It was the first time Shiro's group had met Lina. None of them knew her before, much less felt any familiarity.
Besides, Nessa was their teammate. With her being a roadblock challenger, the two were clearly at odds. From some of the rumors, the conflict between them was said to be as fierce as the rivalry between Marvin and Gordie.
"Um... may I ask you a few questions?" Lina said with a bright smile. Her eyes curved into crescents, and her delicate face was brimming with energy.
Shiro picked up another slice of Wishiwashi and put it in his mouth. The fish had little taste, but its blandness suited him, perfect for passing the time.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the place had gone quiet. The diners had all stopped eating and turned their heads toward this table. Even the tall, thin waiter and the plump owner were watching.
His brow creased slightly. Following their gaze, he looked at the girl beside him. All of them were staring at Lina, as if she were their master and they her servants, waiting for an order.
She lowered her head a little, met his eyes, and leaned forward with her hands clasped behind her back as she asked, "You're Challenger Shiro, aren't you?"
"Yeah," he replied casually.
These people, these supposed locals, were probably all tied to Hulbury Gym, sent here to pose as residents.
Yet their gestures and mannerisms looked too natural, too practiced. They had to be longtime inhabitants. Then again, it made sense. Everyone who lived in this town was connected to Hulbury Gym. There was no contradiction in that.
Still, ordinary people like these, without even a few Advanced-level Pokémon, thinking they could intimidate a table full of Gym and Elite-level trainers... it was laughable.
Shae and Edgar ignored them completely, while Marvin and Allister didn't seem to care either. Only Ryen and the film crew, resting at a table in the back, looked terrified. Startled by the strange tension, they kept their heads down, shoveling food into their mouths, afraid of being caught as collateral in a fight.
Lina's smile didn't waver. She leaned closer and spoke sweetly, "Shiro~ do you know Nessa?"
"Phff!"
The sound of her voice and the way she addressed him made Marvin choke. He spat the crab meat in his mouth onto the floor, coughed twice, then glanced at Shiro.
Slapping the table and half-covering his mouth, he forced out between bursts of laughter, "Sh... Shir... Shiro, ha... hahaha..."
His laugh rang loud and careless, until Shae's cane struck his shin with a sharp crack.
"Ah!" Marvin hissed in pain, his expression vanishing in an instant as he clutched his leg, shivering.
The blow had hit bone. It hurt like hell.
Watching this, Lina's smile faded slightly. Her brows loosened a little, but her eyes hardened. In all her life, no one had dared laugh at her to her face. That Marvin was truly intolerable.
Her disgust showed plain as day.
Shiro, however, remained expressionless. He used the chance to pick up another slice of Wishiwashi and sip his Bounsweet fruit juice. Marvin had already deflected the attention. There was no need for him to play the bad guy.
Right then, Shae, impatient after striking her student, barked at Lina, "Where did this little brat come from? Get lost!"
Caught off guard, the girl froze, her planned questions dying on her lips. Then confusion flashed into anger. The three Gym Trainers behind her stepped forward, closing in on the table.
"Tch... what a bunch of blind fools." Edgar sighed and lifted his right hand.
At once, everyone in the restaurant, diners included, felt a chilling, unnatural presence, like ghosts drifting around them.
Through Shiro's faint psychic vision, a dark shadow shot up from beneath Edgar's feet as his hand rose. It darted swiftly around the place, leaking a subtle ghostly aura.
A Gengar. One with Elite-level strength.
The Pokémon finally stopped behind Lina. Her face visibly drained of color, her eyes clouded with confusion. Whatever she saw terrified her, and her body retreated on its own.
Within moments, she gasped for breath, her face twisted with fear, then bolted out of the restaurant. Her three subordinates, baffled, scrambled after her.
The other diners around them seemed to catch on. They turned their heads back to their meals and pretended nothing had happened.
"They came here for you, Shiro," Shae said coldly.
"Mm. Thank you for the help," he answered.
"It was Oleana," Edgar added, stirring a plate of hot food with his chopsticks. "She issued an announcement to every gym not long ago. The order was to obstruct you during your challenge. She must have made some kind of deal with Hulbury Gym."
Shiro nodded slowly. "Something like... if they stop me, the gyms get another chance at succession? Like Lina becoming the next Gym Leader?"
"Exactly." Edgar gave a slight nod. "By now, Macro Cosmos' gym reform plan is nearly complete, thanks in part to you. The few that remain, Ballonlea, Turffield, and the like, are only thinking about survival now. Hulbury's no exception."
"So they're ready to throw the donkey away after it's done grinding," Shiro muttered.
"Shiro!" Marvin blurted out, unable to hold back. "What exactly did you take? The company is—"
Before he could finish, Shae silenced him with a sharp glare, forcing him to swallow his words.
"I took..." Shiro paused as he met Marvin's eyes, then glanced at Allister's raised mask.
The two were curious, more than that they were puzzled.
Things had been normal at first, yet from the moment the Gym Challenge began, Macro Cosmos and many gyms had gone out of their way to target him.
They even searched Marvin twice, head to toe. Every Poké Ball was checked. Even the scales of his Frosmoth were brushed through, strand by strand. When he questioned why, they gave no answer. They only called it routine, searched, and left.
Granny Shae hadn't explained anything either. Only two days ago did Marvin finally learn that Shiro had apparently taken something, and that was why the company was hunting him down.
"I took something..." Shiro repeated under breath.
What did he take?
The Sword and Shield, and the Unown he had risked his life to obtain? And now the company wanted him to hand them over? Just because they demanded it?
What kind of logic was that?
If Oleana had asked honestly, saying she needed the relics for research for a few days, he might have considered it a bit. But to search and seize them by force?
His hands tightened slightly around his chopsticks.
No, things had gone too far already.
Facing Marvin's anxious look and Allister's blank mask, Shiro decided not to hide it any longer.
"It's the weapons of the Sword and Shield Heroes," he said flatly.
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