Edward wasn't too surprised. The Pokémon League had various welfare policies for companies and factories that employed a significant number of Pokémon—things like tax reductions.
However, the maximum tax reduction capped at 10%. That meant if a company originally owed 100 Pokécoins in taxes annually, with enough Pokémon employees to qualify for the full deduction, they would only need to pay 90 Pokécoins. The remaining amount would be refunded by the League.
As a result, many companies actively hired Pokémon workers. Since the Prayer Wall Foundation was registered under Edward's name, any company owned by him was eligible for these tax benefits.
Devon Corporation, of course, had already reached the maximum reduction threshold long ago. Even still, they were still slowly increasing their number of Pokémon employees.
"Alright, thank you. I'll handle it at the tax office later," Edward said politely with a smile. But he was already planning to hand the matter over to Zoroark. After all, Zoroark held a certified accountant license issued by the League and was quite familiar with these processes. If it weren't for the fact that Ghost Film Pictures already had a dedicated finance department, Edward might've asked Zoroark to take up a formal position there.
After exchanging a few more polite words, the staff member left. Edward then handed the contracts over to Zoroark to store them properly.
With the issue of hiring for the Kode Foundation settled, Edward returned to filming A Wicked Ghost. He wanted to finish shooting it quickly so he could move on to filming The Grudge.
As a major horror franchise from his previous life, The Grudge was widely known—even having an American adaptation. Edward personally liked The Grudge 3 from the American series, where a Japanese spiritual medium attempted to resolve the curse of Kayako. It was one of the few entries in the series that offered even a hint of resolution.
Unfortunately, that poor guy was betrayed by his own teammates and ended up becoming the new cursed spirit.
"I should be able to harvest quite a bit of fear points from that one," Edward rubbed his hands together eagerly. While The Grudge had a somewhat mixed reputation, it undeniably excelled at creating a terrifying atmosphere. Edward was confident the film would earn him a massive return in fear points.
But for now, he needed to finish A Wicked Ghost.
…
Meanwhile, at the foundation Edward had established, Kode was presiding over a meeting.
Although roles were divided within the foundation, Kode, as the head, didn't put on airs. He preferred open meetings with everyone present so that different perspectives could help prevent oversights.
"No problems with the aid recipients this time. All have been carefully screened," someone reported.
However, a young girl suddenly stood up. Her face still showed traces of youth and inexperience—a university student still adjusting to the working world.
Kode recognized her. Her name was Ruby Young, a top student in the Management Department at Pokémon League University. She had originally joined the foundation as a volunteer but was now a full-time employee. Although her salary wasn't quite competitive with private-sector wages yet, their boss had already promised clear promotion paths, so Kode wasn't too worried about employee morale.
"What's the issue?" Kode asked.
"It's like this," Ruby began. "I found a case where a young girl needs a kidney transplant, but her family's financial situation—"
She handed out documents as she spoke. Soon, everyone had a file containing details of the girl's situation.
Though the file painted a heart-wrenching story, Kode's expression remained calm.
It wasn't that he was cold-hearted—it was just that he'd seen too many cases like this since taking on his role.
Who qualified for help from the foundation? Only those with nothing left—people whose families had no choice but to wait for death. Their documents were collected and submitted only after verification. To prevent corruption or nepotism, Edward had even partnered with the Nurse Joys, who pre-screened and submitted the cases themselves.
This setup made it much harder for foundation insiders to collude with outsiders and embezzle donations.
But it also meant Kode had seen too many tragedies. Every case was miserable. Every family had a story worse than anything you'd read in a sad novel. So, while this little girl's story was tragic—it was, sadly, one of many. There were far too many suffering people across the League.
"…But," Kode's eyes narrowed as he spotted something unusual in the documents.
"What's this about a bet?" he asked.
He had found a strange detail: the girl's mother had once sought help online.
That wasn't unusual in itself. In the digital age, many people turned to the internet to seek aid. Given the family's desperate situation, it was expected that they'd ask for help online. But what stood out was an odd challenge.
"That's what I wanted to talk about," Ruby said, visibly upset. "A netizen told the girl's mother that if she kowtowed all the way from Celadon City to Cerulean City, he'd donate 20,000 Pokécoins for every kilometer."
A wave of murmurs spread through the room.
As the report showed, the mother actually did it—but the netizen never donated a single coin. The incident had gained some attention online, though not yet gone truly viral.
Kode fell silent, thoughtful. On the surface, it seemed like another case of online trolling. But something about it bothered him—he couldn't pinpoint what.
Still, worse things had certainly happened online before.
"Let's..." Kode began to suggest putting the girl on the priority list when his phone buzzed.
Opening it, his expression stiffened.
The very story was now breaking news.
"Cruel Online Prank: Man Pretends to Be Rich to Toy with Desperate Mother!"
That was the headline.
Kode clicked on the article and read.
The journalist's writing was sharp, and the netizen's excuse—"I was just joking"—only made things worse.
The comment section was exploding with anger. People were furiously denouncing the prankster, and crowdfunding efforts for the girl had already begun.
…
Author's note: [Based on a real-life event.] - damn
(End of Chapter)