Perhaps he'd already guessed Elias would ask that. This time, Lysandre smiled with confidence.
He pulled a thick stack of white papers from the bag he carried with him. The pages were packed with neat, orderly writing.
Seeing what Lysandre was doing, Elias took them on instinct.
He set them on the table and flipped through lightly. In an instant, he realized what he was holding.
A log that recorded Yveltal's general location and its day-to-day activities.
The contents were extremely thorough. Unless Lysandre had fabricated it, then they'd clearly put in a huge amount of work to track and record all this.
It wasn't hard to see that after what happened last time, Lysandre had learned his lesson.
He'd paid attention to details from every tiny angle.
"Mr. Elias. Not bad, right?" Lysandre's lips curled, looking like he wanted credit.
"Very good. You've worked hard," Elias replied with a nod.
For Lysandre to go this far really did deserve praise.
Hearing that approval, the smile at Lysandre's mouth deepened a little.
But as if something occurred to him, he pressed his lips together despite himself, and the smile on his face stiffened.
"It's just a shame Xerneas is hiding too well."
"Even now, my people don't have a single lead."
Thinking of that Pokémon that could turn into a tree, Lysandre's voice carried a hint of helplessness.
Kalos wasn't exactly enormous, but its vegetation coverage was truly high.
Not only that—many of the forests were even connected to each other.
In that situation, trying to find a tree that looked no different from an ordinary one was practically impossible.
Elias had already expected Lysandre to come up empty.
"It's fine. Just keep looking. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves," he said with a wave, comforting Lysandre.
He'd stopped holding much hope for finding Xerneas.
There were still about two years. If, when the time came, they really couldn't find it…
Then he could only use the method he'd imagined earlier.
Thinking of how wronged Diancie had looked not long ago, Elias narrowed his eyes.
He would make sure Diancie created diamonds smoothly.
No matter what.
...
[With your recognition, Lysandre seems hugely encouraged, full of drive.]
[You even suspect that if he could, he might consider setting the forest on fire to force Xerneas out.]
[After parting ways with Lysandre, you also made time to visit Diantha in the villa district.]
[She's been very busy lately—not only pushing for Best Actress, but also advancing toward the Champion's path.]
[Working on two tracks at once—even you can't help feeling a little impressed.]
...
"Garde~"
Seeing Elias arrive, Gardevoir—who had been training seriously—lit up instantly.
Her throat bobbed slightly, like she'd just swallowed.
"Gardevoir, don't be rude," Diantha said, shooting her Pokémon a calm glance as she cut in preemptively.
She was sure that if she didn't speak up now, Gardevoir would find an excuse to pounce again.
From Ralts all the way to Gardevoir, she had matured over time, but one thing never changed—her dependence on Elias.
At Elias's side, Diancie and Delphox also tensed up fully.
To the two of them, Gardevoir was undeniably a troublesome opponent.
"Gardevoir. Long time no see," Elias greeted, giving her head a casual rub.
"Garde!"
Feeling the touch, Gardevoir narrowed her eyes in contentment.
But quickly, as if she'd noticed something, she caught Elias by the wrist and frowned as she studied him.
"Garde?"
She tilted her head, not understanding why Elias suddenly seemed so much weaker this time.
If that Telekinesis still hadn't been strong, she might've even suspected the Elias in front of her was a fake.
It wasn't just her. With Elias's coloring noticeably dimmer, even Diantha spotted the problem at once.
"What happened?"
Diantha blocked the doorway and looked at Elias as she asked.
Under the sunlight, her eyes gleamed with beautiful color—and a faint trace of interrogation.
It was as if, unless Elias answered, she would keep standing there.
With no choice, Elias gave her a rough account of what he'd run into.
Out of everyone, Diantha had learned about it the latest.
After all, Elias hadn't planned to ask her for help back then.
After hearing the reason, Diantha frowned again.
"Is it serious?"
She stared at Elias's half-transparent body and asked worriedly.
Realizing she'd found out so late and hadn't helped much at all filled Diantha with an inexpressible guilt.
So much so that her whole face had turned rosy.
"It's fine. I'll be okay after resting for a while," Elias said, shaking his head as he soothed her gently.
He wasn't going to tell anyone the truth about his condition—especially with Diantha at such a critical stage in her push for both Champion and Best Actress.
This was not the time for her to be distracted.
Only after seeing Elias was okay did Diantha finally breathe out.
"That's good."
Her eyes curved as she smiled.
Then, as if she'd been waiting for just this, she welcomed Elias inside while continuing, "Once I'm through this busy stretch—once I've got the Champion and Best Actress stuff handled—we can go on a trip together!"
As she said it, Diantha's eyes sparkled.
Clearly, she'd been planning this for a long time—she'd just never quite had the nerve to bring it up.
And before, time had been too tight to talk about having fun.
Now that she finally had a chance, Diantha wasn't going to let it slip.
Elias blinked, then agreed.
By the time Diantha had time, he should have most things settled on his end too… right?
He squeezed the soft little hand Gardevoir offered him, quietly working through the timing in his head.
...
[Days pass one by one.]
[Perhaps because you know you only have two years left, you begin arranging future matters with a plan.]
[You even make preparations, according to your imagined outline, for what will happen after Diancie ascends the queen's throne.]
[Dianna and Diancie don't notice anything amiss.]
[Only Cogita seems to have keenly caught a faintly different scent.]
[And only she seems to have nothing of her own to do—still calmly holding a cup of hot tea every day.]
[Unlike Dianna, who looks forward to life after abdicating, and unlike Diancie, who thinks about what comes after inheriting the throne.]