The Innkeeper

Lex and Amelia both were taken aback by Cwenhild's surprise, and while Lex's lapse was due to his recent breakthrough, Cwenhild saw it in a different light. King Cornelius II had done much for mankind, and was seen as a savior by the masses, but his personality was in no way temperate. He was a ruthless, coldhearted and yet focused man who lived guided by a very strict code of conduct. Unfortunately, his code of conduct did not include kindness.

In fact, he could even be extremely cruel to people who he did not see as useful or productive. His focus on pragmatism bled into every facet of his life, and while this was a huge boon for the nation, it was often a huge burden for those close to him. It was often his wives, concubines or children who suffered the most due to this. She could well imagine the kind of hate Lex probably felt for the man, based on whatever his experiences were, mostly because she herself hated him as well. This small 'flaw' in Lex's otherwise perfect facade convinced her even more that she was correct.

"Excuse me," Lex said awkwardly as he put down the broken chair handle and opened the door. He grabbed the food and turned back, but froze again. Was he really about to serve royalty... rice pudding cups?

Lex did not doubt for even a moment that Cwenhild was lying about her parentage, mostly because how crazy would you have to be to make such a claim? Back on Earth, in his youth he had traveled the world, and he remembered strongly how ardent people who lived in monarchies were about their ruler. This was mostly because, if you dared to insult the monarchy in any way, and word got out, no one would even know how you disappeared.

Here, in the Crystal realm, he couldn't imagine things were much different. Yet Lex's feeling of awkwardness did not last long. He lacked a fundamental reverence many people felt towards the strong or in high positions, mostly because he was so used to being around so many strong people.

For example, just based on the fluctuations he could vaguely feel, he knew that Ragnar, the Jotun general, was stronger than anyone he had seen or met in the Crystal realm so far. Likewise, the Celestial bodyguard he had for a while was even stronger than Ragnar. And then, he had met multiple people even stronger than his bodyguard. This was exactly why, even though he was still vulnerable if strong cultivators used their coercion to physically restrain him - whatever that was - mentally, they could not intimidate him.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, your highness," Lex said, unsure of how he was supposed to address royalty here, "but that rumor really is just a rumor. I don't have a surname because I don't have any family in the Crystal realm. But, even if I did, for example, have any relation to the royal family, from what I understand, they wouldn't really care if I removed their name or not as long as I don't directly insult them while doing it. After all, isn't the King's motto 'I don't give a shit'? If he doesn't care, why should anyone else?"

He laid out the pudding cups on the table, along with some fruit. He froze again for a moment, recalling that he had no cutlery, nor any plates to offer his guests. He really should stalk his apartment a little more, but he was so used to not spending any time at home that it never occurred to him.

Amelia and Cwenhild, on the other hand, looked at Lex who was laying the table, his back turned to them, and felt numerous emotions well up in their hearts when he paused. The way he said he had no family in the Crystal realm seemed too sincere, and clearly this line of questioning had brought back dark memories. That, alongside his statement of the King's motto, told the story of a neglected son, severing ties after a painful loss. They filled in numerous blanks, and made up weird scenarios in their head that would explain his lacking cultivation, and why he would be in Gristol in the middle of his invasion.

Somehow, in the midst of imagining completely different scenarios, the two girls' thoughts coincided as they visualized Lex standing in the rain, alone in front of a grave with the marching hordes of the Kraven, slowly gaining land. The filial son stayed until the last moment, and as he turned his back on the grave for the last time, so too did he turn his back on the father that had failed him.

Lex, meanwhile, was chiding himself for being a bad host. His reputation as the Innkeeper would be tarnished if anyone ever found out he didn't even have a napkin to offer alongside his snacks to literal royalty.

"It's not much, but please, help yourselves," he finally said, perfectly hiding his embarrassment.

The girls helped themselves, and since the pudding cups came with their own disposable utensils, it wasn't really an issue.

"Well, if you insist it was just a rumor, then I'll believe you. Such topics are more fit for gossiping little children, anyway. Let's talk about something more practical. Have you heard of the Realm Races?"

"Not really, no."

"Considering your short time at the academy, I assumed you probably hadn't. Every few decades, the academy opens up a bunch of new Minor realms altogether and lets the students scout them out. Despite what it sounds like, it's not a tournament, and there are no prizes, but the students can keep anything they find in any of the Minor realms. Since it's usually so beneficial, many students treat it like a race, trying to go through as many of the Minor realms as possible before the event finishes.

"But, not everyone has the same objective. I am planning on participating in the Race, but with a completely different agenda. If I can subdue an entire Minor realm before the race ends, and take complete control of it, the academy will let me keep the minor realm till I graduate. Your excellent performance recently has attracted a lot of attention, and surely a lot of people will approach you to recruit you - I just wanted to be the one to make the first bid."

After that, the conversation became transactional in nature, wherein Cwenhild explained her plans to Lex briefly, and her offer to recruit him for her team during the races. There was no theoretical upper or lower limit on any team, as long as all the participants were students, but quite sensibly, Cwenhild took a quality over quantity approach.

At no point at all during the conversation did it feel like this conversation wasn't the primary reason she had approached Lex, and even Amelia began believing. In fact, Cwenhild was so well prepared, and the detail Lex received on his offer was so extensive that if his instincts weren't telling him that she was hiding something, he would have believed it.

He didn't immediately accept her offer, and told her he would get back to her. Since the races were still some time off, she didn't mind. Once their conversation was done, she excused herself, leaving Lex and a perplexed Amelia behind.

"Don't tell me you heard those rumors too," Lex said to her, after Cwenhild left.

Looking embarrassed, she smiled weakly and said, "some people did mention it to me, seeing how much time we spent together."

Lex laughed at the absurdity of the claim, but didn't address it again, for he genuinely believed no reasonable person would actually believe the rumor. Instead, the two friends started catching up, and Lex honestly told her about the things that happened on the expedition that weren't a secret.

She was startled to learn of the seriousness of his injuries and apologized for making fun of him, but Lex didn't mind. What else were friends for if not teasing one another?

Eventually, she left and Lex was genuinely surprised that she didn't notice his breakthrough - not that he brought it up either. He spent the rest of the day meditating and cultivating, slowly getting used to his newfound strength and abilities. Tomorrow was going to be exciting, for he would go look for new techniques to use, and more importantly, he would finally start using arrays.

He also needed new weapons, so he would have to visit his old boss. He wondered if he should look for another gun, or ranged weapon basically, or go for something more traditional?

Lex was completely engrossed in his own thoughts, oblivious to the earth shattering statement that would rock the gossip columns of the nation. Well, it wasn't as much of a statement as a discovery. Cwenhild Haugen had removed the Cornelius name from her student documents at the academy, and when questioned for the reasons, or if she was afraid of any repercussions, she gave a simple reply.

"I don't give a shit about that name."