"Indeedee?" Indeedee, who was just about to leave, paused and turned to look at Willy.
"Rattata?"
Sailor looked up at Willy.
"Have you ever heard of the Mermaid Pendant?" Willy turned to look at Sailor. "That's an absolute must-have for getting married in our Pelican Town."
"Indee?"
Indeedee hurriedly stood in front of Willy, looking up at him, waiting for his next words.
"It's an ancient charm. They say that because it has Yoba's blessing, it can bless the man and woman who use this token to propose and ensure they live happily together." Willy rested his chin on his hand, gazing out at the sea. "Gradually, it became something essential for everyone's wedding. Oh, but people from Zuzu City don't really buy into that. So if the person you want to propose to is from one of those big cities, you need something else called a Wedding Ring."
"Indeed." Indeedee pondered thoughtfully, and only after a long while did it turn and leave.
Meanwhile, Penny sat in the library, flipping through a book while thinking about the arrangement to visit the farm with Ron.
Jas stared wide-eyed at Penny's profile.
"Teacher, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing." Penny paused, then said, "How about we visit the farm this weekend?"
"Visit the farm this weekend?" Jas was taken aback. Beside her, Vincent frowned in thought.
If it were before, he would have been super excited to visit the farm.
But things were different now. When he wasn't in class, he spent almost all his time figuring out how to train Paras with Sam.
No matter how powerful or interesting the farm's Pokémon were, they couldn't compare to their very own Paras!
"You don't want to?"
Penny suddenly got nervous. She had never imagined getting stuck at the kids' hurdle. She had acted purely on impulse, using the kids as an excuse to invite Ron. But if the kids didn't want to go, wouldn't her first lie fall apart before it even began?
"Hmm——" Jas looked at Penny's nervous expression and vaguely guessed the gist of it. Seeing this, she couldn't help but whisper, "I'm okay with it, Teacher Penny."
"I see." Penny breathed a sigh of relief.
"I can go see Shane too!" Jas added. "I haven't really seen what he looks like working on the farm."
Although it was also taking care of animals, it was probably not much different from the ranch.
Seeing Penny's expression, she lowered her voice and whispered, "And I can keep Teacher Penny company to see Ron."
"What?!" Vincent immediately exclaimed.
"Shh, keep it down, Vincent." Penny quickly made a shushing gesture. Realizing they were in the library, Vincent lowered his voice and asked, "What does visiting the farm have to do with seeing Ron?"
"I'm fine with it either way," Leo answered, a beat slow. "I was just going to look for things in the jungle with Linus on the weekend anyway."
"Hmm——because Ron needs to introduce the farm to us?" Penny said this a bit guiltily, her eyes darting around, and she suddenly met Jas's all-knowing expression.
"Because Teacher Penny likes Brother Ron." Jas leaned in next to Vincent somewhat mysteriously. "It's perfect that you're not going, I'll create opportunities for the two of them!"
"I'm going!" Vincent immediately agreed.
Penny looked at Jas, half embarrassed and half grateful, then reached out and rubbed Jas's head. "You little schemer, where did you learn all this? The extracurricular books I gave you definitely didn't have this kind of stuff, did they?"
"Hmm, I thought of it while playing house." Jas said somewhat proudly. "How about it? Pretty impressive, right? Maybe I can become a great screenwriter in the future!"
"Impressive." Penny rubbed Jas's head. "Then you need to study even harder. Without enough education, you won't be able to tell good stories."
Jas nodded vigorously.
Beside them, Leo couldn't help but ask, "What's a screenwriter?"
"It's someone who creates romantic stories for people!" Jas held up two fingers. "This is Teacher Penny, this is Ron, and then like this, and then like this, and then like this, and they're together!"
Before Jas could finish, Penny, her face flushed red, grabbed Jas's fingers. "Alright, that's enough, stop talking, go back to reading."
Vincent looked at Jas's fingers, and started thinking about how to interrupt the two of them being alone together this weekend.
"What are you thinking about?" Jas whispered.
"Nothing."
"You don't have a chance." Jas said again.
"How do you know?"
"Because Teacher Penny needs someone reliable." Jas's gaze scrutinized Vincent up and down. "Obviously, you're not reliable."
"Says who!"
"Anyway, a little kid your age can't be reliable." Saying this, Jas looked at Leo. "Leo is way more reliable than you."
Hearing this, Leo shyly scratched his head.
"Says who, that's not fair, he doesn't even have a Pokémon!"
"My family has Trubbish," Leo said. "Does having a Pokémon mean you're reliable?"
Vincent lost his confidence, but still stubbornly said, "That's not yours either, you're not reliable at all."
"Then Ron must be really reliable." Leo said. "He has lots and lots of Pokémon."
"——" Vincent instantly fell silent. After a long while, he let out a heavy snort and buried his head in his book.
Jas gave Leo a thumbs up.
But Leo didn't understand at all. He had simply been reminded of this fact from Vincent's words and mentioned it casually, completely unaware of why Vincent was angry.
"Come to think of it." Jas looked up at Penny. "Then will Teacher Penny give Ron a Wedding Ring?"
"We haven't even given flowers yet! And why should Teacher Penny be the one to give it?" Vincent retorted. "And in Pelican Town, you give a Mermaid Pendant."
"Does that kind of thing even have gender rules?" Jas glanced at Vincent. "That's exactly why I said you're not reliable. When you like someone, you have to take the initiative. If you miss out because of cowardice, it's a lifelong regret."
She then added, "Ron came back from Zuzu City, right? People there apparently need a Wedding Ring to propose—a ring personally crafted by your beloved, given to the one you love most."
"That's not as romantic as a Mermaid Pendant." Vincent continued. "Teacher, when I grow up, I'll give you a Mermaid Pendant."
"Let's talk about that when you grow up." Jas shot back.
Penny, however, was deep in thought.
"A Wedding Ring..."
Thinking about how Ron was indeed from out of town, and might not know about Pelican Town's customs, she couldn't help but ponder.
Meanwhile, Indeedee was doing the same. After a period of cramming, it had already figured out Pelican Town's rules from everyone's mouths, including how to become boyfriend and girlfriend, all the way to how to step into the halls of marriage.
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