A large group of people swarmed into the small shop.
Shane tied on his dark green apron and skillfully began his preparations.
The coffee grinder let out a low hum, and the steam wand hissed as it frothed the milk.
As he worked, he asked casually, “You guys came in full force today.
Quite the lineup.
You aren’t all just here for the coffee, are you?”
People didn’t visit without a reason, especially not a massive group moving together like this.
Plus, they weren’t fighting over the limited-edition coffee, which meant they definitely had other business.
Pan Fei took the warm coffee cup, his intentions completely seen through.
“You’re too smart, senior!
We can’t hide anything from you.
The coffee is part of it…
but actually, we want to formally invite you to be our breeding advisor!”
Shane’s hand paused slightly as he poured espresso into another cup, and he looked up at him.
“Didn’t Kade explain it clearly to you guys?
I’m busy preparing for the advanced assessment lately, not to mention running the shop.
I’m not taking any breeding commissions for now.
I simply don’t have the time.”
“The captain told us!
We understand!” Pan Fei quickly explained, terrified that Shane would reject them outright.
“You misunderstood, senior.
We don’t need you to create detailed breeding plans for each of us.
We want to hire you as…
well, our consultant!
Just…
whenever you have some free time, like during our varsity team training camps or if we hit a bottleneck, you could just point us in the right direction.
Online is totally fine, you wouldn’t even need to show up in person.
After all, this is our own private initiative.”
The team members behind him nodded in agreement.
Shane listened, his hands continuing to methodically prepare the coffee.
It certainly sounded much easier and less time-consuming than taking on over a dozen full breeding commissions.
Time was exactly what he lacked the most right now.
The comprehensive evaluation task for the Breeder assessment hadn’t even started yet, and running the cafe, raising Whimsicott, and the substitute teaching assignment Professor Doran had given him…
every single one required his energy.
A consulting gig like this offered high flexibility and manageable time commitments.
It seemed worth considering.
Shane calmly slid a latte over to the next team member and looked up at Pan Fei.
“That doesn’t sound too troublesome.
So, what are the terms?
How does the compensation work?”
He immediately pulled a drafted contract out of his backpack, clearly having come prepared.
“Senior, since we’re paying out of our own pockets, our budget is limited, but we are completely sincere!
We discussed it, and we’ll pay you a total of 2.4 million Alliance Coins per month as a consulting fee!
Aside from the regular guidance we just mentioned, there are two small…
well…
additional requests?”
“Speak.”
Whimsicott also perked up its ears.
It heard the words “Alliance Coins”!
“First,” Pan Fei held up a finger, “we hope that if your shop releases any new coffee products, or if those limited-edition premium coffees restock, you can give our varsity team priority notice!”
He had seen the miraculous effects of those premium coffees with his own eyes.
For resource-starved Trainers like them, they were practically strategic-grade supplies for training Pokémon!
Being able to get the news early would massively increase their chances of snagging some.
“Second.
We hope that when you’re advising us, if you notice one of our team member’s Pokémon is in a state perfectly suited for a specific coffee’s effects…
you could give us a little hint.
Of course!
We won’t force it!
It’s entirely up to your convenience and judgment, senior!”
Shane didn’t answer immediately.
He slowly wiped down the counter with a cloth, his gaze shifting back and forth between the contract and Pan Fei’s nervous face.
2.4 million a month…
For a consultant, this price was incredibly sincere.
One could even say it was quite a premium.
After all, he didn’t need to invest a massive amount of time into creating detailed individual breeding plans.
He only needed to check in periodically and point them in the right direction.
This income would be very stable and would greatly alleviate the financial pressure of Whimsicott’s future training and his plans for a new Pokémon.
The two additional conditions were just a matter of moving his fingers to send a message.
It cost him absolutely nothing and would even boost the shop’s business.
Furthermore, recommending coffee choices was essentially just guiding their Pokémon’s condition adjustments based on his professional judgment.
It didn’t conflict with his consulting duties at all; in fact, they perfectly complemented each other.
No matter how he looked at it…
this was a guaranteed win-win deal.
Shane put down the cloth, picked up the draft contract Pan Fei had handed him, and quickly skimmed the key clauses.
“Alright.” Shane nodded decisively and picked up a pen.
“I’ll review the contract details once more, and if there are no major issues, I’ll sign it.”
“Yes!”
The number one student in the Magic City University Breeding Department was now their advising Breeder!
After signing, Shane was pulled into their group chat.
He took a glance and figured it was just a small private group for the team members.
He didn’t see the coach of the Magic City University varsity team in it.
After seeing off the satisfied, chattering varsity team members, the cafe returned to its usual tranquility.
The “Today’s Revenue” number on the scanner jumped up, but Shane’s eyes were fixed on the massive advance payment notification that had just popped up on his mobile banking app.
After taxes, Shane now had a hefty balance of over three million Alliance Coins.
“Whimsicott, being rich feels…
amazing!”
“Whimsi!
ヾ(≧▽≦*)o”
…
That evening, just as Shane was about to close up shop for the day, his phone rang.
The screen lit up with the contact name “Professor Doran.”
“Professor?”
The faint cries of baby Pokémon could be heard in the background behind Professor Doran.
“Shane?
Are you at the shop?”
“Just closed up.” Shane casually scooped Whimsicott onto his lap.
“Are the little ones acting up over there?”
The rustling of flipping paper came through the phone.
“Yes, the newborn Goomy is protesting the flavor of its Pokéblocks.”
“I have a favor to ask of you.
I have to go on a business trip to the Paldea region next week.”
“There’s still one practical class left before the course ends, so I might need to trouble you to handle Monday’s Pokéblock crafting session.” Professor Doran’s voice dropped half a pitch.
“Those brats from the Battling Department probably can’t even sort Berries properly.”
“You want me to substitute for you?”
“Yes, I’ve sent you the lesson plan and grading rubric.
Remember, don’t grade them based on your own standards.
If the fail rate exceeds thirty percent, I’ll hold you accountable!”
“Understood.” Shane chuckled.
A series of file transfer notification chimes rang out.
Professor Doran was truly a busy man.
He had just attended a breeding seminar not long ago, and now he was heading out on another business trip.
However, this would be his first time teaching undergraduates.
‘Battling Major, Class of 2035, huh…’ Shane’s fingertip slid across the roster, suddenly stopping on a specific name—Pan Fei!
The guy from the Magic City varsity team who had choked on the Petaya Berry coffee until his face turned bright red.
Scrolling further down, he found that four of the twelve varsity team members led by Kade were actually on the list.
Acting as a practical instructor for this group of regular coffee customers and classmates who had previously sought him out for breeding advice?
—Now this was going to be interesting.