The Innkeeper

Normally, even if a Small Village was rented out, that did not mean that the area of the small village would become off limits to other guests. However, it remained within the renters authority to make the area private, limiting the entrance of other guests.

Considering the price of renting a Small village was 15,000 MP per night, it was well within reason that the person who rented it out should be able to do such a thing.

Leo stopped his thoughts from wandering as a man in heavy, silver colored armor approached him, a massive shield latched onto his left arm and an unnecessarily thick sword in its scabbard at his hip.

“The Village of Light is closed and can only be entered with appointment,” the man said, his voice booming as if he was afraid that Leo might not be able to hear him. “State your name and who you wish to meet. If you have an appointment, I will escort you to your designated conference room.”

“Hello, I’m Leo, owner of the Gamers Den. I don’t really have an appointment, but I’m interested in meeting Lovis, the leader here. I’d really appreciate it if you could see if he’s available. Or, if not, if you could let me know how to get an appointment that would be great.”

“Wait, are you a worker of the Inn?” the guard asked, doubt and confusion evident in his voice.

“Yes, I do work for the Inn, that is correct.”

“Is everything alright? Why would a worker from- no, no it’s not my station to ask. Come, I will take you to meet Grandmaster Lovis. He had recently attained promotion from the rank of Paladin, as is expected from one such as him.”

Leo was not too familiar with the ranks among the paladins, but he knew that their ranks also coincided with their cultivation realm. If Lovis, the leader of the Paladins within the Inn, had increased in rank, then that meant that his cultivation had also increased.

He had no doubt that the Midnight games probably played a significant role in making that happen, because of course, the Paladins had also taken part in it.

The Paladins had really made their rented village their home. The decor of the area was completely different from an ordinary village, sporting many statues of notable warriors probably, with heavy emphasis on symbols and engravings depicting a large shield and sword.

The color white was also prominent in the surroundings, followed only by silver and azure.

Leo couldn’t help but notice that every Paladin within the village was fully armored, not resting for even a moment within the safety of the Inn. None of them seemed too bothered by it too.

Many glanced towards Leo, a clear outsider, but did not pay him too much attention, going about their day.

Instead of taking Leo to a conference room, it seemed like the guard brought Leo directly to the Grandmasters office, which had its door wide open.

Lovis, a large bulky man, wearing an even bulkier armor, was sitting at his desk brooding over some paperwork, his long, gold hair neatly tied behind his back.

“Grandmaster, there is a worker from the Inn here to see you,” the guard exclaimed, his booming voice no doubt reverberating throughout the entire village. Yet Lovis seemed unbothered by it, and instead seemed more surprised to see Leo.

“Twice in one week – my this is a surprise. Welcome, welcome. Please have a seat.”

Lovis was quite nimble for a man his size, though that was not surprising. A glance was all it took for Lex to realize that the man was an Earth Immortal, though if he was curious he could have always just scanned him.

These days, lex hardly ran into someone whose cultivation a system scan couldn’t reveal. The only people he hadn’t tested it on were those who were Demi-Dao Lords or Dao Lords, and at that point it hardly mattered. So the days of wondering what everyone’s cultivation was were long gone – though by now he could tell personally as well.

“Twice in one week? Have you been visited by another Inn worker?” Leo asked in surprise as he entered the office.

“Yes, not too long ago I was visited by another worker who asked about our experience at the Inn and if we felt if anything was lacking. They wanted to discuss the Paladins officially declaring the Midnight Inn as a destination for some of our activities. As flattering as the offer was, it’s something that we must discuss amongst our senior members before deciding. Keeping our actions relatively unknown serves us well.”

“Ah yes, I heard about that. The Inn is making more of a push to better serve groups and organizations. Previously, all our focus was on guests as individuals. If you have any suggestions you wish to make to the Inn, feel free to submit them as now would be your best opportunity to see them fulfilled.”

“Yes, we will consider the matter carefully. Are you also here to discuss the same matter?”

“Oh no, not at all. I’m here for another, private matter. I hope you forgive me for intruding.”

“Not at all. We, the Paladins, take great pride in serving, and even greater pride in serving those who are truly deserving of it.”

For some reason, Leo couldn’t shift the flow of the conversation to an informal one, for he constantly felt like Lovis was better in his element with a more formal tone. Although it did not suit his own personal preference, it wasn’t as if he didn’t know how to navigate such a conversation.

“Well, to begin with, I hope to learn more about the Paladins, and clear up some possible misconceptions I may have about them. It appears to me that Paladins make use of Divine and Holy energy, both extremely rare and powerful energies that almost no one in the universe can easily make use of. I find it almost unbelievable that you are able to do so, but thought it was better to go directly to the source rather than continue to speculate.”