The amusement park's lights gradually came on in the dusk. The carousel music was still looping tirelessly, but the group's steps had already slowed.
Dawn was the last to get off the bumper cars, her cheeks flushed and the wisps of hair across her forehead clumped together with sweat. Piplup crouched on her shoulder, his little wings drooping, clearly worn out from playing too.
"About time to go, right?" Elesa glanced down at her phone. "The restaurant reservation is for seven. If we head over now, we'll be right on time."
Dawn gave the amusement park behind her a reluctant look, but still obediently nodded.
They headed out along the amusement park's main thoroughfare, the neon lights on either side looking especially vivid in the dusk.
Once they returned to ground level, Elesa put her mask and hat back on, tucking her golden curls into her baseball cap and leaving only a few wisps outside, trying her best not to draw anyone's attention.
"What are we eating?" Dawn walked beside her, her stomach growling right on cue.
"Seafood," Elesa said with a smile. "It's a place I go to often. The ingredients are very fresh, and it's quiet too."
The restaurant was not far from the Gym, and its caliber was apparent even from outside.
An entire wall of floor-to-ceiling glass, a black marble reception desk at the entrance, dark gray carpeting on the floor, and a carefully pruned welcoming pine on either side. There was no ostentatious sign above the entrance, only a small bronze emblem set into the wall, engraved with the restaurant's name.
This was clearly a restaurant of exceptionally high caliber in Nimbasa City.
Elesa's choice to treat them here showed that she truly valued Xia You.
Dawn stood at the entrance, her steps noticeably faltering.