25. Mission Completed

Flamel woke up late that morning and hurried from her home in a great rush.

Her route to the palace took her directly through the park where Lucas had set up his breakfast stall.

Seeing the long queue in the distance and catching the enticing aroma wafting through the air, Flamel was genuinely curious about what was being sold there.

Unfortunately, she was about to be late for work, so she could only spare a brief glance before hurrying on her way.

"Princess, good morning," Flamel greeted Princess Kimia upon arriving at the palace. The princess was standing contemplatively before a wall.

"You're a little late today," Kimia teased with a gentle smile.

Flamel typically maintained a rather serious demeanor and rarely smiled. She usually arrived at the palace well before her scheduled time, seemingly never experiencing tardiness.

Today's unusual lateness provided Princess Kimia with a rare opportunity for good-natured teasing.

"Ahem, ahem~" Flamel cleared her throat with an unnatural expression and swiftly changed the subject. "Princess, you're examining this painting again."

Kimia sighed deeply upon hearing this. "Yes, Father has entrusted me with full responsibility for investigating the theft from Prince Lucas's tomb, but we haven't uncovered a single clue thus far."

The painting Princess Kimia was currently studying depicted Lucas and Anna holding hands as they sat together.

"Please don't worry, Princess. Clues will emerge eventually," Flamel reassured her. "Since the tomb raider stole His Highness's remains, they will inevitably attempt to sell them. As soon as they reveal themselves, we'll certainly apprehend them."

"I hope so," Kimia replied, still pondering what the tomb raider might want with His Highness's remains.

What if they had no intention of selling, but merely wished to possess them?

Noticing the princess's somber mood, Flamel thought to shift the conversation to something more pleasant.

"Princess, on my way here, I discovered a stall in Nikola Park doing remarkable business. Tomorrow, I'll purchase some of their offerings for you to sample."

The park where Lucas had established his stall was named after the legendary scientist Nikola.

"Wonderful!" A smile finally brightened Kimia's face. "What does this stall sell?"

As both Flamel's superior and close friend, Kimia knew perfectly well that despite Flamel's serious nature, she was actually a food enthusiast who deeply appreciated culinary delights.

"To be honest, I don't know," Flamel admitted, shaking her head solemnly.

"Oh?" Kimia appeared puzzled. "Then how do you know it's delicious?"

"Because there's an enormous line of customers waiting."

"Hahaha~ You're truly something~"

The pair walked away, conversing and laughing together.

As noon approached, Lucas finally decided to close his stall.

"That's it for today, folks! We're sold out. Everyone please head home," he announced to those still queuing, while rubbing his lower back and wiping away perspiration.

"What? Everything's gone? I've been waiting for ages!"

"Will you be here tomorrow, sir?"

...

The customers who hadn't managed to make a purchase departed reluctantly.

Once they had gone, Lucas began tidying up, returning all tables and chairs to the food truck.

After everything was packed away, Lucas closed the vehicle door, unfolded a small table inside the carriage, and seated Komala on the chair opposite.

"Komala, thank you for your hard work. You performed excellently today and were tremendously helpful!"

As he spoke, he placed a basin of steamed buns before Komala.

"Eat up now. You must be famished."

Komala's stomach had been growling for some time, so it immediately grabbed a steamed bun and began devouring it.

"Take your time, there's no rush," Lucas advised, pouring water for his Pokémon.

Then, Lucas began tallying the day's earnings.

503 steamed buns sold, totaling 5,030 Poké Dollars.

1,052 baozi sold, totaling 21,040 Poké Dollars.

There were also 5,600 Happiness Points contributed by Pokémon consuming steamed buns.

After counting everything, Lucas checked the taskbar on his system interface, which displayed:

[Daily Task 1]

Train in the Culinary Training Room for 1 hour — Pending completion.

[Daily Task 2]

Host 10 Pokémon — Completed, reward available.

[Procurement Task]

Visit Azoth Kingdom for food supplies — Pending completion.

[Temporary Task]

Set up a stall in Azoth Kingdom to earn your first income — Completed, reward available.

Lucas wasn't in a hurry to claim the daily task rewards, planning instead to collect them together after completing another task that evening. He reached out and claimed the reward for the temporary task.

The system immediately displayed a notification:

[Congratulations, Master, for completing the Temporary Task of establishing a stall in Azoth Kingdom to earn your first income. Reward received: Recipe "Baozi".]

Lucas was momentarily stunned before clicking on the recipe section on the right side of the system interface and browsing through it. As expected, new content had been added.

The "Baozi" recipe differed significantly from steamed buns. It was comprehensive, including vegetable baozi, vermicelli baozi, mushroom baozi, radish baozi, kelp baozi, red bean paste baozi... virtually every filling Lucas knew, complete with detailed preparation instructions.

Seeing this recipe, Lucas was elated—this meant he could also earn Happiness Points with baozi in the future!

How amazing!

After eating, Lucas drove the food truck to a secluded spot, returned it to his system backpack, and then held Komala close. "Komala, let's go shopping."

Komala was too full and had already begun snoring softly. It shifted position in Lucas's arms, burying its head against his chest, leaving only its rounded tail and plump rear visible.

Lucas smiled and shook his head fondly before heading to the supermarket he and Diancie had visited the previous day. He embarked on an extensive shopping spree, spending nearly all of the 20,000 Poké Dollars earned that morning.

He purchased exclusively ingredients and seasonings, nothing else—after all, only ingredients couldn't be acquired through his system store.

As he prepared to leave, Lucas suddenly realized that Komala, which he had placed in the shopping cart, was missing. Only its log pillow remained in the cart.

"Komala?"

Lucas called softly—how could it have vanished so quickly?

"Komala?"

Lucas pushed the cart forward and began searching. Could it have gotten lost?

Clink-clank~

The sound of glass hitting the floor came from beneath his feet. Looking down, Lucas saw Komala rolling toward him from somewhere, clutching a bottle of wine in its arms.

"You ran off just for that?"

Lucas bent down and picked up Komala.

Komala hugged the wine bottle even more tightly.

Lucas smiled helplessly. "Most Komala consider their log pillows precious and are reluctant to part with them. Why would you abandon yours for a bottle of wine?"

Lucas attempted to pull the wine from Komala's grasp but found it impossible.

"Alright, I'll buy it for you, okay?" Lucas conceded. "Please let go so I can place it in the cart."

Who would have imagined this adorable Komala was actually a little wine enthusiast!

Hearing Lucas's promise, Komala reluctantly released the bottle, wriggled briefly, jumped from Lucas's arms into the cart, reclaimed its log pillow, and resumed sleeping in a corner of the cart.

Lucas checked the wine's price—only 30 Poké Dollars, quite inexpensive.

Very well, he'd buy it. Komala had truly worked hard today; they couldn't deny it such a reasonably priced indulgence.

Placing the wine in the cart, Lucas thought: When I have more money in the future, I'll buy you premium wine. As many bottles as you desire.

Exiting the supermarket, Lucas planned to return to the Nebel Plateau. He had no intention of setting up the stall again in the afternoon. The morning session had been tiring enough.

He didn't plan to operate the stall for extended periods even in the mornings. Once he earned sufficient money to cover expenses, he would retreat. He wasn't particularly fond of hardship and preferred spending leisurely days on the Nebel Plateau.

Returning to the forest's edge by the Nebel River, Lucas called out, "Altaria?"

"Altarrr~"

With a melodious cry, Altaria Dad gradually descended from the sky.

"Are you hungry?" Lucas asked, stroking its cloud-like wings while retrieving a steamed bun to feed it.

Altaria was indeed quite hungry, consuming the steamed buns rapidly one after another.

"Thank you for your assistance," Lucas expressed gratefully.

Altaria shook its head dismissively. Not only had Lucas saved their family of three, but he also provided Swablu with free meals daily, making this small service seem trivial in comparison.

After feeding Altaria Dad, Lucas climbed onto its back and began the journey home.

During the flight, he opened the system interface and claimed the reward for the [Procurement Task]. This task had been completed when he finalized his purchases at the supermarket.

After receiving the reward, the system interface displayed its usual notification:

[Congratulations to the Master for completing the Procurement Task to Azoth Royal City for food supplies. Reward received: Individual Value +2.]

Incredible—more Individual Value points!

Lucas felt excitement rising within him—truly an excellent reward.

He allocated these two Individual Value points to Munchlax again, and as before, added them to Attack.

Munchlax's updated Individual Values were:

HP: 29

Attack: 21

Defense: 20

Special Attack: 6

Special Defense: 10

Speed: 31

At that moment, Munchlax was washing dishes at home when it suddenly felt its strength increase.

Crack~

In its momentary carelessness, the bowl in its hands shattered into pieces.

What just happened? Munchlax looked thoroughly confused.

[Note: A Pokémon's various statistics relate to level, base stats, EVs, IVs, and nature. This story ignores nature modifiers, while EVs are implicitly gained through Pokémon's daily training (such as Munchlax's sessions in the Culinary Training Room) and won't be described in detail.]

After pondering without reaching any understanding, the carefree Munchlax simply dismissed the incident.

Altaria's flying speed far exceeded Lapras's swimming pace, allowing Lucas to return quickly to the Nebel Plateau.

Passing the waterfall, he noticed that the number of Magikarp that had evolved into Gyarados by crossing the "Dragon Gate" had increased to four.

The evolved Gyarados hadn't departed; they remained positioned above the waterfall, encouraging the Magikarp to continue their ascent while waiting for them to evolve into Gyarados together. Eventually, they would set off as a group to explore the upstream reaches of the Nebel.

Even Gyarados, known for their aggressive temperaments, possessed a gentler side.

"Diancie, we're back!"

Before landing, Lucas stretched his neck and waved to Diancie below. She was watering flowers in the garden.

Upon seeing Lucas, she smiled and returned his wave.

After Altaria landed, Lucas dismounted nimbly, patted its neck and said, "Thank you for your efforts. Please join us for dinner tomorrow."

Altaria trilled softly, flapped its wings and ascended into the sky, disappearing almost instantly.

"How was business today?" Diancie asked eagerly.

"Not bad at all. I earned over 20,000 Poké Dollars, and I've completed the tasks," Lucas replied casually.

Diancie appeared surprised. "That much?"

Earning more than 20,000 in a single day—or more precisely, in one morning—was genuinely impressive. After all, Lucas's only investments were time and effort.

His largest expenditure had been the food truck purchased for tens of thousands of Happiness Points, but that was a reusable asset.

"It's satisfactory," Lucas remarked with a hint of pride. "My culinary skills are exceptional, after all."

Diancie chuckled. "You're becoming rather smug."

"Hehe~" Lucas grinned broadly.

"You water the flowers; I'll cut some to take back for a vase." Saying this, Diancie handed Lucas the watering can and produced a pair of scissors from somewhere.

Lucas set Komala on the ground. "Go play by yourself."

However, Komala remained motionless.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked, puzzled.

Komala patted the log pillow in its arms. Lucas suddenly remembered something, retrieved the wine bottle he'd purchased from the supermarket and offered it.

"Here, is this what you wanted? You little..."

Komala immediately clutched both its log pillow and the wine bottle, then rolled away.

Shortly thereafter, Lucas observed Komala returning to its cabin. When it emerged again, only the wine bottle remained in its grasp.

Interestingly, it had again abandoned its cherished log pillow for the sake of wine, and it even knew to return the pillow to its own dwelling.

Watching Komala disappear with the wine bottle, Lucas turned to Diancie with confusion and asked, "Where is it going?"

"I'm not certain," Diancie shook her head. "It seems to have been venturing outside more frequently lately."

"Really?" Lucas was surprised. Komala typically preferred staying home. "Could it have found drinking companions outside?" he joked.

"Perhaps it actually has."

Diancie inhaled the fragrance of the cut bouquet. "These flowers smell divine. They're truly exceptional."

The flowers cultivated in Lucas's garden weren't ordinary varieties but rare Gracidea flowers. Legend held that these blossoms could attract the mythical Pokémon Shaymin.

Lucas only recognized their identity after they bloomed, having no idea where Vivillon had obtained them initially.

Upon returning home, Diancie arranged the bouquet in the vase on the entryway table, immediately filling the entire hall with a subtle fragrance.

At that moment, Munchlax emerged from the kitchen, its eyes brightening upon seeing Lucas.

"Munch~ Munchlax~" Master, you're back! I've missed you terribly.

With that exclamation, it ran to Lucas and threw itself into his arms.

Lucas patted its head affectionately and asked, "How did you manage this morning?"

"Munch~" Very well!

Upon hearing this, Munchlax pulled away from Lucas's embrace and confidently thumped its chest.

"Pfft~" Diancie couldn't suppress her laughter seeing Munchlax's self-congratulatory display. "You certainly have a high opinion of yourself."

Munchlax regarded Diancie with an expression that seemed to ask, What are you laughing at? "Munch~ Munchlax~" Am I wrong? Everyone loves the food I prepare.

Shifting its attention from Diancie, Munchlax suddenly took Lucas's hand shyly and began pulling him toward the stairs.