Time flew by, and before long, it was the day to harvest the coffee beans.
The three Meowth had already been at the ranch for two days and were getting along fairly well with the other Pokémon. As for Serena, she had been picked up by their mother yesterday.
Silas still clearly remembered the scene of Serena clinging to his leg with tearful eyes when she left. The little girl had played herself silly at his place and simply didn't want to go back to school.
Now, the number of Pokémon on the ranch was steadily increasing. Counting even the unborn Phione, there were already twenty-one Pokémon in total.
Although this couldn't compare to other ranches that had been operating for many years, the daily expenses were in no way lower.
Large-bodied Pokémon like Kangaskhan, Cyclizar, and Mudsdale could easily eat up over a thousand Poké Dollars a day. And that was under the premise that special dishes provided a great deal of nutrition—without those, the cost would increase by at least three or four times.
On top of that, the ranch had recently gained Morpeko, whose appetite rivaled that of Snorlax. Just its daily consumption alone was something most ordinary Trainers could never afford.
By comparison, the other Pokémon ate much less; all of them combined only amounted to roughly the same as a few of the big ones.
It could be said that the ranch's daily expenses were now enormous.
Every morning when he opened his eyes, Silas had to start thinking about the food for all the Pokémon.
Thankfully, the ranch had already entered a stable phase.
It no longer relied solely on the crops in the fields.
The clay produced by Mudsdale, the nectar collected by Flabébé, and the grass dumplings Silas made himself were all extremely popular.
After subtracting expenses, Silas was still able to save up a fair amount of money.
Of course, this was only temporary. When Noibat trio evolved into Noivern, and the five Flabébé evolved into Florges, those would be another huge expense.
The ranch couldn't slow down yet—it still needed to keep developing. This was not the time for Silas to rest.
To reach this scale in just about three months was already something Silas could be proud of.
Lost in these thoughts, Silas led the Pokémon to the fields where the coffee beans were planted.
Rows of green plants were arranged in neat, star-like patterns, their branches heavy with plump, rich, bright red fruits.
Most of the coffee beans were already ripe, and some fruits had even turned dark red or purplish-black, a sign of overgrowth.
The time to harvest had come—there was no room for delay. If they continued growing, the beans would ferment and spoil.
When that happened, the price would drop sharply.
Putting on work gloves and tying a small bamboo basket around his waist, Silas called out to the Pokémon, "Everyone, let's get started! Today we're harvesting all the coffee beans."
"Kang~!"
"Cyc!"
"Min—"
"Noi~"
"Meow!"
"Smo!"
The Pokémon all responded enthusiastically, each one eager to begin.
Even little Morpeko and Smoliv wanted to join in and help Silas.
In reality, however, the main workforce today consisted only of Silas and the Meowth. Minccino and Cyclizar together barely counted as one person, and the three little Noibat could be counted as one more.
As for Pokémon like Kangaskhan and the three Mudsdale, their size made it impossible for them to handle such delicate work. They could only help by transporting the harvested coffee beans.
For small ones like Flabébé, Morpeko, and Smoliv, not getting in the way already counted as a success.
The entire morning was spent laboring in the fields.
They carefully picked each ripe coffee bean one by one.
At the same time, they had to separate the overripe ones to avoid affecting the final purchase price.
A few green, unripe fruits were left to continue growing. When it came time to tend the fields at the end of the month, Kangaskhan and Mudsdale brothers could help pull them out together, saving some effort.
Having only joined the ranch for a few days, the three Meowth were extremely proactive.
They were even more diligent than Silas himself, and once they got the hang of it, they worked faster than he did—perhaps their Pickup Ability was also playing a role.
Who says something picked from a field doesn't count as "picked up," anyway?!
From just after breakfast, when the sun had barely risen, they had already been working continuously for over three hours. The sunlight grew fierce and dazzling.
Silas set aside a bamboo basket filled with coffee beans, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted toward the field, "Everyone, take a short break! Go find Veluza to help rinse off. I'll go get you some iced red bean dessert!"
Voices of Minccino and the Meowth echoed back from the coffee fields, saying they would rest once the baskets were full.
Leaving Kangaskhan to keep watch, Silas called Cyclizar and headed back toward the house.
On the way, he scooped up Morpeko, who had followed along. The little one's soft belly felt amazing in his hands.
Perhaps because the cheek pouches on both sides of its face constantly generated electricity, when Silas pinched its cheeks, his palm felt tingly and numb.
"Morpe!"
Morpeko rubbed against him affectionately and pulled out some coffee beans that had been electrically roasted, sharing them with Silas.
Silas flicked its forehead lightly with his index finger and said, half-amused and half-exasperated, "You little glutton, eat it yourself."
Morpeko smiled ingratiatingly and tossed the coffee beans into its mouth.
Immediately after, its little face scrunched up, and it stuck out its tongue repeatedly, trying to spit out the beans it had just swallowed.
"Morpe! Pe!"
(So bitter! So awful!)
"Hahaha!" Silas laughed heartily and gently patted it. "Don't worry. Drink some iced bean dessert later and it won't be bitter anymore."
Once Morpeko finished digesting the coffee beans, the bitterness would disappear on its own.
Hearing this, Morpeko pulled out another handful of coffee beans, its little face full of conflict.
Would the bitterness really go away?
Meanwhile, Silas took out the frozen bean dessert and had Cyclizar deliver it to the edge of the field first. He then went into the kitchen to fetch the bowls the Pokémon used for meals.
"Minccino, this bowl is yours."
"Min~!"
Minccino happily accepted it and took a sip. In an instant, its entire body felt refreshed.
The ice-cold dessert had a smooth, grainy texture. It was sweet, with a faint fragrance of beans.
Not only Minccino liked it—every other Pokémon loved it as well.
Galarian Meowth quickly finished one bowl and immediately ran back to Silas, holding its bowl high.
"Meow!"
Seeing this, the other Pokémon sped up as well, afraid that the delicious, thirst-quenching dessert would be eaten up by others.
Letting out a comfortable breath of cool air, Silas noticed their reactions.
"Don't rush. There's plenty of bean dessert. Everyone can have another bowl."
As he spoke, Silas filled a large bowl to the brim for Galarian Meowth.
Galarian Meowth sat down right beside Silas, holding the bowl and savoring it in small sips, its eyes filled with delight.
Silas didn't forget to serve himself a bowl as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Morpeko hiding in the shade of a tree together with Minccino.
The little fellow held iced bean dessert in its left hand and coffee beans in its right. Every time it ate a coffee bean, it immediately took a gulp of dessert. Its expression alternated between blissful relief and painful distortion.
Shaking his head, Silas turned his attention to the other Pokémon.
One after another, they all came over, bringing their own bowls with them.
After finishing the iced bean dessert and resting for a while, Silas led the Pokémon back to work.
While the sun hadn't yet reached its hottest point of the day, they could continue harvesting with just a straw hat for shade.
After another two-plus hours of busy work, all the ripe coffee beans had been harvested. Only a small number of unripe ones remained, which would need another day.
Once the harvest was complete, Silas had Kangaskhan and the others help with packing, while he headed into the kitchen to prepare lunch.
(End of Chapter)