Before the large glass case housing the Skeleton Fossil, Principal Gui voiced his amazement, but his gratified gaze was not on the fossil. Instead, he looked intently at Shen Qi.
Sensing something, Shen Qi turned and met Principal Gui's eyes. For a moment, complicated emotions surged within him.
Of all the people Shen Qi felt guilty toward for withdrawing from the Spring Race, Principal Gui came first.
Even though Principal Gui always said it was fine whenever they chatted or kept in touch, even reassuring Shen Qi that he could return whenever he suffered a setback and would always be a student of Pokémon High School... Shen Qi still felt ashamed.
Only on the day of the academic press conference would he feel the exhilaration of finally announcing his and Pokémon High School's achievements to the world after enduring so much for so long.
"Principal Gui."
"Hmm?"
"The student you raised turned out pretty well, didn't he?"
Shen Qi reined in his emotions and asked teasingly.
"Mm..."
Principal Gui smiled and answered with a slightly trembling hum. He reached up and pulled his already low hat brim even lower, his palm passing over his eyes in a seemingly casual motion.
The warehouse, packed with thirty or forty people, inexplicably fell silent. The students and teachers felt that profound warmth.
The students gathered outside had no idea what had happened. They thought something had gone wrong inside, leaving everyone too panicked to speak.
On such a joyous day, there was no need to bring everyone to tears.
"Let's head outside," Shen Qi suggested. "Let the students outside take turns coming in to see the Skeleton Fossil too."
Before the students' eyes, a Pokémon fossil from hundreds of millions of years ago revealed its form once more. Buried for a hundred million