“No, Little Emily, from today on, I won’t oppose you learning magic anymore. Once the restaurant starts operating and we make some money, I’ll send you to the Gray Temple to study magic.” Alex interrupted Emily with a smile, looking into her eyes and speaking seriously.

“Really?” Emily was stunned for a moment, looking at Alex, her surprise mixed with a bit of disbelief.

“Of course it’s true.” Alex nodded. “But it might take a little time, since the restaurant is only opening today…”

“Father, you’re the best! Little Emily loves you!” Before Alex could finish, Emily had already slipped off her chair, leaped into his arms, hugged his face and gave him a big kiss, then looked up at Alex with a serious expression and said, “Little Emily will definitely become a powerful magician and protect Father. That’s Little Emily’s wish.”

“All right, I believe Emily can do it.” Alex also looked sincerely into Little Emily’s eyes and nodded, then smiled and said, “So, let’s open the restaurant first—Maimi Restaurant, our restaurant.”

Chapter 12: A Challenging Beginning

“Mm-hmm.” Emily nodded obediently, getting ready to climb down from Alex’s arms, but soon stopped, looking at him with her eyes widening. “Father, you’re holding Emily! You can hold Emily now!”

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, her little face full of excitement.

Except for when she was in bed, snuggling in her father’s arms, Emily had never been hugged by her father in her memory. She knew it was because of his health, but she had always wanted to experience what it felt like to be held in his arms. She hadn’t expected it to come true today.

Alex smiled and gently tapped Emily’s delicate nose, nodding. “That’s right, I can finally hold Little Emily now. In the future, I can lift you up high, or carry you like a princess. Whatever Little Emily wants to do, I can do it for you.”

When he held Emily in his arms, he was just as excited. Truly, health is the most important thing. He had to complete this mission—he didn’t want to go back to that state where even walking was exhausting.

“It’s so nice, Father is so nice.” Emily pressed her face against Alex’s chest, rubbing against him like a kitten, happily saying.

After comforting the little one for a while, Alex made sure that after releasing that ball of blue-violet flame, Emily didn’t have any other discomfort, and finally felt relieved.

Moreover, Emily even demonstrated for Alex that now she could release that blue-violet fireball at any time, without chanting, just by thinking about it—absolutely instant casting.

As for mages, his predecessor didn’t know much either, and the memories about that mysterious elven princess were all very vague. Alex couldn’t even recall her appearance, only vaguely remembering that she seemed to be a powerful magician.

“It seems her magical talent comes from her mother. Instant-cast fireball—this talent should be pretty good, right? It’s just that she can’t control it well yet.” Alex stroked his chin, thinking. The concerns of his predecessor weren’t wrong—if the elves found out about Emily’s identity, who knows what might happen. Whether they’d hurt her or take her away, either was unacceptable to him.

“I still need to think about the Gray Temple. Maybe I should find a more reliable magician. I need to figure things out first.” Alex decided in his heart. There was no need to rush Emily’s magic studies; he needed to be thorough.

Alex opened the black leather-bound menu on the table. The leather felt fine and comfortable to the touch. Opening it, he saw a plain light gray background, with “Yangzhou Fried Rice—600 copper coins per serving” written in black ink in the upper left corner. Simple and clear, yet tasteful.

“This system’s taste isn’t bad.” Alex closed the menu with satisfaction.

“Father, is our restaurant really opening today?” Emily stood by and asked Alex.

“Yes, once the doors are open, it’s open for business. I hope we can sell a few more plates of Rainbow Fried Rice today.” Alex smiled, patted Emily’s hair, took her little hand, and walked toward the door.

Alex reached out and grabbed the doorknob, took a deep breath, and pushed hard.

The two bells hanging on the door jingled twice as the door was pushed open. The warm early autumn sunlight shone on the two figures—one big, one small—standing at the door, casting long shadows into the restaurant behind them.

“Rebirth… seems pretty nice.” Standing at the door, Alex looked up at the sign above: the four big black characters for “Maimi Restaurant.” Holding Emily’s little hand, he murmured softly.

“Father, what are you saying?” Emily looked up at Alex in confusion.

“I said, Little Emily, I’m so glad to have you.” Alex looked down at the little one who hadn’t even reached his waist, smiling dotingly.

“Little Emily thinks Father is great too.” Emily happily ran two circles around Alex, then cupped her hands around her mouth like a little trumpet and shouted toward the square, “Little Emily’s restaurant is open! Everyone, come eat! We have super delicious Rainbow Fried Rice…”

Alex looked at the little one, smiling helplessly but happily. Looking up, he saw that it was still early morning, and there weren’t many people in Aden Square yet.