"So when exactly is the wedding taking place?" the Innkeeper asked amidst the cheering and arguing crowd. Since Pierre was a relatively new member of the Midnight. Inn, much like Brenda, they had no savings to speak of. To host a humble wedding was within their means, but not much else.

Yet with the depth of ties between the members of the Inn, not to mention among the members of the four houses, it was impossible that the wedding would be small or underfunded. The fight between Nyxheart and Umbragard about who will pay for the wedding was still ongoing, with both of them doing their best to be the ones to foot the bill.

"Well, everything was a bit sudden," said Pierre, scratching his head. "I hadn't planned anything. To be honest, I didn't even realize what I was doing when I proposed - it just happened on its own. The only thing I was thinking was that I don't know how Brenda will survive if I don't take care of her. Well, now things have truly blown all out of proportion, so I'm not quite sure how to go about it." The Innkeeper nodded, as if understanding something.

"Aww, stop it you. Quit being so cute," said one of the older female workers as she reacted to Pierre's story.

Many others reacted the same way, teasing Pierre and finding enjoyment in his embarrassment as he blushed upon hearing their comments.

"In that case, it's decided. We will hold your wedding in one month, and I will sponsor the cost," said the Innkeeper, and waved his hand. Ash, the designated wedding planner of the Midnight Inn, suddenly appeared as if teleported over. "Ash, I want you to plan out the wedding. Consult both the groom and the bride, make sure they both are satisfied with the arrangements - that is the only requirement. It... might be a little harder than usual, but I'm sure you'll manage," he continued, pausing a little when he realised that he could not predict what exactly Brenda's requirements might be.

The cafe was suddenly filled with cheering while Pierre felt overwhelmed with appreciation. He wasn't sure how to react, but the Innkeeper did not give him much time to react either, for he left after saying that.

Lex had many things to take care of, so he couldn't linger. Despite all he had done, Lex could sense that there were still pockets of irritation and resistance among the guests. Though the Inn stated that it would find a way to send them back, they were not satisfied. Maybe logic did not work on them, or they simply refused to believe what the Inn told them, thinking that they were being lied to. Whatever the case, the Security team had its hands full. The twelve Celestial Valkyries worked as a part of the security team but in truth their actual strength was barely at the level of a Heaven Immortal prodigy. Their purpose was more as deterrence than actual deterring.

As the Innkeeper, there were many things he could do, and as Lex there were even more. Yet this was not a time where he wanted to increase the fear and distrust. Acting against these guests would cause problems later. So, instead of going to them, Lex left the situation in the capable hands of the Security team and instead visited some of the major guest hubs, making appearances and assuring some of the guests.

He did not spend too much time on this, merely doing enough to raise morale somewhat. The Inn was now too large, with too many cities and guests for him to see in a short period - at least as long as he didn't use clones. Truthfully, Lex could make several weak clones that would perfectly fit the demands to appear in several places at once, yet he still avoided it.

The identity of the Innkeeper demanded his full and sincere efforts in everything he did. Using projections was one thing, but using numerous clones would cheapen his efforts.

Once Lex was satisfied that he had done whatever was needed to somewhat stabilise the situation, at least for a short time, he returned to his office and took out the reward Eclipse had given him.

This thing... he had pondered over it long and hard. It wasn't just that Lex was curious as to what the gift actually was, but he was also concerned about her words when she gave it to him. The small, wooden jewelry box contained something that had caused Eclipse to warn the Innkeeper to be prepared for the integration.

That could mean any number of things, which is why Lex had wondered if he should deal with this once he was already done with his tribulations! In the end, Lex decided it would be best to deal with it before returning to the Primordial Garden. What if Eclipse asked Lex whether or not the Innkeeper liked the gift she gave? What was he to say?

If he claimed he didn't know how the Innkeeper felt, that would be a blatant lie and it would be caught immediately. It was best to remain as truthful and honest in these situations as possible, thus he ultimately decided to investigate first.

He did not expect it would be anything bad - Eclipse hardly needed to plot against him if she wanted to harm him. Moreover, as far as he could tell, she had a straightforward personality rather than a conniving one. Thus, putting a tremendous amount of faith in his judgment of Eclipse, Lex mentally and physically prepared himself to open that jewelry box.

At the same time, he even went over all the system commands to ensure that he would be able to use it exactly as he might need in an emergency.

With all his preparations done, Lex took a deep breath, and opened the jewelry box.

Despite all his extensive preparations, Lex was not prepared for what happened

next.