The girls celebrated Alvera's birth that night with a hearty meal, courtesy of Lina, who went all out. Nyx made sure to let everyone on the farm know about Vera and her baby, so celebrations were prepared.
Along with the delicious food came the delicious drama of how Vera essentially brutalized Elliot, her husband-to-be. She felt truly guilty about it given how much effort she put in, but ultimately, he was just a casualty of her plan.
Kaia strongly disapproved, while Nyx and Rhea didn't see the problem. The rest, on the other hand, stayed neutral as they understood both sides. At 2 to 1, it was decided that Vera did what she had to do to protect herself, much to Kaia's disappointment.
After dinner, Alex asked Nyx to call up Maris, Lyra, and Mika on a video call. They were informed of Alvera's birth, which greatly shocked them. They had no idea how Vera had almost managed to get away with it.
A vote was recast regarding the issue, and it came out that Vera was indeed an asshole because Lyra, Mika, and Maris voted on Kaia's side, a shocking reversal of events.
Once they were done with their drama, Alex addressed everyone seriously.
"I called everyone today because we have a bit of a crisis on our hands," Alex started. "The reason I came back was because Umbraline informed me about Alvera's birth, something I knew nothing about the entire time. This means they've been keeping tabs on me and have found my weakness, which is you girls."
"I know this isn't fair, especially to you three who just want to live your own lives," Alex said as he motioned to Maris, Lyra, and Mika. "But you will likely be targeted by Umbraline from this point forward and used as a threat to get me to do their bidding."
"I plan to treat them professionally, which might eventually lead to disregarding more of their requests depending on their offers. That will put you three in danger."
"I'm fine with it," Lyra said. "Even if they send an Elite, Mika and I will be able to defend ourselves, so it shouldn't be a problem. If anything, we get to collect more bounties if we get lucky."
Mika nodded, sharing Lyra's sentiment.
"I'm fine as well," Maris added. "Ever since I took over most of Halden's businesses, I've made myself invaluable to Sabrina. The only way for them to get to me is to beat my business and make me lose Sabrina's protection."
"I'm just giving you girls a heads-up," Alex said. "Realistically speaking, they'd need to send someone on my level to pose a real threat to you. Anything less might actually work in your favor, which would be bad business for them. Still, it doesn't hurt to be cautious."
"My other announcement is that I will be beginning the process of buying a bigger and more permanent home, which will need your expertise and approval to move forward, so I would like your suggestions for it."
Everyone became excited from Alex's news. They always knew Alex was going to eventually end up with a bigger place but definitely not so soon. They had only been at the farm for a little over three years after all.
"Celise, if you would."
"Thank you, Alex," Celise said as she stepped forward while holding some files. "Alex and I have been working on this project since a month ago when he managed to earn enough credits to buy the land."
"Essentially, the plot we found is roughly six square kilometers in size, located at the mouth of a high-elevation valley near Mt. Moon. It's considered one of the more dangerous locations in Kanto, with plenty of Champion ranked Pokémon nests in the area. The cost totals around 100 million credits, which is nearly the entirety of our funds, though we're currently looking for options that could potentially lower the price."
Alex had recently figured out that paying full price for League land without leveraging it was a terrible idea. He took inspiration from when he bought the farm, drawing interest from groups who would benefit from the valley he'd end up protecting anyway, to strike a deal that worked for both sides.
They would essentially pay Alex to be the wall for their town, shielding them from the worst the region had to offer. In return, they'd gain a location protected on three sides, with open access on the fourth and safest side.
The only question was how much Alex would request in exchange, and how much they were willing to pay for it. This negotiation didn't just include payment either; it included how they would live together so far from civilization and any services in between.
The land Alex was planning on buying was one of the most expensive because it was easily six times the standard area, with two natural barriers due to the valley. Most plots cost roughly 20–40 million for 1 square kilometer, which was more than enough for a private home for a champion like the Seaside Manor.
What Alex wanted, however, was so much more.
"We have six square kilometers of land to allocate. One square kilometer will be used for infrastructure, including the communications tower, tech lab, main residential building, gun range, training grounds, offices, walls, defenses, roads, and other facilities. Two square kilometers will be set aside for natural habitats, two will be allocated to the farm and ranch for self-sustainability, and the final square kilometer will be used for the Pokémon training grounds. It may be excessive, but it allows room for future expansion."
"I will be coming by later to collect the specifics of your needs with regards to your space and subsequent responsibilities, so for now, are there any questions?"
Lyra and Maris both raised their hands.
"Lyra," Celise called.
"What am I here for?"
"Alex feels that the future of Champions is beyond simply being powerful, so he would like to get a head start on the foundation of a bounty hunting organization to train and support bounty hunters of your stature."
"WHAT!" Lyra exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. "Alex, are you serious? You want to expand on my bounty hunting activities? Do I get to lead a group? Am I going to be training them?"
"Calm down, Lyra. Let Celise finish," Alex said with a chuckle.
"As I was saying, if Alex had an organization similar to Umbraline, with the League's blessing, he would be able to more easily defend us not only against lone Champions but against similar organizations as well. It has become apparent that organizations are all headed by a Champion for one reason or another, so Alex would like to get ahead of the curve and establish his own for the sake of human resources, if it were ever needed."
"Maris, your role in this, if you choose to accept it, is to support and be supported by the bounty hunters under our employ. All you need to do is continue growing your company alongside the expansion of the bounty hunters' territory. You get protection for your couriers, and we get supplies delivered when needed."
"Alex… you remembered," Maris said softly, her voice warm with appreciation.
Alex recalled how deeply Maris had been affected by the loss of her couriers to stray Elites when they went to the beach nine months ago. Having a security business grow alongside her delivery service would certainly benefit both parties.
"I technically own your company, so it makes sense to take care of it and make use of it, right?" Alex said before finishing the explanation. "None of this is set in stone yet. The very first requirement is for me to hit Champion rank, then read the information packet and the privileges that come with it. In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt to have all of us work with this eventual goal in mind."
"This will be a long-term project that might take decades, and everyone here has a stake in it. If any of you don't want to be a part of this, then just let Celise know discreetly, and there will be no hard feelings."
"Are there any questions?"
"What's it going to be called?" Rhea asked.
"No idea. I'm not planning on naming it until I read the information packet. For all I know, this might be a complete waste of time. What isn't a waste of time, however, is Lyra building up her group with Mika, Maris being assisted to do the same, and everyone at the farm gaining experience and planning their responsibilities. Either way, it's a good goal to have in the meantime."
They talked a bit more about ideas to get started on it while Alex silently observed. This had been an idea he was playing with ever since he found out about Lyra bounty hunting. He never planned on acting on it until he became Champion ranked, but today seemed to be the perfect time to use it as motivation for the girls to build up their home's foundation.
In any case, none of this would be possible until the land was officially under his name.
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