Chapter 595: The Three Who Returned

Nearly two months had passed since the Blueberry Academy delegation departed.

It had also been almost a month and a half since Hearing Nimo, Shinji, and Shizuka set out for the Hoenn region to challenge Gyms and the Battle Frontier.

Luo Mu had previously made a rough estimate that Ash's journey through a single region typically took between three to four months, allowing for two to three regions per year.

After all, as the "protagonist," Ash encountered many events, so moving a bit slower was understandable.

If one focused solely on challenging Gyms or the Battle Frontier, even including travel time, Luo Mu had previously been confident he could clear them within a week, provided the facilities were open.

Not to mention that the current Hearing Nimo was hardly weaker than Luo Mu himself had been a year ago.

Spending nearly a month and a half to conquer the Battle Frontier was mainly due to accompanying Shinji and Shizuka to challenge Gyms again, plus various incidents encountered along the way and detours taken to catch Pokémon; calculated comprehensively, it was actually quite reasonable.

The people Luo Mu had specifically come to the airport to pick up today were Hearing Nimo, who had completed her domination of the Battle Frontier, along with Shinji and Shizuka, who had paused their own Gym challenges to accompany Hearing Nimo back to the Paldea region temporarily.

By choosing to return at this time, Luo Mu thought, Hearing Nimo, having tempered herself through conquering the Battle Frontier, should already be prepared to challenge the Champion Assessment.

This was also the reason he had proposed this suggestion to Kiku so confidently.

Hearing Luo Mu's words, Kiku first froze, then thought he was joking with her, but as a certain figure popped into her mind, she fell into suspicion.

As the Gym Leader of the Levincia City Gym, she was one of those who had directly faced Hearing Nimo's trainer talent, which was quite devastating to one's Gym Leader spirit.

The advice Hearing Nimo had previously given for her livestreams had successfully revitalized her streaming dreams; her popularity was now worlds apart from what it had been a year ago when she was livestreaming commentary on Luo Mu's Champion Assessment match.

Hearing Nimo had long since collected all Eight Badges, and starting from the Mesagoza Gym, she had been facing Gym Leaders going all out.

For some reason, the moment Luo Mu mentioned the imminent birth of a new "Champion-level Trainer," Kiku immediately thought of Hearing Nimo.

Since she had thought this, Kiku naturally asked it.

"That's right; now that Hearing Nimo has returned from her training, she intends to formally challenge the Champion Assessment."

Luo Mu nodded slightly, answering Kiku's question.

At the same time, the two of them entered the airport, waiting for the flight carrying Hearing Nimo and the others to land.

"Isn't this Mr. Luo Mu? Could it be that you are also here to..."

A slightly surprised male voice suddenly came from behind; Luo Mu, who hadn't yet sat down on the chair, looked over.

The immaculate butler's uniform was ironed into sharp, blade-like lines, with the deep black wool-blend fabric reflecting a matte texture under the airport lights.

Three brass buttons at the collar resembled precisely calibrated clock gears, pulling the lines of the neck into a straight and crisp silhouette.

His hair, interspersed with a few white strands, was styled into a slicked-back look resembling cloud-patterned marble, with every silver strand obediently hidden within the ebony base; the fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, like creases in ancient book pages, gathered slightly as he bowed politely here, then instantly smoothed out into a standard arc worthy of an etiquette textbook as he straightened his spine.

Truly, at a single glance, one could understand the "power" of his professionalism as a butler.

Every movement displayed immense self-control; although not the same style as Oranguru, it was another form of formidable ability.

"As expected, Mr. Sebastian is here as well; did Hearing Nimo's father and older sister not come?"

Luo Mu also nodded to Sebastian, the butler of Hearing Nimo's family, and cast his gaze behind him, yet saw no other figures.

"You are the Young Lady's teacher; please just call me Sebastian. As for the Master and the Eldest Young Lady, unfortunately, the Second Young Lady did not even notify the family of her return this time; I only discovered it while routinely organizing information."

"... The Master and the Eldest Young Lady are currently in the Kalos region conducting important business negotiations; they likely cannot make it back this time, so only I could come to pick her up."

A look of regret appeared on Sebastian's face, but when gazing at Luo Mu, it switched to joy.

"Fortunately, Mr. Luo Mu has also come to pick her up; given the Second Young Lady's personality, she probably won't mind this matter and will instead be very happy."

During their exchange, as a professional butler, Sebastian did not forget Kiku, who was clearly accompanying Luo Mu.

Not only did he call out her name immediately, but after a few modest compliments, Kiku, floating on cloud nine, was nearly looking down her nose at everyone.

"Hahaha, what 'promising top-tier streamer,' what 'Levincia City's trustworthy Gym Leader'... stop speaking such big truths~"

Seeing that Kiku had already been hooked like a fish with its mouth wide open, Luo Mu shook his head and instead looked at the flight schedule in the hall.

Before he could find the flight Hearing Nimo and the others were taking, Sebastian beside him seemed to have already discerned his thoughts; he gave a slight shake of his uniform cuff, revealing the edge of white gloves trimmed into right angles, raised his wrist, took a pocket watch from his breast pocket, and immediately fixed his gaze upon it.

The next second, he voluntarily said, "It is estimated that ten more minutes are needed before the flight lands; Mr. Luo Mu, Young Lady Kiku, would you like me to prepare a cup of hot coffee for you?"

"Please give me a cola, with ice~!"

Like a student in a classroom, Kiku raised both hands high, her wide sleeves dangling down past her long hands, making her look extremely lazy and casual.

Sebastian, who had a slight touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder, frowned slightly but suppressed his impulse well, bowing his head to say, "Understood."

"I'll have a cup of hot cocoa..."

Since Kiku had taken the initiative, Luo Mu felt it improper to be too polite, so he ordered a cup of hot cocoa, which was very warming to drink in winter.

Sebastian nodded slightly once more, bowed to the two of them, then turned and walked toward somewhere in the airport.

Luo Mu was unclear whether he was going to buy them or find a place to make them by hand himself.

At the very least, Luo Mu leaned toward Sebastian going to buy them; after all, according to him, only ten minutes remained before Hearing Nimo's flight landed, so it was hard to imagine he could handcraft these beverages and return here on time.

However, the other party's efficiency still exceeded Luo Mu's expectations.

The roar of the plane landing had already sounded when Sebastian's figure reappeared beside the two of them.

"Keeping you both waiting; I borrowed some of the airport's equipment briefly, so making them by hand personally took a little longer."

Steadily holding a tray obtained from who-knows-where, Sebastian handed a cup of hot cocoa and a cup of iced cola to Luo Mu and Kiku respectively.

—However, there were three more drinks on the tray, most likely prepared for Hearing Nimo, Shinji, and Shizuka.

Leaving aside the fact that Kiku's cola required no effort, the hot cocoa in his own hand was clearly not instant... truly outrageous.

Luo Mu took a sip of the steaming hot cocoa to calm his nerves, its unique aroma spreading through his mouth.

His gaze also locked onto the figures of Hearing Nimo, Shinji, and Shizuka not far away, who were walking out from the gate.

A low-key black limousine shuttled through the roads of Levincia City, while the "enthusiastic" voices of three students came from within.

To be precise, it was Hearing Nimo chattering away alone, Shizuka occasionally chiming in, and Shinji, who had hardly made a sound aside from polite greetings upon meeting.

Kiku was still immersed in the shock of this limousine, which looked low-key but was actually luxurious.

Looking at the string of zeros displayed on her phone's search bar, Kiku lamented that after working herself to death as a streamer for a year, the money she earned couldn't even buy such a vehicle used by Hearing Nimo's family for daily transport.

"Damn capitalists!"

After all, they were in someone else's car, so Kiku could only complain in a whisper.

After Luo Mu and the others picked up Hearing Nimo and her two companions at the airport, they accepted Sebastian's invitation—or rather, the strong insistence of Hearing Nimo's father and older sister, who were far away in the Hoenn region—to "graciously honor them" by tasting the specialty cuisine at a famous restaurant in Zapapico City that they had arranged.

As an added bonus, Iono, who had been tagging along like a shadow, also got to share in the good fortune.

Somehow during the journey, the conversation turned to Luo Mu's plan to visit a car dealership in the next couple of days to scout for a vehicle, so he could pick one up in a few days.

Upon arriving at the destination and getting out of the car, Sebastian wordlessly pulled out a business card, telling Luo Mu he could go to the place where Hearing Nimo's father often bought cars to pick up a vehicle, where he would receive a discounted price.

"Even with a discount, it's still going to be a luxury car, right?"

The corners of Luo Mu's mouth twitched slightly, but he still obediently accepted the business card.

There was no other reason; he was simply somewhat curious, and just going to look without buying shouldn't be a problem.

The restaurant was located within a building in Zapapico City whose construction cost was exceedingly high, qualifying it as one of the city's landmarks.

The food tasted thoroughly of the coppery stench of money, though the portions were a bit small.

For the few students who hadn't fully grown yet, it was fine; Iono herself didn't have a large appetite either, as one could tell from her petite figure.

In any case, Luo Mu himself hadn't eaten his fill; he thought he had hidden it well, but Sebastian noticed anyway and requested the head chef to increase the portion sizes.

The meal concluded with both host and guests thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Luo Mu also learned from Hearing Nimo, who talked incessantly as if someone had opened a floodgate once she started speaking, about their travels and gains in the Hoenn region over the past month.

On this trip, Hearing Nimo had not caught a large number of Hoenn-region Pokémon, capturing only one Ghost-type Pokémon, Duskull, with whom she shared a deep bond, encountering it repeatedly and experiencing many events together.

Since Duskull evolves into Banette and later into Dusknoir, both of which are quite excellent Pokémon, it was overall very worth cultivating.

This Duskull was also the first member of Hearing Nimo's second team; it was foreseeable that in the future, Hearing Nimo would definitely cultivate more Pokémon to expand her squad.

With Duskull captured, Hearing Nimo's primary objective for this journey was naturally achieved perfectly.

The Battle Factory, the Battle Arena, the Battle Dome, the Battle Pike, the Battle Palace, the Battle Tower, and the Battle Pyramid.

She had completed challenges at all of them, obtaining seven golden Symbols.

Hearing Nimo's luck was quite good; when she finally challenged the Pyramid King Brandon at the Battle Pyramid, he happened not to have departed yet for the Kanto region for his rotation, allowing her to proceed smoothly with the Pokémon battle.

According to Paul's description, it was a six-on-six Pokémon battle; Brandon even sent out one of the Legendary Titans, Regirock, yet in the end, he was still crushed by the iron fists of Pawmot, who had been thoroughly tempered.

The scene of Brandon lamenting what a brilliantly talented young trainer Hearing Nimo was still seemed vivid before their eyes; when Paul spoke of this, even though his expression remained faint, he could not help but reveal a sense of admiration.

Witnessing firsthand Hearing Nimo, who was nearly the same age as himself, defeat Brandon sent surging waves through the heart of Paul, who already harbored the goal and obsession of defeating Brandon and wished to make his older brother, Reggie, proud.

By comparison, even Ash, who was occasionally locking horns with him, seemed like child's play.

Currently, Paul had captured only one female Snorunt as his partner; he personally advocated more strongly for a concept called the "Elite System."

First, use limited energy to cultivate a small number of Pokémon; only after raising these Pokémon to a certain level should one consider using that experience to cultivate more Pokémon.

"Absolutely do not be like that idiot; how long has he even been in the Hoenn region, and he's already nearly filled another full team with newly caught Pokémon?"

During the meal, Paul's expression when mentioning Ash carried a distinct sensation of gnashing his teeth in resentment.

Not counting Pikachu, Ceruledge, and the Pokémon he rotated from time to time, that guy seemed interested in everyone he met, catching quite a few Pokémon in succession.

Taillow, Treecko, Corphish, Torkoal—does raising Pokémon not cost him any money?

Currently relying entirely on the savings his older brother had accumulated over years of traveling, plus the income from establishing a Day Care, Paul, who was tightening his belt while studying at the Naranja Academy and cultivating Pokémon, simply could not understand.

—I heard that guy has even taken on the expensive debt of two sky-high-priced bicycles; where does he get so much money to raise so many Pokémon?

Thirty Tauros; just thinking about it made Paul feel suffocated.

The costs for food, supplies, and expenses during travel—could it be that he comes from a wealthy family just like Hearing Nimo?

Shizuka was much like Paul; currently, aside from the subsidy Geeta approved for her future plans, all her expenses were covered by the wages she had saved up over these few years working as a Nurse Joy, forcing her to count every penny.

She was already an adult; apart from the Bulbasaur her relative had obtained from Professor Oak, she simply did not have the face to ask her family for money.

After enduring countless hardships, Shizuka finally followed Luo Mu's suggestion and captured a Skarmory.

Beyond that, she did not dare to hope for capturing any more Pokémon.

She would have to wait until she had collected all the badges and achieved good results at the Ever Grande Conference, the League Championship of the Hoenn region, before considering it again once she received the substantial prize money.

Luo Mu understood the concerns of both of them very well, even feeling it as if it were his own experience.

Only heaven knew how he had survived a year ago, starting from nothing, where every day upon opening his eyes, besides training Pokémon, all he could think about was how to make money.

No matter how utopian the world might be, as long as the concept of money existed, there would be many expenses involved in various matters.

After a busy year, most of his savings had been spent on cultivating Pokémon; it was only with the funds remaining after pinching pennies that he had bought the farmland in Flatdisk Town, finally settling down and establishing a home.

Fortunately, things were getting better and better now; he even dared to take a look at the business card Sebastian had given him.

(End of Chapter)