Chapter 89: The Student Surpasses the Master (100 Stones Extra - 2/2)
The countdown on the light screen reached zero.
The System’s notification tone sounded.
[Ding!]
[Parallel-World Celebrity Series, Episode Two—Master of Time and Space: Tiana—Stage Two begins!]
The light screen illuminated once more.
A familiar training ground appeared in the video.
Tiana lay facedown on the ground with her arms and legs spread out, one cheek pressed against the floor and her eyes half closed.
Gabite lay beside her in precisely the same position—belly flat against the ground, hind legs stretched straight behind it, tail lying limply on the floor, tongue hanging from the corner of its mouth, and eyes completely vacant.
The girl and her Dragon type resembled two dried-up salted fish.
Cynthia’s voice came from outside the frame.
"Tiana, what are you doing?"
"I just helped Gabite practice three sets of Slash movements," Tiana replied righteously. "It’s tired, and so am I."
Cynthia remained silent for two seconds.
"I’m asking why you’re lying on the ground."
"Daddy said training requires a proper balance between work and rest. We can’t excessively drain a Pokémon’s stamina."
"I can understand why Gabite is lying down. Why do you need to copy it?"
"Daddy said Trainers must share both happiness and hardship with their Pokémon. If Gabite lies down, I lie down too. That’s what sharing hardship means."
Cynthia stared at her daughter and Gabite sprawled across the ground and took two deep breaths.
"Tiana."
"Mm?"
"What else has your father taught you?"
Tiana lifted her face from the ground and thought seriously.
"Lots of things. For example, ’When Mommy catches you, admit your mistake first and make sure your attitude is sincere.’ He also said, ’When Mommy gets angry, don’t mention Daddy.’"
Cynthia felt another headache beginning to form.
"Did he teach you all of that?"
"Mm. Daddy said it."
Tiana blinked her mismatched eyes.
"He also said that if Mommy discovers something the two of us did together, I should apologize first while he finds somewhere to hide."
"Where is he now?"
"Daddy said I’m not allowed to tell you."
Tiana pressed her face against the ground again.
"He said that if Mommy asked that question, I should say I didn’t know."
On the path beside the training ground, Asher leisurely approached while carrying a plastic bag.
When he reached the training ground, he spotted Cynthia standing at the edge of the field from a distance, with Tiana and Gabite lying on the ground.
His footsteps paused.
Then he turned around and began walking away.
Unfortunately, the ice-cream containers inside the plastic bag shifted and made a faint clattering sound.
Cynthia turned her head, her gaze accurately locking onto Asher as he attempted to retreat.
"Honey~"
Asher froze in place.
His expression rapidly transformed into an exceptionally natural smile.
"Darling, what a coincidence. You’re here too. You must have worked hard today. I brought ice cream for everyone."
Tiana’s eyes immediately lit up when she saw the ice-cream containers.
"Daddy! Ice cream!"
"You go and stand over there first."
Asher placed a hand on Tiana’s head before turning toward Cynthia.
"Darling, let me explain."
"Go ahead. I’m listening."
"Everything Tiana just told you was indeed taught by me."
Cynthia took a deep breath.
"You’re surprisingly honest. Does that mean you knew about everything Tiana did at the League and deliberately allowed it?"
"Let me correct you. I didn’t merely allow it."
Asher paused.
"I encouraged it."
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Encouraged her!!! He said he encouraged her!!!"
"Asher: I’m done pretending. I’ll lay all my cards on the table."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Wallace]: Good grief! He isn’t even trying to act innocent anymore!
[Steven]: Brother Asher is forthright! He takes responsibility for his actions! A true man!
[Elesa]: I suddenly feel that our previous judgment of Asher was far too conservative. We thought he was the mastermind hiding behind everything, but apparently he never intended to remain behind the scenes.
[Lucian]: Looking at it this way, I’m not surprised in the slightest that he raised Tiana to behave like this.
[Cynthia]: ...
[Diantha]: Cynthia, what’s wrong?
[Cynthia]: I’m imagining how my parallel-world counterpart must have felt while standing beside that training ground.
[Diantha]: You’ve placed yourself in her position rather quickly. Tell us, then. How would you feel?
[Cynthia]: I would want to hit someone, but I wouldn’t know which one to hit first.
[Professor Carolina]: Asher, obviously. Tiana is still young and can be taught gradually. Asher is a habitual offender, so he must be dealt with first.
[Cynthia]: Mm... All right. Understood.
[Diantha]: Hahaha! Cynthia actually took that advice seriously!
The video continued playing.
Asher cleared his throat several times.
"Darling, don’t become agitated yet. I can actually explain."
"Explain? You encouraged Tiana to demolish the League headquarters. What could you possibly have left to explain?"
"I was cultivating Tiana’s ability to adapt to unexpected situations."
Asher’s expression remained perfectly composed.
"Think about it, darling. Tiana can’t depend on the two of us for her entire life. We need to familiarize her with adapting to complicated environments from an early age."
Cynthia crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"So the League headquarters is a complicated environment?"
"Of course."
Asher rubbed Tiana’s head.
"The Sinnoh League is guarded by the Elite Four, possesses strict security and complex terrain, and contains a large number of employees who serve as distracting variables. In such a high-pressure environment, Tiana can thoroughly train both her tactical thinking and her ability to respond to unexpected situations."
Cynthia remained silent for three seconds before turning toward Tiana.
"Is this how your father usually teaches you?"
Tiana nodded seriously.
"Daddy said everything we do needs theoretical support. That way, when Mommy catches us, we can at least argue for a few extra minutes."
Cynthia looked back at Asher.
The smile on Asher’s face stiffened.
"...Tiana, you don’t need to learn that particular lesson."
Tiana searched through the bag in Asher’s hand and pulled out some ice cream.
"Daddy, can I eat this now?"
"...Go ahead. Just stop talking for a while."
"Okay."
Under the force of his wife’s murderous stare, Asher barely managed to squeeze out another smile.
"Darling, look at it this way. All the uncles and aunties at the League are willing to accompany Tiana as she grows. Isn’t that wonderful? Why do you need to interfere?"
Tiana nodded vigorously beside him.
"Uncle Lucian is especially nice! He gives me candy every time I visit."
"If he refused, would the two of you seal off his office?" Cynthia asked with a sigh.
[Regular-Seat Chat Group]
"Tiana sold out her father so smoothly. She didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty."
"Tiana: Daddy taught me that when danger appears, you sell out your teammates first."
"Asher taught Tiana how to betray other people. Tiana taught herself how to betray her father."
"The student has truly surpassed the master."
[VIP Chat Group]
[Flint]: Seeing Asher suffer at Tiana’s hands has somehow brought me a small amount of comfort.
[Lucian]: I feel the same way.
[Aaron]: +1
[Gary]: Good grief. Has Asher gained three more haters?
[Flint]: No. This is solidarity between victims.
...
TL: Here’s the extra Chapters, happy? Now get lost! Also, Mommy Cynthia should’ve at least hit him once—or if you don’t know who to hit, I can volunteer to take the hit, cough cough. Since Asher’s like my brother, I’m willing to take his punishment instead, no other reason fr, no cap, ong bro.