Daigo smiled sheepishly and gently wiped away his sweat with a handkerchief. Then he turned his attention to Shiot beside Kaim.
"So you're Heita. Nice to meet you. I'm Steven."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Heita, the Oreburgh Gym Leader. It's an honor to meet you, Champion of the Hoenn Region."
"Haha! Best of luck. I'm just an employee of the Devon Corporation here. We're about the same age, so please relax."
"If you say so, Mr. Steven."
Despite their similar ages, Kota still seemed a little nervous talking to the Champion of the Hoenn Region.
I hope we can become friends.
Maybe he would stay nervous right to the end, I thought with a wry smile as I headed toward the bar with the two of them. As Kaim walked, he hoped he wouldn't remain nervous the whole time.
I had once thought the same thing.
Ten minutes later, Kaim was drinking ginger ale with a vacant look in his eyes.
"Look at this diamond bead! It's so pure, so transparent! You rarely see anything like it, so I got excited and took a picture."
"Wow! That's worth a fortune! Did you dig it up, Kota?"
"Yes. To be precise, my father and I did."
"With your dad! That's wonderful! I used to dig up fossils with my dad, too!"
The two of them kept chatting comfortably about stones across me. Since they both loved stones, the moment the subject came up, they hit it off. Within five minutes, they were completely absorbed in their discussion and having a great time.
Kaim, who didn't know much about stones, was drinking ginger ale and eating kinpira. Steven noticed him and smiled, patting his shoulder.
"What's wrong, Kaim? You look miles away."
"I can't understand your rock talk, so I'm bored."