"Boss Mag! Little Amy! I"ve missed you so much!"Before anyone had even emerged from the restaurant, Mobai had rushed out of the neighboring forge with a large hammer in his hand and an excited look on his face.
"Amy! Boss!" The doors of the restaurant were then immediately flung open as Yabemiya rushed out first in her maid uniform. She wore an elated smile on her face, and her slightly disproportionally large chest jiggled up and down as she ran, creating quite a mesmerizing sight to behold.
Looks like Miya"s still growing. She"ll probably grow out of those clothes soon, Mag thought to himself as his gaze lingered on the slightly tight-fitting maid uniform for a moment.
"Amy!" Anna was the second one to rush out of the restaurant, and she also wore a joyful smile on her face at the sight of Amy.
Babla was the last one to emerge from the restaurant, and even though she was trying to act more ladylike and reserved, the elation in her eyes was quite plain to see.
"Little Amy, Boss Mag, you"re finally back! This is splendid news." Xixi made her way out the magic potion shop across the street with a long-necked beaker in her hand. She wore an overjoyed expression on her face while blue liquid swirled within the beaker, and Lulu had also emerged from Mobai"s forge with a bashful smile on his face.
"Big Sister Xixi, Big Bear, Grandpa Mobai, Black Coal, Green Pea, are you all here to welcome me back? I"m so happy!" Amy waved at everyone as the smile on her face became even more vibrant.
"h.e.l.lo, everyone," Mag also greeted everyone with a smile. He then turned to the pa.s.sengers on the bird"s back, and offered, "It just so happens to be lunchtime now. If none of you are in a hurry, perhaps you could have some lunch at my restaurant before you go back."
"My thoughts exactly!" Kra.s.su was the first to reply.
Novan hesitated momentarily before also rising to his feet with a smile. "I"ll have to trouble you then, Mr. Mag."
"Come on, Teacher Luna, Father is going to cook for us." Amy dove headfirst into Miya"s embrace before twisting around to wave a little hand at Luna.
Luna gave a slightly apologetic smile as she said, "Then I"ll just have to be a shameless freeloader again."
The beast tamer that was piloting the white bird was also invited for a meal by Mag. Only then did he disembark from the bird"s back before quickly sidestepping a bear hug from Mobai. His entire body was covered in soot, and it was as if he"d just emerged from a coal mine, so Mag really wasn"t all that keen on a hug from him. He smiled, and said, "Boss Mobai, have you had lunch yet? If not, clean yourself up and come in over for a meal."
"Can we eat as well? We"ll pay," Xixi said with a smile.
"Sure. This one"s on me." Mag nodded with a smile.
"I"ll go get Master Urien." Amy jumped down from Miya"s arms before rus.h.i.+ng over to the magic potion shop.
"Why even bother?" Kra.s.su grumbled in a disdainful manner.
Mag picked up Anna in his arms and patted her little head as he turned to Miya and Babla. "Has anything happened at the restaurant while I"ve been away?"
Miya wore a wide smile on her face as she replied, "Aside from a bunch of customers coming over every day to ask when you"d be back, nothing else has happened."
Mag could imagine the scene of the customers lying sprawled out in front of the restaurant"s doors with pitiable expressions on the faces; that mental image was rather amusing to him. However, a thought then occurred to him, and he asked, "Where"s Aisha? Did she not come to the restaurant today? And what about Blour? Is he still not back?"
The smile on Miya"s face faded as a concerned look took its place. "Aisha said that she was going on a trip a couple of days ago, and she"s still not back yet, but she said she"d be back in time for the reopening of the restaurant. Blour still isn"t back, either."
"I see…" A contemplative look appeared on Mag"s face. Back when Blour had entrusted Anna to him, he had sensed that there was a hint of finality in his voice, almost as if he was permanently entrusting Anna into his care. Immediately thereafter, Sally had also gone on a mysterious trip. His brows furrowed as he thought to himself, Both of them are important figures in the elven race, and they"re both quite powerful as well, so surely nothing could"ve happened to them.
Mag put on a comforting smile at the sight of the concerned expression on Miya"s and Anna"s face, and he consoled, "It"s alright, they could be on their way back already."
Irina had already returned to the Wind Forest, and with her there, Blour"s and Sally"s safety was most likely a.s.sured.
Looking at Mag"s warm and comforting smile, Miya and Anna were instantly feeling a lot more rea.s.sured.
"Alright, let"s go in first. I"ll prepare some lunch for you guys." Mag carried Anna into the restaurant with a smile as he asked, "Anna, have you been practicing your cutting skills these past few days?"
"I have." Anna nodded earnestly.
"Anna has been really diligent with her knife skills practice. She gets a large bucket of potatoes every day, and chops them down into little cubes," Miya chimed in as she walked in behind them.
"That"s amazing," Mag encouraged with approval in his eyes.
Miya then continued, "The potatoes were bought from the market by Babla. She says that there are many kids on the streets with no food to eat, so she prepared those potatoes into potato b.a.l.l.s and handed them out to the children."
"c.r.a.p! I was in too much of a hurry to get home, and forgot to prepare food for the kids for these past few days!" Luna slapped her own forehead in a self-critical manner as she made her way into the restaurant. She then quickly walked over to Babla with grat.i.tude in her eyes as she said, "On behalf of the kids, thank you, thank you so much."
Mag also turned to Babla with a hint of surprise in his eyes as he smiled, and said, "You all did very well. Especially you, Babla."
Babla immediately blushed as she avoided Luna and Mag"s eyes in a fl.u.s.tered manner. She looked up at the chandelier, and gave an awkward cough as she explained, "I… I didn"t want to waste the potatoes."
Mag turned to Luna with a smile, and continued, "The funds for your foundation will arrive very soon. When that time comes, all of the kids will have food to eat. All of them should be thanking you, Teacher Luna."
At this moment, Novan made his way into the restaurant with a smile on his face. "The city lord"s castle and Gray Temple will ensure that all of the money will actually be spent on the children. Chaos School will also use some of those funds to expand the school and hire more staff so we can enroll these kids as soon as possible. Everything is heading in a splendid direction."
"In that case, shouldn"t we have a drink together?" Kra.s.su made his way into the restaurant with a smile as he proposed, "Boss Mag, can you get us a couple of beers to quench our thirst first?"
"Sure. Take a seat, everyone, I"ll go cook." Mag placed Anna down onto the ground before changing into a new set of clothes and entering the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Miya had already carried the beer onto the table.