Chapter 363: Spending the Night in the Snow-Covered Stream Valley

"It seems I too wish to retire from the role of Galar's King."

The Crowned King's voice rang out like thunder splitting the earth.

Upon hearing this, the most startled reactions came not from Luo Mu, but from the Crowned King's two steeds—Frosty and Spirit.

This was the first time Luo Mu had seen such human-like shock on their equine faces; Frosty and Spirit could no longer pretend to sleep, opening their eyes in disbelief toward the Crowned King beside them.

The horses' reactions made the Crowned King smile wryly. "This is a conclusion I reached after deep contemplation. Galar no longer needs the King of Abundance. For the King of Abundance, the Galar it once cherished has become a memory of the past."

Since meeting Luo Mu and receiving his reminder, the Crowned King had ceased relying on human faith, and throughout its search for its steeds, it had continuously reflected.

After reclaiming its two beloved steeds, where should it go next?

Return to the throne of Galar and clash with the existing Galar League?

Live in solitude on the Crowned Snowfield, untouched by mortal affairs?

Or, as Luo Mu suggested, leave the Crowned Snowfield with him and personally raise Cosmog?

The Crowned King felt it might now have found its answer.

Whether through the atmosphere between Luo Mu and the Pokémon, the bond they shared, or the debt of rebirth Luo Mu had granted it, its answer was clear.

This debt could never be repaid, so the Crowned King wished to accept Luo Mu's invitation, issued before the Ice Mountain Ruins.

From Luo Mu, it had learned the world was vast—and it wished to see it, to witness landscapes unlike those of Galar's Crowned Snowfield.

Fixing its gaze on Luo Mu, the Crowned King spoke again: "My friend, could your farm accommodate me, my steeds, and Cosmog together?"

Luo Mu froze, his face lighting up with unmistakable joy as he nodded firmly: "Of course!"

Instantly, Luo Mu noticed the change in the Crowned King's self-reference: the royal "I" ( Gu ) had become the humble "I" ( Wo ), and the lofty "you" ( Ru ) had become the familiar "you" ( Ni ).

The Crowned King had long prepared for this shift. From this moment on, it was no longer the King of Abundance, nor the King of Galar.

It was merely the Crowned King.

His farm was vast enough to welcome more friends—even if space one day grew tight, he could always expand it.

Even if he had begun with vast lands, the farmer would never turn away from expansion!

Luo Mu naturally welcomed the Crowned King's acceptance of his invitation to join the farm.

Cosmog, though seemingly oblivious to everything, sensed both the Crowned King and Luo Mu were happy, and its giggles echoed through the air. Frosty and Spirit exchanged a weary glance—two rivals, yet now in perfect agreement.

What else could they do?

They had already sworn renewed loyalty to the Crowned King—they could only follow through.

The Crowned King's arrival, along with Frosty and Spirit, was a great joy—especially with Cosmog needing care from both Luo Mu and the Crowned King.

This was something Luo Mu had never anticipated before setting out.

He had merely been dragged by Nimo and the others to resolve a "supernatural" incident—but now, he had directly won over four Legendary Pokémon: the Crowned King, Frosty, Spirit, and Cosmog.

Not to mention the Ice Guardian Regieleki, which Luo Mu had personally defeated and captured in a fair, direct battle with his Cangyanrengui.

Luo Mu even felt as if he had come to the Crowned Snowfield merely to stock up.

Since the Crowned King had agreed to accompany him to the Paldea farm, Luo Mu thought that since he had eaten almost nothing the entire day, he might as well let everyone get to know each other—and so he released all his Pokémon at once, introducing each one to the Crowned King.

Litten, Swampert, Cangyanrengui, Dragonite, Mimikyu, Ninetales, Victini, Florges, and Rapidash all made an appearance before the Crowned King and its steeds.

Rapidash, long confined in its Poké Ball, greeted everyone and immediately wanted to run around nearby, burning off its excess energy.

Seeing Frosty and Spirit seemed eager too, the Crowned King allowed them to race with Rapidash—but strictly forbade any fighting.

Rapidash's thick fur could withstand the Crowned Snowfield's bitter cold, and as a Fire-type Pokémon, Luo Mu felt safe letting it run freely.

Still, for caution's sake, Luo Mu and the Crowned King exchanged a glance and asked Litten to follow the three Pokémon.

It wasn't fear of accidents—they simply worried the Pokémon might cause trouble and disturb the wild Pokémon.

After sending Rapidash and the others off, the Crowned King watched as Luo Mu pulled out a series of strange items from his bag and asked curiously: "What are you planning to do?"

Luo Mu paused as he reached for seasonings, suddenly remembering the Crowned King might not recognize these things. He explained seriously: "These are pots, pans, and kitchen tools. I haven't eaten all day—I plan to make some late-night snacks to fill my stomach."

After pulling out the seasonings, Luo Mu, with help from Cangyanrengui and the other Pokémon, skillfully cleared away the surrounding snow, revealing the equally frozen ground, and began setting up his pot to boil water.

At that moment, realizing Luo Mu had gone nearly a full day without eating to help him recover his steeds, the Crowned King apologized: "I'm sorry—you must be exhausted after working all day."

Though it had accepted human loyalty for many years, it had never actually witnessed how humans prepared food or recognized their cooking utensils.

But the Crowned King, who had rarely left the Crowned Temple, now remembered from Luo Mu's words: humans were different from itself, just like wild Pokémon—they needed to spend time daily eating to replenish energy.

That was why it apologized.

"It's fine," Luo Mu smiled gently, his hands still moving. "Sometimes being a little hungry makes the meal feel even more satisfying."

"By the way, could you help me with something?"

The Crowned King nodded without hesitation: "Of course."

Whether for its former subjects or now for its friend, the Crowned King always tried to say yes—it was simply its nature and way of being.

Even after retiring from the role of Galar's King, this would not change.

It remained the Legendary with a heart full of compassion.

Leaving the pot of water boiled by Swampert in the care of Cangyanrengui and Swampert, Luo Mu took several seed packets from his backpack and asked Mimikyu, Dragonite, Ninetales, and Victini to gather edible snow mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots nearby.

Only then did he take Florges and explain to the Crowned King what he needed help with.

"Could you use your fields to grow some ice radishes, black radishes, and regular radishes? I'd like to prepare dishes for everyone."

As he spoke, Luo Mu waved the seed packets he had bought from villagers in Frozen Village while hand-rolling the Bonding Reins earlier that day.

He carried some berries and portable rations, but no proper ingredients.

Even though his space bag was high-tech, it wasn't a timeless preservation chamber—meat and other perishables were too prone to spoilage for him to carry around casually.

So if he truly wanted to cook out here, he'd have to forage—or ask the Crowned King to grow them.

The Crowned King instantly understood Luo Mu's intent. "With seeds, growing black radishes and ice radishes is no problem—it's simply a matter of changing the field. My power has fully recovered after two resonances with my steeds."

"But for regular radishes—"

The Crowned King hesitated, unsure. At least in its memory, there was no suitable place.

Its ability to turn barren land green required preparation time and the right soil.

Radish seeds from the Crowned Snowfield were peculiar—they grew into different varieties depending on the environment. Here, where snow was most abundant, turning snow into farmland would yield only ice radishes.

The Crowned King admitted that though it possessed the Grace of Abundance, it could not arbitrarily force crops to grow in any direction it wished.

But Luo Mu cut straight to the heart of the matter.

"It's nighttime—we can quietly borrow some fields from Frozen Village."

"Brilliant idea!"

The Crowned King's eyes lit up—its friend was clever indeed.

Soon, the Crowned King demonstrated to Luo Mu what true automated farming looked like.

Under its vast, ocean-like psychic power, the radish seeds scattered evenly across the field. Then, its Grace surged like tidal waves, washing over the sown land and causing it to sprout thick, ice-blue ice radishes.

Harvesting was equally effortless—the Crowned King merely shifted its will, and its psychic force cleanly uprooted every radish without damaging their surfaces.

Watching the entire process, Luo Mu's mind was filled with only a few giant characters:

Natural-born Farming Saint Body!

The Crowned King was born for farming (an extreme statement), the ultimate fantasy of every farmer!

Handing the ice radishes to Cangyanrengui to cut into cubes, Luo Mu and Florges joined the Crowned King again, heading to the Ancient Graveyard's field.

Indeed, ghost-type Pokémon had gathered around the Ancient Graveyard.

Luo Mu even spotted, in the distance, a faint, shimmering form of Dracovish carrying a Duraludon.

As the Crowned King prepared to repeat its technique and hasten the growth of the radish seeds into black radishes, Luo Mu stopped it, turning his gaze to Florges, slipping on the Z-Ring, and demonstrating a Grass Pledge Z-Move before the Crowned King.

Under the Crowned King's astonished gaze, Florges was engulfed in brilliant light, causing the ghost-type Pokémon of the Ancient Graveyard to retreat in fear. The light coalesced into a Grass Pledge field, instantly halving the growth time of the radish seeds.

This reminded the Crowned King of the radishes with leaves it had seen in the Ancient Graveyard the previous day.

The Crowned King was surprised: "Is this the Grass Pledge move? It differs from my memory—it has such miraculous effects."

Luo Mu nodded slightly: "It is Grass Pledge—but one I learned from the Island Guardians of Alola, enhanced to greatly nourish crops."

"And this glowing device on my hand is the Z-Ring and Z-Crystal—they amplify the power or effect of moves. Both come from Alola."

The Crowned King widened its eyes: "Alola—the region you said has frequent Ultra Wormholes and holds the secret to Cosmog's final evolution?"

"Correct," Luo Mu said. "It has an extremely special connection to Cosmog and its future evolution."

The Crowned King nodded silently, committing the name "Alola" firmly to memory. After harvesting the black radishes from the Ancient Graveyard, they traveled to the silent Frozen Village and quietly requisitioned a barren, unused field to grow ordinary radishes.

Before leaving, perhaps seeking one final farewell to its past, the Crowned King paused, then used its divine power on the half-dead crops in the village's other fields—causing them to mature overnight and deeply improving the soil's quality for future planting.

Luo Mu merely watched, offering no interference—this was the Crowned King's own will.

"Now, including the Bonding Reins, I am even with you."

The Crowned King cast one last look at Frozen Village, then turned and left without hesitation, taking Luo Mu and Florges with it.

Back at the Snow-Covered Stream Valley, Cangyanrengui had already cut both types of radishes into perfect cubes, neatly separated to preserve their distinct flavors.

Handing the regular white radishes to Cangyanrengui, Luo Mu then received enough snow mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots from Dragonite and the others who had foraged. Seeing the water fully boiling, he began cooking.

With over a dozen Pokémon present, he had to consider their tastes—even without meat, he needed to differentiate flavors.

Ice radishes were crisp and refreshing—he planned to make them into a salad with berries.

Black radishes suited ghost-types better; Luo Mu and the other Pokémon wouldn't eat them, so this dish was for Mimikyu, Cangyanrengui, and Spirit alone.

The cubed black radishes were simmered with snow mushrooms and winter bamboo shoots, then seasoned with flavor-enhancing spices to create a rich, warming soup perfect for the icy cold.

The ordinary white radishes were cooked the same way—simmered with mushrooms and bamboo shoots until tender, forming a delicious broth of radish and fungus.

By the time Spirit, Frosty, and Rapidash returned, the steaming soups and ice radish berry salad were ready.

Since his own Pokémon could already serve themselves, Luo Mu focused his attention tonight on the Crowned King and its companions.

He served the Crowned King a bowl of hot white radish, winter bamboo shoot, and snow mushroom soup, along with a portion of crisp ice radish berry salad.

Watching the Crowned King and Cosmog sit together, sharing bites from the same spoon, Luo Mu smiled and placed bowls of black radish soup and ice radish berry salad before Spirit and Frosty.

At this moment, the Snowy Horse had forgotten its grudge against Luo Mu for plucking its mane from ice blocks; it exhaled a puff of cold air, eyes wide, staring at the bowl of salad before it, its mind utterly short-circuited.

What had this human turned the ice carrot into?

Unable to resist its curiosity, the Snowy Horse carefully picked up a piece of ice carrot and a tree fruit to taste.

In an instant, the crisp texture of the ice carrot intertwined with the savory richness of the tree fruit ripened by Bite Worms, enhanced by the perfectly balanced salad dressing—forming a flavor cannon that shattered the Snowy Horse's worldview, blasting its reason into fragments!

"Ice whinny—!" (How exquisite this flavor is!)

The Snowy Horse, which had only ever gnawed raw ice carrots, had now opened the door to an entirely new world.

It turned out that after human preparation, the ice carrot's flavor could improve even further.

The Snowy Horse, now wolfing down the salad, had completely forgotten its resentment over Luo Mu plucking its mane; its affection for him surged rapidly, and it rejoiced at having once again submitted to Regigigas, grateful it could now leave the Crown Snowfield alongside Regigigas and this human.

Otherwise, it dared not imagine how miserable and destitute its future would be without the ice carrot and tree fruit salad!

The Snowy Horse could not live without Luo Mu!

On the other side, the Spirit You Horse was much the same, happily sipping the black carrot soup emitting strange black mist— for the first time as a Ghost-type Pokémon, it felt warmth.

Seeing the Pokémon enjoying their meal, Luo Mu smiled with satisfaction.

As the one who prepared the dish, he naturally hoped for abundant positive feedback; this sense of accomplishment was no weaker than the feeling of defeating a powerful opponent in battle.

As he ate the crisp ice carrot, Luo Mu's mind conjured an image of a snowcapped mountain and the figure in red clothing atop it.

The peak of Silver Mountain seemed ideal for growing ice carrots—if he ever got the chance to visit the Kanto region, perhaps he could bring some along?

Luo Mu remembered how barren the peak was, mostly snow, with barely any plants, high altitude, and freezing weather—perhaps ice carrots could still grow there.

Recalling the last time he climbed Silver Mountain's peak with Dragonite, and the Battle Legend who nearly perished from lack of food atop the summit, Luo Mu's lips twitched slightly, once again deeply understanding that great strength did not imply competence in other areas.

(End of Chapter)