The real Jewel of Life was, in fact, hidden somewhere within the ancient temple—but Lucas, unfamiliar with the temple's layout, figured that the easiest way to find it was to get help from Sheena, the temple's guardian.
Although, by the looks of things, Sheena wasn't particularly willing to cooperate right now.
"..."
Hearing this, Sheena's expression became one of pain and disappointment.
Even though Lucas's words were sharp, even cruel, she couldn't find any reason to refute them.
"Take your time to think it over. There's still plenty of time, dear guardian."
Sensing footsteps approaching from behind, Lucas gave Sheena a final parting smile—though it was laced with mocking sarcasm—and then in the blink of an eye, his expression shifted into one of calm warmth, as if nothing had happened at all.
That kind of transformation—it was the mark of a seasoned actor.
"Sheena!"
As Lucas's voice fell, a concerned male voice called out, and another shrine guardian, Kevin, came trotting up to Sheena's side.
"Sheena, what's wrong?"
Kevin looked at Sheena's pale face, clearly worried, and then cast an unfriendly glance at Lucas.
Obviously, judging from Sheena's state, Kevin assumed her condition was Lucas's fault.
As her childhood friend, he naturally stood on Sheena's side.
Cynthia and Caitlin remained silent, while Marnie glanced at Sheena once, then quite naturally walked over to stand by Lucas's side.
"I'm fine, I just… suddenly don't feel too well."
Sheena pursed her lips and glanced at Lucas, who wore a relaxed smile, as if their earlier conversation had never happened. She shook her head at Kevin.
She didn't mention anything they had just talked about—not because she trusted Lucas, but because it involved secrets about the descendants of the Ancient Saviors and Arceus.
"Are you sure? You're really pale," Kevin said, frowning.
"I'm fine. I'll just rest for a bit. Champion Cynthia, I'm sorry, but I might not be able to continue showing you around for now."
She gave Kevin a reassuring smile, then turned to Cynthia with a polite apology.
Her mind was in chaos—utterly so. There was no way she had the focus to continue accompanying Cynthia and the others.
She didn't know where Lucas had come from, how he knew so much about ancient events, or why he wanted the Jewel of Life.
There were far too many questions. She needed time to sort through her thoughts.
"It's alright. Your health comes first. We'll just explore on our own,"
Cynthia replied with a gentle, understanding smile. Though she didn't know what had happened, Sheena's expression clearly told her it wasn't nothing.
Still, Cynthia was mature enough to not press her now.
If Lucas had truly done something to Sheena, she wouldn't have kept it a secret—so clearly, something else was at play.
"No need to look at me like that," Lucas said with a shrug when he noticed Kevin glaring at him again. His lips curled into a lazy smile. "I didn't do anything to Miss Sheena. We just had a friendly little chat."
—Though in his heart, he scoffed: Just a useless nobody.
"You—!"
Kevin's anger erupted.
To him, it was obvious Sheena's state was because of Lucas. And yet this guy stood there acting all relaxed and innocent? Infuriating!
"Kevin!"
Seeing Kevin on the verge of lashing out, Sheena quickly grabbed his arm.
"Sorry to trouble everyone. We'll take our leave for now."
Sheena bowed in apology to the group, then pulled Kevin away.
Strictly speaking, Lucas hadn't done anything to her, and there was no reason for the host to kick out a guest.
Besides, Lucas was clearly not an ordinary person—Sheena could feel that from both his demeanor and the reason for his visit.
"…I thought he was about to start a fight," Marnie muttered, watching Sheena and Kevin disappear around a corner. She shot a sideways glance at Lucas. "But really, Lucas, you stir up trouble no matter where you go."
Seriously, she'd only looked away for a bit and he'd already offended their host?
"You make it sound like I'm the bad guy here," Lucas said, putting on an aggrieved tone. "I really did just have a friendly talk with Miss Sheena."
"She just didn't take it very well."
Lucas smiled, completely unconcerned.
"I seem to have disrupted the mood for Miss Cynthia and Miss Caitlin. I do feel a little guilty about that."
He turned toward Cynthia and Caitlin, giving them a light smile of apology.
"It's alright. But… Lucas, I get the feeling you didn't come to Michina Town just to admire the ruins, did you?"
Cynthia looked deeply at him. She had sensed from the start that this young man was far from ordinary.
And now it was clear—his interest in Michina went far beyond simple curiosity about ruins.
"I don't mean any harm to Miss Sheena. I just need her help with something. But… it seems she's not very willing."
Lucas responded with an easy smile. He wasn't lying—he did need Sheena's help, and that was a perfectly accurate explanation.
"I see. Just so you know, forcing a girl to do something isn't very gentlemanly, Mr. Lucas."
Cynthia said with a faint smile, her ruby-like eyes fixed calmly on his.
This really was turning out to be more interesting than expected—she'd only come here with Caitlin to unwind, but now there was a mystery unfolding right in front of her.
She glanced at Marnie, now standing beside Lucas.
Just what were these two really here for?
Caitlin, meanwhile, had remained silent, her beautiful eyes glimmering faintly with intrigue as she looked at Lucas.
"Ancient Saviors… Arceus… the Jewel of Life… and the power he carries..."
Caitlin had incredibly strong psychic abilities. Even from a distance, she had picked up much of Lucas and Sheena's earlier conversation.
Yet she said nothing—for now. Perhaps she had her own reasons. Or maybe she simply felt this wasn't the right time.
---------------------------------------------------
With Sheena, the host of the Michina ruins, suddenly "unwell" due to her interaction with Lucas, the group naturally lost their interest in sightseeing.
Well…, more accurately, Kevin had returned after taking Sheena back, and his attitude was so foul it poisoned the whole mood.
As far as Kevin was concerned, Lucas had definitely said or done something to upset Sheena.
In this kind of atmosphere, it was no surprise the group chose to leave.
Michina was a small town, so Lucas and the others simply headed into town to get some lunch and take a break.
"So, dear Mr. Lucas—what exactly did you say to Sheena?"
Marnie asked curiously, blinking her bright eyes and glancing at Kevin's back as he led the way.
"I just asked her for something. Something that was never truly hers to begin with.
Yet she absolutely refused to give it up."
Lucas's voice was calm, almost lazy. He wasn't worried at all about not getting the Jewel of Life.
As impressive as the Ancient Saviors might sound, Sheena had no real background.
She was just the guardian of a minor, largely unknown ruin.
Was there anything Lucas needed to fear?
He had barged into the Galar Energy Plant without hesitation—and that place was under the protection of Galar League Chairman Rose!
If it came down to it, he'd just do what he did at the Energy Plant—take what he wanted by force.
In fact, if he didn't need Sheena for a few other things and didn't know the exact location of the real Jewel of Life yet,
he might've just had his Dragonair use Draco Meteor and leveled the whole temple without blinking.
"With that kind of attitude and expression, who on earth would say yes to you?"
Marnie stared at him for a second, then couldn't help but throw in a jab.
She was well-acquainted with how Lucas usually treated others.
He might hide it well, but his every word carried a quiet arrogance, a sense of superiority.
Even just thinking about Sheena's face earlier—clearly, she had been extremely upset by him.
And that's how he expected to ask someone for a favor?
The fact that Sheena didn't slap him on the spot showed she had remarkable self-control.
"It's not really a problem. What I want… no one can keep from me."
Lucas said with a smirk.
Refuse him?
What a joke. Targeting a small, unremarkable ruin like Michina was child's play.
Marnie rolled her eyes.
This guy was definitely plotting something again.
Kevin led them to a restaurant and quickly excused himself, clearly still worried about Sheena.
Yep. Textbook lovesick fool.
But Lucas didn't care at all. He sat down with Cynthia and the others, chatting and eating like nothing was wrong.
He seemed to be in a great mood.
Ding ding ding~
Just then, Lucas's phone rang.
"Pardon me for a moment, I need to take this."
He showed the phone to the others with a smile and stepped outside.
"Moshi moshi~ Boss, I'm surprised you actually have time to call today."
Lucas answered the video call, glancing around briefly before looking at the mature man on the screen with a teasing smile.
It was none other than Giovanni.
"I'm still quite busy. Lucas, you stirred up quite a storm in Galar a few days ago, didn't you? I assume you got some nice gains. You haven't returned yet?"
Giovanni smiled calmly as he asked, clearly amused.
He had been keeping tabs on Lucas ever since he went to Galar, but honestly hadn't expected him to go this far.
The incident in Hammerlocke had been impossible to keep under wraps.
"I'll be heading back to Kanto soon. Did something happen in the organization?"
Lucas raised an eyebrow. Giovanni wouldn't reach out unless something important came up.
"Yesterday, Carr initiated the operation to capture Entei."
"How did it go?"
"It failed."
Giovanni shook his head, his face impassive.
"…Tch. Even more useless than I thought. Couldn't even handle Entei? Was it poor planning?"
Lucas seemed surprised for a moment, then broke into a familiar smirk filled with malicious amusement.
He hadn't expected this outcome.
In Lucas's eyes, Carr might be arrogant and prone to stupid moments, but his actual capabilities weren't bad.
That's why Giovanni had entrusted him with expanding Team Rocket's influence in Johto.
So how could he fail, even when they already had Entei's whereabouts?
This revelation made Lucas mentally downgrade Carr.
Definitely a liability. He'd need to be cautious moving forward.
"No. Entei's strength exceeded expectations—it's champion level."
Giovanni replied smoothly, his magnetic voice soothing despite the words.
Lucas's eyes flickered.
A champion-level Entei? Then it must be one of the resurrected ones from the Burned Tower.
There were definitely more than just three Legendary Beasts, and their power levels varied greatly.
"So… do you want me to head back and revise the plan?"
Lucas asked after a moment of thought. Compared to a minor distraction like Entei, the Jewel of Life was a far higher priority for him.
"No need. Entei isn't that important. Just drop by Carr's location when you have time and help him get back on track.
After all, the Three Beasts Project was originally your idea—if one's successfully caught, you'll be the one using it anyway."
(End of Chapter)