Upon seeing this girl who looked even younger than himself, Lumiere was genuinely stunned.
Who would have thought that Miss Cabbage—no, Cabbage girl now—would show up here.
Then what exactly was her relationship with Volo? Logically speaking, the era they existed in within the games was separated by several hundred years.
And this wasn't even a grandparent–grandchild relationship—this was ancestor and at least four generations down the line. He didn't even know how to describe such a connection.
"Seriously… just looking at their faces and hair color, there's no way I'd believe they weren't related by blood."
Lumiere glanced at Cynthia. Although she hadn't yet adopted the single-eye-covering bangs, she definitely would in the future. When that happened, the two of them wouldn't just look similar—they'd be identical.
Cynthia put down the towel and asked softly, "Why did it take you a whole day to get back? I thought something had happened to you."
"Didn't I tell you on the phone? I got held up by a commission," Volo replied apologetically, then seemed to remember something. "Oh right, I brought you a gift. You're definitely going to like it."
As he spoke, he took off his large backpack and started rummaging through it…
"What kind of gift?" Cynthia asked curiously.
Suddenly, Volo pulled out a Gothic Lolita dress and said excitedly, "Ta-da! I passed through Hearthome City on the way back and bought you some clothes. Come try them on and see if they fit—"
Bang—
The front door was slammed shut with force. The impact made Lumiere, who was standing nearby, stagger, and Rowlet was so startled that its feathers puffed up.
Well, now he finally understood who those skirts belonged to. You're the ancestor here—couldn't you act a bit more like a decent person?
Volo, however, immediately panicked and started knocking on the door, shouting, "Cynthia, open the door! Don't be mad, I grabbed the wrong thing, really!"
Lumiere: "..."
Eventually, perhaps worried about disturbing the neighbors, Cynthia opened the door just a crack and looked at him through the gap with the same expression one would use to look at trash.
"Wow, he's really being rejected hard," Lumiere commented inwardly as he watched the show while holding Rowlet.
Then, when Volo suddenly took out the Pokémon Egg from his backpack, Cynthia opened the door, her eyes widening in surprise. "This is—!"
"A Gible egg. Aren't they picking starter Pokémon for your school soon? So I asked a friend in Solaceon Town for one. That way you won't have to compete with everyone else."
Hearing Volo's unexpectedly gentle words, Cynthia carefully accepted the Gible egg and replied gratefully, "Thank you, Brother Volo."
"Brother? Aren't your generations completely messed up now?" Lumiere complained silently.
The two finally managed to get inside. The house wasn't particularly large or small. On the first floor, aside from a sofa and a table in the living room, there was basically nothing else.
Cynthia glanced at Lumiere, who had followed them in, and asked curiously, "So you're the tenant Brother Volo mentioned on the phone?"
"Yeah. My name's Lumiere."
Lumiere greeted her politely. After all, this was Cabbage girl—give it a few years and she'd be Cabbage lady. Better build a good relationship early.
"Hello, I'm Cynthia. I'm currently studying at the Pokémon School next door."
With that brief introduction, the two officially met.
"So you're still in school."
After chatting a bit, Lumiere learned that Cynthia was only eleven years old, didn't even have a Pokémon yet, and wasn't a Trainer at all.
After watching the little blue ball in Lumiere's arms for a while, Cynthia finally asked, "Is that a Rowlet? Why is it wearing Snorlax clothes?"
"Because all it does is eat and sleep."
"Can I hold it for a bit?"
"Sure."
Cynthia fetched a padded jacket, wrapped the Pokémon Egg, and placed it on the sofa. Then she took Rowlet from Lumiere's arms—it was already so hungry it was about to cry out.
"So this is Rowlet. Just like the books say—its feathers feel so nice. I heard there used to be a teacher at our school who specifically went to the Alola seas and camped there for a month to catch a Rowlet, but it evolved the very next day."
"That's… really unfortunate."
"It looks like it's hungry. I'll go find something for it to eat."
With that, Cynthia carried Rowlet into the kitchen. Meanwhile, Volo suddenly popped up from who knew where and asked, "So? How's my place?"
"It's… alright, I guess."
Volo lifted his chin confidently. "Of course it is. I picked this location myself. There are two trees planted by the front gate—one's called Inoue Tree, the other Hisaya Tree. There's another by the back door called Fujimoto Tree. Well? What do you think?"
"Bro… can people really live in this house? Are you sure nothing's going to happen? Like waking up in the middle of the night and grabbing a knife from the kitchen kind of thing?"
The more Lumiere listened, the worse it sounded. It felt like a support group meeting. This house seemed way too dangerous.
"Relax, it's fine. And I already cleaned up your room for you."
"Thanks. So, about the favor you wanted me to help with—don't tell me it's just protecting Cynthia? Does she really need my protection?"
"Of course she does!"
"Huh?"
Volo's expression suddenly turned serious as he continued, "My little cabbage is growing up fast. She's only eleven, but her looks and figure are already starting to show! In a few years, she'll definitely grow into a great beauty!"
"And that means more and more people will start having ideas about her—especially those students at her school. I even heard someone wrote her a love letter recently…"
"A bunch of brats who haven't even grown their hair yet! How dare they interfere with my little cabbage's studies! They should all be dragged out and fed to Muk, then turned into hazardous waste and handed over to Garbodor!"
For a moment, it felt like Volo had transformed into some kind of ultra-Sinnoh extremist—though that might have just been an illusion.
He then looked at Lumiere and continued, "So your job is to keep an eye out for any male creatures trying to get close to Cynthia! Especially those with improper intentions—just grab them and eliminate them on the spot! (No mercy)"
"..."
That level of sister complex was more than enough, thanks. As if I'd dare do half the things you just said—that's a one-way ticket to jail.
Still, Lumiere was speechless. But if it was just that, it was no big deal. Nothing difficult.
He was a bit curious, though, and asked, "So what exactly is your relationship with Cynthia? You two look pretty alike."
"Nothing special. We just happen to know each other," Volo replied casually, clearly not wanting to explain.
"Alright then…"
Just as Lumiere was about to go check on Rowlet, Volo suddenly added, "There's one more thing!"
"What is it?"
"There are some rules in this house I need to tell you."
"Go on."
"First, you're not allowed to enter Cynthia's room! Second, no peeking when she's bathing! Third, no peeking when she's changing! Fourth, no getting any ideas about Cynthia! Fifth—and this is the most important one!"
Despite being utterly speechless at the earlier rules, Lumiere still asked, "What is it?"
"I'll tell you later. I haven't thought of it yet."
"..."
Although it had only been a little over a day since he arrived in this world—and he'd already gone through a pile of absurd situations—Lumiere had finally managed to settle down.
So… what was next?