Hearing Cogita's request, Diancie's expression soured.
Out of consideration that this human had helped her before, she had already answered so many questions.
And yet Cogita still wanted to see Elias.
That, she really couldn't accept.
"Sorry, Cogita. Elias really can only be seen by me."
"We're leaving now. Let's meet again if there's a chance."
Diancie imitated her Highness's tone, speaking coolly to Cogita.
With that, she stood and turned away, walking in the opposite direction.
It was a pity to have their camping cut short, but she didn't want this woman having any more contact with Elias…
"Wait—"
Cogita instinctively tried to call after her, but couldn't think of a reason that would fit.
Always so clever, and yet now she could only watch helplessly as Diancie walked away.
Her hand clenched, long fingers sinking into soft flesh.
She had found something that might truly be Elias's ghostly form, yet had no way to hold it here.
Even if she stepped forward and tried to detain Diancie by force, she couldn't so much as touch her.
The powerlessness of it furrowed Cogita's brow.
Only after a long while did she slowly exhale, letting the unwillingness on her face fade away.
For her, today was still good news.
To discover even this much—a ghost-body that couldn't be seen or touched, attached to a Pokémon—was already a stroke of fortune.
She believed she would definitely meet him again.
She only hoped… that by then she would have found a way to see ghost-bodies.
And even more—that he truly was as she imagined, Elias after death, turned spirit.
...
"Elias, that person seems really fixated on you."
On the way back, Diancie brought it up offhand.
Thinking back, she still felt it was incredible that Cogita had been able to guess Elias's existence.
As if she were very familiar with him.
"I've never seen her before."
Elias shook his head lightly, then added:
"But… there is a sense of familiarity from her."
That had been his impression since their first meeting.
"I see…"
Diancie nodded softly.
She thought, maybe… when Elias was still a gem in the ore, that human had some connection to him.
But now it no longer mattered.
Since she had found him, he would definitely stay with her from now on.
Diancie thought this with full confidence.
By then, they had already returned to the central grounds of the kingdom.
Just as they were about to reach her room, Diancie suddenly spotted her Highness.
She wondered why her senior would appear here at this hour.
She was about to greet her, but stopped herself at the last moment.
If her Highness found out she had snuck out to play… that wouldn't be good.
But her hesitation came too late.
The moment Dianna spotted her, she walked over on her own.
She nodded slightly to Elias first, then turned to Diancie, speaking evenly:
"It's late. Where did you go?"
Diancie couldn't read any emotion in her Highness's tone, so she answered softly:
"Camping with Elias."
"Camping?"
Her Highness looked at her in surprise.
She knew Diancie well.
With that child's cooking skills, wouldn't camping food be nothing but charred lumps?
Perhaps noticing the doubt on her Highness's face, Diancie quickly pointed at Elias.
"Elias made the food."
At that, Dianna's doubt cleared.
But she was still a little astonished.
She hadn't expected Elias, even as a ghost-body, to be able to cook.
So versatile…
A trace of envy flickered in her.
"Don't go out so late again."
She spoke calmly, showing no intention of pressing the matter further.
Seeing that, Diancie slowly let out a breath of relief.
Thank goodness…
"Your Highness, why are you up so late? Shouldn't you be asleep?"
Now that she felt safe, Diancie dared to ask.
She still didn't understand—why had her Highness come out at this hour? Just to catch her?
At the question, Dianna stared at her for several seconds, as if thinking how to put it.
Then she said slowly:
"I need to borrow Elias."
Learning from last time, she deliberately avoided saying "your Elias." That phrase only made Diancie bristle.
At the request, Diancie's eyes widened.
"Y-Your Highness?"
She asked uncertainly.
At this hour, what could her Highness want with Elias?
It couldn't be to take him to her room and have him cook, right?
She simply couldn't understand.
And from her Highness's look, it was obvious she had been waiting here a good while already.
"Elias has certain abilities that happen to be useful to me."
Seeing her doubt, Dianna patiently explained.
But her explanation was vague. She didn't want Diancie to know the truth about her body's state.
Such ambiguity, of course, couldn't convince Diancie.
She frowned. "Can't it wait until morning?"
"Then… I'll come with Elias."
Her tone was negotiating.
"And Elias can't go too far from me anyway, so for now, Your Highness probably can't borrow him."
As she said this, she gently took Elias's hand.
This left Dianna with no good way to persuade her.
It was, after all, part of the agreement she and Elias had made.
Helpless, she turned her gaze toward him.
Feeling her eyes, Elias immediately understood her meaning.
He thought perhaps it was best to tell Diancie the truth now.
But judging by Dianna's expression, she was clearly unwilling.
And understandably so. With Diancie's temperament, if she learned this, she'd be restless for nights, her own body weakening first.
In that case...
"Diancie, Dianna really does need my help with something."
"It'll just be outside the room. It won't take long."
He reassured the Pokémon beside him.
And to ease her worry, he made sure to add a promise.
After all, her dependence on him was clearly very deep…
---
T/N:
Hey everyone, thanks for reading. If you're enjoying the translation, dropping some Powerstones would really help out your hardworking translator (100 stones = 1 bonus chapter, 200 = 2 chapters, and so on—easy math, right?).
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Anyway, see you in the next chapter~
say thank you to hayasaka guyss