Zhuge Zijing's expression darkened. He quickly cut in:
"Wait, you first tell me what this is about, then I'll decide if I'm your brother."
"Big Bro, it's like this — a Legendary and Rayquaza have a duel scheduled, so we want to borrow the Colosseum as the battle venue."
Zhuge Ziyu put on an ingratiating smile, patting Rayquaza's claw. Rayquaza obligingly lowered Zhuge Ziyu to the ground.
Zhuge Zijing's face darkened further: "Don't — I'm not your brother. Do you have any idea how much trouble it is to reopen the Colosseum?"
Zhuge Ziyu glanced at Rayquaza, who had already helped itself to the snacks in Zhuge Zijing's office like it owned the place, and said somewhat seriously:
"The battle between the Legendary and Rayquaza — Rayquaza has agreed to let us record it, and to let our people observe from the sidelines and document Rayquaza's abilities."
"Really?"
Zhuge Zijing leaped to his feet, asking excitedly.
After all, every nation was still essentially in the dark about the abilities of Legendaries.
Most could only gauge them based on the few times the Legendaries had acted.
And there had only been a handful of instances — not nearly enough to determine anything useful.
Though because Rayquaza was something of a battle maniac, it had acted more times than most, so there was slightly more data on it.
But most of it was incomplete. Having a dedicated fight with on-site observation and analysis would make cataloging the Legendaries' abilities far more precise.
"Hmph!"
Rayquaza snorted disapprovingly through its nose at Zhuge Zijing's words.
*(I, Rayquaza, keep my word!)*
"It's true — and the other Legendary has agreed to the same terms."
"Open it! Open it right now! By tomorrow morning, it'll be spotless and ready to use!"
No sooner had Zhuge Ziyu finished speaking than Zhuge Zijing couldn't contain himself. He slapped the table, then pounded his chest, guaranteeing to Zhuge Ziyu:
"Alright then, little brother, it's a deal — but we haven't locked in the time yet. I'll go ask the Legendary and get back to you with a date."
"Deal, my good big bro. Don't worry, I'll have everything sorted out beautifully."
Zhuge Zijing was practically thumping his own chest red at the thought — data on two Legendaries! Just thinking about it was thrilling.
"Alright, big bro, it's settled then."
"Relax."
"!"
After Zhuge Zijing's guarantee, Rayquaza also gave him a nod of acknowledgment.
*(You're a smart one, old timer.)*
After that acknowledgment, Rayquaza flew off with Zhuge Zijing's snacks, leaving only the two brothers staring at each other.
Rayquaza! Did you forget something?!
Zhuge Ziyu raged internally, but his face showed only a faint smile: "Big Bro, how's Ling doing?"
Upon hearing his little brother ask about his son's whereabouts, Zhuge Zijing slumped into his chair: "Little bro, tell me — is my parenting style wrong?"
Zhuge Ziyu's heart leaped. You finally realized, huh?
"Of course it is! Your whole approach to education is completely outdated. It's not practical anymore."
Zhuge Zijing nodded, then couldn't help but laugh: "Yeah, I just found out — that kid Ling actually has this in him."
"Well, if you'd just get to know the kids better, you would…"
The brothers' conversation didn't affect Rayquaza's sour mood up in the sky.
*(Why is the old man's snacks so bland today? No wait, they're the same as always?)*
Rayquaza flew through the air, eyeing the packaging of the snacks in its claw, rather puzzled.
*(Ah, forget it. I'll just eat the snacks little Ziyu brought me. Those are the ones that suit my palate.)*
With that, Rayquaza tossed all the snacks into the air, then finished them off with a single Dragon Breath — a clean disposal.
"Wow, Mama, look — fireworks!"
Below, in a district of Shangjing, a little girl tugged at her mother's hand, pointing excitedly at where Rayquaza was disposing of the evidence.
"Mm, what beautiful fireworks."
The girl's mother played along with feigned delight.
Though in her head she was thinking: *What kind of idiot sets off fireworks in broad daylight? You can't even see anything?*
••••••••••
"Ah, so tired…"
"Tabuné~"
"Onii-chan~"
Lu Ze was cross-legged on the grass in the rear breeding garden, enjoying a massage from Mawile and Diancie.
Diancie had come by in the afternoon. Since she couldn't get into the testing facility, she had no choice but to wait for Lu Ze in the breeding garden.
Fortunately, it hadn't been long before Lu Ze arrived — otherwise Diancie might have actually barged into the testing facility.
"Onii-chan~"
"Yeah, right there — perfect pressure."
Lu Ze was currently having Diancie gently knead his temples while Mawile had finished her task and was now working on massaging his shoulders and back.
"Ohh, that's nice~"
Lu Ze let out a long, contented sigh. God knew what kind of day he'd had.
He'd spent the entire day reviewing fossil information — by the end, his eyes were completely crossed.
With no other option, Lu Ze had pushed hard to accelerate, thinking he'd rather get it done and over with.
Thanks to that acceleration, efficiency shot up dramatically, and he'd managed to identify all the fossils before clock-out.
The price, of course, was that Lu Ze was completely wiped out.
The mental strain was so intense that by the time he walked out of the testing facility, his temples were throbbing in time with his heartbeat.
So Lu Ze figured he'd find Mawile and have her help him unwind a bit.
But lo and behold, he ran into Diancie the moment he stepped out of the testing facility.
Lu Ze didn't mind — one was as good as the other. He just wanted his temples rubbed first.
And so, Lu Ze ended up lying in Diancie's lap, enjoying her temple massage.
Later, when Mawile finished her work and saw Lu Ze like that, she also felt her heart ache. She started massaging his legs, then his waist — and now she was hitting his back and shoulders.
"Amazing~"
Lu Ze was in heaven, practically drifting off to sleep.
"Onii-chan~"
"Tabuné~"
Diancie blushed a soft pink, staring at Lu Ze's profile with barely contained excitement. If Mawile hadn't been there, she would have absolutely pounced on him for cuddles and kisses.
"Bwee?"
"B… Bwee."
At that moment, an Eevee came bouncing along from the distance.
But the moment Eevee caught a glimpse of Lu Ze's face from far away, it panicked.
Without even bothering to untangle its own feet from each other, it scrambled desperately in the opposite direction.
Guilty. Extremely guilty.
But Lu Ze, whose eyes were closed, and Diancie, who was lost in her fantasies, didn't notice the frantically fleeing Eevee.
Only Mawile, who was massaging Lu Ze's shoulders, caught a glimpse of it.
Though all she thought was: *Huh, why is that Eevee walking so strangely?* She didn't dwell on it further.
*(End of chapter)*
———
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