The Innkeeper

Gerard, who moments ago had been struggling with the fact that he was not wearing a tie of a blazer, forgot his troubles at the sight of Lilith.

"My apologies for making you wait," he said, as he gave a light bow to show his sincerity. "I'll make it up to you in our next race by waiting at the finish line."

Lex's eyebrows shot up! So aggressive! Clearly this man had no shyness issue at all, so what did he need a wingman for? Shaking his head, Lex got off the cart as well and looked over to the other lady who was supposed to be his date.

Unlike Lilith, who was dressed in black and had red hair, his date was wearing a long, red dress and had pitch black hair that had been tied up in a bun. Her fair skin was free of any blemishes, and she looked quite enchanting in her dress. More importantly, he could tell by the way she stood that she was strong…

No, Lex! Don't assess the battle capabilities of your date!

It was something he had to remind himself. He would have tried to scan her, but his system was once again offline since he had absorbed the newfound system just a short while ago to continue the repairing process - not that he needed it. He could have recalled any information he wished to if only he focused on it. But he chose not to do that.

He stepped up beside Gerard, who had taken Liliths hand and kissed it. My goodness, the man was oozing charisma.

"Ah, Lilith, allow me to introduce you. This is my friend, Lex. Do not let appearances fool you, he only became like this after being crushed by the void while rescuing me and a few others. He should return to his normal self soon enough."

"Lex, it's a pleasure to meet you," Lilith said with an admiring smile. "This is my childhood friend, Cindy."

"The pleasure is mine," Lex said, as he placed a hand on his heart and nodded. Considering that devils were the largest number of his repeated guests, he had learned quite a lot about them, including some of their customs and etiquettes. The greeting he had extended was a formal one, usually done by someone powerful or in a position of authority. Doing so was not showing off, because then he would also be judged according to the position he had taken, and if he did not measure up then it instead put him in a position of dishonor.

"Shall we go to the well? I have been looking forward to your welcoming gift. I think putting it in the hands of fate was a bold move," Lilith said, as she extended her elbow.

Without any hesitation, as if he had done so countless times, Gerard put his arm in the opening she created, locking elbow with her.

"Tell me about these welcoming gifts. I am not familiar with them."

It was only an immense amount of self control that stopped Lex from dropping his jaw as he saw the couple walk forward with arms locked. What about them looked like this was their first date?

Fortunately, Cindy was similarly stunned, and apparently had not been able to hold herself back the way Lex did. But she quickly caught herself, and looked towards Lex apologetically. Before she could say anything, Lex extended his spirit sense to her.

"Clearly you're just as interested in the two of them as I am. Want to take the pressure off, and just observe them?"

She was taken aback by how forward Lex was, but then nodded.

"Lilith has turned down many excellent devils before, of extremely noble stock. I really want to see what makes this Gerard so special - that's why I came," she admitted frankly.

"I'm also curious about who can catch the interest of Gerard. Let's keep up."

Cindy and Lex quickly caught up with the two lovebirds, who hadn't noticed that they had fallen back at all.

"A welcoming gift is the opening move in a courtship. It is supposed to be a symbolic representation of the relationship two will share if it comes to blood. Normally, great care is taken to address each aspect of it, as its insinuation can be extremely nuanced. But to leave such a thing in the hands of fate, it is incredibly bold. I am looking forward to seeing what you fish out."

"How exciting. Unfortunately, the Fishing well is technically not working in its full capacity since everything in the Inn is still getting used to the new realm. But, in preparation for this, I had someone commission a replica of the well. We'll have to see how it works out."

Indeed, all the Inn's services besides the rooms were not really working, so Gerard had requested John and Xeon to help him in this endeavor. They had created a well for him to use, though how well it worked was still to be seen.

The fact that the services weren't working was also one of the reasons Lex hadn't been in a rush to ask Master Haraash to go to the chamber of secrets.

Gerard stepped forward, reluctantly pulling his hand from Liliths, and grabbed the fishing rod that was placed beside it. He activated the well, and then, without an ounce of nervousness or hesitation, threw in the hook.

"I have a small confession Lilith," Gerard said as he continued to roll open the reel, letting the hook sink lower into the well. "This well might not be as random as I originally let on. After all, how can someone recreate the work of the Innkeeper?"

"Oh? So then you did plan what you'll be giving me?"

"Well, I selected a few options. Which one comes out is still up to chance," he said, then suddenly yanked the line, pulling out the entire reel in one smooth motion. At the end of it, in the hook, were car keys.