"It's already so late; surely a meal won't make much of a difference... right?" Lucas said, grinning like a Gengar as he rubbed his nose, seeing Cynthia's narrowed eyes.
Cynthia, cradling Petilil, smiled at Lucas's embarrassed expression.
Though they had only just met, she could tell Lucas was a good person, evident from his attitude towards Pokémon.
That's why she continued to spend time with him; people who love Pokémon always easily gain the favor of others who also love Pokémon.
She frowned slightly, holding Petilil with one hand and gently placing the slender, fair fingers of her other hand on her smooth chin, rubbing her thumb lightly as if deep in thought.
Seeing Lucas barely daring to breathe, she slowly said, "Alright."
Lucas let out a sigh of relief, then, seeing her mischievous gaze, sighed helplessly inwardly.
Indeed, compared to her, he was still far behind.
Cynthia couldn't help but inwardly chuckle at the sight.
It seemed Lucas rarely interacted with girls.
Cynthia thought.
Lucas got up, allowing Cynthia to continue enjoying her afternoon tea, while he prepared to go to the vegetable garden with Gengar to pick some vegetables.
Cynthia, seeing this, offered to help. Under her sincere gaze, Lucas nodded and then had Gengar lead her to pick vegetables.
Returning to the entrance, he took out a pair of unopened slippers—extras he had bought when purchasing some for Nina and others. He then ran back to the kitchen and retrieved a vegetable basket from the wall.
Arriving in the backyard, Lucas placed the slippers in front of Cynthia, as the backyard was all dirt paths and grass, making high heels very inconvenient. He then handed the vegetable basket to Gengar.
Cynthia looked at the slippers placed before her, hesitated for a moment, then bent down to take off her high heels. Her fair ankles and toes emerged from the shoes, her painted feet flashing past Lucas's eyes before slipping into the slippers.
Seeing the slippers that were clearly several sizes too large, and the eye-catching nail polish beneath them, Lucas cleared his throat twice and then averted his gaze.
Cynthia moved a little, getting used to them, then placed her high heels together beside the chair. Cradling Petilil, she stood up from the chair.
After giving Gengar a few instructions, Lucas took Mime Jr. back to the kitchen to prepare other ingredients.
Since Mime Jr.'s birth, Gengar had slowly begun to hand over kitchen duties to Mime Jr..
Watching Lucas and Mime Jr. disappear through the doorway, Cynthia reached into her trench coat pocket, then pulled out a hand full of Poké Balls, which she then tossed into the sky.
Cynthia's Pokémon all appeared in the Breeding House. Lucas, alerted by a status notification, looked through the window.
Lucario, Gastrodon, Spiritomb, Togekiss, Roserade, Glaceon, Milotic.
He glanced at the moves they knew; truly the Champion's team, so powerful.
Cynthia had them rein in their aura, then explained the situation to them before following Gengar to the vegetable garden.
Cynthia held Petilil with one hand and linked arms with Gengar with the other. Gengar's other palm faced upwards, with the vegetable basket naturally hanging from its elbow, walking through the air as if on flat ground, a posture that perfectly mimicked a noblewoman.
Watching Gengar's movements, Lucas shook his head with a headache. It seemed he needed to control Gengar and stop it from watching strange videos.
Cynthia followed Gengar to the vegetable garden, a lush green expanse. She couldn't distinguish which vegetables were needed, so she asked Gengar. Gengar puffed out its chest, indicating it would handle it.
Then Gengar floated into the garden and pointed to the required vegetables.
"Gengar!"
This is delicious.
Seeing this, Cynthia opened the wooden gate of the vegetable garden and walked in, picking vegetables in the same posture as Gengar.
This was a novel experience for her. Wearing her trench coat, she gathered her golden hair and continued to pick vegetables—one, two, three types... Just as she was about to place the cauliflower in her hand into the basket, she realized the basket was already full.
"This..."
"Are the vegetables picked... yet?"
Before she could finish her sentence, Lucas's voice came. Lucas, who knows when, was already standing outside the vegetable garden, looking at the handful of green vegetables in her hand and the overflowing basket, speechless for a long time.
"I'm sorry, I got carried away for a moment."
Cynthia held the cauliflower, her cheeks slightly warm. As the Champion, she felt a momentary awkwardness.
"Hiss..."
Lucas looked at the large basket overflowing with green vegetables, the bare patch in the vegetable garden, and then at the handful of cauliflower in Cynthia's hand.
He felt a sudden toothache.
Finally, looking at Cynthia's expression, Lucas smiled, indicating it was fine.
"It's alright, these vegetables needed picking anyway, or they'd get old and not taste good. Let's eat these tonight. If there's any left, give it to Gengar; he has a big appetite."
"Gengar?! Σ(ﾟ∀ﾟﾉ)ﾉ"
Me?!
Gengar glanced, then nodded.
"Gengar!!"
Upon hearing this, Cynthia abruptly turned her head to look at the vegetable patch. Lucas, seeing this, quickly called her out, not letting her continue to wreak havoc on his vegetable patch.
Cynthia walked out with a regretful expression. After handing the vegetables to Lucas, she watched him leave with the vegetable basket and the vegetables in his hand, feeling a bit bored.
She glanced at the entire backyard and had Gengar take her on a tour.
Returning to the Breeding House, Lucas had just finished preparing dinner.
"Cynthia, do you want to eat in the backyard or in the kitchen?"
"The backyard, I think."
Looking at the scenery of the backyard and all the Pokémon, Cynthia said.
Lucas nodded, then had Gengar and the others move the table and chairs outside, while he carried out the dishes.
Considering that Cynthia might not be used to rice, Lucas prepared a bowl of fragrant noodle soup for her.
After distributing the Energy Blocks, Lucas returned to the dining table and sat down.
Cynthia held her chopsticks, gazing at the food before her. She gently sniffed with her delicate nose, her beautiful eyes curving, then clapped her hands together.
"I'm going to eat."
Then she lowered her head to eat the noodles. With one bite, her brows and eyes completely curved into crescent moons.
Seeing this, Lucas nodded proudly. As expected of Grandma's recipes, they live up to their reputation.
Then he lowered his head and began to eat his own food.
Both of them quietly enjoyed their meal, with occasional sounds of Pokémon squabbling and the Growl of Starly in the distance. Cynthia finished the soup in her bowl and took the tissue Lucas handed her to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
"Thank you for the meal."
Cynthia's gentle voice rang out, making one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze on this still warm evening.
"My pleasure."
Lucas had Gengar finish the remaining food, then took Mime Jr. back to the kitchen to wash dishes.
Cynthia, led by Petilil, went to the swing and sat down. Garchomp gently swayed the swing.
Not far away were Machamp and the others' post-dinner activities, wrestling. Lucario watched for a while, then walked over to join in, using the opportunity to guide the three Machamp.
Meanwhile, Gengar was asking Togekiss for advice on something.
The sky slowly darkened, and the evening breeze rustled Cynthia's golden hair. She sat on the swing, watching everything nearby.
"Garchomp, it seems we haven't been on a swing in a long time, have we?"
Cynthia spoke softly.
Garchomp behind her showed a nostalgic gleam in its eyes, then nodded gently.
The little girl who once loved swings had now become the strongest trainer in the Sinnoh region, ascending to the Champion's throne.
"Petilil?"
Petilil in her arms curiously looked up at her.
Why didn't she ride the swing later?
Sensing Petilil's mood and guessing its question, Cynthia, just like Lucas, gently stroked the leaves on its head and said, "Because I grew up, and with that came responsibilities I had to bear."
"Petilil?"
Petilil didn't understand, frowning its small face in confusion.
Cynthia smiled and said, "So, Petilil, grow up slowly. You have a trainer who dotes on you very much."
After saying that, Cynthia had Garchomp push the swing hard. Then, the woman with black clothes and golden hair swung back and forth, rocking the childhood in her arms, rocking back to her own childhood.
Lucas finished washing the dishes and returned to the backyard, but didn't see Cynthia's figure.
"Has she already left?"
Lucas chuckled, then sighed. He went back to his room to shower, and when he came out to the backyard to tidy up the remaining items, he found Cynthia's high heels neatly placed under the chair where they had afternoon tea, and he froze.
"Gengar?"
Gengar, seeing Lucas stop moving, curiously floated over, still holding a broom.
Just as Lucas wondered if Cynthia had forgotten her high heels, a sound came from the distant sky. Then Cynthia, standing on Garchomp's back, descended into the backyard.
She was wearing well-fitted Lopunny cotton slippers, and Garchomp's back also carried a suitcase.
She jumped down and smiled at Lucas.
"You're right, I'll skip work a bit longer then."
Seeing this, Lucas suppressed his joy, "Welcome!"
"Are you happy I'm staying?"
Hearing the cool voice, Lucas answered without hesitation.
"Of course."
"What about Gengar?"
"Gengar!!!"
Lucas took the opportunity to tug Gengar's tail.
"Whoosh~"
"Gengar~"
"Gengar is so cute. Where's my room?"