After one final farewell, Cynthia and Cheryl soon disappeared at the end of the road, heading back to Nimbasa City.
Without them, the group suddenly grew much quieter, leaving only the odd combination of Xia You, Dawn, and Makomo.
The three exchanged glances without saying anything, then set off again, continuing northeast.
As they walked, Xia You could not help thinking of a very practical, very mundane, but unavoidable problem.
When Cheryl was around, they never had to worry about their three meals a day.
But now that Cheryl had left, who would cook for them?
Makomo?
Xia You glanced at Makomo beside him.
Makomo was indeed a good cook, on par with Cheryl.
But she was, after all, a Pokémon Professor with a certain social standing in Unova, and her hands were meant for scientific research, not for making their three meals a day.
Not to mention, Makomo was only traveling with them temporarily and had no obligation to look after them.
Seeming to sense the gaze behind her, Makomo turned her head and met Xia You's eyes.
Seeing Xia You looking at her, clever as she was, she only needed a moment's thought to understand what was on his mind.
"Are you thinking about the cooking?"
Xia You paused in surprise but did not deny it.
Makomo adjusted her glasses and said casually, "It's all right. Leave it to me. Although the food I make is different from Cheryl's, you've tried it before and thought it was pretty good, didn't you?"
"Wouldn't it be too much trouble?" It was not Xia You who spoke, but Dawn. She seemed to find the subject a little difficult to bring up. "You already have to make time every day to write papers and do research, and you have to keep traveling