A month and a half later, everything had changed for Draden and his daughter, Leah. The man had fully settled into his new life, not that it was hard considering he had inherited all the memories of the soul he had combined with. During the last few weeks though, their house had been rebuilt and the restaurant addon was due to be finished that day.

  The people of that world worked quickly due to how strong their bodies inherently were. Even if they weren’t full cultivators, qi naturally strengthened everyone’s body.

  The changes to their living conditions were among the least interesting, as weeks of eating Draden’s new magical cooking had fully healed his leg and reinforced his meridians. Leah’s previously starved appearance had vanished, and she was now cuter than ever before and even had slightly chubby cheeks.

  Draden had slowly built up a small supply of excess ingredients, which he was able to use to broaden the meals he cooked. Lately, he had taken to writing down all the recipes he could remember from Earth.

  Along with that, he and Leah had also spent some time going through the market looking at the local ingredients. There were a few oddities, but they were all small changes than anything completely alien. A normal round onion that was lime green in color instead of purple, white, or brown. Its taste was -in his opinion- similar to a Vidalia sweet onion.

  There were simply more varieties of everything, which would require him to do some experimentation. Just because the normal vegetables and fruits each recipe called for were available, it didn’t mean that another variety wouldn’t make them even better. Either way, the main draw of his restaurant would always be the special ingredients and the chef’s supper special, which would use even more of the special ingredients than usual.

  For the moment though, that was a long-term goal. Right now, they just needed to worry about getting the restaurant up and running without incurring more issues.

  His leg was healed, the mass of twisted scar tissue gone, but it was still weak. The same went for his meridians. They had been continuously reinforced, but the original damage he had suffered to his spine was still there. If he wanted to start cultivating properly again, then he would need to figure out another method to go about it. For now, the energy he was gaining from the food was somewhat similar to a terrible-quality passive qi circulation method.

  He remembered how the original Draden had cultivated, but it wasn’t something he could use due to the injury he had suffered. The only way forward for him was to modify the circulation method through constant trial and error.

  Unfortunately, while Draden had been good with his chosen weapons, and a competent cultivator, his now missing wife had been the genius in that particular field. If she were to see his current condition, there was little doubt in his mind that she would be able to help him. Lorna had been close to making a breakthrough as it was before she was taken.

  Draden glanced at the sun sitting high above, grabbed his kukri knives, bow, and a cane, then began walking toward the nearby city. He probably didn’t need all those items for the relatively short trek into town, but it never hurt to be careful, especially in a world of cultivators and magic.

  Right now, he needed to pick up Leah from school, and he also wanted to talk with her teacher. The woman had done a lot for his daughter, more than she needed to, certainly more than was required of her. He had been meaning to thank her but just hadn’t known how, until then. With the restaurant addon close to being finished, that meant the grand opening wouldn’t be far off.

  He wanted to invite the woman and her family to the event; however small it might be.

  Draden had never really seen himself becoming a chef. He didn’t mind cooking on Earth. It was something he even occasionally enjoyed. But it was not something he would have said that he was passionate about.

  So, it was a little strange that he was now going to be running a restaurant. He already knew that it wouldn’t be run in the modern style, where people could order specific dishes. That was far too much work – especially at the moment. Maybe later, when he was able to start cultivating again. Right now, it would be all he could do to create enough food for the lunch and supper meals.

  Leah liked his food, but he already knew that she was a little foodie. She could find something good to say about nearly any food she ate. Consequently, she wasn’t exactly the best person to ask.

  That was partly why he was asking the teacher and her family to the grand opening. They were Guinea pigs, and they were also going to spread the word all about the city afterward about the special nature of his food. That was partly why he wasn’t as worried as he would have been normally.

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  This was a venture that literally could not fail- as long as he managed to get the word out to everyone.

  Food that helped heal you, strengthened your meridians, or gave you energy, among the many other benefits he had noted. Who could resist that? Sure, you could already buy qi-rich dishes that were made from monster meat. The quality varied from restaurant to restaurant, obviously, more than that, the dish would be priced at least fifty gold coins, minimum, all the way up to spirit coin territory.

  Draden’s restaurant wouldn’t be charging anywhere near that amount, though the full ‘Chef’s Supper Special’ would be more expensive than the regular supper.

  The house and restaurant were only a mile or so outside the city walls. Still, the trip took Draden a few minutes longer than it would others because of his weakened leg. While the damage that had been to it had been healed, the weak muscles that came from years of disuse had yet to fade completely.

  The special ingredients he had been using helped strengthen them, but it was a gradual process. The amount of ingredients he could afford to summon each day, while also fixing up their house and building a restaurant next door, wasn’t much. It added up though, as long as nothing unexpected happened, then they would be fine.

  He walked through the gates of the city with a simple nod to the familiar guards and continued on to the school farther in. A few minutes later, he was standing in front of the fenced walls of the school, listening to the chatter of countless children.

  “You can come inside, you know,” Leah’s teacher Mirna said, as she came up beside him, having spotted him by the fence.

  “I’m aware. I just wanted to make sure none of them are picking on Leah, is all.” He replied calmly.

  She tilted her head, studying him. “You’ve changed over the last few weeks, for the better.”

  “Have I?” Draden wondered. He shook his head, already knowing that it was true, but not wanting to concentrate on it. “I did actually have something to speak with you about.” He leaned against the fence, taking some weight off his leg. “The restaurant that I’m opening is going to have its grand opening celebration in three days. As thanks for everything you have done for Leah, I wanted to invite you and your husband to it.”

  The teacher looked at him with a curious half-smile. “Do you by any chance know to which family I belong?”

  Draden stared back in uncomprehending silence. “I believe Leah has mentioned that your husband is a guard captain, but that is as much as I know about your personal life.”

  She chuckled, covering her mouth. “In that case, I believe we will come. Would it be alright if I invite my father and mother well?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. We’ll probably keep the opening night fairly small, but a couple more people won’t hurt. I’m just looking for ready mouths, empty stomachs, and people who will hopefully be willing to talk about the restaurant to their friends afterward. Assuming, of course, they like my food. Leah does, but she seems willing to eat anything.”

  Mirna chuckled. “I have noticed that about her. She is always looking for the best in people, food, and situations. Leah is a rare girl.” A shadow passed over her face. “I’m afraid of what this world will someday do to her.”

  “I know, as am I. Innocent happiness like hers doesn’t survive for long. Eventually, someone or something feels the need to reach out and sully it with their touch.” Draden’s hands balled into angry fists at the mere thought of something like that happening to his daughter. “I’ll do what I can to keep her safe, but it is going to cost a lot of money and take time.”

  The teacher tilted her head in confusion. “Say what?”

  “Just come to the restaurant. You’ll understand then.” He told her with a smile as Leah ran toward him, the little girl having finally spotted her father lurking by the fence.

  “Daddy, you came to pick up Leah!” She shouted, running around and jumping into his arms. It was something she could only recently do and enjoyed immensely.

  Mirna stared in shock at the action, only then registering that he had been walking around without crutches. The cane was for when his leg grew tired, otherwise it went mostly unused.

  “Your leg,” She whispered. “I’d heard rumors from others who had seen you when you came to pick up Leah, but I had dismissed them. That injury. You had said that it couldn’t be healed without a healer dedicating serious time to the effort. I didn’t think we had anyone with such talent in the area.”

  “We don’t, or at least not to my knowledge.” He swung his daughter up onto his shoulders, letting her straddle his neck. “You’ll know more at the grand opening.”

  With those words still lingering in the air, he walked away, this time actually using the cane due to the extra weight of his daughter. Just outside the gates of the city, he stopped beside a nice tall tree and pulled out a snack he had prepared earlier. It wasn’t anything special as far as food went, but the ingredients made up for that.

  Leah loved them though, and he had to admit he had a soft spot for them as well. They were a type of Korean pancake called Hodduk or Hotteok, depending on the person. He had never been to Korea, but a few friends had introduced the dish to him at the local Asian Market and it had been love at first taste.

  Figuring out how to make it had been another matter entirely.

  They were best when they were hot, but even cold, they were still delicious. When the pancake was hot, the insides had a syrupy texture made from dark brown sugar, cinnamon powder, and nuts. As it cooled, the syrup naturally changed forms from a lava-like liquid to something with a more granule-like texture.

  The inside mixture had actually been relatively easy to work out. Luckily for him, the ingredients were common, unlike on Earth, there was no great division of herbs and other ingredients. The concept of spice wars wasn’t even a thing here.

  The world was a large place, but more importantly, due to how quickly cultivators could move, entire shipping lines came into existence that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible.

  Leah licked her fingers, her small tongue lapping at the tiny sugar granules that had clung to her. “Tasty,” She sighed happily, her head bobbing from side to side.

  For Draden, the pancake helped to restore his strength and energy. After finishing the food, he was able to pick up his daughter and continue walking home.

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