Silas looked at the red-haired woman holding a whip. She must be James's short-tempered fiancée, Jessebelle, who looked just like Jessie.
He had to admit, she was a little scary.
No wonder James would choose to run away from home in the future to escape a forced marriage, even though he was the one who had fallen for Jessebelle first.
Up on the stage, the Sasaki couple were giving a lengthy speech, while Silas just clapped mechanically along with the rest of the crowd.
"Thank you all for attending the coming-of-age ceremony of our son, Sasaki James. We are truly honored!"
As the three on stage wrapped up their speech, the dull and boring event finally came to an end.
Silas let out a sigh of relief.
"Hahaha, why are you so stiff?"
"No way, no way… don't tell me there's actually someone in this day and age who's never been to a banquet before?"
Yazo's sarcastic tone made the vein on Silas's forehead twitch. "You little—"
"Ahaha, there's an elder over there I should go greet." Realizing he'd pushed too far, Yazo quickly made his escape.
He could sense that if he stuck around any longer, he might get ganged up on.
Hayato slapped Silas hard on the shoulder. "At the tournament, whoever faces that guy better teach him a lesson."
Celeb gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement. That guy Yazo really lived up to his dream of becoming a Dark-type master—he truly had a talent for being annoying.
Several other heirs to the Gyms exchanged helpless glances and shrugged.
Though their talents and abilities were impressive compared to the average person, these three still stood a notch above them.
At the very least, none of them were confident they could defeat Yazo.
Even being Gym heirs didn't count for much in front of these three—let alone Yazo.
"By the way, where's that James guy? He disappeared as soon as he got off the stage."
Fuurin'ya glanced around and voiced his curiosity, successfully shifting the topic.
"No idea. My family isn't very close to the Sasaki clan," the others answered, all equally clueless.
"I heard it's because he's kind of rebellious," Hayata whispered, eager to share the gossip he knew.
The group's eyes lit up as they immediately gathered around Hayata. "Tell us more!"
Heh, a bunch of gossip-hungry pigs, Silas snorted with a smirk of disdain.
But seeing them all heading toward a corner, he quickly followed. How could he miss out on juicy gossip?
Even though he had a general idea of James's situation based on this life's information and his memories from his previous life, gossiping always tasted better when it came from someone else's mouth.
"From what I heard," Hayata began mysteriously, "James's parents didn't want him to become a Pokémon Trainer. They expected him to take over the family business. That's pretty normal, I guess—being a Trainer is dangerous, and running the Sasaki estate takes a lot of effort.
"That wouldn't have been a bad thing. Apparently, James didn't totally reject the idea either.
"But here's the twist—some seniors told me his parents pushed him to terrifying extremes. He had something like twenty or thirty private tutors covering reading, etiquette, violin, piano—you name it.
"You all know how those old aristocratic etiquette rules go—even holding a spoon has its protocols. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to stand it either.
"So he often skipped class and eventually got expelled from the Pokémon Research School.
"On top of that, his girlfriend is apparently terrifying. I heard she likes to use a whip—yeah, that kind of vibe.
"Also and again, this is all rumor—James used to hang out on the city bike paths as part of a biker gang, with a whole bunch of underlings under him."
Hayata lowered his voice as he spoke, repeatedly emphasizing that this was just hearsay.
He even dragged Silas in as a witness to his credibility.
As for the little embellishments mixed into the story, everyone just pretended not to notice.
"That's rough," Celeb said flatly.
"Yeah, life's not easy for anyone," Fuurin'ya sighed.
The rest of the group nodded in agreement.
But no one felt too much sympathy. After all, without Pokémon, their own lives would probably be even duller.
Their days just consisted of training, taking supplements, studying, battling—rinse and repeat.
"This isn't the life or story I wanted."
A faint voice interrupted them.
They turned to see James standing right there.
Everyone looked a little awkward. Being caught gossiping about someone behind their back was never a good feeling.
But James didn't seem to care. "To be precise, there were twenty-three tutors. And it wasn't just etiquette—they prepared every detail of my life for me.
"As for Jessebelle..."
James fell silent for a moment. "She's actually a good person, just a bit too intense in her pursuits—especially her obsession with nobility."
The group chuckled awkwardly, unsure how to respond.
And he hadn't even denied the biker gang rumor. That definitely didn't align with his noble upbringing—no wonder people called him rebellious.
"Enough about my miserable life. I'm just glad you all came," James said with a practiced smile as he greeted everyone.
"You must be Silas Alaric. My father and mother mentioned you just now. They said you're an exceptional Pokémon Trainer!
"And you must be Fuurin'ya of the Celadon Gym, Hayata of the Saffron Gym, Celeb—Blaine's disciple from the Elite Four, and..."
James named each person one by one like he'd memorized all their profiles.
While they were chatting, a soft female voice suddenly came from the side.
"Sorry, everyone, really sorry to interrupt, but James's parents are looking for him. There's something they need to discuss with him, so he'll have to step away for a while."
It was Jessebelle. She clasped her hands together politely as she apologized to Silas and the others, her demeanor elegant and refined—like a true noble lady.
"No worries. Go ahead and take care of it," everyone replied with a smile.
"My deepest apologies. Then I'll be taking James with me for now." Dressed in a flowing dress, Jessebelle gave the group another graceful bow and gently pulled along the reluctantly smiling James as they walked deeper into the hall.
"She doesn't seem nearly as aggressive as Hayata described," someone remarked.
Hayata scratched his head in embarrassment, thinking he might've misunderstood her after all.
Only Silas rolled his eyes inwardly. Come on. Who here isn't a performer? Acting's part of noble education too.
"By the way, what kind of gifts did you guys prepare?"
That quickly launched a new, ultimately meaningless round of conversation.
Meanwhile, James and Jessebelle, walking through the corridor, had already resumed their usual arguments.
"I've told you countless times, James. You're supposed to become a noble, a refined gentleman.
A Pokémon like Growlithe just doesn't suit your status. Only a Glameow has the elegance worthy of you!"
Jessebelle pleaded earnestly with her boyfriend, who was soon to be her fiancé. From her tone, she didn't even seem to regard the incredibly rare Growlithe as anything noteworthy.
"I've told you again and again—that's never going to happen! Little Growlithe is my best partner. Don't bring this up again, Jessebelle!"
James, who still had no idea what his parents wanted with him, continued resisting with all his might.
This wasn't the first time they'd argued over this.
Though she didn't think much of Growlithe itself, Jessebelle was definitely wary of the Jenny family behind it.
So unless James, as a Trainer, gave the order himself, she wouldn't dare touch Growlithe.
Eventually, they arrived at a private room, where James's parents were waiting inside. Once James stepped in, they got straight to the point.
"What? An engagement with Jessebelle?" James was stunned. He had just come of age today—wasn't this a bit too fast?
"You don't want to? Jessebelle asked, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"N-No, of course not." James responded immediately, partly out of fear, but also because—truth be told—he really did like Jessebelle at this point in his life.
Hearing his answer, both his parents and Jessebelle smiled with satisfaction.
"I need to go back and greet the guests. I'll take my leave now—Father, Mother, Jessebelle."
Without waiting for a reply, James quickly turned and walked out.
As the door closed behind him, he could still faintly hear his parents speaking with Jessebelle:
"James still isn't refined enough as a gentleman—not quite perfect yet. Jessebelle, we're counting on you to continue shaping him…"
James's eyes darkened.
He didn't go back to entertain the guests as he'd said. Instead, he walked straight to the rear garden.
Gentleman. Elegance. Tch… Not one of them ever cared about my own thoughts or interests…
He clenched his fist and slammed it against a tree.
"Who's there!"
Suddenly, James turned sharply toward a direction.
"Uh—sorry, sorry! I just came to clear my head a bit!" Silas awkwardly stepped out from behind a tree. He thought for sure he wouldn't be noticed—James's senses were way too sharp.
James didn't reply.
The garden was silent, save for the faint sounds of conversation and laughter drifting in from the banquet hall.
"Sorry. That was rude of me." James finally spoke, offering an apology.
"No, no, it's totally normal. Everyone gets frustrated sometimes," Silas replied, trying to be comforting—even though he felt like James didn't really need any comforting from him.
"Heh… frustration, huh? That's not really something I'm supposed to have." James let out a bitter laugh.
He knew this wasn't the kind of thing he should be unloading on someone he'd just met, but today had simply been too much.
Silas didn't quite know how to respond.
After a brief silence, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the gift he'd prepared in advance. "I heard you like collecting these. Consider it a personal gift. Maybe it'll help lift your mood a bit."
As he spoke, he flicked the object over to James.
James instinctively caught it in surprise.
Opening his palm, he asked, "What's this?"
"A collector's edition bottle cap—Chimecho design. I figured you'd like it."
Silas rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. He remembered hearing that James liked to collect bottle caps.
What he didn't know, though, was that the Chimecho design meant something even more personal to James.
"Ah… thank you—really."
James gripped the bottle cap tightly. His hand hurt from how hard he was holding it.
He gave Silas a long, deep look.
All this time, he'd never told anyone about this little hobby of his—not even his beloved Growlithe.
Not even his own parents had ever noticed. They just didn't care.
But regardless of how he found out… Silas was now someone he could call a true friend.
That much was certain.
.....
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Douluo Dalu: Reincarnated as Yan(40 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler(30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu