Chapter 195: The Green Dragon
[VIP Chat Group]
[Steven]: That stone’s luster! Those facets! I can recognize it even through the screen—that was one of the pieces I’d treasured for the longest time! And she just gave it away like that?!
[Wallace]: Your parallel-world daughter appears, and your first reaction is still to look at the rock? I genuinely don’t know what to say to you anymore.
[Leon]: Steven’s priorities are never where a normal person’s would be.
[Glacia]: Ruri looks so adorable! And she even knew to bring a gift the first time she visited someone else’s home. What a well-behaved child!
[Raihan]: Maybe her dad is so unreliable that she was forced to mature early.
[Steven]: Hey, hey, hey! How am I unreliable?! I’m the Hoenn Champion! And the heir to Devon Corporation!!
[Mr. Stone]: So you do remember that you’re supposed to be the heir to Devon Corporation?
[Steven]: ...Dad, how do you have time to mess around in the chat too?
[Mr. Stone]: Let me ask you something, Steven. How much of your work as Hoenn Champion have you actually done? And how much of Devon Corporation’s business have you ever handled?
[Mr. Stone]: The last time I sent you to negotiate a business deal, you spent three days and nights digging for stones instead. Your secretary had to write the report for you.
[Steven]: ...
[Wallace]: Well said, Mr. Stone.
[Asher]: Mr. Stone is absolutely right.
[Mr. Stone]: At this point, rather than hoping you’ll eventually come back to work at the company, I’d be better off simply training the next generation.
[Mr. Stone]: Ruri already looks sharper than you did at her age. If I really had a granddaughter like her, I’d hand Devon Corporation to her instead of you.
[Steven]: Wait, wait, wait! Dad! Then what about me?!
[Mr. Stone]: You? Don’t you want to dig for rocks? I’ll give the company to my granddaughter, and then you can go dig wherever you want. I promise I won’t interfere.
[Steven]: Dad, are you serious?! Who skips the heir and passes the company straight to the next generation?!
[Mr. Stone]: Did I ever say you were the heir? I only said you were my son. I never promised I had to give the company to you.
[Wallace]: Mr. Stone’s speech is undoubtedly this year’s greatest display of fatherly love and filial devotion.
[Asher]: Steven, how do you feel right now? Come on. Tell us how you feel~
[Leon]: I can’t hold it in anymore. Usually Steven is the one constantly rubbing things in Asher’s face, and now Asher has finally found his chance to strike back.
[Steven]: Stop talking! My emotions are very complicated right now!
[Wallace]: What’s complicated about it? Aren’t rocks the only things you care about anyway? Give the company to your daughter, and you’ll be free to focus entirely on mining.
[Wallace]: Isn’t that a win-win?
[Steven]: Theoretically, yes...
[Steven]: So why do I still feel like something is wrong here?
The video continued playing.
World League Headquarters, Chairman’s Office.
Asher sat behind his desk, working through the pile of documents that had accumulated in front of him.
"Chairman."
The secretary opened the door, wearing a rather peculiar expression.
"Someone outside would like to see you."
"Who?"
"She says her name is Lusamine, President of the Aether Foundation."
Asher raised an eyebrow.
"Let her in."
When Lusamine entered the office, a textbook social smile adorned her face.
However, the urgency in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"Chairman Asher."
She sat across from his desk, pulled a document from her briefcase, and handed it to him.
"The Aether Foundation would like to apply for research concerning Ultra Beasts to be included under the League’s special research grants."
Asher accepted the document and skimmed through it.
"Research into Ultra Beasts."
He placed the document on the desk.
"To put it simply—you want money?"
"You could say that."
Lusamine made no attempt to deny it.
"How much?"
"Our preliminary budget is eight billion in League currency."
Asher leaned back in his chair, his tone calm.
"President Lusamine, are you aware of the League’s financial situation this year?"
"You’re asking me for eight billion to study a group of Ultra Beasts whose whereabouts aren’t even known."
"That’s going to be rather difficult for me to explain to the finance department."
Lusamine seemed to have anticipated that answer long ago.
She pulled another document from her briefcase, placed it on the desk, and pushed it toward him.
"Then consider the eight billion a loan from the League to the Foundation."
"Once this agreement takes effect, any tax revenue exceeding the agreed threshold will be prioritized toward repayment of the loan."
"It will be repaid in full within three years."
"Chairman, would those terms be acceptable?"
Asher stared at her for several seconds.
"President Lusamine."
He slowly spoke.
"Have you ever considered coming to work for the League as a financial advisor?"
"Not interested."
Lusamine stood and returned the documents to her briefcase.
"The Foundation already keeps me busy enough."
"I’ll leave this draft agreement with you to review at your leisure. I’ll wait for your answer in three days."
She reached the door.
Then she suddenly stopped.
Without turning around, she added—
"Oh, and Chairman. I hear your daughter is nearly old enough to begin school?"
"Mm."
"I have a daughter as well. Her name is Lillie."
"If your daughter ever wants to visit Alola in the future, my daughter would be happy to keep her company."
The door closed.
Asher stared at the closed door in silence for a moment.
In the end—
He placed a checkmark beside the funding request.
[VIP Chat Group]
[Leon]: Eight billion?! She opened with eight billion?! Why doesn’t she just rob them?!
[Wallace]: The Aether Foundation is the largest financial organization in the Alola region. Strictly speaking, eight billion probably isn’t that outrageous for them.
[Wallace]: But judging from the way Lusamine approached Asher, I’d say the money clearly wasn’t her only objective.
[Steven]: Wasn’t the important part that final sentence? She wants to use her daughter to build a better relationship with Brother Asher?
[Gladion]: Mother...
[Lusamine]: Hehe. I couldn’t possibly know what the parallel-world version of me was thinking.
[Elesa]: Speaking of Lusamine’s daughter, I met her once when I went to the Aether Foundation for a charity event. She really is a very adorable girl~
[Mallow]: Looking at it this way, couldn’t Lillie become friends with Elaria?
[Mallow]: What a wonderful opportunity! Elaria is so cute. I’m sure Lillie would get along wonderfully with her!
[Lillie]: W-well... um...
[Lana]: Lillie is already pretty shy. If you expect her to take the initiative and make a new friend, she’d probably need three days just to mentally prepare herself.
[Lillie]: Lana! You don’t have to tell everyone something like that!
The video continued playing.
Elaria was already old enough to run all over the house.
At that moment, she was sitting on the living room floor with an enormous sketchbook spread open in front of her.
A crayon was clutched in one hand as she drew a crooked green circle on the paper.
"Elaria, what are you drawing?"
Diantha walked over carrying two cups of cocoa.
"A dragon."
Elaria didn’t even raise her head.
Diantha carefully examined the picture.
The green ball had two eyes that were completely different sizes, while the horns on top of its head had been drawn like a pair of antennae.
No matter how she looked at it—
It had almost nothing whatsoever to do with a dragon.
"What kind of dragon is this?"
The corner of Diantha’s mouth twitched.
"A Green Dragon."
Elaria put down her crayon and answered with complete seriousness.
"There’s no dragon like that in the world."
"There is! There is!"
Elaria raised her hand excitedly.
"Daddy told me about it!"
Then her hand slowly lowered again, her expression becoming disappointed.
"But Daddy only told me stories about it. I’ve never seen it with my own eyes, so I can’t draw it properly at all."
"That’s okay. Having a good imagination is wonderful too."
Diantha gently stroked Elaria’s head.
"Mommy has never seen a Green Dragon either. Maybe Daddy was just teasing you?"
"No, no!"
Hoopa suddenly flew out through the golden ring and began circling Elaria.
"Hoopa knows!"
"If Elaria wants to see it, Hoopa can take Elaria to see the Green Dragon!"
Elaria’s eyes immediately lit up.
She threw both little hands into the air.
"Elaria wants to go!"