Chapter 210: The League Chairman Said That. What’s That Got to Do with Me, Asher?

The video continued playing.

A private jet bearing the emblem of the World League broke through the clouds and slowly descended onto the runway.

The cabin door opened.

Diantha was the first to step out.

Today, she was wearing a cream-colored trench coat.

Asher followed behind her, still dressed in that shirt covered in bizarre patterns, his flip-flops going slap, slap, slap against the boarding stairs.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

Elaria released Lillie’s hand and ran toward them.

Diantha crouched down and opened her arms.

Elaria threw herself straight into her embrace.

Diantha buried her face in her daughter’s hair and took a deep breath.

"Have you been eating properly these past few days?"

"Yes! Big Sister Lillie makes sure Elaria eats her vegetables every day!"

"What about Hoopa? Has Hoopa been causing trouble?"

Hoopa floated up from Elaria’s head and crossed its little arms over its chest.

"Hoopa never causes trouble!"

"Hoopa just occasionally adds a few surprises to life!"

"Like summoning Kyogre onto the top of a mountain?"

Asher walked over and lightly flicked Hoopa on the forehead.

"That was because Elaria wanted to see Chubby Fish!"

Hoopa clutched its forehead, looking extremely indignant.

Lusamine stepped forward and shook Asher’s hand.

"Chairman, the Aether Foundation was honored to provide assistance to your daughter during her time in Alola."

"President Lusamine, there’s no need to be so formal."

Asher released her hand.

His gaze moved past Lusamine and landed on Lillie.

"Lillie."

"Yes?"

"Thank you for taking care of Elaria all this time."

"It wasn’t any trouble!"

Lillie instinctively straightened her back.

"Elaria is very well behaved. She usually helps me bandage the Pokémon, and she also—"

She suddenly realized how quickly she was speaking.

A faint blush appeared on her face.

"...Anyway, I had a lot of fun too."

"I see."

Asher looked at her, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"Then are you interested in doing an internship with the League?"

Lillie’s brain completely stopped functioning for three whole seconds.

"...Huh?"

Beside her, Lusamine still had one hand raised to wave goodbye.

Her smile froze directly on her face.

"The League is currently putting together a new Cultural Projects Department."

Asher slipped his hands back into his pockets.

"I’m planning to make Elaria the Minister of Culture."

"But she’s still a little young, so I figured I should recruit an assistant for her first."

Lusamine took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Chairman, didn’t you say last time that you were merely asking casually?"

"As Chairman, isn’t it rather inappropriate to say one thing and then do another?"

"Hey, now."

Asher waved his hand.

"That’s not fair."

"The League Chairman said that. What’s that got to do with me, Asher?"

Lusamine could feel her blood pressure rising along an irreversible trajectory.

She turned toward Lillie.

Her voice became frighteningly gentle.

"Lillie."

"You tell me yourself."

"Do you want to go?"

Lillie looked up at her mother.

Then at Asher.

Then at Elaria, who was holding Kirlia and blinking eagerly at her.

"...I..."

Lillie took a deep breath.

Then she shut her eyes and blurted everything out as though staking her entire future on it.

"I want to go! I want to see a bigger world!"

"No one is stopping you from seeing a bigger world!"

Lusamine took another step forward.

"Can’t you do that while staying with the Aether Foundation?"

"Has Mommy not treated you well enough?"

"No, Mom."

Faced with her mother playing the emotional card, Lillie thought seriously for a moment.

But in the end, she still shook her head.

"I’m not saying the Aether Foundation is bad."

"But if I develop my career with the League..."

"Wouldn’t that open up a much wider world for us?"

Asher applauded several times.

Then he turned toward Lusamine.

"She really is your daughter. Smart girl."

"Sigh~"

Lusamine shook her head.

But in the end, she nodded in agreement.

"Fine."

"Then go."

Hoopa was the first to fly over.

"So touching!"

"Hoopa hereby announces that, starting today, Big Sister Lillie is officially joining Team Elaria!"

"Her official position will be—"

"Chief Assistant and Ambassador of the Sun!"

Elaria also ran over to Lillie, her golden eyes shining like two little stars.

"Big Sister Lillie!"

"Now we can see each other all the time!"

Lillie crouched down and gently stroked Elaria’s head.

The corners of her lips had already curved into a smile.

"Mm."

"I look forward to working with you from now on..."

"Minister Elaria."

[VIP Chat Group]

[Skyla]: Hahahaha! Asher is way too shameless! He actually poached someone else’s daughter right in front of her!

[Asher]: What kind of accusation is that? Lillie chose it herself. It’s not like I threw a Poké Ball at her and caught her.

[Lusamine]: ...

[Gary]: "It’s not like I threw a Poké Ball at her and caught her"—that line is tied with "The League Chairman said that, what’s that got to do with me, Asher?" for the most punchable sentence of this episode.

[Alder]: Speaking of which, what exactly does this "Cultural Department" do? This old man doesn’t seem to remember the League having a department like that.

[Lance]: ...I just checked. The League doesn’t have one. It was probably created personally by Chairman Asher in that parallel world.

[Flint]: Damn! Create the department on the spot! Approve the paperwork on the spot! Recruit an assistant on the spot! That efficiency is several levels above our Sinnoh League! @Lucian, watch carefully and learn something!

[Lucian]: I can’t learn that. I don’t have the shamelessness, the courage, or the authority.

[Steven]: Sigh. Given my relationship with Brother Asher, surely it wouldn’t be unreasonable for him to create a Mining Department specifically for me? Then I could have Ruri work as my assistant. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

[Mr. Stone]: Go dig up your stupid rocks. And now you’re trying to drag Ruri into it too? What makes you think you deserve that?

[Steven]: ...

[Wallace]: As expected, the old President really is the perfect medicine for Steven!

[Asher]: Certified by Devon Corporation. Guaranteed effective.

The video continued playing.

The private jet flew steadily above the clouds.

Elaria sat beside the window with Kirlia in her arms.

Hoopa was sprawled across the top of her head, dozing off.

"Daddy."

Elaria turned around.

"Hmm?"

"Is League work busy?"

"I finally came back, so I want to find some time to go see Ruri."

Diantha pulled off her sleep mask and leaned forward from the row behind them.

"The Minister of Culture already wants to skip work on her very first day?"

"Elaria, Mommy certainly never taught you that."

"Hey, darling."

Asher spoke up.

"How can you call that skipping work?"

"The Cultural Department’s job is cultural exchange."

"Going to Hoenn to visit a friend obviously counts as interregional cultural exchange."

"You and your twisted logic."

Diantha smacked Asher lightly.

"But even if we accept that, doesn’t the League still need to approve the trip first?"

"That’s my job, isn’t it?"

Asher flipped to the next page of the document in his hands.

"All right."

"Approved."

Watching the father and daughter in front of her, Diantha could only shake her head helplessly.

There really was nothing she could do with these two.

"All right, then."

"Hoopa, make sure you’re careful when traveling through the rings."

"Hehe! Don’t worry!"

Hoopa rubbed its little hands together.

"Hoopa is an expert at this!"

A golden ring opened inside the cabin.

On the other side stood an extraordinarily imposing skyscraper—

Devon Corporation Headquarters.

Elaria waved goodbye to her mother and father.

Then, still holding Kirlia, she stepped through the golden ring.

Hoopa followed immediately behind her.