The Innkeeper

Lex took in Kenta's words easily, as by now he was all too used to bumping into extremely strong cultivators. But while he was not surprised to hear the knowledge, encountering powerful cultivators outside the Inn was very dangerous. Not only did he have to maintain proper decorum to ensure he did not offend the other in any way, but he had to utilize this opportunity to the best of his abilities, and expand his network!

The greatest advantage he had in the current situation was that as someone from a neutral organization, the chances of being killed or harmed were extremely low. The categorization of a neutral organization was extremely difficult to attain, as this was one given through the Henali portal and not assumed by oneself. As long as Lex did not break any laws, he did not have to fear randomly being targeted.

But at the same time, he had to act as if his meeting with Hix had been exposed. Theoretically, there was no reason for a Celestial Immortal to be spying on him at that time. That was most likely even true. However, there was no guarantee that he could not detect clues on or around Lex.

Essentially, besides the system, Lex had to assume that all of his secrets were laid bare in front of the immortal. After all, the gap between them was too big. Lex could not even begin to imagine the power the elf in front of him wielded.

Fortunately, the reason Powell had sent him here to begin with was that even if Lex were to be discovered contacting Hix, there should be no issue. After all, as a planet of a true neutral organization, Tilaiya was often the ground for such clandestine meetings.

"My apologies for not acknowledging you sooner, senior," Lex said, though it was clear from his voice that he lacked the usual reverence and fear that was associated with meeting a powerful cultivator.

"Not at all. In fact, I would be surprised if you had acknowledged me earlier. I admit, I am curious, however, about how you can help this brat escape from under my nose."

"It is not difficult, because it's not my power that I would be using to do it," Lex said, before slowly lowering his mask. He had removed half of it to reveal his mouth so that he could eat, but that had revealed the gruesome state of his body. Now that he was done eating, he naturally would not continue to put himself on display, especially with a Celestial Immortal nearby.

"But, even though I can do it, that does not mean I actually will. Interfering in local political matters is no doubt illegal, and I still have work here that needs to be done. I don't want to be arrested. Besides, what would you even do if you managed to escape? Do you even know how to live life without the status of an heir?"

"Pft, if it were some noble pursuit I would at least be impressed. But no, what this no good son of mine wants to do is open up a small restaurant somewhere and create new cuisines. Truly a waste."

"What do you know about noble pursuits? I am a common elf with humble roots. Doing mundane tasks is in my blood! Creating delicious food is my divine duty, and even the status of heir will not prevent me from following this path. I-"

"Alright, alright," said Kenta's father, muting him with a wave of his finger. It seemed like he had heard this speech too many times. This elf… truly did not exude the usual dignity and arrogance of a peak cultivator. Or perhaps, because of his strength, he did not need to pretend to be anything other than himself.

"You're quite interesting, Lex. I sense quite a few auras on you. Let's see, there's that human, Jotun."

The elf said his name with derision, as if he did not like Jotun at all. But while there was derision, Lex could not sense disdain of him being weak. That either meant that Jotun was not exactly weak, or that Lex was reading too much into the situation.

"There's also some inscriptions in your body. Hmm, that's interesting, the inscriptions are using your body as talisman paper. Quite ingenious, but not good for you in the long run. Let's see, there's also… senior Zuri Adisa!"

Instinctively, the elf straightened his back as he said the name, as if even mentioning her required the appropriate decorum.

"You also have the aura of a dragon on you, the aura of a primordial seed, the aura of… my goodness, look at me. I could not control myself at all! I did not mean to pry, I was just wondering whose strength you could possibly use to take the brat away. But even with everything I've seen, I cannot find an answer. Now, I truly am curious.

"I'll leave you with an invitation to the brats wedding. There will be a lot of ceremonies, but in essence, the main wedding ceremony will be in five days. If you can take this brat away before that happens, not only will I not charge you with any crime, but I will help you remove one of the inscriptions in your body. Whoever placed them there was very skilled, but clearly they did not account for your cultivation technique. It's interfering with your growth. You should really find a way to get rid of them all before you become an immortal."

Kenta, who had been muted this entire time, was extremely surprised when he heard his old man speak. He tried to comment in the middle, but his words wouldn't come out.

Lex was also surprised, not by anything else, but from the fact that the immortal offered to help him voluntarily. That was not something he expected from someone who was supposed to be neutral. If he had to guess, it may be a way of him apologizing for investigating Lex.

Whatever the case, if he could get rid of the inscriptions, it was truly worth it.

"Are you sure it won't cause any problems? Isn't the heir important to you?"

"Ho ho, look at that confidence. You are quite certain that you'll be able to take him away from me. In that case, do not worry. Even if he is gone, Darmin will not suffer."

"In that case, I'll see you in five days."

The immortal smiled, before he and the heir disappeared from their seats, slowly fading away.

"Old geezer, that's not like you," said Kenta, who reappeared with his father inside a large mansion.

"I made a mistake. I thought he was a junior, but how was I supposed to know that he would have such a deep background? Since I saw that which I should not have seen, I need to repay him lest I become infected by his karma. Giving him this opportunity is my repayment."

"What did you see?" Kenta asked curiously.

The heirs' father did not answer, but an image flashed in his mind. The last aura he sensed, before he awoke from his stupor and stopped, was the aura of the accursed Cthulhu clan. He had flashbacks of the damned war they fought, and how devastating their powers were. He thought that clan had perished, so why was there someone who wore their aura still around?

He did not know, nor did he want to find out. The Origin realm was really not peaceful these days, it was best to stay away from trouble.

"You should prepare. Your first public appearance is in a few hours."

Kenta grumbled, but walked away anyway. There was no point in arguing. He did not really expect to be rescued by Lex, so he needed to maintain the best possible relationship with the old geeze. Moreover, even if he really escaped, could he really stay away indefinitely?

He turned back and looked at his adopted father. No, it was absolutely impossible. When he had to choose between freedom, and possibly becoming a Celestial immortal, he would choose the latter every time.

Back at the restaurant, Lex looked at the angry waiter with confusion.

"What's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

"What do you mean what's wrong? This is a restaurant, not a charity. If you eat, you have to pay. Three spicy bowls, so that's three Tilaiyan credits! If you can't pay, I'm reporting you to the police!"

Did the… did the heir as well as the literal immortal just… dine and dash? Damn, they could at least have warned him so he could have dashed as well.

On second thought, he could not break any of the laws here, apparently the whole planet was being monitored.

"No, it's just a misunderstanding. I'll pay right away," said Lex weakly as he transferred the credits. Now that he had stirred up a little trouble, his heart was finally at peace and he could rest. Maybe he'd even go back and take a nap - he couldn't remember the last time he did that.