By the time Naoki finished cleaning the entire room, it was already one in the afternoon.
The egg fried rice he originally prepared for himself had already gone cold.
Putting the rag back in place, Naoki looked at the egg fried rice, thinking about the performance of the Pokémon just now, and couldn't help feeling a bit hesitant.
He sat at the table, starting to recall things he wanted to do but didn't dare try.
However, after thinking for quite a while, he couldn't come up with anything meaningful.
Should I give it a taste? Try if this dish has the same effect on humans as it does on Pokémon?
Ultimately, Naoki decided to give it a try.
He picked up the spoon and started eating.
Hmm, it still had a bit of warmth, the rice was soft, the egg was savory, and it tasted pretty good.
Just right since Naoki was a bit hungry, he swiftly finished off the bowl of rice, and after eating it all, he even had the mind to grab a cup of iced juice from the fridge and take a few sips.
"Huh? It doesn't seem like there's any particularly strong feeling?" Naoki wondered to himself.
Yet in the next moment, his mind suddenly conjured up ideas he had fantasized about before but never tried.
Snuggle with Glaceon! Press his face against its soft belly and snuggle like crazy!
Because he used to fear scaring Glaceon, worrying that Glaceon would consider him a creep, he never dared to do it.
But now...
Naoki suddenly felt an unprovoked surge of courage in his heart.
Just go for it! Hug Glaceon and snuggle with it like he would with Pawmo!
But soon, Naoki wanted to see if ordinary people could avoid the effects of the cooking effect.
So his lifted foot was retracted, and he sat back down, after a while, that feeling gradually dissipated.
Naoki looked at the empty egg fried rice and began to reflect.
"It seems that eating this egg fried rice just injects a surge of courage into the eater, prompting them to impulsively do things they want to do but dare not."
"This feeling isn't terribly strong; a normal person can still resist it. As long as they maintain strong willpower, they can avoid being affected by the cooking effect."
"Without courage, the cooking's influence also dissipates."
However, if this dish is consumed when someone is indecisive, it could be very useful, helping them make decisions.
For example, for those with decision-making difficulty or those who are introverted and don't know how to express themselves or refuse.
Thinking of this, Naoki suddenly thought of the girl from Elo's seed shop family.
Elo said that she also wanted to overcome her psychological hurdles but never could muster up the determination.
So the question is, could this dish help her?
Since he was going to town to buy a bed in the afternoon anyway, Naoki planned to give it a try.
He then got up, took ingredients from the fridge, made an extra portion of egg fried rice, packed it in a lunch box, and rode his Cyclizar to town.
This lunch box was something he bought previously, intending to use it when exploring the wilderness, but he hadn't had a chance yet, so it hadn't been used once.
Cyclizar was fast, reaching Porto Marinada Town in about ten minutes.
He stood in front of the seed shop, looking at the sign on the door, and to avoid last time's incident, Naoki specifically put Cyclizar back in the Poke Ball before entering.
It was afternoon, so there weren't many people in the store.
Elo was dusting the shelves with a feather duster, and upon hearing footsteps, he turned and saw Naoki.
Elo's face showed a bit of surprise, then smiled and said, "Good afternoon! Is there something else you wanted to buy?"
"No." Naoki shook his head and gestured with the lunch box containing the Courage Egg Fried Rice, briefly explaining the magical cuisine's effect to Elo.
After listening, Elo looked surprised, "Such a cuisine exists? How did you make this kind of food?"
Naoki looked at his palm and recited the explanation he gave to Carter once more.
"I see..." Elo muttered and nodded.
Hearing that Naoki had such a wonderful ability, he wasn't envious or jealous. Instead, he felt happy for him.
Elo originally wanted to say perhaps because you lost a relative in this world, the divine heart couldn't bear it, so it granted you this blessing, but he thought better of it, as that would bring up sad memories.
So he changed the subject, "Does it really bring courage to people?"
Naoki smiled and nodded, "Bringing happiness to others is the meaning of cuisine's existence."
Elo nodded, glanced upstairs, and said, "Belle should be in her room drawing right now, I'll call her down!"
Saying so, he went to the foot of the stairs and called up, "Belle! Belle! Come down quickly!"
Soon, a girl's head appeared upstairs.
She only showed half of her face peeking downwards, and upon seeing a stranger at home, immediately retracted her head like a little mouse.
Elo was quite helpless, he turned and said, "Belle is very shy and afraid of strangers. Her room is the only place where she can feel completely at ease. Except for meal times, she stays in her room, focusing on what she likes."
Naoki nodded in understanding, extended his hand, and handed the egg fried rice to Elo, "In that case, you should give it to her!"
Elo: "Please wait here just a moment!"
Naoki had no objections.
Taking the egg fried rice from Naoki's hand, Elo went upstairs.