"Apa yang ada di pikiranmu?" tanya Gerard, ekspresinya jadi sedikit lebih serius. Soal keamanan, dia tidak main-main, dan urusan ini yang melibatkan mereka berinisiatif mengusulkan perubahan cara kerja sangat memerlukan perhatian penuhnya.
"Kalau jujur, kalo sepenuhnya terserah aku, semua pelanggar hukum mendapat hukuman mati!" Luthor berkata, matanya menyipit. "Tapi apapun yang terjadi, kita tidak boleh biarkan reputasi Inn tercemar. Jadi, tingkatan pelanggaran beda harus punya tingkatan hukuman beda.
"Kalau begitu, kalo kita ikut cara aku, pelanggaran ringan buat pelaku pertama kali bakal dilarang masuk Inn selama setahun, sedangkan pelaku berulang dikecualikan permanen. Kita juga bisa ngehentikan tugas apa pun yang mereka lakukan atau minta di ruang Guild. Terlebih, tergantung seberapa parah masalahnya, hukuman bisa lebih berat lagi.
"Menurut yang aku tahu, beberapa pencuri pernah menyerang Inn beberapa waktu lalu, dan masih ditahan di Inn sebagai tahanan."
"Benar," jawab Gerard. Dia yang ngurus keamanan dan kebutuhan gizi para tahanan, jadi dia salah satu orang sedikit yang masih ingat soal mereka. Yang lain sepertinya udah lupa.
"Mereka pencuri yang menyerang Inn. Banyak yang ditangkap, bukan cuma dibunuh. Innkeeper nggak mau eksekusi mereka, jadi mereka disembunyikan di Inn sampe sekarang."
"Bagus, jadi mengikuti alur pikiran itu, kita butuh bikin dungeon, atau penjara. Tamu yang melanggar aturan sangat serius bisa dimasukin penjara atau dihukum lain. Tentu, soal kayak gini kita mesti dapetin izin Innkeeper, tapi kita harus siapin proposal lengkap sebelum bawain ke dia.
"Lebih dari itu, aku perhatiin kita punya banyak kultivator kuat, tapi kebanyakan levelnya rendah. Kita harus siapin rencana rekrutmen mateng dan bawain ke Innkeeper. Beberapa tamu benar-benar berbakat dan kita harus manfaatin sebaik mungkin.
"Saat yang sama, aku perhatiin kita punya banyak pekerja, dan semuanya diperlakukan dengan baik banget, tapi sangat sedikit yang dapet benefit tambahan yang bikin semua jadi komplisen. Aku pikir kita harus desain sistem promosi buat memotivasi karyawan biar kerja lebih keras..."
Kilatan jahat di mata Luthor semakin terang. Dia punya pikiran yang sangat kalkulatif dan matematis, dan Inn, sempurna sekalipun, penuh ketidakefektifan. Tentu, itu bukan salah Innkeeper, tapi akibat para pekerja, yang menurut dia kurang.
Innkeeper udah percaya padanya, dan Luthor nggak akan mengecewakan dia. Itu, dia pastiin.
*****
Lex ngasih Luthor pergi karena dia nggak duga bakal nemu tamu lagi dan mau jelajahi Inn yang udah lama ditinggal, tapi rencananya gagal.
Sejumlah karyawan Inn ngajukan pertemuan sama Innkeeper, karena mereka punya banyak hal buat dilaporin. Meskipun Mary udah ngasih dia tau soal semua urusan yang butuh perhatiannya, itu cuma skala besar aja. Detail-detail kecil soal Inn banyak yang kelewatan gara-gara absentia dia.
Nah, dia nggak bisa salahin siapa pun, dan kerjanya nggak jadi berkurang dengan mengelak. Dia mulai pertemuin semua orang satu per satu. Pekerja pertama yang ketemu adalah kura-kura Galactic Sovereign, yang minta kehadirannya di greenhouse.
Faktanya, seharusnya nggak disebut greenhouse lagi tapi farm, karena ukurannya masif dan outputnya hebat.
Ladang sayur ditanam di seluruh bukit-bukit curam Midnight Inn, dengan beberapa kebun buah di dekatnya. Formasi yang seharusnya nge-lindungin greenhouse udah di-upgrade berkali-kali, baik ukuran maupun fungsinya. Karena cuma dirancang buat membingunkan siapa pun yang masuk, dan mencegah mereka nyolong ke dalam terlalu dalam, upgrade-nya nggak mahal. Atau paling nggak, nggak terlalu mahal cuma 700 juta MP!
Hasilnya greenhouse tetap aman sampe sekarang, tapi sekarang Lex mikir menambah panen buah sebagai aktivitas buat tamu.
Pikiran acak muncul, dia mungkin dapet upgrade keren kalau dia bisa dapet semacam sistem pertanian. Lagipula, bantuan sistem dia sendiri buat ngejaga 'greenhouse' sangat terbatas.
"Gimana kabarmu?" tanya Lex saat muncul di depan kura-kura raksasa yang tempurungnya terkubur di tanah. Lex nggak tau dia lagi apa, dan nggak mau tanya.
"Ada kecelakaan kecil, tipis-tipis," kata kura-kura itu, pelan. "Ya, cuma kecelakaan kecil, tipis-tipis. Astaga, kenapa nggak ada yang pernah dengerin aku?"
"Kecelakaan apa?" tanya Lex, tiba-tiba jadi serius. Ini pertama kali dia denger kura-kura kehilangan kontrol atas situasi.
"Nah, seorang tamu bayar aku komisi gede buat tanam semai dan bantu dia tumbuh cepat di Inn. Karena kondisi buat semai tumbuh terlalu sulit ditemukan biasa, aku terima. Awalnya semua lancar. Trus semai itu tumbuhin kesadaran. Lalu dia menyatu sama Delinquent Viper Vine yang tersembunyi di bawah tanah Inn, dan ngambil alih sulur-sulur itu."
Lex sangat alarm mendengar berita itu, karena Delinquent Vines menyebar sejauh perluasan Inn, dan bagian sangat penting dari sistem keamanan Inn. Itu yang nahan pembuat masalah sebelum garda atau keamanan sampe. Kalau seseorang mencuri keamanan Inn... itu bakal jadi masalah.
"Tunjukin," kata Lex serius.
Kura-kura itu, setelah mikir sebentar, berguling. Tanah yang menutupnya terkelupas dari tanah, jatuh kemana-mana tapi ninggalin lubang di tengah di mana kura-kura tadi berada.
Di sana, di tanah, ada tanaman kecil, tapi sangat familiar.
"Igishima?" kata Lex, tiba-tiba terkejut. Dia ingat tanaman berkesadaran itu baik, karena dia pernah ngejutin dia waktu pertama lihat di Midnight Games. Tapi nggak bisa Igishima, karena dia inget dapet notifikasi bilang dia udah mati, dan saldo MP-nya dikirim ke pewarisnya.
Tapi tanaman itu terlalu mirip buat cuma kebetulan.
"Namanya McDonald," kata semai kecil itu, "Young McDonald."
"Halo Young," kata Lex dengan sedikit amused saat sadar... tanaman ini sebenarnya karyawan juga! Tapi beda sama kura-kura, yang ngerekrut diri sendiri jadi karyawan, kali ini sistem mengklaim McDonald lahir hanya gara-gara lingkungan unik yang disediain, dan jadi nerima dia sebagai bagian sistem berupa karyawan.
"Kabarinya kau sudah ngambil alih Vines di bawah Inn. Apa niatmu, semai kecil?"
Beberapa daun hijau di semai itu berubah warna, kayak malu.
"Aku nggak bermaksud begitu, janji. Cuma... kebetulan aja jadi gitu."
"Nah aku harap kau bisa terus gunain mereka buat lindungin Inn, karena kau udah ngambil alih kontrol dari orang lain."
"Aku nggak tau caranya..." kata semai itu, suaranya jadi squeak.
"Kura-kura yang ajarin," kata Lex, sebelum balik kasih kura-kura tatapan diam. Ini pertama kali dia kehilangan kontrol situasi, dan Lex agak lucu. Dia juga nggak lupa si kecit kecil udah terima pembayaran MP pribadi. Sepertinya kura-kura masuk usia nakal.
"Kabarin kalo ada apa-apa," kata Lex sekali lagi, sebelum teleport pergi ke pekerja berikutnya. Dia benar-benar punya banyak ground buat ditutupi, dan banyak kerjaan. Tapi, dalam arti tertentu, ini mungkin cara terbaik buat kembali ke flow hal-hal.
Dia pertemuin beberapa pekerja yang rencanain pernikahan Harry dan minta izin Lex soal beberapa hal. Dia pertemuin pekerja yang, tidak mengejutkan, naik berat badan gara-gala makan terlalu banyak makanan Inn yang extremely organic, extremely kaya nutrisi dan dia pertemuin beberapa yang cuma bikin alasan palsu buat bisa ketemu Innkeeper yang prestigius.
Dia pertemuin tim balap lama Gerard, yang jumlahnya bertambah banyak banget. Armada golf cart mereka keliatan di seluruh Inn, beberapa balapan melawan Midnight Train. Dia pertemuin Little Blue, paus terbang, yang jadi lebih cheerfull beberapa bulan belakangan, dan dia pertemuin beberapa hewan yang udah lama tinggal di Inn sampe mereka mulai kultivasi.
Semua berjalan lancar, trus dia ketemu Velma. Dia mendekati dia sambil tarik beberapa tas, semua penuh notebook. Dia punya laporan buat disampaikan, dan detail banget. Lagipula, dia ratu gosip Inn.
"What do you have in mind?" Gerard asked, his expression turning a little more serious. In matters regarding security he took nothing lightly, and this matter which involved them taking an initiative to propose a change in the way things operate was especially one that required his full attention.
"If I'm being completely candid, then if it were completely up to me, all rule breakers would receive the capital punishment!" Luthor said, his eyes narrowed. "But no matter what, we must not let the Inn's reputation be tarnished. As such, different levels of transgressions must have different levels of punishment.
"In that case, if we do things my way, the lightest transgression for a first timer will result in a one year ban from entering the Inn, while a repeat offender will get permanently banned. We can also suspend any tasks they're performing or requesting in the Guild room. Furthermore, depending on how serious the issue is, the punishment can be even more serious.
"According to what I know, some marauder's attacked the Inn some time ago, and are still being held at the Inn as prisoners."
"Yes, that is the case," replied Gerard. He took care of the prisoners' security and nutritional requirements, which is why he was one of the few people still aware of the prisoners. The rest seemed to have forgotten about them.
"They were pillagers who attacked the Inn. A lot of them were captured instead of just killed. The Innkeeper did not feel like executing them, so they have been kept hidden at the Inn so far."
"Excellent, so following that train of thought, we'll also need to develop a dungeon, or a prison. Guests who break very serious rules can be put in prison or punished otherwise. Of course, for matters related to this we will have to get the Innkeepers permission, but we should prepare a full-fledged proposal before we present it to him.
"Moreover, I've noticed that we have many strong cultivators, but most of them are at a low level. We should prepare a thorough recruitment plan and present it before the Innkeeper. Some of the guests are genuinely talented and we should utilize them to the best of our abilities.
"At the same time, I've noticed that we have many workers, and all of them are treated very well, but very few have additional benefits which has caused everyone to become complacent. I think we should design a promotion system to motivate employees to work harder…"
The evil gleam in Luthor's eyes began to shine even brighter. He had a very calculative and mathematical mind, and the Inn, as impeccable as it was, was full of inefficiencies. Of course, that was not the Innkeeper's fault, but a result of the workers, who he found lacking.
The Innkeeper had trusted him, and Luthor would not disappoint him. That, he would make sure of.
*****
Lex had dismissed Luthor because he wasn't expecting to see any more guests and wanted to explore the Inn he had been away from for so long, but it was not meant to be.
A number of Inn employees applied to meet with the Innkeeper, for they had many things to report. Although Mary had kept him abreast of all matters that required his attention, that was only on the large scale of things. The minor details relating to the Inn were many things he had overlooked as a result of his absence.
Well, he could not blame anyone, nor was his work getting any less by avoiding it. He began meeting everyone one at a time. The first worker he met was the Sovereign Galactic turtle, who had requested his presence at the greenhouse.
In fact, it should no longer be called the greenhouse but a farm due to its massive size and formidable output.
Fields of vegetables were planted over the sloping hills of the Midnight Inn, with several orchards nearby as well. The formation that was supposed to protect the greenhouse had undergone many upgrades, both in size and function. Since it was only designed to confuse any who entered, and prevent them from delving inside too deeply, the upgrades were not costly. Or at least, not too costly at only 700 million MP!
It had resulted in the greenhouse staying safe so far, though now Lex was considering adding fruit picking as an activity for guests to indulge in.
A random thought occurred to him, which was that he would probably get some cool upgrades if he got his hands on some kind of farming system. After all, any aid his own system gave him in terms of maintaining the 'greenhouse' was very limited.
"How have you been?" Lex asked as he appeared in front of the massive turtle that had buried its shell in the soil. Lex had no idea what it was doing, nor did he want to ask.
"There has been a small, teeny tiny accident," the turtle said, slowly. "Yes, just a small teeny tiny accident. Oh dear, why does no one ever listen to me?"
"What was the accident?" Lex asked, suddenly becoming serious. It was the first time he heard the turtle lose control of a situation.
"Well, a guest paid me a handsome commission to plant a sapling and help it grow up quickly at the Inn. Since the conditions for the sapling to grow were too difficult to find normally, I accepted. At first, all was well. Then the sapling grew a consciousness. Then it fused with the Delinquent Viper Vine hidden underneath the Inns soil, and took control of the vines."
Lex was extremely alarmed at the news, as the Delinquent Vines spread as far as the Inn extended, and were a very important part of the Inn's security system. They were what restrained any trouble makers before guards or security could reach them. If someone hijacked the Inns security… that would be problematic.
"Show me," said Lex gravely.
The turtle, after considering for a moment, rolled over. The soil that covered it was ripped from the ground, falling everywhere but leaving a hole in the center where the turtle had been.
There, in the ground, was a small, but very familiar plant.
"Igishima?" Lex said, suddenly startled. He remembered the sentient plant well, for it had given him quite the shock back when he saw it the first time during the Midnight Games. But it could not be Igishima, for he remembered receiving a notification saying that it had died, and it's MP balance had been sent to its inheritor.
Yet the plant looked too similar for it to be a coincidence.
"The name is McDonald," said the small sapling, "Young McDonald."
"Hello Young," said Lex with a hint of amusement when he realized that… this plant was actually an employee as well! But unlike the turtle, which had hired itself as an employee, this time the system claimed McDonald as having been born only due to the unique environment it provided, and so accepted it as a part of the system in the form of an employee.
"I have been told that you've taken over the Vines underneath the Inn. What are your intentions, little sapling?"
The few green leaves on the sapling changed color, as if blushing out of embarrassment.
"I didn't mean to do it, promise. It just... kind of happened."
"Well I hope you can continue to use them to protect the Inn, since you've taken control away from everyone else."
"I don't know how…" said the sapling, its voice reduced to a squeak.
"The turtle will teach you," said Lex, before turning to give the turtle a silent look. This was the first time he had lost control of the situation, and Lex kind of found it amusing. He also did not forget the little scamper had been accepting MP payments privately. It seemed the turtle was entering its mischievous age.
"Let me know if there's anything else," said Lex one last time, before teleporting away to his next worker. He really had a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of work to do. But, in a way, this was probably the best way to settle back into the flow of things.
He met with a few workers who were planning Harry's wedding and wanted Lex's permission with a few things. He met with workers who had, predictably, gained a bit of weight from eating too much of the Inn's extremely organic, extremely nutrient rich foods and he met with a few who were just making up fake excuses to be able to meet the prestigious Innkeeper.
He met with Gerards old racing crew, who had grown vastly in numbers now. Their fleet of golf carts could be seen all over the Inn, some even racing against the Midnight Train. He met with Little Blue, the flying whale, who had grown a lot more cheerful these past few months, and he met some of the animals who had been living at the Inn for so long that they began cultivating.
Everything was going well, then he met with Velma. She approached him pulling behind her several bags, all full of notebooks. She had reports to give, and they were extremely detailed. After all, she was the gossip queen of the Inn.
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