Kaim stuffed the rice ball into his mouth with a wry smile.
Cynthia noticed a grain of rice stuck to his slightly relaxed cheek.
"Naki, there's rice on your face."
"Are you serious?"
Kaim immediately felt his cheek, but the grain was on the other side, so he failed to remove it.
It was an unusual sight for Kaim, who was normally so neat and composed. A protective urge and a mischievous impulse welled up in Cynthia, and she instinctively reached out, took the grain of rice from his cheek, and put it in her own mouth.
"!"
"Hehe, thanks for the meal."
Kaim frowned at Cynthia's smile. I'm not embarrassed by the act itself. The problem was that Lucia and Ishana were watching, and he could see the girls getting excited about something.
Whether Cynthia had failed to notice or had grown used to it thanks to Caitlin and the others, she remained perfectly calm.
Thinking this would become troublesome later, Kaim turned his gaze toward Staraptor beside him.
"Staraptor, there's something I want to ask you after we eat."
When he called out to Staraptor, who was talking with Kirlia beside him, Staraptor's gaze sharpened slightly, and the Pokémon nodded.
After they finished eating and cleaned up, Staraptor returned.
Staraptor landed in front of Kaim, crying loudly to convey something.
"Good work. Did you find it?"
Staraptor nodded at Kaim's words, then looked away and turned toward a particular direction.
"Over there."
"What happened?"
Lucia, who had been watching his exchange with Staraptor, asked Kaim.
"We don't have much time left to investigate this island, so I asked Staraptor to survey its exterior from the air and see whether there were any relics. There's a concrete pier here, so it wouldn't be surprising to find something else."
"Of