https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-140-Courage-Fried-Rice-Muster-Your-Bravery-/12537161/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-142-Foraging-in-the-Mountains-Mid-Term-Exam/12537167/
Chapter 141: Paranoid Delusions
Chapter 141: Paranoid Delusions
By the time Naoki finished cleaning the room, it was already 1 pm.
The plate of fried rice he had made for himself had gone cold.
Naoki put the cloth back in its place and looked at the fried rice, remembering the unusual behavior of his Pokemon earlier. He hesitated.
He sat at the table, trying to think of something he wanted to do but didn't dare to.
However, he couldn't come up with anything after much contemplation.
Should he eat it? Test if the dish had the same effect on humans as it did on Pokemon?
In the end, Naoki decided to give it a try.
He picked up the spoon and started eating.
Hmm, it was still a little warm. The rice was soft, and the eggs were fragrant, making it quite delicious.
Naoki was a bit hungry, so he quickly finished the entire bowl. After eating, he even felt like getting some iced fruit juice from the fridge.
"Hmm? I don't feel anything particularly intense," Naoki wondered.
But the next second, his mind suddenly flashed with thoughts of something he had always wanted to do but never dared to try.
Sucking on an Eievui's belly! He had always wanted to bury his face in its soft belly but was afraid of scaring it and being considered a pervert.
But now...
Naoki suddenly felt a surge of courage welling up within him.
Why not give it a shot? He could pick up Eievui and cuddle it like he did with Budew!
However, Naoki soon wanted to test if ordinary people could resist the effects of the dish.
So he retracted his raised foot and sat back down. It took a while for the feeling to gradually fade away.
Naoki looked at the now-empty plate of fried rice and began to analyze.
"It seems that eating this fried rice only gives the consumer a boost of courage, urging them to act on their desires despite their fears."
"The feeling isn't too overwhelming, and a normal person can resist it if they stay determined. They can avoid being influenced by the dish's effects."
"Once the courage fades, so does the influence of the dish."
However, this dish could be incredibly useful for people who were indecisive or hesitant, helping them make decisions.
For example, those with decision-making difficulties or introverted individuals who struggled with expression and refusal.
At this thought, Naoki suddenly remembered the seed shop owner, Elro's daughter.
Elro had mentioned that she wanted to overcome her psychological barriers but couldn't gather the courage.
Now the question was: Could this dish help her? Naoki planned to go to town to buy a bed in the afternoon, so he decided to give it a try.
He got up, took out the ingredients from the fridge, and made another plate of fried rice. He packed it into a lunch box and rode his Lizardon to town.
The lunch box was something he had bought earlier, intending to use it during his outdoor explorations. He hadn't expected to use it so soon, so it was still brand new.
Lizardon's speed was impressive, and they arrived in Fleck Town in just over ten minutes.
Naoki stood in front of the seed shop, glancing at the signboard to avoid a repeat of the previous incident. Before entering, he recalled Lizardon into its Poke Ball.
It was late afternoon, and the shop was empty.
Elro was dusting the shelves with a feather duster when he heard footsteps and turned to see Naoki. Surprise registered on his face, and he smiled. "Good afternoon! Did you forget to buy something?"
"No," Naoki shook his head, holding up the lunch box that contained the courageous fried rice. He briefly explained the remarkable effects of this magical dish to Elro.
Elro's eyes widened in astonishment as he listened. "There's such a dish? No, how did you come up with this recipe?"
Naoki looked at his palm and repeated what Carter had told him.
"I see..." Elro nodded slowly.
Hearing about Naoki's extraordinary ability, he felt neither envious nor jealous; instead, he was genuinely happy for him.
Elro wanted to say that perhaps the gods had blessed him with this gift to make up for the loss of his loved one, but he stopped himself, not wanting to bring up sad memories.
So he changed the subject. "Can it truly give people courage?"
Naoki smiled and nodded. "Bringing happiness to others is the true purpose of cuisine."
Elro nodded in agreement and glanced upstairs. "Bell should be in her room painting. I'll call her down!"
He walked to the staircase and shouted, "Bell! Bell! Come downstairs quickly!"
Soon, the girl's head popped out from upstairs.
Naoki nodded in understanding and handed the fried rice to Elro. "Then perhaps you could give this to her?"
"Please wait here for a moment," Elro requested.
Naoki had no objections.
Elro took the fried rice and headed upstairs. He gently knocked on Bell's door. "Bell?"
Soon, the door opened.
Full of anticipation, Elro handed over the fried rice and explained how it could grant courage.
Bell's eyes widened in astonishment. "What? How can food do that?"
"I don't know either," Elro replied. "Naoki specially delivered it, saying it could help you. He's the ranch owner you met the other day, the one who arrived in town last spring."
As he spoke, Elro whistled out the window. Soon, a tiny Greedy Squirrel scurried in through the window.
"Give it a try?" he said, hoping that his daughter would overcome her psychological barriers and step out of her reclusive lifestyle to embrace the sunshine.
"Okay," Bell replied, taking a deep breath as she sensed her father's expectations. She carefully opened the lunchbox.
A tantalizing aroma wafted towards her. The fried rice seemed to have been made recently, as it was still steaming hot.
The golden egg yolk coated every grain of rice, each one distinct. The blend of oily fragrance, rice aroma, and egg flavor fused together, emitting a golden luster that looked incredibly tempting.
Even though she had just eaten lunch, Bell couldn't help but swallow.
Elro felt the same; he hadn't expected Naoki to be such a good cook. He wondered if this dish could truly help Bell.
"Go on, eat up!" Elro urged.
Bell picked up the spoon and cautiously took a bite.
As the fried rice entered her mouth, her eyes lit up.
"How does it feel?" Elro asked eagerly.
Bell blinked, savoring the flavors, and suddenly felt a surge of courage within her.
Biting her lip, as if she had made a firm decision, she said to her father:
"Dad... I actually don't want to go out. I want to stay at home..."
Elro was taken aback.
Bell seemed surprised at herself for voicing her thoughts.
She cried out in surprise and apologized instinctively, but then continued, "I know you and Mom want me to go out more, but the world out there is so dangerous. There are Pokemon everywhere, and I could easily lose my life..."
Hearing his daughter's words, Elro's heart sank further. "Is this truly how you feel?"
As the courage-inducing effect of the fried rice began to wane, Bell quickly covered her mouth and apologized to her father again. "I'm sorry!"
"Ah..." Elro sighed once more. "You don't like it when Dad and Mom force you to go out, do you?"
"No..." Bell lowered her head, as if resigning herself to fate. "I just... I just think it's too dangerous out there. I could get hit by a car while walking on the road, or attacked by scary Pokemon in the forest!"
"Every Pokemon is terrifying! I could get electrocuted, burned to death, chopped in half by a flying mantis, or if it's a small Pokemon, I might get bitten and die from the infection. Ahhh... I don't want to die out there in the open!"
Elro was speechless. Why was she talking about death?
He hadn't realized that his well-intentioned actions had burdened his daughter so much. Elro sighed and said to Bell, "Let's talk with your mom when she returns. Naoki is still downstairs. You can continue with your painting."
With that, Elro turned and headed downstairs.
Seeing his worried expression and recalling the conversation he had overheard, Naoki asked, "Is everything alright?"
"Ah..." Elro sighed again. "I just want Bell to go out more, to see the world. That way, when I and her mother pass away, she'll be able to live on her own in this world."
"Is that truly what she wants?" Naoki inquired.
Elro nodded. "Nonetheless, we should thank you, Naoki. If it weren't for you, I might still be forcing Bell to do things she dislikes."
"I hope so!" Elro sighed heavily, then reached for a bag of fertilizer from the nearby shelf. "Anyhow, we should thank you for your help today. This is a new fertilizer we just got in..."
"No, I can't accept this." Naoki waved his hands, indicating that he had only come to offer whatever help he could.
But Elro was insistent. He handed over the fertilizer, saying, "We're neighbors, after all. This is a fruit-bearing fertilizer, specially designed for cultivating fruit trees. They say it can make the trees bear more fruit."
"Since it's a new product, I don't know how effective it is yet, so I hope you'll take it. If it works well, please come back and buy a few more bags."
Naoki understood and accepted the fertilizer. "Alright, if it works well, I'll come back for more."
"That's the spirit!"
Elro proceeded to explain in detail the stages at which the fertilizer should be applied and the amount to use for each tree.
Naoki nodded, indicating that he had memorized the instructions.
Then he left the seed shop and released Motorizard from its Poke Ball. As he recalled the events of the day, he shook his head.
"Sigh, what a lovely young lady she is!" Naoki turned back and happened to notice someone standing at the window on the second floor of the seed shop, looking in his direction.
As soon as she sensed his gaze, the girl shrank back like a quail.
Naoki: "..."
"Never mind!" He patted Motorizard's shoulder and said, "Let's go!"
The bed at home had been broken by Golleton, so they needed to buy a new one.
To prevent the bed from being damaged again, Naoki decided to opt for a different type of bed.
A Japanese-style tatami bed seemed like a good choice—no legs, flush against the wooden floor, so there was no risk of Golleton breaking it.
Additionally, there was a partition underneath the house, so he didn't have to worry about the bedding getting damp.
Of course, even if it did get damp, it wouldn't be a problem. It was summer, and the sun was intense, so airing out the bedding during the day would ensure it was dry, soft, and filled with the scent of sunshine.
The streets of Fleck Town were spotless, with neat and aesthetically pleasing shops and residences lining the roads.
Naoki walked alongside Motorizard, wishing that as he walked into Kris's store, time would fast forward to mid-May.
By then, the crops in the fields would have matured, and he could see the changes brought about by the care of his riding goat.
However, that was impossible.
At three in the afternoon, after purchasing a bed from Kris, Naoki returned to the ranch.
He began fertilizing the newly planted tree fruits and transplanting the already tall tree fruit trees from the farm area to the orchard.
After finishing this task, Naoki, without bothering to wipe the dirt from his hands, headed to the storage room and crafted a simple wooden fence to enclose the tree fruit garden, leaving a small gate for entry and exit.
Together with Golleton, he placed the sign depicting the tree fruit on the left side of the gate, signifying that this area was dedicated to cultivating and nurturing tree fruits.
That evening, after a busy day, Naoki went to bed early after dinner.
With the new tatami bed, Golleton no longer had to worry about breaking the bed, and it boldly placed its tail on the bed, almost as if it wanted to put its entire body on it.
Every time Naoki saw this, he felt that Golleton had intentionally broken the previous two beds.
But looking at Golleton's pure and honest expression, he wondered if he was thinking too much.
There weren't any entertainment facilities on the ranch, so they went to bed early every day.
Perhaps because he wasn't used to sleeping on a tatami mat, Naoki found himself unable to sleep that night.
He lay in bed with Budew, staring at the ceiling, wishing this era was more technologically advanced.
He missed having a smartphone with internet access and games!
But now, he had none of that, and he sighed inwardly.
When he turned his head, he saw Golleton's golden eyes, shining brightly in the darkness.
"...Still not sleeping?"
Golleton looked extremely happy. "Agas!"
"Look at you, so silly." Naoki didn't know what Golleton was so cheerful about, and he placed his ankle on its tail in exasperation.
Golleton thought, 'I'm not silly at all!'
Naoki pulled the blanket over his head and declared, "Both of you, be quiet and go to sleep!"
(End of Chapter)
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