The afternoon passed quietly as Luke and Nyx cleaned the kitchen together. The succubus girl worked beside him without complaint, and looked content and comfortable with the silence.
That was another thing Luke appreciated about her. Sometimes quiet companionship was better than words.
"I'm gonna go check the storage supplies," he said once everything was clean. "Make sure we have enough ingredients for dinner and tomorrow's meals."
"Want me to help?" Nyx offered.
"Nah. Take a break. You've been working all day," Luke said while drying his hands on a cloth. "Maybe rest in your room for a bit. We'll have another busy evening when Gralk and Millie come down for dinner."
Nyx hesitated, but then she nodded. "Okay. Call me if you need anything."
'I will,' Luke thought to her through the bond.
She smiled and headed to the staff rooms, in the corridor behind the reception counter, leaving Luke alone in the kitchen.
He opened the food storage dimension located in the kitchen and checked everything. Nyx had already recorded and placed stock cards on every item inside, making it easier to recheck.
They still had plenty of meat and vegetables, bread ingredients were good, spices were fine. Everything seemed enough for one week of regular service.
But he should probably think ahead in case more guests came. If word spread like he hoped, they'd need more variety, and different options for different species.
Some monsters probably had specific dietary needs, preferences, and restrictions as well.
'Arx?' Luke reached out mentally.
'Tell me about monster dietary needs. Any species that have special requirements that I should prepare for?'
Luke massaged his temples. All of that was way too much to remember. "So basically I need to be ready for anything," he said in resignation.
That made sense. Luke wouldn't be able to provide everything for everyone in a short time. He just needed to show that he cared.
Quality and genuine hospitality would matter more than having every possible ingredient stocked.
In the end, he bought some dried meats, extra spices, and a few specialty items that seemed versatile. Those were just enough to slightly expand his options. The coins from the Rafathar Kingdoms gave him plenty of breathing room to invest in growth, and he just needed to allocate them wisely.
Luke closed Arx's storage panel, stretched his back, then sat in front of the fireplace and fell asleep there.
—
The sun was already sinking when Arx suddenly woke Luke up.
He immediately jolted awake. "What? Who?" he asked, half-conscious.
Luke blinked several times, fully waking himself up. Then he stood and headed to the reception desk, while calling Nyx telepathically.
'We've got incoming. Two more guests in about half an hour.'
'Okay,' she replied quickly.
Within minutes Nyx appeared from her room, wearing her maid outfit. She immediately sat beside Luke at the reception desk, ready to wait for the arriving guests.
"Arx says it's a dwarf and a slime," Luke told her. "Any idea what they'd need?"
"Dwarves like strong drinks from what I've heard," Nyx replied. "And slimes… I'm not actually sure. Do they eat normal food?"
"Lol. More complications," Luke grumbled, but his lips curved into a smile. He was starting to enjoy all this unpredictability. The challenge of adapting to each guest's needs. It kept things interesting.
"Should we prepare rooms now?" Nyx asked.
"Yes. Use rooms seven and eight," Luke answered while checking the tokens for both rooms. "We'll handle dinner after they settle in. Probably stagger it. First come, first served."
"Sounds good," Nyx said as she took the tokens to prepare the rooms.
—
Right on the time predicted by Arx, the two guests knocked on the inn's front door. Luke straightened his tunic, took a breath, and opened the door with a wide smile.
A dwarf, barely four feet tall but built like a barrel, with thick arms, broad shoulders, and a magnificent braided beard that reached his belt. He wore leather armor and carried a massive pack that looked heavier than Luke himself. His gaze examined Luke and the inn behind him.
And behind him stood something Luke had never seen before. A creature with a humanoid shape but translucent, colored blue-green and shimmering like water given form.
The slime creature stood upright at around five and a half feet tall. It had no visible facial features except two glowing points that might be eyes. Its body rippled with every small movement.
"Good evening," Luke said, doing his best to keep his tone calm. "Welcome to Arx Inn. I'm Luke, the innkeeper."
The dwarf grunted, his voice deep and rough like two stones grinding together. "Thorin Ironfoot. This here's Slick," he replied while pointing his thumb at the slime creature.
The slime made a sound like gurgling water. Luke wasn't sure if that was a greeting, and decided it was.
"Pleased to meet you both. Are you looking for rooms?"
"Aye. Two rooms. One night. Maybe more if the place is decent," Thorin answered, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Heard from a lizard in the village that you run a clean establishment. True?"
Luke felt a mix of surprise and happiness. Gralk had already spread word about the inn, even though Luke didn't know how, since he hadn't seen the lizardman leave his room. "Very true. Clean rooms, hot meals, and a safe environment. We pride ourselves on quality service."
"Hmmm." Thorin hummed, looking Luke up and down, inspecting him. Then he nodded. "Alright then. Show us what you've got."
Luke stepped aside, letting them enter. Both travelers walked in, and Luke observed them.
Thorin's footsteps were heavy on the wooden floor, while Slick moved more like it flowed than walked. The temperature dropped slightly near the slime, and Luke assumed that water-based creatures like Slick required cooler temperatures.
Nyx emerged from the kitchen and bowed slightly to the new guests. "Welcome to Arx Inn," she greeted.
Thorin raised one bushy eyebrow when he saw her. "A succubus working the front desk. That's unconventional."
"We're an unconventional establishment," Luke replied smoothly. "But our service is excellent regardless of who provides it."
"Fair enough," Thorin said as he dropped his pack onto the floor with a heavy thud. "What's the rate?"
"Ten silver per room per night. Meals are extra. Five silver for dinner, three for breakfast."
"Steep," Thorin replied, though he was already reaching into his coin pouch, not truly complaining. "But if the rooms are as good as the lizard claimed, I suppose it's worth it."
After Luke recorded their names, he handed them two wooden room tokens. "Rooms seven and eight on the second floor. Your room tokens will only open your assigned doors."
"Magical locks?" Thorin examined his token with interest. "Clever."
"We take security seriously. No one can enter your room except you. And…" Luke paused, thinking about how to phrase the next sentence. "The inn itself is sentient. It protects guests who follow the rules."
Both Thorin and Slick looked surprised. "Sentient?"
"A mimic," Nyx explained calmly. "But bound to hospitality, so it will ensure guest safety."
Thorin nodded slowly, his wrinkled face showing no fear at all. "A mimic inn. Heard legends about those. Thought they were extinct," he said thoughtfully.
"This one isn't," Luke said. "And it's completely safe. As long as you don't attack other guests or break the rules."
Thorin laughed loudly. "By the stone! A living inn. Now that's something worth talking about."
He clapped Luke on the shoulder hard enough to make him stagger, and said, "Show us the rooms, Innkeeper. Let's see if they live up to the hype."
Luke nodded to Nyx, and she moved toward the stairs. "This way, please."
They headed up to the second floor, and Luke felt satisfaction settle inside him. Word of mouth was already spreading, and they hadn't even been open for a week.