The First Job: Took a Wrong Turn Down Half an Alley, but Still Delivered It

Early the next morning, the bakery owner prepared two baskets.

The pharmacy to the east wanted six sugar-free round buns, and the cloth shop to the west wanted eight jam rolls. Each had a delivery slip with a clearly written address, and the baskets were tied with different-colored ropes.

Having chosen the shorter eastern route yesterday, Lillipup stood beside the basket with the blue rope today.

A-Li crouched down and explained the route first. "Pass the well, go through two alleys, and reach Greenleaf Apothecary. It usually takes half an hour, but someone's repairing carts at the intersection today, so we may need to detour a little."

Lillipup sniffed the blue rope, then looked at its delivery basket.

"Walk for a while, then ride in the basket if you get tired."

It placed its front paws on the basket's rim, showing that it had heard her.

The owner took out a small piece of old wrapping cloth from beneath the counter. "The apothecary left this behind when they delivered herbs yesterday. Would bringing it make the place easier to find?"

The cloth carried lingering scents of mint, dried roots, and bitter leaves.

A-Li did not stuff it directly to Lillipup. She only tied the old cloth beside the blue rope. "Smell it when we get close. There are herbal shops all along the street, so you can't just chase one scent."

Lillipup's nose twitched. It had already memorized the nearby scent.

The first stretch went smoothly.

There were few pedestrians in the morning, and Lillipup walked on A-Li's inner side. Whenever it encountered cart wheels, it retreated to her feet. When they passed a butcher shop, it stopped to sniff for two breaths before catching up on its own.

When they reached the well, the yellow dog from yesterday was lying at the doorway. The two watched each other from across half the road for a while, but neither approached.

A-Li nodded to the yellow dog's owner and led Lillipup onward.

The real problem appeared at the entrance to the first alley.

The carpenter repairing carts had leaned two large wheels against the wall, while wood shavings and iron hoops littered the ground. The narrow passage that could normally fit people had been reduced to barely a foot wide. Lillipup stopped as soon as it got close.

"I can carry you across," A-Li said.

It took a step back.

"Then we'll detour."

A-Li did not insist just because that route was shorter. She slung the delivery basket onto her back and took the longer alley beside it instead.

The detour added another quarter of an hour. A wine shop in the alley had just washed its wooden barrels, leaving the flagstones covered in water. Lillipup stepped onto the first stone, found it slippery, and immediately pulled back its front paw.

A-Li slowly walked along the dry edge by the wall, and it followed step by step behind her. After crossing the wettest stretch, Lillipup lowered its head and licked its paw fur.

"Want to rest?"

It looked ahead and did not sit down.

"Drinking water counts as resting too."

A-Li set the bowl by the roadside. Lillipup drank half a bowl before setting off again.

East Street was much wider than Old Street, and the herbal scent was stronger too. A spice stall stood on the left, rows of medicinal leaves dried on the right, and two shops with green-leaf signs hung ahead.

Lillipup caught the scent of mint from the old cloth and ran a few steps to the left.

More than a dozen baskets of fresh mint were piled there, and the scent was so strong that even A-Li could smell it.

The stall owner smiled. "Does the little one want to buy leaves?"

Lillipup circled the first basket once and quickly realized that the scent was too simple. The old cloth also carried dried roots and bitter leaves, but this place had nothing but mint. It turned back toward A-Li and did not burrow farther into the stall.

"Not this one," A-Li said.

Lillipup returned to her side.

The two walked another half alley. Fragrant sachets hung outside the second shop with a green-leaf sign, and its scent resembled the old cloth's as well. Lillipup stopped again.

A-Li looked up at the signboard. "This is Greenvine Fragrance Shop. They don't take bread."

It looked at the green-leaf pattern, then at the delivery slip in her hand.

The paper also had a leaf drawn on it.

"The pictures are too similar." A-Li asked an elderly vendor at the neighboring stall for directions. "How do we get to Greenleaf Apothecary?"

"Keep heading east. It's the one with black medicinal roots drying outside."

Lillipup could not understand the whole address, but it could smell the bitter scent from the old cloth mixed into the breeze the elder pointed toward. It did not rush off alone and only moved when A-Li did.

The real apothecary was hidden at the end of the street.

Black dried roots lay out in front of the door, and a wooden medicine chest identical to the one from the old wrapping cloth sat on the counter. Lillipup walked to the entrance, moved its nose from the cloth to the medicine chest, then looked up at A-Li.

"This time, it's right."

The apothecary's threshold was high, and small bamboo trays for sorting medicine filled the inside. Just as Lillipup wanted to step over it, a young clerk nervously blocked its way. "There's too much medicinal powder here. Don't let it knock anything over."

Lillipup stopped outside and did not force its way in.

A-Li first carried the bread basket inside and placed it on an empty table separate from the medicinal ingredients. Then she returned to the doorway and wiped clean all four of Lillipup's paws, which had stepped through the wet ground.

"It can wait outside," she said.

But the shopkeeper took out an old grass mat from beneath the counter. "Put it by the door. As long as it doesn't touch the medicine cabinets, it'll be fine."

The mat carried the apothecary's long-standing bitter scent. Lillipup sniffed around it once, then lay down quietly, its nose still pointed toward where A-Li stood.

Seeing that it was not running around, the clerk slowly lowered the hand he had held in front of the door.

Several nearby customers heard that a Pokémon had delivered the bread and gathered at the entrance. One asked whether it could find a specified herb among dozens of medicine packets, while another wanted it to sniff out a lost money pouch.

Lillipup looked up at them, completely unable to understand where these questions had come from.

"It's only delivering bread today," A-Li repeated.

"With such a sharp nose, finding a money pouch shouldn't be hard, right?"

"What does your money pouch smell like, and which street did you lose it on?"

That person could not answer.

Lillipup lay back down.

Another child brought over two empty medicine boxes, swapped them behind his back several times, and wanted it to guess which one had held candy. Lillipup smelled sweetness and glanced toward the left box, but it did not get up to perform.

The child brought the medicine boxes closer again.

A-Li reached out to stop him. "It's resting."

The shopkeeper also knocked on the counter. "Those collecting medicine, line up. Don't block the door."

The onlookers dispersed somewhat. Lillipup looked at A-Li, its tail lightly tapping the grass mat once.

It was the first time it had waited alone outside an unfamiliar shop. It had neither been driven away nor been required to do anything just because everyone was curious.

The shopkeeper accepted the bread basket and counted six buns. "A little later than usual."

"They were repairing carts on the front street, and there was water in the long alley too," A-Li said.

"As long as it wasn't delivered to the wrong place."

Lillipup heard that, and its tail began wagging again.

The apothecary shopkeeper paid the Copper Soul Coins in full, then took out a small paper packet from beneath the counter. "I don't know where I put a bag of licorice yesterday. Could I have it help me look?"

Lillipup had just had water and was now lying by A-Li's feet. The detour had left its four short legs somewhat sore.

A-Li asked, "Which room did you lose the licorice in? Do you have any used wrapping cloth?"

"It might be in the backyard, or it might have been loaded onto a cart and taken away. All the wrapping cloth looks the same."

"Then it can't be found."

The shopkeeper froze. "But it just found this place."

"There was old cloth, and there was an address. You don't even know whether your licorice is still in the shop."

Lillipup rested its chin on its front paws and did not get up just because the other party had brought out a paper packet.

A-Li stroked its back. "Today, it only takes bread deliveries."

"I can pay extra."

"Find a nearby clue first, then ask whether it's willing."

The shopkeeper looked at Lillipup's tired legs and finally put the paper packet away. "Then I'll have the clerk search the backyard first."

On the way back, Lillipup climbed into the delivery basket on its own.

A-Li slung the empty bread basket over her shoulder and carried it through the wettest part of the long alley. By the time they reached the well, the road was dry. It climbed out of the basket and walked the final stretch by itself.

The bakery owner was waiting for the result.

"Why did it take so long?"

"We went half an alley the wrong way and had to detour around the cart repairs."

"Can its nose make mistakes too?"

Lillipup barked at the owner.

"There were herbal scents at three shops on the street." A-Li set down the empty basket. "In the end, we used the signboard, asked for directions, and checked with the old cloth. If it only followed its nose, it would've gone into the spice stall."

The owner counted the payment. Not a single coin was missing.

He had originally intended to give Lillipup the basket for the cloth shop on the west side too, but when he saw it head for the water bowl first, he handed it to another clerk.

"I'll have someone else deliver to the west."

After Lillipup finished drinking, it looked up at him.

"No extra work today," the owner emphasized.

Only then did it lie back down on the old cloth.

A-Li divided the wages into three portions. One went into the living-expenses pouch, one into the spare pouch beside the food jar, and the last few Copper Soul Coins bought a small packet of dried Berries.

She did not give the entire packet to Lillipup. She only took out one piece as a snack for completing its work.

When they returned to the shop that afternoon to recount the route, Xia Che was dozing beside the training room window.

"Delivered it?" he asked.

"Took two wrong turns and asked for directions once."

"That's normal."

Rotom drew the detour route on the screen, marking the cart repair site, the wet ground, and the three shops with green-leaf signs. It did not record Lillipup's sense of smell as infallible, only noting that the old cloth could help verify things at close range.

Three ordinary applicants had already gathered outside the door.

They had all seen A-Li and Lillipup on East Street that morning. One sold spices, one ran errands for a carriage shop, and another specialized in collecting medicine for the elderly.

"We want to take the basic class too," the spice vendor said. "A partner that can recognize scents is great. It doesn't necessarily need to know how to fight."

Xia Che looked toward the training room, which only had six short posts.

Then four more people arrived behind the three.

He closed his eyes again. "Classes start tomorrow."

But Rotom's screen had already listed seven names.