"Has Mai said anything about how she wants to arrange the wedding?"
"She has, but she never mentioned you."
Luther knew exactly what Kukui Tetsu was getting at, so he answered without beating around the bush.
Kukui Tetsu covered his face with one hand, hiding his expression. After a moment of silence, he finally said, "I'm still her father... Nothing else matters, but please put in a good word for me about this."
Luther gave a helpless smile. "I really like Mai. Please don't put me in a difficult position."
They were both smart enough to understand what that meant. Luther wasn't going to upset Mai over something like this. Mai listened to him on plenty of matters, but this was one subject Luther knew wasn't up for discussion.
Kukui Tetsu seemed to be getting drunk. When someone was already in a bad mood and kept drinking alone, it didn't take much for the alcohol to hit. Before long, he was slumped over the table, snoring.
Azumarill finished clearing out the food in the adjoining room, gave a satisfied burp, and waddled back out.
Luther informed the bodyguards waiting outside, glanced back at Kukui Tetsu one last time, and quietly left.
"Not very sincere, huh? No wonder Mai feels uncomfortable around him."
Sitting on Altaria's back, Luther replayed the whole dinner in his head, shaking his head in dismay.
Kukui Tetsu had been pretending to be drunk, hoping Luther would feel sorry for him and bring up the matter with Mai. His acting wasn't bad, but unfortunately, his trembling eyelids had given him away.
All these little schemes between a father and daughter, refusing to simply be honest with each other...
Luther really couldn't understand whether Kukui Tetsu even knew how to care about someone properly. The Kukui Tetsu who had anxiously asked question after question about his daughter almost felt like a completely different person from the one who'd ended the night by faking drunkenness to gain sympathy.
Luther didn't return to the eastern island of Lily of the Valley. Since it was already so late, he decided to head straight to Professor Rowan's laboratory instead.
Aggron, Mawile, Wigglytuff, Nidorina, Arcanine, and Poliwhirl had all been transferred to the island while Luther was attending the press conference.
According to Mai, the two Aggron had gotten along fairly well during their first meeting. That was already a relief. Both were male Aggron, and it wasn't exactly unusual for two of them to take one look at each other, decide they hated what they saw, and immediately start fighting.
Mawile and the others had also quickly grown familiar with Mira and Mai. The remaining little ones would be transferred over after their examinations were finished.
This time, Luther had returned to the laboratory for only one reason: Amaura.
Things had been fine for the first few days, but as time passed, the cramped cold room had begun wearing on Amaura's mood.
No matter how much the other Ice-type Pokémon tried to cheer her up, she remained listless. Wigglytuff and Mawile had already left ahead of her. Without any familiar companions nearby, Amaura would only become even more anxious.
The moment Luther heard about it, he stopped delaying.
By the time he returned to Sandgem Town, it was already deep into the night.
Sachiko, who was eating cookies and drinking milk, heard the sound of a Pokémon landing on the lawn and came outside in her pajamas.
"Shh." Luther stopped her before she could wake the others.
Researchers already had exhausting schedules. Gathering data often meant spending an entire day continuously observing something, so there was no reason to disturb their sleep at this hour.
"Professor Rowan's asleep?" Luther asked.
"Everyone is," Sachiko replied, taking another sip of milk. "Yesterday, one of the Ekans at the lab evolved into Arbok, so everyone helped collect the data. They were busy all day, then they still had to give your Pokémon their examinations. They're exhausted."
"Then why aren't you asleep?"
"Me? I'm the champion of staying up late." Sachiko proudly pointed at the dark circles under her eyes. Researchers had irregular sleep schedules to begin with, and she'd long since gotten used to it.
Sachiko led Luther to the cold room inside the laboratory.
Through the glass, Luther could see Amaura curled up asleep. Her long neck allowed her to rest her head against her short tail.
"She gets along really well with Snorunt and the others. They've become friends," Sachiko said, looking through the glass.
"She's incredibly gentle too. Pretty much everyone in the lab can approach her, and she's always cooperative with the researchers. But this cold room is still too small for her. You can tell she really isn't adjusting well."
"We can't build a cold room on the island yet. I'm paying for all the houses myself, and right now the priority is making sure Cynthia and the others' homes are finished on schedule." Luther looked at the sleeping Amaura, feeling a pang of guilt.
"What are you going to do, then?" Sachiko asked.
"I'm going to leave her with a friend of mine. She has plenty of Ice-type Pokémon, and there's a place there where Amaura can move around freely."
Luther had already made up his mind before coming here. For Amaura's sake, he had to do this.
Early the next morning, Amaura woke to the smell of delicious food. The moment she saw Luther standing in front of her, she rushed over and began rubbing her head against his chest.
After playing with her for a while, Luther told her what he had decided.
Amaura immediately grew anxious. She wrapped her neck around Luther and shook her body repeatedly, clearly refusing to let go.
"I know. I'm really sorry..." Luther pressed his forehead against hers and wrapped his arms around her neck.
Ignoring the chill biting into his hands, he gently stroked her. "I'm just too broke right now. I don't have enough money to build you a proper home of your own. You were supposed to go to the island with the others... but I've already made commitments to other people. They've helped me so much along the way that I really can't bring myself to ask them for more money."
"Just give me a little time. I'll earn enough to build your cold room, and then you can live together with everyone else."
Amaura finally released him and licked his face.
Just as Sachiko had said, Amaura really was an incredibly well-behaved Pokémon. The moment she realized her actions were making Luther feel even worse, she immediately turned around to comfort him instead.
And the more understanding Amaura was, the guiltier Luther felt. They had only just reunited after being apart for so long, and now they were about to separate again. It left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Luther took Amaura north, eventually arriving in Snowpoint City.
Candice agreed to Luther's request without the slightest hesitation. Getting the chance to spend some time with an extinct Pokémon like Amaura was something she could hardly ask for, and Amaura's adorable appearance alone was enough to completely win her over.
The moment Amaura reached the entrance of the cave Candice had carved out near the snowy mountain, she was immediately surrounded by a swarm of Swinub. The little Pokémon, each looking like a round dumpling, crowded around Amaura and sniffed her furiously, their noses twitching nonstop.
Amaura carefully watched every step she took, afraid she might accidentally step on one of them.
At Candice's call, Glalie, Spheal, Abomasnow, Weavile, and Vanillish all came out to meet her. After Candice made the introductions, the Ice-type Pokémon gathered around Amaura and led her into the cave, eager to show her Candice's handiwork.
Luther watched until Amaura disappeared from sight, then released Altaria and climbed onto her back.
"You're not going to say goodbye to Amaura?" Candice knew Luther would be leaving soon, but she hadn't expected him to leave without even saying farewell.
"No... If I say goodbye and see her reaction, it'll only make it harder." Luther took a deep breath. "Candice, I'm counting on you."
Watching Luther rise into the air, Candice thumped her chest confidently. "Leave it to me! And when you have time, come visit me and Amaura!"
"I will," Luther's voice drifted down from the sky.
(End of Chapter)
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