The wooden shelves and green plants were just to Mag’s liking. They had made the restaurant even more stylish and classy.

  The shelves made each table a bit more private, and they wouldn’t block the view. The environment was more engaging than before.

  When Mag was about to walk into his new restaurant, Mobai came out of his forge. “That’s some renovation right there. I heard some noise, but when I came out, the renovation was done and the building has totally changed. Talk about efficiency!”


  Mag smiled at Mobai. “I had it renovated by a magic caster. He’s really expensive and morbidly obsessed with making money, but he is pretty good at his job.”


  “No, you’re morbidly obsessed with making money!” the system protested angrily in Mag’s head. Mag ignored it.

  Mobai nodded. “I see.” He looked the new restaurant up and down. “Will food be served quicker now that it’s twice as big as before?”


  “I’m afraid not. But good news is it’ll be easier to get a seat.” Although Mobai lived next door, he was always too busy working to have time to wait in line. Most of the times the restaurant was closed before he even got a chance to order.

  Mobai sighed. “I really miss the days when you had only several customers every day. Now I have to wait a long time to get food.”


  Mag smiled. “But it’s worth waiting. You can’t deny that.”


  Mobai nodded with a smile. “That I can’t. I don’t mind waiting a long time as long as I can get the food.” Then he looked around furtively before walking over to Mag. “I…… Mag, I could really use some beer,” he whispered. “Just one glass will do. I don’t need anything else.”


  “You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” asked Mag.

  Mobai looked confused. “No, I haven’t. I have just finished working.”


  “Then why don’t you come have dinner with us? I’ll drink with you. I want to thank you for selling me the store. You were the first customer to come to our old restaurant, and I’d like you to be our first customer again.”


  Mobai laughed heartily. “Thanks!”


  “Meow~”


  Ugly Duckling cried as soon as Mag opened the door. It leapt into Amy’s arms, eyes full of grievance.

  “All right, all right. I’ll take you with me next time. But from today on, you’ll have to go on a diet. Your food will be halved. It’s for your own good. I don’t want you to become too fat to fly,” Amy said solemnly, carrying the cat inside.

  “Meow~” Ugly Duckling looked up at her with sorrowful eyes.

  “Whining and begging won’t work. I’ve made up my mind.” Amy walked around the new restaurant, looking at the green plants on shelves and hung with hemp rope.

  Mag went upstairs and changed into his chef’s uniform.

  He put on the apron and opened the door to the kitchen.

  It was rectangular and two times its original size. The old kitchen had become too small after being crammed with a fridge, water tanks, and various kitchenware.

  Knives were stored in the knife holder which was hanging on the wall. The grill was placed in the corner. Four woks were arranged in a row. All the kitchenware were arranged based on Mag’s preferences.

  The width of the kitchen had been increased by about half a meter, so it was now large enough for four cooks to work at the same time without getting too crowded, and there was room for more kitchenware.

  Of course, the most eye-catching was the mud oven beside the grill, which was exactly the same as the oven he had used in the test field to cook roast ducks.

  Mag walked up to the mud oven and nodded with satisfaction. The system never ceased to amaze him. Perhaps nobody understood what he wanted better than it did.

  Mag had a big plate of beef kebabs and a large spicy grilled fish ready in no time. They drank the bubbly beer and chatted.

  Mobai was his first customer, his neighbor, and his first friend in this world.

  The dwarf blacksmith told Mag why he was hellbent on killing that red dragon.

  Mobai’s father was an excellent blacksmith. The weapons he forged were very popular. Mobai learned from his father and became a blacksmith too. He then married and had children, and lived a peaceful and happy life.

  The happy life didn’t last very long, however. One day, a dragon attacked their tribe and killed many innocent dwarves, including his father.

  Three years later, he left the tribe and embarked on the journey to search for the dragon alone. He could not bear the fact that his father and people had been killed without cause. He wanted revenge, or he would never find peace.

  He had searched for over 100 years without success. Never once had he returned home.

  The war among species was over, and the Norland Continent had seen 100 years of peace, but he was still on his path to revenge.

  Mobai drank the glass of beer in one gulp, his big bottle-nose red. “That damned red dragon! I will kill it with my own hands!” he said firmly.

  Mag filled up his glass, looked at him, and said nothing. He didn’t want to try and persuade him to put aside his enmity and go back home to check on his family.

  Maybe Mobai’s choice was not ideal, but who was he to judge? He might have made the same choice if he were in his shoes.

  “Thank you for the food, Mag. I’ll buy you a drink when I kill that beast,” Mobai said, waving at Mag, and staggered out towards his forge.

  Mag watched him get inside. A cold wind came, causing Mag to shiver. “It’s getting cold. Winter is coming,” he muttered.