Giovanni had originally planned to try his luck finding Diglett's Cave.
Because there was no accurate map available, finding Diglett's Cave was indeed a bit troublesome.
Unexpectedly, Delia delivered herself to him, which was a good thing.
Although Giovanni's attitude towards her softened only because he saw a benefit, she was safe after all, and Delia wouldn't say much more.
Giovanni remained cold and ungentle, "Lead the way."
Delia pouted and walked back the way they came.
She was unlucky; she stumbled into Diglett's Cave by mistake, her other Pokémon were severely injured, and after barely escaping, she was chased by a group of Rattata and Raticate in her panic, essentially getting into a fight with rodents.
Now that she had to go back, she was actually still a bit flustered, but she still composed herself and said to Giovanni:
"I can go back, but you have to guarantee my safety."
From Persian, she had seen Giovanni's formidable strength.
She was just still a bit scared.
Giovanni's attitude wasn't particularly bad; he just said to her, "Alright."
With that, Delia finally calmed down.
Diglett's Cave wasn't close; it would take another day to walk there, and it was getting late.
Although Giovanni had the strength to move in the dark, there was no need for it; traveling didn't need to be like a tribulation.
Giovanni chose a suitable spot and said to Delia:
"It's getting late. Let's rest and depart tomorrow."
Delia, who had been walking all day and whose legs were now weak and sore, immediately plopped down on the ground.
She had been waiting for Giovanni to say that for a long time, but he only just said it.
Giovanni glanced at Delia. He had long noticed her fatigue but had kept quiet to reach Diglett's Cave faster.
He hadn't expected this woman to be so stubborn; if Giovanni didn't speak, she truly wouldn't stop.
Giovanni leaned gently against a tree, took out a bottle of water and a piece of bread from his small backpack, and simply ate.
Delia kept pursing her lips as she watched; her backpack had been lost because she ran too fast on the road.
Now, let alone water, she didn't even have anything to eat.
With a slight blush, she said to Giovanni, "Can you give me some water and food? I can pay you back when we reach Pewter City."
Giovanni's lips curled slightly. He had thought this woman could remain stubborn forever.
However, if she was to lead the way, he couldn't let her collapse from exhaustion; then Giovanni would have to take care of her, which would be even more troublesome.
So he casually threw Delia a bottle of water and a piece of bread.
He had a pile of such food with Haunter; let alone one Delia, even two more people wouldn't be a problem.
Moreover, they had already walked halfway, and Pewter City was actually very close.
They could replenish food later.
"Thank you." Delia took the food and began to chew hungrily; she was indeed starving.
After she finished eating, she suddenly stood up and slowly walked towards Giovanni, her face still slightly flushed, "Since I've eaten your food, I can't do nothing."
Giovanni frowned, a hint of displeasure in his eyes, and his hand moved towards his shadow, ready to draw his blade at any moment.
Fortunately, Delia only walked to a few trees in front of Giovanni, marked a few spots on them, and then smiled slightly at Giovanni.
"Although my strength isn't great, I always got full marks in camping class. I'll build you a simple shelter."
Giovanni had originally intended to refuse, as he had a tent with him.
However, after thinking about it, learning wasn't a bad idea. If his tent was ever lost, he wouldn't be without a place to sleep.
After a moment of thought, he said to Delia, "Alright, why don't you teach me? If you can, I'll cover the food for the next few days."
Delia, who had only wanted to prove herself a little, became enthusiastic. "You want to learn? Okay."
She skillfully pulled out a sharp dagger, found some suitable branches nearby, and simply trimmed them.
She then began to build. She wasn't lying; she quickly constructed a treehouse suspended in the tree, which looked like a combination of a bird's nest and a house.
It seemed she wasn't entirely useless. Giovanni thought this to himself, having roughly memorized the general steps.
He was a practical person and quickly started working. Although there were some minor issues, with Delia's guidance, he actually succeeded in building it.
Delia couldn't help but praise Giovanni, "You have a lot of talent."
Giovanni had actually cheated a bit; if it were his past self, he might have been a bit worse.
But ever since he gained Power of Viridian, his memory had also improved, allowing him to replicate it so quickly.
"It's passable."
Seeing that it was getting late, Giovanni said to Delia, "Rest. My Pokémon will stand guard, so you don't need to worry about safety."
Delia nodded, "Okay."
She then truly trusted Giovanni and directly climbed into her simple treehouse.
Having understood Delia's personality, Giovanni didn't mind this and simply stomped his foot.
Haunter, who had been Sleep Talking all day, slowly opened its eyes from his shadow.
Giovanni instructed it, "I'm leaving the night to you. If you encounter anything you can't handle, release Beedrill and the others."
Haunter blinked its eyes, signaling that it understood. Only then did Giovanni rest assured.
Haunter then separated from his shadow and dutifully sensed its surroundings.
Night gradually deepened, and a quiet yet mysterious aura permeated Viridian Forest.
Moonlight filtered through the sparse leaves, dappling the ground and casting a silvery veil over this ancient land.
Some nocturnal Pokémon indeed began to forage, and some unwary ones set their sights on this place.
For instance, an Ariados moved through the trees, this poisonous spider spitting String Shot and descending from above, heading towards Giovanni's location.
Haunter slowly transformed from its shadow state into its real form, its evil eyes glowing coldly.
The Ariados above shuddered in fright, immediately trying to retract its String Shot and escape.
But Haunter didn't let it go. Its body swiftly flew up, instantly giving chase.
A scream was heard, and soon after, an empty shell, devoid of flesh and carrying a decaying scent, fell from above.
The Ariados's scream scared away some nearby foraging Pokémon, preventing them from approaching, which saved Haunter a lot of trouble.
After dealing with this Ariados, Haunter returned to Giovanni's side, continuing to perform its duty.
Meanwhile, Giovanni and Delia remained asleep in their respective simple treehouses, seemingly oblivious to everything that had just happened.