Chapter 128: It’s Been So Long Since I Felt This
[VIP Chat Group]
[Ash]: The next video won’t be released for another seven days, and Pikachu won’t train with me anymore. How am I supposed to survive until then?
[Gary]: Aren’t you supposed to be leaving for Unova? It’s been almost half a month. Why haven’t you set off yet?
[Ash]: Oh, right! Okay, Pikachu, let’s leave right now!
[Steven]: Sigh. The video is over, and Brother Asher probably won’t have time for me either. I’ll have to endure another stretch of unbearable boredom.
[Wallace]: If you’re genuinely that bored, come back to the League and help with the work. Do you have any idea how long those documents have been piling up in your office?
[Steven]: How could processing documents possibly be as interesting as digging for stones? Although, ever since I began watching the videos about Brother Asher, I don’t think I’ve gone mining in quite some time.
[Lance]: Speaking of Asher, both the first and second episodes focused on his daughters. It’s difficult to dismiss that as a coincidence. Could the third episode also be connected to him?
[Gary]: Surely not. Three consecutive episodes involving him would be far too ridiculous.
[Lorelei]: More importantly, how significant is Raina’s and Tiana’s Worldline Access? Surely they won’t be able to achieve everything they accomplished in their original world here as well.
[Bruno]: In that case, I think we should start packing our belongings and preparing to surrender our positions in advance.
[Diantha]: Who can say? In any case, none of this will happen until the future.
[Lance]: ...
In the real world, Cerulean City Gym
Cynthia jumped down from Garchomp’s back.
She first straightened her golden hair, which had been disheveled by the wind, before walking forward and pressing the doorbell.
The bell rang twice.
The door opened.
Three young women stood on the other side.
"Oh my," Daisy spoke first. "Isn’t this Miss Cynthia?"
"What brings you to our home?" Violet asked with a cheerful smile.
"You wouldn’t happen to be looking for our brother-in-law, would you?" Lily blinked innocently.
Cynthia opened her mouth.
"I came to see Asher..."
"Oh—"
The three sisters responded in unison, deliberately drawing out the sound.
"Come inside! We can talk in here!"
Daisy grabbed Cynthia by the wrist and pulled her through the doorway.
"It’s windy outside. It wouldn’t be right to leave you standing at the entrance!"
"Um..."
Cynthia sat on the sofa with a slightly bewildered expression.
"May I ask who the three of you are?"
"We’re the Three Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City!"
Daisy sat across from her and crossed one leg over the other.
"I’m the eldest sister, Daisy. This is our second sister, Violet, and our third sister, Lily."
"The three of us came to watch the dra—"
Before Violet could finish, Lily covered her mouth.
"We came to visit," Daisy corrected without the slightest change in expression.
"Exactly. We’re purely here for an ordinary visit," Lily added.
"I see. It’s nice to meet you..."
Cynthia nodded politely.
"May I ask where Asher is?"
The moment she finished speaking, footsteps came from the hallway on the other side of the living room.
Cynthia turned her head and saw the figure she had missed throughout her entire journey.
The next instant, she sprang to her feet and ran toward Asher.
She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and buried her face against his chest.
With the warm, soft beauty nestled in his arms, Asher gently embraced Cynthia and felt the warmth of her body and her delicate fragrance.
It had been far too long since he had experienced this feeling.
Damn... It was every bit as satisfying as he remembered!
"I’m here," Cynthia murmured against his chest, her voice slightly muffled.
"Mm."
Asher lowered his head and rested his chin atop hers.
"It was a long journey. You must be tired."
Misty stood beside them and tilted her head as she watched for two seconds.
Then she lightly cleared her throat.
Only then did Cynthia release her arms from around Asher’s waist.
She moved slowly, with the obvious reluctance of someone forcing herself to leave a warm bed on a cold winter morning.
"You must be Misty."
Cynthia straightened and faced her.
"It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please forgive my discourtesy."
"We’re going to be family from now on, so there’s no need to be so formal."
Misty nodded.
She had already come to terms with the situation.
She didn’t possess the ability to drive Cynthia away in the first place. After carefully considering everything, she had concluded that acceptance would produce the best outcome, so she had decided to embrace it calmly.
Cynthia’s thoughts were much the same as Misty’s.
She understood perfectly how receiving those memories felt. If she were forced to separate from Asher now, she wouldn’t be able to accept it either.
Therefore, she didn’t intend to demand anything else.
Being able to remain beside Asher was enough.
"Why is this nothing like what we expected?" Violet whispered, nudging Lily.
"It looks like there won’t be any drama to watch."
Lily appeared equally disappointed.
Misty looked helplessly at her three sisters.
Whenever she asked them to return and help at the Gym, they always invented countless excuses to stay away. Yet the moment there was drama to watch, they had all returned with remarkable enthusiasm.
Asher smiled before speaking.
"All right, dinner is ready. Why don’t we eat first?"
With everyone helping, the dining table was soon completely covered with food.
There was Sitrus Berry–braised meat, salt-baked king crab legs, lobster baked with cheese, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and many other dishes Cynthia didn’t recognize.
Cynthia picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and placed it in her mouth.
After chewing for a moment, she nodded.
"Mm. It tastes exactly as I remember."
Asher smiled.
"Of course. I prepared everything according to your preferences."
Upon hearing him say that, the tips of Cynthia’s ears quickly turned red again.
Daisy, Violet, and Lily immediately looked toward Misty.
To their surprise, Misty didn’t react at all. She merely kept her head lowered and concentrated on eating.
With no drama left to watch, the three sisters could only lower their heads and begin eating as well.
[VIP Chat Group]
[Iris]: This is so boring. Does anyone have a way to pass the time?
[Bianca]: Without the videos to watch, it feels as though life has lost a great deal of its entertainment.
[Steven]: It’s unfortunate that I can’t disturb Brother Asher. Otherwise, I’d genuinely like to go and join the excitement.
[Wallace]: I think you merely want to pour oil onto the fire.
[Daisy]: There really isn’t anything unusual happening. We’re simply having a normal meal.
[Daisy]: Sent a video.
[Wallace]: Good grief. I’ve barely seen any of these dishes before. Did Asher prepare all of them?
[Dawn]: You’re right! They look delicious!
[Steven]: @Asher, this isn’t very brotherly of you. How could you hide such impressive cooking skills from me?
[Professor Carolina]: Mm-hmm. My grandson-in-law’s cooking certainly looks impressive. By the way, @Cynthia, when are the two of you going to have Tiana? If neither of you has time to raise her, Grandma can do it!
[Cynthia]: Grandma! Please don’t say things like that in the chat group!