The Governor seemed pleased by the Innkeepers acceptance, and then excused himself to go convene with the guests that he had brought.

As soon as he left, the Innkeeper was approached by Ballom, Bridget and the Primal who all seemed to be getting along together.

"Innkeeper, you have been holding out on me," Ballom said with a familiar smile. "Here I thought you were a bit of a recluse. Who knew that your inner circle turned out to be legends from my childhood."

The Innkeeper laughed softly, revealing a less formal, more familiar side as well.

"It's nothing of the sort. I was merely aiming to test out what it was like to have multiple Dao Lord guests. This event will enable me to cater to such a situation much better when the Midnight Inn fully opens."

Yes, Lex was going with the excuse that the Midnight Inn was currently in the middle of a soft launch. It was not like he could pretend that the Inn had existed for a long time anymore. In that case, he would make it so that everything the Inn currently had was a work in progress. That way, if anyone found any shortcomings, he would have an excuse, and if anyone was impressed, his achievement would seem even greater knowing that he planned on improving things.

"You are such a gracious host, but you must give us an opportunity to host you as well," said Bridget with a large smile. "Ballom and I are planning an official wedding for us. The ongoing wars don't make for a great backdrop for a wedding, so as soon as this is over we intend to have a great celebration. You must come as well! Oh and, naturally, you are most welcome to bring a partner as well."

The Innkeeper seemed incredibly flattered by the invitation.

"It seems congratulations are in order! This is excellent news! Unfortunately, Bridget, for various reasons, I am unable to leave the territory of the Inn, so it will be difficult for me to attend," the Innkeeper said with great reluctance.

"Oh, nonsense! Please, bring your tavern as well - we won't mind!" Bridget said, not accepting a refusal. "Oh, and don't forget the plus one for the invitation!"

Ballom rolled his eyes, while the Innkeeper merely chuckled.

"In that case, I look forward to attending your celebration," the Innkeeper said. "I know just who to bring to the event too - she is greatly fond of weddings."

Internally, Lex was thinking of Velma, but everyone who heard him immediately thought that he was referring to Eclipse! If that wasn't an outright declaration of their relationship then nothing was.

"I must say, Innkeeper, that I have long heard of you, but all stories fall short of the real thing," said the Primal. "This is, by far, one of the best parties I have ever been to. You really know how to make an event exciting."

The Innkeeper nodded humbly.

"Thank you for your compliments, though I only played a small role in making this happen. The real thanks should go to Eclipse, for allowing me to host here," he said.

The mention of her name made the group turn their attention towards her. Eclipse, Harriot, Nulli and Crusty were chatting among themselves while Ventura and Voidmaw had headed off somewhere else. It seemed that everyone was mingling.

"Even so, your part in this cannot be underestimated. Please, if you ever want to partner up with Versalis Bank, especially in the development of your Seat of Power, you must reach out to me. It will be a great honor for me to participate in such an endeavor, and I will ensure that the bank gives you the best terms," the Primal said, clearly displaying his worth for the Innkeeper.

"I may just do that," responded the Innkeeper as he thought of all the expensive options inside his system for realm development. Although he was certain that, with enough time, he could afford those on his own, if he ever needed to rush, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a bank loan.

Wasn't it very common to get a bank loan when developing one's first realm? Not everyone could inherit a fully developed realm, and buying a developed one in the market that day and age? Impossible - financing was the only option. Heck, even the Henali worked with the bank to develop the Origin realm.

"Are you planning on participating in any of the ongoing meetings?" Ballom asked, diverting the conversation from pleasantries and networking. The war was all anyone was talking about these days, and for good reason. "Even though everyone is hoping the momentum will subside, signs indicate that the wars will only grow worse as time goes on. Too many forces have had too much time to prepare for war, and now their hands are getting itchy."

The Primal shook his head.

"I don't think it's that simple. Everyone is speculating that the universe will mature in the next few billion years, and no one knows what to expect. Who knows if there will be any opportunities for Dao Lords to grow in a mature universe since the realms themselves can no longer mature. Personally, I think this is a power grab. There are too many Dao Lords who want to use the pretext of war to practice their comprehension of laws as much as possible, and develop their Daos to prepare for the inevitable unknown of a mature universe."

The Innkeeper pondered for a moment, and then looked towards Eclipse. Did they not know that the maturity of the universe was in her hands? When the universe matured was up to her, at least according to Eclipse herself, and Lex believed her. The issue was… if it was a secret, why did she mention it so casually to him?

He would not get an answer so easily, just as he did not think he'd be able to discover the true reason for this war in this party. In that case, he might as well use this opportunity to collect as much information as possible to help out Jack.

He had a feeling that the timing of the wars was not an accident. Someone was trying to speed up the Nexus event - the question was who, and why?

No wait, Lex didn't care. The true question was… how could he benefit?

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