Inside the house.
Misty was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her cheeks puffing as she ate candy.
The sweet taste dissolved in her mouth, slightly soothing the boredom she felt from being unable to move around.
As she chewed, she subconsciously turned her head and looked through the wooden window at Roy and Melanie, who were busy in the courtyard.
At first, she was just glancing casually.
But the next second, her chewing stopped abruptly, and her eyes widened instantly!
Outside the window, the moonlight was hazy.
Roy and Melanie were sitting side-by-side on a rock near the tent; they weren't far apart to begin with.
But at this moment, Roy's body actually leaned slightly toward Melanie!
His face was almost pressed against Melanie's ear!
Melanie seemed taken aback for a moment, but she didn't pull away.
The two maintained that extremely close posture. Roy's lips moved; he was clearly whispering something.
The night breeze gently blew the tips of Melanie's hair, and a few strands even brushed against Roy's cheek.
From her angle, the silhouettes of the two under the moonlight looked incredibly intimate!
"Crack!"
Misty unconsciously bit down hard, crushing the remaining half of the candy in her mouth.
A surge of nameless fire shot straight from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
It was sour, burning, and carried a hint of inexplicable grievance.
Roy! You pervert! You big jerk!
She screamed frantically in her heart!
My leg is still injured! I can't move properly! And you're already in such a hurry to pick up girls?
Sister Melanie... Sister Melanie is a nice person, but... but she's a girl too!
Misty's chest heaved with anger, and her fingers unknowingly gripped the bedsheet beneath her.
Gripping, twisting, then gripping and twisting again... as if the bedsheet were a certain bastard Trainer whispering in someone's ear.
She bit her lower lip, her eyes fixed deathly on the two figures outside the window.
Curse him! Curse him! Curse him!
Just then, Delia walked in from the other side of the room carrying a glass of warm water.
"Misty, have some water. Eating candy can be a bit cloying..." Delia's gentle voice sounded.
But Misty didn't react at all.
All her attention and all her emotions were firmly tethered to that "eyesore" of a scene outside the window.
Delia walked a few steps closer and followed Misty's fire-spitting gaze, naturally seeing the scene in the courtyard where Roy was leaning close to whisper in Melanie's ear.
Delia's footsteps paused slightly. A flash of realization crossed her beautiful eyes, and then the corners of her mouth curled into a meaningful arc.
An opportunity for an assist has arrived!
"Misty?" Delia raised her voice slightly, her tone clearly teasing. "If you keep clutching it, Melanie's perfectly good bedsheet is going to be torn to shreds by you."
"Ah!" Misty suddenly snapped back to reality, only to find that she had crumpled the bedsheet so much that the edges were almost deformed.
A flush of crimson instantly flew across her face—half from embarrassment, half from lingering anger.
"Sister Delia!" Misty seemed to have found an outlet. She immediately turned her head and complained indignantly, "Look at Roy! Look at that jerk! What is he doing!"
She pointed out the window, her voice trembling slightly with agitation:
"He... he's so close to Sister Melanie! They're almost... almost kissing! He definitely has bad intentions! Late at night, a man and a woman alone... he... he..."
The more Misty spoke, the angrier she got, and the more aggrieved she felt.
However, right as she was launching her accusation, the scene outside changed.
Roy seemed to have finished speaking; he had already sat back up straight, maintaining a normal distance from Melanie.
Both had calm expressions as if they were discussing something serious. That bit of "intimacy" from before seemed like a mere illusion created by the light and shadows.
"Eh?" Misty blinked, looking a bit dumbfounded. "He... he moved away?"
She hurriedly turned to Delia and explained in a panic, "Sister Delia! Really! I didn't see it wrong! He really was very, very close just now! He was almost... almost touching Sister Melanie's ear! He must have been... saying something improper! Or... or trying to do something perverted!"
Misty tried her best to prove the "truth" of what she had seen, her cheeks turning even redder from her urgency.
Delia placed the warm water on the small wooden table by the bed and, suppressing a smile, sat down on the edge of the bed.
She didn't address Misty's accusations of "perversion." Instead, she tilted her head and looked at Misty with a gentle yet searching gaze, asking softly:
"Misty, do you... like Roy?"
"Huh?"
This question was like a bolt of lightning, striking Misty right on the head.
Her entire body froze.
If it had been before, hearing such a question, she definitely would have jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, loudly denying it and adding, "Who would like a jerk like that!"
But at this moment... Misty opened her mouth, only to find those denials stuck in her throat, unable to be spoken.
That feeling of bitterness, annoyance, concern, and even a hint of fear of being left behind was churning violently in her heart.
Slowly, very slowly, she released her grip on the bedsheet. Then, bit by bit, she hugged her knees and buried her burning face in them.
After a long while, a muffled voice filled with confusion and uncertainty came from between her knees:
"I... I don't know..."
"I just... seeing Giselle pay so much attention to him, Jerry clinging to his arm, and... and just now Sister Melanie being so close to him... my heart just... it felt so bad, like it was burning..."
"I couldn't control it..."
She paused and hurriedly added in a flustered voice:
"Oh! Of course, I'm not saying Sister Melanie is like Jery or Giselle... those bad women!"
"Sister Melanie is a very good person! I know that! I just... I just couldn't control that emotion..."
Listening to Misty's chaotic yet honest confession, the smile in Delia's eyes deepened, carrying a sense of certainty as if she had expected this.
She reached out and gently patted Misty's bright red ear, which was exposed since her head was buried.
"Doesn't this mean you've fallen for Roy?"
The primary wife and virtuous spouse began to exert her influence, directly defining Misty's feelings for her.
"Huh?"
Misty suddenly looked up, her face filled with ignorance and shock.
Like him?
She... liked Roy?
That Trainer who was sometimes reliable, sometimes infuriating, and who even bullied her?
But... what Sister Delia said seemed... to make sense?
If it wasn't love, why did seeing him close to other girls make her feel so bad? Like a beloved treasure was being touched by someone else?
If it wasn't love, why couldn't she help but notice his every move?
If it wasn't love, why did she feel so secure and even... a little secretly happy when he carried her on his back and took care of her?
Countless images and emotions flooded her mind in an instant. Misty's brain was a complete mess.
"I... I really like him?" she murmured unconsciously, her eyes going a bit vacant.
Immediately after, an even greater panic swept over her.
"Then... then what do I do?!"
"I... I've fallen for Roy!"
"I... I..."
As if a long-closed valve had been yanked open, the surging emotional realization crushed Misty's "tomboy" psychological defenses.
She was completely at a loss.
The Steam-Girl effect was in full force!
Her entire face, from her forehead to her neck, turned bright red at a visible speed, and there was even a faint hint of steam rising!
Her body also became exceptionally sensitive. Just realizing the fact that she "liked" him made her skin feel hot, her heart pound like a drum, and her fingertips go numb.
One moment she was covering her face with her hands, the next she let go. Her eyes darted around, not daring to look at Delia, let alone look out the window again.
Seeing Misty's completely flustered appearance, Delia knew the timing was right.
She smiled slightly and leaned toward Misty, lowering her voice to a level only the two of them could hear:
"Don't panic, Misty. Liking someone isn't a bad thing."
"Especially Roy... he's worth it."
"Come, I'll teach you..."
Delia leaned close to Misty's bright red ear and began to softly impart the experiences of someone who had been through it and the guidance of a senior... The next morning.
Sunlight spilled into the room through the wooden window.
Under Melanie's herbs and careful care, the wound on Misty's leg healed surprisingly fast. Although there was still some slight discomfort, it no longer hindered her from walking normally.
She tried taking a few steps on the floor. Aside from a slight soreness, there was indeed no major issue.
"Great!" Misty hopped lightly in place with joy.
The four of them had a simple breakfast.
After the meal, Misty stood at the doorway watching Roy stretch his muscles in the courtyard. She took a deep breath, Sister Delia's "guidance" from last night echoing in her mind.
"When you like someone, sometimes you can't just keep it bottled up inside. You have to let him know you care appropriately."
"It doesn't have to be too deliberate, but you can find opportunities to talk to him more and show him a different side of yourself."
"For example, show him some concern, or... occasionally show a bit of weakness? Men, sometimes they fall for that."
Show a different side? Show weakness?
Misty bit her lip and clenched her small fists, cheering herself on.
Then, she stepped forward with a pace she thought might be "delicate" (but was actually rather stiff) and walked toward Roy.
Stopping in front of Roy, she looked up, her shoulders shrugging a bit unnaturally, and then she began to blink her eyes frantically at him!
Left eye, then right eye—the frequency was so fast it looked like she had sand in them.
Her large, glazed eyes tried hard to convey some kind of "signal," but combined with her still awkward and nervous face, the effect was extremely bizarre.
Roy was doing stretching exercises. When he turned his head and saw Misty like this, he was stunned.
He looked her up and down, especially at her leg, and then spoke hesitantly:
"Wasn't... wasn't your wound just a scratch from a rock in the river?"
"Could that rock have had some ancient virus on it? Are you... starting to mutate?"
Misty: "..."
The courage and "charm" she had just mustered were instantly shattered by Roy's steel-straight-man reaction!
"Tch!" Misty stomped her foot in anger. "You're the one who's mutating! You blockhead! Hmph!"
Tossing those words out angrily, Misty turned around, her face flushed, and stomped back to the bedroom. Her pace was much swifter than when she was being "delicate."
Roy looked bewildered and happened to see Delia walking out from the kitchen area.
"Delia," Roy called out to her, pointing toward the bedroom with a confused expression. "Did Misty hurt her eyes again last night? Why did she start blinking at me like crazy this morning, like she's having a spasm?"
Hearing this, Delia let out a "pfft" and laughed, looking bright and lovely.
She walked to Roy's side, leaned in, and whispered with a smile:
"Her eyes aren't hurt. It's her heart that's moved."
"I had a chat with her last night. She's finally seen the light and admitted she likes a certain jerk Trainer."
"I gave her some tips, told her to talk to you more when she has the chance and appropriately show some feminine charm... but as a result,"
Delia couldn't help laughing. "Her way of'showing' it really is... unique."
Roy was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a smile.
"You're making her take that route..." Roy's tone was full of helpless amusement. "That's really hard for her."
"Alright, I get it. Once I've handled the Bulbasaur situation, I'll be the one to win her over."
"A straight-shooter tomboy like Misty doesn't know how to handle these subtleties."
Delia also nodded with a smile, her eyes shimmering. "True, you're better at this kind of thing. It's hard work for you, my great Trainer."
Her words carried an intimate teasing.
"The hard work is yours, my virtuous helper," Roy replied with a smile. His gaze quickly swept across the yard; Melanie was in the distance taking care of the Oddish, and Misty hadn't come out of the house.
He suddenly reached out, wrapped his arm around Delia's slender waist, and pulled her gently into his embrace.
Under Delia's slightly surprised and shy gaze, he quickly lowered his head and planted a brief but clear kiss on her soft lips.
"Mmm~"
A touch and then gone.
Delia hadn't expected him to do this in broad daylight, and her cheeks instantly flushed crimson.
She hurriedly raised her hand to lightly cover her lips and gave Roy a reproachful look with her beautiful eyes, though the light in them rippled with sweetness.
"Oh my you jerk!" Delia whispered coquettishly. "If someone sees us, I'll die of embarrassment"
She gave Roy a light push, turned around, and walked away quickly like a startled rabbit.
She knew Roy's "bad habits." If she stayed any longer, and this bad guy's hands got itchy again like they did in private... although she secretly liked that kind of exciting and intimate play, if she were teased into a reaction now—body going soft and face flushing—she really wouldn't be able to face anyone!
Watching Delia's slightly panicked yet graceful and moving figure, Roy smiled with satisfaction.
He looked up, stretched his neck, and cast his gaze casually toward the azure sky.
A black dot in the sky was getting closer and closer, and the surrounding wind was growing stronger...