Chapter 70: The First Class

In the lull between their exchanges, the little Milcery inside the round bowl suddenly let out a soft snort; its body, composed of cream and looking soft and squishy, shifted from the rhythm of natural breathing to a conscious tremor, as if it were about to wake from sleep.

Luo Mu naturally did not miss the movement within the bowl in his hands; exchanging a glance with Ai Li Qi Si, the other mouthed the words "About to wake" to remind Luo Mu.

Nodding in understanding, Luo Mu gently placed the round bowl on a small table nearby, then stepped back a distance so that the waking Milcery would not be startled by this suddenly appearing human.

Ai Li Qi Si smiled without speaking; although this little Milcery had been born only recently, its personality was quite interesting, and it would surely give this young teacher quite a fright.

"Mil~cery~~"

Under the observation of the two, the little Milcery inside the round bowl first opened its small mouth to emit a cute cry, as if it had been sleeping very comfortably. Next, a pair of pure white eyes without pupils opened; upon closer inspection, they still held a hint of haziness, and paired with the Milcery's cream-colored body, they looked like two hollowed-out spots.

The little Milcery first cutely stretched its limbs, its body defying the pull of gravity as it rose directly out of the round bowl, actually floating in mid-air.

This was not a Levitate ability; every Milcery could leave the ground and float into the air from birth, one could say this was their innate "talent."

The little Milcery's gaze first turned to Ai Li Qi Si, who had been caring for it all this time; bending its brows happily, it greeted Ai Li Qi Si, then the little Milcery turned to look at the stranger in the room, Luo Mu, curiosity flashing in its eyes.

This little Milcery's personality seemed quite good?

Noticing that the little Milcery was boldly observing him, Luo Mu had thought the little Milcery would be a bit more timid; it seemed Ai Li Qi Si's words were not false—the Pokémon on his farm generally had friendly personalities, so it was only reasonable that they would be welcomed by the students at the academy.

After observing for a while, seemingly discovering that Luo Mu emitted an amiable aura, the little Milcery slowly floated directly in front of Luo Mu and displayed a big smile.

"Mil~cery~" (Hello there~)

"Nice to meet you, little Milcery." Even though he could not understand the Milcery's language, a year's worth of experience allowed Luo Mu to judge that this was the Milcery greeting him, and he replied with a friendly smile on his face.

"Milcery~"

After receiving Luo Mu's response, the little Milcery directly landed on Luo Mu's palm with a "plop," the entire Pokémon squashing flat, before quickly restoring its form.

"Is this... unable to float anymore?"

Luo Mu blinked, feeling the Milcery's texture, which unlike other Pokémon was like a cloud with tangible form, his expression somewhat strange.

"After all, this child was born only ten days ago and has not yet mastered the ability to float proficiently." Ai Li Qi Si stepped forward one pace, saying with a chuckle: "The little Milcery knows that sooner or later it will welcome its true Trainer, so it has been looking forward to this moment."

Ai Li Qi Si said in a half-joking tone: "Since you two get along so well, don't try to skip out on paying while you're here, okay?"

"Naturally, I would not."

Luo Mu nodded slightly, feeling very fond of the little creature in his hand.

As a Trainer, raising his six main Pokémon had consumed all his energy, but as a farm owner, he had ample time to slowly interact with various Pokémon.

Wasn't his desire to become a farm owner precisely because he wanted to form bonds with more Pokémon?

Having settled the matter of the Milcery, Luo Mu struck while the iron was hot; under Ai Li Qi Si's guidance, he successively visited the gathering points of the Tinkatink, Donphan, and Fidough, selecting one Pokémon from each group whose first impression and personality were both quite good.

When paying, Luo Mu asked: "Do you sell ordinary animals here, such as chickens, ducks, and fish that can be raised?"

"No, I only sell Pokémon here; for ordinary animals, I recommend you check your own town, there will surely be some for sale." Ai Li Qi Si shook his head, confirmed that the 9,900 League Coins paid by Luo Mu had been received, and handed him four shrunk red-and-white Poké Balls from the tray: "Although it's a bit odd for me, the seller, to say this... please, you must treat these children well."

"That goes without saying; if there's a chance, you can even visit my farm." Luo Mu took the four red-and-white Poké Balls, placed them one by one into his satchel, and wrote down the farm's address on a piece of white paper.

Ai Li Qi Si took the white paper, glanced at it, and said with a chuckle: "If there's a chance, I will come take a look."

Having spent another sum of money to add four new members to the farm, Luo Mu was in high spirits; glancing at the time, he saw it was approaching 1:00 PM, so amidst the numerous shops in Mesagoza, he casually found a shop mainly selling sandwiches, bought a curry-flavored sandwich, and began to eat heartily.

To be honest, there was a reason sandwiches were frequently eaten by the people of the Paldea region during picnics or in daily life; the flavor was very distinctive.

If those secret seasonings were added, the degree of deliciousness would probably rise to another level...

After wandering around Mesagoza for another lap, as the time approached 2:00 PM, Luo Mu finally climbed the mandatory path to enter Naranja Academy—the staircase that made one suspect it was a ladder to heaven.

Even though Luo Mu himself had good stamina from traveling outdoors constantly, it still took him nearly fifteen minutes of climbing before he could see the gate of Naranja Academy.

There were few people outside the gate now, as the lunch break had passed and classes were about to begin; most students had already returned to their classrooms.

Luo Mu's Battle Studies course, besides theoretical knowledge, generally was not held in a classroom either, and he himself, rather than theoretical knowledge, leaned more toward letting students gain rich practical experience.

The notification that the first class would be held on the sports field had long been distributed to the enrolled students through Principal Mu Fei's channels.

Luo Mu strode with an arrogant gait, proceeding unimpeded all the way to the sports field.

Class officially began at 2:30, and Luo Mu arrived right on the dot.

On the vast sports field, only fifteen students had gathered, making it look exceptionally empty.

The students, gathered in scattered groups, saw Luo Mu, this new teacher who had displayed such an imposing aura at the opening ceremony not long ago; they one after another stopped their conversations and quite obediently gathered over.

Luo Mu revealed a satisfied smile; he just liked students who were this easy to manage.

Casually taking the roster from his satchel, Luo Mu planned to read the names aloud, imprinting the appearance of each enrolled student into his mind one by one.

"Hello everyone, I am the teacher in charge of the Battle Studies course; you can call me Teacher, or Teacher Luo Mu, either is fine." Smiling brightly, he greeted the fifteen students; amidst the rising and falling choruses of "Hello Teacher" and "Hello Teacher Luo Mu," Luo Mu's gaze swept over the familiar faces before him, saying: "Then, let's start with roll call now; I hope that when your name is called, you will say 'Present' and simultaneously introduce your Starter Pokémon."

"First, Ai Li Qi Si."