"Congratulations, Jack. I heard you've qualified for a solo mission."
"How did you find out?"
On his way, Jack ran into Maria. It had only been a few minutes since Kaidou and Arceus told him about this result, and he was curious where Maria got the news from.
"Did you check the Rotom? It's already been announced there."
"I didn't. My Rotom went out to play, so I didn't get any notifications."
The essence of Rotom is an electronic ghost; the appliances they inhabit are just carriers.
The local Rotoms sometimes take turns, but the Rotoms in the officials' phones are different.
Rotom is also a Pokemon, and different Rotoms have different personalities. The role they play in phones is that of an electronic butler and AI, and everyone has their own preferred mode.
Generally, they don't change the Rotom inhabiting their phones. Even if they're not there, the device can still be used as usual; it's just missing a voice control feature.
That's why Jack didn't receive the notification.
With Maria's reminder, Jack took out his Rotom Phone, where he saw the group message after the announcement, even seeing Yamato's complaint below, though it seemed like only half was said.
"What's she... doing?"
"Yamato? Probably challenging someone. Lately, it seems it's Shaina's turn. She's been working hard for the right to raise Larvitar."
"Still like that, but what about you? If you put in some effort, you could probably get a ship of your own, right?"
"That's not where my interests lie. I prefer staying close to Lord Kaidou. However, there are no weaklings by Lord Kaidou's side, so I must get stronger too. How's your selection of subordinates going?"
"I originally wanted to choose Pei, but Lord Arceus and Lord Kaidou didn't agree. As for the rest... we'll see what Alcremie likes. I don't really mind."
The two of them kept conversing as they walked outside, and soon after they stepped out, they saw Yamato fall in front of them.
"Ouch, ouch... Jack? Maria? What are you guys doing here?"
"Isn't it normal for us to be here? But you, is this some new hobby?"
"No, but I didn't expect Sister Shaina to be so harsh. Can you help me untie this?"
Yamato was still lying on the ground, with her upper body firmly bound by a bunch of red chains.
"Strange, my foster father clearly told me that I'm not afraid of Seastone, but I can't seem to undo this."
After struggling a bit, Yamato found herself helpless against the chain, even feeling a powerlessness similar to what other ability users describe when being restrained by Seastone.
"Of course, you can't undo it. This is something bestowed upon me by the Holy Beast, so Miss Yamato, are you admitting defeat?"
"I concede, I concede. Goodness, Sister Shaina, you're even harder to deal with than Uncle Queen."
"The Holy Beast told me to give it my all, so of course, I won't hold back, and there are some abilities I've yet to use."
Determined to maintain the right to raise Larvitar, Yamato continued on the path of challenging high-level officials, and this time it was Shaina's turn. Under the 'give it your all' demand, she directly used the Red Chain. Relying on the chain's special characteristics, Yamato quickly admitted defeat.
She hadn't used Mega Evolution yet. Due to the special nature of the weapon, Shaina was the toughest bone to crack on her path of challenges.
After Yamato conceded, the Red Lock loosened itself and returned to Shaina's hands, appearing as two bracelets on her wrists.
"Miss Yamato, how about you continue to challenge Queen? I happen to know a few tricks to deal with him, I can teach you if you need."
"No, thanks, I'd rather handle it myself. I'll try Zeraora next time."
"Alright, the Holy Beast has some tasks for me, so I'll be leaving now."
With that, Shaina disappeared from their sight, and Yamato joined Jack in selecting subordinates.
...
"Jack, have you decided on your selection yet?"
As they were about to reach the monastery, Yamato asked Jack the same question, and Jack naturally gave the same reply as before, though he remembered another matter.
"By the way, while I've been away, is Sister Misu still at the monastery?"
"She is, but she's been quite busy lately, why do you ask?"
"Brother Mandfeish has something to discuss with her, and he asked me to deliver something to her."
Then Jack took out a very tiny envelope from his pocket, but it had no markings on it.
"What's this?"
"I don't know either. My mission this time was to rescue that Tiger. He didn't seem very happy after being saved, then Mandfeish talked with him all night. After that, he seemed like a changed man.
This was handed to me by him before I set out, saying it's more formal this way."
If speed were the priority, Radio Snail, fax, or Rotom's communication methods could have reached Ghost Island long before.
However, for a more formal sense of ceremony, Tiger chose to have Jack deliver the letter.
Out of respect for privacy, he didn't open someone else's letter, especially since the recipient was Misu, two people who didn't know each other at all. What could they possibly have to talk about?
The content of the letter was actually Tiger's questions about some of the theology. Some questions even Mandfeish didn't know how to answer, so he suggested Tiger ask the author of the teachings and provided Misu's name, which is how this came about.
Their experiences were indeed very similar. Misu changed her faith after the fall of her nation and the tragic deaths of her students.
Similarly, Tiger underwent a theological baptism on the brink of collapse, and because of their similar experiences, he gained a deeper, though exaggerated, understanding of the teachings Misu wrote.
Some of the events described were indeed done by Arceus, but even Arceus couldn't have anticipated the explanation of the reasons. If it were turned into a reading comprehension test, Arceus, as the "instigator," might very well score a zero.
In the now-completed church, Yamato, Jack, and Maria found the nun. The church had been fully built, with murals, reliefs, statues, and more all in place.
Both Misu and Shaina were impressed with the craftsmanship of Wano Kuni's artisans, especially the statues, which were sculpted with remarkable likeness.
Yamato even saw a statue of Kaidou. Due to their collaboration, Kaidou was naturally included in her writings, identified as a kind of earthly agent.
"It seems Mandfeish has found a very loyal follower. Is he really not considering becoming a religious official?"
Looking at the content of the letter, Misu felt an urge to poach him.