ALL NOVEL Chapter 46: New Employee
[ Congratulations, Master, on completing the (Temporary Task). ]
[ Rewards: Constitution +2, Intelligence +2, and Space Portal +1 (linking Nebel Plateau and Azoth City) ]
[ Congratulations, Master, on completing the (Ingredient Acquisition Task) ]
[ Rewards: Constitution +2, Individual Value +2 ]
[ Congratulations, Master, on completing the (Recipe Upgrade Task) ]
[ Rewards: Constitution +2, Individual Value +2 ]
...
The other rewards were exactly what Angie had expected, but the space portal… Angie was puzzled. Does this mean that with this, he no longer needs to travel back and forth between Azoth City and Nebel Plateau?
No use in overthinking it. He'd ask Diancie tomorrow.
Next, he turned his attention to his personal information.
...
[ Angie ]
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 16 (+500)
Constitution: 23
Intelligence: 12
Culinary Rating: A beginner who can make edible dishes.
...
His constitution had increased to 23, thanks to his persistent training recently, which had helped boost his physical strength a little.
Angie now felt full of energy, almost as if he had the urge to run wildly. What should he do about this feeling?
He ignored the increase in his intelligence stats—after all, it didn't feel like there were any noticeable changes in his mind or body.
He still had 4 individual value points left, and without hesitation, he allocated them all to Munchlax!
...
[ Munchlax ]
Type: Normal
Ability: Thick Fat
Gender: Male
Level: 28
Moves: Tackle, Lick, Defense Curl, Recycle, Covet, Bite, Stockpile, Swallow, Body Slam, Take Down, Charm, Seed Bomb, Brick Break, Counter.
...
[ Individual Values (IVs) ]
HP: 29
Attack: 25
Defense: 20
Special Attack: 6
Special Defense: 10
Speed: 31
...
Just like before, Angie allocated the individual value points to Attack, and over the past while, Munchlax had leveled up significantly.
It wasn't just Munchlax who leveled up; Diancie had too. She had also learned several new moves from the Pokémon on the Nebel Plateau.
...
[ Diancie ]
Type: Rock, Fairy
Ability: Clear Body
Gender: None
Level: 55
Moves: Tackle, Harden, Diamond Storm, Guard Split, Smack Down, Flail, Ancient Power, Rock Polish, Light Screen, Rock Slide, Reflect, Dazzling Gleam, Power Gem, Play Rough.
...
[ Individual Values (IVs) ]
HP: 31
Attack: 31
Defense: 31
Special Attack: 31
Special Defense: 31
Speed: 31
...
Having grown stronger himself and seeing his Pokémon grow stronger too, Angie felt quite satisfied. Time for sleep, time for sleep.
With a happy heart, Angie slept soundly through the night, waking up to the morning light.
In the morning, Angie and Diancie walked out of their room together.
"Good morning, Diancie."
"Good morning, Angie."
The two of them exchanged a smile.
"Diancie, I have a gift for you." Angie waved at Diancie.
Diancie's eyes lit up with anticipation as she walked over and asked, "What gift?"
"Look!" Angie took out the pouch he had made the previous night.
"Wow~ it's so beautiful!" Diancie exclaimed in delight, taking the pouch. "It smells so nice!"
"Do you like it?" Angie asked with a smile.
"I like it." Diancie happily hung the pouch around her.
"I knew you'd like it," Angie said.
After hanging the pouch, Diancie spun around, asking, "Does it look good?"
As Diancie turned around, the fragrance from the pouch began to spread.
"It looks great. I knew it would be perfect for you," Angie praised without hesitation.
The pouch was designed like a small crossbody bag, and it looked very nice hanging diagonally across Diancie's body. The soft pink color complemented her perfectly.
"Hee-hee, thank you, Angie," Diancie said gently, touching the pouch.
"By the way, Diancie, there's something in my task rewards called a space portal. Do you know what that's about?" Angie asked, recalling the rewards from last night.
"I know, I know. Follow me."
In a good mood, Diancie bounced happily as she led Angie to the third floor. She pointed to one of the many doors on the floor and said, "This is the door that connects Nebel Plateau and Azoth City. When you place another portal in Azoth City, you'll be able to travel freely between here and Azoth City."
On the door was a series of icons showing:
[ Nebel Plateau <-> Azoth City ]
Angie suddenly understood. No wonder the system had asked him to set up a shop in Azoth City. It was likely for the purpose of installing the other portal.
"Alright, I get it now. Let's go wake up Munchlax, it's time to get to work!"
The new day began, and Angie went back to setting up his stall in the Azoth City while Munchlax continued to handle the business at home.
By midday, when Angie returned from his stall, he happened to see two Gogoat arrive at his doorstep.
"Good afternoon, Gogoat! Are you here to pick up vegetables?" Angie greeted them.
"Gogoat~"
"Gogoat~"
The two Gogoat nodded their heads.
"Wait here, I'll get them for you." Angie dashed into the house.
Before long, he and Munchlax were carrying large baskets full of various vegetables out of the house. Now, with his increased physical strength, he could handle such physical labor with ease, not even breaking a sweat.
Having a constitution of 23 is amazing!
After loading the vegetables onto the backs of the two Gogoat, Angie asked, "How's it going? Can you handle it?"
"Gogoat~"
"Gogoat~"
The two Gogoat nodded confidently. A small load like this was nothing! They could easily handle twice the weight.
"Let's go, I'll go back with you." Angie said.
He was going to milk them.
The Gogoat nodded.
Angie and Munchlax followed the two Gogoat to their resting place, and after taking out the small and large buckets he had bought from the system store, he began the milking process.
The small bucket was used to catch the milk, and the large bucket was for storing it.
The Gogoat lined up one by one, waiting for Angie to milk them. Munchlax also helped, and after some guidance from Angie, Munchlax successfully milked the goats.
I have to say, Munchlax was surprisingly skilled with its hands.
However, after milking two Gogoat, Angie stood up, feeling sore in his back and waist. Looking at the long line of goats waiting for their turn, he thought to himself.
This isn't working! The milking efficiency is too low! And it's exhausting!
I need to come up with a solution.
Actually, the system store sells specialized milking machines, but they're expensive, and Angie felt it wasn't worth the cost.
With that money, it would be better to hire some Pokémon from the plateau to help out.
Thinking this, Angie said to Munchlax, "Munchlax, can you ask Gardevoir and Gallade to come over for me?"
"Munchlax~~ Munchlax~~"
Munchlax agreed eagerly.
With that, Munchlax left the milking work behind and quickly ran off. Before long, Munchlax returned with Gardevoir and Gallade.
Gardevoir and Gallade were holding an unhatched egg, and they looked somewhat puzzled as to why Angie had called them over.
At that moment, Angie spoke up, "Gardevoir, Gallade, how would you feel about being officially hired as staff at my shop?"
Coincidentally, the Pokémon food sent by the royal family was piling up at home, none of Angie's Pokémon were willing to eat it, and it was just taking up space. Instead of letting it go to waste, Angie figured he could use it to hire Gardevoir and Gallade to help out.
Although none of his Pokémon would eat it, the food was still of good quality, and it would be a waste to leave it sitting there.
Gardevoir and Gallade exchanged a look, slightly confused.
Angie continued, "Your job will be to help Munchlax and Diancie greet customers every morning, help with cleaning, and then come here at noon to milk the Gogoat. You'll only need to work half a day.
In return, you'll have breakfast at the shop, and for lunch and dinner, I'll convert them into Pokémon food for you to take home. This way, you won't have to worry about making ends meet, and once the egg hatches, you'll always have food and shelter."
Upon hearing Angie's offer, Gardevoir and Gallade's eyes lit up with surprise.
"How does that sound? Are you interested?" Angie asked.
"Gardevoir~ Gardevoir~"
"Gallade~ Gallade~"
The couple nodded eagerly, saying, "We're in! We're totally in! How could we turn down such a good deal?"
"Great, it's settled then. Come on, I'll teach you how to milk the Gogoats now." Angie happily waved them over.
Gardevoir and Gallade quickly gathered around, paying close attention to Angie's explanation and demonstration.
To Angie's delight, Gardevoir and Gallade learned very quickly. Every detail he explained, they remembered after hearing it just once.
As expected of Psychic-type Pokémon with their High IQ.
What was even better was that they didn't need to use their hands at all. They could easily milk the Gogoat using just their psychic powers, and they could milk three or four goats at once, boosting the efficiency to incredible levels!
Before long, the milking was completely done, and Angie and Munchlax hardly needed to do anything at all.
Looking at the full buckets of fresh milk in front of him, Angie was overjoyed. Hiring these two Pokémon was definitely worth it!
It was worth it! So worth it!
He would give them a bonus! He decided to pick out a few gifts for Gardevoir and Gallade when he got back.
Just as Angie was about to pick up the small bucket of Gogoat's milk and pour it into the large bucket, Gardevoir and Gallade waved their hands.
"Gardevoir~ Gardevoir~"
"Gallade~Gallade~"
One by one, the small buckets floated up, automatically pouring the milk into the large bucket.
Angie couldn't help but give a thumbs up to the couple. "Gardevoir, Gallade, you're so amazing!"
Gardevoir and Gallade looked at each other, both a little embarrassed by Angie's praise.
"Alright, let's head home," Angie said.
As soon as Gardevoir and Gallade heard this, they quickly used their psychic powers to help Angie carry the large buckets of milk back. However, Angie waved his hand and said, "No need, no need."
With a casual wave, the buckets containing the milk vanished from sight.
Both Gardevoir and Gallade were surprised.
Before leaving, Angie turned to the leader of the Gogoat and said, "Tomorrow, I'll bring more vegetables for you, so everyone can get some extra nourishment. You've all worked hard."
After all, he had plenty of vegetables at home, and the better the Gogoat's ate, the higher the quality of milk they would produce.
Once back home, Angie gave the couple their wages (Pokémon food) in advance, sent them out of the house, and told them that their official work would start tomorrow.
The couple left in high spirits.
On their way home, Gardevoir and Gallade spread the news about being hired by Angie, making everyone else envious.
"Where can we find a job like that, with food and drink guaranteed?" they thought.
Once there were the Dugtrio, and now there were Gardevoir and Gallade—when would it be their turn?
Back at Angie's house, he and Munchlax put the fresh Gogoat's milk into a sterilizer to disinfect it before storing it in the fridge. This way, the milk would be ready for selling as milky buns tomorrow.
Angie had no plans to sell the milky buns to Azoth Kingdom yet. First, with the Gogoat' milk yield, he couldn't supply two places at once. Secondly, selling the buns to humans wasn't as profitable as selling them to Pokémon.
From what he learned from Diancie, milky buns were a higher-grade food than ordinary buns and steamed buns. Pokémon that ate them would provide him with more happiness points.
With the new Gogoat's milk, the family's dinner was still the same as before—milky buns, which had now become the favorite of Munchlax, Diancie, and Komala.
After dinner, the family, as usual, chatted, watched shows, played games, and then went to the kitchen training room for culinary practice before washing up and going to bed.
Early the next morning, the bright sun rose from the forest on the eastern side of the Nebel Plateau, and Angie was already out setting up his stall.
In the kitchen, Munchlax was busy. Wearing a tall chef's hat and a clean chef's uniform, it stood on a small stool, kneading a lump of dough.
Nearby, the steam from the steamer rose in the air, with different types of food being steamed in different baskets—regular steamed buns, buns with various flavors, and today's new milky buns.
The different aromas filled the kitchen, and Munchlax, smelling the delicious scents, couldn't help but gulp.
Outside, Diancie and the others were busy as well. Gardevoir and Gallade arrived early.
Diancie was wiping tables and sweeping the floor, while Gallade and Gardevoir placed small dishes made by Angie and Munchlax onto each table.
Soon, the first batch of customers arrived: a Delphox, Greninja, and Chesnaught.
It was Gardevoir and Gallade's first day at work, and they came to see how the couple was doing.
Upon seeing them enter, Diancie greeted them with a smile.
"Good morning, you three."
"Delphox~"
"Greninja~"
"Chesnaught~"
The three Pokémon greeted Diancie in return.
"Delphox~ Delphox~
Why do I smell something especially delicious today?
Delphox sniffed the air.
"Greninja~ Greninja~"
"Chesnaught~ Chesnaught~"
Greninja and Chesnaught also smelled it and nodded in agreement with Delphox.
Diancie gave them a thumbs up. "Impressive! Today we're launching a new dish: milky buns. You should definitely try them later."
The three Pokémon nodded, picked a table, and sat down.
As soon as they sat, other Pokémon began to arrive one after another—Litwick and the others, and the family of Victreebel... Autumn had arrived on Nebel Plateau, and the morning dew had already started to form. Many Pokémon had gotten wet from the dew on their way here.