When Cynthia returned to the room, Luther and Mai were practically glued to each other. It was honestly too much, they were shoving their affection right into her face.
"You're still not going to be able to raise that much money in the short term, are you?" Cynthia steered the conversation back to the island. "I have an idea that could solve the problem very quickly."
Luther looked at her curiously.
"Your island can belong to everyone at first."
Seeing that Luther didn't understand, Cynthia explained.
"Since you're so determined and motivated, we'll lend you the money to buy the island and let you start developing it. You can pay us back gradually later. We're in no hurry. But..."
Cynthia gave him a sly smile.
"You'll have to leave a few areas on the island for us to plan and develop however we want. And they can't be any smaller than the place I'm living in now."
"Of course, we're not going to bother with the annoying work of clearing land and building things. We'll just wait for you to arrange everything and design the place for us."
That sounded a lot like... an investment.
"'We'?" Luther picked up on Cynthia's wording.
"You didn't think I was going to shoulder the whole thing myself, did you?"
Cynthia laughed.
"Of course I'm going to bring a few more people in and have everyone share the cost."
Cynthia pulled out her phone and asked with a smile, "So, what do you think of my proposal?"
Lily of the Valley Island could accommodate tens of thousands of residents and still wasn't anywhere near full.
The Lily of the Valley East Island Luther had chosen was even larger than Lily of the Valley Island.
Forget a handful of people, even if several hundred people wanted a place, there would be more than enough room for everyone to have their own plot and even their own estate.
And considering the people Cynthia could bring in to share the cost...
The more Luther thought about it, the more he realized that this wasn't merely a good proposal.
It was brilliant.
"Deal!" Luther agreed without hesitation.
Cynthia dialed a number on her phone and slowly stepped out into the hallway.
"Ah, Miss Cynthia. Diantha is getting her makeup done right now, so she might be a little…"
Minami didn't get to finish before some noise came through the phone, followed by Diantha's voice. "Is this about the International Police?"
Diantha immediately assumed something had gone wrong with the negotiations between the Sinnoh League and the International Police and asked directly.
"It's about Luther. Remember I told you he was planning to buy an island?"
"He probably doesn't have enough money, right? Given that island's location, there's no reason for the Sinnoh League to sell it to him cheaply."
Cynthia explained her idea and told Diantha that Luther had agreed.
There was a brief pause on the other end.
"Hmm... I currently have around thirty million I can access. How about I lend Luther twenty million and invest in the island's future as well? Would that be enough?"
Cynthia could only admire Diantha's ability to casually throw around twenty million without even the slightest change in her voice.
"Don't be so quick. I still need to ask a few other people..."
"Oh, then go ahead. I have a promotional event to attend. Bye."
After ending the call with Diantha, Cynthia started making calls one after another. Most of the people she contacted were people who had close relationships with Luther, got along well with him, and also had connections with her.
Lance thought it sounded interesting and immediately agreed.
Bertha, who was already approaching retirement age, told Cynthia to reserve a spot for her.
Lucian and Hakuya had originally intended to simply lend Luther the money as a favor. But when they heard that they would also get their own vacation villas, they immediately joined in.
It was worth mentioning that Hakuya, who was about to become one of the Elite Four, was investing the money from his very first commercial contract in Luther's project. Without that contract, all he could have done was watch Luther struggle and worry helplessly.
The announcement of Hakuya becoming one of the Elite Four would be made after Bertha officially retired.
Caitlin, one of Cynthia's close friends in the Unova Region, became interested after hearing Cynthia's proposal.
Gardenia and Candice couldn't participate for the time being because of financial constraints, but both said they would consider joining later.
Considering Steven spent most of his time running around all over the place, Cynthia decided that bringing him in would probably just end up wasting both money and land.
If Steven and Wallace wanted to join in and have some fun, they could always come afterward on their own.
Everyone who was interested and planned to participate was added by Cynthia to a group chat. She even changed the group name directly to "Our Island."
Cynthia, Diantha, Lance, Caitlin, Lucian, Hakuya, Bertha, and Luther would make up the island's first residents.
Aside from Caitlin, whom Luther wasn't very familiar with yet, he already knew everyone else quite well.
Cynthia and Diantha each contributed 10 million.
Lance contributed 6 million.
Caitlin contributed 3 million.
Lucian contributed 3 million.
Hakuya contributed 2 million.
Bertha contributed 3 million.
That came to exactly 37 million.
Luther's own 2 million would be used for the island's initial development.
So these seven people were now Luther's neighbors, his creditors, and his supervisors all at once. They were also the biggest investors in his island.
Diantha had actually wanted to put in 20 million right away, or even 30 million, so Luther would have an easier time paying everyone back later. But Cynthia firmly rejected the idea.
They'd already called it everyone's island. It wouldn't make sense if the others didn't get to feel involved.
Caitlin wanted a castle larger than the one she currently owned, complete with a huge ranch.
Hakuya wanted a piece of land near the forest. He'd always wanted a good environment where he could let his Slaking roam freely.
Bertha had her eye on the beach on the eastern side of the island. She wanted to build a large house there with a view of the ocean.
Lance, meanwhile, picked out the cliffs on the eastern side of the island after looking through the photos Luther had sent to the group.
As everyone shared their ideas in the group chat and began imagining their future homes, Luther approached the matter methodically and laid out the initial plan.
First, they would thoroughly explore the island's environment. Then they would conduct some small-scale land clearing and development in selected areas.
This stage would be tedious and boring. Since everyone else had chosen to follow his lead and provide their support, Luther felt it was his responsibility to handle this part himself.
Although Luther had accepted the assignment in Fallarbor Town, he wouldn't be leaving for another two months, so he still had plenty of time to make the necessary preparations.
Everyone was remarkably straightforward about the whole thing. That very evening, all the money was transferred into the bank account Cynthia had set up for the project.
When Ron arrived at Cynthia's house again with the contract, a bank account containing 37 million Pokémon Dollars was sitting right in front of him.
Ron stared at it in disbelief for a long while.
Then he looked at Cynthia.
Then he turned toward Luther.
There was no need to ask where Luther had gotten 37 million so quickly. Ron immediately understood that Luther's friends had stepped up and backed him.
"In that case, let's complete the final procedures and sign the contract. We'll take care of the necessary documentation and the public announcement of the island's sale afterward."
Mai helped double-check the contract.
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Luther signed his name.
The island located just over twenty kilometers east of Lily of the Valley Island officially belonged to Luther, and the people who had supported him in buying it.
(End of Chapter)
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