Lin Hao tossed his backpack onto the bench and tapped the greasy wooden menu. "Bring us all your most expensive meat."
The owner stared at the banknote on the table, looking hesitant. He pointed at the dishes on the menu and asked quietly, "Sir, that's enough for more than ten people. Are you sure?"
"Afraid I won't pay?" Lin Hao slapped down another note. The owner grinned from ear to ear, grabbed the money, and ran to the kitchen.
Sitting across from him, May watched the stack of notes leave his hands before he'd even had time to warm them. It pained her to see it. "You ordered so much. Can you really finish it?"
"An ordinary guy just spent all day on a boat. I urgently need calories, or I won't even have the strength to walk." Lin Hao deftly snapped apart his bamboo chopsticks and rubbed them against each other to scrape off the splinters.
"Most ordinary people get seasick. They'd run as far away as they could at the sight of meat." May pursed her lips.
Plates of meat soon covered the table, and the charcoal glowed red beneath the grill. Lin Hao laid slices of meat across it, then tapped Pikachu's paw as it reached for the raw meat. "Raw meat has parasites. Wait until it's cooked."
Pikachu flicked its ears, cooked the meat with a tiny bolt of electricity, and stuffed it straight into its mouth.
May sighed at the sight, waving her chopsticks in midair. "Can't you two show a little common sense when you eat?"
"Common sense won't fill your stomach." Lin Hao kept transferring cooked slices into his bowl, his cheeks bulging with food.
Half an hour later, the empty plates formed a towering stack. Lin Hao rubbed his stomach and waved toward the counter. "Boss, the bill."
The owner handed him a slip of paper, its total heavily circled in red pen. "That'll be thirty-eight thousand League Coins."
Lin Hao's fingers froze in his pocket as he reached for his wallet, and his expression darkened. "Thirty-eight thousand? Are you robbing me?"
"This is Miltank beef, flown in fresh. It's certainly worth the price." The owner patted the counter.
Lin Hao slapped the cash onto the counter, the corner of his eye twitching, then pulled May outside. "The prices here are daylight robbery. We'd better find somewhere cheap to stay."
May followed him. They went from door to door along the blue stone-paved street, only to receive the same answer each time. "Sorry, we're fully booked."
The receptionist at the first inn didn't even look up, simply continuing to draw red circles in the register.
A no-vacancy sign hung on the wooden door of the second inn. Lin Hao stared at the white sheet of paper declaring that all rooms were booked for the day and sighed. "Don't people in the Johto Region have jobs? Why are there always so many people staying in inns?"
May checked her phone, the picture of a golden ancient tower glaring brightly on the screen. "The Bell Tower festival is today. Tourists from all over the region are flocking here. Of course there aren't any rooms left."
"What a lousy festival. They won't even leave us somewhere to sleep." Lin Hao tugged at his collar.
At the far end of the street, they finally spotted an old inn with half its sign missing. Lin Hao pushed open the creaking wooden door. "Boss, got any rooms?"
The owner behind the counter blew a smoke ring and answered lazily, "One."
Lin Hao breathed a sigh of relief and pulled his wallet out of his pocket. "Then we'll take a twin room, or two singles."
The owner gave them a sidelong look and tapped the counter. "I don't have two. There's just one room left, with one big bed. Want it or not?"
May's cheeks instantly flushed. She tugged at Lin Hao's sleeve and whispered, "One big bed? Shouldn't we try somewhere else?"
Lin Hao slapped the room fee onto the counter and took the rusty brass key. "Violet City gets windy at night. Sleeping on the street is a good way to catch a chill, and I don't want a cold."
May stamped her foot and followed him upstairs, the wooden steps creaking shrilly beneath them. "That still doesn't mean we can sleep in the same bed!"
Lin Hao stopped outside their room on the second floor, inserted the key, and turned it. "You can sleep in the bathtub if you want. It's pretty roomy."
May rolled her eyes in irritation and folded her arms. "Why should I be the one sleeping in the tub?"
Lin Hao pushed open the door, tossed his backpack onto the wooden floor, and sprawled spread-eagled in the middle of the bed. "Because I paid for the room. Freeloaders don't get to choose."
The mattress sank deeply beneath him. May stood beside the bed, watching him lie there as she tapped her toe against the floor. "Get up. We're drawing a line down the middle of the bed. If you dare cross it, I'll show you what an Investigator can do."
Lin Hao pulled the blanket over his stomach without even opening his eyes. "Do whatever you want. I never roll over in my sleep."
Pikachu darted under the blanket, leaving only a bit of its tail sticking out and swaying.
May sat on the edge of the bed and nudged Lin Hao's shoulder, her brows knitting slightly. "You reek of barbecue. Go take a shower, or you're not getting into bed tonight."
Lin Hao rolled over and scratched his messy hair, looking thoroughly annoyed. "What a pain." He took a change of clothes into the bathroom, and the sound of running water soon came from inside.
Sitting on the bed, May took out her work notebook and began scribbling, her pen scratching across the paper. "Day one: arrived safely in Violet City. The subject does nothing but eat and sleep. Extremely poor vigilance."
The bathroom door opened, and Lin Hao walked out, drying his wet hair with a towel. He switched off the hallway light as he passed. "What are you writing? Can you get me reimbursed for that barbecue?"
May stuffed the notebook into her bag and zipped it shut loudly. "Dream on. The League doesn't reimburse personal food expenses."
Lin Hao yawned, climbed straight under the covers, and pulled most of the blanket over himself. "Lights off. Time to sleep."
Half an hour later, the room's light went out, leaving only moonlight spilling onto the wooden floor.
May climbed into bed as quietly as she could and lay pressed against its outermost edge. She didn't dare move, her fingertips digging into her palms.
Beside her, Lin Hao suddenly rolled over, his arm landing heavily on the bedding with a soft thump. May froze, hearing nothing but her own rapid breathing.
But Lin Hao merely smacked his lips twice and mumbled, "Braised pork... remember extra sugar. No chopped scallions."
The tension left May's shoulders. She rolled her eyes, closed them, and fell sound asleep.
The next morning, May kicked Lin Hao in the calf and flipped back a corner of the blanket. "Get up. We've got proper work to do today."
Lin Hao pulled the blanket over his head and muttered, "Even if the sky falls, it can wait until I've slept till noon."
May yanked the blanket away, threw his jacket onto his face, and pulled open the curtains. "Champion Lance sent a message. There are signs of Team Galactic activity in the Johto Region. We need to investigate."
Lin Hao slowly sat up and rubbed the itchy corners of his eyes, still half asleep. "Let them do their thing. What's it got to do with an ordinary guy like me?"
May planted her hands on her hips and looked down at him smugly. "If you don't go, I'll post online about how your entire five million got docked for wrecking the venue. Then everyone in the League can see what a broke Champion you are."
Lin Hao's hand froze halfway into his sleeve. He stared at May, then finally waved a hand. "You play dirty."
He put on his jacket, slipped into his shoes, and headed out with his shoulders slumped.
Violet City's streets were much livelier that morning, with vendors on both sides already calling out their wares. Lin Hao bought a skewer of three-colored dumplings from a small wooden roadside stall.
Rich bean paste melted in his mouth. Beside him, May looked around with a map in her hand. "So where do we go to look for clues?"
Lin Hao pointed his bamboo skewer toward the towering golden ancient tower in the distance, keeping his leisurely pace. "Let's check out the base of that glowing tower first. There are lots of people there, so there's bound to be plenty of snack stalls."
Before you continue