Chapter 257: If You Can Stop Time, Who Needs Fast Hands?

After the group punishment had finished, the livestream moved on to the next segment.

[Congratulations to Cynthia for winning the Champion’s Reward—future Tiana will remain in the real world for one month!]

The pink light inside the competition space slowly faded.

At the same time, five pillars of light descended into the courtyard of Asher’s Estate, Kanto.

Asher walked over from beneath the veranda with a cup of iced coffee in his hand.

The moment Tiana landed and saw him, her eyes lit up.

She immediately abandoned her own mother and rushed over in a few quick steps, throwing her arms around Asher’s waist.

"Dad! You really wanted to see me, right? Right?"

Asher lowered his head and looked at his daughter’s sparkling heterochromatic eyes, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

"Mm. I did."

"Hehe, good!"

Tiana happily rubbed against him a little longer before finally letting go. Then she turned toward the other three mothers standing nearby and greeted them one by one in an extremely practiced, obedient tone.

"Hello, Mom Misty! Hello, Mom Elesa! Hello, Mom Diantha!"

Misty reached out and ruffled her hair. "...Mm. Hi."

Diantha chuckled softly from beside her.

"She’s much livelier than Elaria."

"Lively?" Elesa had finally wiped the last of the chocolate sauce from her neck. "Cynthia, if I remember correctly, Tiana blew up the hill behind the house in the video. Our courtyard should be safe, right?"

Asher waved a hand, his expression completely calm. "If she blows it up, we’ll make Steven pay to fix it. It’s not like he’s short on money."

[VIP Chat Group]

[Professor Carolina]: Has my precious great-granddaughter arrived yet? How tall is she? What’s her personality like? @Cynthia, answer Grandma already!

[Cynthia]: Grandma, Tiana’s already here. Her height and personality are about the same as in the video. She’s just gotten a little chubbier.

[Tiana]: Great-Grandma! Tiana’s here! (ノ≧?≦)ノ How are you feeling? Can you still climb Mt. Coronet with Tiana?

[Professor Carolina]: Of course! Great-Grandma’s been waiting to hug you! When are you coming back to Celestic Town? All the old folks in the family have been talking about you too!

[Tiana]: Mom and I will come visit you in a few days! Great-Grandma, can you ask the research assistants to prepare lots of ice cream? I like mixed Berry flavors!

[Cynthia]: Tiana, don’t start troubling Great-Grandma the moment you arrive.

[Professor Carolina]: What trouble? I’ll have them install an ice cream machine at the research lab!

[Steven]: Niece Tiana! Uncle Steven’s here! You should know me pretty well, right?

[Tiana]: Hello, Uncle Steven! Raina showed me the ore you gave her last time. Does Tiana get one too?

[Steven]: Hahaha, of course! Absolutely! Choosing rare stones is my specialty! It’s just... Tiana, could you tell Uncle where Diancie is?

[Tiana]: She’s with future Elaria~

[Steven]: ...

[Raihan]: Hahaha! Steven tried to fish for information and ended up getting nothing.

[Wallace]: Serves him right for trying to trick a kid into talking, meow~ Meow?! Meo— (hurriedly covers his mouth)

[Steven]: Oho, so that’s what happens after turning into a catgirl? Wallace, I’m coming to find you right now!

[Wallace]: GET LOST, MEOW!!!

[Lance]: Tiana, since you’re from the future, can you answer some questions about what happens later, meow?

[Tiana]: Sure! Some things can’t be revealed casually, but I can tell everyone a few unimportant things! Like Uncle Lance—you become really easy to talk to in the future. Every time Raina asks you to attend a meeting for her, you agree!

[Lance]: ...

[Lorelei]: Looks like Lance can’t escape being exploited by Asher’s family in any timeline, meow.

[Lucian]: Ahem. Tiana, Uncle has a question. As the future Champion of Sinnoh, shouldn’t you help deal with some of the Sinnoh League’s work?

[Tiana]: Uncle Lucian, I’m a "visitor from the future" right now, not the "current Champion." Shouldn’t you be asking my mom about the paperwork?

[Cynthia]: On vacation...

[Lucian]: ...

[Flint]: Hahahahahaha! The Sinnoh League paperwork will never end! I can already see the stacks of documents running past the window! Hahaha!

[Aaron]: Flint?! Flint, you can’t lose your mind! If you go crazy, doesn’t that mean I’m next?!

[Volkner]: ...Seeing all four of you Elite Four members like this is making me feel like I’m going crazy too.

...

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

Before anyone knew it, the day for the next livestream had arrived.

In the living room, Asher slid a fried egg from the pan onto a plate.

Diantha lazily leaned against the doorframe with a freshly poured glass of orange juice in her hand.

"Hubby, Episode Five starts today, right?"

"Pretty much."

Asher glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Half an hour left."

Tiana poked half her head in from beneath the veranda.

"Episode Five? Does that mean we’re about to see the next little sister?"

Everyone turned toward Asher at the same time.

Four pairs of eyes landed squarely on his face.

Without changing expression, Asher flipped another egg.

"Kids shouldn’t say weird things. What do you mean, ’the next little sister’? Couldn’t it be something else?"

Tiana thought for a moment, then nodded seriously.

"Oh, right. Maybe it’s an older sister."

The moment she finished speaking, Asher immediately felt his wives’ gazes grow even sharper.

[Ding! Intermission complete. The livestream will now continue.]

[Ding! Parallel-World Celebrity Series—Episode Five begins now!]

The number of people online in the VIP Chat Group instantly skyrocketed.

[VIP Chat Group]

[Tiana]: First! The front-row seat is mine! (ノ≧?≦)ノ

[Steven]: ??? Impossible! I started camping in front of the screen five minutes before the countdown ended and kept smashing refresh! I’ve never lost when it comes to hand speed! Niece Tiana, how did you do it?!

[Tiana]: Uncle Steven, have you ever considered—maybe I don’t need fast hands at all? (￣ω￣)

[Steven]: ???

[Tiana]: Because I can stop time~ So no matter how fast your hands are, Uncle Steven, you’ll never beat me~

[Steven]: CHEATING!!! THAT’S CHEATING!!!

[Wallace]: All right, stop fooling around. Episode Five is about to begin. I wonder who the protagonist will be this time.

[Steven]: Do we even need to guess? Obviously Brother Asher has another daughter! I’m just curious who the next sister-in-law is.

[Asher]: Steven, you little— (mouth covered)

[Misty]: Hubby, we already know your tricks. Don’t even think about using the same old excuses to fool us again~

[Asher]: ...I’m going to the bathroom.

[Elesa]: Don’t even think about running away. Episode Five is starting. Sit down and watch properly.

[Cynthia]: +1.

[Diantha]: +2. Hubby, just accept your fate~