With the experience from trimming wool last time, Silas's movements were especially swift and efficient this time around.
He first gestured to estimate the length of wool he intended to leave behind, and then the scissors in his hands began clicking crisply as they worked, leaving behind faint afterimages with each rapid snip.
In just a short while, the entire thick fleece had been neatly shorn off in one complete layer. Throughout the whole process, Lazy Mareep did not move an inch, allowing him to pose it however he pleased.
"Well? You can trust me now, right?"
Shaking the scissors lightly, Silas called out to the four little sheep waiting off to the side.
"Maaa!"
The larger Warm Mareep stepped forward two paces, its round eyes staring intently at Lazy Mareep. The freshly trimmed coat looked just right, neither overly exposed nor uneven—and its body appeared much lighter and more refreshed.
"Do you want a trim too?"
Silas smiled as he crouched down and gave it a gentle pat.
"Maaa~"
Warm Mareep smiled sweetly and obediently lay down on the grass, signaling that Silas could begin trimming its wool as well.
"Such a good girl. I'll make you some grass cake later."
The moment Silas finished speaking, Lazy Mareep suddenly sprang to its feet, its round eyes fixed on him.
"I'll make one for you too. Everyone gets a share."
"Maa~"
Having received Silas's promise, Lazy Mareep no longer felt sleepy and instead squatted nearby to wait eagerly.
The only thing capable of keeping the self-proclaimed "Lazy King" from sleeping was delicious food and grass cake ranked at the very top of its favorites.
Compared to the other four little sheep, Warm Mareep was much larger in size. Trimming it was considerably more labor-intensive, and it took Silas three times as long as it had taken with Lazy Mareep to finish the job.
Once relieved of that thick, heavy layer of wool, Warm Mareep's body felt much lighter. It bounced around happily, full of energy.
Suddenly, it stopped and gently rubbed its head against Silas's arm, as if thanking him.
With one big and one small sheep serving as examples, the remaining three sheep finally let go of their concerns.
One by one, they obediently lay down in place, waiting patiently for Silas to trim their wool.
The wool shorn from Mareep made excellent material for high-quality carpets. Silas called over Cyclizar to help gather it all up.
Everything was packed into large bags and transported to the ranch gate, where it would later be sold to Gario.
Just as Silas finished trimming the wool of all five sheep, Lazy Mareep suddenly shot to its feet and ran excitedly to his side, bleating nonstop to urge him to hurry and make the grass cake.
"I know, I know. I'm heading back to make it for you right now."
After putting away all his tools, Silas left Sheep Village.
On his way back, he did not forget to stop by the hop field to take a look.
The hops were growing splendidly. Lush green vines had climbed all three layers of trellises, and among the clustered leaves hung strings of pale green flower cones.
The two Flabébé were busy collecting nectar. When they saw Silas appear, they happily flew over and offered him the nectar they had just gathered for him to taste.
He took a small sip, and his eyes instantly lit up.
At first, there was a faint bitterness on the tongue, but it was quickly replaced by a crisp sweetness—remarkably reminiscent of beer.
Beer-flavored nectar? How interesting.
Silas thought of the brewing recipe he had obtained when he commissioned custom wooden barrels at the end of March. If he added some hop nectar during fermentation, the flavor should turn out quite well.
Smiling, he gently rubbed the red-flowered Flabébé's head. "The nectar tastes wonderful. Flabébé, please harvest as much as you can—I'd like to try brewing with it."
"Bébé!"
The red-flowered Flabébé swayed proudly, its eyes narrowing happily.
Then it pulled along the smallest white-flowered Flabébé, and the two of them dove back into the hop vines to gather even more nectar for Silas.
After confirming that the hops were growing well, Silas headed toward the ranch cottage.
Halfway there, he was stopped by Cyclizar.
"Cyc Cyc~"
(Silas, Silas, we have a guest at the ranch.)
"A guest?"
Trainer and Pokémon walked toward the ranch gate together. From afar, he saw Diggersby and Gario waving at him. Diggersby was using its long ears to carry the harvest box that belonged to his ranch.
"Gario, Diggersby—you're here."
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Gario said, "Silas, where would you like the harvest box placed?"
"Just by the gate. Convenient for both of us."
After setting the harvest box in place, Silas also brought out the sheep's wool for Gario to take away.
In total, he earned 5,000 League Coins. The wool produced by Lazy Mareep fetched the highest price—one-third more than that of the other four.
Once everything was arranged, Gario also took away the ranch goods slated for sale that day before departing.
After bidding him farewell, Silas hurried back to the house. He hadn't forgotten his promise to the herd about the grass cake.
As he pushed open the door, he saw Lazy Mareep squatting right at the entrance. The moment it saw Silas come in, it bleated loudly, the small bulb at the tip of its tail lighting up as it rushed toward him, pawing at him with longing in its eyes.
"Don't rush. I'll make it right now."
Smiling, Silas gently pulled Lazy Mareep aside. He washed the freshly harvested crackling pasture grass thoroughly and chopped it into evenly sized segments.
Following the method of baking a cake, he prepared the grass cakes and placed each cake base carefully into the oven.
"Lazy, keep an eye on it for me. Let me know when it's done."
"Maaa!"
Without even turning its head, Lazy Mareep stared unblinkingly at the oven, drool slowly slipping from the corner of its mouth.
Ignoring the greedy little fellow, Silas stepped outside.
The temperature had risen, and he thought it was time to call Minccino and the others back.
He walked straight to the ranch lake, where the little ones were playing by the water.
Phione was riding on the back of Clauncher, and the two Pokémon were playing freely and joyfully.
Phione giggled, its tiny hands splashing against the water's surface. The droplets scattered and landed on Clauncher's bright red shell, refracting into countless shimmering specks of light.
Minccino stood on the shore with its hands on its hips, cheeks puffed out as it chirped angrily at the two Pokémon—it had no intention of getting its fur wet and dirty.
Meanwhile, Morpeko didn't seem to mind at all. Its fur was soaked, as though it had just swum a lap in the lake, and in its paws it held a lotus pod.
With great effort, its little claws pried open the shell to extract a tender white lotus seed. Using the electricity stored in its cheek pouches, Morpeko roasted it lightly before popping it straight into its mouth.
Its eyes curved into crescent moons as sweetness spread across its tongue. It looked utterly satisfied.
"Morpe~"
Noticing Silas's arrival, it ingratiatingly held up the completely emptied lotus pod.
"You can't eat that. If you don't want it, you can just give it to me."
Silas tapped it lightly on the head, speaking in mock annoyance.
Morpeko chuckled sheepishly, then tugged at the hem of Silas's pants and led him toward the deeper side of the lake, pointing with its paw.
"Morpeko~"
(Silas, there are lots more over there. But the water's too deep—I'm scared to go in. Can you help me, please?)
Silas leaned forward to take a look. Indeed, there were quite a few lotus pods further in. Of course, there had also been plenty along the shallower edges—until Morpeko had ravaged them all.
"You've eaten quite a lot today. I'll make lotus seed porridge for you tonight."
He called out loudly to Clauncher, and soon the Pokémon all ran toward him.
Phione and Minccino leapt into his arms, the two little ones clinging to him affectionately.
Phione buried its little face in his armpit and rubbed back and forth, smearing water across half his body.
Minccino let out an indignant cry and used its tail to dust him off, trying to sweep the "dirty troublemaker" Phione away.
Silas had no choice but to soothe the two little ones. He handed Phione over to Kangaskhan to take back and wash up.
"Clauncher, could you help scoop up some lotus pods? I'll make lotus seed porridge for you all later."
(End of Chapter)