Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Elf Maiden Themed Restaurant

As the college entrance examination approached, Tang Yi had been so busy preparing for the battle selection tournament that he nearly forgot he needed to prepare for the exam himself—not just Ralts. The surprise on Tang Yi’s face made Ralts quite pleased. She continued, “I checked; the written part of the entrance exam is very important. If your written score doesn’t meet the minimum threshold, your results in the selection tournament won’t count. These days, you’ve been neglecting your own studies to help improve my abilities, so I thought I’d buy you some study guides as a gift.”

So, it was just as he’d guessed.

Tang Yi felt a headache coming on. How was he supposed to refuse this?

“You... You don’t like the gift I wanted to buy, do you? We can pick something else if you want,” Ralts, sensitive to emotions, quickly noticed Tang Yi’s internal struggle. The girl looked a little anxious.

Seeing Ralts’s pitiful and helpless expression, Tang Yi was at a loss.

“Of course I like it! Didn’t you see how surprised I was just now? Ralts, you really gave me a huge surprise today,” Tang Yi replied gently, his expression sincere.

It wasn’t exactly a lie—he certainly was surprised, just not particularly pleased.

“That’s good.” Ralts could feel Tang Yi’s genuine surprise and let out a breath of relief.

As they entered the bookstore, the owner immediately recognized Tang Yi as a student preparing for the entrance exams and greeted them warmly, offering all sorts of packages and discounts.

Tang Yi browsed back and forth, finally choosing two sets of practice books. He flipped through them briefly without really checking the content—the main reason for his choice was that these two sets had the fewest pages.

Since his Pokémon princess had bought him these practice books, he’d have to finish them, even if it meant suffering.

Tang Yi ended up paying at the counter, but to show that it was Ralts’s gift, she carefully noted down the price, saying she’d keep track of the expenses when they got back.

Well, he’d just let Ralts manage the four thousand yuan as she pleased.

Tang Yi truly didn’t mind at all.

By then, it was nearly time for dinner. Gu Qingyue had just sent her location via WeChat, and Tang Yi and Ralts left the bookstore to meet her.

Gu Qingyue and the little Happiny girl were already waiting at the restaurant entrance.

The place was called Phoenix King’s Cuisine—a Pokémon maiden-themed restaurant. At the entrance stood an imposing statue of a girl styled after the Phoenix King.

Inside, the walls were adorned with portraits of various Pokémon maidens, while screens played spectacular battle videos. The servers weaving between tables were Jigglypuff and Clefairy girls.

“This is a chain restaurant—very popular all over the country. They specialize in adjusting flavors for all kinds of Pokémon, so the dishes are a hit with both us and our Pokémon,” Gu Qingyue explained as she led them to an empty table.

Soon, the Clefairy waitress approached them with a professional smile, recommending favorite dishes for Ralts and Happiny.

Neither Tang Yi nor Gu Qingyue were familiar with the menu, so they took Clefairy’s suggestions—ordering a psychic fruit salad for Ralts and a crystal steamed egg for Happiny.

Whether the two girls would actually love the food was anyone’s guess, but they might as well give it a try.

Tang Yi himself kept things simple. Glancing through the menu, he couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so he asked, “Do you have any signature dishes?”

“This week, our bestseller is Magmar’s Special Grilled Lamb Chops—cooked live. If you’re interested, you can watch the cooking process.”

“Then we’ll have two orders of the lamb chops,” Tang Yi decided.

Once the Clefairy waitress had left, Gu Qingyue began asking about today’s match, teasing Tang Yi for being a lucky dog who had stumbled into victory.

“So, what’s your next step? For the city’s preliminary round, you’ll be up against the top students from other schools. You can’t expect to be lucky every time.”

“Well, as you can see, I just bought a few skillbooks,” Tang Yi replied.

“What I mean is, are you really not going to sign up for a training class? Skillbooks are great, but without professional guidance, you won’t get far just by studying them on your own,” Gu Qingyue advised earnestly.

Tang Yi glanced at Ralts, who seemed a little hesitant at this, and shook his head. “I definitely won’t sign up for a training class. I never have, and I don’t intend to start now.”

“Well, you already have your school certificate. Even if you forfeit all the future matches, you won’t lose out,” Gu Qingyue misunderstood.

Tang Yi laughed. “I have no intention of quitting the competition so easily. Even if I’m a slacker, I should at least struggle a little. Actually, I find it a bit strange.”

“Strange?”

Tang Yi’s expression grew more serious. “Those training classes only became widespread in the last decade or so. Pokémon maidens have been around for nearly two centuries. Back then, there were no training classes, but Pokémon still managed to learn all the skills they needed. Besides, when you’ve raised your own Pokémon, it feels odd to hand them off to someone else for training.”

“But that’s just how things are now. Back then, people didn’t have the means. The world has changed so much in recent years, and life is so much better now,” Gu Qingyue countered, as if this were only natural.

Tang Yi chuckled. “Alright, alright. The truth is, I just find it too troublesome.”

He didn’t want to continue the discussion; there was no need. As a transmigrant, Tang Yi’s views often clashed with the mainstream of this world, but he had no intention of changing others’ minds—or his own.

Just then, the dishes for Ralts and Happiny arrived, giving Tang Yi the perfect excuse to change the subject. “Go on, give it a try. I want to see if these so-called custom Pokémon dishes live up to the hype.”

Ralts and Happiny exchanged a wry glance. They’d both felt a bit awkward during the previous conversation, wanting to chime in but feeling strange about discussing issues that affected them, since they weren’t human.

Thankfully, the topic was dropped.

Happiny tried the steamed egg first and was instantly delighted. “It tastes just like the Luckfruit—so delicious!”

Ralts, a little shy and reserved at first, took a dainty bite of her salad like a proper young lady. But her eyes immediately sparkled, and soon her spoon was moving much faster.

Tang Yi smiled. It was clear why this restaurant was a nationwide sensation. To so thoroughly understand the tastes of Pokémon girls from different species—such professionalism was truly impressive.

If not for the high prices, Tang Yi would have considered coming here regularly.

“This place is called Phoenix King’s Cuisine. Aren’t they worried about infringing on the rights to our country’s divine beast, the Phoenix King, by using the name so casually?” Tang Yi suddenly wondered.

“I heard this restaurant actually has Phoenix King’s personal authorization and signature, so there shouldn’t be any problem. Otherwise, they’d have been sued ages ago. With a divine beast involved, you’re up against an entire nation—who would dare infringe?”