Ange and his Pokémon sorted the Asire Seaweed. They picked out the mixed weeds and dirt, washed it clean, and then stored it in the refrigerator or Ange's System Backpack.
The Poliwag sent a great deal. Ange's family would probably not finish eating it anytime soon.
He wondered if this could be dried. Dried vegetables were better when eaten occasionally.
There was also the wild rice stem. Marill and Azurill also sent a lot.
Luckily, Ange's refrigerator was high-tech. Otherwise, the leftover wild rice stems would surely become hard if stored for too long.
Ange set the Berries aside. He decided to make everyone fresh juice tonight.
There were also many mushrooms of all sizes.
If they ate these indiscriminately, someone could easily end up dead!
However, after Ange carefully checked them, he surprisingly found that all the mushrooms the Pokémon sent were edible. There was not a single poisonous mushroom among them.
It seemed he had underestimated the Pokémon.
Of course, there were some mushrooms Ange did not recognize. They must be specialties of the Pokémon world.
Ange specifically spent 100 Happiness Points to exchange for a Mushroom Encyclopedia from the System Store. He then easily identified all of them, such as Tiny Mushrooms, Big Mushrooms, and Balm Mushrooms. All were safe to eat.
Ange kept some of the mushrooms fresh, planning to dry all the others and store them.
***
It was past eight in the evening before Ange and his Pokémon finally finished cleaning the kitchen. Kirlia was a great help.
Its efficiency working with Psychic was higher than Ange, Munchlax, and Diancie combined. It was quite embarrassing.
Once the kitchen was tidied, Ange and Munchlax began making dinner. Diancie and Kirlia were responsible for general cleaning.
Although the supplies were dealt with, the kitchen was filthy. It had to be thoroughly cleaned.
For dinner, Ange made a cold dish of Asire Seaweed, stir-fried wild rice stems, and a fresh mushroom soup. The aroma nearly drove the Pokémon crazy.
Goo goo guu~~
Smelling the rich aroma, Munchlax's stomach rumbled very loudly.
"Hahahaha~~~" Ange laughed out loud. "Munchlax, are you hungry?"
Munch Munch~~ Munchlax hugged its chubby little tummy and nodded shyly.
Ange patted its belly and said, "Go see if Komala is back. If it is, we'll eat immediately."
Munch Munch~
Munchlax answered and ran out like its feet were on fire.
However, as soon as it reached the door, it saw Komala rolling back, hugging its log.
Munch~~
Munchlax quickly jumped down the steps. It hugged Komala tightly, ran back into the house, and shouted to Ange.
Munch Munch~ Master, this fellow is back. Time to eat!
Munchlax was still a bit angry with Komala, so it referred to Komala as "this fellow."
Ange poked his head out of the kitchen. "It's back? Then let's eat."
Hearing Ange's words, Munchlax tossed Komala onto the table. It quickly ran into the kitchen to serve the dishes and rice in the dining room. Its diligence was enough to make the village's draft animals feel ashamed.
Sure enough, for Munchlax, "The heavens are vast, the earth is great, but eating is the most important."
Ange walked over and sniffed Komala. A strong scent of wine wafted into his nose. He looked puzzled. "That's odd, Komala. Didn't you drink all your wine? Why do you smell like wine again?"
Besides the wine scent, there was also a faint fruity aroma.
Komala was the same as always. It flipped over on its log and did not answer Ange.
"You scamp!"
Ange shook his head helplessly.
***
That evening, the family of four, plus Kirlia, sat around a table for dinner. Ange recounted his experiences of the day. When he talked about being surrounded and viewed as a wanted criminal, Munchlax laughed so hard it almost fell from the chair.
Ange swatted it half-heartedly. "Is it that funny, huh?"
Munch Munch Munch~~ Hahahaha~~~ Master, you are so amusing!
Munchlax collapsed into the chair from laughter.
"Stop laughing, you'll choke," Ange said helplessly.
Munch Munch~ I won't choke.
Saying this, Munchlax had a Mantou in its left hand and a Mantou in its right. It chewed them all up in a few bites. It also ladled a full bowl of mushroom soup and drank it down with loud gulps.
Munch~ Refreshing!
Its eating style was so hearty that Ange's appetite greatly increased. He ate two extra Mantou and was so stuffed he could barely move.
***
After dinner, Ange found an insulated container. He filled it with Mantou and packed a container of each dish. He put them all into the insulated container and asked Kirlia to take it back.
"Tell Gardevoir to eat it while it's hot. Don't wait until it's cold, or it won't be good," Ange instructed Kirlia. "If Gardevoir can't finish it, tell her not to force herself. She can share it with the other Pokémon. If she wants to eat it again later, just come to my house, and I'll make it for her."
Kirlia nodded, touched, and disappeared into the night, carrying the insulated container.
After Kirlia left, the family of four chatted for a while. Then they went to the Cooking Training Room for practice, and finally washed up and went to sleep.
***
Before going to bed, Ange brought the cash box to his bedside and began counting the day's earnings. He had been too busy during the day to check how much money he made today.
Today, he sold 3,085 buns, earning 61,700 Pokédollar. He sold 6,089 Mantou, earning 60,890 Pokédollar.
The total was 122,590 Pokédollar.
Holy crap, I made 120,000 in one day!
After calculating it, Ange could not help but curse under his breath.
It's good to have help! I struck it rich!
If he set up a stall a few more times, maybe he really could buy a shop in the Royal Capital!
However, Ange also knew that today's booming business was due to the right time, place, and people. Next time, he would not have such good fortune!
Looking at the Happiness Points, the total was 105,800.
It was over 100,000!
***
Through this period of research, Ange had roughly figured out the pattern for the system's accumulation of Happiness Points.
When a Pokémon came to eat at Ange's place, if it only ate Mantou, regardless of how many, Ange would receive 100 Happiness Points. If, due to some additional factors, its happiness swelled, it might contribute an extra 50 or 100 Happiness Points to Ange. The more the happiness swelled, the more Happiness Points Ange received.
Thus, the maximum Happiness Points a Pokémon could provide in one day was 200.
However, if the Pokémon ate both Mantou and buns, Ange's base Happiness Points would become 200. If the happiness swelled, the corresponding bonus points would increase by 100 to 200.
At this point, the maximum Happiness Points a Pokémon could provide in one day was 400.
Of course, most Pokémon provided a stable 200 Happiness Points.
According to this rule, as long as Ange continued to unlock more Recipes, his speed in earning Happiness Points would increase.
However, Ange estimated that this speed increase had limits. A Pokémon could only eat so much in a day. It could not eat all the types of food Ange might make in the future at once; it would definitely be stuffed to death.
If one tried to exploit the system by making each serving of food very small so that a Pokémon would eat multiple servings, it would not work!
This was because when the system trained him in cooking, the quantity of one serving of food was strictly regulated. The simplest example was that the Mantou and buns Ange made were all approximately the same size.
If Ange and Munchlax arbitrarily changed the size of the buns and Mantou, the Pokémon could still eat, but Ange would not get Happiness Points.
Ange had personally tested this.
Looking at the 100,000 Happiness Points, Ange casually paid Diancie, Munchlax, and Komala 10,000 in wages each. Munchlax worked a bit harder every day, so Ange paid it an extra 2,000.
After paying the wages, Ange claimed the reward for today's daily Mission. It was still just a reward of ordinary ingredients, nothing special.
***
After a good night's sleep, Ange had just finished washing up and left his room when he saw Diancie also emerge.
"Good morning, Diancie," Ange said.
"Good morning, Ange," Diancie said with a chuckle. "You paid us our wages last night!"
"That's right. Now you can buy whatever you want from the System Store," Ange nodded.
"A boss with a bright future!" Diancie gave Ange a thumbs-up. She then went to Munchlax's room to wake it up.
After Munchlax woke up, Ange began preparing for today's stall with it.
***
Halfway through their preparations, Kirlia arrived at Ange's house again.
"Kirlia, you're back! How is Gardevoir doing?" Ange asked.
Kir~ Kir~
Kirlia nodded repeatedly. It said Gardevoir really liked last night's meal. It then returned the insulated container it had taken away last night.
Kirlia could not help with the cooking, so it helped Diancie clean the shop and tidy the tables and chairs. They made all the preparations, waiting for the Pokémon to come for breakfast.
Once the preparations were done, Ange headed toward the Royal Capital. Lapras was responsible for taking him today.
***
While Ange was heading to the Azoth Royal Capital, Lila was having breakfast with Romeo.
Edward was too busy, so the siblings usually ate together.
Seeing that his sister had not touched the food in front of her, Romeo asked suspiciously, "Sister, why aren't you eating? Do you have a poor appetite?"
Lila said, "I've already arranged with Fiona. She'll bring me breakfast from outside, so I won't be eating this today."
She waved her hand, and the maid stepped forward to clear the breakfast.
Hearing his sister's words, Romeo's eyes lit up. "Is Fiona bringing those buns and Mantou you ate that morning?"
"That's right," Lila nodded.
Upon hearing this, Romeo immediately felt wronged. "Sister, you lied to me. You promised to take me to eat them the day before yesterday, but you broke your promise."
Ange did not set up a stall the day before yesterday, so Lila did not even get to eat any herself.
Lila originally wanted to say she would take Romeo to eat today. However, a light bulb suddenly went off in her head. She then asked with a smile, "Romeo, do you know who made the buns and Mantou?"
"Who?" Romeo looked confused.
"It was Prince Ange," Lila said.
"Prince Ange?" Romeo looked incredulous. "I heard a rumor that Prince Ange set up a stall to do business outside. Is he selling... buns and Mantou?"
"Exactly," Lila nodded. "If I hadn't eaten the buns and Mantou Fiona brought, I wouldn't have been able to find His Highness's whereabouts."
Romeo murmured, "So Prince Ange has such good cooking skills?"
Lila asked with a knowing smile, "Romeo, do you want to eat the buns and Mantou made by His Highness?"
"Yes!" Romeo nodded vigorously.
"Very good!" A successful smile appeared on Lila's face. "Then you have to do as I say."
"Mhm mhm~ I'll listen to you, Sister," Romeo nodded repeatedly.
"Alright, then go change into your casual clothes."
Not long after, Prince Romeo and his Slurpuff were escorted out of the Royal Palace by the guards Princess Lila arranged.
***
After seeing Romeo off, Lila walked toward the office area with Gardevoir. Since she was in a good mood, she unconsciously started singing.
Halfway there, she saw Minister Jarvis approaching.
"Princess Lila, good morning," Jarvis greeted the Princess.
Lila also politely greeted him, "Good morning, Jarvis."
"Princess, have you seen Prince Romeo?" Jarvis asked.
"Romeo? He went out of the Palace for something," Lila answered.
"Out of the Palace?" Jarvis was incredulous. "Why would Prince Romeo go out of the Palace? He has class this morning..."
"Jarvis!" Princess Lila suddenly interrupted him. "I think Romeo only needs to attend class with you in the afternoon. As for the morning, he has other arrangements."
"Princess, that is against the rules!" Jarvis's face showed anger. "I am Prince Romeo's teacher. You have no right to do this!"
"I do!" Lila said. "I have the right to decide all arrangements for Romeo! If you have any dissatisfaction, you can take it up with my father."
Lila personally raised Romeo. If she didn't have the right, who did?!
"You..." Jarvis was furious.
Lila did not intend to continue arguing with Jarvis. She turned to leave, but suddenly heard Jarvis say, "Is the Princess doing this because she is afraid Prince Romeo will learn more and compete with you for the succession to the throne?"
Hearing this, Lila was enraged. "Jarvis, how dare you! This is not your business to inquire about!"
Jarvis sneered. "What? Princess, are you angry because I hit a nerve?"
Lila narrowed her eyes. "Jarvis, you are too reckless, and you are overstepping. Remember! You only need to properly impart knowledge to Romeo. You do not need to concern yourself with anything else! Otherwise, your position as Minister of Defense will come to an end!"
Jarvis put away the sneer on his face. He respectfully bowed to Princess Lila. "Yes, Jarvis will certainly obey Your Highness's instruction."
"Good that you know," Lila said. She left without looking back.
Watching the retreating back of Princess Lila, Jarvis's eyes flickered with uncertain light.