A Stay-at-home Dad’s Restaurant In An Alternate World

Dancing was never Mag’s thing—just like singing. He tried some dance moves and gave up quickly. He took a seat and watched Amy dance, smiling all the while.

Amy had to have got her dancing talent from her mother too. Her dance moves might be childish, but she was a quick learner. She looked so cute dancing with her short arms.

She was learning from a lame dancer right now; her moves would become much better when her teacher was replaced by a 3-D dancer.

The chair was not big enough for the kitten to dance on, so it slid down along a chair leg, ran to Amy, and jumped excitedly around her.

“Ugly Duckling, I think you can eat tofu pudding today,” Mag said to his frolicking cat.

“Meow!” the kitten said as it looked back at Mag as if it had understood, its sapphire eyes shining with excitement. It rushed to Mag and brushed its head against his leg.

Amy stopped dancing. “Father, Ugly Duckling can eat tofu pudding now?” she asked, surprised.

Mag nodded with a smile. “Yes. It grows faster than normal cats,” he said. It looks like it’s already one month old. Cats here are truly different.

“But we don’t have any tofu pudding left, do we?”

“The leftover tofu pudding should be enough for it.” Mag had put it into the thermal container. It might not be as tasty as when it was fresh, though. He walked towards the kitchen.

“Meow, meow, meow!” Ugly Duckling jumped happily around the room. It stopped at the kitchen door, staring at Mag, excited.

Mag looked back at its expectant face. Which flavor will it like? He thought a moment, bought two shallow red-and-blue bowls from the system, and filled each with one flavor.

Mag might consider it a family member, and it might be very clean since they often washed it, but he would never let it eat at their table or use their tableware. Customers would find it unacceptable too.

Which will it prefer? wondered Amy as she looked at the steaming tofu pudding in Mag’s hands.

Yabemiya stopped working, and walked over to them curiously.

“Meow, meow!” The kitten stared at the two bowls in Mag’s hands and swallowed. It had waited this moment far too long. It was a dream come true for it. It stood on its hind legs in excitement, but they were not strong enough yet. It fell hilariously on its back.

“Look how stupid you are! Maybe the fall will make you more stupid, and I’ll get rid of you,” Amy said in disgust.

“Meow…” Ugly Duckling got up right away. It rubbed against Amy’s leg, and then looked up with expectation at the two bowls in Mag’s hands.

Mag put the two bowls down on the ground beside the counter. “Eat here. Do not overturn the bowls or scatter your food everywhere,” he warned.

The kitten nodded. “Meow, meow!” It had understood his words. Its eyes went wide as it looked at the tofu pudding. It sniffed at the left one first, and then the right one, as if considering which one to eat.

Mag and the two girls were staring at it with rapt attention, waiting.

“I like the sweet one,” Yabemiya said quietly.

“The savory one is more flavorful and appetizing,” Mag said with a smile.

“Both the sweet one and the savory one are delicious. You should eat the savory one first, and then the sweet one,” Amy suggested.

Ugly Duckling was too overwhelmed by the pleasant smell to hear them. It deliberated for a while, and licked the golden-red syrup.

“Meow!” it cried in excitement, eyes shining, and quickly got back to its syrup and tofu pudding. It was eating happily with a soft sound. The sweet smell floated in the air.

“It prefers the sweet one!” Yabemiya said, excited.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Mag said calmly.

After a while, Ugly Duckling rested its head on the bowl’s edge, and wrapped its two front legs around the bowl. It had found a much more comfortable eating position.

“Ugly Duckling, you’re so gluttonous and lazy, you’ll be fat as hell in no time,” Amy said helplessly.

Nine out of ten orange cats are fat, and the remaining one is very fat. Mag shook his head, watching his lazy cat. Black Coal might’ve been right when he said it will get fat.

Ugly Duckling raised its head after it finished eating everything in the bowl. Its face was messy. It licked its mouth, and turned to look at the other bowl.

Mag took a look at the bowl. Not even a trace of syrup was left.

He had thought it would walk towards the savory one, but it seemed it didn’t want to stand up. It moved over to the second bowl, dragging its hind legs. Then it wrapped its front legs around the bowl, and started eating again. It liked the savory one as much as the sweet one by the look of it.

Amy laughed. “Looks like it likes them both too. Only, it prefers to eat the sweet one first,” she said happily, and crouched down to touch its head. She was pretty satisfied with its performance.

It likes them both? Yabemiya was a little disappointed.

Smiling, Mag shook his head. I should have seen that coming. Orange cats aren’t picky with food. He could totally live with that since his daughter also liked both kinds of tofu. Seeing that Amy was playing with the kitten, Mag took the music box in his hand, and said, “I’ll make some alterations to the music box for you, Amy.”