Chapter 123: That’s What You Get for Being the Elite Four’s Overtime Expert (Membership Extra - )
[Ding! The intermission has ended. The livestream will now continue.]
[Ding! Parallel-World Celebrity Series, Episode Two—"Master of Time and Space: Tiana"—Stage Four begins!]
The instant the screen lit up again, the VIP chat burst into activity.
[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: It’s finally here! I was about to die of boredom!
[Gary]: Weren’t you training with Pikachu? How could you be bored?
[Ash]: Don’t even mention it! Pikachu shocks me every time it sees me now. It won’t train at all!
[Pikachu]: Pika! (Value your life—stay away from Ash!)
[Iris]: Hurry, hurry, hurry! I can’t wait! @Screen
The video began playing.
Sinnoh League headquarters, Champion’s office.
Tiana sat in the office chair, her legs dangling over the edge and swinging back and forth.
Three towering stacks of documents stood before her, each nearly half as tall as she was. Garchomp lay beside her feet, its tail repeatedly thumping against the floor. It had returned to its usual vacant expression, with its eyes half closed.
"Garchomp, how does Mommy normally finish all of this?"
Tiana propped her cheek on one hand, her elbow resting on the desk.
"I’ve only been sitting here for one morning, and I already want to destroy this desk with Draco Meteor."
Just then, the secretary opened the door and entered with yet another stack of documents.
"Champion Tiana, this is your schedule for the afternoon."
Tiana accepted the schedule and glanced over it.
Her little face immediately fell.
"Documents all morning, a meeting at two to discuss Mount Coronet’s restoration plan, a report from the supply-allocation department at four, a remote conference with the Champion Council at six... and I still have to approve the financial budget tonight?!"
"Yes."
The secretary adjusted her glasses.
"This is already the simplified version. Champion Cynthia’s schedule was even more demanding while she held office."
Tiana slapped the schedule onto the desk and collapsed against the back of her chair.
"I finally understand why Mommy always forgot to eat."
Suddenly, her eyes rolled thoughtfully.
Then she abruptly stood.
"No, I need to ask Mommy for advice! At this rate, I won’t have any time left to train!"
Tiana picked up the telephone on the desk and called Cynthia.
It rang five times.
No one answered.
Tiana put the receiver down and turned toward Garchomp.
"There’s no other choice. We’ll go find her ourselves."
Garchomp raised its head and released a low growl.
The secretary hurried after Tiana for several steps.
"Champion Tiana, what about this afternoon’s meeting—"
"Have Uncle Lucian hold it for me!"
Without looking back, Tiana ran out of the office.
[VIP Chat Group]
[Lucian]: Wait. What does she mean by having me hold it for her?
[Flint]: Hahahaha! It’s Lucian again!
[Lucian]: ...
[Aaron]: That’s what you get for being the best at running meetings among the Elite Four.
[Bertha]: The capable must shoulder more responsibility.
[Lucian]: I would rather sleep on the desk in Flint’s office.
[Lillie]: So this is what a Champion’s daily life is like. I thought it mostly involved Pokémon battles.
[Alder]: A Champion’s responsibilities are far more complicated than an ordinary Trainer’s. They must oversee the entire region’s supplies, public safety, and Gym inspections.
[Iris]: When you put it that way, Tiana really is amazing. She’s only ten, but she already has to manage so many things.
[Diantha]: She also inherited her mother’s method of dealing with work—running away from it.
[Cynthia]: ...
The video continued playing.
Eterna City, a café on a street corner.
Tiana sat at a table with a freshly baked slice of cheesecake and a cup of hot cocoa in front of her.
"Now this is what I call living."
She cut off a small piece of cheesecake with her fork and placed it in her mouth.
"Anyone who wants to deal with those documents can deal with them."
The moment she finished speaking, a hand reached out from behind her and precisely pinched her cheek.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow—!!"
With her cheek still being pinched, Tiana turned her head and immediately saw Cynthia standing behind her with a completely expressionless face.
"Mommy?! Why are you here?!"
"I was using tricks like this long before you were born."
Cynthia released Tiana’s cheek, pulled out the chair across from her, and sat down.
"Why did you run away instead of doing your work?"
Tiana held her sore cheek.
"There were too many documents! I worked all morning and only finished a third of them!"
"When I first became Champion, I handled twice as many documents as you every day."
Cynthia picked up Tiana’s cocoa and took a sip.
"And you think this is a lot?"
"You used to run away all the time too..." Tiana muttered under her breath.
"What did you say?"
"N-Nothing..."
"You’re coming back with me this afternoon."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Flint]: Hahahaha! Tiana, your day has finally come!
[Aaron]: How long have you been holding that in?
[Flint]: A gentleman can wait ten years to take his revenge!
[Aaron]: But Tiana doesn’t exist in our world, and she hasn’t done anything to you. What exactly are you avenging?
[Flint]: I know! Watching the Tiana in the video get disciplined by Cynthia just feels strangely satisfying! Hahahaha!
[Bertha]: Sigh. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Tiana really existed in our world?~
[Professor Carolina]: @Cynthia, exactly! Put some effort into it!
[Cynthia]: ...
The video continued playing.
Sinnoh League headquarters, Champion’s office.
Tiana finally finished the last document.
She tossed her pen onto the desk and collapsed face-first across it.
"Mommy, I’m finished."
Cynthia checked the time.
"Five hours. Not bad. You were almost twice as fast as you were on your first day."
"Then we can go train now!"
Tiana sprang out of her chair, grabbed Cynthia’s hand, and began pulling her toward the door.
"Come on! Let’s go to the League’s training grounds!"
Cynthia allowed herself to be pulled upright, the corners of her mouth rising slightly.
"Aren’t you tired?"
"No!"
Tiana vigorously shook her head.
"I was tired while handling the documents, but once I remembered that I could train afterward, I stopped feeling tired!"
Garchomp climbed up from the floor, yawned, and followed behind Tiana.
When they reached the elevator, they ran into Lucian just as he stepped out.
Lucian adjusted his glasses.
"Tiana, about this afternoon’s meeting..."
"Uncle Lucian."
Tiana pressed her palms together and stared directly at him with her mismatched eyes, her voice filled with sincerity.
"I just spent five hours approving documents, so I need to restore my physical and emotional well-being. Could you please chair the meeting for me? I’ll treat you to dinner next time."
Lucian remained silent for a moment before turning toward Cynthia.
"Did she learn this technique from you?"
Cynthia folded her arms and answered flatly:
"No. She learned it from Asher."
Lucian sighed and stepped aside.
"Go. Just remember to read the meeting minutes when you return."
Tiana dragged Cynthia into the elevator and waved enthusiastically at him.
"Thank you, Uncle Lucian!"
The instant the elevator doors closed, Lucian turned toward the secretary beside him.
"From now on, prepare the notes for every Thursday-afternoon meeting in the Champion’s office ahead of time. I have a feeling this is going to happen more and more frequently."
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Lucian has already accepted his fate! He’s even having the secretary prepare the meeting notes in advance!"
"Lucian is probably more familiar with Tiana’s tricks than anyone else in the Sinnoh League—even Cynthia!"
[VIP Chat Group]
[Bertha]: You young people are always pushing the smallest amount of work onto one another. What will your subordinates think when they see you behaving this way?
[Lucian]: Didn’t you have your secretary write your report last time, Bertha?
[Bertha]: I was giving a young person an opportunity to develop their skills.
[Flint]: That’s a good excuse. I’ve learned something valuable today.
[Volkner]: You really have to respect the older generation. Even their excuses sound sophisticated.
...
TL: Thanks, Revan4Life, for the Tier 3 Patreon membership! Suk— Ahem