The magic castle fit in very nicely in the secret space of Mana and Raven, and the two little dragons were very satisfied with this arrangement. Just like Azar, it seemed that Alya had a free pass into everyone's secret space as well.
Alya was also very impressed with the secret space of her Uncle Raven and Auntie Mana. She had seen Grandpapa's space, and the little white dragon absolutely adored the fruits from Grandpapa's secret garden – they were the most delicious fruits ever! Even better than the fruits from her Dad and Mama's secret space or Uncle Raven and Auntie Mana's secret space! Still, she had to admit that Uncle Raven and Auntie Mana's secret space was the biggest and the most suitable for the magic castle sent to them by their Elf Buddy!
Mana and Raven also went into their secret space to help the two little dragons settle their magic castle.
Azar had chosen a nice spot already, and the magic castle was fixed. The magic castle glowed with a golden light for a moment, and then, with a pop, King Jaren, Queen Carolina, Jules and Bella appeared in the castle.
King Jaren was stunned. "How…?" he asked, dumbfounded. He knew that it was impossible to enter any couple's secret space, even if they allowed you in. Azar had been the only exception until now, so he wasn't surprised when Alya went in and out as easily as the other dragon baby – but he had never expected that he himself would be able to enter someone else's space.
"Azar and Alya wanted to invite Grandpapa and Grandmother and Uncle Jules and Auntie Bella to our magic castle," Azar declared.
Mana and Raven shrugged helplessly. They had no objections to their family members being in their space – in fact, they were quite delighted.
King Jaren was very impressed with the huge space of Mana and Raven – it was too big for the naked eye to see, but he could sense how huge it was. The magic castle definitely fit in very well here, and it was the best place to settle in – it didn't get more portable than this, and King Jaren knew that Azar could pop in and out of anyone's space regardless of distance, and he expected that Alya would be the same. So, they could definitely play with each other here every day, no matter where they were.
Azar and Alya led their human family on a guided tour of the magic castle. At first glance, all the humans had realised how invaluable this place was, and upon their second glance now, they were even more impressed than before! And then, finally, they came to the kitchen…
Mana's nose twitched.
Azar's eyes glowed. "Food!" he chirped happily. "Gift from friends in the community of Elf Buddy!"
The group entered the room and stopped short. Mana was quite surprised. "Pizza! Ice cola!" she cried.
Everyone stared at her.
"You know what these strange things are?" Jules asked Mana with a frown.
Mana nodded happily. "I do," she said. "They are very tasty. Let me know if you like it, we can try to make it in the imperial kitchen once we are back home. Well, we can make the pizza, for sure. The cola – I don't know if have the ingredients."
"Alya is hungry, too!" the little white dragon repeated. "Alya wants to eat with Azar and Grandpapa and Grandmother and Dad and Mama and Uncle Raven and Auntie Mana!"
The pizza was quite a large one, and there were enough slices for all of them. The toppings were generous and the cheese was fragrant.
Mana decided that if everyone liked the pizza, she would bake some when they went back home. All of this material was available in this world, and Raven was growing some oregano in their secret space anyway – while Mana and Raven didn't know where the original oregano plant came from, they had found one in their secret space early on, and Mana had recognised it immediately. Seeing that Mana was interested in the herb plant, Raven had, naturally, asked her about it – and now the two of them had a lot of herbs. Not just oregano – they had found plenty of herbs!
And the first time Mana had made pasta with what she called 'Italian herbs' in her head – out of which, half came from this world and the other half came from the secret space of Mana and Raven – the pasta had been so delicious that everyone had fallen in love with the dish.
So Mana could definitely make pizza – and it would sell nicely in their pastry shops as well, she thought.
Then she spotted a capsule like thing on the table and a bottle of potion next to it. Mana picked them up gingerly and was stunned! This inspiration capsule actually contained kola nuts and the process to make cola power, and the potion was the short cut to making soda! Which meant that Mana could actually manufacture cola even in this world!
Raven came over to Mana's side and asked quietly, "What's wrong?"
Mana's eyes shone and she hugged him. "Did you try it? Did you try the ice cola? Did you like it?" she asked excitedly.
Raven shook his head. "Let's have one together?" he suggested and held out a small cup.
There were actually enough ice colas for everyone, but no one was sure whether they would like it or not, so they all decided to pick up one glass and pour in into small cups for everyone to taste.
Azar and Alya had no such compunction. They dunked their heads into two separate ice cola glasses and drank their fill happily.
Seeing the two little dragons enjoy the drink so much, King Jaren bravely took the first sip and his eyes widened. "This is delicious!" he said.
Mana smiled and urged Raven to take a sip as well.
Everyone took a sip.
"It's actually sweet, even though it looks black!" Bella said. She smacked her lips and took another sip. "It is very refreshing," she said, and immediately drank some more.
"Have a slice of the pizza with the cola," Mana suggested. "They go very well together."
Mana was the known gourmet in their family, so no one objected to her suggestion. The pizza slices were passed around – and all of them loved it.
Especially Azar and Alya. The two little dragons ate up more than half the pizza and downed half the ice colas by themselves.
Mana had tried to warn them that the two little babies would get a sugar rush after this – but no one paid her any heed. After all, it was not alcohol, so there was no harm in letting the babies indulge themselves, right? And in any case, it wasn't like they would be to get more ice cola after this!
Mana simply rolled her eyes and turned to Raven, who was eyeing her with concern.
"What's wrong?" she asked immediately.
"You were in a daze earlier," Raven murmured. "Are you feeling all right? Are you tired?" he asked, and there was a hint of anxiety in his voice.
Mana smiled and shook her head. "No, no, I was just thinking if we should grow the kola fruit – that's the most important ingredient in that ice cola we just drank- I was just wondering if we should start growing them here or if we should wait to go back to the Emerald Kingdom and then buy another farm for this…" she told him.
Raven chuckled. "We could do both," he suggested. "We can plant some here for now, they grow faster."
Mana nodded absently. Then she looked at him again. "Did you like it?" she asked.
Raven nodded. "It's delicious – they both are, this pizza and ice cola," he replied.
Mana smiled and patted his hand. "Then I'll make sure that you get to have plenty of them in the future!" she promised.
"What's this, little Mana?" You'll only make them for Raven? And what about this old Papa of yours?" King Jaren's teasing voice reached Mana's ears.
"Of course I'll make some for you, Papa," Mana replied sweetly.
"And what about this older brother of yours?" Jules demanded.
"Yes, Big Brother, I'll make some for you as well," Mana promised.
"And me!" Bella spoke up.
"Yes, Big Sister Bella," Mana replied obediently. "I'll make some for everyone."
"Mommy! Azar, too! And Alya, too! And Grandmother Carolina, too!" Azar ordered. "Lots and lots of ice cola and lots and lots of pizza!"
Mana couldn't help bursting into peals of merry laughter. "Yes, my little one, of course. You'll get your pizza and your ice cola, all right? I'll make both – but you will have to wait for it like a good boy, all right? Our little Azar is a very good boy, right?"