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"Ow… that girl's pretty strong."
Watching the blonde woman disappear in a flash, Sato didn't bother chasing after her to demand an explanation. He got up from the ground, rubbed his sore backside, and grimaced.
"Pika pi~~"
At that moment, Pikachu stood there blankly, staring in the direction the blonde woman had run off. Its eyes were full of little hearts.
Perhaps she had left in too much of a hurry—her golden handbag had fallen to the ground. When Sato picked it up and examined it, he became even more certain that she was some kind of major celebrity.
The brand of the bag was "Laites." Though Sato didn't know much about women's handbags, he often saw this logo displayed in high-end shops around the city. The League magazines frequently featured small advertisements for the brand as well.
He guessed it was probably equivalent to something like Chanel from his previous life—one of the top-tier luxury brands.
He even vaguely remembered this particular bag being advertised recently. Supposedly, only twenty had been released worldwide, and every single one had been pre-ordered before hitting the market. The kind of item you couldn't buy without serious connections.
"This thing's got to be worth a few million PokeDollars at least… Should I return it to her?"
Sato weighed the exquisitely crafted handbag in his hand and thought to himself.
Unfortunately, poverty had limited his imagination. The actual value of this ultra-limited golden handbag was likely another zero higher than what he estimated.
Although he was annoyed at having helped her only to be shoved away, Sato still chose to remain where he was and return the item to its rightful owner.
In fact, he had already begun to understand why she reacted that way. Anyone suddenly teleported away by a stranger would probably assume they were being kidnapped.
Especially considering that the person he helped was a very popular star, her reaction wasn't strange at all.
"I should've explained first with telepathy… That was careless of me."
After waiting for a while and thinking it through, Sato smiled bitterly.
Meanwhile, the blonde woman had already run over a hundred meters away and reached a busy street. After confirming that Sato hadn't followed her, she finally stopped, panting heavily.
Just as she was about to buy a drink from a roadside café to quench her thirst, she suddenly realized that her handbag was no longer in her right hand.
"What do I do? Everything's in that bag… I shouldn't have snuck out alone. I should've listened to my manager. Seriously, I dressed up like this—how did those reporters still recognize me? So annoying!"
She sat down anxiously on a public bench, frustration filling her thoughts.
Her panic lasted only a few minutes.
An Emolga glided down from the sky and landed on her shoulder. Shortly after, a middle-aged man, sweating profusely from running, rushed up to her side.
"Waaah~ You're finally here, Big Bear! I thought I'd never see you again!"
The blonde woman's gloomy expression vanished instantly. She rushed forward and clutched the man's arm, speaking in a tearful, aggrieved tone.
"And whose fault is it for running off? Serves you right. Luckily Emolga's got a good nose. Otherwise, I would've had to call the police."
Hearing her, the man's anger softened. He replied helplessly.
"I just wanted to have some fun! It's press conferences every single day—so boring! I lost my bag. Hurry and buy me a drink, I'm dying of thirst."
She turned her head and pouted.
However, before the man could even buy her a drink, the group of people who had been chasing her earlier suddenly appeared again on the street behind him.
Seeing that, she immediately forgot about her drink. She grabbed the man, and the two of them ran off again.
"Looks like she's not coming back."
After waiting a bit longer without seeing the blonde woman return, Sato gave up standing there foolishly. He stepped out of the alley and headed toward the nearest Pokémon Center.
Though he was curious about what was inside the bag, he restrained himself.
He was already a member of the League. Doing something shady like pocketing someone else's belongings would only harm his future prospects within the League.
No matter how valuable the contents might be, he held back. If the items were truly important, the owner would definitely try everything to retrieve them.
He remembered clearly that there had been surveillance cameras at the restaurant entrance earlier. If the blonde woman truly was a famous star, tracking him down wouldn't be difficult.
So Sato understood very clearly: no matter what was inside, he couldn't take it. If he did, he'd be leaving himself open to legal trouble. It simply wasn't worth it.
The Pokémon Center had a lost-and-found counter. After handing the expensive handbag over to Nurse Joy, Sato left.
On the other side, with the middle-aged man's help, the blonde woman finally managed to shake off the paparazzi and obsessive fans. The two of them sat down in a nearby cold drink shop.
She then told him about being teleported away by Sato—and about losing her handbag.
"Miss, that young man was likely a Psychic. He probably meant to help you. Your bag is very likely in his hands right now. But judging from what you described, your reaction probably offended him. Angering a Psychic is extremely unwise."
After listening carefully, the middle-aged man spoke with some helplessness.
"How was I supposed to know? He suddenly grabbed my hand and teleported me into that deserted alley. I was terrified! You can't blame me."
Realizing now that Sato hadn't been a bad person, she pouted and poked at the ice cream in her drink with her straw, trying to look pitiful as she defended herself.
"No matter what, we need to retrieve the bag. Your League ID and other personal belongings are inside. Especially the League ID—you absolutely can't lose that. Replacing it across regions is a huge hassle, and we don't have that kind of time."
The man scratched his head, feeling a headache coming on.
After speaking, he pulled out a communicator from his pocket. Hesitating for a moment, he reluctantly dialed a number from his contact list, intending to seek the owner's assistance.