Chapter 59:
July 29th.
It was still light outside.
Hayashi Kaede got up early as usual and put the Energy Cubes he'd prepared on the shelf. Takagi Megumi, who had come with him, looked at the price tags and muttered. After a moment she fetched a piece of cardboard and propped it beside the display with a few large words written on it: NON-REFUNDABLE. NO RETURN AFTER SALE.
The meaning was simple. If you find the defensive Energy Cubes useless, you may return them—but after returning them you may no longer buy Energy Cubes from this shop.
"Ten thousand… twenty thousand…" Megumi repeated, tracing the numbers with her finger. Her expression changed; she grumbled, "That's so expensive."
Her monthly allowance could only buy one.
Hayashi Kaede said with a small smile, "It's expensive for a reason—the effect is good."
Although the manufacturing process was a bit rough, the technique was solid and the effect wouldn't be bad. It would be especially effective for Pokémon like Sandshrew and Onix.
Megumi's eyes lit up. She glanced toward the little back room and asked in a low voice, "Brother Kaede, can I buy an Energy Cube for Squirtle?"
"He seems to be eating very little lately. I suspect the Energy Cubes I bought from HappyMart aren't tasty."
Hayashi Kaede blinked. "Of course."
Megumi flushed slightly and lowered her voice. "Hey, since I'm helping you—could I get a discount?"
He had expected she might ask. He already knew why Squirtle had a poor appetite: every day when Megumi left for work she left Squirtle at home, but whenever Hayashi Kaede went to the plantation to feed Milotic and Pidgeotto at noon, Squirtle would sneak along the water channel and pop his head up to beg. The little turtle had gotten used to the schedule and learned when Kaede fed his pokemon.
What could he do? He could only feed it along with the others. Its sneaky behavior made Squirtle's happiness rise a lot every time he was fed, and from time to time Kaede even received special rewards.
Later, Kaede had removed a section of fence under an Oran berry tree so Squirtle could enter freely; he'd also slipped a few extra Energy Cubes into the tank for Sandshrew. He told Squirtle not to tell Megumi they came from him. Megumi had no idea what Squirtle had been up to, and Kaede didn't correct her—after all, she was young and didn't need the money right now.
"All right," Kaede said with mild amusement. "I'll give you a fifty percent discount."
Megumi face brightened happily. If the system could measure human's happiness, Megumi's meter would certainly spike. She bounded off to work with more energy than before.
"Work hard!" Kaede called after her, then headed for the plantation.
Yesterday's incident hadn't left any obvious damage in the plantation. Even after Gardevoir had taken the ripe Berries and vegetables, the rows still looked healthy.
Kaede took from the storage ball the green dumplings he'd made the day before and fed them to the Miltank. Then he looked at the Caterpie lying on the grass, trying hard to eat. After taming it yesterday, Kaede hadn't paid it much attention.
He offered it a grass dumpling and asked, "Do you like this, or would you rather eat grass?"
"Caterpie?" the Caterpie chirped, lifting its head; its large black eyes reflected Kaede's figure and showed obvious joy. Yesterday it had been terrified of Pidgeotto, but now it felt immersed in safety and abundance.
"Caterpie! I like to eat, eat—I like to eat everything!" it seemed to say, happily chomping.
"Uh… as long as it's edible, that's fine," Kaede said. "Then eat grass dumplings from now on. If it rains, hide in the cowshed, okay?"
He placed the Caterpie on the grass near the cowshed and called to the Miltank, "It will come to eat the green dumplings from now on. Don't bully it, okay?"
He had always made a lot of grass dumplings for the Miltank.
Over the past few days he'd noticed something: no matter how many grass dumplings he left in the cowshed, the Miltank would finish them all, even if their bellies ballooned and they produced extra milk. The situation forced him to manage food portions manually.
The Miltank began to discuss the food among themselves in their steady, low calls.
"Miltank!" one said approvingly.
"Miltank—no, no—" another protested.
"It still looks like a baby. We can feed it," another pointed out.
"Yes, feed the baby," the group agreed.
Kaede, understanding their meaning, shivered briefly at the mental image and hastened to reassure them: "No, no—the grass dumplings also have your milk in them."
"Miltank?" they asked, satisfied, and then went back to eating.
Seeing Caterpie and the Miltank get along so harmoniously, Kaede nodded and walked to the reservoir.
When Milotic saw him approach, she raised her head from the water. One of her long, red whiskers brushed his cheek in the breeze. He reached out and touched it; it felt smooth and cool. He smiled and said, "Milotic, I'll widen the water channel for you, so you can swim more freely."
Milotic looked a little puzzled at first, then seemed pleased.
"All right then," Kaede said. He had been satisfied with the last cowshed construction and planned to hire the construction team again to widen the channel. A wider channel would help Milotic move and help distribute the Ocean Crystal's energy more evenly.
At that moment, a blue figure suddenly appeared before him and Milotic.