Krune returned to his restaurant, which so happened to be open. As he passed by the customers, he was complimented by the regulars here and there. Obviously, seeing that the real spiritual chef was back, they immediately asked for his dishes. Krune was happy to hear that and decided to head directly to the kitchen.
Nina and Jilin were preparing the dishes when they saw Krune appearing. Nina, of course, was delighted to see him.
"Master!"
Krune laughed as he patted her head.
"I'm back. It seems like you already have gotten used to being a Spiritual Chef again, uh? This Spiritual Calon smells great. I can see that you harmonized the energy inside very well."
Nina blushed as she nodded.
"It's because Master taught me well."
Krune then turned around and checked Jilin's work.
"This seems great too. Nice work with the finalization!"
Jilin also accepted Krune's compliment.
"Thanks, Master. Are you going to cook now?"
Krune nodded.
"But of course. A lot of the regulars outside saw me and already made some requests. Today is going to be busy, so let's do our best. Oh! Tonight, don't go home straight away. I have a few things to talk about with you two and the others. I already told Bai outside about it."
Bai could be said to be the second-in-command already. When Krune was not around, he was basically the one who took care of everything. He had joined Krune's restaurant with Nina back in Immai City.
Nina and Jilin noticed that it seemed to be something important. Still, since he asked to wait for the restaurant to close, they would need to wait for work to be over.
The day passed in a flash as the dishes kept coming and going. Eventually, it was time to shut the doors. Krune didn't even do that anymore. Bai always took care of it. It's just that today, the waiters and the two chef apprentices didn't go home. Lino had been working as a waiter as well, so he was obviously there too.
Everyone gathered in the Hall as Krune stayed in the kitchen to cook. As always, he liked to make his own High-Level dishes for the others to eat as well. Not to mention that they were beneficial for his own cultivation.
Krune then served everyone the dishes, and they began to eat. While at eat, he started to talk.
"It's still too early, but I want you all to know that I'll be leaving the City in more or less five years from now. I've been away from home for way too long, so I feel like it's a good time to go back."
Everyone was taken aback by that.
"Did something happen?"
Krune nodded.
"The only reason I've been staying for so long was that I couldn't go back. For a particular reason, the passage to send me back was blocked. However, I finally found a way to open it again, so I can finally get back. Still, it is like I said. It won't happen before five years are gone, so there is no need to worry too much about it before that."
Nina suddenly stood up from her seat and said.
"If Chef Krune is going, I'm going too!"
Krune was happy to hear that. Well... he thought that she said that because she wanted to learn more about cooking with him, though. But just as he was going to talk, Lino looked at Krune and asked.
"You are going back to your wife, right?"
Although he asked that to Krune, his real intention was for Nina to hear it. He really felt helpless about the situation. Not only once, but his sister fell in love with the same guy twice! As always, the only one who didn't notice anything was Krune himself. By now, everyone already understood just how dense he could be. Lino hoped that Nina would wake up after hearing Krune's answer.
Krune, of course, nodded straight away.
"Isn't that obvious? I haven't seen my wife and daughter for almost nine years already. Although I can still talk to them through the communicator, it is not the same as touching them. I know I'm not that good with feelings, but I also miss them, you know?"
The light on Nina's eyes dimmed as she heard how Krune talked about that girl she had never seen before.
Krune then looked at Nina and tried to change her mind.
"I know you want to learn more about cooking from me. Jilin is the same as you too. However, there is no need to worry. I'll do my best to teach you two all I know during these next five years. By the time I need to leave, you two will definitely be full-fledged Spiritual Chefs who can assume the restaurant's command."
Nina almost screamed in her mind.
'No, that's not why I want to go with you!'
Unfortunately, the shadow of the woman she had never seen before made the words she wanted to vocalize become stuck in her throat.
Krune then continued.
"Oh, that's right. This restaurant itself isn't worth much. What makes it valuable are the dishes we prepare here. That being said, I see no problem in leaving this building to you guys. Bai will be in command as always. After all, it's all thanks to him that the restaurant has been working smoothly. He is the best when it comes to its management."
"As for how you guys want to share the income, I'll leave that up to you. Of course, since Jilin and Nina will be the Spiritual Chefs, they will get the biggest cut, just like I do. After all, a Spiritual Dishes restaurant can not exist without Spiritual Chefs."
Bai looked at Nina's gloomy face and sighed. Still, he thought that it was for the best too. It was evident for him and everyone else how much Krune loved this wife that no one saw before.
"Don't worry, Chef Krune. I'll do my best to keep the restaurant running until you come back."
Krune narrowed his eyes after hearing that.
"To be honest, I don't know if I will ever come back. The place I'm going is just too far away. It's not like you can take a few long-distance teleportation formations and arrive. No teleportation formation can send you there. Obviously, no teleportation formation can bring me back here either."
Nina's expression became even worse after hearing that.
Jilin then put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.
"Don't worry, Chef Krune. With Nina and me here, your restaurant will always be open. Right, Nina? As for you, Nina, there is no need to show such a sad expression. Don't forget, this is something that will only happen in five years. You still have a lot of time to 'wrap things up' with Chef Krune."
He was trying to help her. Sure enough, Nina understood the meaning behind his words, and so did everyone else. Well, everyone else except for a certain wisp. Poor Nina couldn't help but get red once more. Still, she agreed in her heart that Jilin was right.
"Alright! I will do my best."
Krune, as clueless as ever, nodded his head in satisfaction.
"I'm glad to hear that. You two better be prepared. For the next five years, I will help you as much as I can with your cultivation and Spiritual Chef Skills. Of course, there will be a few times where I need to go out to hone my skills. After all, I'm also a cultivator."
"Anyway, our dishes' Spiritual Energy is escaping. Let's finish our dinner first, shall we?"
Everyone nodded, and they began to eat once more.
Later that night, Krune returned to his room. As always, Luvile used his Tribulation Lightning and sealed it so that no Divine Sense could see what they were doing.
"Luvile, what do you think?"
Luvile knew what Krune was talking about.
"Sigh... It's like I said, there was no point in telling you about what happened in the past. So yes, the gods from that time tried to force their way out through the exit, including me. This is a piece of information that would only make any sense after you reached the level of a god yourself."
"However, I don't think that calling ourselves gods is the correct term anymore. After feeling Zule's power, even if just for a few moments, I noticed just how much of an ant I am."
"Still. I've never thought that the situation was that complicated. A Primordial Kun-Peng was ambushed with his family and was used as a sacrifice? He was part of the group who created our Four Realms? The Four Realms' creation had a reason, and Zule almost got his Soul destroyed when he tried to remember what this reason was. We might be walking on tenterhooks at this very moment, and we don't even know it. Also, the god up in the God Realm already found two of the keys to use in the exit. Even I think that this is too much information at once."
Krune agreed with him.
"That's true. Anyway, I think our first move is to go get your body back as soon as possible. With my Godly Energy Meridians and actual cultivation, I probably can contend against Peak Divine Realm cultivators and demon beasts of the Mortal Realm. We should go to Luvile's universe to check it out."
Luvile shook his head in response.
"Not yet. Leave my body there for the time being."
Krune was taken aback.
"Why is that?"
"Simply put, my Soul hasn't recovered enough to take control of it yet. I'm basically in the same situation as Zule when he was just a Soul Fragment. I don't have enough power for it."
Krune understood and reached a decision.
"In that case, what do you need to increase your recovery speed? I'll do my best to help."
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