A Stay-at-home Dad’s Restaurant In An Alternate World

“Wake up, Ugly Duckling. We’re here! Don’t make me burn you with my fire,” Amy said, pinching its jaw.

“Meow!” The kitten woke up immediately. It struggled to its feet and looked at Amy.

“Here, hold it, Amy.” Mag handed the cat to Amy and took the bag off the bike. He took a look at his watch. It had only taken him five minutes to get here. Normally, the same distance would take about half an hour on foot.

I’m sure Yangzhou fried rice is still warm, but tofu pudding has probably broken into pieces. The texture hasn’t changed much though, I think. I’ll charge him the same price.

Bikes are not half bad for delivering food. If people here used them to deliver food, that would be quite a sight.

Also, they could use horses for long-distance delivery.

That’s not a problem I should worry about now, though. I’m already very busy as it is. Mag took Amy by the hand. “Let’s go.”

“Sorry, you’re not allowed to go in,” the orc said, signaling them to stop. He was eyeing them warily. I won’t let them get past me this time.

“Father, let’s sneak in through that hole,” Amy whispered, tugging at Mag’s clothes, stealing a glance at the orc. She was afraid of him, and her fear wasn’t misplaced, since she had got rejected by this orc many times.

“She’s too young to attend school,” the old man added, shaking his head. “And pets are not allowed in school. It’s the rule.”

Mag stroked Amy’s head to calm her down, pulled a green card from his pocket, and handed it to the orc with a smile. “We’re here to study under Teacher Krassu. He said we could use this as a pass. Could you tell me where the magic school is?

The orc and the old man exchanged a baffled look. They didn’t know any Teacher Krassu here. But when they took the card, the looks on their faces changed immediately.

It had one big word on it: “pass”, and they found a name at the bottom right corner: Novan.

The name was everything. The card was useless without the name.

Suddenly, they remembered the white-bearded old man who had talked with the principal yesterday. The principal gave the pass to the old man, but now this young man has it.

He is not to be taken lightly. They looked at Mag and Amy more kindly now.

Even Lord of Chaos City and Lord of the Gray Temple are treating the principal as their equal, but that old man was acting like he was senior to him, the orc thought to himself.

“The magic school is to the left when you walk in. Take your pass and you can head right in,” the orc said with a smile, handing the pass back to Mag. His attitude towards them had changed dramatically.

We can walk in through the gate? Amy’s face lit up. She had had to sneak in through the hole every time she came here. She had always envied the students who could walk in through the gate.

Mag took the pass and nodded. “Thank you.” He picked up Amy’s hand, and was about to go in.

“Sorry. No pets allowed,” the orc said, extending an arm to stop them.

“But…” Mag looked at the pass in his hand. From the look in their eyes, this pass must have been from a very important person.

“The pass is signed by the principal, but the rule was also made by the principal, and he said school always comes first, so I’m afraid you can’t take the cat with you,” the orc said solemnly.

He goes strictly by the book. Impressive. Also, the principal here is really responsible.

“I see. But, can I trouble you to take care of my cat and bike?” Mag didn’t find this rule annoying. Pets can be dangerous sometimes.

The orc nodded. “Sure. You can leave them to us.” This man is quite reasonable.

“Amy, put Ugly Duckling in the basket. I’ll take it home with me.”

Amy nodded. “Yes, Father.” She stood on tips of her toes and carefully put it into the basket. “Be good at home, Ugly Duckling,” she said, stroking its head.

“Let’s go.” Mag took her by the hand and walked in.

“Meow, meow!” the kitten called out behind Amy, sticking its little head out.

Amy turned back. “Stop whining! You can have two bowls of tofu pudding today and don’t have to run.”

The kitten’s eyes lit up right away. “Meow, meow,” it said, nodding.

She really knows her way around this cat’s thinking. Mag smiled.

A while later, a carriage stopped at the gate. Hydle jumped off it. “The owner of this thing, where is he?” he asked the orc and the old man, pointing at the bike.