After breakfast, Yabemiya set off joyfully for the ice cream after securing a promise from Mag to teach her how to make ice cream cake when they had some spare time together. She was planning to fill up all of her free time during the day.Amy was still calculating math problems, while Mag instructed Anna in her knife skills. He then left her to practice on her own in the kitchen, and went upstairs to read a history book about the Norland Continent.
This history book was split into two parts, with the first part mostly detailing legends about the races during ancient times—it even included records of the origins of some races. The information perhaps wasn"t all that reliable, seeing as the events being recounted were from so long ago, but it still made for an interesting read.
During ancient times, the humans were a tribal race with frail bodies, struggling to survive in a world ruled over by more powerful races. Survival was their key priority, so they naturally didn"t pay much attention to recording their history. As a result, almost no events were recorded in the history books regarding the human race during this period of time.
In the second part of the book, it said the organization known as the church appeared 10,000 years ago, and it was also around the same time that magic casters and knights first began to emerge among the human race. Thus began the resurgence of the human race as the divided tribes forged alliances, and began to slowly become more powerful throughout the course of the war among species, becoming one of the eight major races in the end.
Mag looked at the historical records detailed in the book, and a contemplative look appeared on his face. The church seemed to be a savior that had swooped in when the human race needed it the most, providing cultivation methods for magic casters and knights alike, thereby completely changing the fate of the human race.
However, how did an organization like the church come about during an era when all humans were hunters and gatherers that were far too busy trying to ensure their own survival to dabble in religion?
Even after reading through the entire book, Mag still didn"t find any additional information about this. There was only a brief pa.s.sage that caught his attention, stating that the first magic casters were known as witches, and they were exclusively female.
"The church really is a mysterious organization." Mag closed the book with a thoughtful look on his face. Due to the fact that Amy had been promised the position of pope by the current pope, Mag wanted to understand more about this organization.
However, the records in this general history book were far too vague and abbreviated. He was going to purchase some books with more detailed information about the church in the future, thereby allowing him to understand just what kind of ent.i.ty it was.
"Um… Can I borrow those?"
All of a sudden, Babla appeared before Mag, and she pointed at the two books in front of him with an inquisitive look on her face.
"Of course." Mag looked up at Babla with a smile, then stacked the two books together, and offered them to her.
As a transmigrator, it was naturally very important to read about the history of this world, and then reinvent their perspective on the world based on that.
Mag had obtained a portion of Alex"s memories, thereby instilling him with Alex"s worldview and allowing him to skip that process, but after Babla had arrived in this world, she"d spent most of her time in the restaurant, so it would be a good thing for her to read about this world"s history.
"Thanks." Babla carried the two heavy books in her hands as she plodded her way upstairs with an elated look on her face.
Why was there a teleportation formation in the moon nation that led to this continent? Why was the language used in this world completely identical to that used in the moon nation? Why was it that women seemed to hold an inferior status here rather than the other way around? These were all questions that she wanted to have answered, and perhaps these two history books could provide those answers.
Mag shook his head with a smile. Babla"s ability to adapt had already far exceeded his expectations. After all, she had been a pampered regal princess in the moon nation, yet she had been spontaneously teleported to a completely unfamiliar world, and became a waitress at a restaurant. This stark contrast was certainly not something that anyone could come to terms with so quickly.
After checking the answers of the arithmetic questions that he"d left for Amy, Mag entered the kitchen to find that Anna was still chopping potatoes with rapt focus in her eyes.
Her knife tapped onto the chopping board in clean and precise strokes that were also very rhythmic and steady.
The steel pot beside her was already filled with tiny pieces of potato that were comparable to grains of rice, and each and every piece was extremely even, just as if they"d been measured using a ruler.
"Hmm, you"ve improved a lot. You can stop here after finis.h.i.+ng with that potato." Mag appraised Anna with a hint of approval in his eyes. Making such progress over the span of around half a month was quite remarkable even for an adult, let alone a five-year-old child[1].
Anna nodded in response as a smile appeared on her face, but her hands remained steadfast and accurate as she continued with what she was doing.
Mag stood at the entrance to the kitchen with a smile on his face, and he thought to himself, This must be what talent looks like. Perhaps she really will become an exceptional elven cook.
Instead of throwing away the potatoes that Anna had chopped up, Mag made them into mashed potatoes before forming small potato b.a.l.l.s. He then dipped the b.a.l.l.s in some egg, and applied some breadcrumbs before deep-frying them until they were crispy and golden brown to create a dish enjoyed by people of all ages.
Amy bit into the golden potato ball in her hand with a crisp crunch. The egg and breadcrumbs had developed a particularly rich flavor after being deep-fried, and the soft mashed potato beneath the crispy outer layer was a little hot. The sweet and mellow flavor of the potato melted on her tongue, and Amy"s eyes immediately lit up with elation. "Potato b.a.l.l.s are so good! They"re crunchy and sweet and delicious~"
Anna also picked up a potato ball, and bit into it before a contemplative look appeared on her little face. "Compared to steamed potato b.a.l.l.s, these ones are a lot richer in flavor, and the crunchy exterior coupled with the soft interior has a much better texture as well. The secret lies in the egg and this golden powder, and a lot of oil needs to be used. The potato b.a.l.l.s then have to be fried three times, and it comes out absolutely delicious."
"Let"s go and give the rest of these to those who haven"t eaten yet."
Mag placed the potato b.a.l.l.s into the bags for roujiamos, and handed Amy and Anna a bag each before placing the rest into a thermos box.
They had already had dinner, so they clearly couldn"t finish all of these potato b.a.l.l.s, and these things had to be eaten while still hot to ensure the best flavor and texture. As opposed to letting them go to waste, it was much better to give them to those who needed them.
Mag and the two girls handed out the potato b.a.l.l.s to the homeless people in the Aden Square before returning to the restaurant.
After brus.h.i.+ng their teeth, the two girls changed into clean pajamas and lay down on the little bed together, listening to Mag"s bedtime story with rapt focus.
Ugly Duckling was situated between them with its head peeking out of the blanket and one of its little paws resting on Amy"s body. It had fallen asleep as soon as its head hit the pillow.
The story of the smurfs drew to a conclusion. Amy was already asleep by then, but Anna still had yet to fall asleep.
"Do you still not want to sleep yet, Anna?" Mag asked with a smile. There seemed to be something on her mind.
"I"m worried about Uncle Blour and Big Sister Aisha. When Big Sister Aisha left, she said she was going to find Uncle Blour, but neither of them have come back yet," Anna replied with a concerned look in her eyes.
"Ring… Ring… Boss Mag! Boss Mag!"
Mag was just about to say something when the sound of the doorbell rang out alongside a few m.u.f.fled yells.
[1] ED/N: I"m pretty sure she was six (seven?) years old, but the author has a tendency to make children age in reverse (literally—Amy ended up being a year younger some 100-200 chapters ago, and it stuck, but we decided to fix that for the author), so take it with a pinch of salt.