"Don't give me that act. Do you think I don't know you by now?"
Faced with Mew's innocent-sounding nonsense, Chen Shi felt goosebumps rising all over his body.
If those words had come from Jirachi or Victini, there would have been no problem.
After all, they really were adorable.
But hearing them come out of Mew's mouth...
The more he listened, the more suspicious it sounded.
Mew pouted.
[I'm really not lying to you. The disappearance of Fairy-type energy does have something to do with the big deer.]
Chen Shi narrowed his eyes.
Over the years, he had privately asked Mew countless times about the disappearance of Fairy-type energy.
Every single time, Mew had dodged the topic and refused to answer directly.
Yet now, it had finally revealed a tiny piece of information.
That confirmed a suspicion Chen Shi had held for a long time.
The disappearance of Fairy-type energy was indeed connected to Xerneas.
But Xerneas was not the primary cause.
There was something even more important hidden behind it all.
Chen Shi chose not to pursue the topic further.
He already knew that no matter how much he asked, Mew wouldn't tell him anything else.
"Xerneas is still asleep and currently just a tree."
"What's the point of going to find it?"
Mew immediately replied:
[Can't I annoy that giant snake a little?]
[It told me not to cause unnecessary trouble, so now I want to do exactly that.]
Its tone was filled with the stubbornness of a child throwing a tantrum.
As though its sole purpose was to find Xerneas simply to oppose Zygarde.
Whether it accomplished anything meaningful seemed completely irrelevant.
"Heh."
"You really expect me to believe that?"
Chen Shi sneered.
The more this continued, the more suspicious it felt.
Today, nobody was going to convince him to find Xerneas.
Not even Arceus Himself.
Just as Chen Shi was making up his mind—
Mew's voice echoed in his head again.
[If you go, I'll give you a resource from a major Legendary Pokémon.]
[Yveltal's tail feather~]
Chen Shi instantly adopted a serious expression.
Ignoring Mew completely, he turned toward Diancie.
"Since you're being this sincere..."
"I suppose I can accompany you."
Whether there was a tail feather involved or not wasn't important.
The main thing was that he genuinely wanted to help Diancie.
After all, the Diamond Kingdom was already on the brink of disaster.
As an outstanding Trainer of the modern era—
If he hadn't encountered the problem, that would be one thing.
But now that he had?
How could he simply stand by and do nothing?
Impossible.
"Really, Lord Chen Shi?!"
Diancie's face immediately lit up with joy.
"Really."
"Absolutely really."
Then he silently added through telepathy:
"By the way, don't forget to give me that tail feather afterward."
Mew snorted and lazily closed its eyes.
Xerneas...
So many beings want to know your current condition.
In that case, I'll simply give them what they want.
"......"
After making the decision, Chen Shi immediately prepared to leave.
There wasn't much reason to remain in the Diamond Kingdom anyway.
The sooner they found Xerneas, the sooner he could get Yveltal's tail feather.
And Frogadier was still waiting.
"Lord Chen Shi, are you truly leaving right away?"
Elder Diamond stepped forward after a moment of hesitation.
Its expression contained both worry and reluctance.
The princess had only just returned safely.
She had only recently completed her mutation and become a true Diancie.
Yet before even spending a full day at home, she was preparing to leave again.
How could Elder Diamond not worry?
But it also knew this journey was unavoidable.
The Diamond Kingdom had already reached a critical point.
Chen Shi waved casually.
"Elder, don't worry."
"We'll be back soon enough."
Elder Diamond fell silent for a moment.
Finally, it asked:
"Should I send some Carbink with you?"
Before Chen Shi could answer, Steven spoke first.
"That won't be necessary."
"If we bring too many Carbink, we'll become a much bigger target."
"It'll make traveling through the Winding Woods far more difficult."
Elder Diamond nodded.
"I understand."
"Then please be careful."
"You must all return safely."
It wasn't surprised by their refusal.
After all, it knew its own people well.
The Carbink population was sizable.
But their combat ability was far too weak.
They wouldn't be much help.
Chen Shi slung his backpack over his shoulder again before calling toward Jirachi and Togekiss, who were still playing.
"Jirachi."
"Airplane."
"Time to go."
The moment Jirachi heard him, it quickly said goodbye to the nearby Carbink before happily flying back into Chen Shi's arms.
"Alright! Let's go!"
Togekiss also returned.
However, she looked rather unhappy.
"Chakkii!"
(I'm not an airplane!)
"Oh, alright, alright."
"You're not a little airplane."
"You're a big airplane."
Togekiss froze.
Not a little airplane.
A big airplane.
Wasn't that still an airplane?!
Just as she was preparing to argue further, something was suddenly stuffed into her mouth.
She instinctively licked it.
A lollipop.
Strawberry flavored.
Sweet and delicious.
An expression of pure bliss immediately appeared on her face.
Moments later, she completely forgot what she had been angry about.
Chen Shi clicked his tongue.
"Still that easy to bribe."
Then he set off first.
Jirachi rested in his arms.
Mew and Victini sat on his shoulders.
Steven, Cynthia, and Diantha quickly followed.
Diancie hurried after them as well.
As they approached the exit of the Diamond Kingdom, Diancie suddenly felt something tug at her heart.
She couldn't help turning around.
There, she saw every Carbink in the Diamond Kingdom watching her.
Their round eyes glistened with tears.
They didn't want her to leave.
Yet at the same time, they hoped her journey would succeed.
When their eyes met, Elder Diamond smiled and gave her an encouraging look.
In this matter, it could offer Diancie no practical help.
All it could do was give her encouragement.
And hope.
Diancie didn't look back again.
She turned forward resolutely.
But her own eyes were already filled with tears.
In this world, partings happened every day.
For dreams.
For duty.
For responsibility.
People constantly said goodbye to family and friends before setting out toward unknown destinations.
Just like Diancie.
For the future of the Diamond Kingdom—
She had to leave the land she loved.
Leave behind the people who loved her.
And pursue the faint light of hope that might still exist.
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