Chapter 41: Asher: My Name Is Rehsa~
[Ding! Stage Three has concluded.]
[Intermission duration: Twenty-four hours.]
[A new round of random questions will begin after the intermission.]
[All viewers, please prepare yourselves.]
[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: Another intermission! Every time the broadcast pauses, the waiting is unbearable!
[Gary]: How many times have you endured it already? You should be used to it by now.
[Bill]: Twenty-four hours... I’m going to use this time to dig up every document I can find about the People of the Sea God.
[Professor Oak]: Do you have any relevant documents over there, Bill?
[Bill]: Not many, but I can search for them. If that fails, I’ll simply start researching the subject myself!
[Professor Oak]: ...
[Professor Sycamore]: Bill’s mental condition genuinely may require some attention.
[Professor Kukui]: Agreed. I suggest arranging an online counseling session for him during the intermission.
[Bill]: I don’t need counseling! I need data!
[May]: So there’ll be another round of questions afterward? What will they ask this time?
[Max]: Judging by the previous pattern, it should relate to the events shown during Stage Three.
[Dawn]: But Stage Three covered so much—the Vermilion Gym battle, Lapras being poisoned, the exploration of Pokémon Tower, the ancient book, the elderly Gastly... The potential range of questions is enormous!
[Piplup]: Piplup, Piplup!
[Cynthia]: Returning to the subject, what kind of question do you think we’ll receive this time?
[Lance]: The first question asked about Squirtle’s Nature, while the second concerned the purpose of a Prism Scale. They were completely different types of questions.
[Diantha]: In other words, the question type is random? There’s no discernible pattern?
[Wallace]: Regardless, every question has been related to the footage. At worst, we can simply refrain from answering immediately.
[Misty]: ...Can’t it just begin the next stage now? I don’t want to spend another twenty-four hours worrying.
[Daisy]: It appears Lavender Town truly had quite an impact on Misty.
[Violet]: This must be the automatic reflex of a mother.
[Lily]: Apparently, it activates even when the child isn’t technically yours.
[Misty]: Raina is my daughter! The parallel-world version of me is still me! Does anyone have a problem with that?!
[Daisy]: No problem at all.
[Violet]: Absolutely none.
[Lily]: She finally admitted it. Screenshot saved for posterity.
[Misty]: You three!
......
Outside a luxurious hotel on Melemele Island in the Alola region...
"Hehe, not bad. I managed to stay hidden through another stage~"
Asher closed the screen floating before him and prepared to enjoy half a day of vacation. After all, the next stage would not begin for another twenty-four hours.
More importantly, his strategy of playing dead had worked perfectly so far. Nobody knew he existed.
Life was wonderful~
With that thought, Asher put on a pair of sunglasses and a gaudy vacation shirt before leisurely walking out of his hotel room.
Steven stood in front of a display case in the hotel lobby.
He had originally come to Alola on business. The Devon Corporation was conducting a mineral exploration project in the region, and he had stopped by to attend a meeting.
After the meeting ended, he allowed his colleagues to leave first while he returned to the hotel they had reserved to rest.
Several local volcanic-rock specimens were displayed inside the lobby’s exhibition case, with labels identifying their collection sites and dates.
Steven walked over and bent down for a closer look.
Embedded within one of the volcanic rocks was a small dark-blue stone. Its surface was rough, but a faint sheen glimmered along its edges.
"Hmm... Alola’s geological layers truly are unique. This doesn’t resemble a mineral normally found alongside volcanic rock..."
He frowned and took a photograph with his phone.
Just as he straightened up, something on the opposite side of the lobby entered the edge of his vision.
A black-haired young man was emerging from the elevators.
He wore casual beach shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, with one hand tucked into his pocket and a bottle of coconut water in the other.
Sunglasses covered his eyes, and his expression was exceedingly relaxed.
Steven nearly dropped his phone.
Despite the sunglasses, that face looked almost exactly like Asher—the man whom everyone suspected was the hidden protagonist, yet whose existence could not be confirmed, leading them to conclude that he was a variable unique to the parallel world.
Asher.
He was here?
In Alola?
Steven remained where he stood as three thoughts rapidly crossed his mind.
First, this man truly existed in their world.
Second, he had undoubtedly watched the broadcast.
Third, the bottle of coconut water in his hand was complimentary. This hotel only provided free coconut water in its lobby and restaurant, which meant he was staying either on this floor or somewhere above it.
Asher did not seem to notice him.
Still biting down on the straw, he leisurely walked toward the hotel entrance, apparently intending to continue sunbathing on the beach.
"Excuse me, sir. Could you wait a moment?"
Asher looked over in surprise.
The approaching man wore an impeccably tailored silver-gray suit, with an exquisite obsidian tie pin fastened to his tie. He looked like a model who had just stepped off the cover of a fashion magazine.
It was none other than the Hoenn Champion, Steven Stone!
This is bad. What the hell is he doing in Alola?
"Hello."
Steven politely extended his hand.
"My name is Steven. May I ask whether you live nearby?"
"No."
Asher cut him off without expression.
"Then you are...?"
"A tourist."
Asher turned and walked away.
He moved quickly, but he did not run.
Running would expose him.
However, as a stone collector, Steven possessed an eye for detail far beyond that of an ordinary person.
For a brief instant, he was almost certain he had seen something beneath those sunglasses.
"Excuse me, sir. Please wait."
Steven hurried after him.
"I feel as though we may have met somewhere before."
Without looking back, Asher replied, "We haven’t. You mistook me for someone else."
"Your face looks remarkably familiar..."
"I have a common face."
"Then your voice..."
"Ahem... I have a slight cold..."
Steven quickened his pace and directly stepped in front of Asher.
"You’re Asher!"
Asher adjusted his sunglasses.
"You have the wrong person. I’m merely an ordinary tourist on vacation."
Steven crossed his arms.
"That won’t work. I saw your eyes just now. There aren’t many people with black hair and golden eyes. Furthermore, your build matches his perfectly."
Asher cursed inwardly.
Unbelievable. I dressed as much like a background NPC as possible, and he still recognized me. I should never have left my room today.
Steven’s expression clearly said, Let’s see what excuse you invent now.
"Fine. You claim you aren’t Asher. Then what is your name?"
Asher remained silent for a moment.
"...Rehsa"
The corner of Steven’s mouth twitched.
"Are you serious?"
"Doesn’t it suit me?"
The atmosphere became painfully awkward.
Steven stared at the man before him who claimed to be named "Rehsa," his thoughts racing at high speed.
He was one hundred percent certain that this man was Asher.
However, if Asher refused to admit it, forcibly exposing him would only cause him to escape.
Rather than recognize him immediately and allow him to slip away, it would be better to calm him down first. At the very least, Steven needed to discover why he existed in this world and why he had been hiding all this time.
"Very well."
Steven took a deep breath, adjusted his expression, and revealed a polished smile.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rehsa."
"I represent the Devon Corporation and have come to Alola to survey its mineral resources."
Steven took a business card from his pocket and offered it with both hands.
"I would very much like to become acquainted with you and have a proper conversation. I trust that Mr. Rehsa would be willing to grant me that courtesy?"
Asher lowered his gaze toward the business card, then looked back at Steven’s face.
...It seems I’m not getting rid of this guy.
He accepted the card.
"Fine. I’ll play along."