After the meal, they went straight to their room, but when they were about to go up the stairs, the manager stopped them.

"Welcome back Mr. Sian, as a room became vacant, I took the liberty of preparing our best room for you." He handed the key to Sian and continued. "It is room number 1 on the third floor, we have already prepared the other bed you requested. I hope you enjoy your stay."

With the key in hand, they went straight to the new rented room, which was much better than the old one, since it had two rooms, one being the living room and the other a bedroom. If you compare, the size of the first room was almost the same as the previous one. Considering that the previous one was for several people, this rented room could be considered acceptable even by noblemen with a low rank.

They had furnished the living room, there was a table with some chairs and at the corner of the living room, there was a wooden center surrounded by four armchairs. In the bedroom, there was a dresser, a wardrobe, an enormous bed and a small one.

That rented room was obviously superior to the old one, even the mattresses were softer and with genuinely clean sheets, unlike the old straw mattresses with yellowed sheets.

Taking some things they just bought out of the magic bag and putting them on the table, Sian said. "I'm going to take a look at the place where the inn is going to be built, you two can rest here."

"I want to go too!" Emily jumped excitedly around him.

"You need to rest so you can eat lots of delicious food later." He stroked her head.

"Really?" Emily's eyes were sparkling when she heard the words 'delicious food'.

"Really really." Sian said. "Now be a good girl and stay here with Mommy, I'll be right back."

Before leaving, Sian sneaked past a bag of fruit to Ophilia.

***

'I hope Ophilia enjoys this time between mother and daughter, she was very anxious about it.'

'After all, they spent so much time away from each other...’

When thinking about it, his parents immediately came to his mind.

‘...I wonder if my parents are still alive? It would be nice if I could meet them… What would they think if they saw me?’

'I have a feeling that one day I will be able to find them, or at least discover something about them.'

'But in the meantime, I think it’s not a bad idea to start my own family.’

'Even though I met Emily for the first time today, I feel an indescribable connection with her, I have a feeling that we can genuinely become a father and daughter.'

‘In addition, every time I look at that beautiful, laughing little face, I feel like hugging her and squeezing those cheeks.’

'I think I need to start worrying about her education and I also need to solve the problem of her low amount of mana. It’s really very abnormal to have almost nothing…’

'Well, I think I’m rushing things, I need to go slow or she may end up moving away from me, she still needs to recognize me as a father. ’

Soon after leaving the inn, while his head was full of thoughts, Sian spotted a familiar figure. It was the young woman with red hair and freckles from yesterday who couldn't speak a word without stuttering.

'What was her name again?...’

While Sian tried to remember the name, the young woman approached him and bowed suddenly. "Ex-Excuse me."

Realizing she had Sian's attention, she continued. "Tha-Thanks fo-for yesterday, he-here's yo-your basket."

“You didn't need to return the basket, it was part of the gift.” Sian said.

"Bu-But it se-seems too ex-expensive, I-I can't accept." Emma lifted the basket.

"Just accept it, you can sell it if you don't want to." Sian said as he prepared to move on.

“Bu-Bu-But…” She didn't seem to know what to say and started to tremble slightly.

'She looks very nervous and afraid...'

'Is it afraid of me? But I think she doesn’t know my reputation...’

‘Oh! I think I can use this as an experiment in case Emily gets scared about something.’

'I think I can do as Ophilia did before.'

Thinking that, Sian approached and hugged her, placing her head next to his chest and stroking her hair. "You don't have to be afraid of me, I won't hurt you."

But instead of calming her down, her trembles only increased.

“Ple-Ple-Please...”

‘This isn’t working, maybe I should use a bit of light magic to increase effectiveness.’

With no one noticing, a transparent layer of magic enveloped Emma.

"Don't worry, you can rest assured, I won't hurt you." Sian said, still hugging and stroking her head.

She quickly stopped trembling, even her breathing stabilized.

‘Light magic never disappoints me.’

Releasing her from his embrace, he asked. "Are you calmer?"

She nodded while her cheeks were slightly reddish. "I'm better now, I'm sorry about before."

"Don't worry about it, just accept the basket as a thank you for yesterday." Sian filled the basket with fruit.

"Is it okay for someone like me to receive this gift?" She asked timidly.

'What does she mean by 'someone like me'? It's just a basket. Well, whatever.'

"Yes, it's all yours, you can do whatever you want with it." Sian said.

"Then I will do my best not to let you regret it." Emma said with a determined face.

"Yes yes, do your best." Sian stroked her head.

With Sian's action, Emma didn't seem to know what to do while blushing even more than before.

'I think she is taking this very seriously.'

‘Stopping to think, when she doesn't stutter, she even looks like a different person, it's like she's gone from a frightened mouse to a shy little girl.’

‘Seeing her like that, makes me want to provoke a little bit just to see her reaction.’

‘If I remember correctly, I think there was something about this at the Sacred Treasure… Some restaurants hire women with distinct personalities and make them sexy or cute to attract customers.’

'Hmmm... I think we can try this, I would certainly like to be attended by a woman in a sexy uniform...’

While Sian was lost in thought, Emma was growing redder and redder.

"I have a proposal for you." Sian placed both hands on her shoulders. "Do you want to work at my restaurant?"

After a brief moment, he bowed and said. "I can't cook, sorry to disappoint you."

"No problem, you can work as a waitress, what do you think?" Sian said.

She lifted her head, looking at him with resolute eyes. "You can leave it to me, I may not have experience, but I'll do my best to learn fast."

Sian nodded his head in approval.

'She looks like a very serious and sincere girl, I can't wait to see her in uniform.'

"This is great, I will open the restaurant in a month at the most, so you can get ready." Sian said.

After talking a little more with her, Sian said goodbye.

As the place he bought was close, it didn't take long to get there.

Slowly examining the place, he was trying to find the best spot to build the inn.

Although the terrain was wide, there were stones scattered all over the place, along with some trees and a tremendous amount of green grass, which gave a fresh and pleasant air of nature.

When his gaze passed over the river, he saw a slightly tanned little girl bathing the way she came into the world.

‘If I remember correctly, the butler had said that children used to come to play in the river. I think it must be common for them to bathe here since it is shallow and close to the city.’

Ignoring the little girl, he looked around again.

'Since there aren't a lot of irregularities around here, I don’t think it will be too much trouble. I just need to make the land a little bit more flat, take out these rocks, clear the bush and pluck the trees.'

‘At the Sacred Treasure it said that if I’m doing a big construction it’s good to take advantage of a nearby river, but how would I do that?’

‘Stopping to think, I don’t even know what the inn will be like… Or rather, I don’t know anything about construction...’

'I think it is better to look for someone who understands about this... And someone who understands management too, I don't want to have to work so hard...'

'I think there shouldn't be anyone like that in such a small town, and the possibility of finding a slave who understands is also small, but it costs nothing to try.'

'I'll take a look at yesterday's merchant caravan, I think they must have set up a tent at the fair.'

"Hey!"

As he was about to leave, a youthful voice called out from behind. Turning around, the little girl from before was there, staring at him with her brown eyes while her long black hair dripped water over her back. Although she was dressed now, her outfit looked more like a bunch of rags nailed together in the shape of a dress.

She seemed to be at most 11 or 12 years old, but after seeing her face, Sian got surprised, unable to believe what he was seeing.

'What's going on?!'