decided to hire two for the first one. One was called Gordan, and the second was called Ramses.

Lex did not need to doubt their capabilities, for the system was excellent at feeding the workers he bought with all the relevant information their designation would require. For now, he did not try out the various pastries, pies, cakes and various breads that the shop was lining up as it could wait.

He was content with the knowledge that each item in the shop had a special effect, akin to the Saturn cake that was available at the Gift shop. He would look into it later. For now, he was off to the Crystal realm.

Barely a few moments after Lex left, the first customer took a bite out of the Mauve Crystal cupcake. As it happened, right behind him, another customer tried the Astral Dust pie.

The two customers, a young human adult who was weary from the difficulties of life, and a freshly graduated devil on her first outing from Garvitz, the realm of the devils, locked eyes.

A million emotions were communicated through the look, and they both fell in love.

To be specific, they fell in love with the deserts they were eating, but found each other modestly attractive.

"Can I try that?" the man asked, looking at her pie.

"Only if you give me a bite of yours," the devil replied, her eyes locked on the man's cupcake.

A new bond was formed. The bond of gluttony.

*****

Lex took in a deep breath once he reappeared, and the smell of wood filled his lungs. He looked around and found himself in the hidden basement under the main hall counter. It had been a long time since he had been back here, while at the same time it seemed too soon.

After spending a year trapped here, he was in no rush to come back, yet fate worked out in different ways.

But there was no need to fret. He had come back much stronger, not to mention that this time he was not cut off from the system. In fact, now that he thought about it, he was actually quite excited to be back here.

With his new and improved intuition, Lex suddenly felt an urge to go treasure hunting. He had found some incredibly valuable prizes here, such as the Blue Crystal Essence which pushed Lex to the peak of the Foundation realm while also recharging his system, and the Divine Essence stone.

Now that his senses were much keener, he couldn't wait to see what he would find. In fact, his intuition was already acting up, letting him know that countless valuable treasures were hidden in his vicinity. Unfortunately, they were all the property of the Noel family.

He would need to travel outside their territory before he could start digging up treasures. Fenrir's stealth would play an integral role in his treasure hunting schemes.

Lex climbed the ladder to exit the hidden basement, and was welcome to the scene of a bustling tavern room.

There was a flutist on the small stage, accompanied by an enthusiastic dancer, both putting on a performance. Over two dozen men and women were eating and drinking, while Naki, Nami and Nani the triplets took rounds between the kitchen and the guests, constantly making sure everyone was catered to.

Big Ben stood by the door, an intimidating grimace on his face. Unfortunately, the grimace did not work as he was friends with almost everyone in the tavern, so they knew him well.

Betty, Big Ben's now wife, was sitting in the tavern as well, a small bump developing in her belly. The couple was already expecting a child.

A familiar face, Pvarti, was loudly sharing a story with some people sitting across from him. Lex could not help but smile.

The smile was not for the jubilant atmosphere that the tavern had. Although it was much smaller than the Inn, it had nurtured a unique environment of its own which was quite enjoyable.

No, he smiled because his luck never failed to keep his life interesting, all after a single wish for some more excitement.

"5, 4, 3, 2…" he counted down as he looked at the front door, which slammed open the moment he counted to 0. His intuition had warned him this was coming.

"Pvarti you need to get out of here!" exclaimed Bertram, Pvarti's older brother. "Your ex's family has arrived at Babylon!"