The Innkeeper

Alexander looked at Will and then Slag. He immediately understood the situation. Foreign civilizations might have ulterior intentions and sharing information about Earth might end up being detrimental. Alexander himself raised the same concern with his grandfather. His grandfather told him that they could stop people for some time, but as more people started frequenting the Inn they would not be able to stop people from talking. To paraphrase what he said next, he should use his advantage to glean as much information about others as he could. The actual phrase about ‘stripping and whipping’ others Alexander didn’t want to think about.

“Please, no need for such formalities,” Alexander said to Will, and gestured to them to have a seat.

“Lieutenant Slag, please have a set as well. My name is Alexander.”

The Lieutenant saluted Alexander but did not bow. As a proud member of the Jotum Empire he did not need to bow before others, but he was still respectful. This youth seemed to be someone important on Earth and had a very decent cultivation for his age. It was not unprecedented to him, but he would definitely be acknowledged as someone very capable even in the Empire.

“I am not familiar with the Jotun Empire, so please excuse any lack in my etiquettes,” Alexander said, taking the lead in the conversation. “Is this your first time at the Inn?” Instead of asking directly about the empire, Alexander asked about how much they frequent the Inn. This would give the other an opportunity to talk a little about himself and introduce information about the empire that Alexander could then use to further the conversation. It was quite fortunate that he began the conversation this way, because in Alexander’s mind the empire was perhaps based on a continent, or a planet. It did not even occur to him that it spanned entire Galaxies.

“Haha yes, this is my first time visiting the Midnight Inn. As for etiquette, no need to worry at all, the empire is quite liberal in such matters. After all, with so many galaxies and cultures under the empire’s control, who can keep track of etiquettes? Since you are not familiar with the empire, I will give a brief introduction._.

“The Jotun Empire is one of the leading forces in the known universe, with control over various galaxies, and a proud member of the Henali alliance. We have a proud history of over 400,000 years and have played a vital role in reclaiming numerous worlds from the grasp of demons.”

Alexander did not show any look of surprise or shock as he heard Slag’s introduction, though the same could not be said of Will. Not even considering the matter of whether Alexander actually believed what Slag said, the Inn had trained him in the subtle art of not being surprised.

“It is very impressive to be able to maintain control over so much space,” Alexander said after a moment of careful consideration. “We on Earth are still gaining control over our solar system.”

Alexander’s answer was vague, but gave Slag enough detail to let him know the background of Earth. From what Slag knew, there were no inhabited planets outside the Vegus System in its proximity, and if the empire hadn’t interfered, it could be considered a planet with a weak population. Based on Alexander’s explanation, Earth might not be much better than Vegus Minima. In that case, maybe the Inn was promoting the growth of weak planets.

Suddenly Slag felt enlightened, as if he had gleaned some inner purpose behind the mysterious man’s actions. It was not enough to uncover his complete intentions, but it was a start.

“Tell me, Lieutenant Slag, will your empire be participating in the upcoming event?” Alexander asked, waking the man from his reverie. He still did not know if what he claimed was true, but if it was there would be no competition in the combat portion at least.

“I cannot speculate on the intentions of the empire, but I see no reason not to. The Innkeeper has been very hospitable and I’m sure whatever he has planned will be worth the effort.”

Both of them were speaking politely and vaguely, but neither of them were lying. Will, who was good at reading people, could understand the subtleties of what was going on, but did not feel qualified enough to participate.

“Tell me, young Alexander, have you ever wanted to explore the universe? You seem like a very talented and bright man, and the empire loves to nurture young talents. If you…”

“You know, at a glance your routine sure looks like that of a kidnapper,” a booming voice interrupted Slag, attracting everyone’s attention. A lean and handsome man was sauntering through the restaurant door. Without his truckload worth of muscles Marlo looked a lot less intimidating, but Slag immediately felt like someone had their hand wrapped around his heart. It was not the feeling of danger, or an impending threat, but the feeling of impending certain death.

Slag immediately stood up and readied himself for a fight. Even though his instincts were telling him he could not survive a clash, and his mind was telling him that the Innkeeper would not allow a fight, as a soldier of the empire he feared no enemy and shied away from no fight.

‘This must be Alexander’s protector’, Slag thought. ‘He must have assumed I have ulterior motives.’

Before Slag could rationalize the situation some more Marlo roared, “I’m a hundred times more talented than my stupid student. If you want to poach someone, poach me!”

With that, the man burst into a round of laughter as he came and sat down at the table.

“Velma, give me food. And lots of it, I haven’t eaten in days.”

“What would you like,” she asked, appearing beside the former behemoth.

“Anything. Everything. Bring me different dishes, and bring me lots of them. I’m not used to being so tiny, I feel uncomfortable. I need to put some more meat on my bones.”

“Chef’s choice, I understand,” she said, before disappearing once again.

Turning back to Slag, Marlo gave a wide grin. He was feeling great today, he had almost fixed the issue with his blood. He came out to celebrate and overheard Slag’s introduction. His instincts were telling him Slag was not lying, so he immediately became curious. Earth could no longer satisfy him, he wanted a larger stage. If this so-called Jotun Empire was poaching talents, he would happily volunteer.

“Now tell me Slag, what do I need to do to explore the universe?”

*****

Lex was standing silently in the detention room, looking directly at Useless Scrub. The investigation was much easier than he had anticipated. Faced with a much stronger enemy, the Liger was extremely cooperative. On the question of what planet he was from, the Liger was completely lost. He had no concept of what a planet was.

A few more questions later Lex could safely deduce that it was from Nibiru, as previously suspected. It was an overlord and in its territory it treated humans as slaves or servants. He did not completely oppress them, but only because he discovered that too much fear and oppression would only reduce their productivity. Just because he was arrogant did not mean he was stupid. Humans were the best farmers, miners, carpenters and all-in-all general workers around. It grew up in an environment of the survival of the fittest, and after many years of not only surviving but thriving it became extremely arrogant. Seeing a human standing upright in its prescience the Liger could not tolerate it, as it considered humans beneath it. To be clear, it was not discriminating towards humans specifically. All non-feline animals in its opinions were base creatures. As a ruler, it treated its feline followers extremely well and had created a very intricate society based on promoting its followers’ strength. With such a mind and experience, if it had not offended the system and then Lex, the Liger could have greatly benefited from the Inn. But its fate would be very different now.

Lex’s anger had already waned by now. His impulsive desire to have the guard kill the beast had also diminished.

Lex looked the beast directly in the eyes as he thought about what to decide. Lex saw intelligence, fear, and confusion. No longer being threatened for his life, Lex thought he would feel guilty if he ordered his death. After all, the situation arose from the beast’s ignorance. If he was taught there was a larger world outside the one it knew, and that humans and other animals weren’t inherently worse than it then perhaps the Liger would not react that way in the future. Perhaps, the Liger could be reeducated and reintroduced into its world to bring a larger positive impact. These were the thoughts going through Lex’s mind. Or rather, his heart.

For in his mind he knew that regardless of the reason, the animal had tried to kill him without a second’s hesitation. He could not show mercy to such an animal, now or in the future. So while his heart was still full of reluctance he simply ordered, “kill it.” The guard shot a single ray of spirit energy into the Ligers skull, and it died like the Useless Scrub the system had named it after.

Lex had killed zombies before, and wolves. Both of them were in situations where his life was in danger. This was the first time he was responsible for a death while he himself was not being actively threatened, and while his heart was full of guilt, this was a decision he made with his mind. He could allow himself to feel pain over a difficult decision, but he could not allow himself to get into the habit of making stupid decisions out of guilt.

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