The Innkeeper

Moving the tavern from one world to another was always a bit of a hassle, since all his existing guests had to check out, lest they wake up in a new world. Fortunately, it was very easy for Lex to just plant an idea into their heads prompting them to leave the tavern for whatever reason.

The only good thing was that moving the tavern from planet to planet was very easy, so he could return to Azula any time he wanted, which he planned on doing soon. He was not yet done with the saga of the huntress, the alchemist and the few others he had been guiding.

The tavern was also mostly hassle free. It was like a hitchhiker, jumping from planet to planet as it desired, and all he really needed to go to a specific planet rather than a random one was an item belonging to that planet. Since he himself was literally standing on Yildirim Utopia, that was particularly easy.

So even though the planet was not connected to the Inn yet, the tavern showed up. Now, since the tavern was already on the planet, he could easily send any worker he desired from the Inn to work at the tavern. That, naturally, included the Galactic Sovereign turtle.

Using Remote Presence, he appeared in front of the turtle as the Innkeeper.

Over the past fifteen years the turtle had naturally grown larger and stronger, even if it had not really grown up mentally much. The number of random pets it had adopted had reached dozens, though Little Blue, who was now a little older and even more mischievous, clearly and openly declared itself the first, and therefore favorite, child.

But besides that, there was not much change. He supposed it made sense. To a being that had lived for over 2000 years, a mere 15 years was not a long time, and thus did not elicit much change. For Lex that was a good thing.

"Do you remember Lex?" he asked, appearing nonchalant.

"Oh dear, oh dear, how could I forget him? He is the little human who keeps eating everything I grow. Just because it has berry in its name does not mean it's meant to be eaten. But he is in his growing age. I suppose it is to be expected."

"As if you don't enjoy feeding others with the things you grow," the Innkeeper said. "Anyway, he has found an abandoned child that is being mistreated by some people. He thought you might want to save it, so he is waiting for you in the Origin realm.

Even in his mind Lex did not blush as he blatantly ignored the turtle's complaints, and dumped the whole Jorlam situation as a favor he was doing the turtle. In Lex's mind, the image of a completely jacked, extremely buff worker appeared. After suffering constant defeats in his pursuit to create the perfect art, the Gardener had given up gardening and taken a sabbatical to bodybuild instead. His art would now be displayed through his own muscles. Although Lex shared some of the blame for the Gardener's consistent heartbreak, the turtle deserved some of the blame as well. As such, he didn't mind making the turtle suffer a little as well. Not that he would actually suffer.

"Oh well. Might as well take a look at the situation," the turtle said as it stepped out of the massive lake covered in lotus flowers. Many had noticed that lotus flowers had suddenly started to bloom everywhere on Menara, but they didn't think much of it. After all, it was just a flower.

"Good. Let me send you to him. If you can, listen to some of Lex's advice. It's very important that we save the planet he is on. It has extremely fertile lands."

Without wasting any more time, the Innkeeper waved his hand and sent the turtle to Yildirim Utopia.

When the turtle appeared in the tavern, it was on the roof. The turtle's body was much too large to fit inside the building, so when it suddenly appeared atop the building, its round shape above the building made it look like a giant mushroom.

But since the star of this region had recently been eaten, the world was plagued with darkness, so no one could see the comical sight.

"Oh dear," the turtle said as it hopped off, and then took a deep whiff of the fresh air. "He was right, this really is a good planet. Maybe I can finally plant some berries."

When the turtle looked up it did not see the World Eater approaching, for he was on the other side of the planet, looking away from it. But even so, it could sense something amiss.

Lex and Moon teleported over, and though it was dark, they had no problem in finding the turtle.

"This is my friend I was telling you about. Turtle, this is my sister, Moon. I'd love for you two to get to know one another, but first how about we deal with the small issue we're facing."

It had been, perhaps a couple of minutes for the tavern to appear over and for Lex to send the turtle here, yet the World Eater had already gobbled up another planet.

Why was that thing so damn fast? Lex had imagined that something so large would be incredibly slow.

Lex brought the turtle back to Moon's palace, just in time for it to see the World Eater turning towards their planet. It seemed that the formations he had used really didn't work.

"You think you could talk to that big guy up there?" Lex asked, pointing towards the sky. He did not need to be accurate, for as the World Eater came closer, it took up more and more of the entire sky.

"Oh dear, the child is hurt. No wonder he is so anxious. But injury is no excuse for a poor diet. Let me talk to it."

The turtle began extending some green vines that emerged from its shell towards the sky. But as they rose up into the air, they began to dissipate, turning instead into sparking fragments that flew towards the World Eater.

"Oh dear, that's not good."