"Dad! What are you doing?"
Misato clearly felt her father's tension. She struggled out of his grip in dissatisfaction and looked up to explain,
"Teacher Ariel isn't a school teacher! He's the special instructor Teacher Roxanne invited last time to take us to Petalburg Woods for our internship!"
Teacher Roxanne!
When those four words came clearly from Misato's mouth, the expression on the Middle-aged Man's face instantly froze.
The scrutiny and vigilance in his eyes seemed to be quickly washed away by an invisible force, replaced by a look mixed with surprise and sudden realization.
Roxanne.
The Rock-type Gym Leader of Rustboro City, a Trainer quite famous throughout the Hoenn region.
Someone personally entrusted by her to guide interns... The Middle-aged Man's gaze toward Ariel changed completely.
The lingering wariness from before vanished within a single second.
He released his grip on his daughter's hand, and even squeezed out a formal, friendly smile, proactively extending his hand toward Ariel.
"So you're a friend of Gym Leader Roxanne. My apologies for the disrespect."
This rapid change in attitude caused even Ariel's heart to stir slightly.
Expressionless, he reached out and shook the man's hand.
The man's palm was broad and powerful, with thin calluses from years of training.
"I'm Sen, from the League's Inspection Department." The man introduced himself briefly, then pointed to Misato beside him. "This is my daughter, Misato. Thank you for looking after her before."
"Ariel."
Ariel uttered those two words and withdrew his hand.
Inspection Department?
He muttered to himself.
The League had many departments; this Investigation Department sounded like it specialized in handling various troubles.
Sen didn't seem to mind Ariel's coldness; instead, he became a bit more enthusiastic. He stepped aside, revealing the three subordinates behind him.
"These are my colleagues."
The three Trainers, who had been indifferent, now nodded slightly toward Ariel, their eyes showing more respect.
Though still taciturn, the aura of keeping people at a distance had clearly softened significantly.
Is this what they call networking?
Ariel thought to himself.
A single name could make a group of fully armed League personnel drop all their guard.
This world is quite interesting sometimes.
"Teacher Ariel, where is your Sandile?" Misato poked her head out curiously, looking around. "Has it become even stronger?"
"It has already evolved into a Krokorok. It's resting right now," Ariel said succinctly.
"Oh, I see."
Seeing how familiar his daughter was with Ariel, the smile on Sen's face became more genuine. He asked seemingly casually, "Little brother Ariel, did you come to Meteor Falls alone for training as well? It's not peaceful deep inside here."
Here it comes.
Ariel knew that even though the man had lowered his guard, the inevitable questioning would still follow.
"Yeah, looking for something," he replied offhandedly.
"Looking for something?" Sen's eyes flickered slightly. His professional sensitivity made him follow up immediately, "I wonder what you're looking for? Perhaps we can help. To be honest, we're here on official business this time."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the messy grotto that had recently been cleared, and his voice deepened.
"We are investigating a violent incident that occurred here recently. There are signs of rock collapse at the scene. Based on the analysis of residual energy, an extremely intense Pokémon battle took place here."
Sen's voice echoed in the empty grotto, carrying the serious tone characteristic of officials.
As he spoke, he pointed to a corner of the grotto buried under rubble, his expression heavy, as if he were truly troubled by some difficult case.
Ariel followed the direction of his finger, his gaze calm, but his heart was in turmoil.
Residual energy?
Rock collapse?
This rhetoric might work on ordinary people.
But to Ariel, who had experienced it firsthand, it was simply a joke.
The battle with that man and woman had indeed been intense.
But after the battle, Ariel had immediately ordered Sandile to use Stomping Tantrum to destroy the scene.
Never mind residual energy; even the physical traces were a complete mess.
With so much time having passed, the moisture in the cave and its naturally chaotic magnetic field had long since washed everything clean.
It couldn't be helped; after all, the people who died were just ordinary Trainers with no special status. In the wild, Trainer casualties were normal, and the so-called investigation was just going through the motions.
The scene here had long been cleaned up by League personnel whose investigation had yielded no results.
And now this group of people shows up—since when has the League been so diligent in its work?
Ariel understood everything perfectly, but he remained impassive, even cooperating by showing a hint of curiosity.
Seeing that Ariel didn't doubt him, Sen felt slightly relieved. He waved his hand with feigned regret. "Unfortunately, this place was destroyed by a sudden rock collapse. Many clues have been cut off, making it difficult for us to continue the investigation."
He spoke seamlessly with a sorrowful expression, the very picture of a League official worried about public affairs.
Ariel nodded thoughtfully. "So that's how it is."
He knew in his heart that this League official was lying.
If it were someone else, they might have believed his nonsense.
But Ariel himself was the one involved.
This rhetoric was nothing more than finding a high-sounding excuse for himself.
However, Ariel could understand. As a League official, what he was doing might be confidential and couldn't be casually told to a stranger.
Seeing Ariel and Sen chatting "animatedly," the three Trainers acting as guards also completely dropped their final guard.
However, just as the atmosphere was becoming more harmonious, a crisp and innocent voice was like a small pebble thrown into a calm lake.
"Dad?"
Misato looked up, scratching her head in confusion.
"Didn't you say you were taking me out today to catch a Pokémon for me?"
"How did it turn into investigating things?"
The little girl looked innocent, her eyes filled with great confusion.
As soon as those words were spoken, the air instantly froze.
A drop of water fell from a stalactite with a "drip," sounding startlingly loud in the deathly silence.
The expression on Sen's face was a sight to behold.
The official dignity and sorrow he had just been maintaining collapsed instantly, shattering into pieces.
Awkwardness, astonishment, and a hint of embarrassment from being exposed by his own daughter in public flashed across his face one by one.
This exposure caught him simply off guard.
Sen opened his mouth, momentarily speechless. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't say a word.
Some things everyone understands tacitly; as long as no one speaks of them, a superficial harmony can be maintained.
But once it's exposed so nakedly, it feels quite uncomfortable.
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