"You're about to become the chairman of the Devon Corporation—one of the most powerful people in the world. Any thoughts?" his father, Joseph, asked with a smile as he looked at Edward.
"Not really. But Dad, didn't Secretary Kennedy say you needed rest and recovery?" Edward looked skeptically at his father. He really wanted to ask: Is your idea of recuperation dressing in full mountaineering gear and heading out with a pickaxe to mine?
Was that really 'rest'? Edward couldn't help but feel this sounded even more exhausting. After all, crawling around in caves was physically demanding. Even with Pokémon helping to dig, finding rare stones still meant a lot of hiking, digging, and exploring. It sounded more tiring than relaxing.
"Of course! It's to refresh my mind and body," his father replied with an even bigger grin.
He had wanted to retire from his position as chairman for a long time. But what could he do? That no-good son, Steven, had run off to become a Champion just to avoid inheriting the family's billions. Fortunately, he had his younger son, Edward, to take over. Otherwise, Joseph didn't know how much longer he'd have to stay on as company chairman.
Edward's mouth twitched, but he still handed his father a backpack. Inside were outdoor survival essentials his father had requested—though Edward thought they were probably unnecessary.
Joseph was getting older, after all.
Even though the old man claimed his body was in top condition and that there was no issue going on an expedition, his brother Steven had insisted on tagging along—though Edward strongly suspected his brother just wanted to go stone-hunting.
When it came to mining, Steven had fully inherited their father's obsession with rocks. The man had a borderline fanatical passion for them.
Still, Edward had arranged for a professional support team to accompany them on their trip. Their job was to ensure his father's safety and health while he went stone hunting.
"So, you're not worried I'll run the company into the ground?" Edward said irritably. His father and brother were heading off to have fun, while he was stuck managing two companies. It was insane.
"What's there to worry about? Even if you blew ten million a day, it'd still take you decades to burn through everything," his father said proudly.
Edward was speechless—but he knew his father was right. Devon Corporation wasn't just the leading company in the Hoenn region; its operations spanned the entire Pokémon League.
"Dad, did you buy the latest ore detector? That thing can find deeply buried minerals!" Steven burst in, completely ignoring Edward, holding up a new gadget in his hand.
As his father and brother began an animated discussion on mining techniques and how to locate stones, Edward stared blankly. This whole Stone family is insane.
He couldn't help but wonder how his father had even managed to grow Devon Corporation into such a massive entity. Maybe he'd stumbled across some secret treasure while digging?
The next day, with his father and brother preparing to depart for their mining expedition, Edward made a rare gesture—he cooked a lavish dinner by himself.
His father and brother were so impressed they couldn't stop nodding in approval. They even said the family chef should take lessons from Edward. His father went as far as to say that making him a director had been a waste of talent—he should've become a chef instead.
The next morning, Edward escorted them to their private jet. Once the plane took off with the professional team in tow, he slumped back into the butler's car, exhausted.
"Kyu!" Q hopped into Edward's lap, yawned, and snuggled closer.
"Young Master Edward, are we heading to the company now?" the butler asked.
Edward massaged his brow and nodded. It was time to finally visit Devon Corporation. After all, starting today, he was officially its Chairman. Even if there wasn't much he had to personally handle, he still needed to make an appearance.
The butler drove them to the base of the Devon Corporation. tower. By the time Edward got out of the car, it was nearly work hours, and employees were rushing toward the building.
"Good morning, Chairman." Secretary Kennedy was already standing at the entrance, with Zoroark beside him—currently disguised as a strong, suited businesswoman.
"Secretary Kennedy," Edward replied seriously. He knew Kennedy didn't joke around at work, so he refrained from calling him "Uncle Kennedy" as he used to.
"Chairman, as of now, Devon Corporation has a total of 2,037,621 employees across the League," Kennedy said softly as he walked beside Edward, briefing him on the company's operations.
Edward froze. Over two million people?
That number was staggering.
No wonder Devon Corporation wasn't going down anytime soon. With that many people's livelihoods tied to it, even the League wouldn't dare let it fall. It was outrageous.
As they walked through the building, the employees around them were busy and professional. Some were surprised to see Edward, but most simply greeted him politely. There were no ridiculous "clumsy girl bumps into CEO and spills coffee" dramas.
Edward was relieved.
Looks like everyone here is smart enough not to be brainwashed by cliché TV and novel tropes.
In those kinds of stories, the female lead bumps into the cold CEO, yells at him, and he finds her "interesting." Classic nonsense.
By the time the elevator reached the top floor, Secretary Kennedy had already given Edward a complete overview of the company. Edward quickly summarized it in his head.
Right now, he didn't have too much to do. The policies set by his father were still running smoothly, so no immediate changes were needed. His main job would be reviewing important documents and meeting with a few partner company executives to discuss future collaborations.
"When are those meetings scheduled?" Edward asked, slightly frowning. He still planned to film Alien.
"They're scheduled within the next few days," Kennedy replied.
That put Edward at ease. It was perfect—he could let Zoroark handle the production crew prep for the movie while he took care of the corporate stuff. By the time everything was ready, both sides would be good to go, and he could shoot the movie while managing the company on the side.
Looks like being a big boss isn't so bad after all.
(End of Chapter)