The instant Auron Vale stepped out of the Pokémon Secret Realm, the Church personnel stationed outside had already noticed the white-clad figure.
When his face came into clear view, however, they all immediately shifted their gazes away.
"Cold and distant.jpg."
"Never seen him before—not one of ours."
The very first thing Auron did upon leaving the Secret Realm was call Jace Rowan. He had told Jace beforehand: as long as the two weren't together, he must head straight for the nearest exit the moment he found it.
Whether Jace had located an exit yet, Auron didn't know—but one call would tell him. If the phone rang with "out of service," it meant Jace was still inside.
Auron had only just lifted the phone to his ear when a voice suddenly came from the other side.
"Auron? What are you doing?"
Even before the voice finished, Jace's head popped into Auron's field of vision.
"My passion—hey—it's like a blazing fire, burning through the desert~"
At the same time, the phone in Jace's hand chimed with the cheerful ringtone. He glanced down at it.
"? Why are you calling me?"
Auron calmly hung up and pocketed his phone.
"Nothing. When did you come out?"
"I just came out. Look, I even brought someone for you."
With a mischievous grin, Jace pointed toward the platform beside them.
Auron followed his gaze.
Below stood Serena Elm, Tim Wynn, Lena Greaves, and Lena's childhood fiancé.
The four were gathered together, staring intently at the two boys standing on the platform. Their gazes were so piercing that a shiver crept down Auron's back.
"…Why are they here too?"
Jace spread his hands helplessly.
"Beats me. When I came out, I happened to see them. I hadn't even had time to ask before you showed up, so I came running to you."
Auron sighed. Then he suddenly remembered the Pokémon Egg in his backpack, and his eyes lit up.
"Come on, let's go see them!"
He strode quickly toward Serena Elm.
"No one can stop me from soaking in her luck. I mean it."
Serena watched him march toward her, the fiery intensity in his eyes sending her heart into overdrive, like a startled fawn crashing about in her chest.
What do I do, what do I do? Is he going to confess? How should I respond—just accept right away? Should I act reserved? Or… oh no, what would we even name our kids?!
While her imagination spun wildly, Auron had already stopped in front of her.
"Lend me your head for a second."
He said it with complete seriousness. Before she could answer, his hand was already rubbing the top of her head.
Serena: Σ(°△°|||)︴
Then Auron swung his backpack down, set it on the ground, and carefully lifted out the Pokémon Egg.
"Time to open the prize."
[Data Manifested]
Pokémon: Charmander ★
Gender: Male
Type: Fire
Ability: Solar Power (In harsh sunlight, Special Attack rises to 1.5× but HP is lost each turn)
Potential: Gold
Basic Moves: Growl, Scratch
Egg Moves: Metal Claw, Belly Drum, Counter, Dragon Rush, Dragon Tail
The moment Auron saw the data, he nearly burst with joy.
He set the egg down and immediately leapt up to hug Serena.
"Ha! You really are my lucky star!"
Serena, who a moment before had been ready to smack him, found all her anger dissolve under his embrace, replaced with a flustered happiness.
When Auron finally let go, he was still focused entirely on stroking the egg, oblivious to the teasing glances from the others—and to Serena's crimson cheeks.
Meanwhile, Jace thought Auron's Pokémon Egg looked oddly familiar. Curious, he opened his own backpack and pulled out an egg he'd obtained inside the Secret Realm.
"Huh? Auron, yours looks just like mine."
"…What?"
Auron turned and blinked. Sure enough, Jace was holding an almost identical egg.
[Data Manifested]
Pokémon: Charmander ★
Gender: Male
Type: Fire
Ability: Solar Power (In harsh sunlight, Special Attack rises to 1.5× but HP is lost each turn)
Potential: Gold
Basic Moves: Growl, Scratch
Egg Moves: Metal Claw, Bite, Dragon Rush, Dragon Tail, Ancient Power
Auron glanced between the two eggs.
"They're… the same. Could they be brothers?"
Then he suddenly remembered the nest he'd passed near the Secret Realm exit—two cradles, side by side, with the covering stones pulled aside and nothing left inside.
"Wait—was it you? You cleared out that nest behind the exit, didn't you?"
Finally piecing things together, Auron asked carefully.
Jace answered without the slightest guilt.
"Of course. Took everything. Didn't leave a scrap for whoever came after me."
Auron stared at him with wounded indignation.
"…That 'whoever came after you' was me."
Jace chuckled and waved it off.
"Oh come on, what's mine is yours, don't sweat it."
"We mind!"
The calm but angry voices of Tim Wynn and Lena Greaves rang out in unison.
Simon Greaves nodded furiously beside them.
As for Serena, she was still lost in replaying Auron's embrace over and over, imagination running rampant.
Auron and Jace both broke out in cold sweat.
"Uh… what are you guys doing here?"
Tim was the first to speak.
"It's the weekend. I came over to have some fun—and maybe see if I could find anything worthwhile."
Lena added, "My dad's a City Guardian. He went inside, so we're waiting for him."
Tim's eyes flicked toward Auron with faint reproach.
"So why didn't you invite me?"
Lena and Simon both nodded along.
Auron shot Jace a look, but his friend only eased a step back, leaving him to face the music.
Resigned, Auron forced a smile.
"Alright, let me explain."
Tim crossed her arms and smirked.
"Go on, I'm listening."
"Well, think about it—why didn't you go in yourselves?"
"Because it's dangerous inside, duh," Tim shot back.
"Exactly. Dangerous. You think your parents would let you enter?"
That made them pause. He had a point.
But Tim still looked unconvinced.
"Then what about you two? Your parents just let you waltz in?"
This time, Jace stepped forward with confidence. Together, the two boys said in unison:
"They did."
Their firm tone left Tim deflating.
"…Fine."
Auron clapped her lightly on the shoulder with a grin.
"Don't worry. Next time, I'll bring you along."
Lena edged closer with Simon in tow.
"And us?"
"Of course. I'd never play favorites," Auron said quickly, forcing a laugh.
The group exchanged skeptical glances but finally nodded.
"Alright. We'll trust you—this once."
Auron wiped at imaginary sweat from his brow, sighing in relief. That crisis was over.
Inside the Secret Realm—
Dax Jonas was on the verge of despair.
"Today is absolutely cursed. Out of all these volcanoes, I found the very last one before reaching the exit."
"And I still haven't even seen the Secret Realm's master… this is brutal."
Having finally located the exit, he'd released the signal flare that marked it. But there was no time to rest—he still needed to find the master Pokémon of the realm.
"Where could it be? By all logic, it should be inside one of these volcanoes. Why haven't I found it yet?"
As he grumbled, a figure suddenly shot past him, with two enormous jets of flame roaring close behind.
"Holy crap—duck!"
Dax's eyes widened, but his Corviknight reacted instantly, banking hard to dodge the twin fire pillars.
Already burning with frustration, Dax now found himself being used as a shield. He exploded with rage.
"Damn it! You think I'm your decoy? Corviknight, after them!"
(End of Chapter)
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