A Stay-at-home Dad’s Restaurant In An Alternate World

Chapter 676 Why is a Man Like You Trying to Friendzone Me

“As expected, you’re still much more professional than I am when it comes to picking out chicken.” Mag gave the man a thumbs-up with an admiring light in his eyes.

“You’re far too kind, Brother. If it weren’t for you stepping back there, I would’ve been in a lot of trouble right now.” The man gave a bashful smile before handing over a fire chicken drumstick to Mag. “This is the drumstick from that chicken you just killed. That chicken was the best of the bunch and satisfies all of the criteria I just told you about. Try it out and see if it tastes different compared to normal chicken.”

It was quite clear that the man wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so Mag took drumstick in the end after a brief hesitation. “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

“Good. Come find me again if you need to buy chicken next time; I’ll be sure to pick out the best one for you.” The man nodded with a bashful smile.

“Thank you.” Mag concluded the slightly strange conversation with a smile before departing. He had obtained both the fish and the chicken. Afterward, he went to source potatoes and other secondary ingredients, all of which were the freshest that the market had to offer.

Ironhide Bull beef wasn’t always readily available in the food market, but Mag was in luck, and soon discovered a stall where two well-built men were selling Ironhide Bull. By the time he got there, most of the meat had already been sold, thereby indicating the clear mismatch between demand and supply for this prized meat.

A man with two scars on his face and his left arm in a sling yelled, “Come and have a look, everyone, this is beef from the 4th-tier magic beast, the Ironhide Bull. Our mercenary squad had to take a great risk to capture this thing, and two of my brothers have sustained some serious injuries. This is meat that we had to risk our lives to obtain, and you’re certainly not going to see this every day.”

The other mercenary also had some scars on his body, but they were clearly new, which indicated that they had indeed gone to great lengths to secure their prey.

Mag looked at the two of them, and he couldn’t help but recall the Rose Mercenary Squad that he had encountered during his trip to hunt an Ironhide Bull. Sivir had delivered the money from selling the Ironhide Bull to his restaurant, and that was the last time that he had seen her.

These mercenaries were willing to risk their lives to hunt down an Ironhide Bull. As expected, the mercenary occupation was truly one where people wagered their lives for profit.

The mercenary’s words attracted the attention of many of the customers in the market. The meat of 4th-tier magic beasts was very uncommon in this food market, and even though it was being sold for quite a high price, there were still many customers who were willing to spend good money to taste such a delicacy.

Mag made his way over to the stall, and he raised his eyebrows slightly in response to what he saw. He then turned and strode toward the entrance of the food market as he said internally, “System, this Ironhide Bull was slain yesterday, and they didn’t even completely drain it of blood, so it can only be referred to as inferior quality beef. There’s only one Ironhide Bull in the entire food market, and when I get to Rodu, I can just ask them to prepare a fresh Ironhide Bull for me. That means I’ve completed the mission, right?”

“Ding! Following the system’s verification, it is confirmed that all of the ingredients purchased were the best that the market had to offer. Due to the low quality of the Ironhide Bull beef and the lack of available options, the system deems that you have indeed completed the mission!

“Ding! 0.5 of a strength has already been delivered. Would you like to activate it now?”

“Absolutely not!” Mag immediately refused. He didn’t want to be electrocuted into a spasmodic idiot in front of all of these people.

With this additional half of a strength point, I now have a total of four strength points, which means my body has reached the level of a 4th-tier knight. With Mag Alex’s sword techniques, I should be able to protect myself relatively well on the Norland Continent, Mag thought to himself as he clenched his fists. From now on, he wouldn’t have to hide behind Amy anymore. Instead, he was going to become Amy’s guardian.

After exiting the food market, Mag went straight back to the restaurant. The time was just past 2 pm, right in the quiet juncture between lunch and dinner.

Mag had just poured a glass of water for himself when he heard the sound of knocking on the door.

Mag put down the glass and opened the door, only to find Blour standing outside while holding Anna’s little hand.

“What brings you two here?” Mag asked with a smile. During this recent period of time, Blour would often bring Anna over for meals. The little girl was very clever and adorable, and had become one of Amy’s good friends. Mag was also quite fond of her, but this clearly wasn’t the time for a meal.

“Boss Mag, I have to go out on a trip, and it’ll be rather difficult to take Anna with me. She doesn’t want to stay at the elven embassy, either, so I could only bring her here. Would you be able to look after her for me for a few days?” Blour asked with a resigned expression.

“Uncle Mag, I want to learn cooking from you. Is that alright?” Anna looked up at Mag with a determined expression.

“Well…” Mag looked at Anna, and then turned his gaze back to Blour.

“This isn’t my idea; she insisted on coming here.” Blour shrugged in resignation.

Mag turned back to Anna and looked into her eyes. Even though she was still very young, her eyes were filled with determination, and there seemed to be a light shimmering in them.

“Anna, do you really want to learn how to cook?” Mag asked with a serious expression.

“Yes.” Anna nodded firmly without any hesitation.

A smile appeared on Mag’s face as he nodded, and said, “Alright, if you want to learn, then you can learn cooking from me from today onward. I’ll continue to teach you as long as you still wish to learn.”

“Thank you, Uncle Mag.” Anna spread open her arms and threw herself at Mag.

Mag squatted down and opened his arms as well before enveloping Anna in a gentle hug. He patted her pack, and gently said, “Cooking is going to be very tiring and difficult, though, so you have to learn to persevere and be strong.”

“Yes, I will.” Anna took a step back, and there were already tears shimmering in her eyes, but she nodded firmly and refused to let her tears fall.

Heh, she seems to be more interested in this guy than someone as absurdly handsome as me, Blour thought indignantly as he saw the admiration on Anna’s face.

“Alright, come in and have a glass of water first. I have some things that I have to discuss with Blour.” Mag carried Anna over to a nearby chair and placed a glass of water in front of her. He then ushered Blour over to the door, and whispered, “How long will you be away for? I’m going to journey to Rodu in half a month as well, and I can’t take Anna with me, either.”

“Barring any mishaps, I should be back within five days. If something happens, then I’ll have to get you to permanently look after Anna. I know that you’re a good man, Boss Mag,” Blour said with a carefree expression.

“Why is a man like you trying to friendzone me[1]?” Mag rolled his eyes as he looked at Blour for a while before shaking his head as he said, “I’m only going to give you six days.”

“Alright.” Blour smiled as he waved farewell to Anna, and said, “Goodbye, Anna.”

“Bye bye.” Anna also waved farewell to Blour in response.

[1] In China, getting a “good guy card”, in other words, being told that you’re a good guy is one of the ways to friendzone men (you’re a good guy, but…).