Across from him, Cogita sat in her chair and narrowed her eyes.
Elias's reaction said it all.
In the past, no matter what she asked, he would always answer right away.
But now…
Seeing the stiffness in Elias's expression, the way he clearly didn't know what to say, Cogita knew he was hiding something from her.
Her intuition hadn't been wrong.
"It's about that Pokémon, isn't it?"
When she saw Elias still thinking about how to respond, Cogita pointed to the scattered diamond shards not far away and shifted the question.
Elias understood she meant Diancie.
Under Cogita's unwavering stare, he finally nodded.
"It's… connected to Diancie," he said, trying to put it as gently as possible.
The moment Elias admitted it, Cogita's movements paused slightly, and for an instant it felt like even breathing became difficult.
I knew it.
The second she noticed something off about Elias, her subconscious had told her it had to be tied to Pokémon.
Or rather…
It was a conclusion she didn't even need to guess at.
After all, Elias's circle was small these days.
If you excluded Lysandre and Diantha, who weren't around day to day, then that only left a few Pokémon.
"Is it dangerous?"
After steadying herself a little, Cogita looked at Elias and asked again.
She already had a faint answer in her heart.
Sure enough, after thinking for a moment, Elias said quietly, "A… little."
Seeing how ugly Cogita's expression turned, Elias was afraid she might explode.
The instant his words fell, Cogita's long fingers curled into a slight fist.
But in the end, as time slowly passed, she forced down the anger rising inside her.
"Haa…"
She took a small sip of hot tea, not really wanting to look Elias in the eyes.
She knew that no matter how she tried to persuade him, he probably wouldn't give up what he was doing now.
Because if she were the one in trouble, Cogita believed Elias would make the same choice.
For a while, the air fell quiet.
The tea in Cogita's cup was quickly sipped dry, but she didn't refill it. She just held the cup, sitting there in a daze.
Seeing that, Elias wrestled with how to comfort her.
Right as he was about to speak, Cogita set the cup down again.
Her eyes gradually came back into focus as she looked straight at Elias.
"Think about yourself more, too. Don't always put yourself in danger, okay?"
She didn't ask what, exactly, Elias planned to do. She only said that, in a slightly firm tone.
Elias blinked, then hurriedly nodded.
Only after he agreed did Cogita seem to relax, her whole presence settling back into that familiar lazy mystery.
She crooked a finger, signaling Elias to come closer.
Puzzled, Elias leaned forward slightly.
A strange flush flickered across Cogita's pale face.
It looked like she wanted to do something, but after hesitating for a long time, she only reached out her palm in the end.
"Tss…"
Elias felt a sharp pain at his neck. When he lowered his head to look, Cogita's small hand had already withdrawn.
"Alright. Now that counts as leaving a mark on you," Cogita said, lips curling as she spoke in a light, upbeat tone.
"From now on, no matter where you run off to, I'll be able to find you."
Whether it was true or not, she looked genuinely pleased—almost excited.
Elias instinctively rubbed the spot she'd touched.
He didn't know if it was his imagination, but it felt like it was burning.
And since it was so close to his neck, it even left him inexplicably thirsty.
"I'll… go pour you some tea."
Elias turned his head slightly, avoiding Cogita's quiet, lingering gaze.
He picked up her cup and walked into the house without looking back.
...
[After leaving Cogita's house, you still feel strange all over.]
[In the days that follow, Cogita seems to have her own business to attend to. You don't see her at all.]
[The good news is that Cogita doesn't tell Diancie and the others about the conversation that day.]
[Keeping her promise, she keeps it to herself and doesn't interfere further.]
[In the blink of an eye, half a year passes.]
[Over those six months, Diancie's greatest improvement is undoubtedly in governance.]
[Following Dianna, she's learned a great deal of useful knowledge.]
[Unfortunately, because her physical problem still hasn't been resolved, Diancie's strength hasn't improved much.]
[Even though it's what you expected, your mood can't help turning heavy.]
[As expected, miracles aren't so easy to come by.]
[But there is good news: Delphox seems to have entered its growth phase, its strength advancing at a rapid pace.]
...
"Delphox—[MYSTICAL FIRE]!"
In the open field, Elias commanded Delphox in the distance.
Receiving the order, Delphox calmly twirled her wand, shifting her steps slightly.
As the wand traced a graceful arc through the air, towering flames erupted at the feet of Enamorus, her opponent.
Sensing trouble, Enamorus hurried to get out of the attack range.
But clearly, she'd underestimated Delphox's speed.
Boom—!
The surging sea of fire swallowed her in an instant, accompanied by several sharp explosions.
Thick smoke billowed out, shrouding the surroundings and blocking sight for a moment.
When the flames faded and the smoke thinned, Enamorus had already been forced down onto the ground.
From the way she panted, it wasn't hard to tell she was in terrible shape.
If Delphox pressed the advantage, she could probably defeat Enamorus without much trouble.
"Delphox, Enamorus—you did well."
Elias didn't give any further orders. Instead, he walked up and gently pinched Delphox's fluffy cheek.
"Mmm~"
Delphox narrowed her eyes, clearly enjoying it.
Her years of hard training hadn't been wasted—she'd lived up to expectations and become Elias's ace.
"A wonderful battle."
At that moment, Diantha walked over from the side, applauding.
They were currently at the battle field in Diantha's home—an impromptu match on a whim.
"I didn't expect Delphox to have grown to this point already," Diantha said, blinking as she praised her.
From what she'd just seen, this Delphox was, at minimum, at Champion level.
She truly couldn't understand how Elias—who wasn't even a Trainer—had raised a Pokémon to this caliber.
After all, every Champion-level Pokémon had countless resources and sweat behind it.
Without extraordinary talent and a professional training plan, reaching this level was practically impossible.