"Sebelum kau lakukan apapun, ada yang mengirimkan pesan buatmu yang kurasa harus kau dengarkan," Mary tiba-tiba menyela pemikiran Lex, lalu langsung memutar pesan itu. Mengambil situasi saat ini, Lex tahu Mary hanya akan menyelanya jika itu penting, dan memang begitu.
Pertama, intervensi tepat waktunya membangunkan Lex dari kebuntunya. Dia sadar sekali lagi marah, sama seperti di X-142, meski jelas tidak selevel itu. Aneh, Lex tidak pernah punya masalah amarah sebelumnya. Tapi lagipula, dia hidup tanpa pernah benar-benar menghadapi bullying atau antagonisme terang-terangan. Untungnya, begitu menyadarinya, dia cepat tenang. Kedua, pesan itu memberinya jalan keluar tanpa harus berbekal kekerasan. Nah, tanpa *langsung* berbekal kekerasan.
Sebelum dia berkata apapun, dia memindai gadis nekat itu.
Nama: Heidi
Usia: 18
Kelamin: Wanita
Detail Kultivasi: Level Pelatihan Qi 3
Spesies: Manusia
Tingkat Prestise Midnight Inn: 1
Catatan: Bau seperti gadis dengan Daddy issues. Pacarnya bisa sangat beruntung, atau sangat sial – tidak ada opsi ketiga.
Tidak ada yang istimewa di statusnya, jadi menurut Lex perkara ini tidak layak mendapat perhatian. Selama ini dia menghindari masalah di Inn-nya berkat reputasi menakutkan yang dibangunnya, tapi selalu ada orang yang tidak dipandu logika. Bahkan, orang seperti itu mungkin lebih banyak dari yang logis, cuma Lex beruntung menghindar dari kebanyakan mereka.
Biasanya Lex menyapa tamu sebagai 'tamu terhormat' agar merasa nyaman dan dihormati, tapi kali ini dia tidak mau repot.
"Heidi, ini Midnight Inn. Kami bangga melayani semua tamu yang menghormati tata krama, tapi bagi yang bersikap tidak sopan, kami tidak punya kesabaran. Ini bukan perselisihan 'generasi muda'. Cuma kau menyakiti salah satu stafku, dan aku tidak diam. Sudah bukti ketabahan hatiku kalau aku masih mau jelaskan keputusan ini, apalagi hukuman ringan yang kutetapkan."
Ekspresi Pengelola Inn hanya sedikit terganggu, tapi semua yang menyaksikan merasa tekanan kata-katanya. Seperti perasaan tercekik, menindih dada, menyulitkan bernapas. Saat-saatnya, beberapa orang benar-benar takut akan terjadi apa, siap melarikan diri kapan saja.
Kebetulan Ragnar, Jenderal yang memimpin pasukan Jotun di sistem Vegus, datang ke Inn tepat waktu menyaksikan ini. Awalnya dia datang untuk berkonsultasi ke Pengelola Inn, tapi memutuskan menunggu sampai selesai.
"Karena kau dari planet tertinggal, masuk akal kalau kau tak paham kalau dilayani stafku adalah hak istimewa dan kehormatan, tapi bukan urusanku menjelaskan itu. Awalnya, karena kau cukup bijak untuk tidak benar-benar mencoba melukai stafku, aku hanya akan mengirimmu kembali ke planetmu dan mengakhiri farsa ini. Tapi sepertinya kata-katamu menyentuh saraf seseorang, jadi aku akan biarkan 'generasi muda' yang menyelesaikannya."
Heidi, awalnya marah, kini memerah malu dan cemburu liar. Dia menuding bullying dan mencoba mencorotkan nama Lex di publik karena terbiasa di sekitar orang yang peduli muka lebih dari segalanya, tapi ketidakpedulian menonjol di matanya memberitahunya kalau dia tidak pernah mengganggu stafnya, dia tidak akan masuk mata Lex seumur hidupnya. Ketidakpeduliannya hanya diseimbangi kepeduliannya pada stafnya. Kapan terakhir kali seseorang peduli padanya seperti itu?
Sebelum dia sempat pikir jauh, seseorang melangkah menghadangnya. Dia salah satu pekerja terkenal di Inn, Z. Bukan cuma punya keramaian ibu-ibu yang ingin memanjakannya, dan gadis-gadis aneh yang menganggap kemaluannya lucu, dia juga sangat populer di antara pekerja Lex.
Meskipun mereka semua kepribadian unik, kebanyakan pekerja Lex aura kebodohan, dan baru dengan bimbingan terus-menerus Z mereka bisa merawat diri sendiri. Tentu dia tidak menunjukkan kepeduliannya terang-terangan. Dengan gaji pertama 100 MP, dia suruh mereka beli HP, dan dia berbagi semua kekhawatirannya lewat server Discord khusus karyawan Inn.
Tapi sekarang, dia tidak terlihat seperti geek pemalu yang menghabiskan waktu di depan layar. Saat ini, dia menatap ke atas Heidi (dia lebih pendek) dengan tangan menyilang dan wajah jijik. Tak seorang pun menyangka dia latihan ekspresi ini di depan cermin setiap kali melihat protagonis anime keren.
"Karena menghina kakak Pamela, aku bisa nge-roast kamu sepanjang dan sekeras-kerasnya, malu-in semua diss track dalam sejarah. Tapi aku gak punya waktu buang buat kayak kamu, aku lagi nonton Overlady, jadi yuk langsung aja. Aku tantang kamu duel di arena. Kalau aku menang, minta maaf ke kakak Pamela. Kalau kamu menang, aku minta maaf atas nama kakak dan kasih kamu semua MP yang aku punya."
Dalaman hati Z terngiang-ngiang. Dia cuma punya 1 MP tersisa.
Heidi tiba-tiba sadar keramaian besar sudah berkumpul, dan sekarang semuanya menatapnya. Bukan cuma banyak tamu, perlahan lebih banyak pekerja Inn berkumpul. Ini pertama kalinya mereka hadapi situasi seperti ini, dan sebagai komunitas erat, mereka sangat khawatir pada Pamela.
Meski ego kembung, amarah dan malu mengaburkan pikirannya, dia mulai merasa tekanan di bawah tatapan keramaian raksasa, dan memikirkan apa yang bisa dilakukannya. Tapi sebelum sempat mikir, Z bicara lagi.
"Tentu, karena semua ini dimulai dari kalian memanfaatkan kakak Pamela, kalian harus ikut tantangan ini juga." Dia menatap Sean dan kawan-kawannya. "Tentu, aku hadapi kalian semua sekaligus. Jangan khawatir, aku tahu ini terlalu tidak adil buat kalian, jadi aku cuma pakai satu tangan."
Begitu Z mengucapkan itu, keramaian bergemuruh bisik-bisik. Lex merasa hatinya turun, tapi tidak memperlihatkannya. Dia sendiri ragu apakah ini Z yang sama yang tidak pernah bergerak dari depan layar TV. Dia tidak pernah lihat dia jogging, apalagi bertarung, dan sekarang dia melemahkan diri sendiri. Kalau gagal, Lex tidak tahu harus menaruh muka di mana.
Heidi, sebaliknya, tiba-tiba melihat harapan. Seperti dia tahu cara memanasin situasi, dia mengenali situasi ini baik. Anak ini coba pamer di depan cewek, dia sendiri pernah alami ratusan kali. Dia harus memanfaatkan situasi sebelum kepala dingin anak-anak itu.
"Aku benar-benar sudah lihat semuanya," dia berteriak, memastikan seluruh keramaian mendengar jelas. "Pengelola Midnight Inn yang terkenal suka nge-bully gadis kecil, dan kalian suka memaksa kami bertarung! Aku tidak sebarbar itu, tapi bukan berarti aku takut! Ayolah Sean, pergi! Atau lo cuma bisa menatap cewek-cewek murahan? Dan kamu, anak kecil, jangan nangis kalau kalah! Aku akan bikin lo mohon maaf untuk setiap tatapan kotor yang cewek jelek itu lemparkan ke pacarku."
Dengan memanggil pacarnya, dia menekannya untuk ikut bertarung bersamanya. Dia benar-benar butuh dia dan kawan-kawannya karena dia sendiri... tidak bisa bertarung sama sekali! Mereka hidup di abad ke-21, dengan latar belakang prestisius kapan dia butuh bertarung? Realm kultivasinya cuma untuk memperpanjang masa muda dan mengejar saudara-saudaranya.
Kabar pertarungan menyebar ke seluruh Inn hampir seketika, dan hampir semua tamu datang ke arena menonton! Sudah beberapa pertarungan rutin sejak duel Marlo dan Brandon, dan arena jadi tempat paling populer dan selalu penuh penonton, baik pendukung atau sekadar menikmati pertandingan.
Tapi tidak ada yang banding dengan keramaian masif kali ini. Bukan cuma karena semua tamu, tapi karena dengan izin khusus, semua pekerja di seluruh Inn datang ke sini menunjukkan dukungan untuk Z.
Mereka semua seolah anggap kemenangan anak lemah itu sudah di tangan. Hanya Lex yang khawatir di dalam, meski tidak terlihat dari luar.
“Before you do anything, someone sent you a message I think you should listen to,” Mary suddenly interrupted Lex’s thoughts, before directly playing the message. Considering the current situation, Lex knew Mary would only interrupt him if it was important, and indeed it was.
Firstly, her timely interruption woke Lex from his stupor. He realized that he had once again become furious, the same way he had on X-142, though obviously not at the same level. It was strange, Lex never had any anger issues in his life prior to this. But then again, he lived a life where he never really encountered any bullying or blatant antagonization. Fortunately, once he realized that, he quickly calmed down. Secondly, the message provided him with a way to resolve this situation without having to resort to violence. Well, without directly having to resort to violence.
Before he said anything, though, he scanned the audacious girl.
Name: Heidi
Age:18
Sex: Female
Cultivation Details: Qi training level 3
Species: Human
Midnight Inn Prestige Level: 1
Remarks: She reeks of a girl with Daddy issues. Her boyfriend could either be extremely fortunate, or extremely unfortunate – there is no third option.
With nothing special in her status worthy of note, in Lex’s mind this matter was no longer worthy of his attention. So far, he had avoided trouble at his Inn due to the clear intimidating reputation he had established, but there would always be people who were not guided by logic. In fact, there were likely more of those out there than the logical type, it was just that Lex had the good fortune of avoiding most of them so far.
Normally, Lex would address others as ‘dear guest’ to make them feel comfortable and respected, but this time, he could not be bothered.
“Heidi, this is the Midnight Inn. We take pride in our service to any and all guests who honor decorum, but for those who display impropriety, we have no patience. This is not a feud between the ‘younger generation’. It is simply you mistreating one of my staff, and me not standing for it. It is already a testament to my good temper that I even bothered to provide an explanation for my decision, let alone the light punishment I declared.”
The Innkeeper’s expression was only mildly perturbed, but all who were watching felt the pressure of his words. It was like a suffocating feeling, pressing down on one’s chest, keeping them from breathing. For a moment, some were truly afraid of what would happen next, and were ready to escape at a moment’s notice.
It just so happened that Ragnar, the General in charge of the Jotun forces in the Vegus system, happened to come to the Inn just in time to witness these things. He had originally come to the Inn because he needed to consult the Innkeeper on certain matters, but decided it was best to wait till the situation was resolved.
“Since you are from an underdeveloped planet, it makes sense that you cannot understand that being served by my employees is a privilege and an honor, but it is not my place to explain these things to you. Originally, since you were sensible enough not to actually try to harm my employee, I was simply going to send you back to your planet and end this farce. Yet it seems your words have struck a nerve with someone, and so, I will indeed let the ‘younger generation’ handle it.”
Heidi, who was originally furious, was now flushed with embarrassment and wild jealousy. She accused him of bullying and tried to discredit him in public since she was so used to being around people who cared more for face than anything else, but the glaring indifference in his eyes let her know that if she had not harassed one of his employees, she would never enter his eyes for the rest of his life. His apathy for her was only matched by his concern for his employee. When was the last time someone had cared like that for her?
Before she could think much further, however, someone came and stepped in front of her. He was one of the more renowned workers at the Inn, Z. Not only did he have a crowd of mothers wanting to spoil him, and the odd girl finding his shyness cute, but he was extremely popular amongst Lex’s employees as well.
While they all had unique personalities, most of Lex’s workers had an air of naivety to them, and it was only with Z’s incessant guidance that they took care of themselves somewhat. Of course, he still would not show his concern openly. With everyone’s first paycheck of 100 MP, he had them buy phones, and he shared all his concerns over a discord server for the Inn employees only.
Right now, though, he did not look like a shy geek who spent all his time in front of a screen. Currently, he was looking up at Heidi (he was shorter than her) with his arms folded and a look of disgust on his face. No one could tell at all that he practiced this look in the mirror every time he saw an awesome anime protagonist.
“For insulting big sister Pamela, I could diss you so long and hard, it would put shame to every diss track in history. But I don’t have time to waste on the likes of you, I’m right in the middle of watching Overlady, so how about we get right to it. I challenge you to a fight in the arena. If I win, apologize to sister Pamela. If you win, I’ll apologize on sisters behalf and give you all the MP I have.”
Internally, Z snickered. He only had 1 MP left.
Heidi suddenly realized that a massive crowd had gathered, and now they were all watching her. Not only were there numerous guests, slowly more and more of the Inns workers had started to gather. This was the first time any of them faced such a situation, and as a tightknit community, they were all extremely concerned for Pamela.
Even with her inflated ego, anger and embarrassment clouding her mind, she started feeling pressure under the gaze of the enormous crowd, and was thinking of what she could do. But before she could think of anything, Z spoke once again.
“Of course, since the whole matter started with you guys taking advantage of sister Pamela, you must join in the challenge as well.” He was, of course, looking at Sean and his friends. “Naturally, I’ll take you all on together. Don’t worry, I know this is too unfair a fight for you guys, so I’ll only use one hand.”
As soon as Z said those words, the crowd erupted in murmurs. Lex felt his heart drop, but he did not let it show on his face. He wasn’t even sure if this was the same Z who never moved from in front of the TV screen. He had never seen him jog, let alone fight, and now he was handicapping himself. If he failed, Lex wouldn’t know where to bury his face from embarrassment.
Heidi, on the other hand, suddenly saw hope. Like she knew how to escalate situations, she recognized the current one very well. This kid was trying to show off in front of some girl, she herself had experienced such things a hundred times. She had to take advantage of the situation before the kids’ heads cooled down. She would vent all her frustrations on him!
“I’ve really seen it all,” she yelled, making sure all the crowd heard her voice clearly. “The Innkeeper of the famous Midnight Inn likes to bully little girls, and the rest of you like to force us into fights! I’m not as barbarish as you, but that doesn’t mean I’m afraid of you! Come on Sean, let’s go! Or is the only thing you can do is ogle at dirty skanks? And you, little kid, don’t cry when you lose! I’ll have you beg for an apology for every dirty look that ugly wench threw at my boyfriend.”
By calling out her boyfriend, she put the pressure on him to join her in the fight alongside her. She really needed him and his friends as she herself… could not fight at all! They were living in the 21st century, with her prestigious background when would she ever need to fight? Her cultivation realm was only to prolong her youth and keep up with her siblings.
Word of the fight spread across the Inn almost immediately, and almost all the guests showed up to the arena to watch the fight! There had been a few matches here regularly since Marlo and Brandon had their duel, and it had become one of the most popular spots and always hosted a crowd, either supporting a fighter or just enjoying the match.
None of that could compare, however, with the massive crowd that was gathering now. Not only because of all the guests, but because after asking special permission, all the workers across the Inn came here to show their support for Z.
Every one of them seemed to take the feeble looking kids win for granted. Only Lex was worried inside, though one would not be able to tell by looking at him.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!
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