The Innkeeper

Lex rubbed his forehead with index and middle fingers as he worried about Z. But this was not the time or the place for that. He forced his attention back to the matter at hand and gave the rest of the staff a motivational speech. He needed them to be at their best. With that done he sent the rest to return to their duties, but told Gerard and Velma to stay back. Something important he realized, only while giving them the speech, was that he had been giving them instructions but never received any feedback from them. Other than when they responded to his requests, he never really talked to his staff. This was not good practice. Even if he did not become friends with them, he should at least know their thoughts in regards to the Inn.

“What do you guys think of the preparations? Do you think there’s anything we need to do?” he asked them. Since they were his oldest employees, they would have the most insight.

The duo looked at each other, confused, then thought about the answer for a moment.

“You should choose a second in-charge to tackle any situation while you’re busy. If there are too many guests, waiting till you’re free to resolve the issue would take up a lot of time,” said Gerard after a moment.

“Hmm that makes sense,” Lex replied thoughtfully. After thinking about it for a moment he said, “For now Mary will be second-in-charge. Since others can’t communicate with her, Gerard, you can act as her communicator. Others can come to you with their issues, and then you can communicate her instructions.”_.

“Very good, Sir,” Gerard responded with a bow.

“Anything else?”

“I think having maps would be a good idea,” said Velma. “All the guests have to walk around themselves if they want to find out about the Inn, a map would make it much easier.”

“Excellent, why didn’t I think of that!” Lex said, surprised by his own obtuseness. He went directly to the Midnight market and looked at what options he had. Simple printed maps that would be updated every time he made an addition to the Inn would be the cheapest and cost him 10,000 MP total. Once paid, he could have an unlimited amount of such maps. Maps that would pin the user around as they traveled on the map were even more expensive, going directly up to 50,000 mp! There were more sophisticated maps as well, such as digital or holographic maps, but Lex didn’t even bother with those at the moment. He directly bought the cheapest option for 10,000 MP.

“That was a great suggestion, anything else?”

The both of them thought for a minute, and could not come up with anything else so they just shook their heads.

“Alright, then what about yourselves? How are your work hours? Do you need more rest? What about your residences, are they satisfactory? Do you want anything more?”

Honestly, Lex felt a little bad as their residences were very bare and without a lot of furniture and they didn’t really do much else other than work or cultivate.

“It’s more than enough,” answered Gerard truthfully.

“Yes yes, I never even thought about having a place of my own. It’s already very great, we don’t need anything else!” Velma answered with a lot of enthusiasm.

Watching their earnest faces and listening to their satisfied responses, Lex felt even more guilty. The simple minded A.I. staff were too easily placated. He vowed to himself that the next time he made a lot of MP he would do more for them.

With everything done, he sent them off and returned to his own residence. A fact that he didn’t want to acknowledge was that he was actually feeling quite a bit nervous. Thinking about speaking to a large crowd consisting of the most powerful people from several planets made his heart jitter, just a little bit. It was not like he’d never given a speech or presentation to a crowd before. He did it often while he was working, but this was an entirely different scale of things. Not to mention, all of them probably had monumentally high cultivation levels and he was barely a beginner. Even with a cheat such as the system, he felt dwarfed.

He didn’t want to distract himself from the feeling however. He had a gut feeling that if he didn’t acknowledge it and plan for it, even with the help of the Host Attire he’d mess up tomorrow. So he did not shy away from the feeling, nor did he go to meditate. He let himself feel the nervousness for a while. He felt his gut plummeting, his muscles tightening up, nerves jittering. He felt his bones tremble. He felt his hairs stand on their ends. He felt the dread setting in. Then, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, holding the air in. When he could hold it in no longer, he released his breath slowly. When he opened his eyes, despite his anxiety and apprehension, they were filled with conviction. Fear would not stop him, anxiety would not deter him and the unknown would not slow his steps. His audience for tomorrow might consist of the leaders of three different planets, but he was Lex freaking Williams, the goddamn Innkeeper! They should be the ones nervous in his presence, not the other way around.

He went back to his study and prepared all his talking points. He did not write a speech, but jotted down a list of all the important things he needed to discuss. He wrote down all the rules for the events and repeated them in his mind multiple times, so that he would not forget to inform them. He imagined questions others would ask, and jotted down potential answers. He thought of various scenarios he could encounter tomorrow, and prepared his responses. He visualized himself on stage, and thought about how exactly he needed to speak. He thought about his body language and gestures. Most of the time, Lex was a pretty relaxed fellow. Even though he had decided to keep his persona as the Innkeeper mysterious, he could not help himself from chatting and occasionally joking with his guests because it was hard to act as someone he wasn’t. But tomorrow, even if he maintained his relaxed demeanor, he could not allow others to take him lightly.

As he prepared for the following day and imagined the various scenarios, his nervousness did not actually fade. The bottomless feeling in his gut remained with him, and occasionally he even felt randomly cold, but he let none of that deter his actions. As a result something unexpected happened. Through working amidst difficulty, he honed his spirit faster and better than during any meditation session. By the time night fell, his spirit completely stabilized and he was ready for the next procedure!

Lex felt as if his spirit made a ‘pop’ sound, and suddenly the world became much clearer. It was as if previously he had been trudging through mud, exerting all his strength with each step he took, but now suddenly he had been freed to walk freely. No, it did not feel like he was walking freely, but that he was walking along a travelator that was going in the same direction.

He did not need Mary to tell him what had happened, he realized on his own. But right now was not the time to undergo a procedure and raise his cultivation. He would have to wait until after the meeting.

Even though he didn’t need to anymore, he got up and went to meditate. He stabilized his thoughts and let his body relax. He did not let his thoughts return to tomorrow’s meetings, and completely freed himself of all future worries. Eventually, he reached a mental state equivalent of floating freely in a swimming pool.

When he was done, he got up, showered and went directly to bed. The shower was warm and the sleep deep and dreamless. As the Innkeeper slept silently, countless people around the universe waited impatiently for the next day to arrive. They did not dare to relax, lest they miss their opportunity. Others were not impatient, but looked at their silver keys with eager attitudes. Others simply didn’t care.

Some people summoned countless soldiers and guards, with weapons equipped and armors worn. Others called for translators and dignitaries. Others yet collected their best booze and hallucinogens. A specific fellow on Earth prepared his visiting cards, each one hand made with the best calligraphy he could muster. On Nibiru, a sloth lazily opened its eyes. The world seemed to distort under the weight of his vision, so he closed his eyes again. On Vegus Minima a youth landed on the planet, surrounded by some of the most elite guards of the Empire. He was reading a briefing of the reason he was sent here. The Empire had certain suspicions. As unlikely as they were, some things could not be put to chance so he was sent. Somewhere in a realm known as Garvitz, a small gathering of elite demons was gathered. Surprisingly, all of them looked like humans. Well, mostly human. An occasional pair of horns or wings and such were still visible. They were oddly disciplined, and stood according to rank and position. At the forefront sat a pure blooded devil. His smirk was remarkably enchanting and his eyes full of mischief.

Back at the Inn, as the sun rose, the Innkeeper opened his eyes.