With the expansion of trade across the territory, Fruitvale Village had grown noticeably livelier.
Every day, a large number of wagons traveled back and forth between various territories, carrying potions, Pokémon food, and other goods from Fruitvale Village to different parts of the eastern domain.
Through this constant flow of commerce, the village's treasury had grown prosperous, enabling the territory to invest even more funds into the construction and development of the town.
In the northwestern outskirts of the village, an area that had once been used to house Pokémon brought back from the Abyssal Caverns —the land had long since been cleared and repurposed into a bustling marketplace.
All trading caravans arriving in Fruitvale Village were gathered and directed to this location to sell their goods. At the same time, the local villagers would set up their own small stalls here to sell the unique products of Fruitvale Village.
Patrolling guards, accompanied by their own Pokémons, could often be seen weaving through the market. When merchants caught sight of the Mightyenas at the guards' sides, their eyes would immediately show a look of reassurance.
With these Mightyenas present, theft had essentially been eradicated. No thief who dared to steal anything could ever escape the tracking of a Mightyena's keen nose. After several thieves had been caught and punished, incidents of theft disappeared almost entirely.
"By order of the Lord of the Territory—no one is allowed to litter! All trash must be placed in the garbage bins or taken to the waste depot!"
"And the same goes for relieving oneself—everyone must use the public latrines outside the market! The sign with a circle at the bottom and an upward-pointing arrow means the men's latrine, while the sign with a circle at the top and a downward-pointing cross is for women. Don't mix them up!"
Officials in charge of managing the marketplace would shout these instructions again and again, patrolling constantly. Anyone caught breaking the rules would face a steep fine.
To the merchants, these rules had initially seemed somewhat strange, but by now, they had become accustomed to them.
From the moment they stepped into the marketplace, they could feel how unusually clean it was. The air here was free from the foul smell of trash so common in other markets.
This undoubtedly provided a far better environment for doing business. Thus, after only a short period of adjustment, the merchants were more than happy to accept the rules and even followed them voluntarily.
The public latrines outside the market, in particular, had become extremely popular among women. Unlike men, who were more casual about such matters, women often found convenience facilities to be a greater concern, so the latrines quickly gained their approval. As a result, incidents of people relieving themselves wherever they pleased had almost completely disappeared.
That said, compared to public latrines, most villagers still preferred to take care of such needs at home. Many households had specially prepared dung buckets, storing the waste for later use.
According to Lord Aven, such waste was actually a natural fertilizer that could greatly promote crop growth.
At first, most villagers found this hard to believe—but after trying it, they discovered that crops irrigated with their waste did indeed grow much faster and healthier!
Though its effects were far inferior to Aven's specially formulated growth fertilizer potions, this natural fertilizer was cheap and could be collected in large quantities by ordinary people, making it a popular choice for many households.
In any case, the construction of the Fruitvale Village marketplace was a complete success, attracting many caravans from other territories to trade here.
Moreover, the villagers of Fruitvale had long since solved their basic survival needs and now had a small surplus of money in their homes. This gave them considerable purchasing power.
Particularly, any resources beneficial to Pokémons would be snatched up immediately by the apprentice trainers, for if they could raise their Pokémons well, they could join the patrol team—or even become knights!
Within the village's berry orchards, swarms of Combee buzzed about.
Uncle Mike was currently leading the villagers in harvesting the Sweet Honey produced by the Combee.
Thanks to the plentiful nectar available for the Combee to gather, this year's production of Sweet Honey was astonishingly high.
After setting aside enough to feed the colony, the surplus honey would be collected and sold. This honey, produced by Combee, was among the finest nutritional supplements available.
Normally, only hunters who ventured deep into the forest could gather Sweet Honey, and even then, it was exceedingly rare—its price was so high that only great nobles could afford it.
Every year, people tried to raise Combee colonies to produce honey, but until now, only Aven had succeeded—and this year's harvest was abundant.
"With all this honey, the village's income this year will be remarkable," Uncle Mike said with a smile.
By his rough estimate, the Sweet Honey alone could bring in tens of thousands of gold coins, rivaling the previous year's income from potion sales.
"Yes, this honey will certainly bring in plenty of revenue," Aven replied with a smile. "But instead of selling it directly to the great nobles, I think it would be better to trade it for other resources."
Sweet Honey was, after all, a top-tier nutritional supplement for raising Pokémons, comparable in value to potions.
Aven had already contacted several merchant guilds, each of which possessed resources of their own—perhaps they could make mutually beneficial trades.
Mike opened his mouth to reply, but before he could speak, a patrolman came riding in on a massive Mightyena.
"Lord Aven! Our caravan has returned from the Western Domain—they've brought back many of its specialties!"
At those words, Aven and Mike's eyes lit up. They quickly made their way toward the village square.
There, they found a line of wagons drawn by Skuntank, surrounded by knights in armor. At the front stood Kent—the former knight-captain who had left the order after losing his mount.
In Fruitvale Village, Kent had tamed a Skuntank, and with its companionship, he had fully recovered from his loss.
Since the caravan needed escort protection, the former border-scout captain gathered his old brothers-in-arms to form a knightly guard for the caravans.
As scouts, they had more than enough experience to guarantee the safety of the merchants as they traveled throughout the territory. Should the caravans one day pass through the Black Forest or cross the Aspiration Mountains to trade with other cities, these retired scouts would be the best choice—they knew every path through the Black Forest by heart.
"Lord Aven, we have fulfilled our mission without fail! This Western trade venture went extremely smoothly!" Kent declared, dropping to one knee in salute.
Compared to the taciturn knight who had first arrived here for the sake of his brothers, Kent had changed dramatically—he had truly found a new life in Fruitvale Village.
"You've worked hard, Kent," Aven said with a pat on his shoulder and a smile. "Go on—take your brothers and get some rest."
Kent nodded excitedly and left with his men, eager to reunite with other comrades stationed in the village.
Once the knights had gone, Phyllis approached with the account books. She had already completed the handover with the caravan's merchants and recorded the details of the trade.
"Lord Aven, the potions, berries, and other goods we sent to the Western Domain have all been sold. As you instructed, the revenue from these sales was used entirely to purchase goods from the West, which have now been brought back.
"In addition, by trading Pokémon food and Sweet Honey directly with the nobles, we were able to exchange for many valuable resources."
Phyllis handed Aven the neatly organized accounts. She was still dressed in her sharp purple trousers, her formerly loose hair now tied back in a single bundle. With the expansion of trade, she had been busier than ever.
"You've done well. If you're feeling tired, take a break—the village finances are stable now, so we can afford to slow the pace a little," Aven said with concern.
Phyllis exhaled softly, smiling faintly. "I'm not tired—on the contrary, I'm enjoying this feeling. And… thank you, Lord Aven, for trusting me with the finances of the territory."
Caught off guard by her sudden gratitude, Aven froze for a moment, then returned a small smile without replying further, turning his attention to the account book.
Seeing his focused expression, a barely noticeable look of disappointment flickered in Phyllis's eyes. She then shifted her gaze to Petilil, Froslass, and Ralts standing beside him.
"Lil… lil."
Petilil glanced at Phyllis, then at Aven, before letting out a quiet sigh of relief and turning its gaze toward the wagons parked in the open space.
Suddenly, Petilil froze. From those wagons, it sensed a faint, almost imperceptible pulse of life—weak, but undeniably present.
"Lil… lil?"Could there be some living creature inside?
Hesitating for a moment, Petilil walked over to one of the wagons.
After a brief pause, it raised its hand. A vine stretched forth, gently lifting the wagon's curtain. Inside, the floor was layered thick with hay.
Nestled within the hay were several white eggs—ten in total—each kept apart from the others and carefully protected.
Peering at the eggs, Petilil focused its senses once more. From one of them, it could feel a faint but real spark of life, causing its eyes to slowly widen.
"Petilil—did you sense something?" Aven's voice suddenly rang out.
(End of Chapter)