"The candles are lit. Everyone, let's sing Happy Birthday to Kangaskhan together."
After saying that, Silas carefully inserted several small candles into the cake and lit them one by one.
Without needing Silas to call them over, Minccino, Diancie, and the others automatically held hands and formed a circle, surrounding Kangaskhan in the middle.
"Alright, start, start." Silas called out cheerfully and began the first line. "Happy birthday to you…"
All the Pokémon quickly joined in. Even Morpeko and Litten, who did not quite know how to sing, silently opened their mouths and mouthed along with the melody.
"Min~!"
(Happy birthday, Sister Kangaskhan~!)
"Morpe!"
(Happy birthday, Boss Kangaskhan!)
"Cyc~"
(Happy birthday~)
"Phion!"
(Happy birthday, Mama Kangaskhan!)
"Meow~" x3
"Mud!" x3
"Cream~"
"…"
When the birthday song ended, all the Pokémon offered their blessings together.
Kangaskhan's eyes were red. Shimmering tears welled at the corners, yet the smile on her face was wide and radiant.
"Kang~ Kang ~ Kang!"
(Silas, everyone, I love you all the most. Let's stay together forever!)
Before Silas could react, Kangaskhan pulled him into her arms and buried her head against his chest, hiding her tears.
Gently comforting her, Silas patted her back and wiped her eyes. "Today is a happy day. Kangaskhan can't cry. Come on, make a wish."
"Kang!"
She nudged him lightly, holding back her tears and nodding firmly.
The burning candles were softly blown out by Kangaskhan as she made her birthday wish.
"Morpe~!"
(Time to eat cake! Time to eat cake~!)
Morpeko spoke while wiping drool from the corner of its mouth.
"One slice each first. Cyclizar, Indeedee, later help deliver some to Noivern and Meganium."
Silas tucked Morpeko under his arm and signaled his younger sister Indeedee to help cut the cake.
Today was Kangaskhan's happiest day ever. Even when she fell asleep that night, she entered her dreams with a blissful smile on her face.
…
The next day, after finishing the ranch's daily tasks, Silas needed to process the sunflowers that Kangaskhan and the others had harvested yesterday.
First, the sunflower seeds had to be removed and spread out under the sun to dry.
With Litten helping, this step was completed very quickly.
Next came the most tedious part. Silas called over all the Pokémon in the ranch who were free.
Minccino and Popplio were not around. They were practicing hard for their performance at the fireworks festival.
"Everyone, help pick out all the moldy and insect-damaged seeds. I'll roast the good ones into sunflower seeds for you to snack on."
"Morpe?"
(What's that?)
"A very delicious little snack. Much, much tastier than Morpeko's baked berry seeds."
"Morpe!!" Shocked face.jpg
Morpeko's eyes widened dramatically. It immediately threw itself into sorting the sunflower seeds with a serious expression.
Only food could make Morpeko this focused.
The other Pokémon helped as well, carefully selecting them one by one.
At the same time, Silas rinsed a portion of the sorted seeds with clean water. He prepared a common five-spice seasoning mix, added water, brought it to a boil, then soaked the seeds so the flavors could fully penetrate.
Once Silas finished seasoning, Kangaskhan and the others had already separated the bad seeds.
He scooped out the soaked seeds and drained them thoroughly.
Then he asked Litten to help dry them with controlled bursts of warm air.
This step could have been done with an oven, but oven-dried seeds tended to cause the kernels to stick to the shells.
Naturally air-dried seeds did not have that problem.
"Morpeko~"
Morpeko wiggled closer, its little paws restless as it grabbed a seed.
Using its big front teeth, it cracked open the shell. The moment it tasted the kernel inside, its eyes sparkled.
Not only was it delicious, it was flavorful. It loved it instantly.
Thunk.
Silas flicked Morpeko on the head with his bent finger and lifted the little glutton away. "Go play somewhere else. If you keep this up, I won't give you any when they're done."
Morpeko understood the difference between one full meal and many future meals.
It proactively placed the kernel in Silas's palm and gave him a flattering little grin.
Silas patted it in satisfaction and made an announcement. "Very good. From now on, you are the official Seed-Shelling Pokémon. You are responsible for cracking open sunflower seeds."
"Morpe!?"
Morpeko did not fully understand, but when it heard the words sunflower seeds, its round eyes lit up in sequence. It nodded seriously and patted its chest proudly.
This was clearly a case of suffering from a lack of education.
Turning away so Morpeko would not see his suppressed laughter, Silas solemnly handed over the pile of kernels to it. "Excellent, very energetic. From now on, all the seed-shelling work is yours."
Once the seeds were completely air-dried, Silas set a large iron wok over the stove and poured in an appropriate amount of coarse salt to begin roasting.
Using salt helped the seeds heat evenly and prevented them from burning or scorching.
After stir-frying back and forth for a while, a faint salty aroma began to drift through the air.
Compared to the richly flavored roasted sunflower seeds, Morpeko suddenly felt that the baked berry seeds in its paws were no longer appealing.
The entire round little mouse squatted beside the stove, looking up at the wok and drooling.
Silas kept stirring continuously until the shells turned light brown and a strong fragrance burst forth.
Only when the translucent system panel in front of his eyes displayed a notification did Silas turn off the heat and sift out the piping hot seeds one by one.
"Morpe!"
(Silas, let me help you test if they're done.)
Morpeko anxiously reached out its paw to grab one. The freshly roasted seeds were extremely hot. Morpeko stubbornly refused to let go, cracking the shell open with its front teeth and swallowing the fragrant kernel into its stomach.
Only after it had swallowed did it react half a beat late, hopping around yelping in pain.
Silas grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up. Seeing its paw red from the burn, he felt both annoyed and amused. He blew gently on its paw twice. "Couldn't you wait until they cooled down?"
"Morpe~"
(They're delicious, Silas. Really delicious.)
Whether they were hot or not did not matter. Deliciousness mattered most.
Its little paws clumsily smoothed down the fur that had curled slightly from the heat, eyes filled with longing for more sunflower seeds.
As for the lesson from getting burned just now?
It was merely a necessary trial on the path to tasting something wonderful.
"Little sister."
"Indee!"
"Take Morpeko to train."
With Morpeko gone and no longer causing trouble, Silas began roasting the remaining seeds.
Aside from the classic original and five-spice flavors, salt-baked, creamy butter, and caramel sunflower seeds were also essential.
Silas prepared a portion of each flavor, then sealed the cooled seeds into airtight bags.
Stored this way, they could last a long time and serve as snacks during moments of leisure.
Once all the sunflower seeds had been roasted, he finally had time to check the system panel information regarding the roasted sunflower seeds.
A translucent interface unfolded before his eyes.
[Roasted Sunflower Seeds (C): A leisure snack made from ranch-grown sunflower seeds, processed through selection, seasoning, and roasting. Available in five flavors: original, five-spice, salt-baked, creamy butter, and caramel. Crispy in texture, balanced between savory and sweet, and one of the essential snacks for relaxation and entertainment.
Dish Effect: After consumption, increases a Pokémon's happiness level. Even better results when paired with watching television.
Note: Eating too much at once has a high probability of causing internal heat.]
(End of Chapter)