Although the tavern's construction was complete, there were still many things to tidy up. Pamela drew out the area for the backyard of the tavern. She planned to try and see if she could grow those tropical plants here. But considering the temperature of this planet is only in single digits, there's just a layer of rock underfoot with no soil, and even the sunlight isn't sufficient, this is undoubtedly a challenge of Hell Difficulty.
Pikachu first went to the basement to brew wine, then poured all the purchased beer and wine into barrels. In foreign taverns, beer barrels often have pipes leading directly to the bar. When you turn on the tap at the bar, beer flows out. He first invited the Dwarfs for a big drink, listened to their opinions on the taste of the brews, and then ordered some other drinks.
Shiller also drank some. Usually, he doesn't really like beer, but if he has to drink, he prefers lager beer. Pikachu also got some of this beer. However, because the surface temperature of this planet is low, under such circumstances, stronger liquor has more flavor. Thus, he got some vodka for making cocktails.
Shiller also changed the menu. Originally, he wanted to sell more Earth's specialty vegetables, but in this situation, steak and stew are more popular. Besides, Earth's meat isn't bad either, especially good-grade beef, which is more tender and juicy than most meats and should be well-received.
The morning after the tavern was built, everyone was busy. Pikachu was thoroughly cleaning inside and out, Shiller was preparing ingredients, Pamela was researching the backyard, and Loki became the first guest of the tavern.
Although the light on this planet isn't very good, you can still see the Sunrise on the horizon. As the sunlight streamed in through the door with the Sunrise, Loki walked in amidst the morning haze.
Unusually, he wasn't wearing a suit or his signature horned spinach outfit, but rather he was in Asgardian battle attire, with soft linings underneath and chainmail on the outside, and even had his hair braided, looking somewhat like an Asgardian Warrior.
Shiller raised an eyebrow in some surprise. Loki pretended to be bold, walked to the bar, and slammed the table: "Give me a drink!"
"What's gotten into you?"
"How do you do business?"
The two stared at each other, with Loki finally conceding. He sighed and said, "I just wanted you to get used to the kind of guests you might receive in the future. Asgard has expressly prohibited gambling, so patrol personnel can't enter the casino taverns, which makes them more likely to come here for a drink. These are the sorts of customers you'll have to deal with in the future."
"I was wondering why you're dressed like this," Shiller breathed a sigh of relief. He said, "Weren't you always opposed to imitating that Aesir manner before?"
"Not really opposed," Loki shrugged and said, "I just don't want to please them."
"Because you know you can't fit in, so you simply don't bother. But honestly, this outfit doesn't suit you." Shiller shook his head, walked to the bar tap, and asked, "What drink do you want?"
"Get me a light beer and a vegetable salad."
"Now you've blown your cover," Shiller chuckled, "They would only ask for the strongest drink and then the biggest meat steak, plus they have a fondness for pepper, always asking for heaps of it."
"How do you know?"
"Quite a few Asgardians work on Earth. You have to admit, Earth's forms of entertainment are indeed more diverse, and with the internet as a great weapon, on days without wars, they come to Earth for recreation of course."
"I can imagine their demeanor," Loki shook his head slightly, "The tavern owners in New York would probably wonder where all these Texans come from."
"Come on, do you think New Yorkers don't go online? Several Asgardian bloggers are really popular on TikTok. A general's one-punch alien monster event was trending for over a week."
"What a mess." Loki took the beer Shiller handed over, took a sip, smacked his lips, and shook his head, "It does seem a bit too light."
"Drink less. Don't you have pressing matters to attend to today?"
"I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it." Loki looked around, saying, "Are you sure your informant is reliable?"
"You'll know when you see him." Shiller said, "The Guardians of the Galaxy have already stirred up some commotion around Sparta Star. With your inside-outside coordination, the Skrull Empire will be in chaos for a good while."
Loki quickly finished the salad, set down his glass, and said, "Alright, I'm off. Wish me luck."
After saying this, he left. Then, when he saw the Skrull who looked exactly like Shiller on an imperial star near the Skrull Empire's capital, he thought it was just another personality of Shiller's. He just didn't know how he managed to blend in with the Skrulls. However, since it was Shiller, naturally there was no doubt. The two conspired for a while, preparing to stir up something big in the Skrull Empire.
The second one to come for breakfast was Pamela. She had been busy in the backyard, with dust still on her face. She went to a nearby faucet to wash her face and then sat down at the bar while wiping her hands, saying, "Give me a cup of hot red wine, a bowl of unsweetened oatmeal, and a meat pie."
"Are you really going back to the Middle Ages, madam?"
"What I want should be coarse wheat porridge and stewed artichokes. In the Middle Ages, only nobles could eat meat."
"Alright, what kind of meat pie?"
"You want it freshly wrapped? Then I'll have duck meat."
Shiller first poured her a large cup of hot red wine. The dough for the pie is easy to make, just mix the ingredients together. The ratio of meat to skin is important when chopping the duck meat: only putting meat will be too dry, too much skin will be too oily, and a lot of spices are needed, otherwise it will have a fishy smell. After Shiller prepared the meat filling, he wrapped the pancakes and put them on the iron plate to fry, the aroma quickly permeated.
Pikachu had also finished tidying up the guest rooms upstairs, he bounced downstairs and said, "The one on the far side is yours, Pamela lives in the second room on the left, I live opposite Pamela, and those two Cosmic Elders live in the two rooms on the right. It smells so good, what are you making?"
"Duck meat pie and oat porridge." Shiller scooped the porridge out of the pot, placed it in front of the two, then served them a stack of pies, served himself half a bowl of porridge and two pieces of pie.
After they finished eating, they sat at the bar drinking. Pikachu said, "Did you see the messages in the group? Isn't their accident rate a bit too high?"
"That's normal. After all, they're all novices and teenagers, at the age where they can't even drive a car properly, asking them to fly a spaceship, is a bit much."
"But spaceships are easier to drive than cars," Pamela said, "With the cosmos being so vast, no matter how you drive, you wouldn't crash into anything. Their accident rate is still a bit too high."
"Curiosity killed the cat." Shiller took a sip of beer, its faint aroma spread in his mouth, then he said, "It's all about curiosity and the urge to explore, otherwise, how could we catch those troublemakers in the act?"
"I knew you had an ulterior motive. But thinking about it, if we used drones instead, it would be easy for them to fool us, because those people are experts in electronics, whereas the behavior of the human race is unpredictable."
"Accurately speaking, it's a group of teenage players with strong curiosity whose actions are unpredictable. And I specifically mentioned in the newbie tutorial that when they discover strange things, they should go check them out. They naturally will head straight towards those peculiar things. Those places they deemed undiscoverable will probably turn into famous spots soon."
"Your robots here are somewhat rigid," Pamela shook her head and said, "But Brainiac isn't that easy to deal with, even as he was before, he was more flexible and adaptable."
"The Supreme Wisdom embarked on the wrong path. He didn't focus on himself, instead, he thought the answer was in society. He believed that once Electronic Life forms a society, it could get closer to its essence, but this leads nowhere. Emotional beings form societies because of emotions, which is unnecessary for Electronic Life, he wasted too much effort on this and couldn't extricate himself."
"But now his control over society is failing too," Pikachu said, "As far as I know, Kree are not completely under his control. You know, there are always anomalies in society, they only want to wait for the Supreme Wisdom to weaken. Perhaps the time is now."
"Whether it's weakening or strengthening, nobody knows until the last moment."
After Shiller said this, Pikachu gave him a look, understanding he must have another plan, but he didn't inquire.
Next up are the High Lord and Collector brothers. As they walked in, they surveyed the tavern, somewhat in amazement. The Collector excitedly said, "I must say, most places in the cosmos are cultural and artistic deserts, they simply don't understand the importance of aesthetics, always producing some worthless garbage. But the Nine Major Kingdoms are a magical place, this place is rich in artists, with a higher mastery of aesthetics than most civilizations."
The Collector sat at the bar and ordered a beer, then started explaining, he said, "When Mechanical Civilization reaches a certain level, it will naturally develop a sense of beauty, repetition and order themselves will generate beauty. However, this kind of aesthetics lacks vitality, I can't see the effort life put into it, which is the very reason I collect artifacts."
"Some races see art as a monstrous beast, not only do they not feel proud of the aesthetic value they create, but they also loathe and reject them. Although this makes it easier for me to obtain the artifacts I want, every time I see them, I feel like they're orphans abandoned by civilization, it inevitably makes one feel regret."
"I have quite a few items from the human race in my collection too. I've collected notes from Ancient Greek philosophers, papyrus, and sculptures from Ancient Egypt, I've even gotten hold of an edict from a Chinese Emperor. From these items, you can see that you take pride in your art, always wanting to manifest it in every aspect of life. Whenever I see them, I feel invigorated, it's one of the few pleasures in my long life."
"I'm glad you hold such a high opinion of the human race. But I still must say, only races that live with ease have such an interest in elegance. If living itself is difficult, constantly battling cosmic catastrophes over hundreds of thousands of years, or being trapped in prolonged wars, always having their civilization achievements destroyed, then indeed it's hard to produce any decent art."
"I don't like war," the Collector shook his head and said, "But the cosmos is always filled with war, the Nine Major Kingdoms are a rare paradise. I think I will stay here for a long time, hoping Earth can last until I leave."
"I hope so too. To Earth."
"To Earth."