Chapter 29: Awakening
To be honest, compared to the part about the Hero, Elrose was actually more interested in Kendrick and the stories of those children.
“The Chef Chasing Ultimate Cuisine and Three Stray Girls”
“About the Time I Started Raising Daughters When I Hit a Culinary Bottleneck”
“Road to Raising Kids as a Level 99 Chef”
In just a few seconds, Elrose had already conjured up the entire narrative of a novel.
This novel, with its ups and downs, involved family ties, love, slaughter, revenge, and protection. If it could be written, it would surely become a bestseller.
Ahem, back on track.
Elrose looked at Kendrick’s burning gaze, pondering for a long time. She truly couldn’t understand what his motive was for telling her this story.
Could it be that he had discovered she was actually a Shadow Demon?
So he deliberately brought up the Hero to scare her.
That wouldn’t be the case, no way.
No matter how she looked at it, she was just an ordinary (extremely cute) (beautiful) girl.
Only by using special appraisal items or advanced magical skills could one possibly see through her true nature.
As for Kendrick, although his job class was at level 99, having reached the maximum level, he seemed to only have a panel level of about sixty or seventy if he hadn’t hidden his strength.
That meant he could barely be called a higher existence.
Although in the human world, being high-level was categorized as strong, in front of her, the level 999 Demon King, he really was no different from an ant.
So what did he want from her regarding this story?
They had only known each other for less than a day; did he really need to reveal his entire past to her?
She couldn’t make sense of it, really couldn’t.
Sigh, there was no other way. During times like this, she could only play dumb.
“Thoughts? I have no thoughts at all,” Elrose forced a smile. “I just think this is a great bowl of fried rice, but sorry, I really don’t have any further thoughts.”
“Is that so?” Kendrick showed a somewhat disappointed expression. Obviously, Elrose’s answer was not what he wanted to hear. “That’s fine, at least you didn’t say any nonsense to fool me.”
“Haha, really?” Elrose replied.
“Yeah,” Kendrick smiled slightly. “So, let’s move on to the next topic.”
“Elrose, you worked for more than two hours in the shop tonight. How do you feel?” Kendrick asked.
“I feel okay, I guess,” Elrose said with a helpless smile. “It’s just that the guests’ gazes were a bit too piercing.”
“With your looks, it can’t be helped,” Kendrick said. “But according to your agreement with Luna, you need to work here for about a year. Are you sure you want to continue?”
“Actually, I can roughly understand your feelings. With nowhere to go, and given your life-saving grace, staying here to work is also a good choice.”
“But you need to know that the agreement is merely an excuse; Luna’s ultimate goal is to hope you can replace her and stay here indefinitely.”
“There are some things you might not know…”
Just as Kendrick was about to continue, Elrose interrupted him: “I know. Stella just told me everything while helping out in the bathhouse.”
“Lilith and Luna are leaving, so you’re planning to close this restaurant,” Elrose said. “I’m aware of all this.”
Kendrick was slightly surprised; he hadn’t expected Stella would voluntarily share these things with Elrose.
Elrose was an extraordinary person, hiding some mysterious existence within her.
A person like her, how could she willingly stay in a small restaurant as a waitress?
Kendrick sighed softly. “Since you already know, I won’t waste more words.”
“Elrose, if you wish to leave, you can do so tomorrow morning. I’ll give you some money, enough for you to live outside for a while.”
“As for the ten gold coins Luna mentioned, that was just a child’s joke; you don’t have to take it too seriously.”
Kendrick took a deep breath and said seriously: “So, Elrose, what is your final choice?”
Upon hearing this, Elrose glanced slightly at Stella beside her.
At that moment, Stella was simply focused on eating the fried rice in her bowl and didn’t look in her direction, clearly confident in Elrose’s response.
Elrose shook her head helplessly: “Thank you for your kindness, but I still plan to stay.”
“What? Stay?” Kendrick said in surprise.
“Yes, stay,” Elrose said, patting Stella’s little head. She smiled and added, “I promised Stella that no matter what, I would stay for a year, and we can talk about everything else later.”
“Is that so?” Kendrick looked deeply at Stella.
He had to admit, his girl was becoming more capable. He had no idea what method she used to persuade Elrose to stay.
“Alright, if you want to stay, then stay. Since you’ve made your choice, I won’t say more.”
Kendrick sighed softly, then slowly stood up and extended his large hand toward Elrose: “Elrose, welcome to officially join the Nightmoon Tavern.”
Elrose smiled slightly and shook Kendrick’s hand: “Then please take care of me from now on, Boss Kendrick.”
…
Luna was sprawled on the ground like a dead dog.
“Ah, I can’t go on anymore, I really can’t do it. If I keep this up, my arms will be useless.”
Meanwhile, Lilith was gnawing on her fingers while fiercely tugging at her hair.
“One times seven equals seven, two times seven equals fourteen, three times seven equals twenty-one, four times seven equals twenty-eight…”
“Ahhhh, I can’t do it anymore! I’m going insane! I can’t keep counting!”
Elrose looked at the two girls in the front hall who were devoid of hope, filled with sympathy.
“Boss, how about we call it a day? I think they really can’t take it anymore,” Elrose suggested.
“A mere hundred push-ups and a hundred arithmetic problems; they’re aspiring to be the greatest mages and swordsmen in the world, this should be a piece of cake for them,” Kendrick said lightly.
“But it seems like you’re making the mage do push-ups and the warrior do arithmetic problems,” Elrose rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that mixed up?”
“Not mixed up,” Kendrick sighed softly, revealing the worry of an old father. “Mages need more than just mana, and swordsmen can’t just be good at swordplay.”
“If mana runs out, having enough stamina is essential to escape. And if they can’t even do basic arithmetic, it’s even worse; if they go out and get sold, they wouldn’t even know it.”
“This…” Elrose nodded. “Alright, you have a point.”
“Why don’t you head upstairs and rest instead of waiting for them? At the rate they’re going, they won’t finish anytime soon.”
“Um, okay.” Elrose nodded, then asked, “By the way, Boss, do you have a map of the Mornhart Kingdom? Can you give me one?”
“A map? What do you need that for?” Kendrick asked, somewhat puzzled.
“Nothing, just to take a look.”
…
Elrose happily held the map as she went upstairs.
Kendrick watched Elrose’s departing figure and shook his head helplessly.
He didn’t know how the arrival of this girl would impact their family’s life.
At that moment, Stella suddenly appeared beside Kendrick, beaming with a smile: “Hehe, Kendrick, what do you think? I told you, the Angelic Onee-san would definitely stay.”
“But even so, what does it matter?” Kendrick shook his head helplessly. “Elrose looks like she can’t cook at all; at most, she can just take Luna’s place and handle the money at the front desk.”
“But to keep the restaurant running, I still need to find someone to replace Lilith and help me in the kitchen,” Kendrick said. “You know I have high standards for a deputy. If they’re not a professional, I won’t let them into the kitchen.”
“Not only that, but that person also needs to get along with you three girls. If the three of you don’t like that person, no matter how good their cooking is, they can’t join the Nightmoon Tavern.”
“So, they need to be both high-skilled and aligned with you three’s preferences,” Kendrick sighed. “Where can you find such a person in this world?”
“There is one, there definitely is,” Stella said with determination. “And she will be here soon.”
…
On the vast plain, the bright moonlight cascaded down, and the cool evening breeze swept across the land.
In the center of the plain was a giant pit, within which lay a person clad in golden armor.
It was an empty shell of a body; in a sense, she was already dead.
But suddenly.
“Crack.”
Deep within the body, a soul seal abruptly shattered.
The soul returned to its place, and the body came back to life in an instant.
With a flash of golden light, the armor vanished, revealing a woman with beauty that could make the heavens pale in comparison.
Alicia struggled to rise from the ground, confusedly looking at her surroundings.
“What happened to me?”
