The staff member who had been leading them brought them to the room. Then, she politely left.
However, before she walked away, she looked at May. She seemed to want to take this third wheel away with her. She wanted to leave some private space for Natsui and Erika. But May's eyes were already focused on the feast in the traditional Japanese room. She did not care about anything else. She looked ready to run forward and eat a huge meal as soon as Natsui gave the order!
Even standing outside the door, she smelled the food. She was already drooling.
There was nothing to be done. The staff member saw her looking like a foodie. She smiled, shook her head, and walked away alone.
When Erika looked at May, Natsui smiled and explained, "May will travel with me starting today. After I finish my work in Kanto and Johto, we will go to the Sinnoh region together."
In fact, Erika already knew about this from a phone call. Natsui was only saying it now to make the matter official.
"Then I'm really putting you to a lot of trouble," Erika said. She looked at May with a gentle expression. "Please take good care of him from now on."
"Not at all..." May quickly waved her hands. "Erika, you are too kind. I am the one who should say thank you. I am following Natsui to learn!"
"Let's not be so formal with each other anymore." Erika stepped aside and invited them in. She smiled as she spoke. "We are all on the same side. Come, let's eat quickly before the food gets cold."
Those were the exact words May was waiting for! However, even though she really wanted to start eating the feast, it was only a thought. She was raised in a Gym, so she had good manners. She followed Natsui into the dining room. She waited until Natsui and Erika were both seated before she sat down.
She wanted to sit next to Natsui, but she saw that Erika had already taken that spot. After being surprised for a moment, she did not think too much about it. She sat directly opposite Natsui.
It did not matter where she sat, right?
With that thought, May picked up her chopsticks. But she did not expect that this would be the decision she regretted most today!
The table was full of food for a great feast. However, her stomach was also filled with all the lovey-dovey behavior she had to watch from the couple.
At this moment, she finally saw what a truly attentive partner looked like.
Sitting next to Natsui, Erika looked very kind and gentle. She kept putting food in his bowl and pouring wine. She peeled shrimp and wiped his mouth with a tissue. She took such good care of Natsui that he was completely at ease.
Suddenly, the food in May's mouth did not taste that good anymore.
In her memory, her mother, Caroline, only took care of her like this when she was very small.
As expected, Erika was a completely different type of person compared to Sabrina.
After the meal, the same staff member appeared again. She led May away from the room to the guest rooms.
Before leaving, May looked back at Natsui one last time. She saw that he was a bit tipsy. Erika supported him as they went in a different direction.
That seems to be Erika's room, right? Does Natsui not need to sleep in a guest room?
The moment she had this thought, she realized she was being too naive.
Actually, even if Misty had not said anything, she could tell that Erika and Sabrina were both in a relationship with Natsui.
This was a bit surprising and perhaps did not fit normal morals. However, when she thought about how outstanding Natsui was, it was easy to understand.
Because of her family and her travels, May understood more than most girls. She did not know what the two would do next. But she knew that tonight, they would sleep in one bed just like her parents.
For some reason, just thinking that made her heart beat faster. Her ears turned red!
She did not dare think more about it. She quickly looked away and cleared her mind. She followed the staff member with her head down.
...
That night, May could not sleep.
Usually, she did not have trouble sleeping in a new bed. But she was in a strange place. There were no familiar people around. She had eaten so much that her mind began to wander.
But she was not thinking about herself.
In the first part of the night, she thought about the upcoming Saffron City Grand Festival. At midnight, she thought about the journey to Sinnoh. In the second part of the night, her head was full of thoughts about Natsui, Erika, and Sabrina.
Did Erika and Sabrina know about each other?
If they knew, did they both allow this?
If they did not know, did that mean Natsui was lying to them? Was he dating both at the same time?
Then she thought about the task Misty gave her. Misty asked her to watch out for Lisia and other girls. But Erika and Sabrina probably did not count, right?
In short, May was very worried that night.
Finally, when she was starting to feel sleepy, a light rain began to fall outside. The sound was annoying and made her feel wide awake again.
On that same night, Natsui also could not sleep.
Actually, that was not correct. He simply had no time to sleep!
If May's mind was busy, then Natsui's night was even busier.
A worker can grow very tired from working in a field, but the field itself does not tire at all. The more the worker labors, the more exhausted he becomes.
All night, only quiet breathing filled the Gym's living area. Fortunately, the Gym staff had gone home after work, so no one noticed.
Even so, Erika controlled her volume. She was afraid that May would hear sounds that were not meant for her.
...
The next day, Natsui woke up very late.
It was after 10:00 AM. For him, this was a very long sleep because he usually woke up early.
He wanted to get up, but his eyelids were very heavy. His body felt drained.
He looked beside him. Erika was gone. There were only neatly folded blankets and pillows.
He looked out the window at a flower pot on the windowsill. It was filled with rainwater. After sitting there for a long time, his mind finally became clear.
He put on his clothes. They had started being intimate the moment they entered the room last night. So, Natsui only now had the time to look at the room.
This was Erika's bedroom. The whole place was in a Japanese style. The decorations were very elegant. There were fancy writings, paintings, and vases. She really looked like a young lady from a rich family.
After looking around the room, Natsui finally left.
He arrived at the same room where they had dinner. He met May there. He was surprised to see that they both had dark circles under their eyes. They both looked very tired.
Natsui knew why he had dark circles, but what was the matter with May?
Did she also stay up all night and only just wake up?
He was about to ask when Erika walked in. She looked beautiful and full of energy. She was carrying their breakfast.
"You're awake?" Erika had a very gentle smile. She placed the breakfast in front of them. "I saw you were sleeping very soundly, so I didn't disturb you. Are you hungry? Come and eat something quickly."
In some ways, this woman was truly something else.
Even though she had enjoyed herself until very late, Erika acted like nothing happened. Instead, she looked very healthy and even more refreshed.
In contrast, Natsui felt like his energy was almost gone.
He had arrived only last night. It was impossible for Natsui to leave after such a tiring night. He had to stay for at least one more day.
This was also a good chance to recover his strength.
Of course, that was if he did not keep overdoing it.
Except... that seemed impossible.
After eating breakfast, Natsui had nothing to do. He went to the Gym's greenhouse. He let his Pokémon out to move around. He found a chair and lay down.
Even though he was here, Erika still had to work at the Gym and the perfume shop.
A challenger came to the door. Natsui went to the battlefield to look. Erika went easy on the challenger, and before long the challenger left happily with a Badge. Natsui lost interest. He returned to the greenhouse to enjoy his holiday.
Natsui could rest, but May could not.
Because of her thoughts last night, she had new ideas for her practice. Right now, she was practicing while the Gym assistants watched.
These women were very curious about Natsui. But they could not ask him directly because of Erika. So they gathered around May. They chatted and tried to get information about Natsui from her.
Unfortunately, they asked the wrong person.
May had not been on big adventures with Natsui. She only knew what she saw at tournaments and what Misty told her.
Also, she did not like to brag. She knew what she could say and what she could not say. When the assistants asked questions, she only answered the ones she felt were okay. For the others, she pretended not to know anything.
However, May's description of Natsui at the Ever Grande Conference still amazed the girls.
"It sounds really amazing..." one green-haired assistant said with a sigh. "If I had known, I would have watched the matches with Erika when she was secretly watching them."
"It's not too late to watch later," another assistant laughed. "Isn't he going to Sinnoh? When the Sinnoh League starts, we can just watch it together with Erika."
The girls talked and laughed together. This made May hesitate to speak.
She wanted to train quietly, but these people did not give her the chance.
Then the group talked about May instead of Natsui.
"Oh? You just said you took 8th place in the Hoenn Grand Festival?"
"It wasn't 8th place," May said weakly. "I made it into the Top 8..."
"That's still very impressive. Very few rookies can get that kind of result the first time they enter such a large competition."
"Why not? Did you forget? Didn't Natsui take the championship directly the first time he entered a League?"
"All I can say is, Erika's eye for men is really good!"
May heard these women gossiping again and sighed.
She now understood how noisy a group could get once everyone started chatting. There were six or seven of them! As long as they talked, there was a constant mess of noise. In the end, they always laughed and teased.
Just then, in the woods on the other side of the greenhouse, something small and green flashed by. May saw it.
"What was that?" she asked.
"What?"
The assistants all stopped and looked where May was pointing. But they only saw plants.
However, they seemed to know what May was talking about.
"Oh, that..." The same staff member who had taken them to see Erika yesterday smiled. "It's a secret of ours. Erika told us not to tell outsiders. But you're different. You're the companion who came with Natsui. Didn't he tell you?"
May was even more surprised. "Tell me what?"
The girls laughed again. May was annoyed. Then they lowered their voices and spoke quietly. "That thing just now was the Mythical Pokémon Celebi!"
"Celebi!?"
May was no longer a beginner. She had looked at the Pokédex many times. She knew about Pokémon. She definitely knew what Celebi was because it was a Mythical Pokémon.
Only...
Why was a Celebi here?
And why did these people act like it was normal?
The assistants saw how surprised she was and spoke again. "It seems you really don't know anything. Let me tell you, that Celebi was caught by Natsui!"
"What? It's Natsui's Pokémon!?"
May had just started traveling with Natsui. She had not seen his battles with Team Magma or Team Aqua. She only heard Misty talk about Deoxys once. She did not know he had other Legendary Pokémon. Hearing this news made her feel amazed.
The most surprising part was still coming.
The assistants said again, "That's not all! Do you know why Celebi is always here?"
They did not wait for May to guess. They continued, "That's because this Celebi is a love-pledge Pokémon between Natsui and Erika!"
May had heard of gifts of love between people. It was her first time hearing of a "love-pledge Pokémon."
However, the meaning was the same. She knew what it meant from the name.
It was just...
It really was too incredible.
This was a Mythical Pokémon! And he just gave it to someone like that?