The Innkeeper

Whatever the problem was, sitting around and just thinking would not help him avoid it. Besides, there was no guarantee it would even actually happen. He decided to consult Vera, the Oracle and his perpetual consultant regarding all matters relating to divination.

He could ask Cassandra as well, but she was too knowledgeable about things he could not even imagine. The chances of him slipping up were extremely high, so the less he talked to her about things related to the Inn, the better.

"Mary is there anything I need to pay attention to at the Inn?" he asked as he tried to plan out his next steps.

"Surprisingly not. Most of the workers who returned alongside you are still resting as well. They were not able to completely overcome the stress of teleporting over such a long distance as easily as you. But there's no serious injuries to speak of. The rest of the workers are handling the guests well, and there are no particular issues to take care of.

"There is a massive backlog of applicants who wish to join the Inn, if you want to peruse those, but a majority of them are just Velma's fans. I don't know how good of a fit they would be. Although, there is a clan of elves where the entire clan wishes to join the Inn. They're currently living here as well, so you can look into them. The number of devil applicants has also gone up, but almost all of them want to negotiate their terms of service. Besides that, there's not much else that needs your immediate attention."

The number of people who wished to join the Inn was always high, but Lex hardly ever accepted them. It was too much of a risk accepting people with entire lives before they arrived at the Inn, and the potential for problems was quite high. But then, of course, there were some who had skills and knowledge that would be an excellent addition to the Inn. If any applicant had a recommendation from one of his workers, he would also view it seriously, because that hardly ever happened.

But at the moment, Lex did not need more workers, so the applications could wait.

He got out of the Recovery pod, and immediately groaned. His entire body ached, as if he were an old man with severe arthritis.

Why was it that every time he would undergo a massive boost in strength, he'd immediately go through something that would just absolutely devastated him right after? It almost invalidated his upgrade. But then again, he had also developed a habit of pulling off absolutely ridiculous things. He was a Golden core cultivator who had traversed countless galaxies while teleporting with his body. Not dying was already great.

Cultivating would go a long way towards soothing his pain, but he did not want to delay his meeting with Vera.

"Mary, where is the oracle?" he asked as he stretched his body, causing it to release countless cracks.

"She's sitting in an empty cabin on the Orient. It's parked at the train station, so I think she might be expecting you."

Lex nodded, got dressed in a new suit that had been made for him on tab by Geeves, and teleported over. He made a mental note to thank Geeves. The Midnight Inn didn't really allow tabs, which meant that Geeves must have paid himself.

What he did not realize was that the suit was not made using the Midnight tailor, but by Geeves using his hands, so there was no cost to reimburse except the materials. Lex got new clothes, and Geeves raised his cultivation, so it was a win for both.

With an awkward limp, Lex made his way into the cabin, and found Vera sitting on a sofa with a couple of drinks laid out in front of her. She looked forlornly out at the horizon, as if lost in thought.

"Everything alright?" Lex asked as he sat opposite to her, grabbing one of the drinks. It was hot chocolate.

"My mom is forbidding me from dating till I'm 25!" Vera burst out screaming, as if she was barely holding herself back. "25! Can you believe it? She says considering the long lifespan of cultivators she's being generous, but I think she's just old so it doesn't seem like much to her. I don't want to wait another 9 years before getting a boyfriend!"

Vera looked incredibly vexed by the matter, much to Lex's amusement.

"I have to say, that is not what I was expecting," Lex said while he chuckled.

The train blew a whistle, and then slowly began moving along its tracks. No one else was in this cabin, a rarity on the popular train. But the low number of guests these days has allowed this scene to occur naturally and without any preparation.

Vera looked at him, feeling slightly annoyed, but then calmed herself down and grabbed her own drink.

"So this is the part where I give you some advice without asking what your actual problems are. Although, I've never really worked with a baby before."

"Being a baby is not so bad," Lex said, sitting on his four pillows so that his head would be above the table between himself and Vera.

"I only have two pieces of advice for you. First, you should really visit the Wishing Well, preferably soon. The second is that in exactly five years, and I mean exactly five years, to the day, you should visit a planet called Yildirim Utopia. Don't be in a rush to pay me back for this. When the time comes, you can pay me whatever you think this information was worth."

Lex raised his eyebrow. Five years? None of this advice seemed to have to do anything with his dreams. Or perhaps the answer for his dream problem lay at the Wishing well. This was really a good time to try it out.

"Thanks," Lex said as he took a sip from his drink. It tasted divine.