"Hmm..."
Shanren ate the fried rice, occasionally closing his eyes to savor it intently. After a while, he looked at Baimu with a complex expression, "Did you learn this from a video recipe?"
"It couldn't possibly be that a chef from the Luo Faction came to Pyrite Town to teach me, right?"
Baimu chuckled, looking at him expectantly, "So how is it? Satisfied?"
"..."
The young man of noble bearing took a sip of water to cleanse his palate, and said, "To be honest, it's not about being satisfied or not. If I hadn't met you in Pyrite Town, I would have definitely thought you were an apprentice of Lokomoko."
His assertive tone made Baimu laugh in surprise, "Is it that good?"
"Very good. As long as I'm free, I'll have all three of my meals right here at your place."
Shanren said this first, then turned to look at the wall, "Though I'd like to say that, you only open for three hours, which is a shame. And you're not very well known; I found out through a high-ranking member of your team."
A high-ranking member?
Maybe it was someone from the Crystal Team, as they're usually Quicksand Team's public relations group.
Baimu replied, "The current level of fame is actually enough. After all, I only open for three hours each day, and the customer base is already trending towards saturation. Unless I raise prices, I might not be able to handle more business."
"Then raise the prices. Your current pricing doesn't match your culinary skills. Do you still want to benefit the masses by keeping the prices low? The masses can't afford your current prices anyway. Just raise it by two tiers."
He very naturally offered his advice, "That way you can earn more money while ensuring that the number of customers won't overwhelm you."
"That actually makes sense..."
"Don't overthink it. The news of me dining here today will soon reach the mayor's ears and many others', and your restaurant is going to get a lot more popular."
"This!"
Baimu was a bit taken aback, as he never imagined Shanren's standing would be so exaggerated. Just him coming here to eat could cause such a stir.
"I really don't know how to thank you." He looked gratefully at Shanren, though he was growing cautiously aware.
There's no such thing as love or hate without reason. First, Shanren gave him a Calming Bell, and now he deliberately came to support his business; something had to be off about this.
As if aware of Baimu's unease, Shanren smiled and said, "It's a small matter. When you get outside, you'll understand that mutual help without expecting anything in return is quite normal. Even those as high up as Champions will readily accept challenges from novice trainers or offer assistance.
"Their magnanimity is something people in Pyrite Town can't compare to. You can always count on each of them—Pyrite Town truly isn't suitable for you, it would only drag a prodigy like you into a dirty quagmire."
Here we go again, showering him with praise.
Baimu couldn't help blushing while listening, yet Shanren was remarkably straightforward with his compliments. In his memory, most characters in the animations were like this, readily expressing admiration when encountering something praiseworthy.
So is Shanren genuinely rooting for him without ulterior motives?
It's good to stay wary of others. Better keep his guard up.
"Thanks for this wonderful meal."
Shanren got up, ready to pay.
But Baimu decisively refused, "This meal is on me. You've taken such good care of me; it doesn't make sense for you to pay—even from now on, whenever you come, I'll treat you to a meal."
"Is that really okay?"
"There's nothing wrong with it. I just want to make friends with you—of course, assuming you'll honor me with your friendship."
"Friends?"
Shanren was taken aback, then beamed, "I thought we already were."
"Uh, that was a slip of the tongue."
Baimu sighed helplessly.
Later on.
The two of them chatted for a while longer, only stopping when new customers arrived and placed orders.
And before Shanren left, he informed Baimu of something, "Two days from now, on the 6th, there's going to be an underground auction at the Underground City. There might be something or Pokémon there that might interest you. You should check it out."
"An auction?"
"Yes, it's a membership-based auction, and it's hard for most people to get in. But I've received an invitation. I don't mind taking you along. You're short on Pokémon, aren't you?"
"I don't mind!"
"Then I'll come by to pick you up the day after tomorrow. Until then." Shanren said and then left.
Baimu, meanwhile, was in the kitchen digesting what had been said.
If he wasn't mistaken, Shanren's main objective for coming over this time was to invite him to the auction.
Extending an olive branch? Offering an alliance?
Or perhaps having some other motives?
In any case, it was difficult for Baimu to refuse, as the auction could very well be a place for him to acquire new Pokémon. But honestly, such places... often inflate the prices of Pokémon or other items beyond what they're worth.
Is ten million enough?
He could almost foresee the scene where his newly acquired thirty million would vanish into the wind.
How nice it would be if he could get things for free.
Baimu couldn't help but indulge in some unrealistic fantasies. The effects of the wooden plaque were still unclear—who knows, it might just be a scam like the Iron Ingot.
The Aron back then wasn't interested in the Iron Ingot at all.
——
In the blink of an eye.
The day of the auction had arrived.
Shanren came to the shop as promised, and seeing this, Baimu closed up shop.
"If you don't mind, take my car."
He pointed to a dusty hover off-road vehicle outside.
Baimu was a bit surprised, "Your car?"
"Yes, it's the most suitable car for the Pyrite Town environment, much better than some sports cars or sedans. I'm not really into motorcycles." He explained while opening the driver's side door.
Baimu walked around to the passenger side, about to get in when he noticed an odd gaze from the back seat.
And then, a humanoid golden fox-faced Pokémon emerged, wearing strange brown armor, looking like a wise old man.
"Alakazam?"
"My trump card Pokémon. I didn't bring it out to battle you last time. I wouldn't mind another match if there's a chance; your skills have improved, haven't they?"
Shanren started the vehicle and looked over with a smile.
"Sure, I'm looking forward to it." Baimu nodded.
This powerhouse was a top contender in all of Pyrite Town. Defeating him would mean he could rule Pyrite Town.
On the way.
They chatted idly.
"If you don't mind me asking, how many conferences have you participated in?"
"Conferences? I've participated in four: Johto's Silver Conference, Hoenn's Ever Grande Conference, Sinnoh's Lily Conference, and Carlos' Lumiose Conference. My results weren't great: round of 16, semifinals, semifinals, and runner-up."
"That's... that's quite impressive, isn't it?"
"Without a victory, you can't join the Champion Alliance, and without joining, you can't challenge the Four Heavenly Kings or Champion to take their place. So being a runner-up is meaningless."
Shanren smiled at Baimu, "We're here, get ready to get out."
Looking up, Baimu realized they had arrived at some Underground City at some point, with a massive and dim building looming before them.
They parked the car and walked inside through the only lit main entrance.
Before long.
An enormous banquet hall with rows of orderly sofas came into view, and at the end, there was a well-lit stage under a spotlight, with many staff members bustling around.
When they arrived, quite a few of the other invitees had already reached the venue.