Finishing the Investigation

After dinner, the two returned to the hotel.

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?"

"Right. I'd like to get there before ten."

"Then let's get up at eight, allowing time to get ready and leave. It's been a long trip, and you must be a little tired, so you'd better turn in early."

Kaim spoke as he set the alarm on his phone.

"Right."

"You can shower first. I want to go over some of the data."

"Oh, are you sure?"

"You take longer in the shower. Go on."

"Okay~"

Cynthia took her change of clothes and disappeared into the shower room.

Kaim watched her go, then opened his laptop and connected his external hard drive.

He began organizing the photographs he had saved that day, sorting them as best he could. First, he separated the ancient writing from the decorations, then put similar material into folders.

Even within the same ruins, the details sometimes differed. Was that the individual craftsman's touch, or was there another reason? With only material from the Sinjoh Ruins to compare, he couldn't be sure. To investigate further, he would need to visit the Ruins of Alph in the Johto Region.

Without anything else to compare it to, he couldn't take his analysis any further here, so he disconnected the external hard drive.

Just then, he noticed one of the balls at his waist wobbling slightly and let out the Pokémon inside. Houndoom emerged, stretched luxuriously, and leaped onto Kaim's lap before hopping straight onto his head.

"You're heavy."

Having Houndoom standing on his head put considerable strain on his neck.

Normally, he would push Houndoom off and settle the Pokémon on his lap, but he hadn't paid Houndoom any attention all day, so he decided to allow a little freedom.

He smiled wryly as Houndoom relaxed lazily on his head. Just then, the shower room door opened.

Cynthia emerged in a shirt, a light cardigan, and shorts.

"Ah, that feels refreshing."

"Hey, dry your hair. You'll catch a cold."

Cynthia's beautiful, silky hair reached almost to her knees. Though she was toweling it off, it was still soaking wet. Drying it normally took quite a while, but he hadn't heard the hair dryer at all. Clearly, she hadn't used it.

"Here."

Cynthia handed him the hair dryer with a beaming smile, as though to say she had been waiting for him.

Kaim accepted it with a pained expression.

"Honestly, you..."

"Dry it for me."

Cynthia sat on a chair with her back to Kaim. She lifted Houndoom from his head and settled the Pokémon on her lap. Houndoom showed no particular resistance to being moved and let Cynthia do as she pleased.

"Don't you normally do this yourself?"

"It's fine. We're traveling, after all."

"Sigh. Fine. If you want it done, I'll do it."

Kaim willingly plugged in the hair dryer, switched it on, and began drying Cynthia's hair.

"You're so careful."

"Didn't you once say something like, 'A woman's hair is her life'?"

"You remembered."

"Of course. Though I'm not really sure what the right method is, so tell me if I'm doing anything wrong."

"It's fine so far. Just keep going."

"All right."

"By the way, how was the material you gathered today? Did you find anything?"

"I'm not sure yet. This time, I approached the investigation through the Sinjoh Ruins' connections to Johto and Sinnoh. There's almost no doubt that both regions are connected to them, but why build them somewhere so remote? The Sinnoh myths are full of elements from Johto, yet there's very little information directly related to Johto. The statues inside look a lot like those at the Ruins of Alph, but I haven't found anything else so far. There doesn't seem to have been any conflict between the two, but on the Johto side, that statue is the only clear source of information. I've been wondering whether something happened between them."

"That's a good angle. Those ruins were only discovered recently. Understanding those connections would be a huge step forward."

"Maybe. But to get to the bottom of it, I think we'll need to investigate the Ruins of Alph in Johto. Judging by the age of the stone, there isn't much difference between the two sites."

"There are Unown at the Ruins of Alph, too. We might find some clues."

"In any case, all we can do now is gather as much data as possible. We'll visit the Ruins of Alph sooner or later."

"The excavations there are almost finished, so we can go whenever we like."

The Sinjoh Ruins had only recently been discovered. As such, the sections Cynthia and the others could currently investigate did not constitute the entire site.

Though they sensed that something still lay hidden beyond the three stages, they had come to investigate, not excavate. Unfortunately, they could only wait for the excavations to reveal more.

"We don't know what truths those ruins will reveal in the future. Their history might have been glorious, or it might have been dark. But whatever it was, we need to learn how our ancestors lived their lives. That's an archaeologist's mission."

"I'm just an assistant, aren't I?"

"By helping me, you've become a fine archaeologist yourself, Kaim. Whether you produce results doesn't matter."

"Besides, you've already become part of who I am as a scholar. It's thanks to you that I've accomplished so much."

"I'm honored to be of help. There, all done."

Kaim switched off the hair dryer and folded the towel they had used. Cynthia's long hair was dry and tidy, as beautiful as ever.

"Thank you."

"If you can do it yourself, then do it yourself."

"There's nothing wrong with asking you to help once in a while, is there?"

"Once in a while is fine. Every time would get a little tiring."

"Then will you help me occasionally?"

"Yes, yes, yes. Happy now that I've said it?"

Knowing that further complaints would get him nowhere, Kaim picked up his change of clothes and headed straight for the shower room.

"...If this is all I give in return, I suppose we're about even."

Houndoom tilted its head on Cynthia's lap, not quite understanding her words.

Cynthia gently stroked Houndoom's head.

"Are you going to bed soon?"

After showering and getting everything ready for tomorrow, Kaim asked Cynthia that question. They would be leaving fairly early, and some of the mountain paths would require stamina. Kaim thought an early night would be best.

"Mmm..."

"What is it?"

"We're somewhere different. Going straight to sleep feels like such a waste."

"Don't be silly. I'll need my strength tomorrow, so I'd rather sleep and recover."

"Yes, but-"

At Cynthia's childish whine, Kaim let out what must have been his umpteenth sigh.

"You'd never guess from how you normally behave. You're like a child."

Kaim didn't think he would fall asleep immediately anyway, so he sat in one of the chairs provided and folded his arms.

"Am I?"

"You are."

"Maybe. But that's still definitely me. I'm still myself. People have feelings, and they aren't always consistent."

"Both the outward appearance and what lies beneath are me."

"Exactly. I am who I am. I'm a Champion, I'm an archaeologist, and I'm someone you look after. All of that makes up the person called Cynthia."

Everyone had different sides to them. That was why someone like Cynthia could be so dignified in public, yet so sloppy at home. Some people leaned more toward one side.

The same was true of Pokémon. A Pokémon revered in one region might be regarded as a disaster in another.

"Is that diversity?"

"Yes."

"It's complicated."

"It is."

"Really."

"Well, let's change the subject. There are some places I'd like to visit after we finish the investigation."

"Where do you want to go?"

"Alto Mare, Alamos Town, Ecruteak City, and Ilex Forest."

"Isn't that a lot?"

"Since we've come all this way to the historically rich Johto Region, I thought it might be nice to spend a little longer sightseeing."

"I'm fine with it, but can you? You have your work as Champion."

"It's fine. I've already taken care of everything."

Kaim was taken aback by Cynthia's smug expression.

She had intended to go sightseeing in Johto after this investigation from the very beginning. A Champion's work couldn't be wrapped up that easily. Clearing it all over the past few days must have been hard.

"Is that why you've been so busy lately?"

"Yes."

"As long as it doesn't interfere with our schedule, it's fine, right?"

"Yes! Thank you!"

As Cynthia stroked Kaim's little Houndoom, her smile blossoming like a flower, Kaim took out his smartphone and began checking routes.

"Right."

I woke up early in the morning.

I sat up and saw Kaim's face as he slept peacefully in the bed beside mine.

"You look cute when you're asleep, don't you?"

He normally showed almost no expression, and the occasional ones he did show were usually wry or resigned. There was almost always a crease between his brows. Asleep, however, his brow was completely smooth, his face peaceful.

Over the past week or so, I had studied the Sinjoh Ruins as thoroughly as possible. I had recorded everything I could, from the age of the stones to the structure of the carved designs.

I was a little tired, but the results more than made up for it. Cynthia firmly believed that examining all of this carefully would yield worthwhile findings.

It was all thanks to Kaim being there.

Of course, Cynthia had gathered the data herself. Kaim hadn't made much difference to the data itself, since he had been investigating the parts that interested him.

But had Cynthia been investigating alone, she wouldn't have made it through the week. Without a doubt, pushing herself too hard would eventually have caught up with her.

That was why Kaim had stopped Cynthia at the right moments. He acted as her brakes when she became too focused to see what was happening around her. Without him, she probably wouldn't have been in such excellent physical condition now.

"That doesn't apply."

Cynthia stroked the sleeping Kaim's head, running her hand through his thick hair.

"Thank you. You worked hard this week."

Cynthia gazed at the sleeping Kaim with a gentle, motherly smile.

"That was a good investigation."

After they checked out of the hotel, Kaim watched Cynthia stretching in front of him.

Their investigation of the Ruins of Alph had ended yesterday. Of course, since the full extent of the site was still unknown, the excavations would continue. If there was anything else she wanted to confirm, she would return to investigate.

"It was a very interesting place."

"Yes. Learning about another region's history is a valuable experience."

"Oh, yeah."

Kaim had never visited the Johto Region before, but this opportunity had taught him a great deal about it. As a result, he had learned much about its townscapes, distinctive features, and history.

But all he had was knowledge. To turn that into experience, he needed to visit those places and feel them for himself.

"What do you think? Are you interested?"

"In Johto?"

"Yes. The Sinjoh Ruins show the connection between Sinnoh and Johto. And there's the land where the people who left those ruins once lived."

Most of the places Cynthia had said she wanted to visit after finishing their research were in Johto. Alamos Town was in Sinnoh, but she clearly wanted to go to Johto.

Still, if Kaim refused, Cynthia would quietly give up. That made him suspect she had deliberately sparked his interest in Johto.

"Oh."

"What?"

"Was all of this part of your plan?"

"Hehe, what do you think?"

Watching Cynthia elegantly press a forefinger to her lips, Kaim took that as confirmation and let his shoulders slump. It seemed she had played him perfectly.

"Yes, yes, I'd be happy to go with you. This investigation has piqued my interest, too."

"Good, then it's settled!"

"So where are we starting?"

"Right, let's start here."

He checked Cynthia's smartphone and confirmed the location.

"I see. Any particular reason?"

"I'm interested in it. Is that not good enough for you?"

"Haha, isn't that the best reason?"

"Yes. I'm glad to have you along."

As Cynthia climbed into the car in high spirits, Kaim set the route on his smartphone and got in himself. He started the engine and drove off along the route indicated by the navigation system.

Cynthia and Kaim's little journey had begun.