Chapter 376: Mammon: "Dawn, We Have a Child"
The next day arrived, and warm sunlight spilled over the Vale of Creation, lighting up the secluded hideaway.
"Mmm~ I slept so well~"
Platinum sat up and stretched. The only other person in the room was Serena.
Serena was sitting at the vanity, putting on light makeup.
"You're up?"
"Yep. Huh? How did we end up in the bedroom?"
Platinum scratched at her messy hair and looked around, puzzled.
Yesterday the fruit wine had made her head swim, and as soon as they got back, she and Serena had fallen asleep on the sofa.
They hadn't gone to a bedroom because there were only two, and Caitlin had collapsed onto a bed the moment they got back.
The beds weren't big. Two girls could fit at a squeeze, but three crammed together wouldn't really work.
So the two of them had just slept on the sofa.
"You don't remember anything at all?" Serena finished tidying her long hair and glanced at Platinum.
"Last night, Mr. Mammon carried us into the room."
Thinking back to last night, Serena's cheeks went a little warm. She did remember a bit of it.
The image of herself with her arms around Mammon's neck and her head resting on his chest made her ears turn slightly red.
"Huh?" Platinum's eyes went wide.
She had absolutely no memory of that!! No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't recall a single moment of it.
All she remembered was that at some point she'd started sleeping a little more comfortably.
Aaaaaargh! Not fair!
Platinum wailed inwardly, her shoulders slumping in utter dejection.
"Go wash up and get ready. It's already nine o'clock."
Serena tilted her head at Platinum's crestfallen look and blinked, a little amused.
She was definitely on the more mature side among girls her age, and she could guess exactly why Platinum looked like that.
But still...
Serena wasn't surprised. Guys liked pretty girls, so of course girls liked handsome guys.
On top of that, Mr. Mammon was incredibly strong and had tremendous charisma.
Serena's own feelings for Mammon were practically overflowing. If she had a boyfriend like Mammon, she'd proudly hold his arm and parade him five laps around town!
She'd make sure everyone knew!
The problem was that Mr. Mammon had a girlfriend.
Serena sighed inwardly. Proud as she was, she really didn't want to be the other woman who swooped in and stole someone's love.
Dawn probably felt the same way. Dawn idolized Mr. Mammon, after all, and liked him an unusually large amount.
But that wasn't the only obstacle.
"It's already nine?" Platinum started and hurried to get up and wash.
With her regular routine, sleeping until nine was a rare thing.
Serena stepped out of the room into the living room, and the first thing she saw was Mammon asleep on the sofa under a blanket.
In front of him, Caitlin sat on a small stool, her chin propped on one elegant hand, her beautiful eyes curved into crescents, gazing at Mammon with a soft, brimming smile.
The happiness radiating off her was practically overflowing.
Serena pressed her lips together lightly. Right. This was another one of the obstacles.
Even if she made up her mind to set her pride aside and try to "win" Mr. Mammon, she'd still have to deal with the other "competitors."
That's right: competitors.
Like the reserved, elegant Miss Caitlin right in front of her. And that bun-haired girl from Unova.
It sounded strange to put it that way, but there were honestly way too many competitors for anyone hoping to "win" Mr. Mammon.
Even Serena felt her scalp prickle at the thought of facing them.
That rude bun-haired girl from Unova was extremely strong. They'd worked together against Lysandre, so Serena was in a position to know.
At least for now, Serena was sure she was nowhere near as strong as that bun-haired girl.
And that was before even considering Miss Caitlin here.
Caitlin seemed to notice Serena. She turned her head and gave a small smile and nod by way of greeting, then held a finger to her lips and pointed at Mammon.
Serena nodded back.
She could see clearly that Miss Caitlin was in a wonderful mood.
That wasn't surprising. Watching the person you love sleep soundly right in front of you really was a happy thing.
By the time Mammon woke up, it was already ten-thirty. After breakfast, the group went for a walk through the fields of the Vale of Creation and watched Baraz and Meray harvest their crops.
Then the four of them came to rest beneath a big tree.
"There's something I need to tell you, Dawn."
After a moment's thought, Mammon spoke up.
"?" Platinum blinked, waiting for him to go on.
Caitlin and Serena looked at Mammon curiously.
"I don't know if any of you noticed, but yesterday, when I was on Yveltal's back, I actually disappeared for ten-something minutes."
Mammon brought up yesterday's battle.
"Yes, I noticed." Caitlin nodded. She really had noticed. She hadn't shown it on her face at the time, but it had weighed on her.
"So did something happen, Mr. Mammon?"
Serena asked curiously.
"Yeah. It was the little turtle's ability. It sent me into the past, and I met someone there. Someone very important to me."
Mammon turned his gaze to Platinum's face, his expression somewhat complicated.
The past?
All three were stunned, staring in astonishment at the Terapagos in Mammon's arms, which was busy looking around at everything.
This little turtle can do that*?*
But if Mammon said so, it couldn't possibly be false.
And the way Mr. Mammon was looking at her...
Platinum's big eyes shimmered. She didn't know why Mammon was looking at her like that.
Beside her, Caitlin's heart beat a little faster. For some reason, she had a bad feeling about this.
"What I'm about to say might sound a little far-fetched, but I need you to stay calm, Dawn."
Mammon hesitated, then decided to prepare her first.
"Mm-hm, okay." Platinum nodded and looked at him seriously.
The past... Did he see my ancestors? Some secret of my ancestors? It might even be bad news.
In fact, it wasn't just Platinum. Caitlin and Serena were thinking the same thing.
However...
"Dawn." Mammon looked straight into her beautiful eyes. "We have a child."
BOOM!!!
It was like a thunderclap. All three girls' heads rang.
Say WHAT???
Serena stared at Mammon, stunned.
What did Mr. Mammon just say? He and Dawn have a child???
Is this a joke?
But seeing the complicated look on Mammon's face, Serena had no choice but to believe the absurd truth: Mammon was serious.
"..."
The temperature around Caitlin plunged. Her fine, pale face had gone very pale indeed, and her eyes were unfocused, as if she still hadn't registered the bomb that had just gone off.
Platinum was just as shell-shocked. She even wondered if she'd heard wrong.
"A child? Me?"
She pointed at herself without thinking and asked Mammon blankly.
"Yes." Mammon nodded.
Mr. Mammon and I... have a child??
Hearing his answer, Platinum was stunned speechless.
Mammon didn't rush her. He knew that line had hit incredibly hard. It was perfectly normal for the girl in front of him to crash.
She'd come around in a moment.
"Wait wait wait... this... this isn't... this isn't possible!!"
Finally coming back to herself, Platinum blurted it out in a panic, stumbling over her words.
It was true that she looked up to Mammon more than anything, and that she hoped someday to have a man as outstanding and charming as him as her partner.
But this was wrong!
They weren't even dating. How could she suddenly have a child?
And she was only sixteen!!
She hadn't even been pregnant! Her stomach had never gotten big! A phantom baby?!
"Mr. Mammon, you and I aren't even... we're not even dating. So how could there be..."
Platinum stammered it out in broken pieces, but Serena and Caitlin, whose eyes had already started glowing blue, both understood.
Right. Platinum and Mammon weren't even a couple!
The blue light in Caitlin's eyes faded. They weren't even together, so how could there be a child?
"Dawn, I'm not lying."
Mammon sighed.
Platinum bit her lip. Her head was a complete mess.
"Terapagos sent me back to the Hisui era, and there I met Akari. She's our daughter."
Mammon unlocked his phone and handed it to Platinum.
Platinum hurriedly took it, looked at it, and her brain exploded all over again.
The photo showed Mammon with a girl with dark navy hair. Her delicate, sweet face was nearly identical to Platinum's.
Anyone who didn't know Platinum well probably couldn't tell the two of them apart.
"Her name is Akari."
Mammon's words made Platinum's heart tremble again. Akari...
She had actually thought about it once: if she and Mr. Mammon ever had a daughter, she'd name her Akari!
This...
I really have a child with Mr. Mammon?!
"But that still doesn't make sense. Hisui is Sinnoh's ancient past. How could you meet your and Dawn's daughter there, Mr. Mammon?"
Serena still couldn't quite believe it. The logic didn't add up.
Hisui was the past. Mammon traveled back to the past and met his and Dawn's future daughter? That made no sense at all.
Platinum was still in a daze, but Caitlin had arrived at the same point and looked at Mammon expectantly.
"Akari traveled back too," Mammon said helplessly.
"Arceus sent her back to Hisui to undergo a trial. She's from the future to begin with."
Mammon looked at Platinum again. She still looked completely dazed, probably knocked flat by all of this.
Hearing Mammon's answer, Serena opened her mouth, instinctively looking for some way to argue, but quickly calmed herself and said nothing.
She looked at Platinum with complicated eyes. She actually has a daughter with Mr. Mammon in the future...
Serena couldn't tell what she was feeling.
Caitlin gripped her skirt so hard her knuckles went white. She kept her head down, because she knew her face must be pale and ugly right now.
Mammon actually has a child with Dawn...!!
Caitlin had truly never seen this coming. She'd had a decent impression of Dawn. Dawn was from Sinnoh, just like her, and was usually gentle and polite.
She'd known Dawn idolized Mammon, but as far as Caitlin was concerned, Dawn wasn't much of a threat.
Dawn was fairly reserved by nature, especially when it came to matters of the heart.
I never saw it coming! She's a sneaky little thief in disguise!! Unbelievable!
Psychic power she hadn't lost control of in a long time began to flicker and spark around her. The air around Caitlin went ice-cold.
A child! She has a child with Mammon!!!
Wait.
Caitlin suddenly stopped. Her mind cooled rapidly, and she began to analyze the situation.
Fact: Dawn and Mammon were definitely not at that stage right now. Caitlin was at Mammon's side every day and watched very closely.
The two of them got along well, nothing more. There was absolutely no romance between them.
Under those circumstances, they would have a child in the future. That actually didn't surprise Caitlin much.
Dawn was very pretty and exceptionally talented. It was quite likely that, down the line, she and Mammon would grow closer.
If Dawn joined Mammon's household as one of the others, then her having a child with Mammon... wasn't really strange at all.
Having reasoned it through, Caitlin let out a breath. She had simply overreacted to the shock of the news.
Caitlin steadied herself as best she could. That's right. There was nothing to make a huge fuss about. Children? She and Mammon would definitely have them someday too!
It just so happened that the child Mammon had met was Dawn's.
With that adjustment, Caitlin's mind quickly settled, and the chill in the air eased.
"I know this is a huge shock. At first I didn't know how to deal with her either. But Akari really is my daughter. That kind of blood connection doesn't lie."
Mammon kept his voice as gentle as he could as he spoke to Platinum, who was slowly coming around.
Platinum pressed her lips tightly together. Her feelings were still a tangled mess, and she didn't know what to say.
Right now she was overwhelmed with a hundred emotions at once: joy, shock, curiosity, and more.
"Akari's cute, just like you," Mammon added.
Platinum's cheeks went warm. She couldn't help lowering her head, her eyes darting away, unable to meet his gaze.
"Something like this is really out there. It's normal if you can't accept it right away. But Terapagos's ability is incredible. It can bring Akari from the Hisui era to the present."
At that, all three girls jumped and once again stared in amazement at Terapagos, which was curiously sniffing the grass.
Hold on. Little turtle, isn't that ability a bit overpowered?
"If you want, I'll have Terapagos bring Akari here. If you'd rather not see her, then..."
Mammon was choosing his words carefully, but Platinum finally spoke.
"I want to see her!"
Platinum lifted her head and answered him earnestly.
Not want to see Akari? No, no, no. That thought had never crossed Platinum's mind.
If this was her and Mr. Mammon's child...
Platinum wanted to see her more than anything!!!
She was her future daughter, after all!
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