Chapter 46: The New Employee

Congratulations, Host, on completing the [Temporary Task]... You have received the following rewards: Constitution +2, Intelligence +2, and a Space Portal (connecting the Nebel Plateau and Azoth Kingdom).

Congratulations, Host, on completing the [Ingredient Acquisition Task]... You have received the following rewards: Constitution +2, Individual Value +2.

Congratulations, Host, on completing the [Recipe Upgrade Task]... You have received the following rewards: Constitution +2, Individual Value +2.

All the other rewards were what Andrew had expected, but the Space Portal... Andrew was taken aback. Could it be that with this, he would no longer need to travel back and forth between Azoth Kingdom and Nebel Plateau?

It was pointless to overthink it. He decided to ask Diancie about it the next day.

Then he checked his personal information.

[Andrew]

Race: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 16 (+500)

Constitution: 23

Intelligence: 12

Cooking Skills Rating: Rookie Chef

His constitution had increased to 23. His dedication to training over this period had led to a slight boost in his physical condition.

Andrew felt invigorated and had an urge to run wild—what should he do about it?

He ignored the increase in intelligence points, as he hadn't noticed any significant changes in himself.

He still had 4 individual value points left. Naturally, he decided to allocate them all to Munchlax!

Munchlax

Type: Normal

Ability: Thick Fat

Gender: Male

Level: 28

Moves: Tackle, Lick, Defense Curl, Recycle, Covet, Bite, Amnesia, Swallow, Heavy Slam, Take Down, Charm, Seed Bomb, Brick Break, Double-Edge.

*Individual Values:*

HP: 29

Attack: 25

Defense: 20

Sp. Atk: 6

Sp. Def: 10

Speed: 31

As before, Andrew put the individual values into Attack. During this period, Munchlax had leveled up several times.

It wasn't just Munchlax who had leveled up; Diancie had as well, and had learned several new moves from the Pokémon on the plateau.

Diancie

Type: Rock, Fairy

Ability: Clear Body

Gender: None

Level: 55

Moves: Tackle, Harden, Diamond Storm, Guard Split, Knock Off, Tantrum, Ancient Power, Rock Polish, Light Screen, Rock Slide, Reflect, Dazzling Gleam, Power Gem, Play Rough.

*Individual Values:*

HP: 31

Attack: 31

Defense: 31

Sp. Atk: 31

Sp. Def: 31

Speed: 31

As he grew stronger, so did his Pokémon, and Andrew felt satisfied. Time for bed.

Feeling content, Andrew slept soundly until morning.

In the morning, Andrew and Diancie stepped out of their room together.

"Good morning, Diancie."

"Good morning, Andrew."

They exchanged smiles.

"Diancie, I have a gift for you," Andrew said, beckoning Diancie.

Diancie's eyes lit up with curiosity as she approached, asking, "What's the gift?"

"Take a look!" Andrew pulled out the pouch from last night.

"Wow~ It's beautiful!" Diancie exclaimed in delight as she took the pouch. "It smells wonderful!"

"Do you like it?" Andrew asked with a smile.

"I do," Diancie said happily, putting the pouch on herself.

"I knew you'd like it," Andrew said.

After putting on the pouch, Diancie twirled around gracefully. "How do I look?" she asked Andrew.

As Diancie twirled, a lovely fragrance emanated from her.

"You look great! I knew it would suit you perfectly," Andrew praised.

The pouch was styled like a small crossbody bag and looked great on Diancie. The pink color complemented her well.

"Hehe, thank you, Andrew," Diancie said softly, admiring the pouch.

"By the way, Diancie, one of my rewards was something called a Space Portal. Do you know what that is?" Andrew asked, recalling last night's reward.

"Yes, I do. Follow me."

In a cheerful mood, Diancie hopped along, leading Andrew to the third floor and pointing to one of the many doors. "This is the door connecting the Nebel Plateau and Azoth Kingdom. Once you set up another teleportation point in Azoth Kingdom, you'll be able to travel freely between here and the Nebel Plateau."

The door had a series of symbols on it, showing:

[Nebel Plateau - Azoth Kingdom]

Andrew suddenly understood. No wonder the system wanted him to set up a shop in Azoth Kingdom—it was probably to place another teleportation point.

"Got it. Let's go wake up Munchlax; it's time to get to work!"

As a new day began, Andrew continued setting up his food truck in the kingdom, while Munchlax handled the business at home.

Around noon, when Andrew returned from the Royal City, he saw two Gogoats arriving at his doorstep.

"Good afternoon, Gogoat. Are you here to pick up the vegetables?" Andrew greeted them.

"Go~"

"Go~"

The two Gogoats nodded.

"Wait here, I'll go get it for you." Andrew dashed into the house.

In no time, he and Munchlax were hauling out large baskets of various vegetables from the house. Now, he could easily handle physical work without even breaking a sweat.

23 points in stamina really make a difference!

After loading the vegetables onto the backs of the two Gogoats, Andrew asked, "How are you holding up? Can you manage?"

"Go~"

"Go~"

The two Gogoats confidently nodded. This little load was nothing! They could easily handle double the weight.

"Alright, I'll go with you," Andrew said.

He needed to go milk the Gogoats.

The Gogoats nodded in agreement.

Andrew and little Munchlax followed the two Gogoats to their herd's habitat. After taking out small and large buckets from the system's backpack—bought from the system store—Andrew started his milking job.

The small buckets were used to collect the milk, and the large ones were for storing it.

The Gogoats lined up one by one, waiting for Andrew to milk them. Munchlax helped too, and after some guidance from Andrew, it successfully milked a Gogoat.

It must be said, Munchlax had quite a knack for practical work.

However, after milking two Gogoats, Andrew stood up, feeling sore and exhausted. Looking at the long line of Gogoats still waiting to be milked, he thought:

This won't do, the efficiency is too low, and it's too tiring!

He needed to come up with a solution.

There were special milking machines available in the system store, but they were expensive, and Andrew felt they weren't worth the cost.

With that money, he could hire Pokémon from the plateau to help out instead.

Thinking this, Andrew said to Munchlax, "Can you help me bring Gardevoir and Gallade over?"

"Munch~~ Munch~~" Sure, sure!

Munchlax quickly abandoned the milking job and ran off, returning shortly with Gardevoir and Gallade.

The two Pokémon, holding their unhatched egg in their arms, were a bit puzzled about why Andrew had called them over.

Andrew then said, "Gardevoir, Gallade, how would you like to work for my shop?"

The Pokémon food sent over by the royal family wasn't favored by his three Pokémon, and it was just taking up space at home. It might as well be used to hire Gardevoir and Gallade to help out.

Although his own Pokémon didn't like it, the food was still high-quality. Leaving it at home would be a waste.

Gardevoir and Gallade exchanged a glance, a hint of confusion in their eyes.

Andrew continued, "Your job would be to assist Munchlax and Diancie in serving customers in the morning, do some cleaning, and then help with milking the Gogoats at noon. It's just a half-day job."

"As for payment, you can have breakfast at the shop, and I'll convert lunch and dinner into Pokémon food for you to take home. That way, you won't have to worry about food, and after your egg hatches, you'll always have enough to eat."

After hearing Andrew's offer, Gardevoir and Gallade's eyes lit up with joy.

"Well? Are you interested?" Andrew asked.

"Garde~ Garde~"

"Gallade~ Gallade~"

The couple eagerly nodded, of course, they were interested! Where else could they find such a good deal?

"Alright then, let's get started. I'll teach you how to milk the Gogoats now," Andrew said excitedly, gesturing for the two Pokémon to come closer.

Gardevoir and Gallade quickly moved in, attentively listening to Andrew's instructions and demonstration.

To Andrew's surprise, Gardevoir and Gallade were fast learners. He only had to explain things once, and they memorized everything perfectly.

No wonder they were high-intelligence Psychic-type Pokémon.

Moreover, they didn't even need to use their hands—just their psychic powers—to easily milk the Gogoats, and they could milk three or four Gogoats simultaneously. The efficiency was off the charts!

In no time, the milking was finished, with Andrew and Munchlax barely needing to lift a finger.

Looking at the buckets of fresh milk before him, Andrew was overjoyed. The employees were worth every penny!

Totally worth it!

He decided on the spot to give them bonuses—he'd find some suitable gifts for Gardevoir and Gallade when he got back.

Just as Andrew was about to lift the small buckets to pour the milk into the larger containers, Gardevoir and Gallade waved their hands.

"Garde~ Garde~"

"Gallade~ Gallade~"

The small buckets floated up and automatically poured their contents into the larger containers.

Andrew couldn't help but give them a thumbs-up. "Gardevoir, Gallade, you two are amazing!"

The couple exchanged glances, feeling a bit embarrassed by Andrew's praise.

"Alright, let's head back home," Andrew said.

Gardevoir and Gallade quickly prepared to use their psychic powers to help Andrew carry the large milk barrels back, but Andrew waved his hand, "No need, no need."

With a casual wave, the milk barrels disappeared from sight.

Gardevoir and Gallade were astonished.

Before leaving, Andrew said to the Gogoat leader, "I'll bring more vegetables tomorrow to supplement your diet. Thanks for your hard work."

After all, there were plenty of vegetables stored at home. The better the Gogoats ate, the higher quality milk they'd produce.

Back home, Andrew gave the couple their wages (Pokémon food) in advance, saw them out, and informed them that work would officially start the next day.

The couple left in high spirits.

On the way home, Gardevoir and Gallade shared the news of their new job with others, making everyone else envious. A job where food and drink were provided—where could you find such a thing?

First, there were the Dugtrio brothers, and now there was the Gardevoir couple. When would it be their turn?

At Andrew house.

Andrew and Munchlax sterilized the fresh milk in a sterilizer, then stored it in the fridge, so they could officially start selling milk buns the next day.

Andrew had no plans to sell milk steamed buns in Azoth Royal City for now. Firstly, the Gogoats' milk production couldn't supply two places at once; secondly, selling milk steamed buns to Pokémon was more profitable than selling them to humans.

Andrew had learned from Diancie that milk steamed buns were a higher grade of food than ordinary steamed buns, and Pokémon who ate them would provide him with more happiness points.

With the new milk, the evening's main course for Andrew's family of four was still milk steamed buns, which had become the favorite of little Munchlax, Diancie, and Komala.

After dinner, the family spent time chatting, watching dramas, playing games, and then entered the culinary training room for some training before finally washing up and going to bed.

At dawn, with the bright sun rising over the forest in the east of the Nebel Plateau, Andrew was already out setting up his food truck.

In the kitchen, Munchlax was busy. It wore a tall chef's hat, a white chef's uniform, and stood on its favorite stool, kneading a dough ball with great enthusiasm.

Not far away, steam rose from the steamers, with different foods cooking inside—ordinary steamed buns, various flavored dumplings, and today's new addition: milk steamed buns.

Different aromas filled the kitchen, making Munchlax mouth water.

Outside, Diancie and the others were also busy. Gardevoir and Gallade had arrived early.

Diancie was cleaning tables and sweeping the floor, while Gallade and Gardevoir placed small dishes made by Munchlax on each table.

Soon, the first batch of customers arrived—Delphox, Greninja, and Chesnaught.

Today was Gardevoir and Gallade's first day working for Andrew, and the trio wanted to see how they were doing.

When they entered, Diancie greeted them with a smile.

"Good morning, you three."

"Delphox~"

"Greninja~"

"Chesnaught~"

The three Pokémon also greeted Diancie warmly.

"Delphox~ Delphox~~" I smell something special today.

Delphox sniffed the air lightly.

"Greninja~ Greninja~"

"Chesnaught~ Chesnaught~"

Greninja and Chesnaught also noticed the aroma, echoing Delphox's observation.

Diancie gave them a thumbs-up. "Good noses! We have a new dish today—milk steamed buns. Be sure to try them later."

The three Pokémon nodded and sat down at a table.

As soon as they were seated, more Pokémon began to arrive—Litwick and its family, Bellsprout and its family... The Nebel Plateau had already started to show signs of autumn, and many Pokémon arrived with dew clinging to them.

(End of this chapter)