The Innkeeper-Chapter 1513: Bait

Shireen looked at Lex and could practically read the urgency that was painted all over his face. Seeing how he was not in the mood for small talk, she got right to the heart of the matter, which also suited her just fine.

"Previously I asked you to deliver a letter for me, and you expressed hesitation. That is likely because you correctly guessed that it will not be easy to deliver said letter, and will likely face many obstacles from those who want to hamper me. Yet it is for that reason I also offered you a favor in exchange.

"Although, confined to the resort, I cannot make direct use of my power, I am not without influence either. Like I said, I have made many friends and contacts throughout my years at the resort, and all of them are well connected, influential people. Some might even consider you an influential contact I have made as a result of the resort."

"You aren’t wrong," said Lex. "But even if I want to complete your wish, I may not be able to. I have my own commitments and tasks that I need to complete."

"Yes, I concluded as much. That is why I have an alternative offer for you. Like I said previously, the reason I need to deliver this letter is to garner support for my granddaughter. Many will expect me to do such a thing, and indeed many will also conclude that I have asked this favor of you.

"My request to you is… to not deny such claims. Allow others to believe I have asked you to deliver the letter, and let them focus on you. Naturally, you do not need to do anything extra, and can just go about your life. But as a result, you will draw the attention of, if not the Seraphim, then definitely the Angels.

"I cannot deny that even this might carry some risks, but it is unlikely they will proactively try to harm you. The most likely scenario is that they will just try to warn or intimidate you. Even if you deny being asked to deliver a letter on my behalf, they likely won’t believe you."

"If they won’t believe me if I deny their claims, why do you even need to form an agreement with me? Wouldn’t it be more beneficial for you if you don’t make an agreement with me, and let them think that I’m delivering the letter on your behalf. That way, you don’t need to pay me anything and get the benefit anyway."

Shireen shook her beautiful head.

"I am not so insincere as that. Such demeanor does not yield long term, beneficial relationships, and will also affect my reputation, which will affect my ability to network in the resort. Moreover, if we do not form an agreement, we will not develop any contractual Karma.

"It will be easy for anyone to see there is no agreement between us, for our causality will not reflect it. However, if we do form an agreement, the presence of that contractual Karma in itself will become the greatest point of suspicion. Even if someone can read the line of Karma and detect what it’s about, there will always be doubt. For my purposes of diverting attention, that will be enough."

Lex leaned back, and thought about it for a moment. He didn’t mind doing her the favor just to help out, but things were complicated now. Every action and inaction would inadvertently link him to various interest groups.

He was already linked to the Humanoid Alliance just based on being born a human. He also could not deny ties to the Henali just based on the fact that his stay at the resort had been sponsored by them. The Versalis Bank was also linked to him.

He also had some level of an antagonistic relationship with the HOA, and apparently they would plot to kill him over the next many centuries.

Things were complicated enough, and every time he dealt with a situation like this one, he was further creating ties.

The one benefit to all of this was that lately he had been doing a lot of things as Lex, for himself, thereby creating Karma for himself. It was nowhere near enough to balance out his Karma, despite receiving Heavens Guidance, but it was a start.

He also had to think about what he had to gain from such a deal, and while Shireens favor was a nice thing to have, Lex had much more urgent needs.

"I can accept this deal," Lex said. "But I need a few things from you then. More specifically, I need you to source some things for me, and I’ll find a way to go collect them myself."

Lex sent forward a crystal, engraved with a list of all the things he needed. Lex had not been greedy with his list - he merely listed some of the items he needed to upgrade his Butter Knife, as well as some items he needed to create a Heaven back at the Inn.

Since Lex did not yet know how to create a Hell, he would have to wait a bit for that.

"That’s quite a list," Shireen said with surprise. "Some of these items, I haven’t even heard of. Others cannot be found so easily out in the wild, and usually belong to some force."

"Well, you are asking me to indirectly interfere in the internal politics of a major race. I think this is more than fair. Besides, I told you that I’ll retrieve the items myself. You just need to source them."

"That’s fair. How can I contact you once I’ve compiled the list?"

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This was a bit of an issue, since he was planning on sealing the Inn to realms besides the Origin realm. How did people get anything done without universal teleportation at their beck and call?

"You can have the list sent to the Henali within the Origin realm. They will be able to deliver it to me in the Midnight Inn."