Edward looked at the documents in his hand while Zoroark stood silently in front of him. Edward seemed deep in thought. Come to think of it, he had been so busy lately—dealing with the second season of SherlockHolmes and all sorts of other miscellaneous tasks—that he hadn't had the energy to focus on anything else. Zoroark's reminder came at just the right time.
"This… about releasing a new short film for the wild Pokémon—yeah, it's been a while since we updated those horror shorts. Let's do one this time. Call the film crew over and have them start preparing for a new short," Edward said decisively as he looked at the first file.
This file had actually come from Yanister, who noticed that Edward hadn't submitted any horror shorts in a while and came asking, wondering if there had been a problem in the delivery process. After all, Edward had signed a contract with the Hoenn League.
Zoroark had brought the issue to Edward, and now that he thought about it, he really hadn't produced a horror short in a long time. The wild Pokémon out there were probably getting antsy, eagerly waiting for his latest work.
What a bunch of little gluttons.
As for the second file…
"Hmm, yes, I did hire some security personnel. Let them go through the health checkups and complete the onboarding process." Edward nodded as he looked over the job applications, clearly aware of this matter. This earned a curious look from Zoroark, who hadn't heard anything from Edward about hiring security guards.
These resumes wouldn't have reached Zoroark if they hadn't been forwarded by the League. Normally, his subordinates would have dismissed them immediately. After all, they hadn't received any notice about the boss hiring security. But since the League had vouched for them, they still passed the documents along.
Edward, of course, understood that these so-called security guards were actually assigned by the League to protect him. After all, he was now carrying Groudon. Of the three Poké Balls at his waist, one contained Q, another held Fortune, and the final luxury ball housed Groudon.
"Alright, Zoroark, just call me if there's anything urgent. I've got something else to handle right now." Edward checked his phone. It was already 10 o'clock—time to go.
After spending an hour at the office, Edward was clocking out. He felt like he was being incredibly dedicated to his job.
"Huh? Boss, you're leaving work this early today?" Zoroark looked surprised. Edward usually didn't leave so soon.
"Yeah, it's Fortune's exam day." Edward nodded with a smile. Even though he'd been busy, he hadn't forgotten about Fortune. Today was the big day, and he needed to get Fortune to the exam on time.
Zoroark held a book in its arms, watching Edward's hurried departure with a hint of confusion in its eyes.
It felt like…
Like it had seen that kind of warm smile somewhere before.
Where?
Zoroark smacked itself on the head. It couldn't remember. Ever since it had awakened from that long slumber, it had slowly started forgetting things. The past had become like mist—only a few vague fragments remained, blurry and unreachable.
Edward sat in the car driven by the old butler, with Fortune and Q by his side, heading straight for the airport. The Hoenn University wasn't located nearby, and the exam would be held in Lilycove City. The exam was scheduled for 2:00 PM, so they still had plenty of time.
After arriving in Lilycove by plane, Edward accompanied Fortune for a quick review session before sending her into the exam venue at Hoenn University.
"Young Master Edward, the exam won't begin until 5:00 PM. Would you like to explore the city a bit in the meantime?" the old butler asked with a smile.
Edward waved him off. "Nah, Grandpa Robert, what's there to see in Lilycove? At most, there's a department store and a safari zone."
He really wasn't interested.
The department stores were a hallmark of the Hoenn League, usually very large and tall. To walk through one entirely could easily take a whole afternoon.
They had once been considered the Hoenn League's biggest commercial buildings. But with the explosive growth of technology, online shopping had rapidly taken off in just a few decades, delivering a significant blow to traditional retail.
Nowadays, department stores were rare in newly developed League regions.
As for the Safari Zone, it operated pretty much like in the games—you paid for a ticket, received special Poké Balls, and went inside to catch Pokémon. No battling was allowed, only ball throwing.
Edward suspected that Goh had probably trained this way back in the day.
The old butler didn't say anything more and simply had Edward return to the car to rest. Edward didn't object. Standing outside the exam venue was just too much—especially under today's blazing sun. The weather in Lilycove was scorching.
Sitting in the car, Edward pulled out his phone. There were no messages from Zoroark, but there was a message from Cynthia.
[Cynthia: Edward, a few archaeology professors in the Sinnoh recently discovered a large-scale ruin that might have been a settlement from the Hisui period. Want to come take a look?]
She had even attached a few photos.
Edward looked through them. He didn't have much interest in this kind of thing—after all, not only had he seen the Hisui era with his own eyes, he'd also traveled there, even helping the professor complete the Pokédex.
So, the Hisui era didn't hold much allure for him anymore.
But then he thought about the long variety show schedule ahead. Maybe checking it out wouldn't be such a bad idea—it could help him kill some time. As for the Moriarty storyline, Edward already had a plan: he intended to dedicate an entire season to building up Moriarty and then bring the character—and the SherlockHolmes series—to a close.
Sure, if something keeps making money, it could be dragged on forever. But Edward felt that if Moriarty died, then there was no point continuing SherlockHolmes.
"Well, that's a matter for the future. For now…" Edward looked at Cynthia's message and finally replied with a "Sure." He didn't have anything urgent at the moment. Once the horror short film was finished, he'd be free to wander a bit.
As for safety, he wasn't worried. With Cynthia by his side, there wasn't much that could go wrong.
(End of Chapter)