The Innkeeper

Chapter 1391  The chosen one III

With great trepidation, as well as an equal amount of anticipation, Tetsuya swallowed the grass blade, and felt it dissolve even as it traveled down his throat. It did not heal him or anything like that, but he felt his Golden core get a bit warmer, as if it was being refined. The warmth was slight, but it lingered, meaning that the effect was not a short one.

Tetsuya's eyes expanded with wonder, and he was about to snatch a fistful of grass from the ground when he heard someone clear their throat.

Lex was standing on the side, looking at him awkwardly.

"Please don't destroy tavern property," Lex said, wondering why he was getting strange guests all of a sudden. This was never a problem at the Inn. Or, well, statistically speaking, it was much less of a problem. At the Inn, maybe 1 out of a million guests tried to do something strange, yet at the tavern one out of the two guests tried to streak, while the other wanted to eat the grass. Lex was familiar with the concept of touching grass, but this was taking things too far.

"Uhh, sorry about that," Tetsuya blurted, suddenly overly aware of his condition. Besides just the burning, bleeding and internal injuries he was carrying, his clothes were utterly ripped and revealed much of his skin.

Compared to the pure white thobe that the man opposite him was wearing, Tetsuya looked like a homeless man. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"My apologies, I did not know this place was a tavern," Tetsuya said as he fixed his posture and let the grass fall to the floor.

Lex waited a couple of seconds, wondering if Tetsuya would recognize him, although Lex couldn't blame Tetsuya if he didn't. Not only was their meeting for a very brief period years ago, Lex had since shed and regrown his skin, not to mention turn into a meatball, and then regrow as a person.

He was also an immortal now, whereas the last time they met, Lex was in the Qi training realm. Things had changed a lot! Even though Lex looked the same, he also didn't. His posture, his confidence, his experiences had all shaped him into an entirely different being. It was not surprising that Tetsuya didn't recognize him.

But Lex was curious how he ended up on this planet, so he did not intend to ignore their history at all.

"I can't really blame you for that. I can't imagine there's a lot of grass around here. Stark difference from a place like X-142."

Tetsuya suddenly froze, and his eyes focused on Lex. But he made no other sudden movements. Lex was not surprised. The man seemed to have a history for being targeted.

Lex remembered back on X-142, Tetsuya was being targeted because of how much of a genius he was. He got in a few fights, was targeted by the scion of a large family, suffered an assassination attempt that nearly killed and basically crippled him.

Even now, on Arra-kiss, his state seemed to suggest that he was not the most popular fellow around. So Lex suddenly mentioning his previous planet would, of course, arouse a lot of suspicion. In fact, he was surprised that Tetsuya hadn't had a much more violent reaction.

"It seems you don't recognize me at all," Lex casually commented. "We met once after I bet on you during the Gugu fruit harvesting tournament. You stopped me from killing that Darius guy."

Tetsuya's eyes widened as he suddenly recalled the incident Lex was talking about and suddenly recalled Lex as well!

"Wait, that was you?" he exclaimed. "I remember that! You barely took out a few goons on your own. How did you get from… I don't know, fighting off random street thugs to running a tavern? And an incredible one at that!"

Lex smiled modestly, unaffected by praise and external validation for his own self worth was already too high. Oh, who was he kidding? Lex needed no validation for himself, but he loved that his treehouse was being complimented.

"How did you end up arriving on Arra-kiss all the way from X-142? All I can say is that life is unpredictable."

Tetsuya shook his head, then looked at Lex before turning to look at the Treehouse tavern. It was hard to ignore, and Tetsuya doubted very much that there was no secret involved with it. He himself was very curious about it, but looking at Lex, whose name he could not quite recall, and who he could not quite gauge, he decided not to test him.

"How I got here… now that's a crazy story. How I survived here, that's an even crazier story. But I think what's more important… is what I'm doing here. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the situation here, but this is not as peaceful a planet as X-142. The Empire that rules this place is nothing like the benevolent Jotun Empire.

"All beings born on this planet are slaves from birth, and every resource belongs to the Empire. They are cruel and merciless, and they will come for your tavern as soon as they are sure it's not so much of a threat. I don't know how you brought that… that giant tree here, but if you can, I recommend you start thinking of a way to move it away, or start thinking of a way to run away."

Lex smirked.

"I assure you, the Treehouse tavern is more than safe. Although I have not had the opportunity to meet a representative of the Empire just yet, I foresee a pleasant, cooperative relationship between us once I do. After all, we're just a simple business. This is a tavern. We provide food, boarding, and a bit of entertainment. There's not much else going on here."

Tetsuya raised an eyebrow and then looked down at the grass beneath him. His Golden core was still warm, which indicated that it was still being refined.

His first instinct was to warn the friendly tavern keeper about the true powers of the Empire, but the longer he looked at the grass, looked at the dew that literally brought him from the brink of exhaustion back to full health, and saw how comfortably Lex was standing atop that grass, not even considering it, the more he began to realize that perhaps he should not be worried about Lex after all.

This was not the kind of achievement a weakling could have, nor was this something that could be achieved by accident.

"Well, in that case, I wish you good luck," Tetsuya finally said, looking back up at Lex. "I should head off now. If people find out I was here, the chances of you reaching an agreement with the Empire will fall drastically."

"Oh how come? You have a problem with the Empire?"

"Haha, yeah I have a small problem with them," Tetsuya said with a smile. "I'm just heading a small rebellion against them, cutting off their access to their local workers and retaking control of the planet to give it back to the locals. Nothing too serious."

"Oh good, nothing too serious then," Lex said with a chuckle. "In that case, feel free to come in."

Tetsuya's smile froze. Although he had made it sound like a joke, it really wasn't. Was the Treehouse an excuse with the real reason being that this tavern keeper was secretly working against the Empire? That made sense, in a way. Who else would think of using a giant, conspicuous tree as a tavern on a desert planet?

Just as Tetsuya was about to speak, Lex tossed him a pair of glasses.

"Put them on, they'll hide your identity," he said, and started walking towards the reception. He could not help but think back to what the elves were talking about.

They said something about a chosen one fighting the oppressors from the shade of paradise. He wasn't sure if the chosen one for the elves could be a human, but Tetsuya fit the bill really well.

Although the guy didn't realize it, he had a knack for pissing off the wrong, or depending on the point of view, the right people. He was exactly the kind of person who would fall into the situation of defeating the junior, only to face the senior as reinforcements.

Now, Lex wasn't particularly interested in setting off a rebellion and changing the history of a planet, but he did have a quest asking him to do just that. If he could complete that quest before he linked the planet to the Inn and was able to return to the Inn, he wouldn't mind interfering just a little.

"Tell me, Tetsuya, have you seen the elves on this planet? They seem a little jittery."

"Oh yeah, the elves. I've met them," Tetsuya said as he put on his glasses and looked at his reflection in a small pond in the garden. Or maybe he was just looking at the water - it seemed kind of precious on this planet. "Actually, funny story. I didn't tell them my real name, and instead told them to call me Paul. I was trying to hide my identity - but, well, hiding ones identity doesn't work so well if everyone just knows me, and knows me as Paul."

Tetsuya was trying to drop a hint so that Lex would introduce himself. It felt too awkward to ask the guy his name now that he was already walking away.