chsdbacks Chapter 184 The New Employees of the Café; Dr. Fortuolin.
Chapter 184 The New Employees of the Café; Dr. Fortuolin.
Chapter 184 The New Employees of the Café; Dr. Fortuolin.
In the end, Ze Shu "didn't really interfere" with the little blacksmith's beating of Blue Raven.
He simply had the soldier with the 'Terrifying Face' skill stop the Blue Raven when it tried to flap its wings and escape from the yard.
Blue Raven, with its clever mind, seemed to understand its predicament and obediently endured the beating from the little blacksmith—a wise move, as if Blue Raven would have to face the "malicious pursuit" of the stag-sword soldiers if it tried to escape.
But they said it was a beating.
Perhaps it was because the little blacksmith's hammer didn't contain much iron; it was very light, almost flimsy, to the point that the big Blue Raven could handle.
So, the young blacksmith continued beating until he finished, the hammer clanging loudly, his pink face flushed from excessive exercise, and he was panting heavily.
The blue raven wasn't seriously injured; at most, its skin was a little red and swollen from being hit—perhaps this injury wasn't as severe as a blow from a soldier with a dagger.
Even though it wasn't seriously injured, it pretended to be like someone who had been used by Nidoking a thousand times, cowering in a corner and looking utterly pathetic.
Those little eyes hidden under the feathers looked as if they had suffered inhuman abuse.
The act of feigning misery was a bit over the top, but it still showed some acting skill.
Ze Shu really wanted to say: Who can you fool with this?
But it did work...
"Ta, Tabu-yi-yi!"
Because of the commotion caused by the little blacksmith beating up the Blue Raven in the courtyard, the Pokémon who were having dinner in the café also came to watch the excitement. They crowded together in the middle of the courtyard and the café.
Six-Tails' chubby face, which was holding a small cookie, was squeezed between Blue Blastoise and Lugia. The cookie in its mouth fell out, making Six-Tails' face turn red with anxiety, and it kept shouting "Ooh!"
Meanwhile, watching the Blue Crow's exaggerated acting in the courtyard, the compassionate healer, Almost Doll, suddenly cried out in surprise. A pink healing wave was released from its hand and directly bathed the Blue Crow's body, which was huddled in the corner.
Foggy time.
Nothing has changed.
Blue Raven still looked miserable, making almost all the dolls think that their healing power had failed.
"Are you alright now? Little blacksmith, have you calmed down a bit?" Ze Shu gestured to the doll that it was nothing to worry about, and then asked the panting little blacksmith.
"Chirp chirp!"
The young blacksmith exhaled a puff of hot air, glared angrily at the blue crow, and finally snorted, as if to say: It's done beating you up, so I'll let you go!
The blue raven loosened its wings and let out a "caw caw caw caw" sound, carrying a sense of relief.
"Well then... now that your accounts are settled, shouldn't it be my turn?"
Seeing that the two had resolved their grudges, Ze Shu suddenly spoke, attracting the attention of Blue Crow and the little blacksmith.
Blue Raven and the young blacksmith both looked at each other with puzzled expressions.
They didn't understand what Ze Shu's "tent" was.
"As for this score—you settled your score by 'fighting' here, but you've made a mess of my yard. What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Look at this chameleon poplar tree planted in the yard. Your hammer, little blacksmith, has bent its trunk crooked, and it's about to die. And you, Blue Raven! This corner of the yard you huddled in was originally a flower bed, but now your wings have torn it beyond recognition!"
"How are you going to compensate me?"
Ze Shu crossed his arms and angrily rebuked.
And after he spoke those words.
"Chirp?!"
"Gah gah gah?!"
The young blacksmith and the blue raven both widened their eyes in surprise.
They never expected there to be such a layer of "tent"—in their minds, fighting in the wild and causing flowers and plants to wither and fall was a very common thing, and no one would notice; after the fight, they could just dust themselves off and leave.
But here.
But Zeshu: ...the yard that the former store manager took such good care of!
"So, how are you going to compensate us?"
Ze Shu repeated it to the bewildered looks of Blue Raven and the little blacksmith.
This only made them both cry out in even greater confusion.
Yes, how will the compensation be handled?
But they had no money at all!
The young blacksmith lost his most precious iron, stolen by Blue Raven; and Blue Raven, needless to say, compensation? That was a joke to him!
If you can get anything valuable out of it, Blue Raven loses.
"Hmph—"
"Since you're penniless, then you should work to pay off your debts!"
Ze Shu snorted coldly.
Seeing the little blacksmith's bewildered look, Ze Shu pointed at it: "You, little blacksmith! You're small but you should be agile. Since you're cute, you can work as a waiter in my coffee shop. Work for a month and earn three thousand Alliance Coins to pay off your debts."
"And you!"
After saying that, Ze Shu turned to Blue Crow.
He pondered:
"You're too big; you'd be in the way if you were just moving around in the cafe. And with your wings, it would be too much of a hassle to serve food and water."
"...Well, what use are you then?"
The blue crow immediately cawed.
Since it's useless, let it go!
"Since he's useless, then... he'll just have to be locked up in a dark, sunless prison," Ze Shu murmured. "After all, damaging our property deserves some time in jail. Hmm, how long?"
"Huh?!"
Blue Raven stared in shock.
Is it that serious?
It doesn't want to go to prison for even a second!
"Gagagagagaga—!!!"
It's useful, so incredibly useful!!!
The blue raven flapped its wings, looking flustered.
Didn't you see how big its wings are? They must be incredibly useful! Not to mention stealing things, it's also great for carrying people. Even if it can't carry people, it can at least serve tea and water, right?
Look how nervous this child is.
Ze Shu chuckled:
"Then you can be my café's 'delivery driver'—though I don't know if you'll even get one order a month. In your spare time, you can be a general helper, always on standby at the café. Yeah, you'll be paid by piecework; you'll get 100 Alliance Coins for each delivery."
Blue Raven immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Although it didn't know what "piecework pay" meant, Ze Shu had just said that the little blacksmith could pay off his debts in a month. With its clever brain, it could earn money even faster than the little blacksmith!
After Ze Shu explained it to Lan Ya, he understood that this food delivery service was basically just running errands.
With those big wings, it might be able to finish its work and earn enough money in just one day!
Unfortunately, Blue Raven was unaware of this.
There's no Meituan here; the coffee shop might not even have a few delivery orders a month.
"Welcome to the company."
Zeju extended his hand to each of the two Pokémon.
The young blacksmith shook hands with a bewildered expression.
The blue raven became energetic and stretched out its blue-black wings.
"Well, as an 'employee perk,' why don't you come in and have dinner first?" Ze Shu said with a smile.
Blue Raven didn't seem to care much about those words.
The young blacksmith's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this: "Chirp chirp?"
Ze Shu laughed and said, "Want some of those gummy candies? Then I can only say: plenty!"
"And... there should be plenty of delicious food here that suits the little blacksmith's taste."
"Chirp chirp chirp!!"
Thus, the coffee shop gained two new employees.
After all, if Ruo Ze Shu left the café, it would only be Peony and a family of rats left, which would be too sparsely populated. Now that the little blacksmith and Blue Raven have joined, it's much more lively.
but.
Ze Shu recalled the big but cunning Blue Raven from earlier.
And the short but incredibly brave little blacksmith who wielded his hammer with tremendous force.
An image of them combined inexplicably popped into my mind:
After they each grew up...
The Greatsmith, relying on the Steel Wings of the Corviknight, wields a massive hammer from its broad back, dominating the skies of Padia. The Greatsmith's power on the ground alone is enough to make Corviknights flee in terror. If it could reign supreme in the sky, the other Corviknights of Padia would be so terrified at the mere mention of its name that they would instinctively cover their own steel bodies.
What the best pairing is?
Ze Shu chuckled, then shook his head, dismissing the conjecture.
Inside the café, the young blacksmith, his eyes gleaming, was eating the remaining food with exaggerated, unrestrained relish, making him weep with joy.
"Chirp chirp!!"
Ze Shu wasn't lying to it; there really were lots of delicious things here!
It recalled its life when it wandered around human towns, searching for a precious piece of iron. It wandered day and night, eating mostly food that others threw away in the trash.
On one occasion, it was even bitten by a dog and chased by that dog for a whole day, resulting in it going hungry for several days.
Here now:
For the young blacksmith, it seemed like a paradise of happiness.
Especially precious is the "iron"—the little blacksmith took a bite of the angry bun, and his eyes finally lingered on the metal texture of the body, which was obviously "good iron." The little soldier withdrew his iron body because a family of rats was cleaning the table, and he had to speed up the process of cooking rice.
A family of mice also worked at the café; they were waiters and also responsible for cleaning, since they lived in the café.
When it comes to the cleanliness of cafes, no one values it as much as they do... right?
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
The family of mice held hands, all staring blankly at the foam squirrel who cleaned up faster than them and cleaned the café more thoroughly than they did, their faces filled with disbelief.
Although they are both mice, a single foam squirrel is more agile than a family of four.
Before they knew it, thanks to the focused cleaning by the Foam Squirrel, all the tableware used by the Pokémon for dinner had been thoroughly cleaned and were sparkling clean, and the café was spotless.
"Ouch!"
The foam squirrel wiped away its sweat contentedly.
What activity could be more satisfying than cleaning up dirt and making a messy environment neat and tidy? Nothing!
At least that's what the foam squirrel thinks.
Especially since this is Ze Shu's "territory", it has an even greater responsibility as the "cleaning captain", which gives it an even higher level of satisfaction!
"Squeak squeak ah---"
The four mice holding hands next to it kept looking at it with strange eyes, making the foam squirrel, which was cleaning, feel very confused. The foam squirrel was not used to this kind of gaze.
The night is dark.
The residents of Little Key Town seem to have an unusually early start to the day. After dinner, they spend four or five hours playing with Pokémon in the closed cafes before turning off the lights in each house.
The café is a three-story building. Besides the business area on the first floor, there are five rooms on the upper floors. It just so happens that the housing needs of Ze Shu, Xiao Lan, Mu Dan, and Xi Jiana can be met. Even if they can't be met, they can go back to the spaceship that is hovering not far away to sleep, with Articuno guarding them there.
In the room, Ze Shu had originally planned to sleep and had even tossed the Six-Tails onto the bed to use as a pillow.
But who knew?
"Futu and Dr. Orin? Are they going to contact me?" Looking at Aoki on his phone screen, Ze Shu smiled helplessly and could only say, "Okay, transfer me there."
The screen flickered twice, and Aoki's image disappeared, replaced by a somewhat cluttered background.
Everywhere there were whiteboards, covered with various operational symbols that Ze Shu couldn't understand; below the whiteboards was a desktop, piled with several draft papers, notebooks, and books. Ze Shu, with his sharp eyes, could see that one of the notebooks had the words "Paradox Observation Diary - Milletton" written on its cover.
"Hello, Ze Shu."
A serious-looking man with a well-groomed beard and a stern expression appeared on the screen. He wore a technologically advanced undershirt and a crisp, wrinkle-free white lab coat.
"My name is Futu." He forced a smile onto his serious face.
"Haha—that's just his personality! Hello, Ze Shu! I hope you don't mind!"
A woman with flaxen, fluffy hair also appeared on screen.
Compared to Dr. Futu's technological aura, she has a rather wild appearance, wearing underwear that looks like it's made of animal skin, and even the collar of her white coat is furry.
"I'm Orin! This guy's...wife."
Ze Shu blinked and greeted them, "Hello, Dr. Orin and Dr. Futu."
He hadn't expected to encounter this Pokémon expert from Padia like this. And judging from his normal, human-like expression, he shouldn't be an AI.
So they're still alive? Piper isn't Batman yet.
"Let's get straight to the point," Futu said. "I've heard that you, Mr. Zeshu, have a Pokémon capable of extraordinary crystallization? Could we see it—"
"Pop?"
Is this about me?
Before Futu could finish speaking, Ergui's curious tangerine face came closer and rubbed intimately against Zeshu's face.
"Is that it? What an adorable little guy!" Dr. Orin exclaimed with a smile.
Ze Shu sniffed the citrus scent emanating from the Egui and said, "It's it."
"What do you want to see... Let's make this clear first, if the demonstration is too complex, it's too late now, we'll have to wait until tomorrow."
Futu smiled and shook his head: "We've already seen its abnormal crystallization through your battle at Orange Academy. Even if you demonstrate it again through a screen, it will be almost the same—unless Mr. Zeshu can personally demonstrate crystallization in front of us."
"We just have... a few questions we don't understand."
"I see."
"Now that I think about it, is this a unique ability belonging to the Evil Spirits, the ability you called 'Mirror Image Reflection'?"
Futu nodded knowingly and thoughtfully.
Ze Shu shrugged: "Yes, that's why I said it should be unreplicable."
"No! Hehe—" Orin seemed to have thought of something and laughed happily on the other side of the screen, "Now that we have the case of the Evil Ghost, it might give us another idea for modifying the crystallization. Hmm, an idea to make the crystallization look better."
"After all, it's precisely because of their overly crystalline and uniform appearance that each Pokémon has a unique type marker on its head, and so on."
It's not as cool as Mega Evolution or Dynamax in the Galar region.
"Even Champion Ye Ci has contacted us several times about this!"
"She said that the overly crystalline design wasn't good for promoting the Parthian region, and demanded that we make it look more stylish, but it's not that simple!"
"Now that we have your example, Mr. Zeshu, maybe we can find this line of thought and swindle some more funding from Yeci... Oops! I accidentally let it slip."
Orin covered her mouth as if she had done something wrong.
"Mr. Sawaki, you wouldn't tell Champion Yaji, would you...?"
Despite being a wife, Orin's heart seemed quite girlish, a stark contrast to her serious husband. Ze Shu had no idea how they had gotten together.
Ze Shu rubbed E Gui Peng, then shook his head with a smile.
"Oh! Thank you, Brother Zeshu!" Orin smiled as well. "Brother Zeshu is so easy to get along with! If you have time, Brother Zeshu, you might be able to come to Sector Zero sometime in the future, umm, that is, the giant black hole in the center of Padia, where we are currently conducting research."
"After all, Champion Yee wanted me to introduce you to 'Pokémon Paradox.' She said that a skilled trainer like you might be able to tame these wild and unruly or even heartless creatures."
Ze Shu blinked and said, "There's a chance."
This one is also kind...
He came to Padia without ever meeting her, yet she kept pushing Padia's special features on him, giving him Crystal Beads, and now introducing Paradox Pokémon. What is she up to?
"Pokémon Paradox are Pokémon that we capture by using a time machine to transport Poké Balls to different timelines."
"Regarding Paradox Pokémon, you can purchase the 'Book of Crimson' or 'Book of Purple' to get a general understanding. I researched the past Paradox Pokémon in the Book of Crimson, while Futota researched the future Paradox Pokémon in the Book of Purple."
Orin explained in detail.
She then rubbed her temples in annoyance.
"Although we are both researching time machines together, we are each focused on different directions. We even argued about it a few times because of the lack of manpower. I wanted Futu to help me research the past species, while Futu wanted me to help him research the future species, but in the end, neither of us compromised."
"Ultimately, it's because we don't have enough manpower. We all wish we had another 'us' to help with the research!"
"Hmm"
"I've said a bit too much nonsense, I hope you don't mind, Ze Shu."
"So if you're interested and come to Area Zero, we can find you the perfect Pokémon for you!"
"Hehe, I've talked a bit too much."
"Finally, and this is also a little selfish of ours."
Dr. Orin had a pleading look on her face.
"Since you're a teacher at Orange Academy, our son, Papa, also attends there. Because we're so busy with work, we often neglect him, so I'd like to ask you to take better care of him..."
Ze Shu laughed and said, "Of course."
Throat...Papah.
The more Dr. Orin cared about Pipa, the more Zeki felt how hellish the joke of "a family of rats (one) - Pipa" was. Zeki thought: it would be better if Orin and Dr. Fortu didn't die.
Having reached this point, Ze Shu spoke:
"Gentlemen, I'm quite interested in Zone Zero. Could we schedule a time..."
The two doctors readily agreed to Ze Shu's request to go to Zone Zero.
But then they apologetically revealed some information:
"Recently, several dangerous Paradoxical Pokémon have escaped from Area Zero."
-
The reason why Champion Yee has been missing for so long is that he is also searching for the dangerous Paradox Pokémon that escaped from Sector Zero, so that they can't hurt people.
Therefore, the two doctors were busy reinforcing the barrier of Zone Zero during the day and had no time to welcome Ze Shu for the time being. Even the phone call just now was something they squeezed out of time.
However, they also said that after quickly reinforcing the barrier, they would invite Ze Shu over again, and they hoped that Ze Shu would not refuse. This would not take too long.
Ze Shu certainly wouldn't refuse.
After speaking with the two PhDs, he arrived at Orange Academy early the next morning.
Since today is his first class, we naturally have to give him some face for his first class at Orange Academy.
However, before class even started, he was already being harassed by someone.
"I know you! You're the new battle instructor, right? You must be a really good trainer!" The brown-skinned teacher with her blue-purple hair tied up casually put her arm around Ze Shu's neck. "My name is Reiho, and I'm the history teacher!"
Surrounded, Ze Shu could only say, "Hello, Ms. Lei He... Is there something you need?"
"Hehe, just as Professor Zeshu said, I came here on business—" Upon hearing this, Leihe immediately smiled, leaned close to Zeshu's ear, and said in a very low voice, almost like a sales pitch:
"Sawaki-sensei..."
Have you ever heard of the "treasure of disaster"?