"Translating the earlier parts isn't too difficult. Based on our understanding of Hisui-era script, this first entry can be translated as…"
Liam sat Edward down beside him, holding out the photos they had just taken and pointing at the strange symbols as he explained what each one meant.
Edward skimmed through the lines, and soon grasped the basic meaning of the sentence:
"Shizuka! Will you tell us another story today?"
Shizuka gripped a rough, worn-out pen, but her thoughts were interrupted by the eager voices beside her. She turned with a smile and looked at the three excited children in front of her.
"Of course. But I've already told this story before. Are you sure you still want to hear it again?"
Shizuka smiled gently at the three kids, then slowly stood up, a cracked Poké Ball in hand.
Ever since the explosion that day, Shizuka had been transported to this strange new world. Having lived in Sinnoh for a while, she quickly realized—this was the Hisui era.
But that realization brought despair. Hisui… was so far removed from Edward's time.
By the time Edward ever found her, she might already be long dead.
"Yes! But Shizuka, your stories are so good! We want to hear them again!"
The children beamed brightly. Seeing their smiles, Shizuka took out her worn notebook and sat down beside them.
"Then today… let's tell the story of Cinderella."
She smiled as she spoke.
But just outside the door, a middle-aged man was watching her with lecherous, hungry eyes.
"Hey kids, Uncle here needs to talk to Sister Shizuka about something important, so—"
"Would you mind stepping out for a bit?"
After saying that, the man tried to lay his hands on me, but I fought him off and chased him away.
Edward's face darkened. He looked over at Zoroark—still sitting silently, her face expressionless, as if lost deep in thought.
The diary was written entirely in first-person, using "I" throughout.
But Edward caught it—the kids had called the narrator "Shizuka."
Shizuka.
Cinderella.
Edward's heart pounded faster and faster. He clutched at his chest, visibly shaken.
So it was true—Shizuka hadn't died. She'd been sent through time, hurled into the Hisui region by the explosion of the Time Stone.
And she still remembered the stories he once told her.
"What about the second entry?" Edward asked anxiously.
"Ah, the second entry… this one has a rather shocking start. It begins with the character for 'woman'…"
…
"That woman is a slut! She seduced me! Then tried to blackmail me!"
Shizuka stood emotionlessly before the gathered villagers, listening to the man's false accusations. He ranted with such righteous fury, it almost seemed like he genuinely believed his own lies.
Shizuka was furious. She knew the truth—this man had tried to assault her. She'd fought him off. And now, in humiliation and rage, he was slandering her in front of everyone.
"See? I knew this outsider was bad luck! Look at her—so young, and her hair's already white!"
A woman chimed in to support her husband.
"White hair at that age? She's clearly a monster!"
Voices erupted from the crowd.
Shizuka recognized one of the villagers—he had once confessed his feelings to her, and she had rejected him.
Now, he had joined the growing mob hurling accusations and insults.
With more voices joining the chorus, the wave of slander and hatred crashed down like daggers onto Shizuka's heart.
"S-Sister Shizuka…"
One of the three children tried to speak up in her defense, but was quickly silenced by his parents.
The other two kids, after hearing who-knows-what from their families, hesitated—then also joined in the public condemnation.
"I didn't do any of that…"
Shizuka's quiet denial was like a ripple on the surface of a stormy sea—drowned out in an instant.
"Die! Die! Let the gods judge her!"
The villagers roared in anger.
…
"…This…" The elder's expression turned complicated as he finished the translation.
Based on the diary, it was clear—Shizuka had been falsely accused.
"What about the third entry?" Edward asked urgently.
The diary only had four entries in total.
"We're not sure. The third page was torn out. What's left jumps straight to the one you've already seen."
Edward picked up the fourth photo.
It contained just a single sentence.
But the writing was a mess—crooked, jagged, almost illegible. And according to the two scholars, it wasn't written in any known Hisuian dialect.
So… what did this sentence mean?
Edward didn't know.
And in the chamber, no other clues remained.
As for the torn-out pages—what was written there? Edward had no way of knowing.
"Shizuka…"
He turned toward Zoroark—only to realize, she was gone.
Edward shot to his feet in alarm.
"Professor! That girl—she's disappeared!" (TN: I forgot Zoroark can transform to a person so I keep changing 'girl' to Pokemon mb.)
Others had noticed it too. A wave of panic spread through the group, but despite searching high and low, Zoroark was nowhere to be found.
It was as if she had vanished into thin air.
But Edward knew—Zoroark was a Ghost-type Pokémon.
If she wanted to leave, nothing could really stop her—unless the place was treated with ghost-proof coating.
He left the ruins and tried calling her.
No answer.
He searched everywhere but couldn't find her. By the time the sun began to set, Edward still hadn't seen a trace of Zoroark.
He felt lost.
Where could she have gone?
Having exhausted all options, Edward returned to the hotel, hoping she might have come back.
And just as he pushed open his door—
There she was.
Zoroark sat curled up on the sofa, hugging her knees.
She looked up as she heard the door open.
"Boss…"
She looked at Edward quietly. Edward simply stood there, staring at her.
The last rays of the sunset filtered through the glass, casting a warm glow over Zoroark.
Edward watched as she bit her lip… and then—
Two dimples appeared on her face.
Zoroark smiled through tears, pointing at the dimples on her cheeks.
Smiling and crying at the same time, her eyes sparkled with tears.
Edward stood there, stunned.
A memory came rushing back—
When they were young, Shizuka used to do the same thing to make dimples appear.
Edward never figured out how she did it, but every time, she'd point at them proudly and say—
"Edward… no way, right?"
Shizuka's voice trembled with a mix of tears and laughter.
(End of Chapter)