Lorenzo continued his explanation. "According to the island's legend, this cathedral and the Sun Tower outside were built out of gratitude to Latias and Latios, who protected this city. This device before you also seems to have been made for the sake of peace. But unfortunately, it's so old that no one knows how to operate it anymore."
As Natsui and the others listened to Lorenzo's explanation and looked at the device, Ash suddenly seemed to notice something. He looked up at the second-floor gallery and saw a red-haired girl painting at an easel. Her familiar appearance... wasn't she the same girl who had just disappeared from their side?
"It's her!"
Hearing Ash's quiet exclamation, Natsui and the others looked up to the second floor and also saw the girl.
The girl had clearly just finished her painting and was packing up her tools. She then turned and left with her easel. Seeing this, Ash, for some unknown reason, followed her out as if in a trance.
"Ash!"
Brock called out to him. When he didn't respond, Brock could only sigh helplessly and follow him, with Pikachu right behind.
"What's going on?" Misty turned to Natsui. "Should we follow them?"
"Let's go," Natsui nodded. "We all know Ash. Sometimes he can be a bit reckless, but his ability to trigger special events is second to none. Leaving in such a hurry might mean he's discovered something."
Even as he said this, Natsui couldn't help but wonder if the red-haired girl who just left was really the same person as the Latias they had met earlier.
He vaguely remembered that Latias had created the illusion of a girl to appear before people. And considering the time, they had only just arrived here, but this red-haired girl had clearly been painting on the second floor for a long time.
But no matter what, there was no harm in following Ash.
Natsui, Erika, and Misty quickly went through a small side door and followed the direction Brock had taken out of the cathedral.
As soon as they were out the side door, they saw Brock following Ash, already outside the cathedral grounds. They hurried to catch up, crossing the plaza and a wide river bridge, traveling quite a distance.
The red-haired girl was walking at a leisurely pace. A few times, Ash was about to catch up, but being unfamiliar with the roads, he was always blocked by a canal and had to detour to the correct path to avoid losing sight of her.
In contrast, Brock, Natsui, and the others, who had left later, managed to regroup first and then catch up to Ash.
Seeing the girl walk to the other side of the riverbank again, Ash could only shout to her, "Please wait!"
Hearing his voice, the girl turned to look at him. "Are you calling me? What is it?"
Ash called out from across the bank, "Why did you leave without saying anything earlier? And who were those people!?"
"What are you talking about?" the girl said, looking at Ash with a completely baffled expression. She then added with a cold smile, "If this is some new way of hitting on girls, then you've picked the wrong target!"
After saying this, the girl turned and walked away without looking back.
Seeing how decisively she left, Misty couldn't help but cover her mouth and tease, "Ash, it looks like your heroic rescue didn't work. Instead, you got misunderstood!"
"I wasn't trying to be a hero!"
Ash's face was bright red. He left them with that sentence and hurried onto the bridge, once again chasing in the direction the girl had gone.
This time, however, the girl walked into a more complex residential area. Ash looked away for just a moment and lost sight of her.
Natsui and the others came up behind Ash and saw him standing there dejectedly. Misty, catching her breath, patted her chest and asked, "Seriously, we've been running for so long. Why are you so determined to find her?"
"I don't know..." Ash scratched his head. "It's just... she gives me a very special feeling. Like... like..."
Ash opened his mouth a few times, but he just couldn't put the feeling into words.
Glancing at him, Natsui smiled. "Like the feeling you get when you meet a Pokémon you really like, right?"
"Yes, yes!" Ash's eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly. "That's exactly the feeling!"
"A Pokémon?" Misty laughed out loud. "Now I know! When Ash likes someone, it feels the same as when he likes a Pokémon!"
At this point, Natsui was almost certain that the girl who had just disappeared was just an ordinary human, not the same person as Latias.
Although they looked identical, the main difference was that one could talk, while the other had remained silent.
Of course, to say the girl was ordinary wasn't entirely correct. Even if he didn't remember the plot, the fact that Latias could transform into her likeness meant that the relationship between the two must be extraordinary.
Having lost their target, the group could only continue forward. Since arriving in this city, their impression of Alto Mare was that it was beautiful, but the crisscrossing canals, small bridges, and alleys made the roads truly complex, like a maze.
Just as they were discussing where to go next, they saw the red-haired girl standing on a small bridge nearby, looking at them.
This discovery was quite surprising. After all, the girl had just brushed Ash off with great annoyance. Why did it now feel like she was waiting for them here?
Only Natsui noticed that the look in the girl's eyes was completely different from before.
He suspected that the person before them was Latias in disguise again. Otherwise, it would be hard to explain such a drastic change in her behavior.
While they stood there in surprise, Latias waved at them and then slipped into a nearby alley.
Seeing this, Ash couldn't help but look at Natsui and the others. "What does that mean?"
"You idiot," Misty sighed. "Isn't it obvious? She's telling us to follow her!"
"But..."
Ash hesitated. The girl's words to him were still fresh in his mind, and now she was inviting them to follow. It had him completely confused.
"What are you hesitating for?" Natsui gently tapped Ash on the head, as if to snap him out of his daze. He smiled. "What's wrong with you? When she rejected you earlier, you chased her all the way here. Now that she's asking you to follow, you're getting cold feet?"
"I am not! Okay, okay, let's just go!"
Natsui's tap seemed to jolt Ash awake. He stopped hesitating and, with Pikachu, led the way in pursuit.
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