Chapter 50: Mr. Mammon Is So Kind…
Elsewhere on Akala Island — Lush Jungle.
This was one of Akala's Trial sites, and Mitsuki had just plunged into the forest with Trial Captain Mallow to begin her challenge.
Outside the jungle, Lillie sat on a bench in her white dress, pulling a letter from her bag with trembling hands. Her delicate face was a portrait of indecision.
A stranger had pressed it into her hands that morning. It wasn't until she'd opened it that she realized — it was from her mother, Lusamine.
Lillie was paralyzed with uncertainty. She had no idea what to do.
Should she go back to Aether Paradise, as the letter asked? But she was afraid. The Lusamine of today terrified her.
And Lillie knew exactly what Lusamine wanted — to use Nebby for her research experiments. Her father had disappeared because of those very experiments. She was so, so scared.
But the fact that Lusamine had been able to send someone to deliver this letter… did that mean she'd already found Lillie?
"What am I supposed to do…"
Lillie bit her lip. She wanted desperately to uncover the truth about Nebby, which was why she'd pored over every ancient text she could find. But it still wasn't enough.
She needed to explore the ancient ruins scattered across Alola. She was convinced that was the key to understanding Nebby's origins.
But it seemed like time had run out.
Lillie didn't know what to do. She'd never felt so lost.
"Mo~ mo~"
Just then, her bag popped open and Nebby wriggled halfway out, chirping with delight.
"Nebby? Does that mean…"
Lillie blinked at the little Cosmog's excitement, and then it clicked. Her expression shifted — surprise tinged with joy.
"Well~ if it isn't the lovely young lady. We meet again."
That familiar voice — warm, clear, and youthful — reached her ears. Lillie turned, and sure enough, there he was. The boy from her memories, stepping out from beneath the trees.
He wore a fitted, colorful button-up shirt and black trousers. Clean-cut. Strikingly handsome.
He was backlit, silhouetted against the dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy — as if he were emerging slowly from the light itself. With that gentle smile, he looked like some kind of warm, radiant angel.
Lillie stared, transfixed. He was exactly as she remembered — impossibly good-looking.
"MO~!"
Nebby, unburdened by Lillie's complicated feelings, shot out of the bag in a burst of happiness and zoomed over to Mammon, orbiting him in excited circles.
"Hey there, little one. Happy to see me, huh?"
Mammon laughed and caught Nebby in his hands. He fished a candy out of his pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into Nebby's mouth.
Nebby's eyes squeezed shut in bliss, letting out a contented hum.
"Whenever you show up, Nebby just comes alive."
Lillie smiled without realizing it — a soft, tender expression. Her world had narrowed to just the boy in front of her and the little Cosmog in his hands.
This was what she'd been hoping for. She'd wanted so badly to cross paths with this kind, sunny boy again.
Fate worked in mysterious ways — in just two or three months, they'd met three times now.
It had to be some kind of extraordinary connection.
"Ha~ I'm pretty fond of the little guy myself." Mammon stroked Nebby's cheek, then carried it over and sat down beside Lillie.
Of course he liked Nebby. This little one could eventually evolve into a Sun or Moon Legendary.
Come to think of it, he had no idea which form this Nebby would take.
In the anime, Nebby had evolved into Solgaleo. But in Pokémon Evolutions, it became Lunala.
Either way was fine. The big lion was majestic and powerful; the big bat was elegant and stunning. Mammon wasn't picky.
Having a boy suddenly sit this close made Lillie's cheeks flush with a faint pink. But she didn't move away.
If anything… he smells really nice.
Lillie's cute little nose twitched. This was the first time she'd been close enough to catch a boy her age's scent, and it made her head go pleasantly fuzzy.
She even thought she detected something faintly reminiscent of her mother's perfume, which gave her a strange sense of comfort.
If Mammon could hear Lillie's thoughts right now, his only reaction would be: What kind of bloodhound nose does this girl HAVE?
He had been at Aether Paradise that morning putting Lusamine through her paces — but he'd showered since then! Lillie could still pick that up?
Of course, Mammon had no way of knowing what Lillie was thinking. He unwrapped another candy for Nebby, who munched away contentedly.
"Come to think of it, this is our third meeting, isn't it? My lovely young lady."
Mammon turned his sun-bright smile toward Lillie.
Lillie's face went redder.
"P-please don't call me lovely…"
The flustered girl clutched at the fabric of her skirt with both hands, her voice barely above a whisper.
"But you really are lovely and beautiful." Mammon tilted his head as if genuinely puzzled.
Lillie felt her face catch fire — a blaze that spread all the way to her pounding heart.
"Anyway — they say fate brings people together across a thousand miles. Our 'connection' really does seem to run deep. So why don't we make it official?"
Seeing that Lillie was about to go full Vaporeon-meme, Mammon eased off the teasing and changed the subject.
"I'm Mammon. From Kanto. It's nice to meet you."
"I'm… I'm Lillie."
Lillie fought down her embarrassment and took the hand he extended.
So warm…
That was her first thought — the warmth of his palm.
But the etiquette drilled into her since childhood made her release his hand after a moment. Holding on any longer would have been terribly improper.
"Lillie, is it? What a beautiful name."
"Thank you."
Lillie fanned her cheeks with one small hand, finally coaxing the temperature down a fraction.
"I noticed from a distance — lovely Lillie, sitting here all alone looking so forlorn. Is something troubling you?"
Mammon tickled Nebby under the chin as he asked.
Lillie froze, then bit her lip and lowered her gaze. So he'd seen her like that. Of course he had…
"I'm sorry you had to see me in such a state."
"Hm? No need to apologize. Everyone has moments like that — every single person in this world."
Mammon raised an eyebrow, leaning in slightly to speak to Lillie with quiet sincerity.
"Everyone carries regrets and memories they'd rather not revisit. That's perfectly normal. No one on this earth is truly carefree their entire life."
"Even the cheerful, seemingly carefree optimists you see? They're probably licking their wounds alone in the middle of the night."
"Joy, sorrow, happiness, grief — feeling all of them is the most basic privilege of being human. So even when you hit a painful, humiliating setback — face it. Push through it. Don't just sit here hurting by yourself, okay?"
Listening to Mammon, Lillie stared at the boy in front of her, his face reflected in her clear, luminous eyes. She drifted, lost in the moment.
He's really…
"What's wrong, Lillie?"
After a long silence, Mammon noticed her staring and spoke up, puzzled.
Lillie snapped back to reality. The blush surged up her cheeks again, and she quickly looked away.
"S-sorry, I zoned out again…" she murmured.
"It's perfectly fine."
"Mr. Mammon is… so kind."
"Hm? Lillie, what was that?"
"Please don't mind me. I was just talking to myself."
The mortified girl twisted a lock of hair at her temple. What did I just say out loud?!
And suddenly, she understood. She finally got why Mitsuki was always going on and on about how wonderful her boyfriend was.
Oh no.
If someone as kind as Mr. Mammon were her boyfriend… she'd absolutely end up bragging about him to Mitsuki every single day.