The aroma drifting from the kitchen grew richer, and the Pokémon gradually became restless.
Munchlax poked its head out from the kitchen and called to Diancie, Gardevoir, and Gallade, "Munch Munch~." The food was ready.
Hearing this, the Pokémon became excited. They were all greatly looking forward to the new food Diancie had mentioned.
Soon, Diancie, Gardevoir, and Gallade came out of the kitchen. They carried Mantou, Milky Mantou, and buns, respectively. They then distributed the food to everyone, one by one.
Unlike human restaurants, where one could order according to preference, Ange's Pokémon restaurant did not allow ordering. This was done to maximize the acquisition of Happiness Points.
Each Pokémon's plate was fixed with Mantou, Milky Mantou, and buns. At most, the filling of the bun would be slightly adjusted to suit a Pokémon's taste. They would not force a Pokémon to eat chive filling if they disliked it.
Since the Pokémon liked all the food from Ange's restaurant, this method of food distribution was not an issue. Furthermore, since the food was free, the Pokémon were even less likely to be picky.
The food was quickly distributed. The Pokémon immediately ate with great eagerness.
They felt the same way Diancie and Munchlax had earlier. After eating the Milky Mantou, a surge of energy flowed through the Pokémon's bodies. It was a wonderful sensation.
Ange glanced at the System during his break from the stall. He then discovered that the System's Happiness Points were increasing rapidly.
[+400
+400
+400
...]
The base Happiness Points provided by the buns and Mantou were 100 and 100, respectively. The extra 200 had to be contributed by eating the Milky Mantou!
It truly deserved to be called a higher-grade food by the System. One serving was worth two.
The Milky Mantou was delicious. Everyone ate with great relish, not even taking the time to look up.
Suddenly, a gasp sounded. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound. A powerful blue-white light burst forth from Flabébé's body.
In the light, Flabébé's body size grew quickly. Its body, originally only 0.1 meters tall, doubled in the blink of an eye.
When the light faded, its appearance had changed. Not only did it look more mature, but the Fairy Flower under its feet was now held above its head like an umbrella.
Flabébé evolved into Floette.
Everyone was astonished by Flabébé's sudden evolution. How did it evolve while simply eating?
However, evolution was a good thing. They were about to congratulate Flabébé when another gasp was heard. They looked again. A strong blue-white light also burst from Espurr's body.
Everyone stared at Espurr in disbelief.
Another one... evolved again?
Even Espurr found it unbelievable. It lowered its head to examine its body. Its body was rapidly growing taller in the light.
Espurr, originally about 0.3 meters tall, quickly grew to about 0.6 meters. When the light of evolution disappeared, its appearance had also changed greatly.
Espurr evolved into Meowstic.
Meowstic's appearance differed based on its gender. The male Meowstic was blue overall, accented with white. The female Meowstic had mostly white fur, with only its hands, legs, tail base, and a lock of mane on its head being blue.
This Espurr was male. Therefore, its fur was predominantly deep blue.
Having just completed the evolution, Meowstic could not adapt to its greatly changed body. It twisted clumsily and ultimately plopped down on the floor.
Everyone laughed kindly at the sight.
However, Meowstic's evolution was not the end.
Spritzee, Swablu, and Fletchling, the three good friends, were gathering at a table to eat. They were discussing the evolutions of Flabébé and Meowstic excitedly. They looked forward to what they would look like after they evolved.
Although some Pokémon resisted evolution due to various reasons, such as not adapting to the new form, most Pokémon looked forward to it. The evolution factor was etched into a Pokémon's genes. Yearning for evolution was the Pokémon's nature and a natural selection.
The three little birds discussed and enjoyed the food.
Spritzee had a small appetite. After eating one Mantou, one Milky Mantou, and two buns, it could not eat the remaining bun on its plate. It pushed the plate toward Fletchling.
"Zee zee~ Zee zee~," Fletchling, help me eat this.
"Fle fle~ Fle fle~" Sure! Sure!
Fletchling accepted the offer.
It quickly finished the small amount of food it had left. It then quickly ate the bun Spritzee had left behind.
"Hiccup~~"
Fletchling was too full. It lay flat on its back on the table.
"Blu blu~ Blu blu~"
Swablu nudged it. It wanted Fletchling to join it for a flight to help with digestion.
However, Fletchling's body suddenly burst into a bright blue light, startling Spritzee and Swablu. Both were so scared they fell onto the table.
Fletchling jumped up immediately.
I'm evolving?
In the blue light, Fletchling's size grew quickly. In a short time, its 0.2-meter height rose to 0.7 meters. It instantly became the largest among its friends.
When the light dissipated, Fletchling had successfully evolved into Fletchinder. Its type also changed from Normal/Flying to Fire/Flying.
"Zee zee~"
"Blu blu~"
Seeing their friend evolve, Spritzee and Swablu flapped their wings excitedly. They flew around Fletchinder.
Fletchinder also realized that it had finished evolving. It raised its wings in excitement and bounced around on the table.
"Fle fle~ Fle fle~" I evolved! I evolved!
It was fortunate that Ange's tables were heavy. Otherwise, Fletchinder would have surely knocked them over.
Three Pokémon evolved one after another during the time it took to eat breakfast. Everyone looked at the food on their plates with different eyes.
Recalling the surge of energy in their bodies when they ate the Milky Mantou, all the Pokémon seemed to understand something.
***
On Ange's side.
After a busy morning and selling all the buns and Mantou, Ange said to Romeo, "Romeo, did your sister say when she would arrive?"
Ange and Lila had an appointment to visit his shop today. He had wanted to go yesterday, but Lila was busy and had no time to accompany him.
Romeo replied, "She should be arriving soon."
Speak of the devil, and she shall appear.
"Your Highness, Romeo," Lila's voice came from outside the car window.
"Sister!"
"Slurp slurp~"
Romeo and his Slurpuff poked their heads out of the car window and waved at Lila.
Lila quickly ran to the car. She said to Ange, "Your Highness, let's set off."
"Okay!" Ange agreed.
"I'll drive," Lila volunteered. She was the only one who knew the way. Rather than having her direct the way from the side, it was better for her to drive herself.
"Alright." Ange gave up the driver's seat.
Thus, Lila drove toward the shop's location. Ange sat in the back, tallying the day's earnings.
"Oh, right, Your Highness. Father and the ministers discussed your request to exchange your allowance for the Nebel Plateau. They agreed!" Lila suddenly said.
Originally, many ministers opposed it, thinking it was against the rules. However, Edward overpowered the dissent. He finally made the decision to agree to the matter.
Lila did not feel the need to tell Prince Ange about that.
Hearing Lila's words, Ange nodded sharply. His face showed surprise. "Really?!"
Lila nodded. "Of course. Check your Resident ID network. The information should have been updated."
Ange quickly took out his phone to check. He indeed saw that, in the asset column of his resident network, another Nebel Plateau was added, besides the Royal Capital shop.
Hooray, I'm a landlord!
At the same time, the System sent a notification. Ange clicked on it, and a pop-up window immediately appeared.
[Congratulations, Master, on completing the achievement: Acquired a Base. Reward: Full Set of Brewing Equipment (Value: 50 million Happiness Points).]
Seeing the Reward, Ange was so shocked he almost jumped up. Holy moly, I got a big one! 50 million Happiness Points was a Reward that would take him ages to earn. Now, it was just an achievement Reward.
However... Full Set of Brewing Equipment? Help! I don't know how to brew!
No way! I finally got a big one, but the Reward is unusable! Ange was deeply distressed.
Romeo, sitting next to him, saw Ange's expression change repeatedly. He asked with concern, "Your Highness, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Ange closed the System interface with a look of despair. He shook his head. "I'm fine. I just suffered a loss of 100 million."
Rounding 50 to 100 is acceptable, right?
Romeo covered his mouth in disbelief. The Prince is so rich!
Forget it. I'll just leave this Reward for now, Ange thought.
***
Ange's shop was not far from Eliphas Park. They soon arrived at the shop entrance.
The group got out of the car. Ange looked at the three-story shop in front of him. He asked, "Is this my shop?"
Lila nodded and replied, "Yes, it is here."
Ange's shop was on a street with a huge flow of people. This was a famous tourist street in the Azoth Royal Capital. A large number of tourists from all over the world visited here every day. It was one of the busiest districts in the Azoth Royal Capital.
If the royal family had not intervened, others would not have had the opportunity to acquire a shop here.
The three-story building in front of Ange was decorated in a rustic style. It was somewhat similar to the architecture in the Johto Region.
This style of shop was quite out of place in the entire Azoth Royal Capital. However, it was fine on the tourist street because there were shops of various styles everywhere.
"Your Highness, let's go inside and take a look," Lila said.
"Good! Good!"
Ange quickly took out the key he had received beforehand and opened the door.
After pushing the door open and entering, the interior of the shop was antique-looking. Rows of log-colored tables and chairs were neatly arranged inside. Wooden menu boards were hung on the walls. They listed "Mantou," "Cabbage-Filled Bun," "Radish-Filled Bun," and "Chives-Filled Bun."
The menus could be taken down and hung back up easily.
In the front of the shop was a long, tall counter. That was where the cashier and payment area were located. A painting hung on the wall behind the counter.
The content of the painting was simple. It was a sketch of steaming buns and Mantou.
Passing through the long corridor to the right of the counter, Ange and the others arrived at the shop's back kitchen.
The kitchen equipment was also luxurious. All the cooking utensils were prepared as a thank-you gift.
The decoration and structure of the second floor were similar to the first floor.
The third floor was the residential area, making it convenient for Ange and his Pokémon to stay here.
After the tour, Lila asked, "How is it, Your Highness? Do you like it?"
"I like it! I love it so much!" Ange nodded in satisfaction. "Who did the decoration here? It is exactly to my liking."
Lila said with pride, "I knew Your Highness would like it."
"You did it?" Ange looked at her in surprise.
Lila nodded. "Father entrusted all of Your Highness's affairs to me."
Ange gave Lila a thumbs-up in admiration. "You are indeed the Princess of Azoth! You're really talented."
After introducing the various facilities and functions of the residential area to Ange, Lila said, "Alright, Your Highness, it's getting late. You must be eager to return home. Romeo and I will return to the Royal Palace now."
Ange saw the siblings off to the door. He then quickly locked the door from the inside and rushed back to the third floor.
On the third floor, Ange finally chose a storage room as the location for the Space Tunnel Point.
After setting it up, he said to the Komala in his arms, "Let's try to go straight home from here."
He then pushed open the storage room door.
According to Diancie, after setting up the Space Tunnel Point, the storage room door would be a regular storage room door when opened by others. It would only turn into the entrance and exit of the Space Tunnel when opened by Ange and his Pokémon.
Stepping inside the door, Ange saw a white, hazy passage. He walked for a short distance while holding Komala. A bright light appeared ahead.
He took a big step toward the light. When he reached it, he pushed it open.
Creak~~~
The door opened. He stepped through the doorway. What appeared before him was his own third floor at home.
"Ange?"
Suddenly, a familiar voice came. Ange turned his head. It was indeed Diancie.
"We're back!" Ange said happily.
"Did you set up the other Tunnel Point?" Diancie asked.
"Yes! Would you like to come with me to visit our new shop?" Ange asked.
"Good! Good!" Diancie's voice was full of anticipation.
"Let's call Munchlax, and we'll go together," Ange said with a wave of his hand.
Munchlax was soon called over. The family of four passed through the Space Tunnel and arrived at the new shop in the Azoth Royal Capital.
"Munch~" Is this our new home?
Stepping out of the doorway, Munchlax curiously looked at everything.