As the sun dipped below the horizon, Erik and Talia stood inside the newly-built kitchen, lit using the lighting system Erik had adapted. They surveyed the crowd gathered around, anticipation and curiosity etched on their faces. The villagers stared in awe at the kitchen and pavilion, curiously entranced by the wired lights and electric fans.

Erik couldn't stop the smug smile from spreading across his face as he surveyed the crowd. In his world, magic was a thing of fiction. In this world, the science of Erik's own world was considered magic. The sight of his inventions in this medieval setting was nothing short of surreal, but he had to admit, it was also incredibly satisfying.

Taking a deep breath, Erik faced the crowd, ready to open up shop.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and... whatever else you might be," he began, his voice projecting easily over the murmurs. "Welcome to the grand opening of Erik's Burgers, brought to you by yours truly." He gestured to himself with a flourish. "We've got a wide variety of burgers, fries, and other goodies for you to try tonight, all made with the finest ingredients this world has to offer. Not to mention a special selection of alcohol crafted by the Beggar Princess- er, Miss Talia herself!"

He motioned to Talia, who stepped forward. "Our menu features the classic beef burger, the chicken burger for our more... adventurous patrons," she began, "and even the infamous rabbit burger, which has been known to make even the most hardened of warriors go weak at the knees."

Erik frowned. When the hell did the rabbit burger come into existence?

"We hope that you all enjoy our humble offerings," Talia continued, ignoring Erik's confusion. "Remember, everything is made fresh and to order, so please be patient as we work to serve you the finest meal you've ever had."

The crowd grew more excited as the smell of sizzling meat filled the air. The hungry villagers had never seen anything quite like it before, and their curiosity was piqued.

Erik went to work, grilling and preparing the food while Talia handled the front, gathering orders, making drinks, and engaging with the villagers. As Erik finished each order, he placed the food on the back of Illyanth, letting the baby dragon deliver it to the waiting villagers under the cool pavilion.

Even though he was in a new fantasy world, Erik slowly forgot about that, sweating away in the kitchen. At some point, he felt as if he were back in his world, working at an odd job. The familiarity of it all was both comforting and disorienting.

As the night wore on, the crowd grew larger and livelier. The scent of grilled meat filled the air, and the sound of laughter and clinking cutlery filled his ears. Talia was a natural at handling the front of the house, chatting up the villagers and making sure everyone was happy. She even managed to convince some of them to help out, taking orders and serving drinks.

Compared to last night, it seemed as if a festival was being held with how quickly Talia's alcoholic creations were disappearing. The villagers were eager to try the new drinks, and their reactions were priceless. Some were delighted, others were shocked, but all were enjoying themselves.

Erik grunted as he felt an uncomfortable warmth on his back. Confused, he pulled out his journal, which immediately flipped over to a page with a message:

(Hey, Erik! It's me, Osiris. How has your time in this world been so far? Looks like you've made quite the business for yourself. Nice job!)

Erik stared at the magical writing in his journal. There was nothing else written.

"What the fuck? That's all you wanted to say?!" Erik complained, looking around suspiciously. He turned back to the page, only to find more words from Osiris.

(Side note, you should probably focus less on making money and more on defeating the Demon King. You haven't forgotten that, right?)

Erik hadn't forgotten, he simply refused to do so. As it stood, Erik couldn't possibly hope to face a being of unimaginable might, when he was nearly trampled by an overgrown zombie elephant earlier. No, he'd much rather focus on surviving and getting rich.

"Hey, boss, I got it from here!" A voice called out to Erik.

Erik turned around to see Alyssa, one of the villagers who had volunteered to help, standing next to him, a grin on her face. "You've been working yourself to the bone. I can handle the grill from here."

"O-oh, thanks," Erik muttered, snapping back to reality. He gazed around and saw that more villagers had taken positions in the kitchen, reducing the amount of effort he had to put in. "Uh, go ahead. Just let me know if you need anything."

Erik stepped away from the grill and took a deep breath, relieved to finally have some time to himself. He surveyed the crowd of patrons, many of whom were already enjoying their burgers and drinks. It was a good feeling, seeing people enjoying his food.

"So? How did I do?" Talia asked with a rare beaming smile as she approached him. "I told you I'd be able to get some help for the burger shack!"

"You did great," Erik admitted, genuinely pleased. "The food is amazing, the drinks are perfect, and everyone's having a blast."

Illyanth padded over to them, huffing.

"You did good too, Ill," Erik hesitantly reached out to pet the dragon infant's head. Thankfully, Illyanth allowed it.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Well, thank you! I worked hard on them. I hope they taste as good as they look." She paused, studying him. "So, what do you think? You've finally done it. You've got your own business, and it's a success. Do you think... do you think you'll ever go back to your original quest now?"

A devious smile broke out on Erik's face. "Oh, not for quite a while. You know that the water park project is next, but that's only the beginning." He spread his arms out wide at the sight of the villagers enjoying the food and drinks.

"I'll turn this village into a modern fantasy city! And from there, this world into my own personal playground!" Erik laughed maniacally as he envisioned the endless possibilities. "Why should I waste my time fighting an unbeatable foe when I can create my own little empire right here?"

Talia warily regarded Erik as he spoke. From the way he behaved, she would've thought Erik was a Demon King himself.

"Erik Park, Beggar Princess," Morthanu appeared out of nowhere, holding a plate of burgers and a glass of alcohol. "I'm quite impressed with this. I had doubted your plans for renovation at first, but you've proven me wrong. I'll be sure to visit your burger shack often."

"Ah, my dear village elder Mort," Erik began with a smirk. "This is just the start. I hope you're excited for my upcoming water park. You haven't forgotten the best part of the attraction, right?"

"The water-?" Morthanu's eyes widened and he blushed. "R-right. The bikini- er, new swimwear designs."

"Exactly," Erik grinned. "I thought you'd remember. And I was thinking of having a small little contest for the grand opening. Maybe... a swimsuit contest? With you as the judge?"

Talia had never seen the village elder so flustered before. Morthanu's face turned a bright shade of red as he stammered out a reply. "W-well, I-I suppose that could be arranged. A swimsuit contest for the grand opening, hm? I'm sure it would be quite the spectacle." He cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure. "But rest assured, young Erik, I'll judge fairly and impartially."

"Perhaps we could arrange some water games for our participants to play in as well–"

"Start as soon as you can!" Morthanu blurted, his desires betraying his normally reserved demeanor. "I've already seen some of the young ladies practicing their swimsuits in the pond, just waiting for an excuse to show off." He winked at Erik, who grinned back. Talia could only sigh and roll her eyes, already knowing that the village would be abuzz with anticipation for the contest.

After Morthanu left, Talia tugged on Erik's shirt.

"Hey, how exactly are you planning on executing this wide-scale project? With the designs you've shown me, there's no way you can build a water system and park all by yourself, even if you abuse your conjuring magic," Talia pointed out, frowning slightly.

"Don't worry about that, I've got a plan," Erik grinned. "We're going to get the villagers involved. It'll be like a community project. Plus, I've got this fancy journal and pen that can whip up almost anything we need. I'll just conjure the designs, and they can do the heavy lifting."

"But how are you going to keep everyone motivated? They'll lose interest eventually," Talia pointed out.

Erik dramatically posed in front of the bustling burger shack, a hand covering his face.

"Money."

Talia tilted her head. "And where is this money coming from?"

Erik pointed to the villagers.

"Burgers."

"I... I'm not sure I'm following..."

"Trust me on this," Erik's face distorted with glee. "I've come up with a couple of plans."

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As the night winded down, the villagers staggered back home, drunk and content. The villagers who had volunteered to help out remained after hours, helping to clean the outdoor kitchen and pavilion, much to Erik's gracious surprise.

Erik himself sat at a table in front of Talia's hut, counting the coins they had earned. It seemed as though the burger shack tonight had made over ten times as much as it had on its soft opening day. "This is... incredible," he murmured. "I can't believe it."

400 gold coins, 98 silver, and 32 copper. Erik let out a low whistle. "That's a lot of coin," he murmured. "And all from burgers."

"Don't forget my specialty drinks too," Talia chipped in, sitting down next to him. Her eyes hungrily gazed at the coins on the table. Erik slid a few gold and silver coins over to Talia, who immediately pocketed them.

Feeling a bit reluctant, Erik set aside a portion of the money, dividing it equally as Talia watched. He put the bulk in his cloth bag and stood up, gathering some of the portioned money in his hands.

"Hey, give that to the other villagers. We've got to pay them for their hard work with helping us."

"But they're volunteering," Talia protested. She was admittedly surprised that for someone as money-hungry as Erik, he'd be so generous.

"Volunteers can turn into employees. With this unexpected compensation, it'll make them more inclined to work for us again. Eventually, maybe they'll sign a contract with us and become permanent workers," Erik didn't turn back, handing the money to a few of the villagers. "It's an investment, Talia. Money doesn't exponentially grow overnight. I learned that the hard way."

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Talia said, reluctantly. She still felt a bit greedy, but she could understand Erik's logic. "You really know how to run a business, don't you?"

"Hardly. Like you figured earlier, I'm just good at reading people."

Talia watched as he distributed the wages to the villagers. She thought she had a grasp of who he was, but he kept surprising her. He might have been a broke, greedy, and failed engineer in his world, but here, he was a born leader, strategic and cunning. Maybe that was what he needed to succeed here. A new start.

Then, Erik roared in pain as he tripped over one of the darker colored Lambwolves, slamming into one of the pavilions' support beams face-first. Talia decided not to stick with her changed impression of him.

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After the successful night, Talia and Erik retreated into the dilapidated hut, with the latter immediately making for his straw mattress. Talia gave him a curious look before she created an earth wall between them.

"Are you still not going to conjure a bed for yourself, Erik Park?" Talia asked as she began to change.

Erik grunted from his side of the makeshift wall. "I'm fine with this. It's... familiar, in a way. Like I said, it'd only make me lazy if I had a comfortable bed to lie around in all day."

He heard her sigh as she continued to undress. "Your way of thinking is strange, Erik. Wouldn't it be best to ensure your sleep is comfortable so that you would work better the day after? How would having a comfortable bed result in you being lazy?"

Erik tried to come up with an excuse. It wasn't a complete lie to say that feeling comfortable made him not want to do any work. But he didn't want to admit that he felt a little weird, conjuring a bed in the same room as a woman, even one as strange as Talia.

"I don't need a bed," he insisted. "I'm fine with my mattress. Besides, I want to feel like I earned the right for comfort." Illyanth's tail lazily fell onto his face.

The earth wall crumbled away as Talia climbed into her bed, dressed in a thin nightgown Erik conjured. She yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "If you're sure... I guess I'll get some rest. Good night, Erik."

"Night, Talia."

Erik was amazed at the speed in which Talia immediately began to snore. He tried making himself as comfortable as he could lying on the straw mattress with Illyanth's tail weighing down on him. The familiar drone of his thoughts buzzed in his mind as he went over his plans for the future, gradually lulling him to sleep.