The Innkeeper

Chapter 2026: Spread your legs

"Geeves, I’m telling you that there is no need to check my weight," said Lex as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "It’s a suit. It needs to fit my frame, not carry my weight."

"Absolutely absurd!" the tailor retorted angrily. "Any suit I make is not just another suit! The suits I make must be the pinnacle of my ability. It is the reason the Inn has had to hire other, more mundane tailors while I only deal with the clientele with at least Prestige level 4! Do you know what that means?

"It means I have even dealt with Celestial level guests! Although my current cultivation realm limits the extent of my ability, I still do not compromise on doing my utmost, which is why I have managed to maintain a strong relationship with all my customers. In short, I know what I’m doing so hurry up and go stand on that platform!"

Lex looked reluctantly at Geeves, and then at the circular platform that would scan him, and then sighed.

"By the way, the cost of the suits have gone up tremendously. I expect a premium suit for you won’t cost less than 39MT! Don’t be surprised at the price - it’s not my fault. A lot of the ingredients need to be imported into the Inn to make the suit. Since your physical strength is equal to some Celestial guests I have, then you need to be treated the same.

"That means an entire moon or even a small planet have to be taken as raw materials to simply make up for the necessary mass of the suit. Then, depending on the customer’s requirements, instead of finding a random planet or moon, we have to look for planets with high star ratings. We then need to buy rights for that entire planet, and then ship it to the Inn, which costs a lot of money. That’s exactly why I said the minimum price for a premium suit is 39 MT, but I did not mention an upper limit!"

Lex groaned, not because of the price of the suit, but because of his weight at 67 tones! Although he knew that he should not care about his weight so much. His body was absorbing literally Primordial and Dao ingredients, so it was natural that his weight would increase. That did not mean he was fat. He was just made of high grade materials.

"Listen, Geeves, I don’t mean to complain, but I’ve been forced to go naked too many times because my suits keep ripping apart. It’s quite embarrassing. I don’t need the defense feature - how about just a self repair feature."

The old tailor snorted as he pulled out a tape measure and began to measure the length of Lex’s ego.

"Nonsense," Geeves said. "The suit absolutely must have a defensive feature, even if that’s not the main focus. I have learned some new techniques, so I can try a few new things... for example... hehehe...hahahah.... Muahahahaha..."

Lex watched as Geeves erupted into a totally evil laugh. He wanted to say that it was out of character for the old man, but considering how excited he was when he planned to frustrate Lex’s enemies through the sheer defensive ability of his suit, meticulously planning the collapse of their minds... It seemed more like his true nature was slowly beginning to reveal itself.

"Yes, I see here in the questionnaire you filled out that your focus is on brute strength, fire, swords and karma. The others are fairly simple, but I can make use of your emphasis on karma."

Lex raised his eyebrow, curious as to how Geeves would do that. As far as he could see, nothing in the system interface should have allowed him to do such a thing. Could it be something he learned to do on his own?

"Yes, yes, this is perfect," Geeves said with a wide smile. "The more an enemy attacks you, the more karma they’ll build, and the greater karma you have with your attacker, the greater defense your suit will gain..." he muttered to himself as he continued to take measurements, now using his tape measure to check the width of Lex’s masochism.

"Wait, you can do that?" Lex asked, shocked.

"Yes, of course I can’t make the suit completely impervious to damage," Geeves explained. "However, up to a certain level, I can increase the defense of your suit the more your enemy attacks. Combined with a solid basic defense to build upon... this suit... this suit... muahahahaha..."

Lex sighed, and said nothing to Geeves, focusing instead on the Inn. Once this suit was read, Lex would wear it to deliver a letter from the Innkeeper to Eclipse, informing her of when he was arriving, and when he would host the tea party.

Lex himself planned on being absent during the party. Although this tea party was going to be a massive opportunity, it was also an incredible risk. All it would take was just one of the many Dao Lords probing too deeply, and the facade would be revealed.

The tea party would be a tight rope act, where he had to delicately and carefully handle the situation, all the while improving the Innkeepers reputation. It was very important that he keep the Innkeeper appearing aloof and yet powerful, for his own sake, and for the sake of the Inn.

"Spread your legs a little, I need to check the length of your dancing ability," said Geeves as he wrapped the tape measure around Lex’s thigh.

"What?" he asked, confused.

Yet he was not nearly as confused as Geeves, who was holding the tape at zero.

"Your dancing ability. I need to know it to know how freeflowing or restrictive the suit needs to be, but why is the tape going negative? How is that even possible? Wait, let me check again."

Lex groaned, and closed his eyes. He was half convinced that Geeves was a quack. If only he didn’t genuinely make incredible suits.