Caitlin didn't respond directly but instead asked, "Did you prepare today's lunch?"
"Yes," Serena nodded.
"Then I approve of you," Caitlin declared with a proud lift of her chin. "Be happy, you're the first chef I've ever endorsed."
Serena was momentarily speechless. Since when had she become a chef? Yet, despite Caitlin's haughty tone, she felt oddly honored.
"Can you make ice cream?" Caitlin suddenly queried.
"Of course, it's one of my specialties," Serena replied confidently. While she was still learning American cuisine, desserts and pastries were her forte. Wait, was she really going along with this?
"Great!" Caitlin's eyes sparkled. "I can be friends with you, but you'll need to make some ice cream flavors according to my requests." She looked at Serena expectantly.
Carl noticed a faint pink aura seemed to drift through the air.
Serena couldn't help but chuckle. So friendship required custom ice cream orders now? The self-absorption of this young lady was truly remarkable.
After a moment's hesitation, Serena nodded in agreement. Caitlin smiled in satisfaction and turned to Lillie, who was munching on some fruit.
Lillie quickly caught on and introduced herself, "I'm Lillie from the Aether Foundation."
"The Aether Foundation's heiress?" Caitlin asked, slightly surprised.
"Yes."
"That title alone is enough to understand my story," Caitlin began to share her past.
As soon as she spoke, both Lillie and Serena couldn't help but glance at Sabrina.
Sabrina's mouth twitched slightly. Another psychic with a similar opening line?
Immersed in her memories, Caitlin continued, "I used to have no control over my powers and often lost control."
"Once I learned to manage them, people would always tell me I could never beat Cynthia."
"Every time I heard that, I'd lose control."
"Recently, I realized I don't have to surpass her."
"We can be one."
A blush crept over Caitlin's face as she spoke.
Lillie and Serena looked bewildered.
Sabrina silently thought: How could someone like this be a psychic?
Carl nearly spat out his drink in laughter.
"Is something wrong with you? Even your DNA seems restless," he mused.
"You... you like girls?" Serena timidly moved closer to Carl.
Lillie, however, boldly leaned towards Sabrina.
"Shallow," Caitlin replied with a cool demeanor, "I'm not interested in you."
"To me, gender doesn't matter; strength is what counts."
"The strong make the rules and have everything they want."
"Sister Cynthia is such a powerhouse."
"If I can never surpass her, I'd rather follow her than settle for someone weaker."
Caitlin shook her head with determination. "I won't make Cynthia do things I can't."
Her eyes burned with a fierce dedication.
Carl couldn't help but laugh, "Your thoughts are a bit too extreme, aren't they?" He struggled to comprehend this near-fanatical admiration.
"What if someone could defeat Cynthia?" Carl asked, suddenly intrigued.
Caitlin didn't even bother to turn her head, dismissing him with a tone full of disdain, "You? Dream on!"
"Do you think anyone among our peers could surpass Sister Cynthia?" she turned to face him, her expression full of scorn.
Carl had to admit, Cynthia was indeed extraordinary. As a champion, her rare powers and exceptional battle strategies made her a formidable opponent. Her Pokémon lineup was comprehensive, from Garchomp to Togekiss, each one an exemplar of its type. Coupled with her deep academic background, she was unrivaled among her peers.
"But," Carl said with a knowing smile, "have you heard of the 'chosen ones'?"
"Even a champion chosen by fate can exist."
"Cynthia can't beat luck," he mused.
Reflecting on some of the more outrageous plots in anime, Carl couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief.
In the real world, anything was possible; if Caitlin could have a mental lapse, Cynthia being the strongest wasn't out of the question.
But there was a condition.
"What about me, then?"
Carl lightly tapped the table.
"You..." Caitlin began, only to realize her regained psychic powers had vanished again.
This time, she couldn't sense anything at all.
The feeling of being out of control made her shiver inwardly.
She recalled that the man before her was full of secrets.
"If it's you... maybe there's a chance," she quickly softened her stance.
Without her psychic powers, even her voice was quieter.
Sabrina's eyes flickered momentarily.
Now that Caitlin had lost her powers while she still retained hers...
But Carl's casual glance stopped her in her tracks.
Carl continued to question Caitlin, "If I defeat Cynthia, what will you do?"
"I'd sincerely congratulate you," she replied softly.
"Is that all?"
"What else would you want?" she asked cautiously.
Without her powers, she was a different person entirely.
"Not even considering being a personal attendant?"
According to Cynthia, wasn't that the idea? Either accompany Cynthia to the end, or be captured by the strong.
"Personal attendant?!"
Caitlin was so furious she turned red.
This time she was genuinely angry!
"Poor choice of words." Carl corrected himself, "How about a bridesmaid?"
"I'll bite you, believe it!" she fumed.
Yet compared to her previous domineering demeanor, she now resembled an angry kitten—more cute than threatening.
Even Lillie was taken aback.
"Tricky indeed."
Carl scratched his head, puzzled by Caitlin's mindset. She wasn't as straightforward as a simple admirer, nor as compliant as a bridesmaid, so what did she want?
Was she just a fervent fan?
How dull.
His interest waned.
Caitlin, meanwhile, suddenly grew animated, "Even if you have some means to seal my powers, you're only barely at an elite level now."
"Even in ten years, you won't catch up to Sister Cynthia."
"When she's nearly forty, you'll have no chance."
The thought brought her a strange satisfaction.
The regret caused by an age difference sounded melancholic.
But when it involved Carl, she felt only relief.
Sister Cynthia was meant to shine alone.
Seeing her expression, Carl wanted to say: Young lady, you're too naive.
He's a man who takes inspiration from the great strategists.
"How about a bet?" Carl suddenly suggested.
With nothing else to do, he figured it might be amusing.
"What kind of bet?"
"First, tell me, how old is Cynthia now?"
"In 43 days, 7 hours, 6 minutes, and 54 seconds, she'll be 25."
Carl: "..." Carl was momentarily at a loss for words.
"In ten years, Cynthia will only be thirty-four, right?"
"Round it up to forty," Caitlin said matter-of-factly.
Her grasp of math was truly something.
"Then let's bet that on Cynthia's thirtieth birthday, five years from now, I'll defeat her fair and square," Carl calculated. With his advantage of the World Tree, an elite in half a year, a champion in a year, and then...
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