The Innkeeper

In truth, Lex was not that worried. The system had always been reliable when it came to blocking passive attacks, so neither the sight nor the sound of the baby would cause any insanity. Though Lex could not account for anyone's loss of appetite.

The 'baby' who was fast asleep was a little over 25 feet (7.6 meters) in height. Its humanoid form did nothing to make it more amenable to the eyes, for the scaly tentacles that came out of its face took more than a bit of effort to ignore. The wings that spread out from behind its back might have given it a semblance of cuteness had they not been tipped with points hard and sharp enough to tear through metal.

As if all of that was not enough, then came the smell. Anita, as a new aspiring mother, did not lack for research in raising kids, and while she did her research, she learned of the common practice on earth to powder babies to help prevent rashes. As such, the dichotomy of the horror inducing sight, alongside the welcoming and pleasant smell of baby powder, was enough to confuse and horrify anyone.

Lex shook his head and turned his attention elsewhere. Since this was a festival, there were obviously many who brought their kids along. For those who wanted to keep their children on their own, there was an entire Inn filled with attractions to partake in. Yet Lex did not forget those who only wanted to drop off their kids, or wanted to roam separately from them.

One would think that to cater to such a situation, Lex would have just brought the festivities to the daycare area, yet that was not so. It was too obvious, and too boring. No, Lex had turned the entire spaceship into the new daycare!

The first thing to do was adjust its appearance just a bit. Truth be told, its size was so massive that it was hard for anyone to get a good look at its entire body from so close. Still, that did not mean Lex would ignore that aspect of it.

He did not disgrace the ship by making it colorful or plastering cartoons over it. No, he first cleaned up the ship for signs of wear and use were evident to anyone who paid attention. Once he restored the proper sheen of the silver vessel, in close collaboration with the planning department who cross checked against thousands of other spaceships, he added various weapons, though of course they did not work and existed only for appearances, esthetic curves and overall made it much more appealing to look at.

There was also an upper and lower deck found on top and at the bottom of the ship made of a transparent material like glass, but much more resilient, which Lex improved and made comfortable for anyone who would want to sit and enjoy the view. Of course, there were restaurants and cafes found in every corner as well.

The real changes that Lex made for the kids, however, were inside the ship. The automated, accelerated transport system for the crew of the ship was all too easy to modify using the system and turn into infinite slides and roller coasters of sorts.

The self maintenance and cleaning feature was extremely useful and worked everywhere, so Lex did not hesitate to turn the various portions of the ship into mazes and playgrounds. The antigravity and space combat practice chambers were retrofitted by Lex and turned into an extreme tag zone!

The self-sufficient farms of the ship were kept mostly intact, but Lex made areas where kids could play in the dirt, or try their hand at farming if they wished. There were swimming pools that seemed to never end, all with convenient, underwater breathing equipment readily available, so Lex did not forget to add underwater rides and playgrounds either.

Of course, not all kids were hyperactive and wanted to play all the time, and for them there were cozy areas with toys, food, sofas, beds and more.

The rabbits were in charge of running this new daycare yet again, much to their dismay. Lex, however, thought the idea would work out quite well. And it did.

The reaction to the newly upgraded spaceship/playground was so overwhelming that a multitude of adults wanted to join in as well. Well, so long as they didn't bother the kids, Lex saw no reason to stop them.

It had to be mentioned that the ship's own internal security system was extraordinarily impressive. That, alongside the extra hired security, ensured that the kids would stay the safest in the entire Inn.

Of course, using more of the ship's features increased Lex's expenses. After all, he did not have an appropriate energy source for the ship, and so powered it with MP. Still, since the use was barely 1%, if even, of the ships' capabilities, so the expense was bearable.

The popularity of the spaceship playground that Lex had built was only matched by the popularity of all the festival's activities, if only just. All-in-all the festival seemed to be going incredibly well. As if that was not enough, hardly anyone was causing any problems, so it almost seemed as if security wasn't needed.

Lex just thought his luck was turning up, but it had more to do with the hearth burning the souls of his enemies right at the entrance of the Inn than Lex realized. It was both a warning to any troublemakers, as well as reassurance to guests with security concerns that the Inn was not a place that just anyone could cause problems at.

A few hours passed by and all seemed to be going well when Lex got the news that Larry had decided to challenge Suzuki in the Murder Grounds.

The Murder Grounds were a new feature his Inn gained after Lex killed the man with the Murder system. Its original ability allowed Lex to target anyone so long as they were on a planet connected to the Inn, and teleport both the target and himself to the Murder Ground. Lex had to be physically touching someone to target them for the Murder Ground. Once there, both of them would be trapped there until one killed the other. There was no recourse. But it had gained an additional feature, which allowed Lex to rent the Murder Ground out so that anyone with a feud had a neutral location to resolve it. The concept was the same, and neither party would be able to leave until the other died. In the case of renting it out, entire armies could be brought in instead of just a one versus one.

Of course, when renting, both parties had to consent to using it.

Lex scanned the Inn, and found Lary confronting Suzuki in public. A few people had stopped to watch the drama, though most seemed to be passing them by.

"Oh come now, Mr. Larry. Is there a need to go so far? I told you, we both have much to gain. I have a lead on your family, and you can help me pursue my own goals if you help me with that. Why are you letting rumors spread by some strangers get in between such a lucrative deal?"

"You don't need to give me a speech, you just need to tell me if you accept. You'll never get a chance such as this to fight me again. Of course, the only premise is, you'll have to fight me yourself instead of relying on that lackey of yours."

Larry, naturally, would not make such drastic decisions if he only had to rely on the information given to him by Anakin. It was just that, once Anakin gave him the information about Suzuki, it was easy for Larry to verify it on his own. After all, Larry himself was more than just adept at using computers, and had access to all sorts of networks and databases.

Suzuki finally stopped smiling, and looked at him with a semblance of irritation. This one stupid bounty that he had accepted had taken up months of his time.

Moreover, he saw no other method to resolve it any time soon either for Larry either kept hiding at the Inn or in King Marlo's house. Both were places where he could not afford to make a move.

"Fine, brat. I accept your challenge."

A small, digital window appeared in front of both of them detailing the rules of the Murder Grounds and asking them if they were sure they agreed. After they both selected yes, they received another prompt, asking if they wanted their match to be streamed live!

WIthout hesitation, both of them selected no!

Suzuki wanted to keep his identity and occupation secret, while Larry had secrets of his own to keep.

After that, both of them were teleported away. Of course, Lex could still view their battle himself, and saw that they had both appeared in a familiar set of ruins. In fact, not only was it familiar, the damage from Lex's battle with the murderer was still there.

The two did not waste time sightseeing and immediately began their battle, and one of them had an immense advantage right from the get go! Lex's eyes widened as he struggled to understand what he was seeing.