The Maid Delphox's Troubles

Although Xingye planned to open Odd Jobs, he did not have the ability to do so yet. After all, he was human, and it was difficult for him to earn the trust of ordinary Pokémon.

Besides, if he wanted to make it work, he first had to build a reputation. Only then would Pokémon come seeking help. It would probably take quite some time.

There was also the issue of having too few people. Other Odd Jobs had a three-person-and-a-dog lineup, but he could not even gather that many people, let alone Pokémon.

"Maybe I could hire Pokémon?"

The thought suddenly popped into Xingye's mind, but he quickly discarded it. He could not even afford rent, so where would he get the money to act like a boss and pay wages?

It would be better to use his own Pokémon. He would only need to give them some spending money to have fun in Kabukicho. How easy would that be? So why did he still need to catch Pokémon?

"My head hurts. Why is reality so cruel?"

This was like starting a business from the absolute bottom. The difficulty was immense, but if he succeeded, the returns would be terrifying.

"So, is there a way to quickly find Pokémon with troubles, while also quickly making a name for myself?"

As Xingye spoke, his gaze unconsciously dropped to the floor—or rather, to the first floor below.

Places like izakayas probably had plenty of people drowning their sorrows in drink. As long as he spotted someone sitting alone at the bar, he would have a target every time.

And this was also a great place for information to spread. Drinking always came with chatting and gossiping, making it perfect for building Odd Jobs' reputation!

"Boss Slowking, I still have to rely on you!"

"Cyclizar?"

At six that evening, Xingye prepared to begin his stakeout. At last, he saw what Kabukicho looked like when it woke from its slumber.

As more and more Pokémon came in from afar, the shops along the street opened one after another, lighting up their signs and preparing to welcome customers.

Slowking had just opened the door when he saw someone waiting outside. Confused, he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Eating and drinking."

"Do you have money?"

"If I don't have money, I can put it on credit!"

"I'll only let you run a tab for one month. Including what you owe from yesterday, if you don't pay up when it's due, I'll have Ceruledge cut out your kidney. Understand?"

"...Understood."

Xingye's mouth twitched. That idiot-looking face had just casually said something as terrifying as cutting out his kidney. Still, it was only a month. If he could successfully land a few jobs, he should be able to pay it back.

When he entered the shop, he and Cyclizar were the first customers. Ceruledge was the only one he could see, wiping down tables and briefly looking up at them.

"His stare is still as scary as ever..."

Xingye felt like this guy had a story, but it was probably best not to approach him carelessly right now...

Sitting at the bar with Cyclizar, he called out to Slowking, "Boss Slowking, warm up two bowls of wine for us, and bring two plates of fennel beans."

"Kids aren't allowed to drink!"

"Then just get us some snacks to go with drinks, the kind that can fill us up. And two cups of room-temperature Moomoo Milk."

"What kind of place do you think this is?!"

Though he said that, Slowking still went to prepare their order. After all, every visitor was a customer.

While they waited, Cyclizar watched the Slowpoke mascot on the bar, its tail swaying back and forth. Cyclizar's gaze kept moving along with the tail.

Then, intrigued, it slapped at the tail with a hand—but missed. It tried again and again, yet every time, the tail swayed away just in time.

"I know its tail tastes good, but don't actually bite it."

Xingye gave a reminder. Just then, a cute bipedal fox with yellow-and-white fur suddenly walked in from outside the izakaya.

The fur around its waist had grown into the shape of a skirt. Its legs below looked as though they wore black stockings, and a signature twig was tucked into its fluffy tail—a tail so plush that one desperately wanted to pet it.

"Delphox? So cute..."

Xingye's gaze was immediately drawn to her. He quite liked this sort of adorable Pokémon with a girlish, little-sister-like feel. She looked as though she would be very comfortable to hug while at Rest, making him feel protective of her.

"Huohu~"

Delphox gave a soft cry, probably saying "Alola~." However, she seemed somewhat downcast. Even when someone stared at her with a strange look, she merely glanced over and did not pay him any attention.

After coming inside, she first looked around as if searching for someone. But Slowking and Ceruledge had both gone to the back to prepare someone's dinner and were not present.

Seeing Delphox lower her head slightly, her mood becoming even more depressed, Xingye frowned—but quickly returned to normal. Resting an arm on the bar, he casually said, "You're a customer, right? Boss Slowking and the others are in the back. Just call out for them."

"Huohu..."

Only after hearing him speak did Delphox notice him again. She finally realized what was wrong. A human? Why was there a human here?

Xingye gave a light cough, adjusted himself, and smiled as he greeted her. "Alola~ I moved in yesterday. I live upstairs from the izakaya."

"Huohu~"

Delphox responded quietly, lowering her guard somewhat. After all, anyone able to live upstairs must have gotten on good terms with Boss Slowking.

Seeing that, Xingye maintained his smile, further putting her at ease before softly asking, "It looks like something is troubling you. This izakaya is a place where humans and Pokémon can talk about their everyday worries. Would you like to tell me? Maybe I can help."

Delphox was even more confused by his words. She did not quite understand what this human was doing, but since he had asked so directly, after hesitating for a moment, she decided to explain.

Humans could not understand Pokémon speech anyway, so he really was a good person to confide in...

Just as she was about to sit at the bar and begin sharing her troubles, Slowking floated out with several dishes using psychic power. After setting them before Xingye, he noticed Delphox.

"Slow~"

"Huohu~"

Seeing Slowking come out, Delphox greeted him and abandoned her plan to continue confiding in Xingye.

At that moment, Xingye told Cyclizar to stop playing and get ready to eat. As he ate, he said to Slowking, "Boss Slowking, when you talk, could at least one of you use human language? Let me hear what you're saying."

"Humans really are troublesome! Just eat properly. Why do you talk so much?"

Slowking did not refuse, merely grumbled in passing. Then he looked at Delphox and asked with concern, "I haven't seen you in days. Did something happen? You're so down that you don't seem like your usual self at all."

"Huohu..."

"You're resigning?"

"Hu..."

"I see. Your trainer finally remembered you were still in the backyard? You should be happy about that, shouldn't you?"

At Slowking's question, Delphox's expression shifted slightly. She seemed to have something she wanted to say, but after remaining silent for a long while, she still could not say it. In the end, she forced a smile and nodded.

"Is that so..."

Slowking seemed to have noticed something, but he did not press further. Instead, he took out a lollipop and put it in his mouth, turning away as he said, "Be careful on your way back. Come play when you have time. Don't let my shop get too lonely."

Delphox nodded, then gave another soft cry. "Huohu..."

"You want to stay and help out for one last night? Fine, but since you're resigning, there won't be any pay. Go on."

"Huohu!"

Having received permission, Delphox instantly perked up. Her previous gloom was swept away. Perhaps because it was her final shift, she treated it especially seriously.

Watching her run toward the back, Xingye, who had listened the whole time, remained expressionless. As he ate, he casually asked, "An employee at your shop?"

Slowking wore much the same expression. After biting the lollipop to pieces, he slowly replied, "You could say that. She's worked here for two and a half years. She can't come every day, and sometimes she even has injuries on her... But I hadn't seen her for more than half a month, so I thought something had happened. Looking at her now, though, she's in great spirits."

"In great spirits..."

Xingye glanced at Delphox, who had changed into a maid outfit and emerged from the back. She happily went to greet the Machoke and Gurdurr who had just entered. She certainly was spirited; there was no arguing with that.

At that point, he had finally finished dinner. He stood up and patted Cyclizar, who had already finished eating at lightning speed and gone back to slapping Slowpoke's tail. "Let's go. Get some rest early. We still have to visit Nae-chan tomorrow morning."

"Cycli~"

Cyclizar stopped playing and left with him. But just as they reached the door, Slowking looked over with a calm expression and slowly said, "I don't know what you're trying to do, but you'd better stay out of things that don't concern you. Especially since you're human. Trouble is likely to find you."

"What would I do..."

As he spoke, Xingye looked back with a smile and replied, "I just want to go back and Rest early."