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

Elizabeth watched until they vanished behind a corner. They look like normal people, but why do I have this strange feeling that they are dangerous?

A middle-aged man wearing a white long gown pushed the door open and walked in. “What are you looking at, Elizabeth?”

“Nothing. Just two strangers.” She turned away from the window to look at the man. “You said you found something that belonged to Father, Uncle. He had been missing ever since he fought Alex.”

The man raised his hand, in which a small ice blue box appeared. It then flew towards Elizabeth. “I found it at an auction, but I’m pretty sure it’s his. It’s sealed by magic, and only your blood can open it. That’s why I wrote asking you to come here.”

Elizabeth caught the box with shaking hands. She took a deep breath and opened it carefully.

Inside the box she found a ring with a sapphire.

“It’s Father’s ring!” she exclaimed, excited. She picked it up and suddenly looked worried. “It’s his favorite space magic ring; he carried it with him all the time. Something must have happened to him…”

“Some adventurer found it in the wild. He thought it was just a normal ring and auctioned it, and I happened to be at that auction with a friend. I caught your father’s scent on it and bought it. You should open it. There might be some vital clues.”

Elizabeth nodded. Suddenly, an ice needle appeared between her fingers, and she pricked her finger’s tip with it. A blue-silver drop of blood fell onto the sapphire, and got absorbed right away. Suddenly, a magic screen appeared, with a long white-haired middle-aged man on it. “I knew you would find this, Elizabeth.” He smiled.

“Father…” Elizabeth said as she looked at the disheveled man who had once been the king of frost dragons—Rankster. What happened to you?

“You may want to know what happened to me,” Rankster continued. “It’s a long story, but I’m still alive. I threw the ring away. There’s nothing in it, so don’t worry if someone is there with you. They’d be crazy if they wanted to rob you of it.”

Then the magic screen disappeared.

“Father!” Elizabeth reached out her hand but then let it drop, distressed.

“Is there anything else in the ring?” Fox asked, nervous.

Elizabeth was surprised when she checked the ring, but she didn’t show it. Instead, she put on a sad face and put the ring back in the box. “It’s empty.”

Fox was very disappointed. He knew his niece was never good at concealing her emotions, so one look at her face and he decided she was telling the truth.

“Can I keep this ring, Uncle?” Elizabeth asked, her face still sad.

Fox had recovered his calm. “Sure. I’ll take my leave, then. You rarely come here. Why don’t you stay for a few days?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Okay.” She put the box away and watched Fox disappear in a blue-silver light.

Elizabeth waved her hand to close the window and took out the box again. “How did Father know that I wouldn’t be alone when I opened the ring? What’s exactly in it?” she whispered.