When Shen Qi returned indoors from the front desk, there was an old-fashioned earthenware jar beside his bed.
When they got up to eat that morning, Chansey had said she had brought back some old dough starter.
Leavening was a process in which yeast worked hard to make dough rise.
So-called "old dough starter" was fermented dough saved for later. The next time dough was made, a little of the old dough would be kneaded into the new batch, letting the "senior yeast" help it rise.
Once the new dough rose, another portion would be saved, allowing some of those "senior yeast" to carry on.
Many long-established noodle shops had old dough starters passed down through the generations, and the yeast living in them might be older than the proprietor's grandfather.
That was a refinement only found at a fairly high level, while Chansey could not even be said to have taken her first steps along the path of cooking.
And... she said she had entered a competition and won 10,000 b in prize money.
It was probably some kind of fighting tournament. Shen Qi had checked, and Chansey's physical health index was completely full.
As long as she was unhurt, as long as Chansey was happy, that was enough.
Besides that, Shen Qi noticed that Chansey's Mental Health Index had recovered to 90%.
What did that feel like? Like someone had lent a hand with the "Crazy Quack-Soft Strength" Emotional Script.
He wondered which angel had helped.
The next day was sunny.
Sunlight bathed all of Vermilion City, including the venue for today's Autumn Race Main Race: Vermilion Harbor.
As the foremost harbor in all of Kanto, it lay somewhat inland, connecting to shipping routes on the open sea through an inland sea, while also linking to freshwater river