Elf: Re-employment of retired champion of Padiya

Chapter 750 Bamboo Orchid: I really want to stay here for a month, or even a year.
The so-called "treasure hunt" was a product of Luo Mu's imitation of some customs in the Alola region.

The content is very simple.

Luo Mu asked three Diglett, Sandslash and his wife, and Sandslash, all Pokémon skilled at digging, to dig many holes within the farm area.

Then the "treasure" was hidden inside and buried, restoring the area to its original state, making it difficult to tell with the naked eye that the land had ever been dug up.

These are the steps to hiding the treasure.

The concept of "treasure hunting" is easy to understand.

Once you find the location of the treasure and dig out the treasure chest, you've successfully found the treasure.

However, some treasure locations may be hidden very well, making them difficult to find, while others may be guarded by farm Pokémon arranged by Luo Mu.

Participants in the treasure hunt need to complete the "tasks" given by the Pokémon, or battle and win against farm Pokémon that are willing to fight, or gain their approval.

Only in this way can you obtain the "treasure" they guard.

In this respect, Luo Mu referenced some of the procedures of the Alola Islands Tour in his design.

Today was supposed to be the first day of the trial run, and he had invited some people to come and experience it later.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Lan brought Alice to visit the farm today.

The desserts that Soap Fairy was preparing in the kitchen were originally intended to entertain the guests "Original" who were invited by Luo Mu and would be coming to the farm later.

However, there's no need to elaborate on this point; Luo Mu's emotional intelligence isn't that low.

He simply mentioned it to the three of them, saying that if they were interested in participating in the event, they could join together once everyone was present.

Of the three, Gua Shilang and Alice almost immediately expressed their strong desire to participate in the event, without even asking what the so-called treasure actually was.

On the contrary, Zhu Lan, after remaining silent for two seconds and swallowing the last mouthful of juice, raised her hand and asked a question out of curiosity.

"Can you reveal the contents of the treasure?"

Zhu Lan looked at Luo Mu with her gray eyes filled with curiosity.

What exactly is this so-called treasure?

Banknotes? Toys? Props? Or perhaps handwritten greeting cards or postcards?

To be honest, I'm not particularly interested in these things, like bamboo orchids.

If the treasure contained these kinds of things, she might as well sit aside and cheer on the children with a smile.

—And you can also continue to enjoy the handmade desserts made by Alcremie.

But Luo Mu's next answer stunned Zhu Lan.

"Of course I can reveal it. It's not a secret that needs to be kept. You'll find out the answer when you dig up a treasure chest."

Luo Mu smiled slightly and revealed the answer to the three of them.

"The treasure in the chest is—ice cream!"

"what!?"

Guava and Alice gasped in surprise.

Zhu Lan's gaze towards Luo Mu changed instantly.

She asked, enunciating each word clearly, "You mean ice cream?"

"Yes."

Luo Mu nodded.

Zhu Lan frowned and couldn't help but remind her, "But if it's not kept warm, the ice cream will spoil very quickly in this weather."

There is no need to worry about that.

Luo Mu interrupted Zhu Lan's reminder, then gave a mysterious smile.

"Judging by the time, we've already started preparations. Everyone can look out the window."

At his prompting, Zhu Lan, Alice, and Gua Shilang all subconsciously looked in the direction Luo Mu was pointing.

From their perspective, they could clearly see that, at some point, a layer of almost transparent ice mist had risen from the ground outside the house.

Being an action-oriented person, Alice jumped up from the sofa, ran to the door in her slippers, and pushed it open.

In an instant, the icy mist that had only been drifting outside seeped into the room.

Alice's toes twitched, and she instinctively shivered.

"It's so cold."

The tooth that had been trying to crawl out of her hair turned around and crawled back in.

"It's not cold here."

The guava man, who followed closely behind, reached out to test the temperature and couldn't help but retort.

"It's probably because everyone's tolerance to low temperatures is different, and there may also be psychological factors involved."

Zhu Lan, who had followed, tucked her playful hair behind her ear, then gently bent down to feel the temperature of the icy mist.

To be honest, it's not really cold; it's about the same as the refrigerator compartment in a freezer.

If I had to describe it, it would be more like an "air conditioner" turned on outdoors.

Zhu Lan could probably guess why Alice felt cold.

After all, this child loves Dragon-type Pokémon, so he also dislikes low temperatures, as if "feeling the same way".

—Even though this can't really be considered "low temperature" at all.

Zhu Lan looked towards the door again.

At least as far as she could see, there was nowhere that wasn't shrouded in this icy fog.

Zhu Lan couldn't help but have a thought that shocked her.

Judging from Luo Mu's expression just now, perhaps the entire farm area is shrouded in this kind of icy fog?
If that's the case, then it's quite terrifying.

At least Cyndaquil's own carefully trained Glaceon couldn't do that.

Not to mention transforming this "cold wind," which should not be visible to the naked eye, into this drifting, icy mist-like form.

Neither the range of diffusion nor the incredibly precise control over temperature is something that ordinary Pokémon could achieve.

If Luo Mu were to say that this was the work of the legendary Pokémon, Zhu Lan felt that she would probably believe it without a doubt.

"The ground has this layer of ice fog that acts as a cooling layer, blocking the heat brought by sunlight."

"And the soil underground can, with its poor thermal conductivity, insulate against heat transfer as much as possible."

"Even if you wait from now until tonight, the ice cream won't melt or spoil."

Luo Mu's voice came from behind her, and Zhu Lan straightened her slender waist to look at him.

Luo Mu smiled and said, "Well, since we're going to hold this type of event, I've naturally considered how to preserve the food."

The "ice fog" that has now spread across the farm was initiated by the Crowned King riding the Snowstorm Horse.

When Luo Mu asked for its help, the Crowned King seemed happy to join in their "fooling around".

At the same time, under the control of the Crowned King, the range of these ice mists was also limited.

Areas like agricultural and fruit-growing regions will not be affected by ice fog.

The Crane Queen's superpowers enveloped these areas, and even if the ice mist drifted over, it would be as if it had hit an invisible wall of air and returned empty-handed.

Why did Luo Mu need the help of the Brilliant Crown King?
Regice can actually do something similar.

Even though it can now consciously control the freezing air it emits, more precise control is becoming increasingly difficult.

Not to mention achieving something like becoming the Queen of Lace.

If Regice were to unleash his full power, the entire farm would probably turn into frozen ground.

It will only turn into an unfolding scenario where the iron-clad creature is overjoyed because of its iron baggage.

This situation is just right now.

Not only can you experience the temperature of an air-conditioned room outdoors, but you can also go on an adventure and search for treasure.

Everything is just right.

Hearing Luo Mu's explanation, Zhu Lan had to admit that Luo Mu had indeed considered all aspects.

In addition, this amazing ability to turn the impossible into possible truly brought together the two seemingly unrelated elements of "treasure hunting" and "ice cream".

But Zhu Lan, who was amazed by Luo Mu's imagination, did not know that Luo Mu's initial idea was simply to have Frost Milk Fairy use this "treasure chest blind box ice cream" as a limited-edition signature product as part of their preparations for opening a store in the future.

However, this was of no importance to Zhu Lan at the moment. After confirming the crucial point that "the ice cream wouldn't spoil or melt due to the weather."

Zhu Lan's beautiful gray eyes seemed to be shining as she looked at Luo Mu expectantly.

"This is really the last question."

"About the flavors of ice cream—"

Before Zhu Lan could finish speaking, Luo Mu, who had already anticipated her question, interrupted her.

"The flavors are random, but we guarantee every single one will be delicious. And among the hidden gems, there are even some 'secret' dishes!"

Even though this was the second time she had been interrupted, Zhu Lan did not think that "Luo Mu was very rude".

She simply tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and said quite earnestly, "Please be sure to count me in this treasure hunt!"

Although they said they were waiting for someone, they didn't actually keep Zhu Lan and the other two waiting for too long.

About ten minutes later, another group of people were brought over by Heruka.

The melancholy air of Pipa has almost completely disappeared.

A peony yawning.

Pipa seems to have grown taller than before, almost as tall as Luo Mu.

There are also Wu Li and Dan Yu, a brother and sister who transferred from Blueberry Academy.

Apart from Nemo, who is still on a "family trip," and Shizuka and Shinji, who are far away in the Sinnoh region, the rest are all students taught by Luo Mu at Orange Academy.

Or rather, they were originally the "guinea pigs" that Luo Mu had prepared for today.

Gua Shilang is actually included, except for the unexpected Zhu Lan and Alice.

As the organizer, Luo Mu naturally took the initiative to introduce everyone.

When it was Zhu Lan's turn, aside from the others, Mu Dan was so shocked that she almost dropped her glasses.

"The Sinnoh Champion?"

Staring at the bamboo orchid that was smiling and waving at her, Peony muttered to herself with wide eyes.

She's definitely a homebody.

However, she is also a skilled internet surfer.

With Cyndaquil's fame extending beyond the Sinnoh region and even reaching other areas, it's only natural that Peony would recognize this Sinnoh battle goddess.

But why would the Sinnoh champion appear at Lomu's farm?
Peony felt like her brain was about to overload.

Her gaze kept shifting between Luo Mu and Zhu Lan, and a bold idea suddenly came to her mind.

Based on my own experience watching dramas, could it be that...
Luo Mu, who had no idea what Mudan was thinking, had only one thing on his mind at the moment.

—Hehe, I'll take advantage of this event as a pretext to test whether my idea is feasible.

If possible, for the sake of enjoyment in life, we could launch various similar activities in the future.

After introducing himself to everyone, Luo Mu clapped his hands and announced, "Then without further ado, this event will officially begin from this moment."

"There are no rankings for the treasure hunt. Just go find the treasure and enjoy the various flavors of ice cream in the treasure chests."

"However, the number of 'hidden' treasure chests is limited, and they are only available on a first-come, first-served basis. Hope everyone tries their best!"

After Luo Mu finished speaking, led by the fastest runner, Fan Shilang, Luo Mu's students rushed out in a swarm.

Wu Li, dragged along by her older sister Dan Yu, charged out defiantly.

The air still faintly carried Dan Yu's spirited declaration.

"Although we don't want to admit that our hometown is Beishang Township, we absolutely cannot be inferior to others!"

"Today, I must be the one who finds the most treasures and tastes the most flavors of ice cream!"

"Hehehe, this child seems to have a very strong competitive spirit."

Zhu Lan did not set off immediately, but watched Dan Yu's departing figure and sighed slightly.

"Your students all have very interesting personalities."

Peony, who considered herself a vampire who couldn't be seen in the light, was still swaying and wandering aimlessly in one direction like a walking corpse.

But when she heard Zhu Lan's words, which were clearly directed at Luo Mu, she immediately perked up and her ears perked up instantly.

Unfortunately, Luo Mu's answer was completely different from what she had imagined.

It wasn't what she thought; she only felt a pure, casual atmosphere between the two of them, like friends chatting.

"Am I overthinking it?"

Peony muttered something and could only leave reluctantly.

Seeing that the children had all gone far away, Zhu Lan, who could no longer contain herself, also decided to set off.

"Then I'll take my leave first."

"Yeah, good luck to you guys."

Luo Mu smiled and waved to her, watching her figure disappear into the distance.

As the organizer, it's only natural that he wouldn't directly participate.

Not to mention that he had already tried all the flavors of ice cream beforehand, so there was no reason for him to leave the game.

—It would be better to go find the Rachelon King and, with its help, connect to the "surveillance" system placed around the farm by the Zygarde Core to watch the show.

Luo Mu quickly located the three legendary Pokémon hiding in the room and used their power to connect to the surveillance system.

He subconsciously licked his lips and muttered to himself, "Who should we look at first?"

"Wang Woo!"

The barking of the Mastiff Godfather drew Piper's attention, who was looking around.

"Oh, there's a smell here, isn't there!?"

Piper immediately ran over, squatted down, and pointed to the spot where the Mastiff Godfather had been barking wildly, asking him a question.

His response was an even more urgent roar from the Mastiff Godfather.

"very good!"

Piper licked his lips, rolled up his sleeves, and threw out the prepared Poké Ball.

"Moon Bear, it's time to dig your burrow!"

Soon, thanks to Moonbear's authoritative digging ability, a small treasure chest appeared in Pipa's palm.

"So small."

After instinctively making a comment, Pipa noticed the design of the treasure chest and muttered:
"Isn't this the treasure chest from the teacher's money-gathering spirit? It's quite exquisite."

As she spoke, Pipa opened the "treasure chest," revealing a milky white ice cream inside.

"The original, basic version isn't bad at all."

"Godfather Mastiff, Moon Bear, let's split it up!"

Piper held up the spoon that came with the treasure chest and shouted to his two Pokémon with a smile.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Zhu Lan also found the first treasure chest at a remarkably fast pace.

"You're really lucky, Tokiss."

While praising the large white bird beside her, Zhu Lan couldn't wait to taste the ice cream in the treasure chest in her hand.

The moment the silky smooth ice cream touches your mouth, the flavor of strawberries explodes in your mouth.

Zhu Lan cupped her cheeks in her hands, savoring the taste of the ice cream with a touch of bliss.

"Delicious. Pokémon, you should try some too."

After quickly sharing the strawberry ice cream with Pokkiss, Lan had a blush on her face, clearly not satisfied at all.

If she could enjoy ice cream like this every day, she even had the urge to stay here for a month or even a year.

However, before that, the priority is to try other flavors of ice cream.

With Togekiss's "Heavenly Grace," Cynthia quickly pinpointed a direction and headed towards it.

(End of this chapter)