For a moment, the two of them sat in silence, enjoying and appreciating the moment. Lex, however, had a suggestion for Mary.

"You know, since you're offering everyone else some advice that you think is common knowledge, but even Dao Lords are appreciating it, why don't you offer me some advice as well? I'm increasingly concerned about how to keep the Inn hidden during this upcoming war, as well as uninvolved," he said, addressing his immediate concerns.

Mary sighed.

"I can try, but I get suppressed by the system at odd times. I can make suggestions, but if it gets to the point where the system thinks I'm beginning to replace the role or influence the host too much, it restricts me. But even if we ignore all that, there is one fundamental difference between advising the Inn and advising them!

"They actually have the strength of Dao Lords while the Inn only pretends to. A single wrong move could literally end everything for us. I could think of countless strategies to keep us away from any kind of action and keep us safe until you're strong enough to hold your own, but the very nature of the system makes that impossible. So..."

Lex sighed, mainly because he knew exactly what she was feeling.

"Yeah, it's a bit of a conundrum. In that case, why don't you help me with something else. After this tea party, based on everything I've gained, I'm finally confident enough to go after Damian. But at the same time, I don't want to provoke the Heavenly Overloads Association (HOA).

"To do any of that, though, I'm going to have to gather a lot of information, and make a proper plan. Why don't you help me plan out exactly how to get him. That way, you'll be keeping the Inn safe by minimising the chances of getting caught or facing retaliation."

Mary's expression slowly became sombre after hearing Lex's words. The inn, due to the nature of its business, came in touch with countless beings, many of whom could be considered evil or malicious.

But few ever came close to being as maniacal or diabolical as Damian, whose actions had directly harmed Lex and his family tremendously. The greater issue with Damian, at least in Mary's opinion, was that he did not seem like a radical member of a cult. Yes, he acted as if he had the best interest of the HOA at heart.

In fact, he humbled himself and played the role of a dutiful descendant just to further his goals, lacking any signs of having too much pride or ego, which is exactly what made him so dangerous. However, there was still something about his actions which made it seem like he had motives that they still hadn't discerned yet.

Regardless of all that, though, he needed to be dealt with. Whatever motives he may have, whatever plots he may be concocting, whatever his true or false motive may be, it did not change the fact that Damian needed to die.

So far, Lex had not acted out against him because he was not confident in his own strength. It was not that he felt he was unable to defeat Damian - rather, he was wary of the HOA. Now, though, he was a lot stronger, not to mention that he had made tremendous gains in his understanding of karma. While the conditions weren't perfect yet, he could at least start working on a plan.

In Mary's mind, there was one more very important reason why such a thing needed to be done. While this may not be a consideration Lex had made for himself, if he didn't deal with Damian sooner or later, the lack of action may become a Heart Demon for Lex.

Yes, Demons were subservient to devils and Lex could use that as one way of dealing with the demon, but that would not change the fact that it would create a weakness in his heart that would last forever!

So, whether it was for revenge, or for preventing Lex from suffering from a Heart Demon, Damian needed to be dealt with.

"Of course I'll help," she said with conviction. "Before we can even begin planning for that, though, we will need to make some amendments to the Midnight Realm to prevent our plans from getting detected. Our protective formations were decent up until now, but considering the enemies we'll be facing from now on, it's best if we upgrade a little."

Lex nodded.

"Yeah, that's next on my agenda after the tea party. Honestly, I'm avoiding making any concrete plans because I'm really looking forward to the quest reward for this tea party. Considering everything that's happened here, I'll bet it's going to be amazing."

Mary paused, and finally remembered that this whole tea party had, in fact, originated from a quest Lex had gotten. If that was the case...

"I don't think amazing is enough to cut it," she whispered, a strange light flashing through her eyes. "If I'm honest, I doubt anyone in the history of the systems has ever pulled off anything like what you've just pulled off. You were mingling with the literal peak powers of the universe, and I doubt that even all the systems together are as powerful as the beings you just met with. So your quest reward... I think it's going to be unprecedented. I can't even begin to imagine what the system could possibly even have that might be worthy of what you've managed to pull off."

Lex paused, and then smiled.

"I wouldn't mind becoming king of the systems. Or, you know, the system could just give me a list of what it has in the warehouse and let me pick on my own. Hey you listening to me, system? Take a hint! You better give me a good reward rather than something super powerful that's actually useless to me."

Mary chuckled. Lex may genuinely be one of the only people in the universe whose greatest source of trouble was getting treasures too valuable for him to actually be able to use.