The Innkeeper

Lex woke up feeling extremely refreshed. His body felt as if he had just come from a hot spring, and the mental drain from the prolonged use of the crown, as well as the physical strain from lack of food, was gone. He credited it to his nap but if he were to know the value of the ingredients used in the soup he had he would be startled. Even the Midnight Inn did not serve food of that quality - yet. Naturally Cwenhild would not treat her business partner poorly.

Before he got up, though, he had to attend to a small matter. Back at the Inn, the Lady Cosmos show was still ongoing, but it was now time for him to set up the Expo for Earth. Unlike Lady Cosmos, which required the Inn to manage the event, the Expo only required the Inn to host it, and market it.

Since it was his home planet he didn't want to treat it lightly, and asked the planning department to design an appropriate auditorium for the event. At the same time, he spent 800,000MP on marketing. While the reach of the Inn had spread far and wide, he chose to target two fronts for this.

All the planets in from the X-14 star system would be targeted, since they were commercial planets in a way. More importantly though, indirectly, he gave Booty a commision to spread the word in large and small trade planets.

He didn't need to worry about much else, as the preparations for the Lady Cosmos event could be shared for this.

With that done, he picked himself up from the sofa and stretched. Unfortunately, a drawback of having his body brought back into peak condition was that he was unable to get the satisfying cracks in his knuckles or any of his bones while he stretched.

He sent Cwenhlid a message, and soon she arrived. It did not take a detective to notice the extra spring in her step, which Lex took as a sign that she had arranged a buyer.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked as she sat down. A host of waiters had followed her into the room and began to lay down a feast for Lex and her.

"I slept perfectly. How long was I out?"

"Almost 13 hours. You're lucky you woke up when you did, I almost couldn't wait anymore and dumped a tub of water on you."

"Patience is a virtue," Lex said as he stuffed 6 dumplings in his mouth.

"The only virtue I subscribe to is money. We can't begin negotiations until we get an idea of what the realm is like, but you've blocked off the entrance. Open it up so I can send in a team of appraisers."

"Oh, my bad," Lex said as he snapped, unsealing the realm.

"Once we have a detailed understanding of the realm, we can assign a price to it. We already have more than one buyer ready, so we'll get the best price for it. Do you have any special requirements as far as the payment is concerned?"

"I have a few things in mind," said Lex, though he had not slowed down his consumption of food for even a moment during this conversation. There was a look of deep regret in his eyes as he looked at the now empty dish of dumplings, but he turned his attention elsewhere.

"What are the chances of getting hands on a spatial treasure? Something you can store gear or items in?"

Before Cwenhild could even answer, a woman chuckled. The sound of her laughter filled Lex with immense shock and dread, for she had been standing right beside him this entire time, but he had failed to notice her till she made a sound. The feeling only lasted a moment, though, and Lex started attacking a plate of fresh barbecue with vigor.

"Spatial treasures exist, but they don't fall out of the sky. It would require someone with advanced knowledge of spatial laws to even attempt constructing one. Even most immortals don't have one, so you can forget about getting your hands on one. Oh no, wait, actually, if you stumble onto another realm full of sleeping Crystals, you can trade with the Crystal race for it. Unfortunately for you, we've already cashed in the favor we received for the last batch."

Cwenhild looked at her mother with irritation. Even she had not realized her mother had been snooping.

"Lex, this is my mother, Nora. We'll be using her channels to sell the realm."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lex said with a sly half smile. If he did not have a cheek full of meat, he may have even looked suave. Honestly, he was too hungry to care right now.

"If a spatial treasure is out of reach, then I want my share all to be in energy crystals. Or spirit water. Whatever the densest form of energy is available, really. First, go for quality, but when that runs out, you can replace it with quantity."

Both Cwenhild and Nora were taken aback by the unusual request.

"All of it? Are you sure?" Cwenhild asked hesitantly. She knew Lex had his own motives, but did he really understand the amount of wealth being discussed right now? There was a huge possibility that he was underestimating what that would result in.

"Yeah, all of it. If possible, make the sale as quickly as possible, and while you're doing it, give me another list of the remaining Minor realms and their details. I'll also give you a list of new supplies, you should prepare those as well. There are just a few things I need to take care of in the meantime."

"Wait, you're planning on going again?" Cwenhild asked. "This is not really the kind of business that can remain under the table for long. Someone will surely notice, and they won't like that we're cheating with the core academy tests."

"Don't worry about it. At most, you can just put the blame on me if anything goes wrong. Besides, they can't blame me for being more skilled than their other students. And I have an entrepreneurial spirit, what's wrong with that? At most, I can just say I was inspired by the academy's motto of not giving a shit."

Cwenhild paused as she thought of the various obstacles they would face should they continue, but Nora had a massive grin on her face. It was good to see the kids growing on their own. She decided not to help in case they got into trouble. This Lex had been using the academy's motto too frequently, and had even influenced her daughter. She hoped he got a spanking. In fact, she would look forward to it.

The discussion went on for a while, but Lex eventually convinced her of his plan. After all, Lex was going after that energy in more Minor realms regardless of anything. Might as well make the most of it.

Once he was done with dinner, though, Lex left to go to the library. He knew he couldn't achieve mastery overnight, but his experience gave him insight into more techniques that he needed to learn.

First, he needed a stealth technique, followed by a reconnaissance one. He also needed lighter and more versatile attacks. His increased strength gave him many new options. Finally, he wanted to look up information on the green pebble that he found. He really wanted to know if the water it produced was safe to drink, and what effects it would yield.

He spent the next day doing research, and when he returned to Cwenhild, the negotiations for the sale of the realm were complete.

She presented Lex with a contract that detailed their division of profits, as well as the remuneration he would be getting and a bunch of minor legalities. He signed it, transferred the Minor realm through a method she taught him to an intermediary who would then pass it to the client.

As much as he wanted to see his income with his own eyes, he had little time to waste. There were only a few dozen realms left at the Foundation realm that were unclaimed, and he wanted to get his hands on as many of them as possible.

Lex chose the next realm and went through the next portal. It was supposed to be a winter wonderland, with ice and snow blanketing everything. The subzero temperatures and local beasts made it difficult for others to operate in the realm, but Lex could simply use the same technique he used to avoid the cold produced by the Frio birds.

But nothing was destined to go according to plan. When Lex teleported to the realm, he found himself submerged in freezing water. Above him, there was a thick layer of ice sealing whatever water body he was in shut, and surrounding him were hundreds of fish. What were the chances they were friendly?