Regrettable Rating

Seeing the seed, Cynthia could not help but freeze in place.

She could not figure out why the flower had suddenly withered and turned into a seed.

She had thought she might learn something from the flower, but now it seemed that lead had been cut off again.

Meanwhile, the livestream chat began flooding with new messages.

[Is that a Gracidea flower? Isn't that what lets Shaymin change forms? Why is it here?]

[Was that Hoopa trying to break the seal just now? Holy shit, it found the first seal already? This mod's story progression is way too fast.]

[Streamer, do you have a link to this mod you're playing? Why isn't there even a GG link? I want to try it too—it looks pretty fun.]

[Streamer, you don't know Shaymin? That's one of Sinnoh's legendary Pokémon!]

Cynthia came back to her senses, her gaze falling on the last comment.

Shaymin?

Was that the name of the hedgehog-like Pokémon from earlier?

And this Gracidea flower—if it really was the same kind she had seen in her dream, what connection did it have to that golden figure?

She took a deep breath, intending to ask the chat for more details about Shaymin and the flower, when the screen before her abruptly went black without warning.

Her computer time was up.

Looking at the dark screen, Cynthia leaned lightly against the back of her chair and let out a reluctant sigh.

Already?

Her gaming time today should have been longer than it had been the previous two days, yet this time had somehow passed even faster.

Still, she had gained quite a lot today.

Not only had she uncovered clues about Team Aqua, she had also learned of the terrifying being called Hoopa, encountered the mysterious Pokémon named Shaymin, and found that flower.

All of this had exceeded her original expectations. Her progress in the game had been fairly smooth as well, and she would soon be heading to the next city to challenge the fourth Gym.

According to the game's setting, there should be eight Gyms in total, which meant she had already completed at least half of the journey.

Her only regret was that she had not had time to ask the viewers about the flower.

But on second thought, Cynthia felt somewhat relieved.

Judging by their reactions, even if she had asked, they probably would not have told her everything.

They seemed more eager to watch her start from scratch and explore and experience everything herself.

For a proper streamer, that seemed like a good thing, but it was not so good for her...

As Cynthia pondered this, a huge prompt box popped up before her again. It was the settlement screen for today's computer session.

[This computer session has ended]

[Viewers: 332]

[New followers: 170]

[Total gifts: 15]

[Computer session rating: B-]

[Review: Some entertainment value, but not much. The number of gifts and comments was not up to standard. Remember, as a streamer, you must build a connection with your viewers instead of treating them as strategy-guide tools!]

[No increase in tomorrow's computer time]

Cynthia looked at the prompt and frowned.

No increase in time?

She had clearly beaten the third Gym, and her livestream had more viewers than before. Why was her rating still so low?

Based on what had happened last time, shouldn't her rating have improved this time?

Her gaze settled on the review, and she fell into thought.

Build a connection...

That was true. Thinking back on the livestream, she had indeed been immersed in the game's world the entire time. Aside from occasionally checking the chat when she encountered something she did not understand, she had barely spoken to them at all.

Though she truly had no interest in being a streamer...

Still, when she thought about it carefully, they had helped her so much and provided so much game information. Only thanking them every now and then really did make her seem distant.

If she wanted to improve her computer session rating and gain more time tomorrow, she would need to become closer to them as well.

With that thought, Cynthia made her decision.

Then she would try again tomorrow.

As she considered it, more prompts continued appearing on the screen.

[Rewards obtained this session!]

[Internet Café Points: 4]

Four points...

Cynthia gave it a glance. At the moment, the points seemed to be usable only for exchanging drinks, and she did not yet know whether they had any other purpose, so she did not pay much attention to them.

Come to think of it, since her rating was not high, today's reward probably would not be very good either.

But that was fine. As she had said before, she had already gained more than enough today.

However, just as Cynthia was about to remove her headphones and stand up, a faint light flickered before her eyes.

A yellowed sheet of parchment suddenly appeared before her, silently floating in the air.

At the same time, a game prompt appeared on the settlement panel.

[Additional reward obtained: Special item—Blooming Map]

[One-time item. Follow the map's guidance after use, and you can find where the Gracidea flower fields are in bloom.]

Cynthia's eyes widened sharply.

Perhaps she could find clues from the flower she had discovered in the game.

And if she could find a place in the real world where this kind of flower bloomed, would that not be the same?

Her gaze immediately fell on the map. As she watched, something miraculous happened: strange patterns began appearing across its surface, gradually taking shape until they formed a genuine map.

Cynthia took the map and examined it carefully, only to discover that it pointed to the Sinnoh region.

As she watched, the lines continued shifting and enlarging until they slowly locked onto a location, becoming a red dot that flashed continuously.

And that place was...

Floaroma Town... in the Sinnoh region?

Seeing this, Cynthia did not hesitate. She tucked the map into her clothes and rose to her feet.

"Thank you for having me today, boss. I'll be leaving first."

Lance, who had been drinking the last of his beverage nearby, turned his head at that and raised a brow.

"Leaving so soon? You're not going to watch me play?"

Cynthia shook her head.

"I found a clue about him."

Lance immediately understood.

"Oh! Then good luck."

Only then did Cynthia notice that, apart from herself, the owner, and Lance, there was actually a little girl in the internet café.

When the girl saw Cynthia looking her way, she raised a hand in greeting.

"Um... hello?"

"Hello. I'm Cynthia, and I'm also a customer of this internet café."

Cynthia nodded politely.

"I have something to take care of today. See you tomorrow, and enjoy your time online."

"Garchomp, let's go."