In the face of absolute power, all rebellion was just paper Arcanine.
Even Mars seemed to have accepted his fate; he signed every document placed in his hand without even looking.
As one of the most prominent Families in the Kalos region, the Narcissus Family's assets were incredibly complex.
The dozen or so staff assigned to the asset audit worked nonstop from noon that day until the afternoon of the next, barely finishing.
But when the numbers grew large enough, what you held in your hand in the end was still just a string of digits…
In any case, the Shadownight Gym wasn't short on money, and Joseph hardly felt anything looking at the long string of numbers.
Of course, that didn't mean he wouldn't take it.
That evening, Joseph's uncle even snuck back secretly… only to find that everything had already been settled, and the winner turned out to be his own nephew.
After repeated questioning from Joseph, his uncle finally admitted awkwardly that he had already arranged for a ship to depart for another region, ready to help Joseph escape again via a fake disappearance.
Joseph couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time!
…But his heart was filled with gratitude.
At the very least, in this vast Kalos, there were still a few people who genuinely cared about him.
In the end, after all the asset transfers were completed, what remained for the Narcissus Family was still a substantial sum; more than enough for Mars to retire on.
"…Lady Mandy, are you sure you won't divorce?"
Looking at Lady Mandy in front of him, Joseph couldn't help but ask one more time.
"Yes. No matter what mistakes Mars has made in the past, at the very least he was good to me. And I don't believe he would ever harm me."
"…If that's your decision."
Whether she was still attached to Mars physically… or if this was true love born of hardship, Joseph couldn't be bothered to dig any deeper.
"It's just… my family only agreed to let me stay if I take back my dowry from back then."
As she said this, Mandy's expression grew heavy. After all, Mars had paid a generous bride price when he married her, and now her Family was clearly taking advantage of the situation.
But on the flip side, Mandy was willing to forgo even her dowry just to stay by Mars's side.
'Maybe… this was true love?'
"Let… LET THEM TAKE IT!"
Mars, who had been silent all this time, suddenly shouted.
---
One week later, Joseph's family matters were finally concluded.
As Mars's third in-law, the Saxon Family had given Joseph's mother a truly generous dowry. But such a large amount of wealth couldn't all be taken away as Pokédollars.
In the end, Joseph handed it over to his uncle for management, to be gradually converted and sent back to Johto in various ways.
During this time, Joseph's older brother Siebold also returned for a visit.
Aside from being shocked by what Joseph had done, he also chose to return all of his allocated share of the inheritance to their mother's side of the family.
Incidentally, Siebold also brought a letter for Sato from Elite Four Drake.
"Drake's negotiations with the Kalos League haven't gone well. He's asked me to assist him, so I won't be able to return with you all for now."
After finishing the letter, Sato turned to the group and said.
"Let's all head out together. The cruise ship we arranged for our return belongs to my uncle's company. Now's a good time to have it transferred to my name. It'll make traveling more convenient in the future."
"Ahhhhhh~"
Mark and the others took a deep breath.What did he mean 'make traveling more convenient'? That was a cruise ship, not a yacht!
Pay-to-win big shot… definitely not someone to mess with!
And off to the side, Mark suddenly realized: the Boss had unmatched strength, Joseph had bottomless wealth… and all he had was… luck.
'Sigh… what a difficult life.'
---
The return trip was postponed, but no one had any objections. If they weren't worried that Joseph might feel emotional revisiting old places, Akira and the others honestly wouldn't have minded traveling around Kalos for a while.
Now that plans had changed, even if it wasn't a vacation, visiting the Kalos League still sounded like a good time.
After all, "assist" pretty much just meant battling!
Other than Joseph, Sina, and Lotta, everyone present was a battle maniac.
Nothing more to say!
Rest for one night. Depart tomorrow morning!
After dinner, as usual, Sato headed to the Saxon Family's private training room to get some work in.
Absol was in a rapid growth phase. It had to complete a full set of training every day without fail to build a solid foundation.
Though Absol still kept its "cool, distant demeanor," it no longer rejected the occasional touch from Sato.
But if you tried to pet it too many times, it would instantly puff up like a Cyndaquil, its grumpy-cute attitude only making Sato want to pet it more.
Of course, he held back in the end. No need to rush, he'd win it over eventually.
'Hehehe… cough…'
Naturally, Drapion and Pikachu also needed intensive training. Sato was working hard to perfect a tactical system tailored specifically to them.
Just as Sato was halfway through his training, someone opened the door to the room.
"…Joseph? What's up?"
"Mhm."
Joseph nodded lightly, but then turned and walked over to Absol!
Reaching out to start petting it with practiced ease…
"Sooool~"
Sato: WT…!
Clearly, even a deeply distrustful Absol couldn't resist Joseph's Viridian Power…
Every time Sato saw Joseph win over Pokémon so effortlessly, he'd never admit he felt the tiniest bit jealous.
Only when Absol finally collapsed onto the ground, too relaxed to move, did Joseph reluctantly stop.
"I've been so busy, I almost forgot I had a gift for you."
"A… gift?"
Sato raised an eyebrow. 'At least this guy's not totally heartless. Guess bringing everyone to Kalos to rescue you wasn't a waste after all.'
Joseph casually pulled out a classic Poké Ball and handed it to Sato.
"Release it and see. I think you'll like it~"
Sato nodded, then pressed the button on the Poké Ball.
A flash of red light… and a deep blue Pokémon appeared in front of them.
Its large pale-yellow eyes sparkled with life, and around its neck was a scarf made of foam. Its slender limbs showed a hint of toned muscle beneath the skin… overall, it looked pretty sharp.
"Frogadier!"
Sato's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected Joseph to give him a Frogadier.
"Mhm. It's the only Water-type in the Narcissus Family's breeding center with Elite Four level potential. Its Dark-type potential will depend on its evolution, but either way, I doubt that'll be a problem for someone with Dark Energy like you."
"Of course not!"
Sato grinned and crouched down, extending his right hand toward Frogadier.
"Looking forward to working together… Frogadier!"
Frogadier tilted its head at Sato… then glanced at Joseph, whom it had seen once before.
Then it hopped over to Joseph's feet.
"Fro!"
"A-Ahem… Frogadier, you've got the wrong person~ He's your Trainer now."
"…Fro?"
Sato: (#-_-)\┯━┯