A misunderstanding

Regigigas, a Normal-type Legendary Pokémon.

In the lore and the legends passed down through the ages, Regigigas dragged entire continents with ropes. This was also the Pokémon that could create five Legendary Pokémon titans from special icebergs, rocks, magma, electricity, and crystallized dragon energy.

And such a powerful Pokémon was inside Snowpoint Temple.

So there was nothing wrong with doing a favor for Candice, the future Gym Leader of Snowpoint City. In fact, he stood to gain a great deal.

Besides his plans for the temple, Qingliu suddenly thought of another possibility.

"The panel charges through exploring things with a long history. Then if the target of that exploration... is a Pokémon that's lived for ages, like Regigigas, could that trigger the charging condition?"

Qingliu wasn't sure, but it was undoubtedly worth trying.

The only thing he needed to watch out for was that any disturbance caused by the panel might wake that enormous Pokémon, who was notoriously grumpy about being roused.

Still, that was a matter for later. Until he was strong enough and Candice had become a Gym Leader, he didn't need to think about it.

"I just wonder if she'll understand the goodwill I'm trying to show. If she's anything like Agumon, all my effort will have been wasted."

Gazing up at the clear night sky, with silver moonlight spilling over him, Qingliu closed his eyes, sat up, and stretched before lying back onto the grass behind him.

When he opened his eyes again, his view had suddenly grown dim.

A piece of wrinkled yellow fabric had appeared in his field of vision, blocking half the moonlight overhead.

Qingliu frowned in puzzlement. Beside the fabric blocking his view were two smooth, snowy-white "pillars."

He froze for a moment, then shifted his gaze farther back.

As what he saw increasingly matched a certain suspicion in his mind, Qingliu immediately covered his eyes with his hand.

The next second...

"Aaaah!!!"

A shriek sharp enough to pierce eardrums rang through the night sky.

"Ahem, sorry. I really didn't mean to."

Qingliu spoke awkwardly as he looked at Candice, who was sitting in front of him with her legs folded out to either side, her face bright red.

Who could have imagined that simply sitting up to stretch would coincide with Candice walking behind him, just as he lay back down?

From that angle and position, even with shorts under her skirt, it was still unbearably awkward.

Only after several minutes of silence in that strange atmosphere did the reproach in Candice's eyes slowly fade.

She straightened her posture. Although the blush had yet to leave her face, her expression gradually returned to normal. After letting out a soft breath, she said earnestly, "Thank you so much for the Berries and grilled fish. You took care of dinner for Snover and me."

"It was nothing. Don't mention it."

Seeing that she had recovered her composure, Qingliu waved it off, then asked, "By the way, how's Snover doing?"

"After eating the Oran Berry, Snover's recovered quite a bit. There shouldn't be any serious problems."

Qingliu nodded. "That's good."

After that, the two fell into another long silence, and the atmosphere returned to its earlier, strangely awkward stillness.

Qingliu didn't speak first. He could tell she had something she wanted to say but couldn't bring herself to say it.

If she wasn't in a hurry, neither was he. He had a thick skin, after all.

As for Agumon, who was lying nearby digesting dinner, there was even less reason to worry.

Anyone who could remain utterly unfazed by strange noises suddenly coming from outside the door while listening to a horror story certainly wouldn't panic over something this trivial.

Of course, rather than fearlessness, Qingliu was more inclined to think Agumon had let it go in one ear and out the other-or simply hadn't listened at all. That was probably the case now, too.

After wrestling with herself for a long while, Candice finally spoke slowly. "If you don't mind, I'd like to know something. After you suggested a battle, you acted like you weren't going to show us any mercy, then suddenly held back at the end. Were you trying to use the bond between Snover and me to make us realize how much we meant to each other, so we could get past this conflict?"

"I take back what I said earlier. At least you're normal up here. You still have a chance of taking over the Gym."

Qingliu pointed at his head and smiled.

Candice gave an embarrassed smile, then bowed deeply, her tone thoroughly sincere. "Although Snover was hurt pretty badly, I'm still very grateful that you helped us make up."

"All I did was get things started for you. Whether you can really get back to how things were depends on you making changes. Otherwise, anything you say is just empty talk."

"I understand. After what just happened, I'll definitely work hard at it. Thank you so much!"

"I already said there's no need. It was just a little thing."

"Actually... I have another question."

"You want to ask whether helping you was something I planned or something I decided on the spot? And if I planned it, what was I after? Is that it?"

Rather than let Candice hem and haw forever without getting the words out, Qingliu simply spelled it out himself.

With Qingliu having voiced her thoughts outright, Candice's eyes widened. Then she nodded. "Yes."

"You don't need to worry about that. I helped because Snover found my grilled fish for me and drove away some potential threats, too. I wanted to return the favor, so I lent a hand while I was at it..."

"Oh, I see."

Candice had only just breathed a sigh of relief and hadn't yet had time to say anything else when Qingliu's next words put her right back on edge.

"Of course, you were part of the reason, too."

"??!!"

Candice instantly tensed up.

Especially when she noticed Qingliu's gaze roaming around her waist after he said that, she felt that something was very wrong. Remembering the earlier accident, her pretty face flushed bright red again.

"That thing... could you let me take a look?"

With thoughts racing through her head, Candice heard those words and saw Qingliu point at her waist. Having recently been keeping up with trendy services, she instantly thought of scenes from certain special books, and her brain nearly shut down.

Sure, Qingliu did help me, and Snover likes him quite a bit. He's a good trainer, and his build and looks are really nice, too, but is it really okay to move this fast?

Shouldn't we get to know each other first before anything else? Are we really jumping straight into that part of the story?

Watching Candice seemingly fall into "confusion" after hearing his words, Qingliu was baffled.

He just wanted to look at the belt she used to carry Poké Balls around her waist, along with the Poké Balls attached to it.

He had only just arrived in this world and had never even seen a Poké Ball. If he didn't actually get a feel for one and ended up buying a counterfeit or shoddy product later, he'd suffer a serious loss.

After all, he was only just getting started. Every last penny mattered.

So what was with Candice acting so strangely now?

Qingliu couldn't help feeling that he ought to take back his earlier praise about her having a normal brain.