The sun was already high in the sky when Ethan Stone slowly woke from his sleep.
"Mm…"
"What a nice day."
He looked out the window at the clear blue sky, yawned, and stretched lazily.
"Good morning, Fuecoco, Gible, Hatenna, Mudkip."
The four small Pokémon in the room immediately stirred, surrounding Ethan and greeting him cheerfully.
Ethan smiled back.
Stepping onto the balcony, he looked down into the courtyard and saw Tyrantrum being chased in circles by Deino.
"Morning, Tyrantrum. Morning, Deino."
At Ethan's voice, the two finally stopped their playful pursuit and turned to greet him.
Last night, Ethan had originally planned to let Deino sleep indoors.
Her body wasn't large, after all.
But Deino had firmly refused.
She had chosen—very decisively—to sleep in the wooden house with Tyrantrum.
Ethan hadn't stopped her.
Pokémon relationships were their own business.
As for Metagross, after returning Ethan's greeting with a low hum, it simply lay back down and went right back to sleep.
Ethan didn't disturb it.
Instead, he headed downstairs to prepare breakfast.
Since Liam had transferred to the Breeding Department, even though he still lived in the same dorm, his schedule was far busier than before.
By eight in the morning, he was already gone.
Ethan kept breakfast simple.
Metagross mostly consumed minerals.
Tyrantrum's meals had effectively been outsourced to Professor Zhang Benchu from the Academy.
Every two or three days, the professor visited Tyrantrum, recorded data, and—out of sheer enthusiasm—took full responsibility for its meals.
Top-grade meats, vegetables, berries, nutritional supplements.
Frankly speaking, the professor took better care of Tyrantrum than Ethan ever could.
Mudkip and Hatenna ate whatever Ethan ate.
That used to make meal prep easy.
But now…
With Gible, Deino, and Fuecoco added to the team—
Things had changed.
These three were primarily meat-eaters.
They could eat human food, but long-term, the nutrition wouldn't be sufficient.
Ethan rubbed his chin.
"Looks like I need to outsource everyone's meals."
"Otherwise I'll die just cooking every day."
Immediately, a name came to mind.
The Chansey Restaurant.
That was the place he had ordered from yesterday—the same restaurant that had triggered a White-tier Opportunity.
The opportunity itself hadn't been impressive.
But the key point was this:
Every dish from that restaurant consistently reached White Opportunity quality.
Individually, it couldn't compare to rare berries.
But if eaten long-term?
The benefits would absolutely stack.
"Alright," Ethan nodded.
"I'll go check it out in person."
After breakfast, Ethan headed out with Gible and Hatenna.
Mudkip, Deino, and Fuecoco preferred to stay behind, so Ethan assigned them basic training tasks in the courtyard.
Formal training could wait until he returned.
"Chansey Restaurant…"
"This should be it."
Following the map on his phone, Ethan arrived at the Academy's commercial street.
The restaurant sat quietly in a corner.
It wasn't large—only sixteen tables—but it was clean, neat, and clearly well-maintained.
It looked newly opened.
Despite it being only nine in the morning, the doors were already open.
But no customers were inside.
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
Ethan stepped inside and called out.
Instead of a reply—
A rich, savory meat aroma washed over him.
"Gii-baa~!"
Gible's eyes lit up instantly.
Drool nearly fell from the corner of his mouth.
Clearly, he had been completely captured by the scent.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from the kitchen.
A girl rushed out.
"Um—are you here to order?"
"Hello, Iris," Ethan said with a smile.
"We meet again."
The girl froze.
She was Iris Lin—the Academy's top entrance exam scorer.
The same freshman who had broken Victor Stone's long-standing record.
Compared to half a month ago, she looked much more polished.
Her hair was tied back neatly, her clothes clean and simple.
No makeup—yet she looked calm and pleasant, the kind of person who made others feel at ease at first glance.
"You're…"
"…Ethan?!"
Of course she remembered him.
Yesterday's entrance exam had made Ethan a campus legend.
And they had already met during enrollment.
"I saw you come out of the kitchen," Ethan said.
"Is this restaurant yours?"
Iris shook her head.
"No. I'm just working here part-time."
"I see."
Ethan nodded.
"Do you know the owner?"
"I'd like to talk with them."
"Okay," Iris replied immediately.
"Please wait a moment."
She turned toward the kitchen and called out.
"Sister Yunmei—someone wants to speak with you!"
A clear, mature female voice replied from within.
"Got it."
"I'll be out shortly."
Just as the voice faded—
The system notification sounded in Ethan's mind.
[Ding! Purple Opportunity detected]
[Objective: Resolve the Chansey Restaurant's operational crisis]
Ethan's eyes narrowed slightly.
"A Purple Opportunity…"
"So that's how it is."
He glanced around the quiet restaurant again, a thoughtful expression forming.
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