"So there are more inns?" he then asked, referring to the ’previous owners’ he had mentioned before.
Maybe someone could guide him better—
"There are, but they’re not in this world, la~" Pang said. "Only one Hearth Inn can exist in a world."
Finn was a bit disappointed, but it is what it is. "Hmn, how were the previous ones? And how many have you gone through?"
"Two, la!"
Finn’s eyes sparkled and, groaning, he turned to face the panda. "Oh, great spirit Pang is so amazing," he said. "Can great spirit Pang tell this poor soul more about them?"
The panda obviously liked his wording because he got a bit talkative after that. "Pang’s first is from a world of monks, la.
"Those people have a life goal to be immortal, which is silly in Pang’s opinion. No one really succeeds, but they do get close. They spend their whole life training and sitting, which is just so boring.
"When the Inn was built, all they did was kill monsters and then sit back down. The form chosen for me was a great dragon back then, and I occupied about a third of this lot, la! I yawned more times than I chatted. So boring."
He said this with a deep sigh, as if he were a little boy dragged by his mum on an annoying shopping spree.
Finn bit back a chuckle. He had a feeling that the great panda-slash-dragon(?) would get offended if he did. "...what about the other one?" he asked. He was tired, yes, but he found this whole situation amusing.
Who wouldn’t have fun interacting with a talking panda
"The other is a world with machinery and traveling beyond the gravity of a star. They use the world’s power to move large metallic humanoid mechas to fight against insectoid monsters—they called them Zergos, I think—from other stars."
He blinked. So... cultivation and an interstellar world, right? Damn, this is interesting.
"What was your form in that world?"
"I was a quadripedal mecha, la," he said. "I was very cool. As big as the inn."
"This is the first time I’m in such a small body..." he said, patting his stomach (which was definitely proportionally not small). "I guess you earth humans just have odd concepts.
"Then again, according to the records, earth humans have always been one of the odder varieties..." he paused, narrowing his round eyes as he looked at Finn. "Or maybe it’s just the innkeeper..."
"...no, many humans think your form is powerful," Finn hurriedly explained, afraid the spirit would blame him for having a form not comparable to a dragon or a mecha.
"You are adored by billions of people, you know," he said. "And they make merchandise like pillows and keychains in your image."
Panda looked at him and determined he wasn’t lying. Suddenly, he felt quite proud of his body.
Finn gave an awkward smile. "Just out of curiosity, can you change forms?"
"The base is fixed per world, la," he said. "In the future, if I get summoned here again or in your old world, I’d adapt the same form. Why, la?"
"...nothing," he said, lying with a straight face. "I just think it’s so much better than others. What’s the use of being so big, right? I bet you haven’t been able to roam around the previous inns."
He nodded. "You’re right, la! I could barely move! And the previous innkeepers were so serious and quiet, la!"
He nodded. "Well, you’re in for a very different master this round," he said. He wanted to pat the panda again, but he was too tired and lazy to move right now.
Instead, he just continued with his questioning. "Their inns..." he paused, his amber eyes shifting to the beast nearby him. "Where were they built?"Check latest chapters at NoveIꜰire.net
"The first Innkeeper’s is right next to the demon clan, la!" he said. "The other was built on an abandoned planet near Zergos hideout. Since—unlike you—they’re locals in that world, they knew where the enemies were. They didn’t know many of the bonus requirements, of course."
"..." he cleared his throat. Rather than the dangers, he wanted to learn more about the powers they had used against those enemies first. Who wouldn’t want cultivation powers? "Is there a chance I can use those powers?"
"Huh? No, la, each world has its own way to convert the universe’s energy. They call it differently—mana, chi, aether, magic, essence—but they’re similar at the core.
"This world has its own, too," Pang paused, looking at his unmoving body that hadn’t even been able to defeat a single wildlife. "Though you have a long way to go."
"Then what happened to them? Did they succeed in the mission?" he asked. Thinking of how dangerous their locations were, he couldn’t help but be concerned for his predecessors.
He also wanted to know because he felt like it’d somewhat reflect a possible future for him, too.
"Well, they helped give their civilizations a fighting chance," the panda said, shrugging, laying down with him. Finn blinked when he realized the panda wasn’t saying anymore.
"...that’s it?"
"Pang can’t tell you more la," Pang said. "The Causality hates spoilers."
"..."
He sighed, though he still didn’t move much except turn back to the skies again, just watching the clouds pass by. The skies here were more saturated. He wondered if the night sky had more stars, too. "Then... just tell me what the Hearth Inn aims to do?"
"In the simplest terms: The Hearth System’s main goal is to provide a place for locals to rest and recover, la! They will need it, after all," Pang said, the last sentence sounding particularly meaningful. That said, it was obvious that was the most he’d say about the topic.
Finn’s amber eyes flickered as he listened, though they were still focused on the bright sky.
He remembered that in the inn he grew up in—despite the challenges and the occasional bastard customer they encountered—most people...left with smiles on their faces.
Except for those going purely on vacation with people they loved, many people entered the inn stressed, depressed, and had a lot of problems on their minds.
However, by the time they left, their spirits would’ve been lifted. He was still young at the time, but the difference was so stark even he could see it.
So...that was what he had to do? To do what his parents had done?