Early morning, October 16, Shanghai.
Morning sunlight streamed in, carrying the chill of autumn.
For the first time in three months, Xia Chi opened his eyes to the familiar ceiling of his own home.
It felt wonderfully comfortable.
Well, perhaps not that comfortable.
Every part of his body was sending him the same message: cold.
Unlike the Hoenn Region farther south, Shanghai had already cooled into autumn by mid-October.
But Xia Chi had been so sleepy when he got home last night that he hadn't noticed. He had simply wrapped himself in the thin summer quilt he'd left behind and fallen asleep.
Now that he was awake, it was the coldest part of the morning.
As for why he hadn't felt cold last night...
That was naturally thanks to the incredible insulating power of a fluffy Meowscarada.
Meowha had gotten up early and gone off to do who knew what. Without his warm, furry cat quilt, Xia Chi had naturally been woken by the cold.
The reasonably comfortable sleep had washed away the fatigue of the long flight over the sea.
Actually, fatigue wasn't quite the right word.
For most of the ride, whenever he wasn't sleeping, Xia Chi had been practicing Calm Mind.
He had to admit that the Calm Mind Technical Machine he'd gotten from the Lucky Lantern last time was incredibly useful.
Whether it could help him develop psychic powers was another matter.
But two or three hours a day were more than enough to keep him feeling mentally refreshed.
Getting up, dressing, washing up.
These were all things a mentally sound adult should have done independently, yet Xia Chi completed them with his maid Latias waiting on him.
Watching the adorable girl in a black-and-white maid outfit carefully squeeze out his toothpaste and pour his mouthwash,