The Herb King

Olivia's eyes glistened with excitement as soon as she saw the food on their table. "Food!" A line of drool trickled down her lips. The smell of the dishes made her stomach grumble.

Aethelwolf grabbed a clean towel and wiped her drool with it. The little girl was already showing her inner magical beast trait...

Olivia then stared at him with big puppy eyes. "I want to taste every dish on this table!" She said eagerly.

Aethelwolf chuckled at her words. "Sure, but you have to use the spoon and fork like how I taught you and don't use the knife. I'll cut those meat for you." He said while rubbing her head gently.

Olivia nodded her head obediently. "Okay."

"Alright. Let's dig in." Aethelwolf said as he looked at Olivia and Abert.

Olivia smiled widely and she immediately grabbed her spoon and fork.

She was still not proficient in using the spoon and fork when eating so she made a whole lot of mess.

Nom. Nom. Nom. Nom.

Aethelwolf tied a cloth around Olivia's neck to prevent her from dirtying her clothes.

Albert watched the two with a warm smile on his face. His boss truly loves the little girl so much. 'If only she has a mother, they would have been a perfect family...' He thought to himself.

Meanwhile, on the second floor of the restaurant, Julie Irish had just tested their newly improved dishes and wines. There was a light smile beneath her veil. She was satisfied by the recent improvement in the taste of their dishes and wines. "Good job!" She said to the manager of the restaurant.

"Thank you, Miss Julie. The changes to the ingredients made this possible. We are just following the recipe you provided." The manager laughed happily. The earnings of their restaurant tripled after the recent changes in their menu.

"Keep up the good work." Julie Irish said. The ideas inside the book given by Aethelwolf increased the sales in their stores. Although he only added a few things about food, it still managed to improve their dishes by a great margin. Furthermore, the newly improved wines were proving to be extremely profitable.

"Miss Julie, I just want to ask when those high-quality wines would be ready. The low-end wines that you brought were already delicious, I bet those high-grade ones would be even more impressive!" The manager grinned.

Julie Irish stood up and replied. "The preparation for those high-grade wines takes a long time so they won't be ready in the next few months. I'll send you the information once they are ready."

"Thank you so much, Miss Julie. Are you leaving already?" The manager asked.

"Yes. I still have to check the other stores."

"Alright. I'll send you out." The manager offered.

The two went downstairs and just as they were about to get out of the restaurant, Julie paused in her tracks and looked at the public dining area. "Aethelwolf?" She muttered in surprise.

"Miss Julie?" The manager turned his head at Julie.

"You may attend to the other customers. I'll leave by myself later." Julie Irish said to the manager before walking towards Aethelwolf. She noticed that he was eating with his daughter and his guard commander. She already knew who Albert was since the guy recently became famous after everyone learned that he had become a Level 4 Esper.

"Sir Aethelwolf." Julie Irish smiled as he called out to him.

"Eh? Miss Julie, you're here?" Aethelwolf stared at her in surprise.

"I am inspecting our restaurants. I didn't know you were here. I thought you have a meeting with the faculty members of the academy today." She said.

"Please take your seat first." Aethelwolf offered.

Julie Irish took a seat on the chair beside Aethelwolf. "Thanks."

"We just came out of the academy. I decided to check if you had already implemented the ideas in the book. It looks like you've already done it." Aethelwolf smiled as he looked at her.

"After reading your book, I rushed the managers of our store to implement the new recipes. We have also made some sample wines based on the information you provided and our signature wines will be ready in a few months." She then noticed that there was a pair of eyes that was looking at her unblinkingly. She turned her head at the red-haired little girl whose face was covered in sauce and grease.

"You are the elder sister who has no aura. You smell dangerous." Olivia muttered.

"Hm?" Julie Irish stared at her in surprise after hearing her words.

Aethelwolf immediately covered the little girl's mouth with the cloth. He then wiped off the grease and sauce stuck to her face.

Julie Irish squinted her eyes as she looked at Aethelwolf and the little girl. 'Does he know about my power?' It was impossible for a little girl to know about her power so the most plausible explanation was that Aethelwolf somehow discovered her power and he might have said it to his adopted daughter. 'How did he sense my level? I have an Aura Concealing Rune so how did he do it?'

Aethelwolf turned his head at Julie Irish. He noticed that she was now looking at him with a serious gaze. It seems like Olivia's words made her suspicious of him.

He sighed inwardly. 'It seems like I have no choice but to come clean with her.' He muttered to himself. He then gave a signal to Julie Irish to come closer to him.

Julie Irish furrowed her eyebrows, but she still moved closer to his side. "What do you know about me?" She whispered coldly.

"Relax. I have no ill intentions. I only know that you are Level 4 Esper and the veil you are wearing is an artifact that has an Aura Concealing Rune." Aethelwolf whispered to her ears.

Julie Irish frowned at his words. "What else do you know?"

Aethelwolf stared into her eyes and replied. "That's all I know. I swear."

Meanwhile, Albert who seemed to have become a background character stared at the three of them with a strange gaze. "They look like a family." He muttered silently.