When Lu Ye led Bamboo Lan back to the gathering hand in hand, Bonnie and the little ones erupted into a cheer.

“It’s the mistress!” Bonnie said with a smile.

“Gengarrr~” Haunter showed its teeth, with Dedenne perched on its head, laughing heartily.

Dedenne turned pale with fright and didn’t dare move: “Dedenne…”

“Bonnie, watch your manners.” Clemont hurriedly said.

“Miss Bamboo Lan… so beautiful!” Serena said in a daze.

Cynthia took her seat with ease and, smiling, gently stroked Bonnie’s yellow hair.

“Hehe~” Bonnie squinted in pleasure.

Alcremie carried a tray, trembling as she offered a cup of frosting ice cream.

It was dotted with cherries, strawberry-flavored, colorful and tempting.

Cynthia’s eyes brightened slightly and a faint smile curved her lips as she said, “It looks delicious! Thank you for your hard work, Alcremie~”

“Yimai…” Alcremie’s face flushed red as she hurried back to the kitchen.

Bamboo Lan’s charm was hard for even Pokémon to resist.

Teacher Lu nodded inwardly.

This is basically on par with me!

With Cynthia joining the gathering, the atmosphere grew even livelier.

Princess Diancie’s eyes curved into moon shapes as she said, “Nice to meet you, Miss Bamboo Lan!”

“Hello, Diancie.” Cynthia placed her hands under her chin and smiled lightly. “You’re adorable.”

“Thank you, Miss Bamboo Lan!” Princess Diancie was delighted.

“Lu Ye, Steven, they didn’t do anything weird to you, did they?” Cynthia asked.

“Weird things?”

“Like asking you for diamonds or secretly taking photos of you.” Cynthia sighed softly.

Princess Diancie covered her little mouth, looked confused, and glanced at Lu Ye and Steven.

Lu Ye: “……”

Oh no, Mengmengda managed to hit the nail on the head!

But Steven shouldn’t be that kind of guy…

Lu Ye looked at Steven, who held a knife and fork.

Steven was cutting a steak;

the fair, handsome shape of his hand showed veins popping. He put down his knife and fork, took a napkin to cover his mouth, and coughed lightly, “Ahem.”

Sure enough, there was a photo of Princess Diancie’s Mega form stored in the PokéNav!

Lu Ye: “……”

I never expected you to be this kind of Steven Stone!

Cynthia’s gaze swept past the two of them;

she shook her head gently and said to Diancie, Bonnie, and the others with a smile, “Is there anything you’d like to eat?”

“Don’t be shy—Lu Ye can cook anything!” someone chimed in.

Lu Ye: ?

Cynthia cast him a casual glance.

Lu Ye: “Um, I’ll learn as I go!”

“I want Alcremie!” Bonnie cheered.

“Yimaiﾉ)ﾟДﾟ(!” Alcremie happened to step out of the kitchen, the tray in her hands wobbling.

“That’s called an Alcremie cake, not Alcremie herself, Bonnie!” Clemont said helplessly.

Alcremie breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a little off: “Yimai…”

Serena set her hands on her knees and gathered her courage to say, “If possible… I’d like to ask Teacher Lu how to make the deluxe bofuretsu.”

“That way I can work harder toward the higher performer stages!”

“Your dream is to become a Pokémon performer?” Cynthia looked at Serena in surprise.

Serena nodded, and Cynthia, elegant, rested her hand against her cheek and smiled, “That’s completely different from Ash.”

“Awoo~ of course—I want to win the Lumiose Conference with Pikachu!” Ash shoved a macaron into his mouth.

“Nimi!” Victini panicked, sweating profusely.

“Oh—oh, that’s yours, sorry…”

“Pika!” Pikachu cheerfully shared the macaron in his paw with little V.

Faced with Cynthia’s words, Serena grew nervous.

“Because, because…”

Because I want to stand on the highest stage together with Ash;

that opportunity is being a Pokémon performer!

Serena’s face flushed slightly but she didn’t say it outright.

Cynthia’s gaze landed on Serena’s maid outfit and wandered in thought.

Strange… why would Lu Ye keep something like that in his shop…

Lu Ye calmly took a sip of tea, then suddenly sensed a murderous vibe and his spine tingled.

Following her line of sight, Cynthia’s delicate, beautiful face had the faintest smile.

Danger!

Lu Ye thought fast.

Could it be she found out that I slept in the same tent as Steven?

“Maid outfit?” Cynthia said softly.

Lu Ye froze.

The maid outfits had been arranged by Matori when the café was being set up—various sizes, everything ready, even custom styles for Pokémon.

Of course there was a set made for Mengmengda.

And of course, asking Bamboo Lan to wear a maid outfit—

Unless Teacher Lu had lost his mind and wanted to see Arceus.

“Professor Sycamore recommended them;

he said they fit local customs,” Lu Ye passed the blame. “Kalos people love flashy things.”

Cynthia’s eyes flickered;

she mulled it over.

She had heard some of Professor Sycamore’s eccentric anecdotes—this sounded like something he would suggest…

“Gah!” Sirfetch’d suddenly lit up when it saw Alcremie bring a dish it loved.

Skewered grilled leeks, slightly charred, smelling rich!

Sirfetch’d: “Gah! (✪ω✪)”

Smells amazing!

Outside, the sky grew late and inside the room there was a warm, cozy reunion atmosphere, enjoying the calm after the big fight.

The big round table was piled with all sorts of dishes.

Diancie sat on the left dome;

on her left was Steven, and Lu Ye and Cynthia sat in a row.

“How was your journey?” Cynthia asked curiously.

Ash wiped the skewer off, his mouth greasy, and mumbled, “Teacher Lu crushed Yveltal!”

Teacher Lu: “……”

Oh boy…classic Lu-brag line!

“Unbelievable.” Clemont, still replaying the scene, pushed his glasses up and said, “Haunter’s Dark Z move even had the power of a battle-legend Pokémon…”

Cynthia glanced at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye: ︿(￣︶￣)︿

Pikachu can use a Z-Move to blow up a Kapu—Kapow. Haunter used Dark Void Z to shatter Yveltal—what’s the problem?

Bonnie cocked her head, thought a moment, and said, “We went with Diancie to her country and met lots of Ralts…”

“And we camped! Teacher Lu caught so many Magikarp!” Bonnie clenched her fists, little stars shining in her eyes.

“And then?” Cynthia found herself listening more attentively.

This champion had a natural rapport with Pokémon and children, always putting them at ease right away.

“Then, I planned to sleep in the tent with Teacher Lu because Gigantamax Haunter’s tent was so cute…”

Bonnie stuck out her tongue: “But in the end, Steven-san slept with Teacher Lu!”

Cynthia: ?

Steven: “Ahem!”

Lu Ye: “……kids say the darndest things, kids say the darndest things!”

At that moment, Cynthia’s mood was like someone who found out their boyfriend persuaded them to work late while secretly going on an adventure with his best buddy.

I’ve never even slept in the same tent as Lu Ye…

Cynthia tucked a lock of hair behind her ear;

her gaze sharpened and she gave a slight smile: “Let’s have a Pokémon battle, Teacher Lu~”

Her voice was sweet but chilling.

“My Haunter… just suffered a heavy injury and it’s not suitable for battle.” Lu Ye said.

“Gengarrr?” Haunter looked at him strangely.

Suddenly!

Haunter frowned, clutched his chest, showing pain: “Gengarrr…”

“Pika! (ﾟДﾟ#)” Pikachu was stunned.

That power—this is something worth studying!

Cynthia smiled faintly, her eyes cold: “When trainers’ gazes meet, you can’t refuse a battle.”

“Ugh! I’ve been wanting to see Teacher Lu versus Champion Bamboo Lan for a while!” Ash swallowed his food.

Lu Ye’s expression shifted.

All this delicious food still can’t shut you up, you idiot!

Teacher Lu glanced at Steven.

Steven continued leisurely cutting his steak, savoring its juices and nodding in appreciation like a connoisseur.

This steak’s doneness is just right…

“Graa! (〝▼皿▼)”

“Kongjin…(⊙x⊙;

)”

Metagross looked up at the ceiling, its supercomputer brain computing pi.

Teacher Lu’s expression was complicated.

Steven, say something, Steven!

…

Domestic abuse, in the end, did not fall on Teacher Lu and Haunter.

Teacher Lu’s excuse was that he needed to stay in peak condition to prepare for the Champion Road in Donghua.

Not a bad excuse.

Night blurred into soft darkness;

the World Tree rose like green pulsing lights, everything quiet, no wind.

Cynthia hugged her arms;

the side profile of her eyes glittered like a bright star as she looked at the flickering lights.

“You obtained the Fairy Plate?” Cynthia asked, somewhat surprised.

“Yes.” Lu Ye nodded.

Judging by the original timeline, the Hoopa movie would be about three months away, and Ash would be preparing for the Lumiose Conference.

“It allows me to use it for roughly three months, after which I must return the Plate to Arceus.”

“Only three months… that’s still enough, after all it’s a legendary item,” Cynthia mused. “In these three months you might be able to elevate Sylveon to championship-level performance.”

Lu Ye nodded lightly.

Over the past year and a half, it hasn’t just been Teacher Lu.

Champions like Steven, Cynthia, and Dan Emperor have all been steadily improving.

Right now Dan Emperor may not yet be able to fight Eternatus.

But a few years from now, facing Gigantamax Eternatus, Dan Emperor might be able to intercept it with just Charizard.

That Charizard is a regular-state “battle legend”;

in Gigantamax form it’s nearly broken.

And Cabbage’s Garchomp—

Teacher Lu hadn’t battled Mengmengda;

after Mega Evolution it likely also had battle-legend-level strength.

“Still, I’ll probably get domestic-violenced…” Teacher Lu mused.

“When does the Donghua Champion Road start?” Cynthia asked.

“In October, running until January of next year—three months long.” Lu Ye replied.

“Indeed… less than half a month away from now;

focus on training,” Cynthia nodded lightly.

Teacher Lu exhaled.

No need to face off with a super Garchomp!

Haunter and I both dodged a bullet!

“I plan to return to Motor City next week;

before that I’ll expand the café and hire some staff.” Lu Ye said.

Every hiring session felt like a gacha pull.

Hopefully I can draw an SSR-level Gardevoir as a maid server!

“It’s gradually getting on track.” Cynthia looked back at the front hall;

the café glowed orange.

“Alcremie’s cooking has improved, but a guest complained her curry rice only tastes sweet…”

“Sweet curry rice?” Cynthia was surprised.

Lu Ye nodded: “Curry rice, like tree berries, comes in sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and astringent—five flavors.”

“There are five levels;

I’m a top-tier ‘Charizard’ chef, while Alcremie is still at lv3 ‘Fresh Cream’ cook.”

“Sounds complicated…” Cynthia said.

Lu Ye shrugged: “Actually Ducklett’s cooking is pretty good too;

it just seems to have an innate fear of kitchens.”

A commemorative Poké Ball wiggled.

“Gah! (´థ౪థ)σ”

If it were you, you’d be scared of Ducklett too!

…

Night fogged the world.

Lu Ye and Cynthia stood in the courtyard for twenty minutes.

When they returned to the front hall, the messy table had already been cleaned.

Cynthia looked at Lu Ye.

“I cook, Haunter washes the dishes… clear division of labor,” Lu Ye said.

Princess Diancie rose and bade Teacher Lu and the others farewell.

“I’ll see Diancie back,” Steven said.

“Thank you, Steven.” Princess Diancie smiled lightly.

Ash yawned and planned to sleep at Clemont’s gym;

he said goodbye to Serena.

For a moment, only Lu Ye, Bamboo Lan, and the now-sated, dazed little ones remained in the shop.

“How long are you on break?” Lu Ye turned to ask.

Cynthia hugged her arms, thought for a moment, and said, “Depends on whether there’s urgent work…”

“No urgent work?”

“I trust Lucian can handle the routine tasks properly.” Cynthia said seriously.

Lu Ye: “……”

World-famous painting: “Lucian Working Overtime”

Teacher Lu’s diary sometimes recorded classic dry jokes he would use to self-deprecate during streams.

For example, “Karine filming scenes” and so on.

Today’s cold joke excerpt went like this:

[Some villain posted online: “I’ve never seen a champion use such dirty methods!”

He was arrested by Interpol for leaking important secrets.

The villain defended himself: “I didn’t say which champion.”

“Don’t play dumb!” the man roared. “I’ve worked Interpol three years—don’t you think I know which champion uses dirty means?”]

…

The trip to Donghua was tentatively scheduled for next week.

Before that, Teacher Lu planned to loaf around the café and reorganize the team ranks.

The Donghua Champion Road wasn’t just about the “Donghua Champion” title.

It was a crucial chance for Arcanine to inherit moves and practice “Precipice Blades” and “Geomancy.”

The Champion Road lasted about three months—not too long, and the Elite Four’s preparations and champion trials required time.

On the Champion Road he might even meet the Donghua-origin “battle legend” Master Ma…

Lu Ye recalled the recent champion handover in Donghua.

What appeared online was news about the outgoing champion;

the new champion’s name hadn’t been officially announced.

Rumors circulated;

announcement was likely just a matter of time, and people online kept discussing it.

Curious, Lu Ye messaged Matori, who knew a little: “Any news on the current Donghua champion?”

“Miao Ren Champion.” Matori said indifferently.

“I asked about the current champion, not the previous one!”

“The current Donghua champion’s name is ‘Miao Ren’ Champion.” Matori replied earnestly. “Miao Ren just defeated the previous champion and thus is the current champion!”

Lu Ye: “……”

Stop speaking in riddles!