The Innkeeper

A shellshocked Jolene, alongside a lovestruck Jasmine, left the tavern once the meeting was concluded, both with very different mindsets. Jasmine was once again bubbling with excitement. Previously, when she found out that the scale of the wedding would have to be reduced she was somewhat disappointed. The wedding didn't matter as much as the marriage, obviously, but which one of her siblings didn't have a lavish and exquisite wedding? She could really be blamed for having high expectations.

Jolene, on the other hand, was struggling between moral issues. More specifically, given the current situation, her upbringing and training dictated that she consider the greatest political benefits. Given the current global climate, the greatest benefit they could receive was to not be involved in the war efforts against the immortal Kraven army. Her entire family could be destroyed if they partook in that.

Yet at the same time, she could not bring herself to completely remove her family from the war either. Centuries of brainwashing by King Cornelius made it so that every citizen saw it as their most basic duty as humans to fight for the survival of their race against the Kraven. Caught between the selfish desire for survival and the duty to her race, she could not think too clearly. Ultimately, she decided to consult her husband and defer to his decision.

Jess, Jolene's daughter who had been coordinating between the tavern and their family, was also accompanying them back. Although it was unlikely that she knew anything, Jolene decided it was best to interview her thoroughly as well.

Inside the tavern, Joseph and Pvarti were left with Lex as they continued their discussion. Since Pvarti had reentered the Noel family, there was no reason to keep these secrets from him.

Normally, Joseph would not communicate these secrets with anyone, for his family was acting on behalf of the royal family by mining and harvesting these resources. But as someone backed by the Midnight Inn, Lex was least likely to be interested in their resources. Moreover, they recalled the deep relationship shared by Aegis, the crown prince, and Lex.

To Lex's great and utter disappointment, besides the Blue Crystal Essence which had been absorbed by the Lotus on his back and himself, nothing else was of too significant value.

But as it turned out, the excuse Lex had used was quite valid. Some of the resources hidden deep underneath Babylon were extremely volatile and were protected by numerous formations.

Should an accident happen… all of Babylon was at risk of being decimated by the blowout.

After the conversation ended, the Noel family left. Lex's plan to use their resources as a hidden backhand had failed, but through this meeting Lex came to realize another avenue he could pursue.

"So tell me exactly how it is that you ended up sending an invitation to a 'representative of the monsters'," Lex asked in a more of a curious tone rather than interrogative one. He did not know whether to feel impressed or surprised by Rick's feats and honestly he felt a bit of both. In hindsight, he should have considered inviting the monsters as well, but due to the fact that they have a naturally aggressive nature he had not even considered them. Yet it was true that they were also citizens of the Crystal race. The destruction of the realm affected them just as much as the others.

"We assumed that the fish monster that was summoned was profoundly dumb, and thus easily controlled by the scale you gave me. Yet, as it turned out, it was not as dumb as it seemed. Although it still obeyed my every command, and never tried to harm me, it also took a detour while we traveled.

"Naturally, as we traveled through the folds of space, I could not tell about the detour at all until we arrived at the destination. By then it was too late to do anything anyway. I was faced with a massive monster that spoke directly into my mind. It asked me where I got the scale, and would the owner of it give it to me. I had nothing to hide, so naturally I told him that I was given the scale by you, and my purpose was to deliver invitations to the royal families of some nations. Since the monster was pretty powerful, I showed him one of the invitations as well.

"The monster was already interested in coming to the tavern and meeting you after I told him I got the scale from you, but once he saw the invitation… well, he suddenly became very polite and asked if it was alright he attended as well. Naturally, I told him that it was not up to me, and that he would have to ask you.

"Afterwards, we spent some time talking, and as it turns out, we share many of the same interests. We became good friends, so then I gave him a few tips about what to do when he attends a wedding. He should be arriving a day before the event starts."

"You two… share similar interests?" Lex asked, his voice betraying his disbelief. What could Rick, the handyman, and an ever living monster of immeasurable power… have in common?

"Yes," Rick said, reaffirming his statement as if he had said the most reasonable thing. "When Edward Pattinfather, the monster, gained enlightenment, meaning he gained sentience, he spent a few hundred years masquerading as a human teenager. Every few years he'd move to a town and live there, attending the local academy so that he could learn about the world. As it happens, human teenagers often got part time jobs, so Edward often worked as a handyman at different places. He is a master at the trade, and I learnt much from him."

Lex was dumbfounded, and did not know how to respond to Rick. Rick, however, took Lex's silence as an indication that he should elaborate more on the topic.

"While Edward masqueraded as a human teenager, he formed many friends and often got involved in unreal adventures. One time he took part in a tribal war between two of the tribes living in a local Trelops territory. The war between wolves and bats was a fierce one, or at least it was for the human he was pretending to be.

"Another time, he pretended to fall in love with another human girl, only to be caught up in a teenage drama when another teenager from their local academy similarly declared his love for the same human girl. Later, he discovered that like him, the other teenager was also a monster pretending to be human. It was quite the emotional rollercoaster, as the girl was eventually revealed to be a daughter of the human king, who immediately recognized the two monsters and attacked them, causing them both to flee in terror.

"Once…"

"Alright, alright, I get it. You two are good friends. I'm glad you're expanding your social circle," Lex interrupted Rick. He felt like the list of unbelievable stories was actually quite long, so he did not want to get caught up in them.

After having dismissed Rick, Lex could not help but feel a little morose that ultimately, he was unable to invite the progenitor of the Sol and Frio birds. After all, everyone else had already seemingly been invited. The only major race besides them that remained uninformed about this was the Kraven.

But it was what it was, he didn't want to go to the Crystal race territory again. Not to mention, there were only a few days left, there was no time.

*****

Deep in the dark and barren lands controlled by the Kraven was a massive citadel built seemingly out of a single, massive spirit stone! But of course that was impossible. Such a massive spirit stone could not be formed in a realm as young as the Crystal realm.

This was, instead, the result of the ingenious engineering of the Kraven. Their means and methods were sorely underestimated by everyone on these lands, and that served the purpose of the Kraven well.

Inside a library where the shelves were made of bone, and the books consisted of skulls of various races, fitted with a strange crystal, a particularly lean and petite Kraven was reading. Among the Kraven, size was usually proportional to strength, but for some reason this smaller Kraven seemed to defy that rule.

"My liege," said a hooded, humanoid figure that entered the room. "There is a command from home."

"Oh? What do they want?" the Kraven asked, genuinely curious.

"You have been instructed to go to the Midnight Tavern in four days. No other information was shared."

The Kraven nodded, as if just that was enough. The humanoid figure also departed the library, without sharing anything else.

*****

Upon a tower that pierced the sky and far surpassed the atmosphere, two massive birds were resting in a nest made of the purest energy Crystal. Suddenly, the divine energy in their bodies stirred, and a revelation came to them in the form of a name and time. It was the Midnight Tavern, in four days.