Chapter 368: Akari's Devastatingly Clever Scheme Activated! "I'll Wait For Papa To Come Get Me"
Mammon was mulling over how exactly to bring Akari back with him to his own timeline. If it could be arranged, he genuinely wouldn't mind pulling Volo along too. Watching Volo battle Cynthia would surely be genuinely entertaining, given that Volo was, after all, Cynthia's own ancestor — watching someone fight your own ancestor was a genuinely delightful prospect.
Though, admittedly, he wasn't sure Cynthia would actually be a match for him. Volo's own strength really was formidable — apart from Akari herself, Volo currently ranked as this era's foremost trainer, or, more accurately for this particular time period, "Pokémon tamer."
Click—
Right at that moment, the cottage door swung open.
Mammon looked over, and the moment he laid eyes on the person entering, his eyes lit up faintly.
The Pokémon world genuinely wasn't short on beautiful women — if, back in Mammon's original world, the average woman's looks on a hundred-point scale hovered around seventy, then in this world, the average easily reached eighty-five, arguably higher.
Not an exaggeration at all — genuinely unattractive women were a genuine rarity in this world. Perhaps that was simply how the genetics worked here.
But looks alone weren't the whole picture — a woman's overall impression came down to plenty of other things too: hairstyle, presence, figure, mannerisms, and more.
Mammon had, honestly, grown thoroughly used to beautiful women by this point — his life had never once lacked for them, especially with someone like Caitlin, whose looks, presence, and strength combined into a daily masterclass all their own.
For Mammon, genuinely few women could still catch his eye these days.
But the woman who'd just walked in managed exactly that.
She wore a black, dress-like ensemble that carried a formal, gown-like quality, white lace sleeves covering both arms, a black lady's hat perched atop her head, adorned with a white rose. Her complexion was extraordinarily fair, her presence composed and genuinely enigmatic, moving forward step by unhurried step with graceful, effortless poise, her long white hair swept up and pinned.
Her name was Wusi — meaning "I think, therefore I am" — a woman wrapped in genuine mystery. Even Volo didn't truly know her real origins, only that her scholarly knowledge extended far beyond what any ordinary person could claim, especially concerning mythology.
By her own account, all of it had been passed down through her ancestral line.
Of course, as far as Mammon was concerned, the single most important thing about Wusi was that she had white hair!
"Oh my~ I certainly wasn't expecting three guests all at once today. What an honor."
Wusi's lips curved into a small smile, her deep, striking eyes sweeping over Volo and Akari before finally settling on Mammon.
Her voice, too, carried a distinctive quality — not the usual crisp clarity of most women's voices, but something touched with a magnetic, languid huskiness.
"Would someone mind introducing me to our guests, Akari?"
Wusi glided gracefully forward, and without further ceremony, smoothed her hands over her hips and settled into a seat.
Well — she had every right to skip the formalities, given this was, after all, her own home.
"Sister Wusi, this is my papa."
Akari was the first to speak up, introducing him with unmistakable pride.
The composed, unhurried expression Wusi had maintained since entering shifted slightly, and she gave Mammon and Akari a genuinely puzzled look.
Had she heard that correctly?
"Hello there. I'm Mammon."
"Wusi. An obscure, unremarkable scholar, one might say."
Wusi offered a proper, reserved smile, shaking Mammon's hand.
"Miss Wusi is a scholar of truly extraordinary learning — one that leaves even this humble one feeling genuinely inadequate," Volo added briefly.
"Miss Wusi, Mr. Mammon here, like Akari, has also come from another point in the timeline — though the two of them, it turns out, aren't even from the same timeline."
"According to Akari, in fact, she's Mr. Mammon's future... daughter."
Volo explained.
"Oh~ how genuinely hard to believe — the sheer mystery of space and time~" Wusi's eyes rippled with wonder, studying Mammon and Akari in astonishment.
Father and daughter — yet father and daughter from entirely different timelines, meeting within a third. Genuinely unheard of. Truly extraordinary.
"This is fate transcending time itself, you know — a bond that belongs entirely to me and Papa alone."
Akari, however, seemed thoroughly pleased with the situation, and rather proud of it besides.
Mammon couldn't help a small, fond smile at that — how to put it, Akari really did seem to have a naturally sunny, cheerful disposition. Genuinely a good thing.
"Indeed. Though this means we now have two lost travelers of the timestream on hand, doesn't it."
Wusi took a small sip of her hot tea, seeming faintly troubled.
"So — whose responsibility falls to me, then, guiding a lost traveler?"
"Responsibility?"
Mammon raised an eyebrow, feigning genuine surprise.
"Ah~ this duty has been passed down through my own ancestral line. My forebears really did cause quite the mess, never sparing a thought for how much trouble it would leave their descendants — leaving all these legends behind for us to deal with."
Wusi let out a soft sigh, unable to hold back a small complaint about her own ancestors.
Legacy and duty — such lightweight words, and yet how much weight do they place on those of us who inherit them?
"An ancestral legacy can also be a form of honor, at times, can it not," Volo offered a differing opinion.
"Perhaps. Though the appearance of these lost travelers of the timestream really is a good thing, at least — my own descendants won't have to carry such a heavy burden any longer."
Wusi rested her fair, flawless chin lightly against her white-sleeved hand, her deep, striking eyes reflecting the faces of Mammon and Akari before her.
"Mm~ I must say, the two of you share something genuinely similar in the shape of your features, and your eyes especially — worthy of being father and daughter, truly. Though, looking at this, Akari's mother must be an exceptionally beautiful woman herself, given how remarkably good these looks she's inherited turned out."
Wusi's train of thought took a genuinely eccentric turn there, the conversation suddenly veering sideways.
"Heheh~ my mama's super pretty." Akari's face lit up instantly with a huge smile.
Mammon couldn't help a small laugh at that.
"Though it truly is a shame — Mr. Mammon happens to be very much to my own taste. If it weren't for you, Akari, I suspect any offspring between Mr. Mammon and myself would have turned out quite excellent as well."
Wusi said this in her languid, magnetic voice, leaving all three of the room's other occupants genuinely stunned.
Volo's expression turned genuinely bizarre, glancing between Akari and Mammon, opening his mouth as if to say something, then stopping himself...
Honestly, he wanted to point out that if Wusi genuinely had her eye on Mammon, there wasn't really any issue with her simply having children with him directly — after all, Akari herself had said she had plenty of mamas.
Which, translated plainly, meant Mammon presumably had plenty of wives too, didn't it?
Akari's own expression, meanwhile, had turned even stranger still, her look toward Wusi genuinely impossible to put into words.
Mammon simply shook his head.
"What's wrong? Was there something off about what I said?"
Wusi found the three of them's reactions genuinely puzzling — she'd clearly just been joking around a little. Why were all three of them reacting this strangely?
"Nothing at all, Miss Wusi. Could you tell us more specifically about this legacy of yours?"
"Of course, let me think how best to put it." Wusi didn't press the matter further; that simply wasn't her nature.
"Lost travelers of the timestream — whether you believe this or not, my ancestors, as it happens, foresaw the emergence of rifts in space-time long ago."
Wusi rested her chin on her hand, her tone genuinely reflective.
"And that is precisely my own duty — to guide those who fall through from other timelines, and help them resolve the space-time rifts themselves."
"Because a rift in space-time cannot be allowed to persist indefinitely — otherwise, the balance between time and space itself risks collapsing entirely. And the ones entrusted with the mission of preventing that from happening are precisely you two — the lost travelers of the timestream, yourselves."
Wusi explained.
"Ummm..."
Akari's expression shifted oddly. So this was all part of the trial, then?
Volo and Mammon had both, clearly, already arrived at the same realization — which meant Arceus had likely been laying the groundwork for this from the very start.
A fresh flicker of envy surfaced in Volo's eyes once more.
Wusi, apparently oblivious to the undercurrents running through the room, continued on serenely.
"According to legend, the space-time rifts are caverns connecting a great many different timelines — and somewhere at the far, distant end of one of them lies the Sinnoh Deity itself."
"'From ancient times to the present is called 宙 [time]. All directions, in every dimension, is called 宇 [space].'"
"From now until the future — that is time, referred to as '宙.'"
"Every direction — forward, backward, left, right, above, below — that is space, referred to as '宇.'"
"Time and space are woven together as one; together, they form the universe itself — neither can exist without the other, each sustaining the other, maintaining a delicate, mutual balance."
"So the moment that balance between time and space is broken, this world itself may simply cease to exist."
Wusi said this with genuine feeling.
"Which means Akari here is the key hero destined to save this entire world." Mammon said with a light chuckle.
He'd simply stumbled into this Hisui era by accident — there was no way he could linger here long-term. The title of "lost traveler of the timestream" clearly belonged to Akari, and this was, after all, exactly the trial she was meant to undergo regardless.
"Sounds genuinely troublesome." Akari felt her scalp prickle slightly — her own journey was turning out to be a lot more mysterious than she'd bargained for.
"This is precisely why you came to this world in the first place, Akari." Volo's smile remained just as gentle as ever.
Wusi then began explaining to Akari exactly how to resolve the space-time rift — once Akari completed it, the weight she'd been carrying on her shoulders would finally lift entirely.
They chatted a while longer, and eventually Mammon stepped outside for some fresh air.
"Papa~!"
A clear, bright voice called out from behind him, and Mammon turned to look.
There stood his future daughter, hands clasped behind her back, a genuinely sweet smile on her face.
"Come sit." Seeing such an adorable, well-behaved girl, Mammon's mood lifted considerably, patting the space beside him.
Akari's smile grew even more radiant, hopping over to sit beside him, wrapping her arms around her knees, then naturally leaning her head against his shoulder.
"It's really been so, so long since I last saw you, Papa. That Arceus is so mean, dumping me here and just leaving me to fend for myself."
Akari grumbled about a certain alpaca — by her own count, it had already been 149 days since she'd last seen Mammon.
"Papa, I really missed you."
The girl's soft murmur sent an unexpected tremor through Mammon's chest — a feeling entirely new to him. Honestly, ever since first laying eyes on Akari, his feelings toward her hadn't really settled into anything stable, genuinely complicated.
I mean, having a grown daughter suddenly appear out of nowhere was, frankly, a genuinely enormous thing to process!
But right now, something felt a little different.
"When exactly were you born?"
Mammon asked her.
His relationship with Platinum, right now, wasn't especially deep yet, and he had no idea where Akari fell in the order of his future children. Mammon figured Akari probably wasn't his only descendant, honestly.
"Mm~ I remember Second Mama mentioning it once — I think I was born around the time of the first World Tournament."
Akari blinked her lovely, ordinary amber eyes, thinking it over before answering.
"The first World Tournament, huh." Mammon considered this. By his own original plans, he'd been intending to actually hold the first World Tournament next year.
Which meant... next year?
That really wasn't much time at all. Was it really possible that he and Platinum would end up together and conceive on the very first try?
Mammon found this genuinely puzzling — his own body was extraordinarily healthy, and he had good reason to believe there wasn't a single person in this world with a healthier constitution than his own.
After all, his "spirit" had been blessed by the Lake Guardians themselves, his physical body reshaped by Arceus, with Arceus's own power granted on top of that.
And even before any of those blessings, his body had always been in excellent health regardless.
And yet, not a single one of his previous partners had ever conceived — Erika, Skyla, Flannery, and the rest.
Perhaps it really was just luck, then. Or perhaps... fate.
"Akari, would you like to visit Papa's own era someday?"
Mammon thought it over and asked her gently.
"Would that really be possible?" Akari's eyes lit up, watching Mammon with real anticipation.
"Mm-hm. Though, you'll need to find Dialga first — go discuss it with it directly, and I'm sure it will agree. Or, you could just wait for me to come get you."
Mammon told her with a smile.
"Mm-hm~! I'll wait for Papa to come get me! And I want to compete in your World Tournament too! I'm really strong now, you know."
Akari was thoroughly delighted, genuinely, visibly excited.
The moment she pictured herself battling her own birth mother, and second mama, third mama, and fourth mama, all on the same tournament stage, the thrill of it made her practically vibrate with anticipation!
According to Second Mama, this upcoming World Tournament was essentially the "throne contest" among all her mamas.
Which meant — if she managed to beat all her mamas herself — wouldn't that make her the top-ranking one of all??
Akari's devastatingly clever scheme had officially activated.
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