Mag played with Amy and Ugly Duckling in the playground for an entire afternoon. The place wasnât very large, but all of the facilities were made to be quite compact, so they didnât take up much space. There was a small seesaw, a two-seat merry-go-round, small bumper cars⦠There was everything one would expect to find in a miniature amusement park.
âThis is so fun, Father! I love this playground, and itâs purple as well. Iâm going to bring Jessica and Daphne here; theyâd really love it here too.â Amyâs hair was plastered to her forehead because of sweat, but she was looking at Mag with excitement shimmering in her eyes.
âAlright, you can invite them to come and play with you on your days off.â Mag wiped the sweat off Amyâs forehead and picked up Ugly Duckling, who was still disoriented after riding on the merry-go-round. He then carried the two of them toward the bathroom as he said, âAlright, letâs stop here for this afternoon. Iâll give the two of you a bath, then open the restaurant up for the dinner service.â
âYay! I want a bubble bath!â Amy yelled with excitement.
âMeow-â The dizzy Ugly Duckling was immediately alert upon hearing a bath being mentioned, and it stared at Mag as it tried to struggle free from his arm.
âUgly Duckling, if youâre not going to take a bath, then donât sleep on my bed tonight. I donât want to sleep with a dirty cat.â Amy turned to Ugly Duckling with a stern expression.
âMeow~â Ugly Duckling looked up at Amy before resting its head on Magâs arm with a pitiable resigned expression.
Mag was in full agreement with Amyâs sentiment. Cats universally despised waters and baths, but Amy was always holding Ugly Duckling in her arms, so he always paid a lot of attention to Ugly Ducklingâs hygiene.
He placed Ugly Duckling in its designated little basin, and Amy began to splash it with water. Its fluffy fur was immediately plastered to its body, and after soap bubbles were applied, only its pitiable little face was still visible. All of a sudden, it shook violently, spraying both Mag and Amy with water and soap, which sent Amy into hysterical giggles.
After bathing Amy and Ugly Duckling, Mag fitted Amy into a clean set of clothes. He then took a bath himself, and changed into a clean chefâs suit before going downstairs.
Yabemiya and Sally were sitting in silence downstairs amid a slightly awkward atmosphere.
After familiarizing themselves with each other, Yabemiya became more talkative, while Sally was still as aloof as ever. As such, the two of them would often sit like this in silence.
âYour clothes look really good, Amy.â Yabemiya and Sally both turned toward the counter upon hearing footsteps coming down the stairs. Yabemiya turned to Ugly Duckling, and ushered it as she said, âCome here, Ugly Duckling.â
Ugly Duckling took a glance at her before lazily closing its eyes. It rubbed its little head against Amyâs foot and raised its paws for a hug.
âYou can stay down there.â Amy shook her head before rushing over to Yabemiya. She then raised her little arms, and wheedled, âBig Sister Miya, I want a hug.â
âAlright, let me give Princess Amy a hug.â Yabemiya smiled as she picked Amy up and settled her on her
leg.
Amy laid her head on Yabemiyaâs chest, and closed her eyes as she murmured with contentment, âItâs so soft and comfy.â
Sheâs so pretty. Sheâs going to be a fine beauty when she grows up. Yabemiya looked down at Amy with a doting smile.
Hers really are big. Sally looked at Yabemiyaâs chest, then at her own, and was instantly somewhat dejected.
âMeow~â Ugly Duckling sat on the ground, looking up at Yabemiya and Amy with a pitiable expression.
Mag entered the kitchen with a smile. He really loved the peaceful atmosphere in the restaurant. He was quite fond of Sally and Miya, and it appeared that he wouldnât have to hire any more staff before the restaurant expanded.
Mag began to prepare the ingredients for the dinner service, but he suddenly sensed someone standing behind him. He turned around, only to discover Yabemiya standing at the kitchenâs entrance.
âBoss, Iâm just having a quick lookâ¦â A panicked expression appeared on Yabemiyaâs face as if she were a kid that had been caught doing something wrong.
âCome in if you want to have a look. The restaurantâs business is improving quite quickly, so I wanted to teach you how to make ice cream and roujiamo anyway. Would you like to learn? I can teach you some other dishes if you want as well.â She wouldnât be able to see anything from the entrance, so Mag invited her into the kitchen.
âMe?â Yabemiyaâs eyes immediately lit up, but she then quickly waved her hands as she said, âNo, no, no, Iâm too stupid and clumsy. Iâm only going to ruin the food and hurt the restaurantâs reputation.â
âHow would you know that if you donât try? As long as you genuinely want to make delicious food for our customers, Iâm sure youâll be able to succeed.â Mag looked at her with an encouraging smile.
âCan I really do it?â The gentle encouragement in Magâs eyes reminded Yabemiya of her motherâs kind gaze, but she was still a little hesitant.
âOf course you can. Youâre a good girl with a great work ethic; Iâm sure youâll be more than capable enough for this task.â Mag nodded with a confident expression.
âFatherâs right. Big Sister Miya is super awesome. I really want to taste ice cream made by Big Sister Miya.â Amy had also appeared at the entrance of the kitchen, and offered words of encouragement.
âYou can do it. Youâll actually be good at a lot of things if you believe in yourself.â Sally also offered Yabemiya an encouraging smile.
Yabemiya was suddenly filled with confidence, and she stepped forward as she asked, âThen⦠can I try
it?â
âOf course you can. Even if you donât succeed on your first few tries, it doesnât matter. The weather is so hot today; we could use some ice cream to cool us down.â Mag nodded with a smile before instructing Yabemiya how to use the ice cream machine.
The ice cream machine was a fully automatic piece of high-tech equipment that appeared daunting at first, but was actually quite simple to use. After mixing together all of the required ingredients, anyone would be able to press the right sequence of buttons to produce the ice cream. The only technical part was catching the ball of ice cream perfectly at the center of the wafer cone, ensuring no damage was done to the ball as well as that the second ball of ice cream could balance perfectly on top of the first without the two affecting each otherâs structure and shape.
Those two elements required finesse and technique, and it had taken Mag many tries in the test field for the God of Cookery to find the best way to do things.
âMake sure to concentrate; press this button, and the ice cream machine will be turned on. A ball of ice cream will fall from here, and you need to use the cone to catch it like soâ¦â Mag began to explain the steps to Yabemiya.
All the while, Yabemiya looked on with rapt focus, asking a question from time to time. She often operated the dishwasher, so she was used to kitchen utensils that could do work at just the press of a button.
âWhere are you going, Young Master?â Yngwie was slightly surprised to see Blour on his way out of the elven embassy.
âThe dinner service is about to begin soon. I plan to go scouting at Mamy Restaurant again.â Blour nodded with a serious expression. He had changed into a set of blue and white robes, and also reverted back to his normal male appearance.