"Better than the last. Better than the last. Better than..." Almost like a personal mantra, Kael was mumbling words as he worked. His work had begun early in the morning, well before the inn opened for guests, and he had been at it ever since. Kael had been on preparation duty for almost a week now, and he was finally making some headway. Eduard was still as grumpy and distant as always. Not that Kael minded, really, everything that Edward complained about was a fair criticism of his work, never once venturing into anything personal. Complaining was also not the only thing the older man did. Whenever Kael made a mistake, he would take the time to show him how to do the work correctly, no matter how silly a mistake it might seem. Kael's morning usually began with potatoes. Lots and lots of potatoes. The dishes change daily, but the staple tuber was always needed. From peeling to cutting, Kael had processed more potatoes in the last week alone than he could count. His work had been slow and shoddy in the beginning, making him slow and having to redo much of his work. Instead of being depressing, he had somehow found motivation in the process. He did not need to be perfect, but every potato had to be better than his last. When he had finished the final tuber of the day, he could really see the difference. Over time, he began to also work on other vegetables like onions, turnips, celery, and carrots, repeating his potato experience while keeping the work somewhat fresh.

Today was no different, and after he had finished with the last of his tasks, he turned to his taskmaster and asked for more instructions."I am done with the carrots. What's next?" Without even looking up, Eduard answered: "Nothing, you are done for the day. Try to finish before we open next time." Kael could not stop himself from grimacing. While it was true that he had been getting better, there was still a long way to go."Yes, Sir! I'll do better tomorrow." After washing his utensils and cleaning the table he had been working on, Kael left the kitchen, greeting Sean on his way to his room. He expected to receive the usual nod of the head that the man used whenever he played the role of a serious bartender, instead he heard the man call out to him. "Oh hey, good job in the kitchen today. Barbara said for you to visit her in her office when you are done for the day."

Barbara was sitting behind her desk, writing when Kael entered her office. Without looking up, she motioned for him to sit down and wait while she finished what she was working on. So Kael waited, looking around the room to pass the time. A few minutes later, Barbara sorted and stacked the pile of papers on her desk in a neat pile before putting it to the side. Done with her work, she finally looked up at Kael and smiled. “Good to see you, Kael. I hope your first week was not too stressful?”

“No, no. It was hard but rewarding. Edward is tough, but there is so much for me to learn, and he always makes sure to help when I ask.” - “Oh? I’m happy you get along well. Now do take care to rest properly. Motivation is good, but from what I hear you are almost longer in the kitchen than our head chef. You can’t improve if you're sick in bed after all.” - “Yes, I know. I’ll take care not to overdo it.” He said, adding once I am done with the basics in his head. “Very well. Now, I did not call you here just to tell you to be careful. Over the last few days, I have been making some inquiries about your background. Sadly, it appears that the old man you talked about was from outside of the region, making my research painfully slow. I will keep working on it, but for now, I know enough to decide how to move forward with your education.” As she talked, Barbara pulled a few papers out of a drawer and placed them on the desk between herself and Kael. “Before we get magical, let's finish all the mundane legal stuff first.” She then began placing one form after the other in front of him, explaining why he needed to sign them.

For the next half an hour, he signed half a dozen documents. An application for emancipation, making him a legal adult before the law, opening a bank account. They filed everything he needed to function independently in society. Afterward, he signed a provisional work contract with Barbara and signed an application to the academy for magic. When they were done, Barbara smiled at him and said: “Very good. There will be some more legal work to do later, but this is enough for now. Are you up for something else? Wonderful, let's go somewhere a little more appropriate.”

They left her office and walked down the hallway to the staircase. Reaching the ground floor, they walked the short corridor to the door connecting the staff area to the kitchen. Barbara turned to him. “I mentioned before that there is more to this restaurant than meets the eye, right? Let me show you! Oh, might as well also show you where you will be having your lessons in the future. It’s a nice are for training, and you are free to go there when you have time.” Kael could feel the movement of mana around Barbara, and, on the opposite side of the door, a part of the wall slid quietly to the side, revealing a wide stairway leading down. Would magic ever get boring, he wondered. How had he never even considered that the building might extend down as well as up? Looking up at Barbara he saw her smiling. “Haha. I never get tired of that look. Follow me, please.”

Already exhausted from the long day of work in the kitchen and the half an hour of legal mumbo jumbo, Kael decided it was not worth the effort to try and get answers to his questions. The staircase was straight and only took a sharp turn right at the end, bringing their heading back towards the center. The wooden walls of the upper areas were replaced by masoned stone. That, and the pleasant, indirect light that illuminated the way down from somewhere, made Kael feel like he was walking through a magical, medieval castle, rather than a restaurant. The stairs ended in a heavy wooden door, barring their way. As Barbara opened it, she explained: “This building, you see, is old. Very old in fact. The upper area has been redone a number of times throughout its existence, but the lower floors are still in their original condition. Granted, we did install a few new amenities that have popped up over the years, but all of the stonework you see is more than a thousand years old.”

A wide, high corridor, running from left to right, greeted them when he stepped through the door. Barbara turned left. It was sparsely decorated and only had doors going inwards, towards the center of the property. That was barring any magical contraptions, of course. “The underground area is quite extensive. There are two more levels below this one, only one of them is in use, however. The lowermost floor is used for storage. Old furniture and the likes. Later I will bring you to the second level where there is a training area that you can use in the future. But first!”

They stopped before one of the doors. To its left, Kael could see a small plaque, denoting its purpose as 'Room 1-3'. “Now, you know that we are a little bit special as a restaurant. The upper dining room is frequented by both normals and those magically inclined. Most of the time, that is fine, but sometimes there are… extenuating circumstances at play. Let's say that there is a group of magicians that wants to talk shop, so to say while eating and drinking. Being quiet and careful works most of the time, but sometimes discussions grow heated. That is where our private rooms come in. These are smaller, private rooms that are safe from prying eyes and ears, making them ideal for meetings or parties.” Nodding, Kael could see why these rooms would be especially useful to the magical community. When he was out and about with Martin, they always had to be careful of their surroundings. Thankfully they mostly talked about mundane topics, thus not feeling too hampered by the problem.

“In the future, serving these rooms will be part of your job. You ready to see one of them in action?” he heard Barbara’s voice. The questions about how the customers could reach these rooms, or why they were entering one that was apparently occupied would have to wait. “No. Let's go.” He answered and stepped forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a smirk on her face. Her voice reached him only a moment later. “No worries. They are harmless, well, most of the time at any rate.”