"Now that I've finished eating, I'm going to the Pokémon Center. I think you should be fully recovered by now."
"Hey, can I come with you? I'd like to talk to you a little more before battling you, Xiaomei."
"Oh, great! I want to talk too! Come on, let's go!"
Kogomi immediately stood, took Cynthia's hand, and left the brain room.
Kaim and the others left behind sighed softly.
"You idiot. You're standing too close to the person you like."
"Now that's a Champion's way of closing the distance."
"Mother..."
The grown men were moved by Kogomi's innocence, but also felt a little drained. Steven, in particular, had clearly sensed the change in Cynthia's mood when Little Wu drew closer, leaving him especially exhausted.
"Kogumi can read the room too. Maybe I didn't notice, but you shouldn't get too close when the man is right in front of you."
"Huh?"
Unable to understand Dasura's words, Kaim looked at his face.
"Wait, did I get it wrong?"
"Uh, weren't you the one who told him?"
Kaim looked at Daigo, but Daigo shook his head.
"How did you notice?"
Kaim hadn't said anything, and neither had Daigo. Of course, Cynthia hadn't either.
"Miss Cynthia wears a red ring on her right hand, doesn't she? And a blue ring around her neck."
There were other things too, such as Cynthia's slightly brighter tone when speaking to Kaim and the immense trust Kaim placed in her, but Datsura only mentioned the rings. He had considered that Kaim might not appreciate him bringing up the rest.
"That's true."
"I knew it! Hah! You've caught yourself a good one! Good for you!"
Despite Dasura grabbing his head, Kaim couldn't shake his arm off.
Daigo watched them with a smile, sipping his tea alone.
The arena.