Chapter 241: Steven Sure Is Lucky to Have Asher

The video continued playing.

After confirming the next part of the itinerary, Elaria rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a pair of sunglasses.

She had specifically borrowed them from Lillie before leaving.

The lenses covered nearly half her face, completely hiding her distinctive golden eyes.

Then she stuffed Hoopa into her shoulder bag, leaving only a tiny gap in the zipper so it could breathe.

"Hoopa, remember what I told you—you aren’t allowed to talk or come out unless I give you permission."

"If someone recognizes us, it’ll be really troublesome. Got it?"

Hoopa’s muffled voice came from inside the bag.

"But what if Elaria gets into danger?"

Elaria thought about it.

"We’ll deal with that if it happens. For now, just stay quietly inside the bag."

Elaria followed Nessa through the streets of Hulbury.

Everywhere they went, there was merchandise from The Dragon-Riding Princess.

Flags showing Diancie riding Rayquaza hung from the streetlights.

Shop windows displayed chibi figures of Groudon and Kyogre combined together.

There was even a hair salon with a sign outside that read:

NEW SERVICE: STEVEN-STYLE CONE HEAD — 20% OFF TODAY

Elaria stared at the sign for several seconds.

"...Miss Nessa, do people really come here specifically to get that hairstyle?"

Nessa followed her gaze.

"Oh, that salon does really good business. It was almost completely booked out last week."

"...The world of grown-ups really is complicated."

The server acknowledged them and headed into the kitchen.

While they waited, Elaria quietly stood beside Nessa.

The people lining up around them occasionally glanced their way, but quickly looked elsewhere.

After all, seeing a little girl wearing sunglasses on a seafood street wasn’t particularly unusual.

Plenty of parents gave their children sunglasses to protect them from the sun.

Just when Elaria thought everything would go smoothly—

Something went wrong.

A server emerged from the kitchen pushing a food cart.

Sitting on top of it was an enormous king crab nearly the size of a washbasin.

The instant Popplio saw the gigantic crab, its eyes widened into perfect circles.

It excitedly struggled free from Elaria’s arms and swung its tail.

Smack!

Popplio’s tail struck Elaria’s sunglasses with perfect accuracy.

The sunglasses flew off her face—

And landed on the ground with a clatter.

At that exact moment, it felt as though someone had pressed pause on the entire seafood street.

The bizarre silence lasted for roughly three seconds.

Then—

The place exploded like a Beedrill nest that had just been kicked.

A young Trainer wearing a cap suddenly burst out of the line.

"It’s Elaria! Elaria from The Dragon-Riding Princess! I’ve watched the movie seventeen times! THERE’S NO WAY I’D GET HER WRONG!"

A mature red-haired woman behind Elaria somehow produced a marker from nowhere, her eyes already turning red with excitement.

"Miss Elaria! I’ve been following you since Light of the Diamond! Please give me an autograph! You can sign my clothes! I’ll never wash this shirt again!"

Right behind her was a girl with twin tails, whose voice was trembling just as badly.

"Lady Elaria! I’m the head of the Galar branch of the Princess Elaria Fan Club! Our branch has three hundred and seventy members! Everyone absolutely loves you!"

Elaria hurriedly waved her little hands.

"Um... everyone, please don’t push!"

"Please calm down! You’re going to cause trouble for everyone else!"

But Elaria’s attempts to stop them had practically no effect.

More and more people continued gathering around her.

Just as the entire seafood street was about to spiral completely out of control—

An incredibly brilliant flash of red light erupted from within the crowd.

Milotic’s long, elegant body appeared in the center of the street.

Its tail fin gently swept sideways.

A wall of water immediately rose from the ground, separating the surging crowd from Elaria.

"Everyone!"

Nessa planted one hand on her hip while using the other to shield Elaria behind her.

"Miss Elaria is here under an official invitation from the Galar League for a cultural exchange!"

"This is not an autograph event!"

"This is not a fan meet-and-greet!"

"Please remain rational!"

[VIP Chat Group]

[Raihan]: Hahahaha! Nessa was lifting Elaria into the air like a crazed fan five minutes ago, and now she’s telling everyone else to "remain rational"! So when it’s your turn, rationality suddenly isn’t necessary?

[Sonia]: I really didn’t expect parallel-world Nessa to be like this.

[Opal]: Oh my, this side of Nessa is rather cute too. I thought all she knew how to do was put on that serious face during battles.

[Nessa]: ...Madam Opal, please stop.

[Bea]:@Nessa, don’t worry about it too much. It’s not like you’re the only person whose public image has collapsed because of this livestream. You’ll get used to it.

[Wallace]: Hehe. Whether their image is collapsing or their true personality is simply being exposed... that’s difficult to say.

[Iris]: Still, if you actually met your idol in real life, it’d definitely be hard to stay calm. Like if I met Rayquaza in person, I’d probably get super excited too. Hehe.

[Steven]: Exactly! Speaking of which, when am I finally going to meet Diancie? Brother Asher, do you actually know where Diancie is or not? I’m begging you, just give me a straight answer.

[Asher]:@Bonnie, any ideas?

[Bonnie]: Huh? You’re asking me? Bonnie doesn’t know where Diancie is either.

[Asher]:@Steven, you heard her. Bonnie says she doesn’t know.

[Steven]: ?

[Clemont]: ?

[Bruno]: Asher really is a genius when it comes to pretending he doesn’t know anything!

[Lance]: ...That’s an approach I genuinely never would’ve thought of.

[Raihan]: Steven sure is lucky to have Asher.

[Koga]: Those two really do bring out the best in each other.

[Volkner]: True.

The video continued playing.

After escaping the crazed crowd, Nessa brought Elaria to a tiny noodle shop hidden deep within the docks.

The storefront was so narrow that even its sign had to be hung sideways.

A huge pot sat outside the entrance, white steam continuously bubbling out of it.

The owner was a bald middle-aged man wearing an apron, currently stirring noodles in the pot with a pair of long chopsticks.

"I used to come here all the time even before I became a Gym Leader."

Nessa snapped apart a pair of disposable chopsticks and handed them to Elaria.

"I know the owner. You can relax here."

Hearing that, Elaria took off her sunglasses and opened the zipper of her shoulder bag slightly.

Hoopa’s head immediately squeezed through the gap.

It took an enormous breath—

Then let out an incredibly satisfied sigh.

"Hoopa can finally breathe!"

"Elaria’s bag is so stuffy!"

"And it smells like Popplio drool!"

Popplio was lying on top of Elaria’s head.

Hearing Hoopa’s criticism, it casually flicked its tail and declined to comment.

Once the owner brought over their food, Elaria picked up a large shrimp with her chopsticks and took a bite.

Her eyes immediately lit up.

"This shrimp is so sweet!"

"I’m glad you like it."

Nessa smiled.

"All the ingredients here are delivered fresh every day by local fishermen, either from their catches or what they’ve reeled in themselves."

"I actually discovered this place by accident because I like fishing too."

"Huh? Miss Nessa likes fishing too?"

Elaria tilted her head.

Was liking fishing just a shared trait among Water-type Trainers?

"Of course."

Nessa nodded.

"If you’re interested, I can take you to one of my usual fishing spots later."