Elder Lan slowly reached for the cake. His fork sunk through the soft layers. He appraised the cut before tasting it.
Sweet and salty richness rolled around his mouth. The bitterness of the coffee cut through it. The cake was soft and light, exactly as the ancient texts said it should taste like.
"Well done." Elder Lan nodded. "This is certainly an ancient dessert."
Hana loosened a breath. "Then I pass ?"
The elder looked at her warmly for the first time. "What is your name?"
"Hana."
"Little girl Hana, have you wondered why I would implement such a test?" He gazed at her deeply. "I am neither lacking in money or fame. I have walked countless bloody fields of war. In fact, the look in your eyes, and way you carry yourself is like my younger self. We are people who survived the trials of life. So it may seem perplexing for an old man to make you go through such a strange task."
Hana nodded. She could definitely tell the elder was unordinary. Although he didn't have the familiar aura of an assassin, he carried himself like a soldier. The weak appearance was simply a surface mask.
"I met my late wife in this dorm. She was not talented in any aspects that you young one value today. However, she had a love for history." Elder Lan glanced down at the cake. "She later opened up an ancient desserts bakery in this city. Anatares was her home and the place where we fell in love. When she passed, the bakery declined and eventually closed. " A sheen of emotion broke in his eyes.
"After my retirement, my greatest wish is to fulfill her last wish. However, I have no experience running a bakery. So my requirement for my tenants is to run the bakery instead of paying monthly dorm fees."
Hana frowned. "Elder Lan, running a bakery takes a lot of work." She had dungeons to run. Places to explore. She even preferred staying in the library to a kitchen . . .
"Well, you won't be the only person staying in the dorm. I'll assign as the dorm leader." Elder Lan decided. "You can recruit your dorm mates to work for you. Frankly, it's up to you how you want to manage the bakery. I simply require you to take this seriously. As for the dorm, you can run it how you want as well as long as you don't smear it's past prestige."
Hana pondered. She could figure something out. This dorm was the ideal one for her after all. It was close to the academy and Rina's school.
"Fine."
Elder Lan smiled. "Then as dorm leader, you should probably know why this dorm was unique." He led her through outside into a massive courtyard. "Bluewing has the greatest size of all the dorms. Its boundaries encompass an entire forest."
A tiny archway gave way to a stone paved path. Brushing past the foliage, Elder Lan led her to a mossy dilapidated altar.
"This — " Hana widened her eyes. The swirling blue portal hovered behind the altar, casting a faint blue glow over the rocks and moss. "A dungeon!"
Elder Lan gestured at the portal proudly. "The Bluewing dorm conquered a B-class dungeon in the past. We named it Void Lake. While it's resources are not as abundant as other dungeons, it serves as a training ground to mold the people of our dorm into talented dungeon hunters."
Void Lake Dungeon. Hana's eyes glittered. Now this was a nice surprise. No wonder Elder Yuan told her to come here.
"You can enter this hidden dungeon as much times as you want. Anything you find inside is yours," Elder Lan said.
Hana grinned. "Thank you."
_____
Hana ended up moving into the dorm a month before the start of academy. Rina didn't protest as she found living in the dorm more convenient as well.
In the bakery, Hana stacked ingredients into the giant fridges. Her Pokemon moved around, cleaning the place as well. In the months, she had organized tasks for all of them. Monferno and Gardevoir would be in charge of making baked goods. Surprising, they learned extremely fast. She only instructed them for a few days and they could replicate the breads and pastries at will.
Gardevoir, who looked human and could communicate with them would run the cashier in the morning. Rina had agreed to help in the afternoons.
Charmeleon could help as well, as well as Vulpix when it wasn't guarding Rina. As for Gengar, Hana tasked it to act as security for the dorm. She would keep Zorua, Absol, and Glaceon for her personal use.
As she watched the Pokemon work in tandem, she realized it looked very cute. The little Vulpix balancing a tray of milk bread on its back was simply adorable.
Elder Lan often stayed in the kitchen trying to learn how to make bread. He got along quite well with the Pokemon, especially Gardevoir. He seemed intrigued by its intelligence.
"Lassie Hana, grab some more whisks from the storage room." Elder Lan yelled from the kitchen. Hana signed. You actually don't need whisks to make bread, but ok. She unlocked the storage room door. Cough. A blast of dust hit her face. She blinked at the appliances inside.
These were . . . tubes?