Diancie covered its small mouth with both hands, yet its trembling pupils still betrayed the surprise in its heart.
Ceruledge roughly understood the other's words and could not help but feel a sense of pity for the opponent before it.
A disease.
What familiar words.
What should have been an innate talent belonging to itself had instead become a countdown to its own life.
In a fundamental sense, this was a disease.
"Sister Fei Xiao! You... you're sick? Is there any way to treat it?"
Diancie's consciousness was now fully awake.
It tugged at Fei Xiao's arm with its small hands, its eyes reddening slightly.
A hint of imperceptible joy flickered in Fei Xiao's eyes.
She was very grateful for Diancie's concern, yet she could not bear to tell it the truth.
Fei Xiao made no further attempt to hide it; she looked down at Diancie with a smile in her eyes, finally having no choice but to shake her head slowly.
Seeing this, Diancie dumbly lowered its arms.
Initially, the favorability system played a part, but after their brief time together, Diancie had become true family to Fei Xiao.
Although Fei Xiao could not see its dejected expression, she did see the falling tears.
At this, Fei Xiao could only sigh, reaching out to wipe the tears from Diancie's cheeks.
Yes, she hadn't originally intended to say it out loud.
It was just that when Ceruledge had explicitly brought it up...
Perhaps it was her heart, already too suppressed since reincarnating and learning about the Moon Rage in this world.
Or perhaps it was because the one before her was just a Pokémon, a casual acquaintance met by chance.
That was why she couldn't help but want to share her inner thoughts with someone else.
It was just that she seemed to have forgotten about the voice actor again.
It seemed she would have to remind it not to be so vivid when translating in the future.
"Is there really no way?"
"I'm sorry, Diancie, for keeping it from you all this time."
"But promise me, you must not tell anyone else about this."
"Otherwise, it would be awful if Meloetta ended up crying just like you."
Fei Xiao tried her best to comfort Diancie.
...
After Diancie cried and fussed for a long time, it finally settled down.
"I am very sorry to have brought up your sad past."
"Not at all; on the contrary, I'm happy to have someone to confide in."
This was the truth; indeed, after saying so many things out loud, her mood felt much better.
Besides, she had sorted through everything last night and had come to understand many things in her heart.
As for her now... she probably wouldn't be afraid of death anymore.
Fei Xiao looked at the cutie nestled in her arms and hugged it tightly with affection.
"So? After confirming this, you decided to challenge me to a battle?"
"According to the original plan, you are correct, but then many humans suddenly appeared."
"I was accidentally discovered by two of them, which was a serious mistake."
"However, I noticed one of the humans with you, who was actually able to build a very solid bond with Pokémon."
"So, I couldn't help but battle her."
Fei Xiao nodded inwardly; it must be talking about those old men who were looking for her.
The other one must be Meng Xi.
"Is that so? How did they perform?"
"I am very impressed by their coordination and trust in each other."
Ceruledge praised them without reservation.
Upon hearing this, Fei Xiao immediately felt happy for Little Meng.
After all, she hadn't had time to ask about everything that happened before it ended, but now with a third party's validation, it was only natural.
And now, Fei Xiao changed the subject: "That matter is settled, and your injuries are not serious, so we should talk about another matter."
"Suo?"
Ceruledge did not understand what she meant; was there anything else?
Fei Xiao's originally calm expression changed, revealing a hint of a cunning smile.
"There is a saying: 'When a wild goose flies by, pluck a feather; when a beast passes, leave its hide.'"
"If you had just come to me for a normal sparring match, I wouldn't have made things difficult for you."
"But you recklessly caused so much trouble for Little Meng and the others; you don't think ~ we can just let it go at that, do you?"
Fei Xiao's smile made Ceruledge's dead memories revive once more.
Hmph, if she knew nothing, or if it had explained its intentions from the start, she wouldn't have asked.
But it came to cause trouble while she was away? Did it really think she was a saint?
Getting injured in battle is normal; surely it knew that better than Fei Xiao.
This was a different matter from Meng Xi and the others.
Cold sweat broke out on Ceruledge's back.
It had been careless!
It thought it could just let this slide! It didn't expect to be held accountable.
...
Seeing the smiling expressions of the human and the Pokémon before it, Ceruledge realized it must offer some compensation today.
Fortunately, Ceruledge had traveled for many years and still kept quite a few items on its person.
Ceruledge quickly took out something that looked like a small glass ball and handed it to Fei Xiao.
"Suo."
Fei Xiao took the colorful glass ball in her hand and looked closely.
This was actually an Evolution Keystone.
This thing was not commonly rare; she hadn't expected this Ceruledge to actually have such a good item!
She examined the small stone in her hand carefully, feeling certain that it was a real Evolution Keystone.
"Do you know what this is?"
"I have heard of it, but this item is perhaps more suitable for you."
After handing the item to Fei Xiao, Ceruledge turned around and prepared to leave on its own.
"Won't you wait until your injuries are healed before leaving? Or you could choose to stay."
"Suo."
Ceruledge replied simply, then walked away slowly without looking back.
"It says it prefers a life of wandering, and next time we meet, it will be stronger to challenge you."
Fei Xiao did not stop it; capturing Pokémon was purely a matter of the other party's willingness.
After all, she usually had the trainer step onto the field personally, so why be so particular?
...
"Ugh... Sister Fei Xiao, do you usually wake up this early?"
"I'm just used to waking up early for a morning run."
Lin Siyu felt a headache upon hearing this; Sister Fei Xiao was already so fast, yet she was still this hardworking?
Lin Siyu glanced with bleary eyes at the Sleeping Dragon that was still fast asleep.
It really was frustrating! It seemed she would have to urge it more.
As for herself...
Just kidding, now that it was finally not necessary to attend class, it was impossible for her to wake up early.
Beep, beep, beep...
"Huh? Wait a second, let me take this call."
Lin Siyu watched quietly as Fei Xiao walked away.
"Hmm~"
It was Meng Xi, with her hair disheveled, walking out of the tent.
Judging from the mental state on her face, it seemed she hadn't slept well again.
"Little Meng, you didn't sleep well again last night! Your sleep quality has felt so poor these past two days? Are you still not used to it?"
"Hmm, don't worry, I'm fine."
Meng Xi brushed the hair covering her face behind her ear.
Revealing her face filled with an expression of exhaustion.
Eh? Lin Siyu's eyes showed confusion; she felt like there were... two tear tracks on Little Meng's face?
The latter calmly wiped the traces off her face with her hand.
As for Fei Xiao, who was currently taking a call, she probably didn't expect at all that, in fact... she wasn't the only one who woke up early today.
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