MTLNOVEL Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Half Doubtful, Half Convinced
Phyllis arrived at the Pokémon Breeding House.
At this moment, perhaps it was simply the wrong time, but the breeding house appeared deserted and quiet.
Due to being preoccupied with the matter of Berry cultivation recently, this was actually her first visit to the breeding house.
"Welcome."
As soon as she stepped through the door, she heard Link's voice.
"Oh, it's Miss Phyllis. Have you finished your work?"
Link stood up with a Poochyena in his arms, gently placing it on the table before pulling out a chair for her.
"Yes, I just wrapped things up," Phyllis nodded, subconsciously taking the seat.
Link sat down across from her, placing the Poochyena on his lap. "So, what brings you here today, Miss Phyllis?"
Link had always been quite talkative by nature. Although he had toned it down a lot recently, he remained a very sociable person.
"Hmm… Business doesn't seem to be going well here?"
Phyllis looked around and muttered inwardly, wondering if Aven had been joking with her. With a place like this, how could the Pokémon Breeding House possibly support the territory's finances?
Moreover, in her opinion, the residents of Fruitvale Village didn't exactly have strong purchasing power. Even if the Breeding House had a true master apothecary in residence, business still wouldn't flourish under these conditions.
She figured that if Fruitvale Village wanted to profit from potions, they'd have to wait until the apothecaries in Aspiration City were established. Besides that, they'd also need to build their own merchant caravan to sell the potions in other territories.
"Well, traffic has definitely died down these past few days," Link explained with a smile. "Even those patrol team members who earn a decent salary can't afford to make purchases regularly due to the price of the Growth Fertilizer."
He figured the Growth Fertilizer they previously sold was probably still enough to last the patrol members for at least another week. It had only been two days, so they should still have plenty left.
"Growth Fertilizer? Patrol members?"
Phyllis felt like she was catching onto something.
She quickly asked, "Mr. Link, would you mind letting me take a look at the recent income and expenditure report for the Breeding House? I need to tally the territory's finances."
Link nodded in response, walked to the front desk, and fetched a financial statement, handing it to her.
Although he couldn't hand over the actual gold coins, letting her review the income and expenses was no issue at all—especially since potion trading fell under Phyllis's jurisdiction.
"This... this much?!"
Phyllis suddenly exclaimed, her beautiful eyes widening in shock.
With just a cursory glance, she already had a rough estimate: the Breeding House's recent revenue had easily exceeded 500 gold coins!
"Well, the sale of Pokémon food has always been fairly profitable," Link replied. "On top of that, due to the recent knight selection event, many patrol members have been coming in to buy healing potions and growth fertilizer in large quantities to boost their strength."
"And with additional sales of other types of potions, the total came close to 500 gold coins."
Even Link couldn't help but feel amazed. Just like he'd thought before—making money through the Breeding House really was absurdly easy.
"500 gold coins… That's more than enough to make up for the territory's financial shortfall," Phyllis murmured.
Then she closed her eyes and recalled everything that had happened. In her mind, a meaningful smile from Aven suddenly came to the forefront.
From the report, she could see clearly that the Breeding House's revenue came almost entirely from the well-paid patrol team members.
While their salaries were generous, they were just enough to support their Pokémon training.
In the end, all their pay seemed to circle right back into the Breeding House—and into Aven's hands.
On top of that, these salaries were being spent on improving their Pokémon, thereby significantly boosting their strength.
And if their Pokémon grew stronger, the patrol members grew stronger—meaning the entire village of Fruitvale became stronger.
Adding everything up, it was as if Aven had used his own money to train these Pokémon, indirectly raising the strength of his entire territory. The gold coins had just gone on a little detour.
Then another thought struck her.
If these patrol members didn't have such generous salaries, they definitely wouldn't be able to afford the costs of training their Pokémon—much less make purchases from the Breeding House.
It felt like she had grasped something critical… yet when she tried to think it through clearly, it still felt just out of reach. She sank into deep contemplation.
Creak—
At that moment, the wooden door of the Breeding House swung open again.
Peter walked in, followed closely by Sir Berrin, who was carrying an Oddish.
"Peter, you're here," Link greeted the newcomer casually before turning to look at the man behind him—and froze for a moment.
He was very familiar with Sir Berrin.
Back when Baron Ruize fell into a coma, Link had gone to the Baron's estate with Master Olai to help with the treatment.
It was during that trip that he'd met Aven and witnessed his formidable potion-making skills.
But it was also then that he had, through a few casual words from Aven, learned that Sir Berrin had forcibly taken Petilil. Though nothing was explicitly stated, both sides clearly understood what had happened.
Since arriving in Fruitvale Village, Link, ever the chatterbox, had inevitably picked up bits and pieces of gossip from Peter and others—learning that several nobles, including Berrin, had been captured.
And now, Sir Berrin had shown up here. What did he want?
"Berrin, what are you doing here?" Phyllis narrowed her eyes. As a fellow noble, she naturally recognized him.
Berrin smiled. "I'm here to purchase services from the Pokémon Breeding House. What, am I not welcome?"
As he spoke, he produced his Apprentice Trainer certificate, proving that he was registered with the Breeding House.
"Sir Berrin? An Apprentice Trainer?"
Link and Phyllis exchanged baffled looks, completely unaware of how Berrin had become registered as one.
"As long as someone is a registered Apprentice Trainer, they are entitled to services from the Breeding House."
Returning to the front desk, Link continued, "So, Sir Berrin, what service are you here to purchase?"
"I've come to commission Earl Aven to train some Pokémon for me," Berrin declared. "And in addition to that, I'd like to buy some healing potions and all the Growth Fertilizer you have in stock—however much you've got, we'll take it all."
Before coming to Fruitvale Village, Berrin had already made his plans. Now that he was here, he didn't hesitate in the slightest.
His eyes roved around the room, searching for Aven. These requests would ultimately need Aven's approval anyway.
"That's something only Lord Aven can decide," Link replied after thinking it over.
Healing potions were no issue, but selling Growth Fertilizer and taking on training commissions—those were decisions beyond his authority.
"I'll go call Lord Aven. I just came from him anyway."
Phyllis took a deep breath. For some reason, she suddenly felt a surge of excitement.
This would definitely be a huge order. If the deal went through, the territory's financial problems could be resolved immediately.
Once the potion shop in Aspiration City was established, and with trade routes opened up, the territory could finally start pulling itself out of its current financial woes.
(End of Chapter)