"Your Highness? Your Highness!"
Jarvis called after Romeo, but Romeo had already walked out.
He followed the scent down the hall to his sister's office, and upon seeing a crowd gathered there, he asked curiously, "What are you all doing here?"
When the people saw the prince had arrived, they quickly shook their heads. "Nothing, Your Highness." Then they all dispersed one by one.
By the time Lila and the others came back to their senses, not a single bun or Mantou was left on the table.
Lila licked her lips. "Fiona, I want to eat this again tomorrow."
Fleur~ I want more too.
Voir~ Me too.
Both Pokémon begged for another taste.
"Alright, I'll bring more for the princess tomorrow," Fiona said. Even if the princess didn't want any, she would have bought some for herself.
She had expected it to be delicious since so many people were lining up, but she didn't think it would taste this good. She had seriously underestimated it. She bought too few.
Just then, the office door opened. Romeo poked half his body inside. He sniffed the lingering aroma in the air and asked, "Sister, Fiona, what were you eating?"
"Oh~~~ Romeo," Lila said, a little surprised that her research-obsessed brother actually came out of the lab on his own. "You're too late, we already finished it."
"What were you eating? It smelled amazing. I've never smelled anything like it before." Romeo stretched his neck out to sniff while walking fully inside.
"It's something called Mantou and Buns, Your Highness," Fiona explained. "The princess and I also tried them for the first time today."
"Buns? Mantou?" Romeo looked puzzled.
Fiona nodded. "They must be a new kind of food, fresh and delicious."
Seeing how interested Romeo was, Lila suddenly had an idea. "Romeo, why don't you come to my office tomorrow? I'll have Fiona buy some for you."
She didn't mind her brother burying himself in research. After all, the Azoth Kingdom was known for its mysterious science. But Romeo was too absorbed.
And lately, she noticed he was becoming increasingly dependent on Minister Jarvis.
Jarvis was a renowned expert in the field of mysterious science. Their father had appointed him as Romeo's tutor, which wasn't a bad thing. But if Jarvis intended to turn one of the kingdom's heirs into an obedient puppet, then Lila couldn't ignore that.
Romeo was not even ten years old yet, still at an impressionable age. She and the king were too busy to spend much time guiding him.
"Really?" Romeo asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Of course. Has your sister ever lied to you?" Lila promised.
"Alright then, it's a deal. I'll come find you tomorrow!" Romeo said happily.
After Romeo left, Lila looked at Fiona and said, still savoring the taste, "Fiona, I'll be counting on you again tomorrow."
Fiona nodded. "Don't worry, Your Highness."
Once they finished eating, Fiona and Florges helped Gardevoir clean up the table. Then Fiona noticed the stack of documents in front of Princess Lila.
"Your Highness is still investigating Ange…"
She stopped mid-sentence, suddenly froze, and then gasped.
"Your Highness!!!"
"What is it, Fiona?" Lila looked up, surprised to see such a shocked expression on Fiona's face for the first time.
"Your Highness, come with me!" Fiona said, pulling Lila by the hand without another word.
"Fiona, what is it? Where are you taking me?" Lila asked, completely confused.
"Just follow me, Your Highness, you'll see." Fiona led Lila in a quick jog all the way to a large hall in the palace.
One wall of this hall was covered with portraits of past members of the Azoth royal family, including one of Queen Anna and her twin brother, Prince Ange, when they were young.
When Fiona saw the painting of Prince Ange, everything suddenly clicked. No wonder that man had looked so familiar, it was like seeing an older version of Prince Ange himself!
"What's wrong with this painting, Fiona?" Lila asked, puzzled.
Fiona looked at her with a grave expression. "Your Highness, I saw Prince Ange in the royal city today!"
"Fiona, what nonsense are you talking about? Prince Ange died five hundred years ago." Lila thought Fiona was joking. "How could he appear in the royal city…"
Suddenly, her voice trailed off. She turned to Fiona, eyes wide. "Wait, did you mean you saw the prince's stolen body?"
Fiona shook her head and pointed at the painting. "No, Your Highness. I saw Prince Ange alive. He looked almost identical to the man in this portrait."
Then she remembered the blond man who had appeared at the palace gate not long ago. Could that have been Prince Ange?
The thought was so absurd that she didn't dare say it aloud.
"Impossible, Fiona. Maybe you were seeing things," Lila said, unwilling to believe it. How could someone dead for five hundred years still be alive?
"Your Highness, I am nearsighted," Fiona said instinctively, pushing up her glasses, "but I'm not blind. The man I saw was the boss selling Mantou and buns."
Seeing Fiona's serious expression, Lila realized the situation might actually be grave.
"Let's go. Take me to him," Lila said solemnly.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The two hurriedly left the palace.
***
Ange still didn't know that the royal family had noticed his existence. His business was just too good. Before noon, he had already sold out of all his ingredients.
"Sorry, everyone, we're sold out for today! Please come back tomorrow!" Ange called to the long line of customers.
"What? Seriously? I've been waiting for so long!"
"Sorry, we've run out of ingredients. I really can't help it," Ange apologized.
"Hey boss, next time could you limit how much people can buy? The ones up front bought so many at once that we couldn't get any!" someone shouted.
That suggestion immediately got a chorus of agreement.
"Yeah, we waited all this time for nothing. That's so unfair."
Ange had no intention of limiting sales. He just wanted to sell out and close early. Whether customers managed to buy or not wasn't his concern, as long as he sold everything, that was fine by him.
"Ah, I want everyone to try them too, but if someone pays, I can't refuse, right?" he said with a laugh.
With no choice, the customers slowly dispersed. Ange shouted after them, "Come early tomorrow!"
After sending them off, he quickly packed up his things and loaded them into the cart. Once the windows were shut, he prepared lunch for Komala, letting it eat first, and then began checking his earnings.
He had sold 1,030 Mantou that morning, earning 10,300p, and 2,069 buns, earning 41,380p. Together, that made 51,680p total.
In addition, he gained 10,500 Happiness Points from serving Pokémon. Added to yesterday's 5,600 and what Munchlax earned at home, his total Happiness Points had reached 45,000.
As for the points spent on packaging bags, they were negligible.
He also remembered that while selling buns and Mantou, he had received a system notification. Opening the interface, he saw a pop-up appear in the Mission List.
[Congratulations, Master, on achieving: Served 1,000 Pokémon. Reward: Intelligence +2.]
The system's achievements only counted Pokémon customers, not humans.
He checked his personal status screen. The data had indeed updated.
Ange
Species: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 16 (+500)
Constitution: 13
Intelligence: 10
Cooking Rank: Beginner Chef—Edible Level.
His physical stats had also increased slightly. That was the result of his persistence in the Cooking Training Room. If his stamina hadn't improved, he wouldn't have been able to endure such a busy day like today.
Looking at the stack of bills in his hand and the Happiness Points that filled his System, Ange couldn't help but beam with joy.
Once Komala finished its lunch, Ange waved his hand grandly. "Komala, let's go home!"
By the time Princess Lila arrived at Eliphas Park on her motorcycle with Fiona, Ange was already gone.
Fiona got off the motorcycle and hurried to the crepe vendor's stall. The uncle behind the counter thought he had a new customer, but the girl opened her mouth and asked,
"Excuse me, where's the vendor who sells buns and mantou next door?"
Uncle: …
"Ah~ That guy's business was booming. He packed up and went home early!" the uncle said, his voice full of envy.
"Do you know where he lives?" Fiona frowned.
"No idea. That young vendor's only been selling here for two days. I haven't even had time to talk to him yet. Maybe you should ask someone else?" the uncle replied.
"Alright, thank you." Fiona nodded.
"No need to thank me," the uncle said, waving his hand.
Fiona then went around asking another dozen people, but no one knew where the bun and mantou vendor lived.
"How did it go?" Lila asked anxiously when Fiona returned.
Fiona shook her head in disappointment. "He left long ago, and no one knows where he lives."
"What should we do then?" Lila's heart tightened with worry.
"Princess, he'll definitely be back tomorrow. If we come here early and wait, we'll surely see him," Fiona comforted her.
"You're right." Lila finally relaxed a little.
"Should we report this to His Majesty?" Fiona asked.
Lila shook her head. "Let's meet him first. If it turns out to be a misunderstanding, it'd be embarrassing."
"Yes, Your Highness." Fiona nodded.
Then the two rode the motorcycle back to the royal palace.
By that time, Ange had already returned to the Nebel Plateau. As soon as he reached the door, Munchlax came running up excitedly.
Munch~ Munch~ Master, you're back!
It hugged Ange's waist and rubbed against him affectionately.
Ange couldn't help but laugh. His Munchlax was so clingy. Even though they'd only been apart for half a day, it always acted as if they hadn't seen each other in years.
Every time he came home, Munchlax followed him around like a shadow, afraid its master would vanish if it looked away.
"How was the store today?" Ange asked, patting Munchlax on the head.
Munch~
Munchlax raised a thumb with one hand and confidently thumped its chest with the other.
"Impressive!" Ange praised. He loved seeing Munchlax so full of energy. "Looks like you really can handle things on your own now!"
Munch~ Munchlax beamed proudly at the praise.
"Alright, let's head inside. Have you and Diancie eaten lunch yet?"
The two walked home chatting and laughing.
That afternoon, with nothing else to do, Ange took a walk around the vegetable garden. Then he carried out two chairs and lay down with Munchlax under the porch to enjoy the sun.
The weather on the Nebel Plateau was perfect that day, no wind, few clouds, and warm sunlight that wasn't too hot.
As Ange basked in the sun, he nearly fell asleep, and Munchlax soon started snoring beside him.
Taking advantage of the nice weather, Diancie brought everyone's bedding to the balcony to sun-dry. Once they were fluffy and warm, they'd make for a wonderfully cozy sleep that night.
In the backyard pond, even the brothers Whiscash and Barboach had surfaced, resting on the bank with their eyes closed under the sunlight.
Just then, Ange heard laughter approaching. He opened his eyes and saw two Marill walking over, chatting and giggling.
He also noticed that they were carrying something between them.
Soon they reached him, and Ange finally saw clearly what they were holding, a bunch of bright green aquatic plants that looked like kelp.
"What's this?" Ange asked curiously.
Rill~ Rill~
Rill~ Rill~
The two Marill waved their little hands quickly.
"This is for me?" Ange asked, testing his guess.
Rill~ Rill~~
The Marill nodded rapidly. They'd been eating at Ange's place often lately, so they wanted to bring him a gift in return. The water plants were something they'd gotten from their friend Poliwag.
"Are they edible?" Ange asked.
Rill~ Rill~
The Marill nodded again, and one of them even pulled off a strand and ate it in front of him.
Ange rubbed its head and smiled. "Alright, alright, I believe you."
He pulled off a strand himself and chewed it. Suddenly, his eyes lit up.
That texture… so crisp and refreshing!
It looked like kelp but tasted more like jellyfish strips, only even smoother and crunchier.
"Thank you, I really like it." Ange smiled and thanked the two Marill.
The Marill, delighted by his reaction, jumped up and down happily.
After delivering their gift, the two Marill hopped away.
Ange waved at them. "Come eat at the shop tomorrow!"
Rill~~
The Marill turned around and waved back.
Watching them go, Ange looked down at the pile of green water plants and fell deep into thought.
How should I cook this stuff?