Mag had been alerted to this news long before everyone else. This was because Young Mistress Gloria was sitting right across from him, and she was appraising him with an intense gaze that was making him a little uncomfortable.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Mag,” Gloria said in a heartfelt manner.

  Mag smiled, and replied, “You’re very welcome, Young Mistress Gloria. You secured this victory through your own abilities.”


  He was worried that if he allowed her to continue, she’d say something like “I am greatly indebted to you, and I can only repay this debt using my body”. But then again, why was he worried about something like that?

  Mag looked at Gloria’s shimmering purple eyes and found himself being slightly entranced. She was irresistibly beautiful, and he was worried that he wouldn’t be able to turn down such an offer from her.

  Gloria continued, “I’ll get the account keeper to collate our profits and send 20% to the restaurant, and also 10% to Luna’s foundation so autumn clothing can be organized for the children. The weather is already starting to get cold, so we need to get this done as quickly as possible.”


  A hint of warmth flowed through Mag’s heart at the sight of the concern and compassion in Gloria’s eyes, and he nodded as he said, “The children do indeed need some new clothes, but I’m going out on a trip tomorrow, so you can wait a few days before issuing your payment to me.”


  “Are you going on another trip, Mr. Mag?” Gloria was rather surprised to hear this.

  “I’m going out to source some new ingredients. The restaurant hasn’t released any new dishes in a while, so I’m going to try and find some inspiration,” Mag replied with a nod. If it weren’t for the system’s mission, he wouldn’t want to go anywhere, either.

  “You really are a conscientious and admirable man, Mr. Mag.” Gloria looked at Mag with a hint of admiration in her eyes. He was already such an exceptional chef, yet he was still constantly looking to better himself.

  …


  The two of them didn’t chat for too much longer than that before Gloria departed. Mag looked on as her horse-drawn carriage gradually faded into the distance, and a smile appeared on his face.

  She was a woman who constantly wore a mask, and didn’t dare to show her true appearance to others, yet she’d taken over all of the Moreton Family’s textiles-related businesses and become a board member of the Chamber of Commerce in such a short time. The catalyst for her drastic transformation was a bowl of tofu pudding; this was quite an amusing thought to Mag.

  The sense of achievement he derived from playing a part in such a life-changing sequence of events had already surpassed the joy he derived from cooking. It was as if he had found his calling and discovered his purpose in life.

  Even as a chef, he could make this world a better place.

  …


  The sun gradually set. To the north of the city, a pair of humanoid figures finally climbed to the summit of a tall mountain along with a portly falcon. Both of them cast their eyes toward the city wall in the distance, and expressions of elation appeared on their faces.

  Abraham’s lips were already cracked from dehydration as he turned to the beast tamer, and asked, “We’re good to go… this time, right?”


  Meanwhile, the beast tamer was in an even sorrier state as there were many large bumps on his head from being kicked off the other mountain. He hurriedly said, “Yes… Duke Abraham, I assure you that it’ll be able to fly this time. After these past two days of rest, it’s recovered much of its stamina, so we’ll definitely be able to fly the rest of the way to the city.”


  The black falcon beside them also raised its head as if to confirm that it was ready for flight.

  Thus, the two climbed onto the falcon’s back in an arduous manner.

  “Let’s go!” The beast tamer pointed toward Chaos City with an excited look on his face.

  The portly falcon spread open its wings and rose slowly up into the air like a bloated balloon. However, its wings were clearly flapping at a slower and slower rate during its descent, and after reaching an altitude of around five meters, they suddenly stopped flapping altogether, causing the giant falcon to plummet straight down as a result.

  “Argh! Didn’t you say it was ready for flight?!”


  “I… Maybe it’s hungry… Arrrgh!”


  Two wails of anguish rang out as the trio rolled down a mountain once again.

  …


  Following the conclusion of the dinner service, Mag announced to Sally, who was cleaning up the restaurant, that he was going out on another trip.

  After that, Miya announced that the ice cream shop would be open for an entire day the next day. At the same time, Babla was hired on a temporary basis with an ice cream as a reward for her efforts, an offer that she gladly accepted.

  None of them objected to Mag’s trip to source new ingredients. After all, every time he came back from one of those trips, a new dish would be released quickly thereafter, and all of those new dishes were extremely delicious.

  “Father, can I come with you tomorrow as well?” Amy asked with an expectant look on her face.

  Mag shook his head, and replied, “Not this time; you’ve just taken a five-day break, and you’ll fall behind in your magic studies if you take any more time off.”


  “But…” Amy pouted with a hint of displeasure on her little face.

  “When I come back, I’ll cook a delicious roast duck for you,” Mag said with a smile as he patted Amy’s head.

  “Roast duck?” Amy’s eyes immediately lit up with excitement as she turned to Ugly Duckling, and said, “So you can roast it even before it becomes a swan!”


  Ugly Duckling, which was lying lazily on top of the counter, immediately sprang up, falling off the counter with a dull thump. It then scrambled to its feet and rushed behind the counter, peering out at Amy with a fearful expression as it trembled with fear.

  “Don’t be scared, Ugly Duckling; come here and let me hold you.” Amy made her way over to Ugly Duckling with a smile on her face, and then picked it up and gently pinched its round stomach with a pleased nod as she mused, “Looks like you’re quite fat already; you’ll be delicious when roasted…”


  An expression of shock and horror gradually surfaced in Ugly Duckling’s eyes, and it turned its head away as it prepared to escape.

  …


  After tucking Amy into bed, Mag switched on his bedside lamp, and then pulled out a few books from his bookshelf. These were books containing information about the elven race; he’d bought them a few days ago, but had been too busy to read them. However, seeing as he was about to go to the Wind Forest the next day, it certainly couldn’t hurt to do some last-minute cramming.

  Two hours later, Mag turned off his bedside lamp and went to bed.

  The grand elven ceremony lasted for three days, and was held by the elven queen herself. Aside from the servants and guards of the elven race, all elves were mandated to attend.

  This was clearly good news for Mag.

  As the second-largest inland freshwater lake on the entire Norland Continent, Warden Lake covered an extremely large area, extending all the way into the north from the northern region of the Wind Forest. The lake belonged to the elven race, and there were elven guards that patrolled the lake.

  Aside from the beautiful tales of elves bathing in the lake, there were also legends and speculation about monsters lurking within its depths.

  However, most of these legends originated from the other races, so the credibility there clearly wasn’t very high. Mag speculated that these so-called monsters were most likely just some magic beasts. The ducks that the system was breeding were magic beasts, so the fact that they could be bred in the lake indicated that magic beasts could indeed dwell in its waters. It was just that they were most likely all low-level magic beasts.

  …


  “This is a public announcement from Her Majesty: ‘From this day forth, I will be going into seclusion. Do not disturb me unless the elven race is in grave danger. The ceremony tomorrow will be held by Helena, and all decisions in the race will be made by the panel of elders.’”


  That night, the announcement above spread through the entire Wind Forest.