As cream flowed from Milcery's tiny hands, a sweet fragrance filled the entire office.
Ranked no.1 in the hearts of Galar's pastry chefs, Milcery's cream was exceptionally delectable.
Luo Yuan casually waved a chair over with his psychic power, then dug into his backpack and pulled out some berries he had prepared beforehand.
He handed them to Milcery, who skillfully decorated the fruits with its cream, then, following Luo Yuan's gesture, presented them to Matori.
Matori accepted the cream-topped berries and took a small bite.
In an instant, her mouth was flooded with rich, sweet flavor, and a wave of satisfaction washed over her.
"Delicious!"
Even someone like Matori, who wasn't particularly fond of sweets, couldn't help but exclaim in praise.
Milcery's eyes curved into little crescent moons at the compliment.
"Here, try this too," Luo Yuan said, pushing a teacup toward her.
On the table, a Sinistea rocked back and forth.
Clearly, the tea had come from it.
Lifting the steaming cup, Matori took a delicate sip.
A long, lingering fragrance filled her senses, soothing and refreshing.
Milcery's cream and Sinistea's tea had created a wonderful chemical reaction —
the combined effect was far greater than the sum of its parts.
"This is how people in Galar live?" Matori asked, recalling how popular afternoon tea culture was said to be in Galar.
Luo Yuan shook his head.
It was true that Galarians loved their afternoon tea, but such luxury was rare even there.
Both Milcery's sweets and Sinistea's tea were treasures they offered only to trusted Trainers — true rarities, far beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Not something that needed explaining, Luo Yuan thought.
Instead, he asked, "How have things been here in Kanto while I was away?"
Although he'd kept an eye on the situation through video reports while in Galar, it wasn't the same as hearing it firsthand.
At the question, Matori smiled slightly.
"Thanks to you, we made a fortune this time."
"Because of the partnership deals we hammered out earlier, the Macro Cosmos Group, along with several major Galar companies, flooded into Kanto to buy up industries at inflated prices in order to establish a foothold."
"Under normal circumstances, this would've just been the initial investment. As long as Macro Cosmos successfully entered the Kanto market, they could have easily made back their costs — and then some."
"But after the Darkest Day incident, the Galar League was unable to uphold their end of the agreements. And with Macro Cosmos embroiled in a massive PR crisis, those companies were forced to 'cut the meat,' selling off their overpriced assets at bargain rates."
"In less than half a month, we turned over a profit of more than 100%."
Even though he'd been prepared for good news, Luo Yuan couldn't help but click his tongue at the figure.
Even if the assets Team Rocket had offered up as bait weren't their core industries, it was still a considerable amount — and they'd doubled it.
Macro Cosmos must've taken a huge loss from this one.
Of course, now that Macro Cosmos was effectively half under Team Rocket's control,
there was no real question of "loss" — left hand to right hand, it all stayed in the family.
Still, since Luo Yuan hadn't fully seized control over Macro Cosmos yet, some tactical losses actually made it easier for Team Rocket to gain influence over the remaining shareholders.
"As for Johto," Matori continued, "things are mostly fine.
Although Koga mentioned that Lance seems a bit anxious ever since you shut out Leon so completely."
Matori glanced at Luo Yuan as she spoke.
Honestly, who wouldn't feel pressure?
When a Champion realized that one of their own Elite Four members could crush them without breaking a sweat, it was only natural to feel a little unsettled.
Luo Yuan just spread his hands helplessly.
You can't blame me, he thought.
Back then, I was completely acting for Kanto's greater good!
"What about Unova?" he asked.
Before leaving Kanto, Luo Yuan had asked Matori to monitor the Unova situation carefully.
As the only region where Team Rocket had yet to establish any foothold, Unova had become his next major target.
"The situation in Unova..." Matori said, pausing slightly, "is a little complicated."
"Tell me everything," Luo Yuan urged, genuinely curious.
If even Matori found it complicated, it had to be interesting.
Complicated or not, he thought, I'll find a way to make it simple.
"Recently, the Unova League had a clash with a local organization called Team Plasma," Matori explained.
"The two sides are currently locked in a standoff. Initially, Team Plasma had the upper hand, but for some reason, they began to pull back their forces. The Unova League seized the opportunity and turned the tables."
"The League sees this as their best chance to eliminate Team Plasma once and for all. They even called in reinforcements to push for a decisive victory."
"Reinforcements?" Luo Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Someone you know," Matori said with a slight smile.
"Cynthia, the Champion of Sinnoh."