In the next morning, Ange still took Komala, Sobble, Meowstic, Espurr, and Ralts to the Munchlax Home.
It was a rare sunny day in the Azoth Royal Capital today. Although the thick snow had not melted at all, the sun was very bright.
Of course, the sun coming out did not mean the temperature had risen. On the contrary, the Azoth Royal Capital was even colder.
However, the kitchen at the Munchlax Home was very warm. White steam lingered in the kitchen as Ange and Sobble busied themselves enthusiastically.
Neither master nor apprentice noticed that a pair of eyes in the corner shadow was watching them. Those eyes stared unblinkingly at Ange's motions as he folded the buns, as if trying to memorize the process.
Today, after the heavy snow had stopped, the Munchlax Home's business suddenly boomed. Everyone wanted hot, steaming buns and Mantou and warm porridge on a cold morning.
That taste was truly wonderful. It could keep them energized for a whole day of work.
Fortunately, Espurr and Ralts came to help, just like Meowstic. Otherwise, Meowstic might really have been too busy to handle it alone.
After 10:00, Ange closed the door on time and immediately placed a call to Lila.
"Your Highness?" Lila's voice quickly came through the phone.
"Lila, long time no see. Would you like to bring Romeo to my house for lunch today?" Ange said.
Although the Crawfish they caught yesterday were all eaten by him and the Pokémon, they still had some large crabs and shrimp left. These were definitely not enough for all the Pokémon, so he decided to invite Lila and Romeo for a meal.
Also, the fish on the fifth floor of the Secret Fortress should be eaten as soon as possible, or they would become too lean from being contained.
Speaking of which, Ange and the Lila siblings had not seen each other for some time.
Lila asked in surprise, "Your Highness is inviting us for a meal? Will you cook it yourself?"
"That's right. I got some good ingredients yesterday, so I wanted to invite you to taste them too," Ange said.
Lila readily agreed. "Yes, Romeo and I will definitely be there!"
"Good, I'll be waiting for you," Ange said, smiling. "By the way, Edward and Fiona can come too."
"Fiona would certainly be very happy." As Fiona's best friend, Lila understood her foodie nature perfectly. "But as for Father... I'll ask him."
Ange: "Alright."
"By the way, is it at the Munchlax Home?" Lila asked.
Ange shook his head. "No, come to the Nebel Plateau."
Lila: "I understand. We will arrive soon."
After hanging up the call with Lila, Ange took the purposely saved buns and Mantou to the small alley.
Walking to the wooden house deep in the alley, Ange gently tapped on the roof. Suddenly, six heads peered out. They were two Oddish, two Paras, and two Shroomish.
Seeing Ange, they happily jumped out of the wooden house. Ange had been feeding them often recently, and they were very familiar with him.
Ange could also gain Happiness Points by feeding them, and the happiness count was surprisingly high. Ange was very willing to do so.
"Odd, Odd~"
"Shroom~"
"Para, Para~"
The six Pokémon jumped and bounced around Ange's feet.
Ange placed the plate containing the buns and Mantou in front of them.
"Eat."
The six Pokémon immediately surrounded the plate and devoured the food. Soon, the food was completely gone.
After they finished eating, Ange took the plate and bid them farewell.
"See you tomorrow."
"Odd~" See you tomorrow.
"Shroom~" See you tomorrow.
"Para~" See you tomorrow.
After Ange left, the six Pokémon did not return to the wooden house for warmth. Instead, they cleared an empty space outside and lay down to sunbathe.
It was a rare sunny day. They had to soak up the sun thoroughly, or they would get moldy.
After returning to the Munchlax Home, Ange immediately took Sobble and Komala back to the Nebel Plateau. He had to hurry home to cook.
As soon as Ange and the others left, Haunter floated out of the shadows. It cleaned the Munchlax Home thoroughly, inside and out, as usual. Then it arranged the tables and chairs neatly and came to the kitchen.
Haunter stared blankly at Ange and Sobble's kitchen utensils for a moment. Then, a blue light flashed in its eyes, and the utensils instantly began to float.
The kitchen knife noisily chopped non-existent vegetables on the cutting board.
A spoon stirred non-existent porridge in the pot.
Haunter squeezed a non-existent ball of dough in its hands.
After playing for a while, Haunter's movements suddenly stopped. Then, it wistfully put the utensils back in their places. No matter how realistically it simulated them, they were still fake.
It sadly went to the trash can, rummaged through it, and finally found half a piece of Mantou. Clutching it, it slowly disappeared into the corner shadow.
Ange, meanwhile, greeted Munchlax as soon as he got home, "Munchlax, come quickly and help cook! We have guests today!"
"Munch~~" Coming! Coming!
Munchlax sprinted to Ange like a puppy, eagerly trotting behind him.
Ange carried Sobble and walked into the kitchen with Munchlax. "Today, the three of us master and apprentices are going to show off our skills!"
"Munch~" Oh!
"Sobb~" Oh!
Munchlax and Sobble clenched their fists and raised their hands in response to Ange, both looking highly motivated.
Ange then began to assign them tasks.
"Sobble, you make the cold dish with tomato, the cold dish with cucumber, the hot and sour shredded potato, the Mapo Tofu, the Di San Xian, and boil a pot of Black Carp Red Date Soup."
Most of the fish caught in Nebel Lake were Black Carp. Boiling a pot of Black Carp Red Date Soup was delicious and nourishing, very suitable for winter.
"Sobb~" Mission complete, guaranteed!
Sobble gave a salute.
Then Ange said to Munchlax, "Munchlax, you make the braised pork, shredded pork with green peppers, stir-fried greens with garlic puree, meatballs, braised eggplant in oil, shredded pork with fish flavor, dry-fried green beans, and twice-cooked pork."
"Munch~~" No problem!
Munchlax patted its chest in assurance and quickly moved its small stool over.
Seeing his two apprentices skillfully getting busy, Ange also quickly started working.
He first used the limited amount of grass shrimp caught yesterday to make a dry-pot shrimp dish. Then he made tile-style fish, water-boiled fish, and steamed fish.
Finally, only those few Dungeness Crabs remained.
Ange looked at the aggressively scuttling Dungeness Crabs and rapidly pondered how to cook them.
The water quality of Nebel Lake was excellent, so the fish, shrimp, and crabs raised there were all extremely delicious, and their meat quality was first-rate.
Therefore...
Ange finally decided on steaming.
Superior ingredients often needed the simplest cooking methods to fully unleash their flavor.
Thinking this, he started working.
Ange first retrieved the seasonings: ginger, garlic cloves, small scallions, light soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and so on.
Next, he put an appropriate amount of water into the steamer. After bringing it to a boil over high heat, he placed the cleaned Dungeness Crabs, which had been tied with rope, belly-up into the pot and covered it.
While the Dungeness Crabs were steaming, Ange started preparing the dipping sauce.
In the kitchen, the three masters and apprentices were working enthusiastically. The sizzling sound of oil was continuous, and rich aromas wafted everywhere.
Munchlax stood on its small stool, stood on its tiptoes, and skillfully tossed the wok in its hand.
Sobble was small, but it was just as adept at stirring vegetables with its spatula.
When the three of them were halfway through cooking, an aircraft landed at Ange's doorstep. It was Lila and her group. This time, they were not blocked or attacked by the Pokémon.
Lila leaped out, agilely jumping off the aircraft, followed closely by Romeo.
"Your Highness's house...?"
The siblings were stunned for a moment, almost not recognizing Ange's house, which looked vastly different now.
Following the siblings was Fiona.
After Fiona got out, she reached out and helped down a slightly overweight middle-aged man, who was Edward, the King of the Azoth Kingdom.
Edward was not wearing his king's attire today but casual clothes. Lila and Romeo were the same.
"Is this where His Highness lives? It's really nice!" Since this was Edward's first visit, he did not know that Ange's house did not originally look like this, so he was not as surprised.
All four of them arrived wearing thick clothes because it was deep winter in the Azoth Royal Capital. But once they arrived at the Nebel Plateau, they immediately felt hot and had to take off their outer layers.
Diancie heard the commotion outside and quickly ran out.
Seeing that Edward had also come, a hint of surprise appeared on her face. Then, she elegantly curtsied to Edward, Lila, and Romeo.
"Your Majesty the King, Princess Lila, Prince Romeo, good afternoon. It's a great pleasure that you could visit."
Edward highly valued Diancie, a Legendary Pokémon, so he also gently bowed slightly to her.
"Lady Diancie, it's also a pleasure to see you again."
Diancie: "Please come in, everyone."
Led by Diancie, the four people entered the house.
As soon as he stepped inside, Romeo kept sniffing and said with an intoxicated expression, "It smells so good!"
Although Fiona brought him and Lila breakfast from the Munchlax Home every day, he still immensely missed the dinner he had at Ange's house that night.
"Hahaha, it seems we are indeed in for a treat today!" Edward laughed heartily. "It's an honor to eat a meal cooked by His Highness in my lifetime!"
Diancie ushered the guests to sit down. "Please take a seat, everyone. Dinner should be ready very soon."
The four complied with Diancie's instruction and sat around a table.
Edward looked at the round table in front of him with novelty. The dining tables they usually used were rectangular. People would not sit so close to each other, either.
At that moment, Ange came out of the kitchen. Seeing that Lila and the others had arrived, he looked surprised and said, "You're already here? Perfect, we can start eating!"
Romeo cheered, "Great! I'll help!"
Just then, a red light flashed from the Poké Ball on his waist, and Slurpuff also appeared outside. It followed Romeo, shouting, "Slurp slurp~" I'll help too.
Romeo and Slurpuff were going back to their old trade today.
Edward looked at Romeo's retreating figure, a relieved smile appearing on his face. "Romeo has really become much more cheerful, Lila. Your decision to send him to His Highness was the right one."
Lila smiled and said, "Actually, I didn't expect Romeo to change so much either. It's all thanks to His Highness."
Soon, a table full of dishes was set.
Lila said dumbfounded, "That much?"
Ange laughed, "Since you rarely visit, of course, I have to be fully prepared.
Come, come, try everything. Today's meal was prepared by Munchlax, Sobble, and me after half a day of hard work."
"Munch Munch~"
Munchlax quickly seconded Ange.
"Sobb Sobb~"
Sobble, meanwhile, wore a proud expression.
"Then I won't be polite!" Edward had been eager to eat after smelling the rich aroma, but he had to maintain his image. Even if he was a junior in front of Prince Ange, he was still the King of a country!
Ange said, "Taste it quickly. The fish, the shrimp, and the crab are all specialties of Nebel Lake. They are so fresh, I guarantee they'll be so good you'll swallow your tongue."
Saying this, Ange began to introduce everyone to the names of the dishes and how to eat them, especially the Dungeness Crabs.
Edward had originally planned to maintain his image as king, but after the first bite of food, he decided to temporarily set aside his royal dignity.
They were all family. It was fine not to worry about one's image for a while, right?
"Edward, would you like a glass of red wine?" Ange asked.
Edward: "Then I'll have one."
Ange nodded and immediately bought a bottle of red wine from the System Store with his remaining Happiness Points, pretending to take it from the kitchen.
After decanting the wine, he took out glass cups and poured a glass for himself, Edward, and Komala.
Edward raised his glass and took a sip, then exclaimed, "Excellent wine! I didn't expect Your Highness to have such a rare collection!"
Ange just smiled without speaking. He raised his glass and clinked it against Edward's, then gently clinked it against Komala's.
As they exchanged toasts, the table of delicacies was quickly emptied. Edward also had a big appetite.
When only the last Dungeness Crab remained, two hands reached for it simultaneously: one was Edward's, and the other was Romeo's.
"Father, I remember the doctor telling you to lose weight."
"Romeo, eating crab doesn't cause weight gain. Besides, His Highness said that Dungeness Crabs are cold in nature, and children shouldn't eat too much."
"Father, I'm turning ten soon! I'm already grown up, not a child!"
"No, no, no. 'Turning ten soon' means you haven't reached ten yet."
Romeo immediately refused to concede.
"Father, you're too much! You always snatch my food! You secretly ate most of the Spicy Asire Seaweed His Highness gave me last time, didn't you? Don't think I didn't know!"
"Nonsense! How could I do such a thing!" Edward insisted, refusing to admit it. "I am the King!"
"Alright, alright!"
At this moment, Lila hit both their hands with her chopsticks. The father and son quickly withdrew their hands in pain.
Lila placed the last Dungeness Crab in front of Ange. "This last one is for Your Highness! Thank you for preparing this table of delicacies for us."
The father and son watched the Dungeness Crab that was within their grasp fly away, their eyes full of resentment toward their daughter (or sister), but they dared not speak their minds.
Ange, however, chuckled and placed the last Dungeness Crab in front of Munchlax.
Munchlax was usually the biggest eater, but because there were guests today, it had been eating very restrainedly, wanting to take care of the guests. It had not eaten much of the Dungeness Crabs at all.
Looking at the Dungeness Crab suddenly in its bowl, and then at its Master who was smiling at it, Munchlax was incredibly touched.
"Munch~~" Master...
Ange smiled. "Eat quickly."
Munchlax cautiously disassembled the Dungeness Crab and tasted it slowly. This was Master's love for it.
Ange then looked at Edward and Romeo. "You can come again next time. I'll make more for you then. You've all eaten enough. Everything must be done in moderation, including eating."
Edward nodded thoughtfully. "His Highness is right."
Romeo also said, "I'll listen to His Highness."
After lunch, Edward and Lila took a short walk nearby to help with digestion before leaving the Nebel Plateau. They still had a lot of official business to attend to. It was already difficult for them to take time out for a meal.
As for Romeo, he stayed behind for the time being.
Romeo had been very serious in class lately, studying harder than before. So, Lila wanted to give him a break so he would not turn into a bookworm again.