Chapter 283: Someone Was Clearly Here First, Yet Her Daughter Still Isn’t the Eldest

The video continued playing.

The air around Lake Verity was filled with an indescribably sweet, almost cloying atmosphere.

"Aunt Cynthia."

Hina raised one finger and poked at the air above her head, where a string of tiny pink bubbles had appeared at some point without her noticing.

"What are these?"

Cynthia held her cup of ice cream and expressionlessly looked at the three identical bubbles floating above her own head.

"Probably Mesprit’s emotions leaking out."

"The Being of Emotion is too powerful. Every living creature nearby is being influenced by its feelings."

Surskit poked one of the bubbles with its antenna.

The instant it popped—an overwhelmingly powerful impulse surged up from the depths of its heart.

The next second—

Surskit dropped to all four knees.

Both antennae stretched dramatically toward the heavens as it stared at its own reflection in the lake and unleashed a deafening confession.

"Sur-sur!" (Ah! How can such a beautiful Surskit possibly exist in this world?! The curvature of these antennae! The luster of these abdominal segments! This humble Surskit shall marry itself today!)

Quaxwell fell silent for a moment.

Then it walked over—

And smacked Surskit on the head with its disciplinary ruler.

"Quax, quax!" (Disciple, wake up! That’s your own reflection!)

The blow sent Surskit tumbling over.

After scrambling upright, it froze for half a second before slowly turning toward Quaxwell.

"Sur-sur!" (Master! Did this disciple just utter something utterly disgraceful?!)

Quaxwell pointed one wing toward the lake.

"Quax, quax." (You said you wanted to marry yourself.)

Surskit instantly turned to stone.

Then it slowly turned around and buried its face in Shaymin’s fur.

"Sur-sur-sur-sur-sur..." (Please just let this disciple die...)

Just then—

A pillar of water suddenly exploded from the center of Lake Verity.

A pink figure shot straight out from within it, flipped seven or eight times through the air—

And landed face-first on the grass beside the lake with a wet splat.

Mesprit.

"Waaaaahhhhhh——! You finally came!! I’ve been waiting for you for sooooo long! Waaaaahhhhhh!!!"

Hina flinched at the sheer force of its entrance and instinctively took half a step backward.

"Um..."

"Are you Mesprit?"

"Yes, yes, yes! That’s me!"

Mesprit sprang off the grass and grabbed both of Hina’s sleeves with its tiny hands.

"You came to save me, right?!"

"You’re taking me away from here, right?!"

"You’re going to protect me, right?!"

With both sleeves firmly trapped in Mesprit’s grip, Hina could only nod frantically.

"Yes, yes..."

"All of that is right..."

Mesprit wiped its tears with both hands.

Unfortunately, the more it wiped, the harder it cried.

Tears poured out like someone had turned on a faucet.

Hina gently stroked Mesprit’s head.

Emerald-green light from the Power of Viridian seeped from her palm, surrounding Mesprit in a warm, soothing glow.

"It’s okay."

"Take your time."

"We came here to help you."

Under the calming influence of the Power of Viridian, Mesprit finally returned to something resembling a normal state.

"Feeling better?"

Hina asked softly.

Mesprit hiccupped from crying and rubbed its eyes with both hands.

Then it stared down at its soaking-wet paws.

"...What happened to me?"

"My eyes hurt..."

It floated over to the lakeshore and looked at its reflection.

Then—

It unleashed a bloodcurdling scream.

"WHY ARE MY EYES SO RED?!"

"THEY LOOK LIKE TWO BOILED ELECTRODE!"

Quaxwell pushed up its sunglasses and walked over.

It patted Mesprit on the shoulder, then reached into the backpack and pulled out a spare pair of sunglasses.

Mesprit put them on and examined itself in the lake.

The corners of its mouth rose higher and higher.

"...Actually, this looks pretty cool."

It spun around and planted both hands on its hips.

"All right! Starting today, these sunglasses are part of my body!"

"Quax, quax!" (Ancestral teaching of Quaxmen—sunglasses are bestowed only upon disciples of Quaxmen. They are not given to outsiders.)

Quaxwell pulled the Quaxmen Handbook from its backpack.

Then it opened to the first page and held it up for Mesprit to read.

First Rule of the Quaxmen Handbook: "Those who wish to enter Quaxmen must first cultivate the heart. If the heart is crooked, the dance will be crooked. If the dance is crooked, the duck shall not acknowledge you."

Mesprit stared at the strange dances illustrated throughout the handbook.

It remained silent for a moment.

Then it decisively removed the sunglasses and offered them back with both hands.

"Master Ducky, please take these back."

"I don’t think I have what it takes to join Quaxmen."

Quaxwell pushed up its sunglasses.

It didn’t accept them.

"Quax, quax." (This humble duck never takes back what it has given away. You may now consider yourself an outer disciple of Quaxmen.)

"Wait, I get a deal that good?"

Mesprit’s eyes lit up.

"Then I’ll keep the sunglasses!"

"In exchange—"

It raised one paw.

A faint pink glow appeared at its fingertip.

The speck of light drifted toward the back of Hina’s hand and condensed into a pale pink pattern beside the blue and yellow marks already there.

"This is the Mark of Emotion."

Mesprit floated in front of Hina.

"With it, you’ll be able to borrow part of my power—Emotion Manipulation."

Hina blinked.

"Emotion Manipulation?"

"That’s right!"

Mesprit planted its hands on its hips.

"Basically—you want someone to cry, they cry."

"You want someone to laugh, they laugh."

"Even if you wanted to make two males fall madly in love with each other—"

"W-Wait, wait!"

Hina hurriedly waved both hands, her face turning bright red.

"I-I’d never do something like that...!"

[VIP Chat Group]

[Bianca]: Emotion Manipulation?! It can even force two people to fall in love?! That’s terrifying! (?д?;)

[Dawn]: Thank goodness Hina is the one who got that ability! Hina is such a good girl, so she’d definitely never abuse it! At most, she’d probably use it to help regulate a Pokémon’s emotions! Yes! Definitely!

[Shauntal]: Hehe, I wouldn’t be so sure~ Based on my many years of reading novels, an adorable socially anxious little angel like Hina might one day get pushed too far and use Emotion Manipulation on the entire room...

[Shauntal]: Everyone would drop to their knees, clutching their heads and sobbing uncontrollably... While Hina hides behind Quaxwell and quietly says, "S-Sorry..." Oh my. Just imagining it is adorable.

[Diantha]:@Shauntal, I’m claiming that concept. You write the screenplay, I’ll make the movie, and we’ll split the profits fifty-fifty.

[Tiana]: Hehe~ Little Sister Hina really is super adorable! (≧?≦)ゞ She always speaks so softly, and she’s super nice to hug too~

[Dawn]: Y-You... you’ve hugged Hina?!

[Tiana]: Mm-hm! I hug her every time we have a family gathering! Miori and Elaria have hugged her too!

[Elesa]: Wait. Miori has hugged her too?

[Diantha]: Elaria too?

[Lily]: Guess there really is an advantage to arriving early. If you show up late, even your daughter probably ends up being born a few years later.

[Daisy]: That’s not necessarily true~ After all, someone was clearly the first one here, yet her daughter still isn’t the eldest~

[Misty]: Damn it! Just you wait, all of you! -(#`皿′)

The video continued playing.

Cynthia walked over.

"Now that you’ve calmed down, let’s talk about the important part."

"What exactly happened to the connection between you three lake guardians?"

Mesprit scratched its head.

"Well... I’m not really sure either."

"It just feels like there’s a layer of fog covering my mind."

"No matter how hard I try, I can’t clear it away."

"And my connection with Azelf and Uxie kept getting weaker and weaker."

"But things are different now."

"Hina has collected all three of our marks."

"Now that all three powers are concentrated within a single person, the resonance between us is actually even stronger than it was before."

"Mm."

Hina raised the back of her hand in front of her eyes.

"I can feel it."

"It’s almost like they’re telling me..."

"If we follow the direction of the resonance..."

"We’ll find the answer."