"Diancie, could you go notify Litwick and the others to come over for dinner tonight?" Angie asked.
"I'll go right away." Diancie nodded.
"Don't forget to ask Litwick and the others to help notify the rest of the Pokémon," Angie added.
Relying on Diancie to tell everyone one by one would be quite the task.
"Got it."
With that, Diancie headed in the direction of Litwick's home, disappearing from sight shortly after.
Angie looked down at Munchlax and said, "Let's go home, take a hot bath, and start processing these lotus roots." Though they'd already been washed in the river, there was still plenty of mud left, and just river water wouldn't be enough to clean them properly.
As he spoke, he took the lotus roots out of his system backpack and piled them in a corner by the door.
"Snor~ Snor~"
Where did those come from?
Seeing Angie suddenly pull out the lotus roots, Munchlax moved closer to him, tugging on his clothes and patting him down, trying to figure out the trick.
"Alright, alright," Angie said, helplessly moving Munchlax's hand away, "Let's go take a bath."
"Snor~ Snor~"
Munchlax nodded, holding Angie's hand as they headed to the bathroom on the second floor.
"Come on, Munchlax, sit down, and I'll give you a bath first," Angie said, filling the bathtub with hot water and placing a small stool in the middle of the bathroom.
"Snor~ Snor~~~"
Munchlax obediently sat on the stool.
Angie used the showerhead to wet Munchlax's body. As the warm water flowed over it, Munchlax closed its eyes in comfort.
Autumn in the Nebel Plateau still had a chill in the air. After spending time in the river, even Munchlax felt a bit cold.
But now, with the hot water washing over it, Munchlax felt the chill melt away from its body.
As the steam began to fill the bathroom, Angie also started feeling warmer.
Gently rubbing Munchlax's fur, Angie asked, "How's the water temperature? Is it okay?"
"Snor~"
Munchlax gave a thumbs up in response.
Once Munchlax was fully soaked, Angie applied some body wash and took out a brush to gently untangle its fur.
After rolling around in the muddy marsh, its fur had nearly matted.
"Snor~~"
The brush felt even more comfortable to Munchlax, and it sighed contentedly.
After thoroughly cleaning Munchlax, Angie rinsed off the remaining bubbles with the showerhead and said, "Now go soak in the tub for a bit. You worked hard digging up the lotus roots today. I've added a herbal packet to the water that will help ease your fatigue, so soaking will feel really nice."
The herbs, of course, came from the system store. They were quite affordable—just 5 Happiness Points for a packet, which was enough for one use.
Angie checked his Happiness Points balance, which now totaled 14,506. He was glad to have crossed the 10,000 mark.
He hadn't spent many Happiness Points lately. Aside from buying seeds for the vegetable garden and this herbal packet, he hadn't made many purchases. Both the seeds and the herbs were cheap, hardly making a dent in his Happiness Points.
"Snor~ Snor~~"
Instead of heading to the tub, Munchlax walked behind Angie and nudged him to sit on the small stool.
"You want to scrub my back?" Angie asked.
"Snor~ Snorlax~"
Munchlax squinted its eyes and nodded enthusiastically.
Angie sat on the stool and laughed, "Well then, today I'll enjoy the care of my loyal apprentice."
Though Munchlax didn't understand the phrase "apprentice's care," it happily started scrubbing Angie's back with its soft, chubby hands. The gentle pads on its hands were pleasant to the touch, but it pressed a little too hard.
"Munchlax, ease up! You're going to rub me apart!" Angie said, laughing.
"Snor~ Snor~"
Like this?
Munchlax quickly adjusted its strength.
"That's it, just like that, feels great."
Before long, the bathroom was filled with Angie's continuous moans.
"Oh~ yes, just like that, so good."
"Yes, yes, yes~~~ right there, rub a little more."
...
"Snor~"
"Ah~"
After finishing the bath, the master and apprentice lay together in the bathtub, fully submerged in the water, with only their heads above the surface. They leaned against the edge of the tub, eyes closed, feeling warm all over.
Angie couldn't help but exclaim, "I really made the right choice buying that herbal packet; it's effective and economical."
After soaking in the herbal bath, Angie used a hairdryer to dry both his and Munchlax's hair, and they both felt completely relaxed.
Since the bath was so enjoyable, the pair sprawled out on the sofa in the living room on the second floor, looking as if they had lost all their bones, completely lacking any desire to get up and work.
"Snor~ Snor~~"
Munchlax's voice was even more languid than usual.
"Munchlax, be quiet. Let me lie down a little longer; I'll get up to work in a bit," Angie mumbled, still half-asleep.
As they lay there, they ended up resting until sunset.
After an unknown amount of time, Angie suddenly bolted upright from the sofa. "What time is it?" He glanced at the wall clock and saw that it was already 5 PM.
"Oh no, oh no! We're going to be late!" He quickly woke Munchlax. "Munchlax, wake up, wake up! We need to get to work, or we'll miss it!"
"Snor?"
Munchlax blinked sleepily, rubbing its eyes, looking like it hadn't had enough rest.
"It's almost dark!"
"Snor????"
Upon hearing this, Munchlax sprang up from the sofa as if its backside was on fire, mimicking Angie's earlier movement perfectly.
The two of them hurriedly changed their clothes and rushed downstairs, discovering that everyone had indeed arrived.
In the hall, the Litwick family, Bellsprout, Fletchling, Espurr, Vivillon, and others had all gathered. They were chatting and playing in small groups, making quite a lively scene. The Barboach and Whiscash also showed up as scheduled.
Seeing Angie and Munchlax come down from upstairs, everyone waved to greet them.
"Has everyone arrived? Wait a moment; I'm going to prepare dinner for you all!"
With that, Angie ran toward the door with Munchlax, intending to take the lotus roots he had left outside for another wash, but the doorway was empty.
The lotus roots were gone, but he did see many Pokémon parents: Bellsprout's parents, Victreebel and Weepinbell; Swablu's parents, two Altarias; Fletchling's parents, Talonflame and Staraptor... (Note: In the game, Pokémon species follow the mother, but in the author's story, they randomly follow either parent.)
Clearly, they were worried about their children staying at a human's house so late and had come specifically to supervise.
When Angie came out, all the parents turned their attention toward him simultaneously.
"Uh... hello everyone!" Angie suddenly felt overwhelmed.
The parents quickly averted their gaze.
Angie didn't have much time to care about the cold attitude of the parents and shouted into the house, "Diancie, where are the lotus roots I left outside?"
Diancie's voice came from inside, "I've put them in the kitchen!"
It turned out that after returning, Diancie had seen Angie and Munchlax soundly asleep on the sofa and, not wanting to disturb them, had taken the already-arrived Pokémon to wash the lotus roots and put them in the kitchen.
Angie and Munchlax rushed to the kitchen and indeed found the lotus roots already cleaned and waiting there. A smile spread across Angie's face as he said to Munchlax, "Munchlax, let's get started. Can I leave the steaming buns to you?"
These days, Angie had been training with Munchlax in the culinary training room for an hour every day (in real time), and now Munchlax could completely handle making the buns by itself.
Since there were quite a few Pokémon invited to the lotus root feast, if they were all served only lotus roots, there definitely wouldn't be enough. So, Angie decided to use the buns as the main dish and serve lotus roots as the side dish.
This way, everyone would be able to fill their stomachs while also enjoying the delicious lotus roots, and Angie could earn some happiness points along the way.
The Pokémon wouldn't earn happiness points from eating lotus roots, but they could from eating buns!
"Snor~~ "
Don't worry, Master! Leave it to me!
Munchlax confidently patted its chest.
With that, the master and apprentice began to get busy.
Munchlax pulled a bag of flour from the cupboard and took out yeast and other ingredients, skillfully kneading the dough.
Meanwhile, Angie started preparing the lotus roots.
The first dish Angie made was cold lotus root slices.
He quickly peeled the lotus roots, then sliced them into thin pieces and soaked them in water for a while to prevent discoloration during mixing.
Next, he poured clean water into a pot, added a spoonful of vinegar, and once the water boiled, he added the lotus slices, blanching them before immediately retrieving them into a bowl.
Since there were many Pokémon dining, Angie made a large quantity at once and had to use a bowl to hold them.
After that, he prepared the seasoning for the cold dish, mixing chili, chopped scallions, garlic, and pouring hot oil over them, then adding vinegar, sugar, and cilantro, mixing everything well.
Angie moved fluidly, completing the dish in no time.
The method for cold lotus root slices was simple, yet the taste was excellent, and Angie really liked this dish.
Seeing Munchlax kneading the dough while frequently sneaking glances over, its nose twitching slightly in a comically craving manner, Angie chuckled and asked, "Munchlax, could you taste it for me and see how it is?"
"Snor~~"
Munchlax's eyes lit up, and it excitedly nodded.
"Ah~~"
It immediately opened its mouth wide.
Angie used chopsticks to place a few slices into Munchlax's mouth, and Munchlax was instantly captivated by the crispy texture of the lotus root.
"Is it good?" Angie asked with a smile.
"Snor~ Snor~"
Munchlax cupped its cheeks with its hands, looking utterly delighted.
From a chef's perspective, Angie's cooking skills were not particularly outstanding and were far inferior to his grandfather's; otherwise, he wouldn't have let his grandfather's restaurant go out of business in his previous life. However, Munchlax had no such experience, and to it, Angie's food was already a pinnacle of deliciousness.
"Alright, let's get back to work; otherwise, everyone will be waiting impatiently." Angie patted Munchlax's belly.
"Snor~~"
Munchlax nodded.
Motivated by the delicious food, it worked even harder.
After finishing the cold lotus root slices, Angie continued with stir-fried lotus root slices, fried lotus root sandwiches, sweet and sour lotus root cubes, and pan-fried lotus root cakes...
Soon, rich aromas wafted through the kitchen, and the Pokémon playing in the hall suddenly quieted down, closing their eyes and gently sniffing, taking deep breaths.
"Yahcha~ Yahcha~"
What a delicious smell!
Pancham couldn't resist the tempting aroma and followed the scent toward the kitchen, with the Scrafty, Litleo, Skunky, and Skitty trailing behind him.
Just as Angie finished cooking a pot of lotus root soup and turned around, he spotted the little ones peeking through the doorframe, their heads stacked like a tower trying to sneak a look into the kitchen.
Angie chuckled, "It'll be ready soon. Quickly go back and wait; if anyone misbehaves, they won't get any food!"
"Yahcha~"
"Meow~"
"Roar~"
…
Upon hearing this, the little ones immediately reacted as if they had heard something terrifying and quickly withdrew their heads.
"Snor~ Snor~ Snor~~"
Hahaha~~~
Munchlax saw this and immediately puffed out its round belly, bursting into laughter.
While steaming the buns, it also snuck a few bites; everyone else was still hungry, but its belly was already plump, with a bit of scallion stuck at the corner of its mouth.
Angie took a handkerchief and wiped its greasy mouth. "Alright, go tell everyone it's time to eat."
"Snor~~"
Munchlax cheered and dashed out.
Angie, Diancie, and Munchlax first carried the buns outside and distributed them into each Pokémon's food bowl. Once all the Pokémon were served, they brought out bowls of cold lotus root slices, fried lotus root sandwiches, sweet and sour lotus root cubes, and served each Pokémon with a spoon.
Each Pokémon had two bowls in front of them: one for the main dish of buns and one for the vegetables. Angie felt a bit like the uncles and aunts serving food in a cafeteria during his school days.
Once the meals were ready, Angie announced, "Everyone, dig in!"
The Pokémon couldn't wait any longer. Upon hearing Angie's words, they immediately grabbed their bowls and dug in.
"Meow, meow, meow~~"
This is so good!!!
Skitty happily wagged its tail.
Angie opened the system interface and was surprised to see the happiness points increasing rapidly.
[ Happiness Point +200 ]
[ Happiness Point +200 ]
[ Happiness Point +200 ]
…
Watching the numbers change continuously, Angie suddenly realized that while Pokémon wouldn't provide happiness points for eating non-system approved dishes, the combination of buns and lotus roots doubled the deliciousness, and naturally, the sense of happiness doubled too.
With the Pokémon feeling more joyful, the happiness points provided increased too!
So there was such a loophole to exploit Angie couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.
He walked over to Barboach and Whiscash with a smile. "So, how's the food? Is it delicious?"
Barboach and Whiscash were engrossed in eating; they had never tasted such a delightful dish before. Who would've thought that the lotus roots they usually ate could be so delicious after being cooked?
Were they really not dreaming?
But when they looked up, they saw Angie grinning at them.
The two Pokémon shrank back their heads.
Mom, I'm scared; this human's smile is so frightening.
"Is it good?" Angie asked again.
Barboach and Whiscash nodded quickly.