"Sorry, guest, the restaurant is closed. If you'd like to eat grilled fish, please come back early tomorrow at noon." Mai Ge flipped the sign on the door and replied without looking up. He had to respond to several such requests everyday when the restaurant was closed.
"I'm Michael." the man said, seemingly wanting to persist a little longer.
Mai Ge paused for a moment, then looked up at the man and answered almost without thinking, "I'm Mai Ge."
The man was very tall, dressed in a long black and dark gold robe, with a black long sword hanging at his waist. He looked to be around forty years old and well-maintained. His black eyes were resolute and wise, like a brave knight or a wise strategist, making him seem somewhat unfathomable.
Michael was also taken aback by Mai Ge's reply. It was the first time he had received such a response after giving his name. It seemed that this young man did not recognize him and did not even know his name. A smile appeared on his face, and he began to carefully examine Mai Ge,
Looking at Mai Ge, who was dressed in a black and white chef's uniform, tall and slender, standing straight like a long sword that was about to be drawn, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. This kind of temperament was not like that of an ordinary chef, but more like that of a swordsman who had hidden his sharpness. It reminded him of that young man from back then.
That young man, who stood there like a sword, was also sharp and too rigid. It was a pity that he had just become the sharpest sword in the world and was then forcibly broken.
"Let me introduce myself. I am the City Lord of this Chaos City." Michael said to Mai Ge with a hearty smile.
"Oh, it's you, City Lord. I apologize for not recognizing you at first." Mai Ge said, a look of surprise on his face, somewhat apologetic.
He naturally knew the name of the City Lord of Chaos City, but the customer who asked to order a serving of Spicy Grilled Fish during the restaurant's closing time was just an ordinary customer to Mai Ge. He never expected that the person who came alone was actually the City Lord.
Looking a little further away, a black carriage was parked in front of the magic potion shop. A young man dressed in a black bodysuit was looking around warily. He was indeed the city lord.
"It's alright, I'm just a guest now." Michael smiled and shook his head, not taking the matter to heart. He then glanced at the restaurant, which was still lit up, and looked into Mai Ge's eyes, saying, "I was supposed to come during opening hours, but I probably wouldn't be able to come tomorrow, so I chose this time. I didn't expect the restaurant to be closed. I wonder if the boss could make me a serving of grilled fish?"
"City Lord, I shouldn't refuse your request to eat grilled fish, but it's the rule that restaurants only serve customers during business hours, and the waitresses should be going home soon. Also, my daughter has to go to school early tomorrow morning, so I need to get her to bed early. Therefore, if City Lord doesn't mind, perhaps you could come back later to eat grilled fish." Mai Ge looked at Michael, shook his head, and glanced back at Amy, who was dozing off on the counter, and said apologetically.
"So you have a daughter. Looks like you're a good father." Michael also saw Amy leaning against the counter. His furrowed brows relaxed immediately, and he looked at Mai Ge with admiration. A good father is even more precious than a good chef.
In the Chaos City, he was rarely rejected, but he never expected to be rejected twice by the same person today. Even invoking his status as the city lord had no effect.
"I wouldn't call myself a good father, I just want to spend more time by her side and do everything I can for her." Mai Ge looked at Amy with tenderness in his eyes.
"Actually, I'm here to eat grilled fish today as a father. I also have a lovely daughter. When she was little, I was very busy and hardly had time to spend with her. I owe her so much. And because of me, she suffered from a persistent coldness in her body, and she has been living in pain all these years. I watched all this but was powerless to do anything about it. Perhaps you can understand this kind of torment." Michael looked at Mai Ge, his voice slightly low. He paused for a moment, then shook his head slightly and said, "I've never said these things to anyone else before, probably because we are both fathers."
Looking at the city lord, who was known for his toughness and iron-bloodedness, Mai Ge was surprised to find such gentleness beneath his hard armor. After a moment of silence, he opened the door and said with a smile, "That's perfect. My restaurant's grilled fish is not only delicious but also dispel the cold. Today, I'm treating a father."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony." Michael smiled as well, striding into the restaurant.
"Boss, who is this?" Yabemia, who had finished tidying up the restaurant and was preparing to leave, looked at Michael who followed Mai Ge in and asked him with some confusion. Mai Ge was the most rule-abiding of all.
"City Lord of Chaos City!" Sally, who was two steps behind, lowered her eyes slightly. She had seen Michael's image when she was in her family. In order to prevent the younger generation of the family from provoking troublesome people when they went out, the family would have them memorize the portraits of some powerful and high-ranking people on the Nolan Continent.
"You two go back first. This is a friend of mine, I'll take care of him." Mai Ge said with a smile.
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Yabemia smiled at Michael and left with Sally.
Michael smiled and nodded to them, his gaze lingering on Sally for a moment with a hint of doubt, but he didn't say anything more.
"Please have a seat, City Lord. You can choose your own Spicy Grilled Fish flavor: mild, medium, extra spicy, or extremely spicy. If you want to get a good night's sleep, I suggest you don't choose extremely spicy." Mai Ge drew the blinds. Today, he was making an exception for Michael, not because of his status as the city lord, but because of his words as a father.
As a father, he could understand the despair he would feel if Amy suffered some kind of painful injury because of him and he was powerless to help.
Of course, Mai Ge also thought of the food ranking list. He had originally planned to go to the City Lord's Mansion to plead his case tomorrow, but now that the City Lord was sitting in the restaurant, it seemed that it would be more effective to talk to him face to face.
"Then I'll have a medium-sized extra spicy grilled fish." Michael said, flipping through the menu for a moment before closing it and looking at Mai Ge.
"Okay, please wait a moment. I'll take my child upstairs to sleep first." Mai Ge nodded, turned around and walked to the counter. He carefully picked up Amy, who was already asleep on the counter, and the Ugly Duckling, who was sleeping soundly in her arms, and slowly walked upstairs.
"This is the first time I've ever been left waiting for my meal. He's certainly an interesting person." Michael smiled and shook his head, his gaze slowly sweeping across the restaurant before finally settling on the crystal chandelier overhead. He let out a soft "hmm" and narrowed his eyes slightly.