After the midday break ended, Silas immediately threw himself into the afternoon's busy workload.
The hops that had been laid out to dry had finally reached the proper preservation standard. In fact, Silas had spent the entire day focused almost exclusively on this single task. The Meowth, the Indeedee siblings, and the others had all helped out along the way. Without their assistance, it would have been difficult to complete everything within just one afternoon. They had truly been an enormous help.
As for continuing to brew more batches of alcohol, Silas decided he would wait until the first round of fruit wine finished fermenting successfully. After tasting and evaluating the quality, he would adjust his brewing techniques accordingly. After all, this was his very first attempt at brewing. Being cautious and attentive could only benefit him.
"Indeedee, could you please use your psychic powers to move the packaged hops into the cellar for storage?"
"Indee!"
The Indeedee siblings readily agreed. Taking the sealed hops from Silas's hands, they lifted them high into the air with psychic force and carried them toward the cabin.
Silas dusted the remaining bits of residue from his hands, glanced around at his surroundings, and then looked up at the gradually darkening sky.
"Everyone, go wash your hands and you can play outside for a while. Come back when it gets dark—don't stay out too long."
"Min~"
Minccino was the first to respond. It grabbed Oriniu and Alcremie—both still quite small—and dashed toward the lake to find Popplio and play together.
Morpeko, watching the younger sister Indeedee walk away into the distance, hurriedly pulled out a stash of snacks and stuffed them into its mouth. If it didn't eat now, once Indeedee returned, it wouldn't be able to snack freely anymore.
The little Mareep came one by one to rub against Silas's legs, asking for pats and affection before trotting off toward a crackling grass field to nibble on fresh pasture grass.
Kangaskhan followed after Phione, while the mischievous Phione ran ahead, chasing after its older "sisters" with playful energy.
"Cyclizar, aren't you going to play?"
"Cyc~"
Cyclizar shook its head and instead bit gently at Silas's pant leg.
"Hey, cut it out. If you're not going to play, then come with me and we'll patrol the ranch."
With a helpless pat on Cyclizar's large head, Silas climbed onto its back.
Man and Pokémon strolled leisurely through the ranch grounds together.
Over by the cave, everything appeared normal—well, relatively normal. The Noivern were in the middle of a fight, while the Carbink stood to the side cheering enthusiastically for their respective leaders.
When cheers from one side grew quieter, the battling Noivern would shout mid-fight for louder support. The Carbink had no choice but to send additional members to balance the cheering on the opposing side.
Only when Silas appeared did the Noivern reluctantly stop their scuffle.
Fighting had become something of a routine for them. Even when the clashes seemed fierce, they always maintained control. Calling it a "fight" was not entirely accurate—it was more like a unique form of wrestling, a battle waged for the pride of Dragon-type Pokémon.
Dragon-types naturally possessed strong battle instincts, and the battle-hardened Noivern were even more intense in that regard. They used these bouts to vent their excess fighting spirit and to further advance their battle-tempered development.
Of course, such matches were not held daily. The schedule had been set as a small bout every three days and a major clash every seven days.
The Noivern who ultimately won would become the "temporary leader" until the next leadership battle.
After making a full round and checking on the condition of all three Noivern, Silas finally left the cave area and continued his inspection of the ranch, eventually arriving at the greenhouse.
The moment he stepped into the flower garden, he could smell a blend of floral fragrances in the air. The scents mingled harmoniously rather than clashing. Under the careful tending of the Flabébé, every flower was thriving beautifully.
"Bebe~"
The youngest white-flower Flabébé was the first to notice Silas. It hurried into its little floral nook and brought out the honey it had collected, presenting it proudly to him.
Silas gently supported the tiny Pokémon in his palm and teased it playfully with his other hand.
"What kind of flower honey is this?"
Flabébé affectionately hugged his finger and answered in a soft, sweet voice.
"Bebe~"
(It's Gracidea flower honey. There's only one flower right now, so I could only collect a tiny bit.)
As the youngest of the five Flabébé, she was carefully looked after by the other four. They had entrusted her specifically with caring for the Gracidea flower.
Sensing a trace of disappointment in the little one's emotions, Silas gave her a reassuring rub.
"Don't worry. Once this plant fully takes root and grows well, many more blossoms will bloom in the future. When that happens, you might even be too busy to handle it all!"
"Bebe!"
(I won't be too busy! My sisters will help me!)
Urged on eagerly by Flabébé, Silas lifted the honey and tasted it.
The flavor of Gracidea flower honey was extraordinarily unique.
At first taste, there was a faint, gentle sweetness. Mixed within it was a refreshing coolness reminiscent of clear mountain snow. As it slid down his throat, a subtle lingering chill remained at the tip of his tongue.
"It's delicious!" Silas's eyes widened, and he did not forget to praise Flabébé warmly.
The slight coolness of Gracidea honey was perfectly natural. The flower itself was sometimes called the "Flower of the Glacier" or the "Flower of the Ice Valley." It originally grew in snow-covered mountain gardens.
At this moment, the other four Flabébé also set aside their work and offered their collected honey to Silas for tasting.
The honey from different flowers varied greatly in flavor. Silas sampled each one carefully and gave high praise every time.
The Flabébé joined hands and spun happily in place. Silas's compliments were the greatest affirmation of their hard work.
"Cyc~"
Cyclizar nudged at his leg, indicating that it wanted to taste some too.
Silas handed over the remaining honey. Cyclizar swallowed it in one gulp without hesitation.
Its eyes immediately lit up, and it let out an excited "Cyc!" while its tail thumped repeatedly against the ground in delight.
After accompanying Silas on a full inspection round of the greenhouse and confirming that all the flowers were growing healthily, the Flabébé watched as he departed.
Upon returning to the cabin, Silas sent Cyclizar off to herd the chickens back into their coop. He hadn't even taken a sip of water yet—
Bang!
The door was suddenly pushed open with force. Diancie rushed in so hastily that she tripped and fell forward onto the floor.
"What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"
Silas quickly stepped forward and helped Diancie up, examining her carefully.
"You're not hurt, are you?"
Diancie shook her head and pointed toward the door.
The door was swaying precariously, and one of the hinges had snapped from the impact.
"Silas, I'm sorry. I broke the door."
Diancie lowered her head in embarrassment.
"It's fine! I'll fix it later. What made you so anxious?"
Since training under the Diamond Minister, Diancie's temperament had grown much calmer. It was rare to see her so flustered.
At the mention of the reason, she stopped worrying about the door altogether. She grabbed Silas's hand and began hopping toward the outside.
"Clauncher is missing! We've been searching for a long time, but we can't find it anywhere."
"Missing? Did you ask Veluza to help search?"
Silas frowned at first, then quickened his pace, soon overtaking Diancie. He moved so fast that she was nearly lifted off the ground as he pulled her along.
When Silas arrived at the lakeside, Minccino and the others were already there. Every Pokémon wore an expression of worry.
"Kang~"
"Phion!"
"Min…"
"Lioo!"
"Doll…?"
"Vel!"
The moment Silas appeared, the Pokémon seemed to find their pillar of support. They quickly surrounded him.
"Alright, slow down. One at a time."
Raising his hand to calm them, Silas first turned to Minccino.
"When did you realize Clauncher was missing?"
"Min Min… Min…"
(After we arrived, we played with Popplio for a while. Then we wanted Clauncher to help us pick lotus pods, so we asked Popplio to look for it underwater—but Clauncher wasn't there anymore.)
"Popplio, what about you?"
"Lioo~"
(Clauncher was still here at lunchtime. I even gave it some food I didn't like.)
"After lunch, did anyone see Clauncher again?"
(End of Chapter)