After Eichi left, Director Yanagi leaned back, his entire body sinking into his executive chair. He was both mentally exhausted and aching over the loss of his Stat Boosters. He didn't actually have the authority to simply requisition this batch of Stat Boosters; he had to use his own personal merit points to exchange for them at the Logistics Department.
In Silver Academy, all credits earned by students are automatically converted into merit points upon graduation. Was there a difference? Of course. There were items in the academy—such as Stat Boosters—that could not be redeemed with standard credits at the Logistics Department.
Returning to the topic at hand, fortunately, he had spoken to the staff there in advance. He had asked them to set some aside and not let others exchange for them, and now they were finally coming in handy.
After resting for a moment, Director Yanagi suddenly sat upright, picked up the telephone on his desk, and dialed a number.
Ring... Ring...
The call connected, and a voice came through from the other end. "Hello?"
"Hello, Arno, it's me," Director Yanagi said.
It turned out the person Director Yanagi was calling was none other than Teacher Arno.
"How do you suddenly have the time to call me?" Teacher Arno asked.
"I just wanted to have a chat," Director Yanagi replied.
"It's been a while," Teacher Arno said. "How has Eichi been lately? He hasn't called me recently."
Director Yanagi sighed helplessly. "That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. I have to say, Eichi really is a genius."
"Not only is he currently the top student of the first-year class, but he's also a Beginner Pokémon Breeder. Furthermore, he won the championship in the Freshmen Tournament and defeated the top student of Indigo Academy in the inter-school exchange competition."
"Arno, seriously, Eichi really might become a Bug-type Elite Four member."
Arno remained silent. He was quite surprised; the achievements Eichi had secured recently were far too impressive. Having studied at Silver Academy himself, he knew exactly how much weight Eichi's grades carried. Even he had never taken first place during his time there.
After thinking for a moment, Teacher Arno said, "I've heard news from the Sinnoh region lately. That person named Aaron is very likely to become the first Bug-type Elite Four. So, this dream isn't as far-fetched as it seems."
Following this, Director Yanagi suddenly mentioned, "Eichi just came to see me to request a long leave of absence."
"A long leave? Why?" Arno asked.
"The boy feels his progress at the academy is too slow," Director Yanagi explained. "He wants to go out to broaden his horizons and, by the way, participate in this year's Indigo League."
Arno fell silent. "...That's good. Going out on a journey is a fine idea. Staying at the academy forever isn't beneficial for his growth."
"Indeed," Director Yanagi agreed. "A genius like him needs to travel."
"I've requested another long leave."
Sitting in his seat, Tetsu was caught off guard by Eichi's words. "Why are you requesting leave again?" he asked, surprised.
"School is getting a bit boring," Eichi said. "I want to travel for a while and participate in the Indigo League as well."
Tetsu's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're going to participate in the Indigo League?"
"Yes," Eichi replied calmly.
"Do you realize you're just a first-year student?" Tetsu said excitedly. "Even if you participate in the Indigo League, you won't get a high ranking."
"I know," Eichi said. "I'm not going there to win the championship. I just want to see those powerful trainers and broaden my horizons while I'm at it."
Tetsu sighed. "Since you put it that way, what more can I say?"
Eichi patted Tetsu on the shoulder. "While I'm gone, I'll be counting on you to maintain the class discipline."
"Forget about that," Tetsu said. "When are you leaving? I'll have the butler see you off."
"No rush," Eichi replied. "I should be leaving before the middle of this month. Anyway, I'm going to go talk to Miss Lin."
After saying that, he got up and left his seat. Their conversation had been quiet, so very few people had overheard.
Eichi left the classroom and found Miss Lin's office. The door wasn't closed, so Eichi knocked twice.
Knock, knock.
Hearing the sound, several teachers looked up simultaneously, including Miss Lin. "Student Eichi, is something the matter?" she asked, confused.
Eichi walked in. Miss Lin's desk was in the far corner, so he walked over to her side. He glanced at the open notebooks on her desk; she was currently grading assignments.
She looked up at Eichi as he whispered, "Miss Lin, I have something to tell you."
"What is it?" she asked.
"I'm here to request leave. Director Yanagi has already agreed," Eichi stated.
Miss Lin's expression changed instantly. "What? You're requesting leave again?"
Eichi nodded. Feeling helpless, Miss Lin asked for the reason. Eichi repeated exactly what he had told Director Yanagi.
After listening, Miss Lin didn't know what to say. She had many questions but didn't know how to start. Finally, she just asked one thing: "So, when are you leaving?"
"I'll probably leave this week," Eichi replied. "If there are any delays, it might be a bit later."
Once Eichi left the office, several teachers immediately crowded around. Some were Eichi's teachers for other subjects, while others were not. Eichi was very famous among the first-years, so all the teachers recognized him. As soon as he had entered, they had been eavesdropping on his conversation with Miss Lin.
One female teacher wearing glasses remarked, "This Eichi really can't stay still, running off again. But he is indeed powerful; he can take first place in the grade even while frequently being away from the academy."
Another teacher added, "I heard from the second-year teachers a few months ago that Eichi wanted to request leave, but Director Yanagi refused. He planned to give him an assessment instead, so the Director had the second-year teachers prepare a test paper. Many of the questions were for second-years, but Eichi actually ended up getting a perfect score."
"Really?"
"Then Eichi truly is a genius."
"It's not that strange, though. There have been students like this in previous years; it's just that they are few and far between."
Miss Lin felt a sense of loss. Without Eichi around, she felt a lack of security during her classes.
Two days passed in this manner. One evening, while training, Eichi suddenly received a call from Professor Kant.
"Hello, Eichi. Your Pokéblocks are ready. You can come pick them up tomorrow."
"That was so fast!" Eichi said, pleasantly surprised.
Professor Kant chuckled over the communicator. "I've made Pokéblocks for your three Pokémon before, so it was much easier to get started this time. It was only Wimpod's Pokéblocks that took a bit more time."
"Thank you, Professor Kant," Eichi said.
"No need for such pleasantries next time," Kant replied. "It's a small matter; just work hard in the future. By the way, I heard you're going out on a journey. What's that about?"