The Innkeeper

The three girls standing in front of Lex seemed to be in their early 20s, and a quick scan showed Lex that they were all still in the early phases of Qi training. This wasn't abnormal, since with the average life expectancy in this realm, people were a lot more used to taking their time with things.

They lacked a certain sense of urgency that was hidden deep within the psyche of Earthlings. Yet, considering the resource available in this realm, the uniformity of their cultivation realm, and the realm itself told Lex that they had not focused much on cultivating. This meant that they were either lazy, or lacked the time to cultivate. The faded colors on their clothes indicated that it was probably their financial situation that took up most of their time in the form of various jobs.

"Introduce yourselves," Lex said simply, after a brief moment of introspection.

"My name is Naki, and I'm the oldest sister," said the one wearing green.

"My name is Nami, and I'm the middle sister," said the one wearing yellow.

"My name is Nani, and I'm the youngest sister," said the one wearing orange.

"We have jobs already, but we all work separately. If we could all work in the same place, it would be a lot easier on us," said Naki.

"Yes, yes, it would be better for us, and better for you. We're hard workers, and everyone loves us," said Nami.

"Naki works as a floor worker in a grocery store, Nami works at a laundry service for rich people and I work in a kitchen in a restaurant, helping the chefs" said Nani.

The three girls radiated a vibrant and positive energy, and Lex had no issues hiring them, but he would first have to test their capabilities and decide what position they'd be good for.

"Your jobs sound good, are you sure you want to change them? The crowd at a tavern can be rough, and the work can be rougher. Of course, you won't need to worry about your safety, as I will make sure to take care of all my workers, but it still won't be easy."

"Yes, we're not shy," the three sisters answered at the same time. "We have 9 brothers so we grew up around boys, we know how to take care of ourselves."

9 brothers? Lex prayed for their mothers good health and didn't let his thoughts dwell on the subject.

"There's a few positions open. First, I need a few cooks and I also need barmaids. Rick handles the cleaning for now so I'm not worried about anything else, but whoever takes up the position will have long hours. Moreover, I need someone for housekeeping as well. Which of those jobs are you interested in? I have to let you know that I'll have to see how you perform in that position before I hire you."

All three sisters wanted to be housekeepers, but Lex didn't need that many. So they opted for a few different positions, but the premise was that they have the same work hours. Otherwise, there was no point in them changing their jobs.

Lex told them he'd make a decision after he saw them work, and instructed Rick to show them around and tell them where they'd be working.

Dino, who had been standing silently on the side till now, finally stepped up and said, "I heard your tavern was visited by the Noel brothers last night. If you managed to make a good impression then I'd say you're in luck, and your tavern will soon be visited by all the rich folk in town."

"They were brothers?" Lex asked as he compared their two extremely different personalities. "I take it that they're famous around here."

While they spoke Lex invited Dino to sit, and poured him a reinvigorating juice. It was way too early in the day for anything else.

"Of course they are," Dino said with a laugh. "They're the sons of lord Noel, the ruler of these lands. Babylon is just one of the hundreds of small towns under their family's rule, so it's very rare for any of them to visit. Every dozen or so years, someone from the lord's family makes an appearance to make sure everything is going okay.

"As for the Noel brothers, they're even more beloved than the lord himself. Though they're upper class folk, they both are very friendly. There are even countless stories of them even helping the common folk if they spot someone in trouble. Lord Pvarti even saved my grandfather's farm once," Dino told with pride in his voice.

His story, though, made Lex realize that Pvarti was probably a few hundred years old himself, despite him acting like a teenager in search of excitement.

The fact that baffled Lex, though, was that the lord of these lands was actually a human. Not that he was looking down on the human race or anything, but when he compared the wealth that the map showed in this area, he was expecting it to be ruled by the Crystal race.

That wasn't to say that this was the richest plot of land in the realm, but it was definitely up there on the list, so he expected a more powerful race to control it.

If not the Crystal race, then even the Trelops would make more sense. The unusual way in which they integrated with nature, making entire forests and other landscapes their bodies made them ridiculously powerful. Lex even expected that, if Trelops existed back in the Origin realm, if they became strong enough they could probably even treat entire planets as their bodies.

He made a note to learn more about this neutral territory, without arousing suspicion of course.

"There's a rumor," Dino continued his story, not noticing Lex lost in his thoughts, "that lord Pvarti actually broke off an engagement that his father arranged for him. They say the lord is furious, and is planning on seriously punishing the young lord."

"That makes sense. Bertram said that he was delaying going home," Lex informed Dino, adding to the juicy piece of gossip. Nothing helped integrate people into communities more than sharing gossip.

"Hahahaha indeed! Oh my wife will be so sad we missed them when she hears about this," Dino said, barely containing his laughter. "I should get back to my bakery or else we'll just spend the day chatting like this. Good luck with the sisters, though you don't have to be lenient on my account. They're good girls so I expect they'll work hard, but if you don't think so, then don't hesitate to tell them no."

"Thanks, I'll let you know how things go," Lex said. How well they performed really depended on if he got any guests. An empty tavern would make it very hard for him to judge how well they worked.

"Oh and uh," Dino suddenly said, his bright disposition suddenly changing to one full of hesitation and concern. "I meant what I said. If the Noel brothers compliment your tavern, expect a lot of rich folk to drop by. But well, just… just be careful if their sister comes as well. Just as much as the brothers are beloved, the sister… uhh, well she… just take care if she comes."

With that, before Lex could ask any questions, Dino rushed off, afraid Lex would ask him what he meant. Lex raised an eyebrow in curiosity. If there really was some trouble heading his way, it would be best to get some information on it.

He used the spatial formation to walk through the kitchen door and enter the backyard instead, and headed towards the Rumor room. Since whatever information Dino was sharing was likely rumors and gossip anyway, he believed this room would be just as reliable.

The room was akin to a small study station, with an oakwood desk placed against the wall, with a book placed on the desk. Lex took a seat and opened the book that seemed to have endless pages.

This book would list all the currently ongoing rumors in the tavern's vicinity. He didn't know how large the range was, but he assumed it would at most cover Babylon. He could read the rumors randomly, or he could specifically pick a certain topic.

Directing choosing 'Noel family - sister' mentally, Lex began to read from the most commonly circulated rumor, and slowly his expression started to worsen. The fact that all the rumors seemed so typical and predictable made Lex certain that they were likely true. In summary,

Pamela Noel, older sister to Pvarti and Bertram Noel, was an extremely spoiled girl. All signs indicated she suffered from princess syndrome, and was extremely dominating in her ways. To make it worse, her cultivation was not weak either, at the Nascent realm, but worst of all was that she was greatly indulged by not only her father, but by her brothers as well.

Lex prayed in his heart that she wouldn't visit the tavern, he was in no mood to babysit.

Just as Lex was reading through these rumors, at the other side of Babylon, another person had entered the Noel brothers carriage. Pvarti was sharing various stories of his adventures with this person, and when his tale finally reached a certain tavern, even Bertram couldn't help but mention that it had a surprisingly pleasant wine collection.

"Oh?" the woman exclaimed. "Even little Bert likes it. I'll remember to check it out next time I'm around."