New Life, New Task: I'll Be A Mom Then!!!

The two legendary grandpas gave hearty laughs hearing Eli's agreement. As their energetic laughs sounded, the room was instantly filled with warmth and excitement.

"Good lass! Good Lass!" Grandpa Ben exclaimed in a jovial mood. In his happiness, he clapped and raised his hands, like a man who had just won the grand prize of the lottery.

"Young Eli, we will make history!!! And more money!!!" Grandpa Andi was also full of excitement. His eyes were filled with enthusiasm that it squinted into a straight line, almost looking like a little laughing Buddha.

Eli, seeing the exhilarated grandpas, started to become flattered. Shyly, she commented, "Although I didn't really expect that it will have an impact like this… Grandpa Andi, Grandpa Ben…"

Her eyes drooped in a worried expression, and with a serious tone she continued,

"I have many worries and many doubts about this invention.. That is why I need your help. If you see that it will also help the Seirende Empire, I am more than willing to let this technology be known, but only with your guidance and support."

Then even with her now more obvious baby bump, Eli still assumed a bow of respect towards the two.

The two grandpas had a thoughtful expression on their faces. In their minds, they are baffled about how an asani would come up with such a breakthrough idea. But seeing her humbly asking for their guidance and support, without a hint of pride but in pure humility, their liking towards Eli increased by leaps and bounds.

"Young lass, we will be with you! Do not worry, we have your back!" Grandpa Andi said in a resolute tone. Grandpa Ben also gave a nod of assurance.

"Now now.. Aren't you going to shop for things, we may be holding you up for too long!" Grandpa Andi, clapped his hands and reminded everyone of Eli's other agenda in coming to Silvertown.

"Ohh yes I almost forgot!" Eli let out a gasp. Then remembering that she will be shopping until they drop, a hint of excitement showed in her eyes.

"About this innovation, let us talk about it another time. We will inform you by the time we will visit your home. We still need to contact our trusted people in the institute for their opinions about this one.. We will bring them along if we can.." Grandpa Ben was the one who wrapped up the conversation.

'The Farauld Magic Institute..' It was the first time Eli had heard of it. She decided to inquire things about this with the book of knowledge later on. But for now, she set her sights on her goal for today.

'Finally shopping!'

The rest of the conversation was about the endless nagging of the two grandpas towards Eli and her companions. The cautions they need to consider, especially for Eli and Baobao who were peculiar existences in Prasinos. They were worried too much that Grandpa Andi gave an itinerary to guide Eli in the entire shopping district of Silvertown.

He also almost pushed Randel into escorting her on her shopping trip. However, Eli respectfully declined.

In the modern world, a common lament for men was that, accompanying women in shopping was one of the most exhausting tasks for them. Because of the long hours it takes for women to finish shopping. Only a few men would say, without flinching, that they were willing to do this for their beloved partners for their entire lives. Very few, without flinching nor whining, nor yawning.

Having an acquaintance, let alone a class A mage, apprentice to a legendary class S, to accompany her in shopping, gave Eli indirect embarrassment. Thus, she respectfully declined the offer.

Patting her shoulder, Grandpa Ben bid farewell, "Young lass, be careful on your way. It was so nice to meet you! I can't wait to see you again soon!"

Smiling, she reciprocated Grandpa Ben with sincere words. Indeed, a pleasurable time spent with these two grandpas, full of wisdom that could never be searched through books. Then, she bid goodbye to the two elders respectfully, while the two and the young butler saw her off.

---

It was midday when Eli managed to proceed exploring the shopping district of Silvertown. Eli, comfortably mounted to Baobao's cushion back with Wisey in tow, proceeded to explore the town's marketplace.

Contrary to its name, Silvertown was rather a colorful town. The structures, with three to four story high buildings, proudly lined up as Eli, Wisey and Baobao took a stroll along the vintage cobblestone road. These houses and buildings were timber framed, giving emphasis to their structure and accent to their tiled walls of assorted colors such as brown, white, peach, yellow and so on. Balconies contain bright displays of lush flower pots that bring bold festive colors uniformly parading at sight. Its colors were even amplified by the light the sun brings at noon.

"Truly a beautiful town!!" Eli commented with pleasure. The aesthetics of the town made Eli feel that she was actually abroad on a vacation. However, her desire to stroll more was hindered by the active midday sunlight that was touching her skin, almost burning it.

After Eli withdrew enough Shinies from her crystal card, she decided to proceed to the area where most restaurants were situated. The food district was also equally beautiful, especially with their stylish alfresco dining area, it gave a feeling of walking in a high class culinary district.

Holding the itinerary map given by Grandpa Andi, she looked for the location of the restaurant the two grandpas highly recommended during their nagging session.

Following the directions according to the itinerary map, they soon reached a half timbered building decorated with white tiles from the second floor up. Its maple brown french windows accented the white tile walls along with the timbre frames. The ground floor was an open dining area with their door frames embossed by varnished oak wood. At the center facade of the ground floor, was a headboard engraved with stylish cursive words - Ristorante di Ragu.

Ristorante di Ragu was one of the most famous restaurants in Silvertown. Unlike its competitors in town, this restaurant did not boast of their high class menu nor aristocratic atmosphere, but a warm and non discriminating customer experience both to distinguished guests and ordinary people alike.

According to Grandpa Andi, the owner of this restaurant was the legendary class A mercenary, Ragu, who had encountered a near death experience in one of his missions. After experiencing this, he decided to leave the bloody path of the mercenaries and pursue a peaceful life with his wife.

Soon, the couple discovered a passion for food and they worked to establish the restaurant that offers their menu to people of all classes and races. As a former mercenary and a family that came from humble backgrounds, the couple stood by their advocacy to cater good food for everyone, the poor and rich alike.

No one dares to throw a fit inside this restaurant. Because if you do, Mr. Ragu will most likely come out with his towering body, adorned with a frilly apron, especially made and embroidered by his loving wife. His overwhelming strength will mercilessly throw the troublemakers out of the place and ban them for lifetime.

A cheerful teenage boy, clothed in a white long sleeve shirt, black suspenders and pants, with a cute black bow neatly fastened on his collar, approached the trio. "Good day patrons, would you like to check out our restaurant?"

"Gladly!" Eli cheerfully replied. When the boy approached them she caught a whiff of the sumptuous aroma of home cooked fried chicken. Her appetite activated. As they entered the restaurant, the boy led them to a wooden log table spacious enough to accommodate the trio especially, the giant Baobao.

After settling down, the boy carefully handed the menu towards Eli. Browsing at the menu. she discovered that there were familiar dishes that exist in her previous world served in this restaurant. Most of the dishes resemble pasta in the modern world, - Aglio Olio, Carbonara, Marinara, Spaghetti, Lasagna and many more. There was also a dish that resembled pizza and her favorite breaded fried chicken!

Immediately, she ordered her favorite fried chicken and a plate of carbonara, 10 bowls of fresh green salad for Baobao, and a bowl of fresh picked fruits and nuts for Wisey. When the food was eventually served, Eli almost drooled because of the aroma of the chicken, freshly fried in oil.

The trio happily enjoyed their lunch.

Especially Eli, who never expected to see familiar dishes from her world. It gave her a nostalgic feeling. The pasta was perfectly cooked al dente, with the perfect amount of saltiness from the guanciale and creaminess of the whole egg and pecorino cheese.

The breaded fried chicken was phenomenal! Perfectly crispy outside, with the chicken skin so crunchy and tasty that she wanted to order a bucket more. The chicken meat was juicy and flavorful! Too bad, there was no rice on the menu so Eli had to make do with the chicken alone.

Soon, they happily finished their lunch. After resting for a few minutes, they paid the bill and generously tipped the cheerful and adorable teenage boy. Exiting in the restaurant still elated, Eli proceeded to go on a shopping spree.

After Eli turned to the corner of the road, a pair of men with mysterious brown cloaks arrived in front of the restaurant. One of the men, in his late twenties, mindlessly looked at the direction where Eli disappeared, his crystal blue eyes filled with confusion as to why he suddenly had the urge to check that corner block.

He stood there blankly for a good few seconds, until a gentle breeze blew his hood out of his head, revealing his silky silver hair. But soon he was awakened from his trance by another youthful looking man, a head shorter than the former, with hair as green as moss and adorable freckles on his cheeks.

"Master, you must eat first, our search for the Asani will require a lot of energy…" the man with the moss hair convinced the silver haired man.

Reminded by his companion about their goal, the silver haired man nodded and proceeded inside the restaurant.

--

*Snippet of Eli's Daily Prayer to the Great One*

Eli sitting at the bedside, looking at the vast stars beyond the window glass, uttered her sincerest prayers,

"Dear Great One, uhmm.. Great Father…

Thank you for everything, Your faithfulness does not falter.

My garden blooms and yields sufficiently,

With millions of shinies my pocket is never empty.

Azayn said that I and Little Han were perfectly fine…

I pray to you, Great Father, that our health will not decline.

I discover things about myself, it's always a surprise,

Today, I seem to have found out that I can't live without rice…

Amen!"

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