"You're here so early today?" In the cafeteria, Taylor was placing breakfasts on the table when he saw Will.
This surprised Taylor, since Will usually came with the main group and especially liked to be with Lucy.
When Will arrived today, Taylor looked around but didn't see anyone else behind him.
"Director, I'd like to give Lucy a gift…" Will said somewhat awkwardly.
Taylor rubbed his face.
Will was quite burly, looking every bit the muscular strongman, so his unexpectedly cute manner gave Taylor the feeling of seeing a strong, muscular man acting adorable.
"Then just send it directly… You're not planning to ask me to send it for you, are you?" Taylor said casually, but then he paused and looked at Will with a strange expression.
Will nodded, and Taylor took a deep breath.
Looking at Will's embarrassed face, Taylor felt a little helpless. He really didn't expect that Will wouldn't even dare to give the gift himself.
"I asked you to go check on Lucy before, and you ran off pretty fast," Taylor said irritably, but still extended his hand.
Will scratched his head sheepishly, then took out a gift and handed it to Taylor.
A box, carefully packaged, with a knot of rope shaped like a heart, made Taylor's lips twitch.
"Such a big heart, and you want me to deliver it?" Taylor looked at Will, somewhat speechless.
It's because of your actions that those romance anime have been dragging on for so long and still haven't ended.
The crime is heinous.
Will finally noticed the giant heart-shaped knot he'd tied on the ribbon. His face went even redder.
"Ah… when did this happen…?" he muttered in panic, frantically trying to untie the knot and flatten the ribbon before anyone else saw.
"Alright, stop it." Taylor quickly stopped Will from doing this, because it would be even more troublesome to rewrap it if it got messed up.
Looking at Will, who seemed at a loss, Taylor appeared thoughtful and said.
"Alright, I'll deliver it for you." Taylor decided to help Will out. Will was quite diligent in his work, and he readily agreed to deliver the gift.
After Taylor set out breakfast, the other volunteers arrived. Taylor knocked once, and soon the little ones rushed over.
Taylor looked around and saw that Kuro was still the first to arrive, followed by Puffin, with Bonk following behind, and Scruffy peeking out and walking at the very back.
"Director, is this the one from the infirmary?" Lucy looked at Scruffy curiously, mainly because Scruffy's current appearance was very eye-catching.
A Scruffy with skin that looks like it's covered in scars is already quite eye-catching, let alone the fact that it's wearing a hat.
However, Lucy and her friends had seen Scruffy while volunteering during this time, so they recognized it immediately.
"Yes, that's the one. Scruffy has recovered and is in good health, just a little weak." Taylor nodded.
"Poor little guy."
"Lucky he ran into the director, otherwise…"
Several volunteers exclaimed that although they had been working there for several days, this was the first time they had seen a new Pokémon join the orphanage.
"Lucy, someone asked me to give you a gift." Taylor took out Will's box, and Lucy was a little surprised when she saw it.
Almost instantly, Lucy's gaze fell on Will. After all, she wasn't stupid and could naturally tell that Will had some feelings for her.
Will's face turned red instantly. He was a little nervous and tried to cover up his embarrassment by eating breakfast, but he almost dropped his chopsticks on his head.
The others also looked at Lucy and Will with smiles.
"Thank you, Will." Lucy smiled as she accepted the gift box, then handed it to Will, a scene that surprised everyone present.
Lucy took the box from Taylor, smiled softly, and pushed it straight back into Will's big, nervous hands.
"Gifts are way better when you give them to me yourself, right?" she said, cheeks pink.
Will's whole face turned tomato-red.
Taylor just stood there pouting, another day, another public love attack. 💘
Even working at an orphanage doesn't guarantee you'll be bombarded with displays of affection? Unbelievable.
Out of sight, out of mind, Taylor decided to take breakfast to visit Locke and Dratini.
Pushing open the door, Taylor saw Locke writing something at his desk, while Dratini lay motionless on the hospital bed.
"Locke, your breakfast." Taylor placed a bowl of noodles in front of Locke, then glanced at Dratini, who looked the same as always.
"Thank you, Director… The little guy is doing alright for now." Locke took the noodles and said.
Taylor looked at the lifeless Dratini.
Is this really what you call "okay"?
"Although it's numb and motionless, at least it hasn't committed suicide." Locke noticed Taylor's confusion.
"Then how should this be treated?" Taylor thought of the Musharna he had just seen; he had thought Locke would use hypnosis to treat it.
"The simplest and most effective way is to make it no longer disabled." Locke slurped up some noodles, then picked up a clove of garlic and took a bite, speaking indistinctly.
After working for Taylor for a few days, Locke realized how amazing Taylor's cooking skills were. Now Locke has developed the habit of eating all three meals a day at the orphanage.
Taylor glanced at Dratini. To be honest, this problem wasn't unsolvable; in fact, Taylor had already found a solution.
All I need is happiness.
"Actually, I asked the staff I'm working with, and they're upgrading the treatment pod. Once the upgrade is successful, they can treat Dratini's disability." Taylor glanced at the medical pod.
Locke looked up at Dratini, which shifted its body and turned its head to look at Taylor.
"Director, if that's the case, then that's quite good." Locke frowned.
Giving patients hope is a good thing; when patients are full of motivation, their recovery will be more effective.
However, once the patient discovers that the hope is false and impossible to achieve, they will fall into even greater despair. Given Dratini's situation, it wouldn't be surprising if he immediately banged it's head against the wall.
"Of course it's true, but the upgrade will take some time." Taylor didn't notice Locke's unusual behavior.
The medical pod… or rather, the system is very reliable.
If they say they can cure it, then they can cure it; there's absolutely no lying involved.
Locke looked at Taylor and fell silent for a moment. Taylor seemed to be very serious. Could it be true?
At this point, Dratini had become agitated.
Since losing a fin, Dratini had lost the will to live, but now it has found new hope.
"Roar!" Dratini cried out urgently.
Dratini's eyes suddenly lit up like crazy, wide, shining, full of panic and hope at the same time.
He started making a fast, desperate "Roar! Roar!" sounds, like he was screaming:
"Really?! You promise?! When?! Please, hurry!"
"It will be soon." Taylor patted Dratini's head.
He originally planned to upgrade other things, but now, Taylor plans to upgrade the medical pod once he has enough happiness points