After accepting the missions, Ange quickly went to wake Munchlax. Then, he prepared the ingredients needed for today's stall with it.
Since he did not go yesterday, Ange planned to prepare more today.
When everything was ready, Ange prepared to set off. As he reached the door, Swablu's Dad was already waiting.
Ange and Swablu had arranged this in advance yesterday.
"Blu~" Ange, good morning.
Seeing Ange, Swablu's Dad lowered its head and greeted him.
"Good morning, Swablu's Dad," Ange said, gently stroking Swablu's Dad's neck, "I have to trouble you again today."
"Blu~~"
Swablu's Dad chirped softly. It carried Ange and Komala and set off.
***
When they reached the gates of the Azoth Royal Capital, Ange said to Swablu's Dad, "How about you come into the city with me today? You'll be too lonely staying here by yourself. If you come in with us, we can even eat lunch together."
Although the thought of eating lunch together was very tempting to Swablu's Dad, it quickly shook its head, thinking of all the people in the city.
Ange smiled and tried to persuade it, "Don't worry, I'm here. Nothing will happen to you. When you interact with people more, you'll find that humans are not as scary as you imagine."
Hearing this, Swablu's Dad hesitated a little.
Ange continued, "Come on, let's go together. The city is lots of fun."
Finally, Swablu's Dad nodded slightly, flapped its wings, flew up, and entered the city with Ange.
The Azoth Royal Capital was already busy in the early morning. Shop owners were opening for business, office workers were going to their early shifts, and construction workers and their Pokémon were moving bricks at the construction sites.
***
Inside the Azoth Royal Capital, one could hardly see vehicles, especially private ones, except for special vehicles like Ange's, which were needed for work, or like the motorcycle Princess Lila rode earlier to save time.
This was because all the main streets were made up of cable routes. As long as you knew the route and the destination clearly, the cables could take you anywhere in the Azoth Royal Capital.
Of course, for short trips, like buying something at a store, people still preferred to walk. There were special pedestrian walkways on both sides of the road, as well as emergency motor vehicle lanes, but the latter were not used very often.
Ange stood on the cable route heading to Eliphas Park, holding Komala in his arms, with Swablu's Dad lying beside him.
Swablu's Dad looked very nervous. It had never taken a public transport system like the cable route before.
Also, there were people everywhere. It felt like everyone was looking at it.
Noticing Swablu's Dad's nervousness, Ange crouched down, stroked its head, and comforted it, "Don't be afraid. You'll get used to it slowly. Besides, look, everyone has Pokémon with them. No one is paying special attention to you. You can hold your head high."
With Ange's reminder, Swablu's Dad did realize that almost everyone had a Pokémon with them. They were chatting and laughing with their Pokémon. The Pokémon, in turn, were close to them and dependent on them. It was clear their relationship was very intimate.
Looking at it this way, they really did not seem to be paying much attention to him! Thinking this, Swablu's Dad gradually calmed down.
***
Before long, they arrived at Eliphas Park. Ange led Komala and Swablu's Dad to an unmanned corner. After releasing the food cart, they slowly headed toward their usual spot.
Swablu's Dad lay on top of the food cart, facing the morning sun, seeing the Azoth Royal Capital in the early morning for the first time.
Upon reaching the spot, Ange parked the cart, set up his things, and began wrapping the buns.
Suddenly, a cry of surprise rang out.
"Little boss, you still dare to set up your stall?"
The person speaking was the uncle selling Crêpes next to him.
Ange was startled, "What do you mean? Why wouldn't I dare to set up my stall?"
"You've been wanted by the Royal Family, didn't you know?" The uncle looked Ange up and down, "Could you be some international wanted criminal?"
"???"
What are you talking about? Why don't I understand a single word?
Suddenly, Ange thought, Could it be that my unlicensed business or my undocumented status has been discovered?
Perhaps... I shouldn't set up the stall today?
Just as Ange was hesitating, the uncle seemed to guess something. He quickly said with a look of vigilance, "Don't even think about leaving! You're the person the Princess is looking for. I won't let you go."
***
It turned out that after Princess Lila and Fiona did not find Ange yesterday, they spread the word throughout Eliphas Park. They told the nearby residents to immediately notify the Royal Palace to send her over as soon as they found the boss selling buns and Mantou.
She did not expect her action to be misunderstood by everyone. They thought Ange had done something illegal and was wanted by the Royal Family.
Everyone felt regretful at the time. To think that a person who could make such delicious buns and Mantou was actually a criminal.
The citizens of Azoth would not sympathize with a criminal just because his cooking was good.
Although the Azoth Kingdom was small now, the cohesion of its citizens was quite high. The Royal Family was also very much loved by the public, always receiving an enthusiastic response.
Therefore, the person Princess Lila was looking for would definitely not be allowed to leave by the public.
"Everyone, come quickly! The little boss is here!"
With the Crêpe uncle's shout, the people who came to the park for their morning exercise immediately gathered, surrounding Ange's food cart.
Truthfully, for those who did not know about Ange and his bun and Mantou stall before, Princess Lila's announcement greatly increased Ange's visibility.
***
"Blu~ Blu~"
Seeing Ange surrounded, Swablu's Dad flew up from the cart's roof immediately. It let out a sharp cry, trying to intimidate the crowd from approaching.
Everyone was startled. They moved slightly away from Ange and the food cart.
Komala was not idle either. It jumped to the ground. The log in its arms thumped against the ground. If anyone dared to get closer, it could smash their head with a hammer.
"Everyone, calm down. Although I don't know why I suddenly became a wanted criminal in everyone's eyes, I am truly a good person. I haven't done anything bad."
Someone shouted, "Your word doesn't count! We've already sent someone to inform the Princess. Everything will be clear when the Princess arrives."
Ange: ...
***
Before long, someone shouted, "The Princess is here!"
Immediately afterward, the crowd parted. A young woman with golden pigtails, wearing a blue royal uniform, arrived with a team of guards.
"Princess, we caught the wanted criminal for you."
"Princess, quickly, don't let the strange man escape."
***
The citizens discussed it excitedly.
The moment Princess Lila saw Ange's face, her whole body shook. He was too similar, too similar! He was practically an enlarged version of Prince Ange in the painting.
After a long moment of stunned silence, Princess Lila finally snapped back to attention at the citizens' reminder. When she learned that everyone had mistaken Ange for a wanted criminal, she could not help but smile wryly.
"Everyone misunderstood. I was only looking for this gentleman because I had something to ask him. This gentleman is not a wanted criminal and has not committed any crime."
Princess Lila's explanation quieted the crowd for a moment.
"What... what was that! So we all misunderstood! Little boss, I'm truly sorry, my apologies," someone said awkwardly.
"I knew it! The little boss doesn't look like a bad person at all. How could someone who makes such delicious food be a bad person?"
...
For a time, everyone apologized to Ange in a flurry of voices.
At this point, Ange looked at Princess Lila and asked, "May I ask why you are looking for me?"
Princess Lila said gently and politely, "Sir, may we speak in private?"
Ange hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "Then please come onto the cart." He actually wanted to know the current situation of the Azoth Royal Family. How were his father and mother after his 'death'? How was his sister?
"Alright." Princess Lila agreed.
***
Ange then closed the door and windows of the food cart. He only invited Princess Lila and her secretary, Fiona, inside. The guards the Princess brought surrounded the cart.
The citizens were very curious about why the Princess was looking for the little boss, so they all gathered nearby and did not leave.
Ange set up a table inside the cart and brought out three stools. The three of them sat around the table.
When Ange took off his chef's hat, revealing his head full of golden hair, both Princess Lila and Fiona were shocked. They glanced at each other, seeing the same astonishment in each other's eyes.
Ange saw the change in their expressions and instantly understood that this Princess was definitely not looking for him because of his unlicensed business.
It made sense. How could a small matter like an unlicensed business alarm the Princess of a country? That left only one possibility...
"Sir, may I ask your name?" Princess Lila spoke first.
"Ange Azoth," Ange replied calmly.
"You... are you really named Azoth?" Although she already had a guess, Princess Lila was still dizzy with shock by the fact, "Azoth is the unique family name of the Azoth Royal Kingdom."
Ange pointed to his head and asked, "Is this head of golden hair not obvious enough?"
Obvious! Of course, it was obvious! No other such beautiful and pure golden hair could be found.It was precisely because it was so obvious that she was shocked!
"Are you really named Ange Azoth? But do you know that is the name of Queen Anna's older brother?" Princess Lila confirmed, trying to suppress her excitement.
Queen Anna was a well-known figure throughout the Azoth Kingdom.
Queen Anna? Ange's heart stirred. It seems his sister did ascend to the throne later!
He nodded, "I know. Anna is my twin sister."
Hearing this, Princess Lila almost shot up from her stool. Her voice involuntarily rose, "But Prince Ange passed away five hundred years ago!"
Fiona gently reminded the Princess in her ear, "Princess, calm down."
Princess Lila took a deep breath, trying hard to calm her complex emotions.
Ange's mind quickly worked. Finally, he decided to fabricate a lie about his resurrection.
"I didn't die. I fell into a deep sleep and slept for five hundred years. I just woke up a while ago," Ange said calmly.
"How... how is that possible?" Princess Lila found it hard to believe, "How could someone live for five hundred years..."
"It was actually Eliphas's experiment that led to the current result," Ange decided to blame the 'culprit' entirely on Eliphas.
Eliphas was the single most important figure in the history of the Azoth Kingdom, even more famous than any royal member, including Queen Anna. He laid the foundation for the Kingdom's mysterious science, allowing the Kingdom to continue to this day.
Even in the history of the entire Pokémon world, Eliphas's status was crucial. Otherwise, Azoth would not have become a place admired by all inventors in the world.
Since Eliphas could create the Mythical Pokémon Magearna, then making Ange sleep for five hundred years and wake up was not such a big deal.
"Eliphas?" Princess Lila exclaimed in surprise.
Ange nodded, "Actually, when I entered the Royal Mausoleum that year, I didn't die. Eliphas did something unknown to me and my Carbink. It created an unknown connection between me and Carbink, and then I fell into a deep sleep along with Carbink."
"Five hundred years later, today, Carbink unexpectedly transformed into the Legendary Pokémon Diancie. I also woke up as a result and recovered from my frail health."
"I think all of this... must be related to Eliphas."
"Your Carbink transformed into Diancie?" Princess Lila was shocked again.
Ange nodded. He stretched out his hand. The next second, Diancie appeared inside the cart.
Diancie did not know what had happened. However, when she saw Princess Lila's golden hair, her expression was slightly surprised.
Ange introduced Diancie proactively, "Diancie, that is Princess Lila of the Royal Family."
Diancie was not surprised. She performed a standard royal courtesy towards Princess Lila.
"Good morning, Princess. I am Diancie."
Princess Lila was already speechless from the shock of Ange's move.
Ange did not intend to hide his special nature. He had lived for five hundred years and had the Legendary Pokémon Diancie by his side. Wasn't it expected to have some special qualities?
Besides, many people in the Pokémon world possessed special abilities, such as the Aura, the power of waves, psychic power, and the power of the soul. One more person would not make a difference.
***
At this point, Princess Lila basically believed Ange's words. So, Prince Ange's Royal Mausoleum was not robbed. He simply woke up and walked out of it himself!
"This... this is the Legendary Princess of the Diamond Domain, Diancie?" Princess Lila finally recovered after a long time, murmuring as she looked at Diancie.
The Azoth Royal Family, being proficient in raising Fairy-type Pokémon, naturally had records of the Fairy-type Legendary Pokémon Diancie, though no one had ever truly seen her.
Princess Lila did not expect to have the honor of meeting her today.
She could not help but exclaim, "As expected of Eliphas, the origin of mysterious science!"
In her mind, no one but Eliphas could have caused a Carbink to transform into Diancie.
Princess Lila then pulled her gaze away from Diancie and looked back at Ange, "Prince Ange, could you give me some of your hair?"
Although she already believed Ange's words, the necessary verification still had to be done. Royal bloodlines could not be confused, and she needed sufficient evidence when reporting to her father.
The technology in the Pokémon world was very advanced. Even though Prince Ange and the current royal members were separated by many generations, they could still confirm their blood relationship through genetic testing.
"Of course." Ange knew the reason Princess Lila wanted his hair. He nodded, casually pulled out a few strands of hair, and handed them to Princess Lila.
Princess Lila took Ange's hair and gave it to Fiona, who was beside her.
Fiona bowed to the two of them, then hurried out of the cart with Ange's hair.