Chapter 363

"Nonsense, she definitely doesn't know."

Mei immediately denied Qiao Ran's claims, but she probably already had a clear answer in her heart.

After all, it was she who pretended to be asleep when she saw Lillie sneak out. If their roles were reversed now... she could probably imagine what kind of scene it would be.

"... Lillie talked to me before Rest."

Mei suddenly spoke.

What did you talk about?

"She said she wanted to hide all our relationships from Cynthia."

Mei lay softly on the bed, quietly sharing her thoughts.

"After all... Cynthia is a senior to all of us Trainer, and if possible, I don't want her to be disappointed in us."

"Whether as Trainer... or as something else..."

Although she had already decided on this path, Mei herself understood that this path might not be accepted by most people—if Cynthia really found out, she would definitely be very, very disappointed in them.

"Yes. It's best if we don't reveal ourselves in front of her."

Like Mei and the others, Qiao Ran didn't want Cynthia to be disappointed in him. They were a team, and they were about to face a series of arduous battles. Qiao Ran didn't want these events to create unnecessary complications.

Their internal problems were already hard-won, and they shouldn't have new problems arising from Cynthia's addition.

"But come to think of it, we usually keep it hidden, right?"

"... That's because Acerola is there... and I don't want to be with you in front of other people... Hmph."

As Mei spoke, she became awkward again. Even though a lot had happened before she said this, her face still flushed when she thought about how she would act intimately with Qiao Ran in front of others.

"... However... if it's not in front of other people..."

"Like this?"

As Qiao Ran spoke, he hugged her from the side, startling Mei into letting out a small gasp.

"What... what are you doing? Everything was clearly..."

"Hmph hmph hmph." Qiao Ran laughed like a villain.

During the day, he could be rendered speechless by Mei and the others' teasing, but at night, things could be different.

"What am I doing? Of course I'm..."

Time ticked by, second by second.

The night gradually deepened.

The next day arrived.

Although Mei kept saying that Lillie definitely hadn't noticed and that she would rush back that night to pretend nothing had happened, her body betrayed her and she stayed behind. However, by the next morning, she was already thinking about how to deceive Cynthia.

"Let's go out separately. You check outside to see if anyone's there, then I'll go out and wander around for a while, and then you come out last, understand?"

Although it took a long and winding road, Mei's plan was indeed effective. In order to prevent Cynthia from discovering any clues, they did need to "take care of" things a little.

As for Lillie and Mei, there's no need to worry too much; they'll understand on their own eventually.

"You guys go challenge the Gym this morning. I'll go with Cynthia and Mei to buy some things we need."

Sitting in a private room at a Restaurant, Qiao Ran took out a map from Spatial Rift and spread it out on the table. The map depicted the terrain and island locations of the Alola Region, and the scale was basically accurate.

"... After lunch and a short rest, we'll head to Alola. This time, we don't need to go too far; we just need to reach the middle of Ula'ula Island and Poni Island. However, according to the map of Alola, Ula'ula Island is in the lower right and Poni Island is in the upper left, meaning our trip might involve traversing the entire Alola Region."

Qiao Ran drew a straight line between the two islands, and at the midpoint of this line was a facility they were very familiar with.

"It's probably around the location of Aether Paradise... By the way, we left Aether Paradise in a bit of a rush last time, so there might still be some leftover data there. We can ask Lu... Lillie's mother later."

Considering that Mei and her friends might expend some energy challenging the Gym, they wouldn't be able to sustain a high-intensity battle in the afternoon. Fortunately, the area from Ula'ula Island to Poni Island is almost entirely ocean, so there wouldn't be many Ultra Beast coming to harass them at sea, and the density of battles would be much lower than on land.

"... Flying in the air, huh... we can probably use it as a training exercise for our trip to the Unova Region. If we want to cross Unova and Sinnoh, we'll need to fly there."

Cynthia nodded thoughtfully. Although Qiao Ran's arrangements were very tight, they were also quite reasonable. Using Alola as a springboard for them to get to know each other better, and Cynthia also wanted to know what exactly happened in Alola. Ideally, she could go to Alola and meet Lusamine.

"By the way, Mei, would you like to go back to Melemele Island on your way and visit your mother?"

Qiao Ran suddenly remembered something, so he turned to look at Mei beside him and asked a question.

"I..." Mei paused, slightly turning her gaze away.

"If possible, of course..."

Some time ago, after Qiao Ran and his friends rescued Molayne and the others from the mountain, they restored some of the island's communication capabilities with Lusamine and successfully made brief contact with a Pokémon Professor on Melemele Island. The professor confirmed that Mei's mother was safe.

--Mei's home in Alola is on Melemele Island, which is located a little north of their route. However, going to Melemele Island would inevitably deviate their journey from the original route, which would mean they would have to spend more time.

Mei's dilemma lies in the fact that Cynthia has already said that their time is very tight, and they do indeed have very important things to do. If her problem drags down the entire team, that is certainly not what she wants.

Besides... her relationship with Qiao Ran now... how is she going to explain this to her mother??? She hasn't even won the Champion yet, how could she suddenly... no, no, they're here to save the Pokémon World, why are they thinking about this kind of thing?

Cynthia glanced at the conflicted Mei, then at the map Qiao Ran had spread out on the table, and pondered for a while.

Finally, she raised her head.

"... It's alright, taking a slightly longer route is fine. I've looked at the terrain of Alola, and if we move quickly, we should be able to cover all the other islands within three days."

"Wait... do you want to visit all the other islands too?"

Hearing Cynthia's words, Qiao Ran looked at her in surprise.

Should we visit all the other islands?

Although Qiao Ran had indeed had this idea before, in order to save time, he deliberately compressed the journey into a straight line to Poni Island.

"Yes, just go to all the other islands and head straight to the Island deity's Altar."

Cynthia looked at Qiao Ran.

"... Didn't you say before that Tapu Bulu asked you to help rescue the other Island deity?"

"Furthermore, the Altar in Alola do indeed have similar characteristics to those in other regions. Judging from your experience entering that space last time, Qiao Ran, those Altar do indeed have the function of traveling to the Distortion World."

"Therefore, I also have an idea."

"What... idea?"

Facing Cynthia's unwavering gaze, Qiao Ran couldn't help but swallow. This confident, beautiful, and undeniably awe-inspiring demeanor was precisely the unique aura of this Sinnoh Champion.

Cynthia looked directly at Qiao Ran and spoke her mind, word by word.

"... Have you ever considered whether it's possible to reach the Sinnoh Region directly through that strange space?"

"...!"

In an instant, Qiao Ran's eyes widened.

"Wait, could it be that you're thinking of...?"

Qiao Ran covered her head and muttered to herself.

"Indeed, why can't I travel to Sinnoh through that space...? All the return records from the Torn World and the Distortion World are near the Sendoff Spring in the Sinnoh Region... If we follow the logic, that place should be..."

The association has a fixed exit...

"Yes, all the people with clear records who were able to return from that world are those who left their records near Sendoff Spring. As for other regions, there are none."

Cynthia's gaze was deep and thoughtful. She had mentioned these things to Qiao Ran before, which was the basis for her conjecture.

"Or perhaps it should be said that you, Qiao Ran, who was able to enter that space and then return from the same spot, are the most special one."

Cynthia's idea was somewhat inexplicably "crazy," but it was indeed a possibility worth trying. Qiao Ran nodded and expressed his opinion.

"If that's the case, then we might need to change our afternoon schedule."

Qiao Ran reached out and pointed to the location of Ula'ula Island, then swiped upwards, pointing to an island that had been previously overlooked by everyone.

"Our first step is to head north to Akala Island. On this island lives Tapu Lele, the Island deity with Psychic and Fairy type."

"Then, we'll head west. West of Akala Island lies Melemele Island, where the Island deity is Tapu Koko, an Electric/ Fairy type. Mei can use this time to meet her mother. If we don't have enough time, we can split up."

"Finally, we'll start from Melemele Island and head South a bit, which will bring us to Poni Island. However, before we go to the Altar of the Moone, we need to retrieve something from a small island at the very edge of Poni Island, which will probably take some time."

Qiao Ran's fingers moved constantly as he explained, indicating the exact route he had initially planned. If Cynthia hadn't joined them and there hadn't been an urgent need to "rush," he would likely have followed the normal route. After all, they didn't only have Alola to deal with. Besides the Alola world, there was the Real World, and even Galar...

There were actually a lot of problems in Galar, but Marnie was able to stay put, so Qiao Ran didn't prioritize dealing with things there.

However, if given the chance, Qiao Ran still hopes to return to Galar and completely resolve the remaining issues. After all, his current strength is vastly different from what it was before, and with so many companions now, he might actually be able to help Galar make significant changes.

Furthermore, Marnie's Older Brother is still missing. Lillie's Older Brother is currently hunting Ultra Beast, but who knows where Marnie's Older Brother is.

However, for now, it's better to focus on dealing with the problems at hand.

"Yes, this route should be the safest."

Cynthia also approved of Qiao Ran's choice of route. Visiting the Altar in the Alola Region would increase their understanding of those mysterious substances. Moreover, Cynthia had only heard about these things from Qiao Ran before, and if possible, she hoped to "experience" them herself.

The group discussed this issue for a long time, but soon it was almost time to head to the Gym and prepare for the Gym Battle.

Because Mei, Lillie, and Acerola all have to participate in the challenge, their time in the morning will be quite tight, and they might not be able to finish until after noon.

"... I think we can discuss the itinerary for the journey in detail, especially when we go out to purchase supplies."

Cynthia looked at Qiao Ran and winked with a smile.

Mei and the others went to challenge the Gym, but those who were procuring supplies still had plenty of time. They could discuss these details later.

After saying goodbye to Mei and the others, Qiao Ran, Mei Mei, and Cynthia prepared to go shopping at a nearby mall.

This operation will likely take a considerable amount of time, so stockpiling supplies in the Wild Area is essential. They can't just go shopping all the time, so thorough preparations must be made before every major operation.

However, this seems to be the first time that Qiao Ran, Mei, and Cynthia have come out together. They are used to acting together all the time, so they feel a little awkward at this time.

Mei, who usually enjoys talking, has been silent for a long time. She's probably still struggling with how to strike a balance between not being discovered by Cynthia and not making herself uncomfortable. What does it mean to be "the same as usual"?

Suddenly, Mei even had the thought that she shouldn't be here in the first place. Perhaps she should have gone to the Gym with Lillie and the others. Even if she couldn't continue participating in the Competition, just watching from the sidelines would be much better than being stuck here awkwardly.

She couldn't appear too intimate with Qiao Ran, nor could she show any unusual behavior. How could she possibly understand such a difficult situation?

She's not a famous actress like Sabrina.

Thus, this shopping trip took place in this atmosphere that seemed somewhat strange, yet not entirely strange.

As the activity continued, Cynthia seemed to Frisk something "strange," but she didn't think too much about it, only that Mei might be a little too nervous.

Is it because of my status as the Sinnoh Champion?

... It seems I'll have to talk to them privately in the future.

As a slightly older woman, Cynthia was also trying to integrate into the circle of younger girls. In her opinion, this was not something Qiao Ran could solve; only by taking the initiative herself could things improve.

"These are what I want to buy, these are what I want to buy, and these are what I want to buy..."

This wasn't the first time Qiao Ran had done something like procuring supplies. He was very familiar with the needs of most Pokémon in the Wild Area, so when he finished handling everything smoothly, it didn't actually take him too long.

"Since we still have some free time, let's find a place to rest and then chat."

As Cynthia spoke, her gaze kept glancing in a certain direction. Although most of the time she gave the impression of being an ethereal Sinnoh Champion, as an ordinary person, she still had her own preferences.

Following her gaze, Qiao Ran immediately noticed that it was a dessert shop located on the side of the road in the shopping mall.

"You really like this kind of thing?"

"Ahem." Faced with Qiao Ran's teasing, Cynthia simply coughed lightly without denying it.

"This place would be more suitable, considering both practicality and comfort."

She wouldn't tell anyone that it was because the operation was starting this afternoon, and she just wanted to take this opportunity to have one last meal.

Cynthia believed she had concealed her true intentions, but everyone was actually aware of them, they just hadn't said it outright.

Qiao Ran Mei weren't opposed to relaxing a little. Since they were about to start fighting anyway, giving themselves a small "reward" wouldn't be bad, right?

However, after entering the dessert shop, Cynthia resumed her traditional skills. Even after Qiao Ran Mei had made their choices, she remained standing there, deep in thought.