Chapter 112: Just Thinking About It Makes Me Happy
"I-It's glowing!!"
When Caitlin and Cynthia lifted the lids from the plates served before them, the sudden burst of golden light that lasted two to three seconds nearly blinded them.
"Even if it was just for a few seconds, that dish really glowed—it glowed, right, Cynthia!?"
Faced with Caitlin's confirmation, Cynthia also nodded dumbfoundedly. "U-Unless we're both experiencing the same extremely rare hallucination at the same time, it probably... glowed."
So that meant it was an undeniable fact, right?
"But how on earth is this possible!?" Caitlin stared in bewilderment at the dish before her, at the meat chunks bathed in sauce, unable to stop her mouth from watering—just the "appearance" alone was top-tier cuisine, not to mention the "aroma" lingering at the tip of her nose, constantly teasing her appetite.
Oh no, she couldn't hold out much longer.
"It's just a small trick, really." Erina smiled modestly, adding with a light chuckle, "Pushing one's culinary skills to the limit, then crossing a certain threshold and pouring one's heart into it..."
Caitlin turned to Cynthia. "Did you understand any of that?"
Cynthia shook her head and asked in return, "Did you?"
Caitlin nodded gracefully. "This humble one grasped... just a tiny bit."
Cynthia raised an eyebrow. "What did you grasp?"
Caitlin clumsily speared a piece of meat with her fork, popping it into her mouth as she replied, "The part where her cooking skills are amazing—"
Cynthia twitched her lips, feeling like her best friend's IQ had taken a nosedive in the face of gourmet food. Did she think Cynthia hadn't grasped that Erina's skills were amazing? The real question was how amazing those skills had to be to make food glow...
Whatever.
'Even if I knew why she's this skilled, I still couldn't make dishes like this—'
Having clearly realized this, Cynthia gave up without hesitation! She scooped up a spoonful of rice wrapped around the meat, stuffed it into her mouth, and bit down hard. As the meat juices exploded across her tongue, spreading satisfaction throughout her entire mouth, she couldn't help but narrow her eyes and let out a long "Mmm—" of pleasure.
This single bite was pure bliss!
Beside her, Caitlin wore an even more moved expression as she declared earnestly, "The finest restaurants I've dined at can't compare to even one-tenth of this dish."
Hayashi puffed out his chest with pride and declared, "That's right! My Erina's cooking is the best in the world—do you think that's just empty praise? Let me tell you, I'm not exaggerating when I say even Ho-Oh would sing praises of her skills!"
And that was the truth! Ho-Oh would indeed praise it—so much so that after devouring one plate, it would shamelessly ask for another, completely disregarding its dignity as a Legendary Pokémon.
Ho-Oh: Scrambles up Dignity? What's dignity got to do with filling my belly? Nothing!? Then what's the point of dignity!? Here, take it, just take it all!
Faced with Hayashi's utterly boastful words, Caitlin and Cynthia exchanged a complicated glance. For once, neither of them could muster a rebuttal, because...
It was just too delicious!
The glistening broth poured over perfectly separated grains of rice, paired with tender, slow-cooked chunks of meat—just one bite was enough for the rich, savory, numbing, and sweet flavors to burst across the tongue, followed by an overwhelming sense of satisfaction that made it impossible not to reach for a second bite.
By the time they snapped out of it, the entire heaping plate of food had been completely cleaned out, leaving behind only a dish smeared with remnants of sauce, as if protesting the injustice of the world.
Caitlin found herself wondering: if she were a Pokémon and encountered a Trainer who cooked this well, would she surrender to the temptation of food so delicious she couldn't stop craving more?
The answer was obvious. Aside from those Pokémon with an extreme yearning for freedom, most would probably be unable to resist such temptation.
Just as Cynthia and Caitlin were lost in thought, Hisako, noticing they had already polished off an entire bowl, asked, "There's more in the pot—would you like seconds?"
Her words snapped them out of their daze!
Cynthia and Caitlin exchanged another glance before declaring in unison, "Another bowl, please!"
"Coming right up!"
Hisako stood up enthusiastically, expertly scooping more rice before ladling steaming hot broth over it—the moment the two combined, an explosion of rich aroma spread through the air, making Cynthia and Caitlin instinctively narrow their eyes.
The fragrance flooding their nostrils instantly brought back memories of the flavors they had just tasted. Their mouths watered uncontrollably, forcing them to swallow repeatedly.
Damn it, were they really this helpless against it?
Caitlin shook her head vigorously, using her psychic powers to snap herself back to clarity before scolding herself internally: Caitlin, Caitlin! What kind of state are you in!? Don't forget—you're a Unova Elite Four member! How could you be drooling like this!? Pull yourself together!
"Here's your food—!"
Hisako set the plates down on the table and announced cheerfully, "Eat as much as you want! There's plenty more where that came from!"
"Hell yeah!"
Caitlin cheered, grabbing the plate and immediately digging in.
Wait, what was I thinking about earlier? Ah, never mind—it couldn't have been important!
Nothing matters more than good food! Eat first, think later! Burp— xN
Whether it was Hayashi and Hisako, who regularly enjoyed the young lady's cooking;
Or Cynthia and her Pokémon, who had tasted it before;
Or even Caitlin and her Pokémon, experiencing it for the first time—
All of them were left in the same blissful, overstuffed state.
After savoring this supreme delicacy, they all let out a resounding burp in unison.
"..."
After the burp, Caitlin's face flushed red with embarrassment. She pretended nothing had happened as she wiped the corners of her mouth with a napkin, then said with feigned composure, "Miss Erina, I have now tasted your culinary skills. Indeed, as Cynthia said, they are the best in the world!"
Erina hastily waved her hands. "There's always someone better out there—I dare not claim to be the world's best."
No matter how much her culinary skills had improved, until she surpassed her mentor, she would never dare declare herself the best in the world—and beyond that, who could say there weren't chefs across the multiverse with skills surpassing even her mentor's?
Erina understood one truth well: if a person's knowledge were represented by a circle, the more they knew, the larger the circle would grow, and the longer its circumference would become. But correspondingly, the more that circumference would touch upon the "unknown."
Thus, it could be summarized in a paradoxical statement—the more you know, the less you know.
Caitlin and Cynthia assumed Erina was just being modest and didn't press the issue further.
"Might I have the honor of obtaining some Pokéblocks made by Miss Erina?" Caitlin asked eagerly, her gaze fixed on Erina and Hisako Arato. "I do have some assets to my name—rest assured, the compensation will not disappoint."
"Of course, that's no problem," Erina replied with a light laugh. In this world, survival wasn't about brute force but social connections—if the Pokémon world's Elite Four and Champions all had trade relations with her, she would have little to worry about.
"That's wonderful," Caitlin said, relieved. With a soft chuckle, she added, "Shall we move to the lounge to discuss the details?"
"Certainly—"
With Hayashi's 0v0 expression in the background, Erina, Hisako, and Caitlin left the dining area, leaving him alone with Cynthia, who was quietly sipping her drink.
"Hayashi—" Cynthia set down her teacup after a moment's thought. "How are your Pokémon's current strength? Would you like me to help train them again?"
"Uh—"
Hayashi blinked, his gaze shifting uncertainly. "It's not that I'd refuse, but wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"
"Either way, I'm preparing for the World Championships right now. Training my own team is training, and adding your Pokémon to the mix is just more of the same," Cynthia said nonchalantly. But her words were only fooling a novice like Hayashi, who didn't understand the hardships of training—the pressure of training one team versus four was entirely different, especially when Cynthia was in the midst of preparing for the World Championships.
"Really, it's no trouble?"
"Mhm."
"Then I'll leave it to you!" Hayashi clasped his hands together. "Ah! Honestly, the three of us know nothing about Pokémon training! Gengar and the others have been following the training regimen you left last time. It'd be great if we could update it."
"Don't worry," Cynthia said with a light smile. "Tonight, I'll thoroughly assess Gengar and the others' current strength and then design a new training plan for them."
"Oh! Thank you so much!" Hayashi immediately sighed in relief and said, "If there's anything you need help with, don't hesitate to ask! While we might not be great at being trainers, we're quite confident in other areas!"
Like becoming a Chinese-style hero based on a single manga panel, or finding mysterious codes from a GIF, or even identifying an artist just by their art style—I'm an expert at that!
Right? Asanagi, Oouso, Sanagimaru, Tsukino Sadanori, Takeda Hiromitsu, and Mizuryu Kei!
"No problem, if I ever need your help, I'll definitely ask," Cynthia said with a smile as she stood up. She waved at Hayashi without turning around and added, "I'll go prepare my Pokémon training plan now."
She needed to finish the plan by the afternoon and then properly prepare the training regimen for Hayashi's team.
"Mhm! Thanks for your hard work!" Hayashi waved his right hand at Cynthia and called out, "Ah, Cynthia! Remember to focus on work when you're working—no slacking off to play games!"
Cynthia stumbled slightly before turning back with a resigned expression. "Don't worry, at least I have that much self-awareness!"
"Mhm!"
Hayashi nodded in satisfaction. If you'd already played P.T. and realized I was tricking you, that wouldn't be good!
Better keep the mystery of the game alive for a while longer—at least until I've retreated to a safe distance before you play it!
Hehe, just imagining Cynthia thinking P.T. is some mild horror like The Witch's House, only to discover it's a terrifying nightmare game, getting so angry she wants to confront me—but I'm nowhere to be found, leaving her to hide under the covers crying pitifully—that's just sugoi ni high tension da yo!