Early the next morning, Ange brought his Pokémon to work at the Royal Capital as usual.
Just as he opened the shop door, he saw the Minister of Finance waiting right outside.
"Lord Wilson, you're so early! Here for breakfast?" Ange asked with surprise.
"No? I'm here to buy wine!" the Minister of Finance replied with a straight face.
Last night, he had gone home and opened the bottle of red wine his son gave him to take a sip, and it actually tasted even more flavorful than the white wine he had during the day!
Because of this, he felt more and more resentful about failing to buy wine the previous evening.
With wine this good, it was easy to foresee that it would only become harder to buy in the future, and its collectible value would steadily rise.
Therefore, he decided to get an early start today. Surely coming this early meant he wouldn't miss out again!
Besides, his workplace happened to be on the way to Munchlax Home.
Hearing this, Ange was dumbfounded. Waiting outside the shop this early just to buy wine? Was his craving really that severe?
As someone who wasn't fond of alcohol, Ange still didn't understand the irresistible pull a fine wine had on a connoisseur.
"Lord Wilson, please come right in!" Ange hurriedly ushered the Minister of Finance through the door.
Fortunately, it wasn't hot yet in the morning; otherwise, in the middle of summer like this, he would surely suffer from heatstroke!
Once inside, the Minister of Finance glanced around the interior of the shop. Come to think of it, this was his very first time visiting the breakfast shop at Munchlax Home.
Their office had a cafeteria that provided free breakfast and lunch to all the ministers, so even though he had long heard of Ange's establishment, he had never stepped foot inside.
With free breakfast available, who would willingly spend hard-earned money to eat outside?
Catching the rich aroma drifting from the kitchen nearby, the Minister of Finance subconsciously swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
Ange called out toward a Golett standing not far away, "Golett, take Lord Wilson up to the second floor to find Gothita!"
Since the dessert shop didn't need extra help for the moment, the two Golett had temporarily been sent to lend a hand at the breakfast shop.
"Gole gole~" One of the Golett acknowledged Ange's request, then politely stepped forward to lead the way for the Minister of Finance.
They had undergone proper etiquette training as well.
As the Minister of Finance followed behind the Golett toward the second floor, he couldn't help stretching his neck to peek toward the kitchen.
It smelled so incredible. What on earth was His Highness selling here?
Upon reaching the second floor, the Minister of Finance told Gothita that he wanted to buy ten bottles of each type of wine. However, Gothita simply pointed to a notice freshly posted on the wall that very morning.
The Minister of Finance looked in the direction Gothita pointed and saw it written clearly: The daily purchase limit for wine per customer is 2 bottles. Proxy purchasing is strictly prohibited.
The Minister of Finance's face instantly fell.
"How can that be! Just 2 bottles? How about 8 bottles?"
"Gothi~ Gothi~" Gothita shook its head.
"Then 5 bottles!" the Minister of Finance bartered.
Gothita shook its head again, maintaining a firm expression as it held up a gesture representing the number "2".
"Is there no room for negotiation?" the Minister of Finance asked, unwilling to give up.
"Gothi~ Gothi~" Gothita spread its hands, indicating that these were the rules set by the boss and there was nothing it could do.
With no other choice, the Minister of Finance could only say, "Fine, then give me one bottle of that white wine and one bottle of that red wine!"
The white wine and red wine at Ange's place also came in various varieties. Depending on the ingredients and brewing methods, different types of the same wine category offered distinct flavor profiles.
At this moment, Ange still had no idea that because of the purchase limit he had implemented, the Minister of Finance would arrive bright and early at the doorstep of Munchlax Home without fail every single day from then on, determined to collect every single variety of wine in the shop.
One had to hand it to the Minister of Finance; his persistence was truly admirable, which explained how he managed to climb to his current position.
The importance of the Minister of Finance's role to a nation went without saying.
Not only that, but he had also correctly anticipated that the wine from Ange's shop would surely appreciate in value over time, demonstrating quite an impressive level of foresight.
After receiving his wine, the Minister of Finance walked downstairs with a beaming smile.
At that moment, the breakfast shop on the first floor was already more than half full. Customers were lively and cheerful as they ate their breakfast, casually chatting about recent news and gossip, filling the shop with a cozy, down-to-earth atmosphere.
The Minister of Finance originally intended to head straight to work, but upon seeing the customers relishing their food inside the shop, he suddenly paused in his tracks.
Should he... buy some to try?
He knew his son came here for breakfast every day, which naturally piqued his curiosity about how delicious the food here actually was.
Ultimately, stimulated by the tempting aroma, the Minister of Finance bought a portion of breakfast.
However, fearing he might be late, he chose not to eat it inside the shop.
The Minister of Finance was a dedicated and conscientious worker, consistently arriving among the very first batch of people at the office.
Upon reaching his office, the Minister of Finance carefully placed the newly purchased wine into his desk cabinet, and then carried his breakfast straight to the cafeteria.
Eating breakfast right inside the office area simply wouldn't do.
Since he arrived relatively early, there were only a handful of people in the cafeteria.
The cafeteria auntie, who usually handed out meals to everyone, noticed the Minister of Finance sitting down to eat without ordering anything from her, and couldn't help muttering to herself in confusion:
"That's strange. Lord Wilson has been eating breakfast here with us for over a decade, so why did he bring his own today? Could it be a loving meal made by his wife?"
In reality, the Minister of Finance's wife was a pampered noblewoman who never lifted a finger, let alone knew how to cook!
The Minister of Finance took a bite out of a bun he was holding, and instantly understood why his son raved about eating breakfast at His Highness's shop every single day.
Was it really this delicious? He felt as though he had been missing out on a fortune all this time!
With that thought in mind, he sped up his pace while eating his breakfast.
Delicious! It was simply too delicious!
As time passed, more and more people arrived at the cafeteria for their morning meal.
Several officials who were close with the Minister of Finance walked over and seated themselves beside and across from him.
Noticing that the food on the Minister of Finance's plate looked completely different from theirs, one of them asked with a puzzled expression:
"Lord Wilson, what are you eating? Is that a new cafeteria item? How come I didn't see it when I was ordering just now?"
Another chimed in, "I didn't see it either. This new item looks awfully appetizing!"
The Minister of Finance replied, "This isn't any cafeteria new item; it's breakfast from His Highness Ange's shop. I happened to pass by there today, so I picked up a portion."
Just as one of them opened their mouth to speak, the Minister of Finance cut them off: "I barely have enough of this for myself! If you want to eat it, go buy it yourselves! I'm not sharing!"
Hearing this, everyone wore expressions of astonishment. This was the first time they had ever seen such a fiercely protective side to Lord Wilson when it came to food.
This only served to spark their intense curiosity regarding the food at His Highness Ange's shop.
Just like the Minister of Finance previously, they had heard of Munchlax Home's great reputation, but because they had free breakfast available, they had never patronized it.
At this moment, Ange was still unaware that because the Minister of Finance brought his breakfast into the office area, it had ignited a strong wave of curiosity among all the ministers.
Over the next few days, they successively visited Munchlax Home and consequently became devoted fans of the establishment.
Because of this, the office cafeteria grew unusually desolate every morning, leaving the cafeteria chefs and servers muttering in confusion for quite a while.
The morning hours flew by in a flash. Past 10:00, Ange decisively closed the shop doors.
Since Wobbuffet and the others were already skilled in their operations, Ange didn't need to stay behind today.
Before leaving, he turned to Wobbuffet, Gothita, and Girafarig, instructing them:
"Rest well at noon, and later I'll have Baltoy bring your lunch over!"
Even though the employees didn't eat their meals at Ange's house, Wobbuffet and the others had worked hard all morning, so Ange naturally wanted to prepare lunch for them.
"Wobbuffet~"
"Gothi~"
"Girafa~"
The three Pokémon cheered happily and waved goodbye to Ange.
Being able to enjoy food cooked by Ange made all their hard work worthwhile.
Upon returning home, Ange prepared lunch alongside his three apprentices, and as promised, sent Baltoy over to deliver meals to Wobbuffet and the crew.
Although Baltoy was reluctant to run errands, a single glare from Ange's fist immediately straightened it out.
When their pleasant lunch hour concluded, Ange beckoned to the dozing Munchlax and said:
"Munchlax, I'm heading to the Tree of Beginning to see Mew. Do you want to come along?"
"Munch munch~" Yes! Yes!
Hearing this, Munchlax instantly shed all its sleepiness, promptly trotted over to Ange's side, and familiarly grabbed hold of his hand.
Ange gave its chubby hand a gentle squeeze and smiled, "Alright, let's get going then!"
Hanging on the wall to rest, Doublade hurried to tag along upon seeing them leave.
Baltoy lay lazily across the table; it had overheard Ange's words as well, but merely lifted its head to glance casually at Ange before slumping back down on the table, completely motionless.
With the weather outside being so scorching hot, it had no desire whatsoever to leave the Nebel Plateau!
Accompanied by Munchlax and Doublade, Ange passed through a spatial portal and arrived at Mew's home.
Unlike the pleasantly cool Nebel Plateau, the moment Ange stepped out of the spatial portal, a wave of intense heat rushed toward him.
Naturally, that was because it was the height of summer!
Ange looked around and noticed that Mew was nowhere to be seen.
"Let's go look somewhere else," Ange said to Munchlax and Doublade.
"Munch~"
"Blade~"
After the two Pokémon nodded, they followed Ange out of the tree hollow.
As soon as the human and Pokémon stepped out, they spotted a Pidgey flapping its wings to land under the shade of a tree.
Because the weather was excessively hot, it was panting heavily, continuously shaking its feathers to fluff them out and help dissipate the heat trapped in its body.
Seeing this, Ange waved at the bird, "Pidgey, do you know where Mew is?"
Recognizing Ange immediately, Pidgey fluttered out of the shade and landed right on his shoulder.
Naturally, Pidgey knew Ange well, considering he frequently visited the Tree of Beginning to trade with the Chansey.
Moreover, it had previously visited the Nebel Plateau for fun.
"Blu blu~ Blu blu~" Pidgey tapped Ange's cheek with one wing while pointing out the direction with the other.
Guided by Pidgey, Ange navigated through a series of passages inside the Tree of Beginning and finally located Mew by the edge of a lake.
It turned out that the weather was simply too hot for Mew to bear, so it had run over here to cool off.
Accompanying Mew was the Ice-type legendary Pokémon, Regice.
Arriving at the lakeside, Pidgey happily flew out onto the water's surface, continuously tapping the water with its claws to splash droplets over itself.
Because of Regirock's presence nearby, the lake water here was refreshingly cool, making it a premier summer resort where Pidgey played to its heart's content.
Pidgey's cheerful cries caught Mew's attention, and Mew consequently spotted Ange.
"Mew mew~" Ange, what brings you here?
In a flash of motion, Mew zipped over to Ange and plopped itself right onto his shoulder.
Ange replied, "I have something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Mew?" What is it?
Mew tilted its head with a puzzled expression.
Thus, Ange explained his idea of recruiting a group of Pokémon to work as delivery couriers.
Upon hearing this, Mew immediately declared, "Mew mew~ No problem, everyone will definitely be happy to do it!"
Working for Ange meant earning a salary, and earning a salary meant never having to worry about food and drink. Who could possibly turn down a deal like that?
"Mew mew?" Who are you planning to hire?
Mew inquired.
Ange shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure myself, which is why I came to discuss it with you!"
Hearing this, Mew fell into deep thought.
After a long pause, it suggested, "How about I call everyone over so you can pick?"
Delighted, Ange beamed, "If you can do that, that would be wonderful!"
Just as Mew was about to dash off to summon the Pokémon, Ange hurriedly called out, "Only Flying-type Pokémon!"
Flying-type Pokémon guaranteed reliable delivery speeds, possessed strong directional instincts that made them difficult to get lost, and avoided causing traffic complications.
"Mew~~ Got it!"
With a flash, Mew vanished from the spot.
As time passed, Flying-type Pokémon gradually arrived at the edge of the lake.
The first to arrive were a flock of Altaria. Upon landing, they gracefully flapped their wings to greet Ange with refined poise.
Next came a group of Braviary and Pidgeot, moving with nimble agility and crisp, clean actions.
Following them were a group of Aerodactyl. They looked somewhat fierce, and their arrival caused everyone else to instinctively back away.
Well, Aerodactyl clearly wouldn't work; they looked too menacing and might easily frighten children.
The final arrivals were Dragonite and Dragonair.
At the sight of them, a bright spark lit up in Ange's eyes.
Dragonite were quite literally his ideal delivery couriers!
First, Dragonite possessed a good-natured appearance, smiled warmly at everyone, and radiated approachability.
Second, they had gentle temperaments, stable emotional states, and didn't pick fights or stir up trouble easily.
Working in the service industry meant dealing with a certain degree of frustration; unstable emotions simply wouldn't cut it.
Lastly, Dragonite were generally powerful, allowing them to easily handle any unexpected trouble!
Even though Ange's ideal couriers were Dragonite, since everyone had turned up, it was only fair to put them through a test.
Once the applicant Pokémon had all gathered, Mew returned alongside them, prompting Ange to speak up loudly:
"Do all of you want to apply for the delivery courier position?"
The Pokémon nodded in unison, all gazing expectantly at Ange.
Who wouldn't want to! Just look at the Chansey to see why; landing this job meant securing an iron rice bowl and embarking on the peak of Pokémon life.
Seeing this, Ange stated, "I only need a limited number of delivery couriers, so I can't choose all of you. You will have to pass my test, and only those who pass will be hired."
"Roar~ Roar~~" Name whatever test you have!
An Aerodactyl declared confidently, acting as though the delivery position was already securely in its grasp.