Angie and the others organized the Salveyo Weed, removing the weeds and dirt mixed in, then washed it clean and stored it in the fridge or Angie's system backpack.
The Poliwag had sent so much that Angie's family probably wouldn't be able to finish it all anytime soon.
He wondered if this stuff could be dried into preserved vegetables—those had a unique flavor when eaten occasionally.
As for the water bamboo, Marill and Azurill had sent plenty as well.
Luckily, Angie's fridge was high-tech; otherwise, if they couldn't finish the water bamboo in time, it would definitely become tough with age.
Setting the berries aside, Angie decided to make fresh juice for everyone tonight.
There were also all sorts of mushrooms, big and small.
If you ate the wrong kind by mistake, you'd end up laid out flat!
However, after Angie carefully sorted through them, he was surprised to find that all the mushrooms the Pokémon had sent were edible, without a single poisonous one.
It seemed he had underestimated the Pokémon.
Of course, there were still some mushrooms Angie didn't recognize, likely unique to the Pokémon world.
Angie spent 100 happiness points to exchange for a mushroom encyclopedia from the system store, he quickly identifying all of them. There were Small Mushrooms, Big Mushrooms, Aromatic Mushrooms… all safe to eat.
Angie set aside some fresh mushrooms, and he planned to dry the rest for future use.
They worked until after 8 p.m. before they finally finished tidying up the kitchen, thanks largely to Kirlia's help.
Its efficiency using psychic powers was higher than Angie, Munchlax, and Diancie combined, making them feel quite embarrassed.
After the kitchen was cleared, Angie and Munchlax started preparing dinner, while Diancie and Kirlia took charge of cleaning up.
Even though the ingredients had been dealt with, the kitchen was a mess, so it needed a thorough cleaning.
For dinner, Angie made a cold dish with Salveyo Weed, stir-fried the water bamboo, and cooked a mushroom soup that had all the Pokémon practically drooling.
Gurgle, gurgle~~
The rich aroma filled the air, and Munchlax's stomach growled loudly.
"Hahaha~~~" Angie laughed heartily. "Munchlax, are you hungry?"
"Munch~Munch~~"
Munchlax hugged its chubby belly and shyly nodded.
Angie patted its stomach and said, "Why don't you go check if Komala's back yet? Once it's here, we'll start dinner."
"Munch~Munch~"
Munchlax responded and dashed out as if its feet were on fire wheels.
But just as it reached the door, it saw Komala rolling back inside, clutching its log.
"Munch~~"
Munchlax nimbly jumped off the steps and scooped Komala into its arms, dashing back inside and shouting to Angie.
"Munch~Munch~"
Master, this little guy's back! Let's eat!"
Munchlax was still a bit annoyed at Komala, so it referred to it as "this little guy."
Angie stuck his head out of the kitchen. "You're back? Then let's eat."
Hearing Angie's words, Munchlax tossed Komala onto the table and hurried into the kitchen to bring out the dishes and serve rice. The way it worked so diligently would put the village donkeys to shame.
Indeed, for Munchlax, nothing was more important than mealtime.
Angie walked over and sniffed Komala, a strong scent of alcohol hitting him. He couldn't help but look puzzled. "Strange, didn't you finish the last bit of your wine? How come you smell like alcohol again?"
Not only was there an alcohol scent, but also a faint fruity aroma.
As usual, Komala just hugged its log and turned over, ignoring Angie's question.
"You little rascal!"
Angie shook his head helplessly.
That night, the four of them, along with Kirlia, sat around the table for dinner. Angie told everyone about his experiences that day. When he mentioned how people mistook him for a wanted criminal, Munchlax burst into uncontrollable laughter, nearly falling off its chair.
Angie smacked it lightly. "Is it really that funny, huh?"
"Munch~Munch~~"
Hahaha! Master, you're hilarious!
Munchlax was laughing so hard that it collapsed into the chair.
"Stop laughing, or you'll choke," Angie said helplessly.
"Munch~Munch~"
I won't choke.
With that, Munchlax grabbed a bun in each hand and quickly devoured them. It also poured itself a large bowl of mushroom soup and gulped it down in one go.
"Munch~"
Ah, that hit the spot!
Its hearty way of eating stirred Angie's own appetite, causing him to eat two more buns than usual. By the end of the meal, he was so full he could barely move.
After dinner, Angie packed a full container of buns and a box of each dish, stuffing them into an insulated container for Kirlia to take back.
"Make sure Gardevoir eats them while they're hot. Cold food doesn't taste as good," Angie reminded Kirlia. "If Gardevoir can't finish it all, don't force her. Just share it with the other Pokémon. If she wants more later, she can come to my house, and I'll cook for her."
Kirlia nodded gratefully, then disappeared into the night with the insulated container.
After Kirlia left, Angie and the others chatted for a while before heading to the culinary training room for a practice session. Finally, they washed up and got ready for bed.
Before sleeping, Angie brought the cash box over to the bedside and began tallying up today's earnings. He'd been too busy during the day to keep track of how much he made.
Today, he had sold 3,085 buns, earning 61,700 Pokémon dollars; and 6,089 dumplings, earning 60,890 Pokémon dollars.
A total of 122,590 Pokémon dollars.
"Whoa! I made over 120,000 in a single day!"
After calculating the total, Angie couldn't help but swear.
Having help sure made a difference! He was rolling in cash!
If he set up a few more stalls, he might actually be able to buy a shop in the Azoth City!
However, Angie understood that today's booming business was due to a perfect combination of time, place, and people. He knew there wouldn't always be such luck!
Looking at his happiness points, the total had reached 105,800.
Over 100,000!
After some time studying the system, Angie had roughly figured out the pattern for accumulating happiness points.
If a Pokémon came to eat and only ate steamed buns, no matter how much it ate, Angie would earn 100 happiness points. If, due to additional factors, the Pokémon's happiness surged, it could contribute an extra 50 or 100 points. The more its happiness swelled, the more points Angie would receive.
Thus, the maximum happiness a Pokémon could provide in one day was 200 points.
But if that same Pokémon ate both steamed buns and filled buns, Angie's base happiness points would increase to 200. If happiness spiked, the additional points would rise to 100 or 200, too.
At that point, a Pokémon's daily happiness point limit would be 400.
Most Pokémon, though, provided a steady 200 points.
By following this rule, as long as Angie continued unlocking more recipes, his rate of earning happiness points would increase.
However, Angie had calculated that this increase was limited. After all, a Pokémon could only eat so much in one day. It wasn't like it could eat every single dish Angie made in the future—it'd burst from overeating.
Trying to exploit the system by making only tiny portions so that the Pokémon could eat more? That wasn't possible!
When the system trained Angie in culinary arts, it strictly regulated portion sizes for each dish. For example, all of Angie's steamed buns and filled buns were roughly the same size.
If Angie or Munchlax tried to change the sizes randomly (within certain limits), the Pokémon could still eat them, but Angie wouldn't earn any happiness points.
Angie had tested this out himself.
Looking at his happiness points exceeding 100,000, Angie casually paid Diancie, Munchlax, and Komala each a salary of 10,000 points, giving Munchlax an extra 2,000 since it worked a bit harder each day.
After distributing their pay, Angie claimed today's daily task reward. It was the usual reward of basic ingredients—nothing special.
After a good night's sleep, Angie woke up the next day, washed up, and stepped out of his room, just in time to see Diancie also coming out.
"Good morning, Diancie," Angie greeted.
"Good morning, Angie," Diancie replied cheerfully. "You gave us our pay last night!"
"Yeah, now you can buy whatever you want from the system shop," Angie nodded.
"A promising boss!" Diancie gave Angie a thumbs-up before heading to Munchlax's room to wake it up.
Once Munchlax was up, Angie and it began preparing for another day at the stall.
They were halfway through the preparations when Kirlia arrived at Angie's home again.
"Kirlia, you're back! How's Gardevoir doing?" Angie asked.
"Kirlia~ Kirlia~"
Kirlia nodded repeatedly, indicating that Gardevoir had loved the meal last night. It returned the insulated container it had taken with it.
Since Kirlia wasn't much help with cooking, it assisted Diancie in cleaning the shop and arranging the tables and chairs, getting everything ready for the Pokémon customers coming for breakfast.
After all the preparations were complete, Angie headed out to the Azoth City. Today, Lapras was responsible for transporting him.
While Angie made his way to Azoth Kingdom, Kimia was having breakfast with Raleigh.
King Edward was too busy, so the siblings usually ate together.
Noticing that her sister hadn't touched her food, Raleigh asked in confusion, "Sister, why aren't you eating? Do you not have an appetite?"
Princess Kimia replied, "I've already arranged with Flamel to bring me breakfast from outside, so I won't be eating this."
With a wave of her hand, a maid stepped forward to take the breakfast away.
Hearing this, Raleigh's eyes lit up, "Is Flamel bringing the same steamed buns and filled buns you had the other morning?"
"Yes," Kimia nodded.
Upon hearing this, Raleigh looked upset. "Sister, you lied! You promised you'd take me along last time, but you didn't!"
In truth, Angie hadn't set up his stall that day, so even Kimia hadn't gotten any.
Kimia had planned to take Raleigh to eat the buns today, but suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind. She smiled and asked, "Raleigh, do you know who made those steamed buns and filled buns?"
"Who?" Raleigh asked, confused.
"It was none other than Prince Angie," Kimia said.
"Prince Angie?" Raleigh looked incredulous. "I've heard rumors that Prince Angie runs a food stall. So, the buns and steamed buns being sold are...?"
"Exactly," Kimia confirmed. "If it weren't for Flamel bringing those buns and steamed buns, I wouldn't have found Prince Angie's whereabouts."
Raleigh murmured to himself, "I had no idea Prince Angie was such a good cook."
Kimia, smiling slyly, asked, "Raleigh, do you want to try the buns and steamed buns Prince Angie makes?"
"I do!" Raleigh nodded eagerly.
"Good!" Kimia's face lit up with satisfaction. "Then you'll need to do exactly as I say."
"Yes, yes! I'll listen to everything you say," Raleigh nodded repeatedly.
"Alright, then go change into your casual clothes."
Not long after, Prince Raleigh, along with his Slurpuff, was sent out of the palace by guards arranged by the princess.
After seeing Raleigh off, Kimia, in a good mood, headed toward the office area with Gardevoir. She was so happy that she began to sing to herself.
Halfway there, she saw Minister Alva approaching.
"Good morning, Princess Kimia," Alva greeted.
Kimia politely greeted him back, "Good morning, Alva."
"Princess, have you seen Prince Raleigh?" Alva asked.
"Raleigh? He left the palace for an errand," Kimia replied.
"Left the palace?" Alva was shocked. "What could Prince Raleigh possibly be doing outside? He still has lessons to attend this morning…"
"Alva!" Princess Kimia suddenly interrupted him. "I think from now on, Raleigh only needs to attend lessons with you in the afternoon. As for his mornings, he has other arrangements."
"Princess, that's against the rules!" Alva's face was filled with anger. "I am Raleigh's teacher, and you have no right to make such decisions!"
"I do!" Kimia asserted. "I have the authority to make all arrangements concerning Raleigh. If you have any complaints, you're welcome to bring them to my father."
After all, Raleigh was raised by her. If she didn't have the right, who did?
"You..." Alva was fuming.
Not wanting to continue the argument, Kimia turned around to leave but stopped when she heard Alca say, "Could it be that the princess is afraid Prince Raleigh will learn more and challenge your claim to the throne?"
Infuriated by his words, Kimia snapped, "Alva, you are out of line! This is none of your concern!"
Alva sneered, "Oh? Is the princess angry because I hit a nerve?"
Narrowing her eyes, Kimia responded, "Alva, you're becoming too reckless, and your reach is extending too far. Remember this: your job is to teach Raleigh. Anything beyond that is none of your business! Otherwise, your position as Minister of Defense will come to an end."
Alva dropped his sneer and bowed respectfully, "Yes, I will heed your advice, Princess."
"See that you do," Kimia said as she left without looking back.
As Alva watched the princess walk away, his eyes flickered with a dark and unpredictable glimmer.