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Mai was in the room, sticking candles into the cake Luther had brought back.
Since Luther never mentioned what kind of snacks he liked best, Mai took the liberty of buying the ones she personally enjoyed, thinking she could recommend them to him along the way.
Eevee was busy licking the cream stuck to the inside of the cake box, and at the same time, swatted Pachirisu with its tail when the latter tried to scoop some cream off the cake with its paw.
Caught red-handed, Pachirisu had no choice but to join Eevee in licking the cream instead.
"Corsola, you've been in there way too long, come out already!"
Mai had turned on the shower twenty minutes ago so Corsola could bounce around happily in the bathroom. The ever-energetic Corsola was still squealing joyfully inside.
Soon, Corsola came hopping out, having wrapped herself in a towel she somehow rolled up from the cabinet.
Seeing Mai decorating the cake with candles, Corsola jumped onto the table, grabbed one in her mouth, and was about to stab it into the cake.
Mai quickly held Corsola's forehead down and snatched the candle away from her mouth. "That's not how you stick them in; it has to look nice."
"Since this morning, he's looked really preoccupied. I don't know if it has anything to do with his birthday, but better to prepare in advance."
Borrowing a pot and cooking utensils from the hotel, she had managed to put together a few dishes. She also made sure there was plenty of Pokémon food ready for all three trainers' Pokémon.
Mai keenly felt the lack of resources; if they had more funds, she could have prepared much more.
For a moment, she even thought about withdrawing some of the money transferred from her family and using it now, planning to return it later.
After thinking it over, Mai chose to give up on the idea.
When the clock on the wall pointed to six o'clock, Mai called Cynthia and Luther, signaling them to come over for dinner. Cynthia and Luther arrived almost at the same time, with Luther very curious about the two large bags Cynthia was carrying.
On the room's only table, dishes were already laid out, along with a cake decorated with candles. Mai was busy dividing Pokémon food into feeding bowls.
Cynthia glanced left and right, then lowered her head to take in the aroma of the dishes.
"Well? How is it?" Mai eagerly wanted to know what Cynthia thought.
"…It's not my birthday… hard to say."
Luther released all of his Pokémon, then took a seat. Without hesitation, he picked up his chopsticks, served both Cynthia and Mai some food, and started eating himself.
Mai and Cynthia were left speechless, their carefully prepared opening remarks ruined in an instant.
"Don't overthink it. I don't need you two saying the usual 'happy birthday' kind of nonsense. A meal this thoughtful means more than words. Eating it while it's hot is what really matters."
Luther even put another slice of meat on Mai's rice.
Since Luther had said that, the birthday dinner was officially underway.
The Pokémon, of course, were even faster, they had already formed a circle and started eating.
The luxurious hotel room was spacious, so although releasing all three trainers' Pokémon made things a bit crowded, it wasn't to the point of being unmanageable.
That said, Marill and Garchomp crowding together was an odd sight.
Clearly, Marill couldn't possibly shove Garchomp aside, but she kept trying to nudge at him anyway, until Garchomp flicked her away with a single bump, making her finally settle down.
The dishes were only half-eaten, because the real centerpiece of the table was the cake.
Luther chuckled as he pulled out the candles. "Sorry, I forgot to mention, I don't like lighting candles or blowing them out. Seeing a cake covered in candles always makes me feel like I'm getting older."
Cynthia burst out laughing, then coughed a few times and grabbed a nearby yogurt, chugging it down before feeling better.
Mai couldn't help but laugh too. "That… actually makes sense. Next time it's my birthday, I'll skip that part too."
After serving Cynthia and Mai slices of cake, Luther turned his attention to the stubborn yogurt bottle in his hand, struggling to get it open.
Just as Luther was about to succeed, Cynthia opened the bag she had brought, and from under the table pulled out a row of… was that alcohol?
It really was alcohol. Luther lowered his head, couldn't find the alcohol content printed anywhere, but just by looking at the label, it probably wasn't that strong.
Maybe something like pineapple beer?
"Drinking yogurt on a birthday is boring. I bought these. Want some?"
Want some?
Those two words, once spoken at a dining table, meant it could never be measured as "some." The most likely outcome was either you'd collapse, or I'd collapse, one way or another, nobody was walking out that door tonight.
Something wasn't right… very wrong, in fact. He'd never heard of Cynthia drinking before. Back at Diantha's villa, with so many drinks to choose from, Cynthia drank orange juice every day, and even said she only liked orange juice.
But just watching Cynthia line up canned drinks on the table with that kind of aura, Luther felt like he'd slipped back into his past life, watching his dormmates square off against the neighboring dorm, slamming cups down, playing drinking games, and yelling "cheers, brother!"
Even though she hadn't said the fated line "If you don't drink, you're not giving me face," just seeing how smoothly Cynthia cracked open a can told Luther there was no escaping tonight.
Luther's alcohol tolerance was nothing special, middle of the road. He'd only built it up out of work necessity. He didn't enjoy drinking at all, but certain occasions inevitably demanded it, like right now.
Yogurt, that weak little brother of a drink, had already been crushed under the overwhelming aura of alcohol. Taking it out now would just be embarrassing.
How do you say no when the Champion of Sinnoh is offering to share a couple of cans with you?
Mai sipped her yogurt, watching Luther and Cynthia squaring off, and exchanged wide-eyed stares with Eevee. She had no idea how things had escalated into this.
Luther didn't really understand it either, drinking while trying to figure it out.
When he noticed Cynthia frown slightly as she swallowed her first gulp of beer, an idea came to him.
He downed his first can in nearly a single breath, then quickly stuffed two bites of cake down to cushion it.
Cynthia had originally planned to finish hers in a few sips, but seeing Luther finish so fast, she had no choice but to follow suit and chug it down.
Back when Luther worked, he'd often used this trick. He couldn't really drink, but by starting off bold and fast, he could intimidate the hardcore drinkers who wanted to toast him endlessly. Everyone was there for business, but there were always a few troublemakers in the crowd. Seeing you start off so strong made people think twice, in case they got targeted later and drowned in toast after toast.
Luther's plan was to make Cynthia back down, after finishing this one can, they could both happily switch back to yogurt, taking turns sipping and enjoying cake together.
But after finishing her first can, Cynthia just ate a bite of food, stifled her beer burp, and immediately cracked open a second.
Just as Luther had feared, the moment those words "want some" appeared, it was destined that tonight would be far more than just "some."
"Don't just drink, eat something too."
While giving Cynthia food, Luther opened his own second can. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a packet in Mai's snack bag and happily pulled it out.
He poured it into a disposable bowl until it was full.
Perfect. Even peanuts were on the table now.
(End of chapter)