Seeing Robin accept the blueprint and turn to work with Maru, Ron walked over to a crate, looking at the calendar markings while pondering.
Today was Robin's birthday. Normally, Ron would probably prepare some of Robin's favorite food and simply celebrate her birthday at the farm.
The problem was that Maru had specifically come over today to help Robin, obviously so that Robin could get off work early.
But besides food, Ron couldn't think of what else to give Robin at the moment.
In the midst of his thoughts, Ron spotted Indeedee passing by and called her over.
"Indeedee?"
Because he could hear thoughts, Indeedee ran toward Robin before Ron even opened his mouth.
Indeedee had helped take care of animals here before, so Robin didn't think much about why Indeedee was staying nearby. She busied herself with finishing up her work while thinking about matters at home.
Just as Maru had said, Robin had indeed developed some slight resentment toward Demetrius during this time.
Probably ever since the day of the Green Rain. Even though nothing happened after the Green Rain—everyone was fine, completely unaffected by it.
Therefore, Demetrius hadn't even apologized to anyone in the family for abandoning them that day to go do experiments.
He even seemed somewhat pleased with himself, acting as if he had predicted all along that it was no big deal, and that everything that happened was just them making a fuss over nothing.
Even though nothing had actually happened, the fear and worry of that day had been real, truly existed.
Thinking this, Robin lost focus for a moment and nearly hammered her own finger. Fortunately, Indeedee below promptly used Psychic to stop the hammer.
"Ah, was that you?" Robin turned to look at Indeedee below the ladder and thanked her.
"Indeedee, Indeedee!" Indeedee called out twice and waved her little hand, looking as if telling her not to mention it.
Robin couldn't help but smile. She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and continued working.
Indeedee pitter-pattered back to Ron's side.
She called out "Indeedee, Indeedee" twice and quietly waited for Ron to read her heart.
Ron paused, glanced at Robin working in the distance, stood up, and entered the cabin.
Before long, a rich tomato aroma began wafting from inside the house. Carried by the wind, it quickly reached the mother and daughter who were busy working.
Maru was startled and looked at the cooking smoke rising from the cabin. "Looks like the farm is having pasta today?"
"Probably? It's making me a bit hungry. Want to stop by the saloon later?" Robin asked.
This scent was unique to Gus's recipe—something you could identify immediately upon smelling it.
Maru paused, remembering the tomatoes Sebastian had specially ordered from the general store. "Uh——actually."
She thought for a moment and changed her words: "I think we shouldn't go."
"Is Demetrius going to cook?" Robin asked.
Maru fell silent for a moment. "No, Dad isn't preparing this."
"I see." Robin turned her head and continued working.
Meanwhile, at the carpenter's shop.
Sebastian poured out the charred tomatoes from the pot again and took a deep breath.
Demetrius stood by the door, flipping through "How to Be a Good Stepfather" in his hands while wondering whether the current situation matched anything in the book.
When it came to human relationships, Demetrius could be described as completely clueless.
"If only everything were as straightforward as experiments."
As long as you followed the experimental steps one by one, rarely would anything go wrong.
He murmured to himself, contemplating whether he should intervene in the current situation. The guide taught him on one hand not to overly interfere in his children's lives, lest he overstep his bounds as a stepfather, while on the other hand saying he should let the children feel his care and not make them feel he was being cold to them just because they weren't biologically related.
Demetrius couldn't quite understand why there were two different approaches to this.
In any case, sometimes following the steps above would backfire most of the time.
Nearby, Toxicroak quietly crouched beside Sebastian. When he heard Demetrius sigh, he puffed out his cheeks.
"Croak, croak."
Sebastian turned to pet Toxicroak's head, then washed his hands and decided to try once more.
Meanwhile, Robin finally finished everything at hand. She took the towel Indeedee handed her and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Just as she was about to say goodbye to Ron, she saw Ron laying out a table full of dishes, then turning to invite her.
Not noticing Robin's relieved expression, Maru looked at the table of food with some difficulty.
Most of the dishes were Robin's favorites, obviously prepared for Robin's birthday.
If they said they needed to go home, it would seem rather inconsiderate.
But Demetrius and Sebastian were still waiting at home. If they didn't go back, it seemed a bit—
She paused, remembering that she hadn't gone home on her own birthday either, but their situations seemed somewhat different.
But she couldn't immediately recall exactly how they differed. So she turned to look at Robin, saw her interest piqued, and after a moment took Robin's hand.
"Then we'll be imposing!" Saying this, Maru pulled Robin over to sit down.
Robin smiled, glanced at Maru, and sat down as well.
Ron only knew that Robin didn't want to go home; he wasn't clear on exactly why, since he had heard it through Indeedee's translation.
And Indeedee had never met Demetrius and Sebastian, so she couldn't explain the reason clearly.
Seeing Robin sit down, he actually breathed a sigh of relief.
He figured this had something to do with Robin's family, but as an outsider, it wasn't his place to ask. So he simply invited Robin to stay a while longer, giving her ample time to think everything through.
And so Robin spent her birthday warmly and lively with the farm, even getting to eat a specially made peach fruit cake.
As she ate, Robin observed how Ron interacted with the Pokémon and couldn't help but recall the blueprint Ron had handed her.
After her thoughts wandered for a long while, she finally stood up, bid farewell to Ron, and went home with Maru.
Robin deliberately chose the longer route home. Even Maru could sense that Robin's desire to return home wasn't very strong, so she couldn't help but ask: "So you and Dad——had a fight?"
Robin paused. "Not really."
If you were going to call it a fight, at least two people needed to be involved. But right now, only Robin was dwelling on this matter.
She certainly knew that she had indeed been extremely busy with work lately, so it was natural that Demetrius hadn't noticed.
"Ah——" Maru hesitated for a long time, then began guessing.
"Because he said the wooden bed you made wasn't practical?"
Robin smiled at this and shook her head.
"Then is it because of whether tomatoes are a fruit or vegetable?" Maru guessed again.
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