Rex wasn't upset at all about Yui and Karen wanting to travel. What he was truly weighing was whether he'd need to recruit new staff to help manage the farm after their departure.
After all, Rex Farm currently housed two mythical Pokémon. If any new hires proved untrustworthy, Rex would have to spend extra effort keeping an eye on them—an exhausting and risky endeavor.
Yui, already anxious, grew more nervous seeing Rex deep in thought.
"Maybe... maybe I shouldn't go after all," she said quietly, her voice filled with regret as she backed out of the plan to travel with Karen.
"Huh? What did you say?" Rex blinked, coming out of his thoughts, not fully catching her words.
"I said... I think I'll stay and keep working at Rex Farm. I won't travel with Karen..." Yui murmured, pouting, her large bright eyes quickly welling up with tears.
"H-Hey! Don't cry! I never said I was against it," Rex said in a fluster, quickly trying to calm her down. "I was just thinking about how to manage the farm after you both leave."
"Really? You're not mad, are you, Boss?" Yui sniffled, cautiously hopeful.
"Of course not. I love traveling myself—why would I stop you two from chasing your dreams?"
Rex gave her a reassuring smile.
"I told you—Boss would never stand in the way of your dreams," Yuli said warmly, patting Yui on the head.
"Mmhm! Boss is the best!" Yui beamed, hugging Yuli tightly.
"By the way, Boss," Yuli added, "after they leave, should we look for new staff? I'm still the only one who can make Pokéblocks, so it might get hard to juggle everything else too."
"No need to worry, Yuli. We're not in a rush," Karen said with a smile. "We can wait until Boss finds someone reliable to take over before we leave."
"I don't plan to go anywhere for a while," Rex replied. "I'll handle the farm's responsibilities in the meantime. No need to stress."
"Are you sure?" Karen asked, a little hesitant.
"Absolutely," Rex nodded. "Back when the farm started, it was just Yuli and me running everything. Plus, we've got help from the Pokémon too."
That night, the four of them talked late into the evening, clearing up everything they needed to.
Karen and Yui planned to depart the morning after tomorrow for their first journey. Rex made sure to carefully explain all the dangers and important things to remember while traveling.
After all, in this world, being a trainer on the road was no small matter. Every year, countless trainers encountered misfortunes due to poor preparation.
Fortunately, both Karen and Yui had Swellow as their starters—now fully evolved. Their strength and flight ability meant that even if they couldn't always win, they could at least retreat safely from most dangers.
Rex also allowed them to keep their official status as Rex Farm employees and offered to store any spare Pokémon they caught during their travels.
Honestly, without Rex Farm as a financial and logistical base, Rex doubted they'd last long as trainers. They had some savings, but not enough to sustain them for long.
Once those ran out, they'd be forced to rely on completing commission jobs to support themselves and their Pokémon—a path that drained time and energy and slowed down growth significantly.
If Rex hadn't built the farm, he likely would've gone the same route. But in doing so, he wouldn't have been able to fully invest in raising his own Pokémon.
But now, that wasn't his concern. All he could do was wish them the best and hope they'd carve out their own path.
—
The next morning, Rex brought Diancie and the rest to breakfast, only for Yui to squeal the moment she saw her.
"Ah! Is that Diancie?!"
"What?! Where?!" Karen and Yuli rushed out of the kitchen at the sound of Yui's excited scream.
The moment they saw Diancie, the three girls' eyes lit up like stars, immediately surrounding the mythical Pokémon.
Diancie had gotten along well with the three when she was still a Carbink, so she didn't mind the attention. In fact, she extended her hands, and a pink glow shimmered between her palms.
Moments later, three dazzling pink diamonds the size of pigeon eggs materialized and floated before them.
With a graceful motion, Diancie guided the gems to hover in front of each of them—clearly gifts.
"These are for us? They're so precious..." Yui whispered, swallowing hard as she stared at the radiant pink gem.
"It's a gift from Diancie. Go ahead and accept them," Rex encouraged with a smile. "After all, you took good care of her back when she was just a Carbink."
"Wait—this Diancie... is that Carbink?!"
"Carbink really can evolve into Diancie?"
"That's unbelievable!"
The three girls were stunned. They had assumed Rex caught Diancie during his trip, not realizing it was their old friend who had evolved.
Though Rex had talked often about trying to help Carbink evolve, they'd always assumed it was more of a pipe dream.
"Wait, didn't I mention this last night?" Rex scratched his head.
"YOU ABSOLUTELY DID NOT!" the three of them shouted in unison.
"Haha, my bad. Guess I forgot. Well, now you know!"
Relieved and excited, the girls no longer held back. Each happily took their gemstone and admired it with awe.
From that point on, all their attention was on Diancie—Rex might as well have been invisible.
Resigned, he quietly finished his breakfast, then brought Bagon and Infernape with him to begin his usual post-trip farm patrol.
It was a routine he always followed after returning from a journey—to let the Pokémon know he was back and to get a clear sense of the current state of the farm.
Only with a full understanding of the farm's condition could Rex continue to plan its future properly.
(End of Chapter)