From outside the tent came a sudden outburst of frightened cries.
At this moment, the able-bodied men were still in the forest chopping trees to build log cabins. That meant only women, children, and the injured were left inside the camp.
Hearing the commotion, Raven's heart tightened. His mind immediately pictured the Beartic they had encountered the night before.Could it be that the beast had realized it had been tricked and come here seeking revenge?
Raven hurriedly stood and rushed outside to see for himself.
But when his eyes landed on the so-called "beasts," he froze in surprise.
Pokémon… Snovers?
The villagers nearby screamed and scattered in panic. The three Snovers just stood there, scratching their heads in confusion, their small faces full of puzzlement as they watched the humans run.
"Uguu…"
One Snover spotted Raven rushing over.
"Uguu!"
The other two immediately turned their heads toward him as well.
"Your Highness Raven, be careful!" Butler Aelif quickly stepped in front of him.
"It's fine, Aelif." Raven shook his head. "These beasts mean no harm. We ran into them yesterday when looking for Anna. They must have followed us back."
Snovers were considered relatively friendly Pokémon toward humans.
Their Pokédex entries clearly stated that even if a Snover appeared in a human village, it wouldn't cause trouble—on the contrary, it often became a child's playmate.
Judging from their expressions, these three obviously recognized him.
Under Aelif's stunned gaze, Raven stepped forward with a smile and greeted them:
"Hello, Snovers."
"Uguu~!"
The three Snovers happily responded in chorus.
The terrified villagers, frozen mid-flight, turned back in disbelief, watching nervously.
The very next moment, the three Snovers suddenly moved.
They spread their stubby arms and charged straight at their lord.
"Your Highness Raven!" a woman shrieked, covering her mouth.
"Your Highness, watch out!"
Aelif, still on edge, immediately rushed forward again, bracing himself to protect Raven.
But the deep-rooted fear of beasts welled up inside him, making him squeeze his eyes shut and grit his teeth, preparing for the impact of their attack.
Yet… nothing came.
Instead, he heard the villagers gasp loudly in shock.
Cautiously, Aelif cracked his eyes open.
The beasts… they were gone?!
"Uguu~!"
The sound came from behind him.
His heart jumped—those cunning monsters must have slipped past him to attack Raven directly!
Aelif spun around, only to find himself dumbstruck by the sight.
"Uguu~ Uguu~!"
The three Pokémon had surrounded Raven. Hugging his legs with their stubby arms, they chirped happily, acting more like children begging to be held than monsters attacking a human.
"This… what?!" Aelif's face went blank with disbelief.
All the villagers stood rooted, unable to trust their eyes.
Then, one Snover let go.
Its face beamed with joy as it plucked from its body a snow-white fruit the size of a baseball and held it up to Raven.
"This is… for me?"
Raven blinked at the offering.
"Uguu~!"
The Snover's eyes curved in delight as it nodded eagerly.
Yesterday, the humans had shared that delicious berry with them. So today, they wanted to return the favor by sharing their own fruit.
Raven chuckled despite himself. These Snovers are really too innocent and cute.
He split the fruit into four pieces, handing them to Aelif and two trembling farmers."Go on, you should try it too."
"Your Highness… this is?" Aelif hesitated, staring at the piece in his hand.
"It's a gift from these beasts," Raven explained before taking a bite himself.
Mmm… sweet, with a texture somewhere between ice cream and rock candy. Unexpectedly delicious.
At the very first taste, Raven immediately thought: This could be used to make sugar.
Seeing Raven eat, Aelif gritted his teeth and followed suit.
His eyes widened in shock.
How could it taste this good?!
The other two Snovers, seeing Raven finish the first fruit, quickly plucked their own berries and eagerly handed them over.
"Uguu!"—try ours too!
Raven couldn't help but laugh."So you came all this way just to let me taste these?"
"Uguu~"
The three scratched their heads shyly.
"Your Highness… what exactly is going on here?" Aelif finally asked, thoroughly baffled.
Raven briefly recounted what had happened the previous night.
Looking at the Snovers crowding around him, their faces full of curiosity, he speculated:"Perhaps… they just want to play with us?"
"Play?" Aelif blinked. "They really are like mischievous children."
"Don't you see it, Aelif?" Raven said softly.
"See what?"
"This world is full of countless beasts. Some are fierce and will attack humans on sight. But some are as innocent and playful as children, and even friendly toward us."
Aelif froze. He looked again at the three creatures called Snovers, and realized… perhaps His Highness was right.
Just like the King and that Pokémon called Victini.
And His Highness himself had that Dratini by his side.
"Aelif, pass down the order: tell everyone not to fear these three. As long as we don't attack them first, they won't harm us."
"Yes, Your Highness Raven!" Aelif answered at once.
Raven turned to the three Snovers again.
Snover—Grass and Ice type Pokémon.
He had just been fretting about the lack of Grass-type Pokémon in the territory, and now here they were.
If they could form a bond, maybe he could ask them to help tend the fields. With Grass-type energy, they could enrich the soil, shorten crop growth cycles, and make harvests come earlier.
The only issue was… Snovers clearly leaned more toward Ice power than Grass.
Still, it was too soon to worry about that.
The most important thing now was building trust with them.
This might even become a chance to change the villagers' deep-rooted prejudice against Pokémon.
With that thought, Raven smiled and said:"Snovers, this is where we live. If you don't mind, you can play here as much as you like. Everyone will grow to love you. I have work to do for now, but when I'm done, I'll come and play with you."
Time was short. Before the next blizzard struck, they had to find land suitable for farming and plant the seeds.
The territory's survival depended on it—he couldn't rest until it was done.
"Uguu~!"
Hearing that Raven would come back later to play, the three Snovers cheered happily in unison.
(End of Chapter)