Chapter 167: Sugar Maple Trees and Maple Syrup

Luo Mu: "?"

Are competitions like this also popular in the Pokémon world?

No, rather, competitions in this world have always been diverse and flourishing.

Pokémon competitions, fishing contests, cooking battles, breeding contests, and so on.

However, a cooking competition means I'll have to compete against a group of pastry chefs; sighing inwardly, Luo Mu turned to look at Paimon: "Which place prize is the Sweet Decoration?"

Paimon pondered for a moment and said uncertainly, "Probably top three... I didn't pay attention to the specific details."

Luo Mu nodded slightly; if Paimon didn't know, then so be it. In any case, he could just go take a look at the Shuang Nai Xian shop himself. Turning immediately, he said, "Then I'll head off first. Once I've settled this matter, I'll come back to teach you."

Paimon obediently nodded, then squatted down again on the steps, his mood improving considerably.

Walking along the stone-paved road, in the middle of the bustling streets of Cortondo, Luo Mu spotted the shop bearing the sign "Shuang Nai Xian."

Beside the shop stood a towering Sugar Maple tree, likely over twenty meters tall; at a glance, its form appeared elegant yet majestic, with lush branches and dense foliage.

This Sugar Maple tree was the signature plant of Shuang Nai Xian, attracting many tourists to visit and check in there.

Luo Mu swiped his phone screen and found numerous photos taken by people who had visited Shuang Nai Xian to buy sweets and snap pictures.

Among them, photos taken in autumn were the most numerous.

This was because during autumn, the leaves of the Sugar Maple tree would turn orange-yellow, golden, orange-red, and other hues; since the leaf colors were rich and brilliant, creating an excellent visual effect, taking photos under the Sugar Maple tree after buying sweets at Shuang Nai Xian had become an established custom.

Looking at those photos, Luo Mu felt somewhat tempted to cultivate a few Sugar Maple trees on his own farm.

A continuous expanse of Sugar Maple trees in autumn must surely be a magnificent autumn sight...

Moreover, the sap of the Sugar Maple tree could be boiled down into maple syrup, whose sweetness was slightly inferior to that of honey.

Luo Mu's gaze fell again beneath the Sugar Maple tree, where a very conspicuous promotional board stood; what it mentioned was precisely the dessert competition jointly hosted by the Paldea Dessert Association and Shuang Nai Xian.

Luo Mu took a look and saw information there about the Sweet Decoration, an essential decorative item required for a Milcery to evolve, and furthermore, one could only obtain it by achieving first place.

The registration deadline for the competition was five o'clock this afternoon; Luo Mu glanced at the time—there were less than three hours left until it ended!

Relieved that he had fortunately come today, Luo Mu did not squeeze into the crowded crowd taking photos over there but instead turned and walked into the Shuang Nai Xian shop.

Entering the shop was like stepping into a new world; cute decorations hung harmoniously inside, and clean glass display cabinets free of even a speck of dust were neatly arranged within, containing exquisite sweets of various appearances; placing them on the table as afternoon tea was a hobby of many refined ladies.

The vast majority of people inside the shop were girls who loved sweets, so Luo Mu, being a young man, attracted quite a few glances upon entering.

He paid no heed to these; Luo Mu looked around and spotted Miss Maple, who was currently introducing products to customers.

Today, she was still wearing that pastry chef outfit from the game; her slow, gentle tone could soothe others' emotions while chatting with customers, and her insights as a pastry chef were particularly outstanding; even without making sweets, she seemed to be shining brightly.

When serving as a Gym Trainer, Maple had also guided novice trainers with such a soft and slow tone; perhaps this was why Geeta had chosen her to be the first Gym Leader on the official Gym Challenge route.

Seemingly noticing Luo Mu's gaze, Maple turned her head to look over; upon discovering that the visitor was Luo Mu, a look of surprise floated across her face. After instructing her apprentice to attend to that group of customers, Maple hurriedly walked toward Luo Mu.

"Miss Maple."

Luo Mu smiled and raised his hand to greet her.

Surprise still lingered on Maple's exquisite eyebrows and eyes, yet she smiled welcomingly, "Welcome to Shuang Nai Xian, Brother Luo Mu."

"It must have been nearly a year since your last visit, correct?"

Luo Mu nodded; he remembered that his first stop on his journey had indeed been Cortondo. At that time, the only partner by his side was Shinx. For him back then, the Cortondo in his memories should have been a flavor both sour and sweet.

"Mafuu~~~"

The little Milcery on Luo Mu's shoulder suddenly let out a cute yawn, as if it had just woken up; Maple's gaze instantly focused on it.

"A Milcery!" Maple clasped her hands together, her expression full of delight. "Is this a new partner you've caught?"

"Mafuu?"

Noticing Maple's gaze, the little Milcery fully displayed its socially adept nature—it floated directly over to Maple's side and rubbed its soft body against her cheek.

Luo Mu simply watched the interaction between the Milcery and Maple; he could tell that Maple also liked the Milcery very much. However, as an expert in Bug-type Pokémon, most of her Pokémon were Bug-types, and she did not raise any Milcery or Alcremie.

After a round of affectionate interaction, Luo Mu, holding the satisfied Milcery that had returned to him, introduced, "I bought this Milcery from the Eli Farm in Mesagoza, planning to train it to become an assistant for making sweets on the farm."

Maple was very smart; without Luo Mu needing to state it explicitly, she roughly guessed his purpose based on the Milcery's presence and Luo Mu's words.

"You two... are here for the Sweet Decoration prize for first place in the dessert competition?"

Luo Mu nodded.

"Then we must hurry to register; I'll sign you up right now!"

With Maple's help, Luo Mu successfully registered for the dessert competition taking place three days later. In the back office, Maple asked, "The theme for making desserts at that time will be Poffins, sweets originating from the Sinnoh region. Do you know how to make them?"

Luo Mu was stunned; wasn't it supposed to be improvised on the spot or have the topic drawn at the time?

He shook his head and stated frankly, "I only know how to make some ordinary sweets; I haven't tried making Poffins yet."

"I see..." Maple's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly, appearing somewhat troubled. After pondering for quite a while, she finally made up her mind and said, "Since you don't understand the method for making Poffins, would you like me to teach you?"

"Because the Paldea Dessert Association is recently collaborating with the Sinnoh Dessert Association, there will also be a mysterious guest from the Sinnoh region coming to judge, so the theme has been restricted to 'Poffins'."

"If you don't know how to make Poffins, you will be at a great disadvantage."

Luo Mu and Maple had not met many times; he was unclear why Maple, as the manager and head pastry chef of Shuang Nai Xian, would offer to teach him personally, but this was undoubtedly a good opportunity. Relying solely on himself, there was a high probability he wouldn't be able to produce qualified Poffins suitable for the competition within three days.

Without excessive hesitation, Luo Mu bowed together with the Milcery and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Miss Maple!"

(End of Chapter)