Little Egg Lays an Egg

Back at Sand Group Underground City.

Baimu was summoned to meet Sand Group boss Cang Zhilang.

He had thought he was going to get beaten again, but when he got there, he found the man grunting through bench presses, his bulging muscles no less impressive than Machamp's or Conkeldurr's. While lifting, Cang Zhilang told him that everything he had promised earlier had been fulfilled, then asked whether he had decided who to follow.

He said Liu Ge.

Then he was kicked out.

Baimu was left rather confused. Was Liu Ge really that reassuring? Cang Zhilang had not even continued with the PUA spiel.

Well, fine.

Who wanted to get beaten up for no reason?

After leaving, Baimu headed up to the surface and went to the hospital to see Otsuka, who had just undergone surgery. By chance, he spotted Otsuka's parents and older sister outside the ward.

Clearly, none of them knew him, so he only glanced in from outside. Seeing that Otsuka was practically wrapped up like a mummy and that there was nothing seriously wrong with his heart monitor, he left.

Then he went home.

Baimu let Lairon and Chansey out to roam freely, then went to check his little stash.

To prepare for today's match, his savings had shrunk drastically to less than thirty thousand. Fortunately, he had made a killing from the match; the money already in hand alone came to three million.

"...I should keep this money on me. It won't be safe otherwise."

After thinking it over, he felt that leaving such a huge sum at home was too dangerous. Once the tournament ended, his name would definitely spread for a while. Who knew whether some thief might come snooping around?

—Pyrite Town had plenty of people who wanted money more than they wanted to live.

Put it in the bank?

That did not seem very reliable either.

Baimu knew full well that although Pyrite Town's only private bank was owned by the mayor, it often had no credibility whatsoever. Hardly any underlings from the various factions would take their chances and deposit money there.

Ordinary civilians, on the other hand, were quite happy to hand their money over to the mayor for safekeeping.

It would be better to carry it himself, or ask someone to deposit it in Pokémon Bank in Silicon Beryllium City. That place was more reliable, since the people who had established the bank came from other regions. It was linked worldwide, and money could be withdrawn and used anywhere.

He found a place to put the money away, thinking that once things settled down in a couple of days, he would look for a third Pokémon to round out his team.

Suddenly—

"Gudo!"

Lairon rushed into the bedroom in a panic, letting out a muffled cry at him.

Baimu was startled. "What's wrong?"

Before the words had even left his mouth, Chansey walked in from outside, looking somewhat shy as she held up a huge, smooth egg in her tiny hands.

Baimu's eyes widened, and he stammered, "You laid an egg!? No, wait, this is an egg you laid—no, that's not right either. Ah, did you take this egg out from the pouch on your belly?"

"Lucky~"

Chansey nodded and placed the egg on the bed, looking happily at Baimu and Lairon.

It was a nutritious egg, produced from the dark pink pouch on her abdomen. When she was feeling energetic and in peak condition, she could lay several a day. It was extremely nutritious and suitable for both humans and Pokémon.

Honestly.

Chansey had not shared her eggs in a long time. It was not because she was stingy, but because she knew that if she gave away the one in her pouch back then, she would have no way to replenish it.

She did not know why herself. She had simply had that feeling.

But just now, Chansey had suddenly felt that she could lay eggs again. After making an initial attempt, she discovered that it was indeed possible.

Unfortunately, it had scared the inexperienced Lairon half to death.

After some communication, Baimu explained Chansey's special ability to Lairon.

The latter let out a long sigh of relief. "Gudo!"

He had thought Chansey was going to have a baby. It had scared the life out of him.

But a nutritious egg... he seemed to remember someone saying he was malnourished and needed to build himself up?

Lairon ran to the bed and raised his head to sniff the egg. For some reason, it had an enticing aroma. Unlike the eggs he had seen before, it gave him the distinct sense that it was edible.

"Gu!"

He swallowed.

Seeing this, Chansey immediately placed the egg in front of Lairon, gesturing for him to eat it.

Lairon eagerly opened his mouth, but just as he was about to eat it, he stopped himself and nudged the egg toward Baimu with his nose.

Good things had to be shared.

He had never been a Pokémon who kept food all to himself.

After thinking for a moment, Baimu smiled and suggested, "Let's stop being polite. Since it's Chansey's heartfelt gift, we'll fry it up in a bit and share it among everyone."

"Gudo!"

Lairon nodded, indicating that sharing it together was fine.

Who would have thought that Chansey, hearing this, assumed there was not enough egg to go around? She hurriedly pulled two more from the pouch in front of her belly with a clunk-clunk, placing them beside the first one.

The laying process was extraordinarily magical. Such huge eggs swelled up and took shape in mere minutes.

Seeing that she was about to pull out more, Baimu quickly stopped her.

"Don't! That's enough, that's enough! One each is perfect!"

Being able to lay eggs did not mean it came without any cost to Chansey. Besides, something that big might not even be finished all at once. Wasting food was not good.

"Lucky!"

Chansey smiled sheepishly and scratched her head. She knew she had gotten too excited.

Baimu picked up the three eggs, and his mood immediately brightened.

In fact, when he had bought Chansey, he had entertained a similar idea. Lairon had been malnourished at the time and needed some nourishment.

But Chansey had never offered one. He figured she was probably still uneasy and that they were not yet familiar with one another, so he set the thought aside and acted as though it had never happened.

Yet less than a week later—

His goal had been achieved.

Baimu could not help feeling delighted. Even getting three million had not made him as happy as this.

He lit the stove, set a pan on it, and poured in oil.

As he worked, he chatted nonsense with the two Pokémon crowding around him. "How done do you two want them? Want runny yolks? Let me tell you, fried eggs are the kind of thing that can't possibly taste bad even if you cook them with your eyes closed—"

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang.

Three pairs of eyes turned toward the front door in unison.

Baimu turned off the heat, walked to the door, and looked through the peephole. Outside stood a stranger—the insignia on his chest identified him as a Sand Group squad leader.

"May I ask who you are?"

He opened the door and asked in confusion.

"Got time?" the man said bluntly. "The prize money from the match, your share of the tips, and the benefits that come with squad leader status can all be collected from headquarters now. I came to notify you. Go as soon as you can."

"Ah! Thank you!"

Baimu hurriedly thanked him, then took out thirty thousand from his pocket and offered it with a smile. "Just a small token of appreciation. Sorry for the trouble of making the trip."

Without even looking at it, the man said, "I'm one of Brother Liu Ge's people too. There's no need. Our company doesn't do that sort of thing. Rather than this, help me out when there's a brawl. I'd be more grateful for that."

"Ah! My apologies!"

He put the money away, then ran into the room and grabbed a nutritious egg. "Please take this. It's nothing valuable, just a little gift to say hello."

"...All right."

The man looked at the nutritious egg and no longer declined it. He accepted it, then asked, "By the way, you didn't recognize me?"

Baimu froze, examined him carefully, then suddenly realized. "You're the one who delivered Vibrava to me—"

"That's right. My name is Flobo. From now on, we'll be colleagues working under Big Brother. Let's keep the squads close in the future." Flobo smiled and nodded, then turned and left.

What a rare bit of human warmth.

Baimu had always believed that the world of official members contained nothing but cold interests. His experiences over the past week had certainly proven that.

He had not expected there to be such a good person.

Was it because he had risen up?

Did having a higher status mean there were more good people around him?

Baimu closed the door and swayed his head as he walked into the kitchen. "Sorry, Chansey, Lairon. The three of us will have to split two—"

His voice abruptly cut off.

Because the egg that had been given away had somehow been replaced on the table.

He could not help looking at Chansey, who smiled shyly.

"Lucky~"

"Gudo!"

Lairon's eyes curved into crescents.

Baimu revealed a helpless smile.

"All right, you little clever thing. Back to the topic—speaking of runny yolks, I have to mention soy sauce. I never got to eat any in Pyrite Town, but let me tell you, that stuff..."

His rambling voice lingered for a long time in the small kitchen beneath the soft, dim yellow light.

A heartwarming tenderness filled every corner of it.