Hearing Cogita's fierce threat, Elias slightly curved his lips.
That expression of hers didn't look like someone capable of actually going through with such a thing.
"Going back to stay inside the diamond?"
"I suppose that's not impossible."
Elias deliberately said this.
As he spoke, his form once again faded, as though he might vanish into thin air at any moment.
Cogita gritted her teeth at the sight.
From her understanding of Elias, he was clearly doing this on purpose to threaten her.
And yet…
Seeing his gradually fading figure, her heart inexplicably panicked.
She hated admitting it, but—Elias's threat was working.
"I'll take you to see her!"
"Happy now?"
Cogita said to Elias, a clear flash of annoyance in her emerald-green eyes.
She figured it was just because she had just reunited with Elias that she was so easily rattled.
Given some time, she'd regain the authority befitting a guardian.
And then she'd torment him mercilessly!
With this thought, Cogita felt much better.
But soon, another matter crossed her mind.
"Taking you to see her… Will you leave with her afterward?"
She stared into Elias's eyes, somewhat nervously asking this.
This was the one thing she was most worried about.
With Diancie's personality, once she saw Elias awake, she'd surely want to take him away.
Yet, after finally reuniting with him, Cogita couldn't bear losing him again so easily.
At that time, Elias's attitude would be crucial.
"Let me say it first—I have no intention of living underground."
Seeing Elias about to speak, Cogita quickly interrupted him.
She wasn't some mineral Pokémon; she neither dug tunnels nor adapted well to life beneath the earth.
Living underground for a prolonged period was absolutely out of the question.
Hearing this, Elias momentarily froze, then laughed gently.
"I'll discuss that with Diancie when the time comes."
Cogita breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Elias's reassurance.
The massive stone weighing on her heart finally crashed to the ground.
It appeared her words just now—and the hundred years of painstaking care before—had indeed paid off.
Even though Elias had lost his past memories, he still chose to stay with her.
As expected, compared to that Pokémon covered in diamonds, Elias cared more about her!
With that thought, Cogita quickly returned to her usual graceful ease, lifting the corner of her lips at Elias.
"It's been a long time."
She spoke softly.
Seeing this, Elias hesitated briefly, then nodded in return.
"It's been a long time…"
...
[Cogita eventually agrees to your request, promising to take you to Diancie first thing tomorrow morning.]
[You have no objections to this.]
[In exchange, Cogita has a demand of her own.]
...
"You'll handle dinner tonight."
Arms folded, Cogita declared to Elias.
She'd been eager to do this for a long while now. Even during Elias's long sleep, she often thought about this matter.
After all, back in Hisui… all three meals each day had been prepared by him.
Considering Elias had just awakened and wasn't yet used to his current body, she'd thoughtfully left him a few hours of preparation time, requesting only dinner.
Hearing Cogita's request, Elias helplessly replied:
"I haven't really made human food before; it might not taste that great."
From what he could recall, he'd previously only cooked Pokémon food for Diancie.
"I don't mind~"
Cogita responded swiftly.
As she spoke, her lips curved slightly upward, clearly delighted.
Seeing this, Elias could only nod and agree to her request.
Fortunately… he still had plenty of time to pick up a cookbook and learn a few dishes on the fly.
...
[Using what you quickly learn, you manage to prepare several dishes just as night falls.]
[Surprisingly, despite this being your first time making human food, your techniques felt familiar, and the dishes turned out delicious.]
...
"It tastes pretty good, after all."
Cogita picked up a bite of food to taste and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.
As expected, the dishes' flavors weren't much different from the past—still as tasty as ever.
Asking him to make dinner today had truly been a wise decision.
"You used to cook for me quite often, you know."
Cogita said to Elias.
As she spoke, her agile tongue gently brushed across her lips.
Those rosy lips glistened as if coated with a layer of glaze, enticing and appetizing.
Elias involuntarily glanced twice more.
Compared to the dishes he'd made, he found Cogita significantly more appealing.
Across from him, sensing Elias's gaze, Cogita's lips curved a bit higher.
"Want a taste?"
She suddenly asked.
Hearing this, Elias jolted back to reality.
He looked at Cogita, his expression momentarily stiff.
As someone who spent most of his time asleep in a ghost form, he couldn't claim extensive life experience.
Cogita seemed to realize this as well.
After watching Elias with amused interest for a moment, she lightly waved the chopsticks in her hand, saying:
"I meant the food."
She then gently picked up another mouthful of food.
Only after hearing Cogita's voice did Elias realize she'd been teasing him deliberately.
Since he didn't need to eat, he hadn't served himself any food.
Clearly, Cogita had noticed this and decided to tease him.
Just as Cogita covered her mouth and lightly laughed, about to continue—
Knock, knock.
The door of the cottage was suddenly knocked.
Cogita's movements halted abruptly, her brow furrowing slightly, clearly displeased.
She lived in seclusion in this forest and usually had no visitors.
The only one who might suddenly appear at her door was that irritating Pokémon.
As expected…
"Cogita!"
In the next second, Diancie's voice rang out from outside.
Cogita completely lost any mood to continue teasing.
Expression calm, she set down the chopsticks unhurriedly and stood up slowly.
"It's Diancie."
She said to Elias.
It wasn't hard to hear the displeasure in her tone.
Originally, she'd planned to bring Elias to Diancie tomorrow. She hadn't anticipated that Diancie herself would show up today uninvited.
And moreover, it was already nighttime—what could she possibly want at this hour?!
With that thought, Cogita's annoyance deepened further.
Seeing Cogita's unhappy expression, Elias couldn't help but smile.
"Let's go take a look."
He said softly.
After not seeing Diancie for so long, he did miss her quite a bit.
Besides, at this hour… why had she made a special trip here?
Since Elias said this, Cogita could only reluctantly head to open the door.
At the same time, her eyes narrowed slightly, as if scheming something.