Ceruledge's Little Happiness

Poliwag looked at the mark on Luo Mu's arm, its expression curious.

"Wulululu?" (Did Charcadet cause that?)

Although Luo Mu could not understand what Poliwag was saying, he could roughly guess from experience. With a sigh, he said, "Yeah, this was left behind when I was trying to win Charcadet over. It's a mark that witnessed the story between us. Back then, I didn't have the means to buy high-grade Burn Heal, so the scar stayed."

"But you don't need to worry about Growlithe's flames leaving scars on your back. After all, I can now provide you with better conditions."

"Wululu!"

What Poliwag wanted to say was that it was not worried about something so superficial, but Luo Mu merely shook the small bottle of Burn Heal in his hand and patted Poliwag's head. "Now for a question! Do you know how much this bottle of Burn Heal costs?"

"Wululu?"

Poliwag tilted its head. It was just a Poliwag—how could it possibly know something like that?

"Just 600 League currency. It works much better than ordinary Burn Heal, but it costs twice as much." Luo Mu spread his hands and said casually, "The four of you Poliwag can't even eat a hundred a day. Even if you freeloaded and did nothing, I could easily afford to keep you."

Of course, that was only the cost of meals needed to maintain their normal nutrition and daily activity. Once training began, he would have to spend a great deal more to increase their nutritional intake.

Poliwag's gaze became a little blank. It realized that Luo Mu had seemingly seen straight through its little thoughts.

"Of course, I caught you and brought you to the farm because I need your abilities. Even if your role is tiny right now, I value long-term development more."

Seeing Poliwag's expression and reaction, Luo Mu knew his guess had been right. He said softly, "You don't have to be so afraid or anxious. I told you about Ceruledge's past because I wanted you to know that I won't abandon a Pokémon I've caught for all sorts of random reasons."

"Look, I haven't even kicked out Moltres, the one with the biggest appetite who eats and lives here for free."

Luo Mu pointed at Moltres not far away, lying belly-up and looking a little like a roast chicken as it took a completely unguarded afternoon nap. He casually placed the sleeping Growlithe on its belly.

Poliwag: "..."

The topic had suddenly become rather sharp.

Yet a sense of sudden clarity washed over Poliwag, and it immediately felt that its worries had been a little ridiculous.

That was right. Just as the Eldegoss had said, this was home.

Night fell.

It was a belated celebration for the farm's first earnings. Luo Mu took Dragonite to the market and bought a plentiful array of ingredients, both meat and vegetables.

Under Ceruledge's direction, they happily spent the whole afternoon skewering barbecue.

Poliwag's concerns had been perfectly resolved after Luo Mu's heart-to-heart. It volunteered to help, but without hands, it could not manage such delicate work, so it could only follow Luxray and the others into the wild to gather firewood.

Looking at the two large platters full of marinated meat and vegetable skewers, Ceruledge silently brought out its ancestral grill. It expertly lit the fire with the Flame Greatsword, controlled the heat, and began grilling—a process that looked simple but actually required precise control over the optimal cooking time of every kind of food.

Finally able to rest for a while, Luo Mu sat on the ground without caring about his image and played around with several Pokémon.

When his gaze swept over Ceruledge, Luo Mu seemed to remember something. He quickly got up, walked into the house, and found a bright yellow apron.

Though the apron looked as if it had already seen quite a few "battlefields," it was still folded neatly. Its owner clearly cherished it very much.

Luo Mu smiled helplessly, carried the apron over to Ceruledge, and said with a faint note of complaint, "Look, oil splashed onto your armor again. It's a hassle for me to maintain it!"

Ceruledge stopped what it was doing somewhat awkwardly, its purple eyes shifting with guilt.

Luo Mu first carefully wiped away the fresh oil stains on Ceruledge's armor. He could not help sighing that, as a Trainer, he really had to play both father and mother, constantly keeping an eye on his Pokémon's mental health.

Luo Mu tied the bright yellow Little Yellow Duck Apron around Ceruledge and felt that the contrast between a cool swordsman and an adorable apron was simply irresistible.

The last few times Ceruledge had barbecued, he had not been around to watch because of various matters. He had not expected Ceruledge's old habit to return.

This Little Yellow Duck Apron had been a gift he gave Ceruledge on the day it evolved. Ceruledge would rather let its handsome armor get stained than wear the apron.

The large and small marks on the apron had all been left behind when Luo Mu forced Ceruledge to wear it.

Luo Mu felt that an apron was meant to be worn. Even if this one carried a certain commemorative meaning, Ceruledge would receive many more aprons from him over the decades to come.

Being overly careful with it would go against his original intention in giving it the apron.

"Silo."

Unable to refuse Luo Mu's request, Ceruledge could only put on the apron helplessly and continue grilling.

This time, however, its movements were a hundred times more careful.

Ceruledge had always regretted what it did when it was young. Even the burn scar on Luo Mu's arm had been caused by it.

And yet, even so, Luo Mu had still accepted it—a hedgehog that had been abandoned and was covered in raised spines.

It had learned to cook because it wanted to make up for its mistakes as much as possible. Unfortunately, its arms were naturally unsuited for such tasks, and grilling was the only thing that was somewhat easy for it to learn.

Luo Mu did not know what Ceruledge was thinking. He merely watched Ceruledge seriously turn the skewers and sprinkle on seasoning, and could not help feeling emotional.

That solitary Charcadet, once covered in thorns, had grown into what it was today. Though it was still somewhat reserved, still sparing with words, and even he could not always see through it.

But Ceruledge had now completely integrated into the group. To him, that was enough.

When Poliwag returned from gathering firewood and saw the interaction between Luo Mu and Ceruledge, a thoughtful gleam flashed through its bright black eyes.

Late at night, Luo Mu and the Pokémon, full and satisfied, returned to their own little nests to rest. The battlefield had also been cleaned up by everyone.

Ceruledge found a place to sit and carefully held the apron, which had inevitably gotten a few oil stains on it. It let out a soft sigh.

It seemed it would have to trouble Swampert again to carefully wash it with a stream of water.

The last time it had been washed, Swampert had been drenched in sweat just trying to control the water's force so the apron would not be damaged—despite never being nervous even when challenging the Elite Four.

At that moment, Poliwag, which should have already returned to Thunderclap Lake, suddenly appeared from the side. Smiling, it greeted Ceruledge, "Wululu!"