"Okay." Amy nodded obediently, preparing to get down from Mai Ge's body, but quickly stopped, looking at him with wide, slowly opening her eyes. "Daddy, you're holding Amy! You can hold Amy now!"
Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke, her little face filled with excitement.
Aside from being able to snuggle in her father's arms on bed, Amy had never experienced being hugged by him before. She knew it was because of his health, but she had always longed to experience being held in his arms, and today it had come true.
Mai Ge chuckled and gently pinched Amy's nose, nodding. "That's right, I can finally hold Little Amy! From now on, I can lift you up high, I can give you a princess carry, anything Little Amy wants to do, I can do it for you."
Holding Amy in his arms, he was equally excited. His health was indeed the most important thing; he had to complete this mission. He didn't want to return to his old state where even walking was difficult.
"That's wonderful, Daddy is so kind." Amy said happily, pressing her face against Mai Ge's chest like a kitten.
After comforting the little one for a while, Mai Ge was relieved to confirm that Amy felt no other discomfort after releasing the ball of blue purple flame.
Amy even demonstrated to Mai Ge that she could now unleash the blue purple fireball at any time, without needing to chant an incantation; she only needed to think about it, making it absolutely instantaneous.
The original owner of this body didn't know much about mages, and his memories of the mysterious elven princess was vague. Mai Ge couldn't even recall her appearance, only vaguely remembering that she seemed to be a powerful mage.
"It seems her mage talent comes from her mother. Instantaneous fireball spells—that's quite a talent, isn't it? It's just that she can't control it well yet." Mai Ge stroked his chin, thinking. The original owner's concerns were valid. If the elves knew Amy's identity, who knew what might happen? Whether it was harming her or taking her away, it was something he couldn't accept.
"The Gray Temple needs to reconsider. Perhaps they should find a more reliable mage. They need to find out more about background first." Mai Ge resolved in his heart that Amy's learning of magic couldn't be rushed; he needed to consider things carefully.
Mai Ge opened the black leather-bound menu on the table. The leather felt smooth and comfortable to the touch. Inside, the light gray background was clean and simple, with the words "Yang Zhou Fried Rice—600 copper coins per serving" written in black ink in the upper left corner. Simple and clear, yet tasteful.
"This system has pretty good taste." Mai Ge thought, closing the menu with satisfaction.
"Daddy, is our restaurant really open today?" Amy asked, standing to the side and looking at Mai Ge.
"Yes, once we open the door, we're officially open for business. Let's hope we can sell a lot of rainbow fried rice today." Mai Ge smiled, patted Amy's hair, and took Amy's little hand, leading her towards the door.
Mai Ge reached for the doorknob, took a deep breath, and pushed hard.
The two bells hanging on the door rang twice. The door opened, and the warm early autumn sunlight shone on the two figures, one tall and one short, standing at the doorway, casting long shadows in the restaurant behind them.
"Rebirth, it seems, isn't so bad." Standing at the door, Mai Ge looked at the three large black characters of the sign above: Mai Mi Restaurant, holding Amy's small hand, and murmured to himself.
"Daddy, what are you saying?" Amy looked up at Mai Ge, puzzled.
"I said, Little Amy, it's so good to have you." Mai Ge looked down at the little girl who didn't even reach his waist yet, smiling with doting affection.
"Little Amy thinks Daddy is great too!" Amy happily ran around Mai Ge twice, then cupped her hands to her mouth like a megaphone and shouted into the square, "Little Amy's family restaurant is open! Everyone come and eat! We have super delicious rainbow fried rice…"
Mai Ge watched the little girl with a slightly helpless smile, but he was also very happy. He looked up; it was early morning, and there weren't many people in Aden Square yet.
Not far away on the grass, two burly, fanged orcs were wrestling, shirtless. A little further away, two humans dressed as merchants were talking under a tree. A tall, skilled elf carrying a longbow hurried past, followed by two troll children with curious expressions…
Mai Ge watched this scene with some astonishment. Although he had seen the appearances of various races in original owner's memories, the shock of seeing it with his own eyes was completely different.
The powerful orcs, the cunning goblins, the long-lived elves… all of this suddenly felt so real, giving him a true sense of being in the world.
It seemed that living a peaceful and leisurely life here with Amy wouldn't be as simple as he'd imagined. Mai Ge raised an eyebrow, glancing back at his restaurant. Since it was located in this Chaos City, its target customers weren't just humans; after all, elves, dragons, and demons were notoriously wealthy and powerful.
Aden Square is located in the center of the Chaos City. The city's original planners arranged the buildings around it in a crescent shape, encircling the circular square, with the southern side left empty.
Walking along this crescent from one end to the other, there are thousands of shops of all kinds: restaurants, blacksmith shops, red-light districts, arenas, magic shops… Basically, any shop found in the Nolan Continent can be found in Aden Square. The shopkeepers are of all races; walk into any restaurant and it might be a pancake shop run by the Flame Demon, the kind where they bake the pancakes directly on their hand.
The Chaos City was established after the signing of the peace treaty, driven by various races seeking to make contact. The continent was originally like a pancake, sliced horizontally and vertically, intersecting at a single point, dividing the land into territories of various races. The Chaos City was built at that intersection, making it arguably the center of the continent.
Because it bordered the territories of every race, it had eight city gates, allowing people of all races to enter.
Within this city, orcs, humans, elves, goblins, trolls, demons, dwarves… and even dragons that occasionally appeared, coexisted. This chaotic coexistence is the origin of the city's name, "Chaos City."
However, after the initial chaos, a mysterious organization called the Gray Temple emerged in the Chaos City, taking over the management of order and gradually transforming it into its current size and structure. The gray-clad figures walking in the shadows are the city's enforcers.
And Mai Ge's restaurant is the last shop at the crescent-shaped tail of Aden Square.
Because the square entrance is at the other end, few people usually come here. Next to the restaurant is an arms shop, which Mai Ge remembers being run by a dwarf. Further on, several shops are closed, with "For Rent" signs posted on the doors. A little further on is a shop selling magic potions, with two bird cages hanging outside, containing two sleeping parrots.
Opening a restaurant here is incredibly difficult; "deserted" doesn't even begin to describe it. The probability of a customer actually entering and ordering a 600 copper coins Yang Zhou Fried Rice seems incredibly low. Mai Ge suddenly felt that this start was rather difficult.