Because of the Purple Mountain Villa situation, Jacob's travel plans had to be postponed again, and he could only set off tomorrow.
"Ring, ring."
Jacob was lying on his bed, thinking about travel plans for the next two months, when his phone rang.
"Heavenly King Raya."
Looking at the name on the caller ID, Jacob felt inexplicably guilty. This was the first time the two of them had contacted each other by phone since that incident.
To answer or not to answer—this was a philosophical question.
Jacob didn't know how to face Raya.
If he didn't answer the phone... after all, he was grateful for what he had received from her. He had just taken her keys this morning. If he didn't answer the phone now, it would be like being a scumbag who took advantage and then turned his back on her.
He, Jacob, was a gentleman—how could he do such a thing?
After hesitating for a few seconds, Jacob decisively answered the phone. He lowered his voice and tried to make it sound serious, but his voice trembled slightly, revealing his nervousness. "Hello."
"Jacob."
Raya on the other end of the phone was actually just as nervous as Jacob.
However, both of them pretended to be calm and talked about business seriously, avoiding any mention of what happened that night.
"Yes. What's the matter, Heavenly King Raya?"
There was a sense of distance in Jacob's address, and he directly changed from calling her by her first name to using her title.
"I have something important to discuss with you," Raya's tone was serious and solemn, as if she was being purely professional. "Recently, the Pokémon Association issued a mission. A secret realm is suspected to have appeared in the ocean near Aqualis City. The Pokémon Association needs at least two Heavenly Kings to explore it. After completing the mission, you can receive fifteen percent of the shares of the secret realm."
"I heard that you and Nina were traveling nearby a few days ago. So I came to ask you if you know the details."
When speaking the name "Nina," Raya unconsciously emphasized her tone, which made Jacob on the other end of the phone feel inexplicably guilty.
Wait, it was Nina who was there first—why should he feel guilty?
What was wrong with him? Why did he feel guilty when someone asked him?
He was a gentleman, upright and honest, with nothing to hide.
...
Listening to Raya's words, Jacob also fell into deep thought.
He had been worrying about how to deal with the Gigantamax Lapras in the secret realm, but he hadn't expected that his problem would be solved so conveniently.
Raya was simply a powerful ally delivered right to his doorstep!
It would be difficult for Jacob to defeat Gigantamax Lapras alone, but if Raya helped, the situation would be completely different.
However, Water-type Pokémon were still needed to fight in the deep sea. Raya seemed to have only one Primarina that could exert its full strength in the water. The strength of her other Pokémon would be affected to varying degrees when fighting underwater.
It would be great if he could persuade Sawyer, the Water-type Heavenly King of the southwest region, to help. Unfortunately, he wasn't familiar with Sawyer.
...
"I know some of the situation, but not much," Jacob thought for a moment and said to Raya. "I suggest you don't take this mission."
"Okay. I understand." After listening to Jacob's words, Raya immediately understood that this secret realm was definitely related to Jacob, and it was probably him who had triggered it. "Then I won't take it."
"Hmm..." Jacob was slightly surprised when he heard Raya's words. It was the first time he had seen Raya so cooperative.
If this had happened in the past, wouldn't Raya have dug deep to get to the bottom of it, constantly testing him, teasing him, and probing him?
Oh, women. As expected, they changed once they got what they wanted.
This made Jacob a little uncomfortable. "Why don't you ask the reason?"
"Then you tell me," Raya said seriously.
"I don't want to say it," Jacob said proudly.
Raya on the other end of the phone listened to Jacob's words and couldn't help but smile. "Tell me, Jacob~"
"Okay, since you've begged me so earnestly, I'll tell you reluctantly."
"I feel that the investment and return of this mission aren't proportional—not to mention whether two Heavenly Kings can complete the mission. Just figuring out how to enter the secret realm is a hassle. We didn't know how we entered the secret realm that day. After that, Odin tried to re-enter the secret realm several times but failed. There must be some special method required."
Perhaps because his relationship with Raya had become much closer, Jacob also revealed some information, speaking with confidence.
To enter the secret realm, one must carry a Wishing Star. This time, one of Jacob's three Wishing Stars had been consumed, and now there were only two left.
Under normal circumstances, no one would take a Wishing Star out to sea.
The Wishing Star hadn't been publicly announced yet, and no one knew its value. They all kept it as a collectible at home. The other Heavenly Kings carrying out the mission would never carry a Wishing Star with them, so naturally they couldn't enter the secret realm.
"Do you know what special method is needed?" Raya asked curiously.
"Ahem, I... I don't know either," Jacob was about to speak but held back his words.
He hadn't been very famous before, so he could talk about things casually on the phone. After all, who would be idle enough to pay attention to a nobody?
It wasn't possible now. Jacob was now a celebrity, and he should be careful with his words and actions.
"I'm going to travel for a while recently. I'll contact you when I come back, and we can study this matter carefully," Jacob said. "Don't worry about this matter for now. Everything will wait until I return."
"Okay, then contact me in advance when you come back." Raya was also a smart person and naturally knew that it definitely wasn't convenient for Jacob to talk on the phone.
"Yeah."
...
When the two of them reached this point in their conversation, the atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
After talking about serious matters, neither knew what to say.
"Um..."
"Do you..."
The two of them spoke almost at the same time and stopped talking at the same time.
"You speak first," Jacob said.
"Okay," Raya responded. "How long will you be traveling for, and when will you be back?"
"About two months," Jacob thought for a moment and said. "I'll be back by August at the latest. My brother's child will be born by then, so as an uncle, I'll naturally come back to give my nephew a big red envelope."
"Have your brother and sister-in-law checked the gender? Are you sure it's a little boy?" Speaking of children, Raya asked with interest.
"Yeah. I asked an acquaintance to secretly check the gender, and it's a boy," Jacob said with a smile.
Speaking of having children, Raya suddenly asked, "Have your brother and his wife found a doctor? Having a child isn't an easy thing. Do you want to come to Magic City or the Capital? The medical conditions here are better, and I have connections."
"I think they've already found someone," Jacob said uncertainly.
"You can ask them. It doesn't matter if they've already found a place. See if they want to come to the Capital or Magic City. If they want to come here, just call me directly and I'll help you arrange it," Raya said.
"This is too much trouble for you," Jacob responded. "I'm really sorry."
"Don't be so formal. I'm done. What about you? What did you want to say?"
"Well... I was just about to say that if there's nothing else, I'll hang up first..." Jacob said awkwardly.
"Beep, beep..." Before Jacob could finish his words, a busy tone came from the other end of the phone, which obviously meant Raya was quite annoyed.
...
After hanging up the phone, Raya looked up and found that Layne beside her had been listening to her call. Thinking of their conversation just now, her face flushed slightly. "I asked him when he would be back just to arrange his schedule in advance, so that I wouldn't be too busy and unable to make time. You know, I'm usually very busy."
Layne couldn't help but give Raya a cold look.
Did she believe this nonsense?