The fact that the glass didn't tremble in Looker's hand told Ludwig more than the conversation they just had.
From what he picked up during his journey with the Hero's Party, he came to know that people who lived in permanent readiness like agents, commanders, and enforcers, always had tells when they stepped out of their role.
However, Looker drank just as naturally as when he was breathing, it meant he was someone who knew how to step in and out of his role often.
He set the glass down carefully, as if aligning it with the grain of the counter, then exhaled.
"For the record." He said, tone lighter but not careless. "This is the first place that raised few alarms in my head that didn't immediately try to monetize panic."
Rimuru laughed at his grim words. "Oh, panic is very monetizable. We just prefer repeat customers."
Oak smiled faintly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "You'd be surprised how rare restraint is once people realize what they're holding."
Ludwig wiped the counter once more, more for rhythm than cleanliness.
"Restraint is cheaper." He said with a smile. "Moreover, it's easier to explain later."
Looker huffed quietly at that, a sound halfway between amusement and acknowledgment.
Ludwig felt the tension finally eased at that display from Looker. He was not there to be the judge anymore. Well, he's probably still doing that even now. But the difference from earlier seemed to be that he finally approached them with a positive note, not just a disaster waiting to happen.
However, it didn't last long. As Claire was finishing the last few gulps of her whiskey and Rimuru had slowed to poking at the last grains of rice in their bowl, Professor Oak raised to his feet with power, making it looked like he was jumping down the table.
The eccentric professor of Pokemon cleared his throat and smiled too quickly for Ludwig's liking. "Agent Looker? If I may take advantage of the moment."
Looker turned slightly. "You may."
Oak gestured toward Ludwig, Claire, and Rimuru. "You mentioned sanctioned access before."
"Yes."
Oak's eyes lit up. "Then would it be possible to bring them to Pallet Town right now? Just briefly is fine. Let's treat it as an introduction, nothing more."
Ludwig blinked twice, trying to process whether what he heard was correct or not. He hadn't expected the jump to be immediate, but then again, Professor Oak had never been a character who wasted momentum.
So it was only natural.
"Oh? The Pallet Town?" Rimuru perked up. But then as if realizing he shouldn't show he knew about the world, he added. "Err… The city you said you came from, Professor?"
Oak looked at Rimuru and nodded his head. "Yeah, my town."
At that moment, Ludwig watched the agent the way he'd learned to watch people who were about to decide something that would ripple outward.
The man's eyes once again snapped into focus, his demeanour shifted and his posture went back to stiff, ready.
Then for whatever reason, he sighed.
"You can. But with conditions." Looker said.
Oak answered without letting the words settle. "Of course!"
"One hour." Looker said.
Oak reacted quickly again, his shoulders lifting before he caught himself. Ludwig noted it and smirked. Truly, an eccentric. If he didn't know he had something he wanted from them, he would easily catalogued him at the same tier as Kushina and Cless.
"One hour?" Oak asked, as if afraid the number might vanish if repeated.
"From the moment you cross." Looker continued, lifting a finger.
Good, Ludwig thought. That much time should be enough. Not too short and not to long.
"You also will always stay together." Looker said. "All of you. If I can't see you, you're doing something wrong."
Ludwig inclined his head once. He had no intention of wandering. Places revealed more when you stayed put.
"No introduction and explanations." Looker went on. "You're guests. Friends from out of town. Oak speaks."
Ludwig felt the rule settle comfortably. He had never liked explaining himself anyway.
"No trade also." Looker said. "Nothing in. Nothing out."
"Understood." Ludwig replied, because it was true.
"Pokemon interaction is observation only." Looker continued. "You may feed them. But no commands. No displays."
Ludwig caught Rimuru shifting beside him, a restless energy that barely restrained itself. He resisted the urge to sigh.
"No catching," Looker added. "No Poke Balls. No scanning."
Oak visibly swallowed. Ludwig recognized the look: a researcher being asked to ignore a miracle standing right in front of him.
"Lastly, no powers." Looker said with a much more serious tone. "Passive presence only. If something happens, I handle it."
Claire leaned back, expression unreadable. Ludwig didn't miss the tension in her shoulders, the way she had to decide to relax.
"And if a Pokemon reacts unusually…" Looker finished. "We leave immediately."
The restaurant hummed. Ludwig felt it inside his head. It was neither an approval nor a warning. It was an acknowledgement. It had heard the rules.
"This hour will tell me whether you're dangerous by just crossing or not." Looker said. "If nothing bends, panics, or follows you, then we talk."
Claire lifted her glass slightly. "A stress test, then."
"Yes." Looker replied.
Rimuru smiled. "It's a field trip."
Then, Looker looked at Ludwig. "Do you agree?"
However, he didn't answer immediately. Even though he was also curious about Pokemon World, he was the chef and the owner of Checkpoint first.
He glanced at the kitchen. Bilo and Finka had already settled into a rhythm. Moreover, since nothing on tonight's menu required oversight that couldn't be handled without him hovering, he felt he could leave them to handle the rest of the dinner.
Even if some big groups suddenly entered when he's outside, they would be able to handle it because the stock of today's menu was still quite a lot.
He shrugged. "Even though dinner's not over yet, today's menu isn't fussy. So, okay, we'll go."
Oak clapped his hands together, barely restraining himself. "Wonderful!"
Claire arched an eyebrow. "You're sure about this?"
Ludwig nodded. "Not really. But might as well see what kind of world is about to give us more headache."
Rimuru's laugh could be heard echoing through the hall at that moment. "Oh… Kushina will be pissed, alright!"
The atmosphere around the bar became festive, laughs and smiles were all around. Then, Oak clapped his hands.
"Shall we go now?"
That, snapped the focus of Rimuru and Claire back to him. However, while the two of them nod, Ludwig shook his head. "Wait for a little. I need to tell my staff."
Ludwig called for Vilera before he went to the kitchen. Once the manager-all-in-responsibility-but-name arrived in the kitchen, the three employees of Ludwig looked at him.
He didn't waste time explaining. He didn't need to. He told them he would be gone for about an hour, that he was stepping into Professor Oak's world under supervision, and that the restaurant would remain open in his absence. He told them to follow the menu, enforce the rules as written, and escalate only if something truly broke the pattern.
Vilera listened without interrupting, eyes sharp, already adjusting schedules in her head. Finka nodded once, solid and unbothered while Bilo looked startled for half a second, then straightened, resolve settling in.
Ludwig trusted them.
He always had.
When he walked from the kitchen and crossed the threshold between kitchen and the hall, he could see Looker already standing. Oak looked like he might vibrate through the floor if left alone any longer. Claire had finished her drink and set the glass aside. Rimuru was grinning openly now, excitement no longer even pretending to be subtle.
They moved together toward the door and crossed. Ludwig was the last one who left the restaurant.
The door closed behind him with a sound softer than it should have been as the night greeted him immediately.
Pallet Town after dark wasn't as dark as he was used to from the game. Porch lamps glowed warm and uneven, casting soft halos onto dirt roads and white fences. Shadows pooled comfortably between houses instead of clinging to corners. The sky above was clear, stars scattered thick enough that Ludwig caught himself looking up longer than necessary.
The air was cooler here than inside the restaurant. Though slightly more corrupted than Ortus and Tempest. It smelled faintly of grass and salt, a proof that the ocean was close enough to be felt without being seen.
But what he felt jarring the most was… the mana, or the little present of it.
If back in Ortus, in the restaurant, or in Tempest felt like he was breathing, here in Pokemon World he felt like something was strangling him.
But, the feeling of the mana of this world vibrating to match their mana still came. It was not as explosive as when they came to Latina world or Tempest, but it still could be felt. Though, the effect couldn't be immediately felt.
As Ludwig felt like himself again, he realized.
They stood out. No, not because they were strange—at least, not visibly—but because they were awake when the town was already settling. Doors were closed. Curtains drawn. Somewhere a television, a sound he never thought would hear again, murmured briefly before being shut off.
Ludwig adjusted his pace automatically to match Looker's. Staying close wasn't something he had to think about. It was simply correct. Then, he felt it. Just after, he could hear a soft rustling coming from the side of the road.
Near a row of trash bins, something small darted between shadows. Ludwig caught the gleam of eyes reflecting porch light before a rat Pokemon emerged to dig through discarded wrappers. It paused when it noticed them, body still for a heartbeat, then returned to its work as if they'd already been categorized as irrelevant.
Further along, a cat Pokemon lay sprawled across a low fence, its body still warm from the day. One eye opened lazily as they passed. Its tail flicked once, slow and dismissive, before it rolled onto its side and resumed sleeping.
Ludwig let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Oak walked a step ahead, voice lowered instinctively, pointing out houses and landmarks with quiet familiarity. Looker stayed at the front, posture alert but contained, gaze moving in slow arcs rather than sharp scans.
Claire kept her hands at her sides, presence deliberately muted. Rimuru drifted closer to the edge of the group, eyes bright, curiosity pressing against restraint.
Around the town, streetlights were sparse. They didn't banish the dark, they were coexisting with it, as if it was built like the philosophy of this world.
Then, he could hear something moving in the tall grass near the edge of town, but its body remained unseen. On a rooftop, A bird pokemon settled with a soft flutter, feathers ruffling once before going still.
Amidst it all, Ludwig's eyes drifted from home to home.
They were small. Single-story for the most part with pitched roofs and front porches that looked more decorative than necessary. Some had bicycles leaned carelessly against fences. Others had shoes left outside, lined up in pairs like the owners trusted the night not to steal them.
Something about them tugged at him. He knew houses like these. Or rather… he had known them back when he still lived on Earth, before worlds became something her stepped through instead of read about.
He tried to recall one clearly.
A house with pale walls or maybe beige. A low fence made of wood, not metal. A porch light that always flickered before fully turning on.
He almost could see it clearly.
Almost.
But the image refused to sharpen. The details slid away the moment he reached for them, like a dream dissolving after waking. He couldn't remember the street name. Couldn't remember whether the house had been his, or a friend's, or just one he passed every day without thinking.
It frustrated him more than it should have.
Ludwig looked away before exhaling slowly. He had always told himself memories from his past life didn't matter. It was part of him, but not something he should cling to.
Yet,
His eyes drifted again, more deliberately this time, scanning the road ahead.
He found himself looking for a particular shape. A house slightly set apart from the rest. Close enough to wilderness that tall grass wouldn't be surprising.
He didn't know why he expected it to be obvious.
In the games—back when his life had been simple enough to include them—it always was the starting house. The safe one. The place players left knowing they could come back.
Here, every house looked capable of being that.
Ludwig frowned faintly. He slowed half a step, eyes moving from porch to porch, window to window, searching for something that didn't quite exist outside a screen.
But, he couldn't find one. All he saw was just homes. Occupied, lived in and ordinary.
It struck him then. This world didn't owe him a starting point. This wasn't a game map waiting to be activated. This was a town where Ash had once lived, yes. But also where dozens of other children slept tonight, unaware they were standing on the same soil as someone's legend.
Ludwig straightened and matched his pace back to the group. Whatever house he was looking for, he suspected he wouldn't find it by searching.
Some beginnings, after all, only revealed themselves once you'd already left them behind.
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