Chapter 213

Chapter 213: Chapter 213

"Good morning."

Cynthia was sitting in the courtyard when Mike came downstairs, and she greeted him as soon as she saw him.

"Morning. Have the professors already gone over?" Mike asked.

Cynthia nodded. "Mm. They’re the organizers, so they need to arrive early and arrange the seating."

"But the summit doesn’t start until tomorrow."

"Academic summits usually have everyone arrive a day in advance. They arrange the seating, meet and talk with the other researchers, and if anyone has new findings they want to present, they can discuss it with Professor Rowan and the others and have it added to the program."

Cynthia thought for a moment.

"You can think of today as a rehearsal."

"So academic conferences have rehearsals too." Mike felt as though he had learned something new.

"More or less. It gives everyone a day to deal with anything unexpected before the real event begins." Cynthia rose from her chair. "Want to go take a look?"

"Sure."

"Then I’ll take you."

Cynthia immediately headed for the gate.

Mike had only just sat down and picked up his breakfast.

Seeing that she was already leaving the courtyard, he could only grab the food and hurry after her, eating as he walked.

It had already been a week since the full moon.

Steven and Norman had returned to Hoenn, while Bertha had gone back to Sinnoh League headquarters.

Before they left, Professor Rowan had specifically reminded them not to let Ursaluna appear in front of ordinary Trainers yet.

Once the research on Kleavor and Ursaluna had been completed, the Sinnoh League intended to arrange a battle between Elite Four members and reveal both Pokémon to the public at the same time, much as they had done with Wyrdeer.

Until then, information about the two species still needed to be kept relatively quiet.

Everyone who had participated in the experiments would also need to contribute to a related research paper.

Mike followed Cynthia to the venue for the academic summit, a large conference hall in Celestic Town.

"This building is used specifically for academic summits," Cynthia explained as they stood outside.

"Celestic Town’s environment is particularly well suited for conferences like this, so they’re held here fairly often. Including this one, five academic summits have been hosted in Celestic Town."

Given the town’s ancient atmosphere and deep sense of history, Mike could understand why academics liked gathering here.

Cynthia pushed open the doors, and Mike followed her inside.

The moment they entered, countless conversations reached his ears.

Glameow frowned at the noise and gently tapped Mike with a paw.

Understanding what she wanted, Mike recalled her into her Poké Ball.

After looking around at all the professors and scholars engaged in discussion, he thought for a moment and recalled the rest of his Pokémon as well.

Cynthia noticed.

"You really don’t let your Pokémon stay inside their Poké Balls very often."

"Because I get lonely when they’re all inside."

Mike smiled.

"I see."

Cynthia smiled too.

"Come on."

Mike followed her through a corridor and into the main lecture hall, where rows upon rows of seats stretched toward the stage.

Quite a few people had already taken their places and were talking with those around them.

Professor Oak and Professor Rowan stood onstage with sheets of paper in their hands, occasionally looking down at the seating arrangement while discussing something between themselves.

When they noticed Mike and Cynthia enter, they merely nodded in greeting before returning to their work.

"Since you haven’t given everyone a formal academic presentation yet, your seat will be farther toward the back," Cynthia explained.

"That doesn’t bother me at all."

Mike was delighted.

The farther back, the better!

It would be much easier to slack off unnoticed!

"Don’t worry, you’re not in the very last row," Cynthia said, apparently trying to comfort him. "At this point, the only thing separating you from being properly recognized as a major researcher is an academic presentation. You already have papers and results, and neither is insignificant."

Mike sighed theatrically. ℯℯ𝑙.

"Being this outstanding really is troublesome."

Cynthia smiled.

"I became Sinnoh Champion before I was eighteen, then became a recognized authority on mythology, legends, and history before I turned twenty."

Mike: "..."

"Fine! You win."

"Thank you."

Cynthia accepted the compliment without the slightest hesitation.

"Do you want to go talk with some of the other professors?"

Mike looked around.

He recognized several researchers in the hall, but the thought of walking over and immediately being dragged into questions made him shake his head.

"Forget it."

"Suit yourself."

Cynthia didn’t mind.

A few days earlier, she had specifically contacted Paldea’s Champion, Geeta, to ask how one should cultivate a person capable of helping handle their workload.

Geeta’s advice had been simple: help them, give them hints, and influence them gradually.

After talking with her for most of an evening, Cynthia felt she had learned quite a lot.

Mike glanced toward her.

"Don’t you have anything you need to do?"

Cynthia returned from her thoughts and shook her head.

"No. My presentation is already prepared, and Lucian and the others are helping deal with League affairs."

"Speaking of Lucian, where is he? Doesn’t he have a presentation too?"

Mike suddenly realized he hadn’t seen Lucian for the past few days.

"He went back to League headquarters," Cynthia replied calmly. "He returned with Bertha a few days ago to clear some accumulated work, and he’ll come back today."

Mike stared at her.

Cynthia was undeniably beautiful.... which only made Mike wonder how something so coldhearted could come out of lips that were presumably a perfectly normal thirty-six degrees Celsius.

She had actually made Lucian return to work for several days?

"There was no choice."

Cynthia seemed to read his expression.

"Earlier, while Lucian was occupied with the Oreburgh Tunnel situation, Flint, Aaron, and Bertha handled most of the League’s remaining work. But Aaron came here temporarily for the Kleavor research, and Bertha later came over to assist with the Ursaluna experiment."

She paused.

"That meant there were stretches when Flint was handling the office work almost entirely by himself. If I didn’t send Lucian back to relieve him, Flint probably would have resigned."

"Flint can actually sit still in an office long enough to do paperwork?"

Mike sounded genuinely astonished.

"He didn’t have much choice. Aaron and Bertha took most of the jobs that required going outside, so he was the one left in the office."

Mike looked at Cynthia.

"Shouldn’t you be back there dealing with League work too?"

Cynthia’s expression didn’t change at all.

"I need to ensure the safety of all the researchers attending the summit."

Mike: "..."

Perfect.

Absolutely airtight.

Since Cynthia had nothing else to do, Mike found a seat and sat down, with Cynthia taking the chair beside him.

Once they were settled, she spoke again.

"Last night, while I was going through some older records, I noticed something strange."

"What?"

"Look at this."

Cynthia took out her phone and opened a photograph of a page from an ancient text.

"Doesn’t this look like modern writing?"

She pointed toward several tiny characters surrounding a faded illustration and enlarged the image.

Mike leaned closer.

Those really were modern characters.

"In... go?"

He slowly read the name.

"Right. Ingo."

Cynthia nodded, confirming he had read it correctly.

"Ingo..."

Mike frowned.

The name felt extremely familiar.

"I spent a while wondering last night whether this was simply a coincidence, whether that person genuinely knew modern writing, or whether the writing system we use today had already begun taking shape during that era."

Before Mike could answer, a mature, intelligent-sounding voice came from beside them.

"Ingo?"

Mike and Cynthia looked up together.

Professor Juniper from Unova was standing nearby.

"Professor Juniper."

They greeted her politely.

Juniper smiled.

"Champion Cynthia, it’s been a while."

"It has."

Cynthia stood, and Mike followed suit.

Juniper then looked toward Mike.

"You must be Mike, Professor Rowan’s assistant."

"That’s right."

Mike bowed politely.

"No need to be so formal. I was only passing by and happened to hear you discussing Ingo." Juniper gestured for both of them to sit again.

"As it happens, I know someone by that name."

Mike looked carefully at the Unovan professor before him, an expert whose research focused on the origins of Pokémon.

Her light chestnut-brown hair was swept upward into a neat, distinctive style, framing bright green eyes.

Red square earrings hung from her ears, while an open pale lab coat covered a white top and dark green skirt.

Red-and-white athletic shoes completed the surprisingly casual outfit.

Then something clicked in Mike’s head.

Unova.

The Battle Subway twins.

Ingo and Emmet.

Mike suddenly remembered the plot of Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

There was an NPC named Ingo there too—the same Ingo who had somehow ended up in Hisui!

Mike’s eyes widened slightly.

"Professor Juniper, could you tell us about the Ingo you know?"

Cynthia looked puzzled by Mike’s sudden interest, but she immediately backed him up.

"Please."

"Of course."

Juniper smiled.

"A great many people in Unova know him. You’re familiar with our famous Battle Subway, aren’t you?"

Mike nodded.

"Ingo is one of the people in charge of the Battle Subway. He and his twin brother, Emmet, oversee battles there and are well known for battling together."

’So it really is him.’

Mike silently reached his conclusion.

"I don’t know whether he’s the same person whose name appears in your record," Professor Juniper added.

"Thank you, Professor."

Mike thanked her politely.

"No need. To be honest, I’m very interested in this summit myself."

Juniper’s attention shifted toward Cynthia.

"Especially your presentation, Champion Cynthia. I read your paper, and there were quite a few arguments in it that I agreed with. It even gave me a new direction for some of my own research."

After another brief pause, Juniper smiled.

"I won’t interrupt your discussion any longer."

She left to speak with Professor Kukui, who had just stepped down from the stage.

The moment she was out of earshot, Cynthia turned toward Mike.

"It’s him?"

She had already noticed the change in his expression.

Mike hesitated before taking out his phone and searching for information on the Battle Subway twins.

It didn’t take long to find a photograph of Ingo.

He handed the screen to Cynthia.

"Compare this with the portrait and see whether they look alike."

Cynthia studied the photograph, then enlarged the blurry figure on her own phone and went back and forth between them for quite some time.

Eventually, she nodded.

"They... really do look very similar."

Mike nodded.

"Then maybe we should find time to meet him."

"All right. I’ll go with you."

Cynthia agreed immediately.

"If this really is the same person, perhaps we can finally clarify something about Enamorus."

She put away her phone, then fell silent for a moment.

"But if it really is him, wouldn’t that mean Ingo somehow crossed through time and space and ended up in the Hisui era?"

"Maybe."

Mike leaned back in his seat.

"The ancient text Melodi had already mentioned that many people entered space-time rifts and then disappeared. It’s possible the turbulence scattered them into different periods and places."

He thought about it.

"And for certain Pokémon, traveling through time and space isn’t exactly unheard of."

Cynthia specialized in Sinnoh’s mythology, so she understood exactly what he meant.

Dialga and Palkia were both deeply connected to time and space.

And then there was Celebi.

"When the summit is over, should we go to Unova?" Cynthia suggested.

"Sure."

Mike nodded.

At that exact moment, a system notification abruptly appeared before his eyes.

{Enamorus’s Affection: Through your investigation, you seem to have learned more about what ultimately became of Enamorus. As an exceptional photographer who once received Enamorus’s aid, you have resolved to uncover the reason behind its disappearance and wish to photograph Enamorus’s true form with your own camera.

So go, legendary photographer. Trace the events that once unfolded across this land, uncover why the God of Spring departed, and do your utmost to capture a photograph of the God of Spring!

Upon completing this task, Enamorus may bestow its affection upon you!}

Mike nearly jumped.

’???’

’Why did I suddenly get another mission?’

And seriously, was the system sure it was a good idea to keep piling missions onto him?

He still hadn’t finished a single one of them.

The Legendary beasts.

The three Lake Guardians.

The Pokémon of the Hisui era.

And now Enamorus too.

Mike’s original reason for investigating Enamorus’s disappearance had been simple curiosity, along with gratitude for the extraordinary luck its scale had brought him.

He hadn’t expected his investigation to suddenly trigger an actual mission.

And even the reward was described in ridiculously vague terms.

’What exactly is "Enamorus’s Affection"? Is it supposed to make me stronger or something?’

Mike asked the system internally.

{Please look forward to it!}

Mike: "..."

More importantly, hadn’t Enamorus disappeared?

How was he supposed to photograph it?

Mike carefully reread the mission description.

This time, the system had specifically told him to do his utmostto photograph the God of Spring rather than simply ordering him to obtain a photograph.

Did that mean even the system wasn’t certain he could succeed?

Mike sighed inwardly.

Perhaps Enamorus really had no chance of reappearing in the modern world.

’The God of Spring...’