At an open-air dining table under a parasol, Kirlia, Mewtwo, Lorze, and the shy red-haired girl sat together enjoying crêpes.
The dining area had wooden floors, with many brightly colored potted flowers hanging on the fence by the river. Small boats occasionally glided past on the canal; it was quite a peaceful and romantic place.
But...
Munch munch munch munch—
The sound of eating somewhat ruined the atmosphere~
"Big Sister Mewtwo, Kirlia, eat slower, don't choke!"
"Big Brother Lorze, the crêpe is so delicious!"
Lorze smiled and patted Kirlia's head, wiping away the crumbs at the corner of her mouth.
"Of course, I said yesterday I would bring you to taste it~"
"Mmm, indeed... Mmm, the taste is quite good. Also... Lorze, is this the 'little sister' you were talking about?"
"Yes."
Mewtwo rested her chin on her hand and looked at the young man very ambiguously.
"You mean, you want to pick up the guardian deity of Alto Mare? How bold~"
"I even dare to pick up Big Sister Mewtwo, what else wouldn't I dare to pick up!"
These words seemed to strike right at Mewtwo's weak point, bringing a hint of blush to her face. Mewtwo turned her head away and stopped talking, just silently munching on her crêpe.
However, in the interval when the red-haired girl wasn't looking this way, she still couldn't resist planting a kiss on Lorze.
Smooch~
Lorze saw it all. A shy Big Sister Mewtwo is also very cute!
But under the table, Mewtwo's big feet were somewhat restlessly teasing his...
"Ugh!? Big Sister, you..."
"Shh—"
Thus, the young man had no choice but to endure, silently enjoying the foot service from his lover.
Even at the end, Mewtwo skillfully caught the milk produced by Lorze with her big foot. That was a breathtaking technique...
...
Sitting opposite the three was the red-haired girl "Bianca".
At first, because she was a bit reserved in front of strangers, she only took small bites of the crêpe like a kitten.
But this hot chocolate crêpe... was simply too delicious!
So her eating manners gradually became uninhibited. She casually looked up and saw the young man opposite her, who was watching her with a smile.
"Would you like another one?"
C-Can I?
The girl was somewhat in disbelief, but the gaze she cast toward the young man was clearly full of eagerness.
Although it wasn't convenient for her to speak, the answer was obvious.
So... sometimes eyes are more powerful than words.
Lorze smiled and pushed his own plate towards her.
"Just ask. You can eat as much as you want~"
This crêpe was filled with whipped cream. As the girl picked it up, she pretended to casually glance up at the young man.
He was resting his chin on his hand, watching her—Lorze couldn't hide the smile on his lips and the affection in his eyes.
With her heart racing like a deer, the girl lowered her head to take a bite of the crêpe, unaware of a blush quietly creeping up her cheeks.
Phew, phew. It feels a bit sweet, and I don't just mean the crêpe...
Actually, meeting Latias was truly just a coincidence.
He woke up very early. On one hand, he wanted to wander around the city; if he was lucky, he might just catch the thief sisters directly.
On the other hand, he promised yesterday to go eat crêpes with everyone, so he brought Mewtwo and Kirlia to get breakfast for Ash and the others.
As a result... he witnessed the whole process of the red-haired girl arriving in front of the shop.
A little mute without a beret—it was immediately obvious this was little sister Latias.
Her appearance, which was seventy percent playful and thirty percent dejected, directly dealt a 10,000-point critical hit to the young man. Should I say, as expected of the cute Latias...
But Lorze still underestimated her appetite.
The seemingly delicate and easily pushed-over girl a-actually ate all the crêpes he had bought!?
This place was actually quite far from the crêpe shop, so it wasn't very convenient to go back and buy more.
Brock, Misty, Lord Ash, sumimasen! I didn't mean to stand you guys up!
But on the other hand, Lorze was still quite satisfied because Latias looked very happy eating.
When settling the bill and leaving the table, Kirlia covered her wide-open mouth and let out a shocked exclamation—
"Wow, wow... that big sister can eat so much."
Lorze and Mewtwo chuckled repeatedly. The young man patted Kirlia's head. Children say what they think, children say what they think.
The red-haired girl was a bit embarrassed by the comment, looking very coy with a flushed face.
But Lorze didn't mind and reached out his hand—
"Nice to meet you, my name is Lorze."
The girl shook hands with the young man, but it wasn't convenient for her to state her name.
"My name is... Latias."
She silently recited it in her heart, not knowing that Lorze could actually hear it.
Latias's small hands were fair and delicate; they were essentially the hands of a human girl.
Lorze sighed inwardly. Now I also know what it feels like to hold hands with a human girl.
There was one more thing. Because the Eon Duo's body temperature was lower than humans', Latias's hand felt cool to the touch.
"I still have to go watch my friend's Water Race. Do you want to go together?"
The red-haired girl thought for a moment, then shook her head. The Water Race, I've seen it many times.
Compared to watching it in her current form, she still preferred to visit the scene in her original form and follow behind the contestants.
"Looks like we part ways here. If you have time, let's taste other delicacies together?"
The young man once again showed a very sunny smile, and the girl nodded.
Watching her disappear around the corner of the alley with her hands behind her back, Lorze pressed his chest.
She really is... too cute!
"Big Sister Mewtwo, are you ready?"
Mewtwo put her hands on her hips and proudly swished her tail—
"A piece of cake~ But are you sure someone will cause trouble for her later?"
"Most likely. If they don't come, just consider it a precaution."
"Oh?"
Mewtwo suddenly leaned in front of Lorze, staring at him very suspiciously.
The young man swallowed hard—
"I'm really not a peeping tom, Big Sister Mewtwo!"
"Uh-huh, I believe you~"
Taking Mewtwo and Kirlia's hands again, the three hurried toward the site of the Water Race.
They had to at least see Ash and the others before the race started, to cheer for Ash and Misty or something.
If they didn't even go, it would be too unfriendly.
But on their way there, Lorze saw something familiar—the flying camera of the thief sisters.
It was drifting aimlessly around, seemingly just for monitoring this area.
Blue light flashed in the young man's eyes, and he immediately used telekinesis to control the camera, holding it in his hand.
Lorze spoke to the camera with a smiling face—
"Hello there, 'Zanna' and 'Rion'. You want to catch the guardian deities of the water capital, right? Don't underestimate my intelligence network!"
Even though it was an image transmitted through a screen, it startled the thief sisters lurking in Alto Mare as if it had broken through the fourth wall.
The next second, the young man dropped his smiling expression, and his face became somewhat gloomy and cold.
"Even though you probably won't listen even if I say it, I still advise you two... don't do anything stupid. It's better for all of us."
The camera was crushed by the young man's telekinesis and casually tossed into a roadside trash can with a plop.
It was just a little warning. Hopefully, those two wouldn't fail to appreciate the favor.
"This person... what's his deal? Is he on the underground ranking list? I don't recall."
The blonde woman shook her head blankly.
"Hmph, maybe just a fledgling competitor, but we are the world's number one thieves~"
"That's true~"
At the site of the Water Race, Lorze saw a radiant Ash and Misty, who had heavy dark circles under her eyes.
"Mr. Lorze! I didn't expect to see you here!"
"Yeah, I had some business in the morning so I went out early. Since it's Ash and Misty's race today, I thought I'd come and cheer you on. Misty... Huh!? Did Misty not rest well?"
The girl with the short orange ponytail gritted her teeth so hard they almost cracked. Isn't it all because of you! Making me feel all hot and bothered last night, I didn't sleep well the whole night!
She let out a "Hmph" and turned her head away.
But seeing the hint of blush on the girl's cheeks, Lorze roughly understood what had happened...
Uh... I'm really sorry. The battle last night must have been too intense, and Big Sister Mewtwo and Kirlia were moaning too loudly, which affected you...
There was another thing Misty was angry about: One is bad enough, but to find two women... I didn't expect the gentle-looking Mr. Lorze to be such a playboy. You really can't judge a book by its cover.
But she would probably never know that it wasn't "people" who spent the joyous night with Lorze. In fact, that guy wasn't interested in humans at all...