Neither Paul, nor Mei were expecting Dragon-Lex to suddenly take out a tavern and place it down. Lex, on the other hand, had long planned this. The taverns were all internally connected, so his plan was to open up a number of taverns across the Origin realm, as well as any others he could gain access to.

This way, he could access multiple realms and send guests to and from those realms. The issue with such a setup was that then he would need to protect the taverns, but that was manageable. Moreover, he believed that this would put all those watching the Inn at ease.

If there were fixed and dedicated entry and exit points for the Midnight Inn, then it would not be as much of a threat.

The issue, however, would then be to make sure that the connection between realms via the tavern is not misused - or to be specific, to make sure he charged exorbitantly for such a service.

Returning to their own realm via the tavern would be free. Traveling to another realm would cost anywhere between 5000 to 10,000 MT. He wasn't quite sure if that was a suitable price yet, he would have to test it out, and compare it to traditional costs for inter realm travel.

"Are you... sure that this is okay?" Paul asked, somewhat taken aback. Mei, too, was stunned by this sudden development. This was a strategic planet, and having it accessible to a tavern of guests wasn't exactly ideal.

"The tavern can move once Mei gets reposted. Instead of following her around, the tavern can be placed on a strategic place where she can visit on and off, like Pansolis," said Dragon-Lex.

Pansolis was a 5 star planet near the main Henali Holyland, and it was located in the same galaxy. Lex had only brought it up as an example because that was the planet from where he had traveled to the Artica realm.

"I'll have to talk to the Henali about this, but it sounds feasible," Mei said with a hint of reluctance in her voice. "But no guests can exit onto this planet. That would cause a major breach of security. That means they'll be confined to the tavern."

Dragon-Lex waved his hand, as if ignoring her concerns.

"They won't be confined to the tavern. From the tavern, they can return to the Inn whenever they want. Trust me, this will be a good thing. In fact, for now, we won't even open the tavern to the general public. A Henali representative can use the tavern to enter the Inn and discuss the details of the tavern with the Innkeeper.

"We are planning on deploying these taverns to a number of places, and naturally the taverns will then have to be protected by the local governing forces. Once an agreement is made, Paul, you can manage the tavern's situation on this end. Now that everything is taken care of, I should be heading out. Unless there's something else that requires my attention?"

Mei looked towards Paul, unused to decisions being made so quickly and decisively, especially from a large organisation. Didn't the dragon need to confer with someone before making a decision like this? Or was this all preplanned?

Paul, on the other hand, didn't feel that there was anything wrong with this whatsoever. It only made sense that the Innkeeper had already thought so far ahead, right? How else could he run such a successful inn?

Seeing that neither of them had any other concerns, Dragon-Lex withdrew the massive cathedral into the ground and vanished, leaving behind a single story building with a massive internal space.

All those who were watching from afar were stunned by the sudden change, not only because the dragon disappeared without any sign, but because there was small building left behind - one that looked like a house. Moreover, Mei and a mortal human were standing in front of it holding hands, as if a family was looking at their new home.

Surely that couldn't be the case... surely not.

Paul and Mei, realizing that everyone was looking at them, suddenly let go of each other's hands. Yet that abruptness made the situation even more suspicious. Fortunately, she knew exactly how to handle the situation.

"Contact the headquarters, update them on the situation. We can't be sure how long the protective barrier around the planet will last, or when the enemy will return, so we need to start the cleanup of the explosion right away!" Mei commanded, not giving anyone any time to consider other things.

Paul, unsure of what he should do, decided to investigate the tavern. Since he would be managing it, he should familiarise himself with it, right?

Unfortunately, Paul had no idea how difficult of an endeavour that was, for the internal space of the tavern was massive. Not only that, it was not an open land, like a Minor realm. Instead, it was an endless maze of corridors, rooms, services, gardens, and other amenities offered within the tavern. If he were an immortal, he might still be able to manage it. However, as he was now...

Lex, meanwhile, teleported back to the Midnight Inn, and reverted to his natural form. But he did not spend much time inside the inn, and instead teleported over directly to the Temple of Fasting.

It had been a long, long time since he'd been to the temple, and he found its halls quite nostalgic. Yet the nostalgia lasted only a brief moment before his eyes widened and he spread out his awareness, sensing the laws of the temple! The laws were not the same as that of the Origin realm! Heck, it was almost as if the Temple of Fasting was its own, mobile realm, but how could such a thing be possible? If it were a Minor realm, it still made sense, but he could sense none of the expected signs of this being a Minor realm, nor did it seem like an Immature or Mature realm. What was up with the temple?