Running to Diancie's side, Lucas suddenly lifted a nearby table with ease and asked with a boastful expression: "Diancie, have you noticed anything different about me?"
Diancie tilted her head, asking in confusion, "Really? What's different?"
Upon hearing this, Lucas took a couple of steps while carrying the table. "Guess, guess again?"
Diancie was amused by Lucas's behavior. She gently pushed him to put the table back in its place. "Alright, I know—your strength has increased, right?"
"You already knew? Seriously, then why were you teasing me?" Lucas said with mock indignation.
It turned out that Lucas's mission reward had been Physique +1.
When the system had prompted that the mission was completed, Lucas hadn't hesitated to claim the reward, and a notification had appeared in the taskbar:
Congratulations, Master, Constitution+1.
Not only that, but after this message disappeared, another notification appeared:
Congratulations, Master, for completing the achievement of hosting 10 guests, and obtaining the achievement reward: Intelligence +1.
Now Lucas's personal information interface displayed:
Lucas
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Age: 16 (+500)
Constitution: 2
Intelligence: 2
Cooking Evaluation: A newbie who can make edible dishes..
Lucas hadn't felt much change in his intelligence—he didn't think his IQ had improved noticeably—but the change in his physique was immediately apparent.
During his first sixteen years, Lucas's physical fitness had been extremely poor due to his frail health. Although he had regained his health and could run and jump thanks to sharing his life force with Diancie, he had still appeared somewhat frail compared to ordinary people.
But after adding one point to his physique, he could clearly feel a significant transformation throughout his body. He never could have moved the table so easily before.
Although the tables and chairs in Lucas's restaurant looked ordinary, they were actually quite heavy. After all, the primary customers were Pokémon, and Pokémon were typically stronger than humans. If the furniture were too light, it would be easily overturned.
Seeing Lucas looking so pleased, Diancie couldn't help but display a bright smile.
Of course, she was happier than anyone that Lucas's body was becoming healthier and stronger.
"If I complete a few more missions, wouldn't I become superhuman?" Lucas couldn't help but fantasize.
Diancie immediately shattered his fantasy. "Do you think physique and intelligence points are so easy to obtain? Now it's the newbie period, so there are physique points in the mission rewards. After the newbie period ends, it will be nearly impossible to receive such rare rewards from ordinary missions."
"What?" Lucas's face fell with disappointment upon hearing this. "Why is it like that?"
Diancie shook her head helplessly.
Now that the mission was completed, Diancie didn't go out to seek more customers. The human and Pokémon spent the rest of the day leisurely relaxing, and time passed in the blink of an eye.
"Fletch~ Fletch~"
The next morning, Lucas awoke to the clear cry of a Fletchling. Warm sunlight streamed through the window onto the foot of his bed, enveloping him in comfort, and he had no desire to get up.
"So comfortable!"
He kicked off half of the quilt, stretched his arms and legs, and yawned contentedly. These leisurely days were wonderful.
Click
At that moment, the sound of the door handle turning broke the silence. Diancie poked her head in and asked, "The sun is practically shining on your butt—aren't you getting up yet?"
Lucas reluctantly turned over, pulled the quilt closer and hugged it, complaining, "Are you my mother? There's nothing urgent to do anyway, why are you urging me to get up?"
"Hmph!" Diancie curled her lips. "You're thinking too much; who wants to be your mother! A new mission has arrived—do you want to accept it?"
Upon hearing this, Lucas immediately lost all drowsiness. He sat up and asked, "A new mission already?"
"Sooner or later, anyway, you won't be punished if you fail," Diancie reminded him.
"Then let's accept it, come on!" Lucas waved to Diancie, moving to sit at the edge of the bed.
Diancie pushed the door open and entered Lucas's room. A pop-up window appeared before her, displaying:
[Mission] Host 50 Pokémon, deadline 10 days, do you want to accept it?
[Yes]
[No]
It was an advanced version of the previous mission! Lucas immediately realized.
Of course, he didn't hesitate to select "Yes," and a new line of text appeared on his taskbar interface:
Host 50 Pokémon, deadline 10 days. (0/50)
The previous mission, having been completed, no longer displayed on the taskbar.
After accepting the new mission, Lucas got up from bed, put on his slippers, stretched again while yawning, and sighed: "Time to get busy again!"
After washing up, Lucas headed downstairs, and Diancie reminded him: "Munchlax is here, waiting for you to cook!"
Lucas looked surprised. "This early?"
Diancie was incredulous. "What do you mean early? It would be noon if you slept any longer."
Lucas scratched his head in embarrassment.
After changing into his chef's uniform and sneaking into the kitchen, Lucas cautiously peered outside. Sure enough, he saw Munchlax sitting in the hall. It had probably been waiting for some time and had fallen asleep at the table.
How cute.
Looking at Munchlax's peaceful sleeping face, Lucas smiled, then began preparing ingredients for breakfast. Soon, a tantalizing aroma wafted from the kitchen.
Munchlax hadn't woken up yet, but its nose began to twitch involuntarily. Following the scent, it jumped down from the chair and moved step by step toward the kitchen.
Just as it was about to enter, Diancie suddenly appeared. She gently tapped Munchlax's cheek and called out, "Munchlax? Munchlax?"
Munchlax shuddered and woke instantly, though its nose continued sniffing uncontrollably.
"Munch~ Munch~" So fragrant!
Diancie asked, "Are you hungry? The food will be ready soon—go back and sit down first."
Munchlax nodded, and while returning to its seat, it couldn't help but crane its neck to peer toward the kitchen.
At this time, Scatterbug, Espurr, and Swirlix also arrived, one after another. These three Pokémon didn't come empty-handed—each brought a gift.
Scatterbug had woven a small net bag with its silk, containing some flower seeds.
Espurr held a nut—a delicacy it had been saving for a long time and typically couldn't bear to eat itself. Now it wanted to present it to Diancie.
Swirlix brought a fresh Pecha Berry.
"Are these all for me?" Diancie asked, surprised.
The three Pokémon nodded simultaneously, eagerly offering their gifts to Diancie.
Diancie was overjoyed. "Then I'll accept them with thanks. Everyone sit down—we'll eat soon." She helped each of them up onto the table.
"Wait here, I'll bring your food right away." Diancie turned and went to the kitchen.
As soon as she entered, she showed the gifts from the three Pokémon to Lucas.
Lucas said jealously: "They're all for you, not for me."
Seeing Lucas's childish expression, Diancie smiled and placed the nut and Pecha Berry in his hand. "What are you talking about? They just didn't see you. Otherwise, these gifts would definitely be for you! You're our pillar of strength!"
"Hmph!"
Lucas picked up the Pecha Berry, rinsed it at the sink, and took a large bite.
To be honest, wild berries, having never been cultivated, actually tasted rather average. They weren't particularly sweet and were quite sour, but Lucas ate it completely nonetheless.
After putting the nut into a kitchen cabinet, Lucas removed a tray of steamed buns from the steamer and handed it to Diancie. "Quick, take these to them."
Diancie smiled as she carried trays of steamed buns to the hall and distributed them to the waiting Pokémon. The restaurant quickly became lively.
Lucas opened his system interface and, sure enough, watched as the Happiness Points increased:
+100
+100
+100
...
After the four Pokémon finished eating, they prepared to leave. Diancie escorted them to the door one by one, calling out cheerfully, "Come again tomorrow! If you have friends who are also hungry, you can bring them along!"
"Munch~"
"Scat~"
The four Pokémon readily agreed.
After they departed, Lucas's Happiness Points increased by another 800. This time, Munchlax was the MVP, contributing 500 points on its own.
Lucas really liked Munchlax.
If only it would let him touch it and hug it—that would be perfect.
Lucas checked the taskbar again and found that the text had updated:
Serve 50 Pokémon, deadline 10 days. (4/50)
It seemed that as long as they kept the restaurant open, this mission wouldn't be difficult! Lucas felt a surge of confidence.
Since this mission had a deadline of ten days, Lucas wasn't in a hurry to have Diancie continue attracting customers today. Instead, he suggested:
"Didn't Scatterbug give us some flower seeds? Let's plant them near the entrance."
"Yes, let's do that!"
Diancie replied eagerly. She had long felt that the bare space in front of the door was too plain.
"Let's go."
The human and Pokémon went outside. After careful consideration, they finally chose an open area to the right of the building.
However, although they'd selected the ground, the question of how to prepare it became a challenge. While the system had equipped the house with various household items, it hadn't provided tools like shovels or hoes!
Perhaps he needed to buy them from the shop?
Lucas browsed through the system store and indeed found shovels and hoes available for purchase, but having only recently acquired his Happiness Points, he was reluctant to spend them on gardening implements.
At this moment, Diancie smiled playfully. "Leave this to me!"
As she spoke, she extended her hands. Pink light flickered in her palms, and the next second, a shovel and hoe made of diamond materialized.
"Wow!" Lucas couldn't help but exclaim. "Diancie, this... is incredible!"
Taking the diamond shovel in his hand and examining it, Lucas remarked, "This must be very valuable, right?" If he sold it, wouldn't that solve all his financial concerns? Why would he need to complete system tasks!
Diancie immediately saw through Lucas's wishful thinking and said with mild annoyance, "What nonsense are you thinking! These won't last long before they disappear. If you tried to sell them, you'd be branded a scammer!"
"I see." Lucas was slightly disappointed. He then observed to Diancie, "The tools you've created like this aren't very practical. The diamond handles are too smooth to grip properly, making them difficult to use."
"Then what should we do?" Diancie asked, puzzled.
Lucas gestured as he explained, "Remove the handles, and leave holes here and here on the shovel head and hoe head where we can insert wooden sticks. We'll find two sturdy branches to use as handles."
"That makes perfect sense!" Diancie said, understanding. She gently tapped the handles of the diamond implements, and they transformed into sparkling pink light that dissipated into the air.
"Brilliant!" Lucas gave Diancie an appreciative thumbs-up.
"Of course." Diancie raised her head proudly.
"Let's go find some wood!"
Placing the shovel head and hoe head on the steps by the door, Lucas turned to Diancie. Before leaving, he glanced at Komala on its platform. "Komala, watch the house!"
"Koma~"
A faint snoring sound was the only response.
Lucas: ...
"Let's go."
Not concerning himself with whether Komala had heard him, Lucas took Diancie's hand and departed.
"Let's check over there!" Diancie suggested, pointing to two giant trees not far from the building.
Besides the verdant grass, the most common vegetation on the Nebel Plateau consisted of low shrubs. There weren't many tall plants, making the two towering trees the most prominent features of the landscape.
"Sounds good," Lucas nodded.
However, before they had gone far, they encountered Gulpin, Pancham, Scraggy, and Helioptile.
These Pokémon were all carrying bunches of colorful flowers in their arms. They had come specifically to thank Diancie for providing food, but they hadn't expected to encounter a human.
"Pan-cham~" It's a human! Run!
Pancham immediately dropped the flowers it was carrying, turned around, and fled. The other Pokémon reacted identically.
Only Gulpin remained frozen in place, looking from Lucas to the retreating backs of its companions, momentarily unsure what to do.
After hesitating briefly, however, it also turned and hurried after its friends.
"Sigh~" Lucas exhaled deeply, then said, "Let's continue our search for branches." Since they had been spotted, there was nothing more to be done.
Pancham and the others ran all the way back to their cave. Soon, all the members of their family learned about Lucas's existence.
Everyone looked questioningly at Gulpin, who eventually had to explain the truth: Diancie had a Trainer, and she had brought them food under her Trainer's instructions.
After hearing Gulpin's explanation, everyone fell silent.
Gulpin lowered its head, tears welling in its eyes. It had expected everyone to blame it, but instead heard Litwick say:
"Lit-wick~ Lit-wick~" It's not your fault. You were only thinking of everyone's welfare.
The other Pokémon gathered around to comfort Gulpin.
Meanwhile, after reaching the giant trees, Lucas, as expected, encountered fear and hostility from the Pokémon living there. Helpless, he could only quickly cut down two suitable branches with Diancie's assistance, then carry them away.
After returning home, Lucas trimmed the branches with a knife and inserted them into the diamond shovel head and hoe head. The two gardening tools were now complete.
"Let's get to work!"
"Let's get to work!" Diancie echoed enthusiastically.