The banquet was only halfway through, but dozens of white plates stained with food scraps were already piled high in front of Ash's group of three. They let out great burps and lounged back in their wooden chairs, patting their bulging bellies. By the look of them, they could not eat another bite.
Whenever an opportunity like this arose, they showed their bodies no mercy. They would never stop until they had eaten so much they needed a wall to support them on the way out!
Now that they had eaten and drunk their fill and had some time to spare, they finally had a chance to chat with High Priestess Maya.
Brock was by far the most enthusiastic. In fact, when he first met the beautiful priestess, he had stood frozen for a long time, as though turned to stone.
Now he held nothing back as he recounted everything he had seen and heard on their travels, pouring out every fun and interesting story in an all-out effort to win the beautiful priestess's favor.
Maya had encountered far too many men as enthusiastic as Brock-or rather, men who admired her beauty. She had her own way of handling them and always managed to maintain a slight distance without being impolite.
Still, perhaps because she had been confined here since childhood, Maya was clearly very interested in their travels.
As she listened with relish to those bizarre, hair-raising stories, a trace of longing slipped unwittingly into her expression.
In particular, when Ash told her how they had battled the Legendary Birds on Shamouti Island to stop the Collector, and how their efforts had ultimately helped them quell the turmoil alongside Lugia, the Sea God, Maya was not the only one astonished. Several nearby female attendants also turned to stare at