"Alright," Seeing how serious Geeta was, the light in Iono's eyes dimmed.
Her raised hands dropped, slipping back into her sleeves, and her small body hunched forward a few more centimeters.
A visible sense of dejection.
"Axel finally comes once, and I can't even take leave... Good thing Sister Elesa is here too. Looks like we can only stay home and play Fight the Landlord."
["Mm, then I'll have to trouble you. Once we get through these few days, I'll give you a few more days of—"]
Seeing that Iono wasn't resisting too much, Geeta let out a long sigh of relief and was just about to promise her a long vacation.
But halfway through speaking, Geeta suddenly realized something was off.
["What?"], Geeta's voice rose sharply, ["Who did you just say is coming to see you?"]
"Axel," Iono blinked. What was so strange about that?
'It really is Axel.'
Geeta suddenly felt like she'd grabbed a lifeline, her eyes lighting up, ["How do you know Axel? Are you close?"]
Iono scratched the back of her head a little shyly and laughed, "We met while playing games... We're pretty close, I guess? Probably closer than more than 90% of Axel's friends?"
"Alright, gotta go. Axel might be at my place soon. I need to hurry and buy a deck of cards."
["Wait!"], Geeta stopped her from hanging up, ["Why buy cards? What's so fun about that?"]
["I remember there's a pretty big filming base in Levincia, right? The scenery there is really nice. Do you want to go there and play for a few days?"]
["If you want to go, I'll book the whole place for you. Consider it a reward for your hard work during this time."]
Iono blinked, "I'd love to go, but didn't Chairwoman Geeta just say I can't take leave these days?"
Geeta coughed lightly, quickly returning to a normal expression, ["That just now was Rotom simulating my image and giving an automatic reply. How could I not let you take leave?"]
["I, Geeta, care most about balancing work and rest for Gym Leaders!"]
———
[Paldea Region, Levincia City]
Like Nimbasa City that Axel had visited before, this place was filled with towering buildings and a rich cultural industry.
"It really is bustling... Compared to Nimbasa City, the only difference is that this place feels more modern."
Axel rode on the newly acquired Chien-Pao, standing on a street, unable to hold back a sigh of admiration.
As soon as he entered the city, he saw influencers at the entrance livestreaming and handing out drinks, letting tourists feel the first wave of hospitality.
Near the shopping malls, there were dancing girls everywhere, bloggers pointing cameras at Pokémon to explain things, and even people filming short dramas right on the street.
Compared to the lagging internet presence in other Paldea cities, people here were basically living on top of their routers.
Many people recognized Axel. A few bold streamers even rushed over with cameras.
It looked very similar to scenes from before the world fusion.
Axel greeted the crowd one by one, and only after things settled down did he pat Chien-Pao's head.
Chien-Pao immediately leapt up, jumping onto the tallest nearby building, and quickly disappeared.
"Phew... I should've rented a Ditto before coming... Without Gyarados's spatial range, it's really inconvenient."
"I can only hope Rayquaza and the others drop Dialga's traits soon. When Gyarados isn't around, the general can fill in..."
These past few days without Gyarados by his side made Axel realize even more how important space-time traits were. So two days ago, he had already sent Rayquaza out, having it take Chi-Yu and Ting-Lu to find Dialga.
As long as they could obtain Dialga's time trait, not only would the general's strength increase significantly, it could also become a great means of travel.
By letting the general accelerate time on itself, the person riding it wouldn't feel the passage of time and could reach their destination very quickly.
Although this would be a bit painful for the general, it didn't matter. What the general feared least was hardship.
"Roar~", At this moment, Chien-Pao's low growl interrupted Axel's thoughts.
"Already here?", Axel looked at the Gym in front of him and couldn't help but smile.
The building had an overall gray-blue tone, with smooth lines and a strong sense of technology.
Combined with the spotlight stage at the very top of the Gym, just one glance made Axel unconsciously imagine Iono and Elesa dancing up there.
That scene... pretty exciting.
"Axel, you're here!"
Iono had been waiting at the entrance early. Seeing Axel arrive, she quickly closed the already opened door to a small gap.
Her outfit today was very simple. A bright white long dress, with two ponytails tied with a Magnemite each. Her small feet, wrapped in white stockings, wore a pair of Valentino shoes.
The sparkling mask on her face added a bit of mystery, making her look like a freshly grown rich girl.
Beside her stood another woman also wearing a mask. Compared to Iono, she was taller, dressed in a black long gown paired with blonde hair, giving off an elegant, noble aura.
She wore glossy black stockings on her legs and transparent crystal slippers on her feet, carrying a unique charm of her own.
It was Elesa.
It was clear she had deliberately lowered her height a bit to match Iono.
"Mm, I'm here," Axel pinched Iono's cheek through the mask, then looked a bit awkwardly at Elesa.
When interacting with Iono, there were real feelings involved. Axel was sure of that.
But with Elesa... that had all been a series of coincidences.
Not just coincidences. Back then, Elesa had even given Axel a card, telling him to contact her when he had time.
In Axel's view, that kind of behavior felt a bit too... questionable.
Seeing Axel's awkward expression, Elesa grinned and looked straight into his eyes, "What, you call me sweetheart when you're teasing me, and now you pretend not to know me?"
"Wasn't it just that I gave you some money when you were broke last time? You can just pay me back this time."
"Ahem!", Axel almost choked on his own saliva.
'Is this what a fujoshi is like? Completely impossible to handle!'
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