After walking for ten minutes or so, Lilligant stopped.
The tinkling of spring water had become quite clear. Three or four meters farther ahead, a small pool of azure water came into view.
"Not bad."
Shen Qi surveyed their surroundings. The forest was lush, and several large rocks by the water would work for seated or standing poses. Though the pool was small, it was reasonably deep, so a shot wouldn't just show sand and mud through clear water.
"Lilligant, stand here. Yes, with your back to me."
Shen Qi first arranged a pose where Lilligant looked back over her shoulder at the camera. "Make your expression a little sweeter."
[What counts as sweeter?]
"Hmm, that feeling you get when you think of me."
[I... I'm not talking to you anymore!]
["Speedy Hot Girl," romance storyline completion: 55%]
Click.
The phone's camera played an imitation shutter sound as Shen Qi took several shots in succession.
"Now, over here."
Shen Qi patted a large rock by the water.
"Lilligant, sit here and put your legs in the water."
Lilligant nodded and sat down as instructed.
Normally, Lilligant's legs weren't exposed. The bottom of her flared princess dress tapered into a calyx-like shape, which she now submerged in the water too.
Her dress was made of plant matter and Grass-type Energy, so getting it wet wasn't a problem, but Shen Qi kept waving his hands.
"This won't work."
[Why not?]
"You look like a green pumpkin soaking in water."
[I'll get you-]
After some playful tussling, Shen Qi persuaded Lilligant to return to the water's edge.
"How about lifting your skirt a little?"
Lilligant waved her hands frantically. [I can't...]
"It's fine. I've already seen much more revealing stuff."
[Don't say it out loud-]
Blushing, Lilligant reached down to lift her skirt.
That was the moment!
Click, click!
Shen Qi took shot after shot, capturing the instant the beautiful Lilligant reached to lift her skirt and play in the water. The image had a clear sense of motion, yet her skirt hadn't risen, leaving the viewer to imagine what came next.
Completely unaware, Lilligant continued lifting the hem of her princess dress until it was nearly at her knees.
"That works."
Click, click, click.
When Lilligant climbed down from the large rock, her face was still a little red.
The photo shoot was just as much fun as she'd imagined, but she couldn't help feeling shy.
[How are they?]
"Actually, there's a bit of a problem here."
Shen Qi showed Lilligant the photos he'd taken beside the pool.
The first over-the-shoulder shot was fine, but the ones by the water were noticeably too dark.
It was the lighting.
Photography was the art of light and shadow. Without enough light, the contrast wasn't distinct either.
There was a thin layer of cloud that day, and shooting in the forest reduced the light even further. On top of that, his phone didn't have an aperture as large as a camera's, making the results even worse.
For the over-the-shoulder shot, Shen Qi had chosen a spot where light shone through a gap in the foliage, so it was actually decent. The shots by the water really weren't fit for the competition.
[Then why did you make me do all those poses?]
"I'm keeping the photos for myself."
[Ah-delete them!!!]
Chapter 36: The Bridge at Sunset
A mountain breeze swept over the grass as Lilligant turned her face slightly and asked where they would go next.
"We still need to go to the bridge over the sea."
They moved to a cliffside, where Shen Qi took two more sets of photos of Lilligant and had lunch along the way.
The open setting offered stronger light and better results than the little pool in the forest.
With an outdoor location most students couldn't manage, plus Lilligant's good looks, Shen Qi believed that choosing the best of these photos would already earn him a high placing.
Still, some senior students were bound to have formed bonds with Pokémon. They could shoot on location too, and their Pokémon might also be cute, elegant, or beautiful. He couldn't let his guard down.
Especially when he knew he could do better.
Shen Qi offered her the fruit in his hand, but Lilligant waved to indicate she was full.
"You really don't eat much..."
Grass-type Pokémon already had other ways of obtaining nutrients. Supplementing those with ordinary food or a little Pokémon feed made them very easy to keep.
[What's the pink stuff on the rice balls?]
Bracing herself against the ground, Lilligant leaned toward him, bringing a fresh floral fragrance with her.
Earlier, Shen Qi had been willing to share his rice balls, but not the three with little pink bits in them. That made her curious about the ingredient.
"Uh, it's something with an incredibly weird flavor that can knock you unconscious."
[Ew.]
Lilligant drew back.
[Then why eat it?]
"It's nutritious, and it helps with sensing energy."
Shen Qi's formerly rather skinny body had begun to develop healthily, all thanks to the Chansey eggs he'd been eating lately and the plentiful, varied nutrients they provided.
Still... that intense, complicated flavor remained rather hard to bear. Even after countless encounters with it, he still felt it shoot straight to his head.
[I don't want to try it.]
Lilligant backed away a little farther.
"Of course I wouldn't give you any. You'd probably faint on the spot."
After packing away the utensils and the plastic sheet spread on the ground, they set off in the race car again, heading toward the bridge between the islands.
Shen Qi planned to take a photo of Lilligant on the bridge in the lingering light of sunset.
The sea, a long bridge, the evening sunset, and a beauty in the breeze.
Combined well, those elements would hold their own even in an outside photography competition, let alone the Pokémon Photography event organized by Pokémon High School.
The pink race car crossed Island 6's main island. Rather than driving straight onto the bridge over the sea, they turned into a small grove and hid the car there.
Lilligant didn't want to reveal her true identity, so naturally, they couldn't park on the bridge and get out halfway across.
Even if the pink sports car wasn't famous throughout the Sevii Islands, it was certainly well known on Island 6 and Island 5.
"Lilligant, doing it this way takes too much time. Next time, how about I pick you up on my Little Sheep?"
Lilligant hesitated and gave no answer.
Shen Qi glanced at the narration and knew her acceptance of him had risen another notch.
Picking Lilligant up would mean knowing where she really lived, and even learning about the little secret garage where she usually serviced and modified her race car.
When his completion had reached forty percent, a similar suggestion had been rejected outright.
Now that it had risen to 59%, Lilligant was finally showing signs of opening her heart a little more.
[But...]
[Narration: Lilligant knew the boy's financial circumstances. A day's fuel consumption was no small expense.]
"It's fine. I earned some credit during the Energy Storm incident in Ruins Valley, and the Security Bureau gave me a 50,000 b reward. I won't be short of money for a long time."
Walking side by side along the pedestrian path on the Inter-Island Bridge, Shen Qi deliberately edged closer to Lilligant.
"With the photography event's prize money too, I can start raising a Pokémon."
[Then go ahead... why tell me?]
"What do you think?"
Too embarrassed to answer, Lilligant merely lowered her head and quickened her steps.
Unfortunately, she was only about a meter tall and wore a puffy princess dress. Even if she wanted to walk faster, she couldn't.
The bridge between Island 5 and Island 6 was the most conventional kind of beam bridge: a straight span supported by piers. Unlike a suspension or cable-stayed bridge, it didn't offer many additional elements for framing a shot.
A centered photo taken in the middle of the bridge's roadway, with the road stretching to the far edge of the image behind her, would create a powerful sense of depth. It seemed like it could make a good piece.
Unfortunately, taking photos in the middle of a main road during the day was too dangerous. At night, his phone's aperture wouldn't be large enough, and the streetlights alone wouldn't provide sufficient illumination.
If the light was inadequate, the image would be full of noise. Unless that was the style he deliberately wanted, the photo would be ruined.
"Lilligant, lean against the railing..."
Shen Qi decided to try a few shots based on his experience before transmigrating.
Before you continue