Marcus stood to the side while Draden worked to dig out the fishpond for the restaurant. The mage was helping with his magic while continuing to talk with the sweaty father.

  As the edge of the pond was slowly being formed, the mage was compacting the dirt, hardening it into a cement-like quality.

  “Are you sure you and this friend of yours that you’ve called in will be able to take care of her?” Draden asked in between gasps of air.

  Digging out the ground like this was hard work. This close to the water, the dirt was nice and moist. It wasn’t quite mud, but it was still far heavier than normal.

  The mage nodded. “It will be a few days before she arrives, and her style of teaching is different from mine… However, she is strong, a little weaker than myself,” He made sure to add with a sniff. “But she’ll do.”

  Draden paused at that, memories flitting through his mind. “You called in Carodine, didn’t you?” He asked with a groan.

  *************************

  Please take a moment to rate the story. As the author, I am only putting this story on RoyalRoad at this time. If you are reading it anywhere else, please let me know as it was stolen.

  *************************

  The constant conflicts between the two were almost legendary, and Draden couldn’t think of another mage that Marcus the Mysterious would praise as being even almost on his level. Not somewhere close to them, anyway.

  “I- I have no idea what you’re talking about,” The older man stuttered, unwilling to meet his eyes.

  “You’re so full of it,” Draden muttered, continuing to shovel the dirt out of the ever-growing hole. “So, what is she going to teach Leah, or will she be mainly acting as backup?”

  Marcus snorted and began to cough, thumping his chest as his face gradually went red. “She would never agree to a position less than mine. If we aren’t of equal standing, then she wouldn’t even have considered coming out. No, we will both be her primary teachers, sharing her. Together, our names and reputation should keep her safe. On the occasions when it doesn’t… well, neither of us has ever been against having a little fun.”

  Draden nodded, liking the way that sounded. “Will any of this interfere with your… duties to Whispering Grove?”

  “Whispering Grove is a haven for magic users,” Marcus told him, taking a seat atop the mound of growing dirt, his face turning to disgust as his butt instantly became soaked. “It is less an organization, and more a group of people gathered together. I’m considered an elder due to my experience and power. However, Macron has never recognized them as an official sect, despite repeated requests.”

  “I didn’t realize you needed his permission to become a sect,” Draden panted out.

  “You don’t normally. If Whispering Grove left the city walls, it wouldn’t be an issue,” Marcus cracked his neck and wiggled his bum, creating an unpleasant squelching noise. “That’s not an option for the Grove though, since it exists to take in any magic user who needs help, such as your daughter. That mission would become much harder outside the city walls.”

  “Yet another thing the city lord is scum for then,” Draden muttered.

  “Just so. In any case, I can do as I wish.”

  “Fine, do we need to create a place for you and Coradine to stay at out here, or are you fine with walking from the city each day?”

  Marcus tilted his head in thought. “Now that is an interesting proposal…” He eventually shook his head. “I believe that I will stay in the city for now. I still have some duties that I must perform with Whispering Grove. However, it would be a good idea to prepare a space for Coradine.” He grinned maliciously. “It doesn’t need to be anything nice; a simple mud hut should suit her just fine.”

  Draden groaned and glared at him. “I don’t really know what the history is between the two of you, but I want you to get along whenever Leah is nearby. If she starts picking up bad habits because of you two…” He left the threat unspoken.

  Due to how weak he was, it wasn’t much of a threat, but there were still a few things that he could do to them, especially if they liked his food.

  The mage nodded, taking his words to heart. “Believe it or not, I have taught others before you know… granted, I’ve never taught someone as young as your daughter before.” He scratched at the hair on his chin and focused on Draden. “I’ve been meaning to ask, but what happened to the girl’s mother? You mentioned before that she was a magic user. Would I know of her?”

  Draden thrust the shovel into the ground and turned his head up to the sky, staring at the white, fluffy clouds drifting high above. “I’m sure you have noticed that Leah is half-elf,” He tapped his ears, indicating his status as a human. “Well, that came from her mother. Her name was Lorna-”

  A wave of sorrow and despair ripped through him as he talked about her. “A little over a year ago, her family showed up out of nowhere and kidnapped her. My leg was barely usable at the time, and I had lost my cultivation.” He said bitterly. “There was nothing I could do to stop them. It was all I could do to hide Leah when they arrived and keep them from finding her. I haven’t seen my wife since they took her.”

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  “Lorna,” Marcus murmured, recognizing the name. “The elven-saintess?”

  “Uh, no? I never heard anything about her being a saintess during our time together. Her healing magic was great, but so were her light and fire magics.”

  “No, I’m almost positive it’s her. She had run away from home, but instead of lying low, she began to gain notoriety over the next few years. Then it was declared that she was the next elven-saintess, and I guess that is when they went after her.”

  Draden ground his teeth, unwilling to believe that the world he had found himself in would be that unfair and greedy. He could accept it was that way for himself; both sides of himself were used to how the world could be. However, he refused to accept that Leah’s mother had been kidnapped by her family simply because some moron had declared her as the elven-saintess.

  “If that is true, then I have a bone to pick with whoever declared her as the saintess.” He growled at last, angrily thrusting the shovel into the ground so hard that the handle shattered.

  With the tool now broken, he decided it was time to head inside to get cleaned up and begin preparing the food for that night. He had already decided that he was going to prepare the same menu as what he had done the night before. The change to using fewer ingredients from Earth actually made it easier on him in some ways. Though, in all honesty, a lot of the spices were still coming from there.

  He would need to test it later and see how much qi energy this batch contained.

  The energy from the spices would be somewhat diluted and get spread out, which would be perfect.

  While he was working inside the restaurant, Marcus was using his magic to create a new section onto the house. He was using his control over the earth to compact and shape the dirt. The earthen walls were far harder than the wooden ones, and warmer as well. The new section had a hallway that connected directly to the restaurant, allowing Leah and Draden to pass between the two without going outside. It would be far safer for the little girl at night.

  Of more immediate concern, the new section would serve as a classroom for Leah and Marcus, as well as Coradine when she arrived.

  By the time Draden had finished prepping everything for the meal later, Marcus had finished as well. The older man was leaning on his staff and sweating, but he had managed to complete the new room and hallway within the span of a few hours. The finishing touches still needed to be done, such as paint, windows, lighting, and wooden planks for the flooring, along with a covering on the roof. However, outside of those items, it was done.

  “I should have hired you to build the restaurant,” Draden told him with a raised brow. “The workers I hired did good work, but they can’t compete with your speed.”

  Marcus leaned backward, cracking his back with a groan. “Ugh, I haven’t done something like this in a long time. It is more tiring than I remember it being. Do you mind if I use your bath before we leave?”

  “No, that’s fine. Go ahead. I need to create a list of what needs to be done in here still, so I know what to buy,” Draden told him with a careless wave.

  He would need to get another shovel later when he went to retrieve his daughter from the school. Adding a few more items to the order would actually be better in his case, otherwise, he would have had to carry the shovel back. Not the end of the world, but certainly an annoyance. With more items, he could simply get them to deliver everything later, all at once. It was how he had gotten most of the supplies for the improvements to the house out there.

  A short while later, they were walking into the city. They were a little early, but that was fine, as it would give Draden the chance to hit the market beforehand instead of after.

  Another day, and more money disappeared from his ever-decreasing funds. He was in no condition to go to one of the other cities that held more of his money, either.

  Unfortunately, that meant that he needed the restaurant to really begin taking off, otherwise, they would be in trouble. His system, if you even really wanted to call it that, did exactly one thing at the moment.

  If he used it correctly, then it had the potential to generate some decent income. However, as he had seen the night before, it also had the potential to bring down some unwanted attention on him and his daughter. Marcus and Coradine would help with that in time, but that would mean revealing their presence first, which would inevitably bring even more attention.

  It was a catch-22 type of situation, and all he could do was hope that the business took off. He knew he was making a lot of mistakes with how he was going about setting up the restaurant. That said, he had his reasons for making those supposed mistakes.

  After ensuring that everything would be delivered to the house later, the two headed for the school.

  Standing imperiously at the gate was Dajra, who was arguing with several well-dressed men.

  Marcus clicked his tongue and cursed. “Bloody nobles. A bunch of filthy locusts, the lot of them. I can’t believe they’re already swarming.”

  “You think that they’re here for Leah?” Draden asked, his voice dropping dangerously.

  The mage nodded. “It’s too much of a coincidence otherwise.”

  Draden growled angrily, his hand squeezing the leather-wrapped hilt of his sword tightly. The leather groaned as he forcefully held himself back. Without his cultivation, there was no way he could handle these men. More time was needed before his core would be healed enough for him to start cultivating again. Soon though, he would be able to start reconstructing his core, at least he believed so.

  Angrily, the duo walked past the men, giving Dajra a solid nod of appreciation.

  With a cry of anger, one of the men reached out and grabbed Draden’s shoulder, forcing him to stop. “Where do you think you’re going? If we don’t get to go inside, then no one gets to go inside the school!”

  In an instant, Draden’s sword had vanished from its place inside the scabbard and was held with unwavering intensity against the man’s neck. Next to him, Marcus had formed a long, thin spike of stone, his magic holding it aloft and at the ready. Dajra was a beat slower, as she took time to sigh, formed a razor-sharp leaf from the fragments on the ground, and began spinning it like a saw blade.

  “I already said that only parents are allowed to come inside the school premises and talk with the children. Your patrons should know better, and if one of my students should happen to go missing, or their family becomes injured after this, I will know who to blame. And trust me, my brother-in-law’s stupid games won’t be able to protect you. Lest you have forgotten, my family has been here far longer than any of you new nobles. We have deeper ties to every true family and power here than you ever could. Everyone owes us favors; eliminating a jumped-up house or five won’t even be an imposition. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?” She finished in a thunderous roar.

  https://www.amazon.com/author/joshuakern

  https://joshuakernbooks.com/