"By the way, who exactly did you run into? The battle was brutal. Did you defeat him?" Cain asked, changing the subject, though it was obvious that this was what he cared about most.
"I don't know. I didn't expect to run into anyone else besides us. But about a month ago, someone suddenly appeared near me. Fortunately, at that time I wasn't actively investigating, and my psychic perception was blocked by Slowbro and Jynx working together."
"From then on, I knew that besides us, there were other people here. And judging by their attitude and reactions, it was clear that their intentions were not friendly."
"That was why, during the time that followed, while training my Pokémon, I was also searching for their traces, all while avoiding that group of people. Until yesterday, when I saw the mark Lance left and was heading toward this valley, I was discovered by someone."
"In theory, I should have been able to escape, but I don't know whether that person had already seen my trajectory of advance. In order not to expose this place, I could only turn back and confront him. However, that individual was absurdly strong and, moreover, possessed very powerful psychic abilities. Some of his Pokémon could use a special type of evolution."
"With these clues, I deduced that he was very likely someone from the Sacred Church, and then it became even more impossible to let him live, so... that was how I fought him all the way to this point... until I was completely exhausted..."
"Although I didn't see him breathe his last breath, all of his Pokémon were severely injured, just like mine, and I personally froze him, turning him into an ice statue. I estimate that he should not have survived."
"On the way, while Slowbro was bringing me here, I erased all the marks Lance had left and, moreover, deliberately made several detours. They shouldn't be able to find this place."
Lorelei explained all of this in one go. Since it was mental communication, this kind of exchange was much simpler than speaking.
After listening to her, Cain couldn't help but admire Lorelei's determination and caution. Having reached that point coming from a relatively "ordinary" family proved that her abilities were beyond question.
If Cain had been in her place, he probably wouldn't have handled the situation any better than she did.
Even while gravely injured and on the brink of death, she was able to take every detail into account. There was no choice but to acknowledge her excellence.
Her usual coldness was not an act; it was simply her nature. Very few people could remain calm in such a situation, and the fact that Lorelei managed to do so had a lot to do with her always remaining absolutely serene.
At that moment, Cain began to suspect that, in reality, Lorelei had always sought trouble with Lance not because she was truly angry with him, but because she needed a perfect rival to strengthen herself... and Lance had been the chosen one.
Challenge after challenge was nothing more than a way to refine her tactics and train her Pokémon. To grow better, combat was absolutely indispensable.
She only lacked a motive. Since everyone believed that was the reason, she simply let it become reality. After all, it didn't affect her much.
Thinking about it carefully, Cain felt a chill: no matter what you do, it's best never to provoke a powerful woman with an excessively cold mind. It was terrifying.
As if she had perceived Cain's thoughts, Lorelei's large eyes flashed with a sharp light as she looked at him.
Noticing her gaze, Cain swallowed lightly and observed a minute of mental silence for Lance.
He hadn't had it easy: challenged again and again, constantly searching for faults in himself, believing that everything was his fault, only to end up becoming, time and time again, Lorelei's primary combat target.
But silence aside, Cain would never tell Lance any of this. Lest he be unable to accept the reality.
Thinking about it, Lance was truly a kind person. Perhaps it wasn't that he hadn't guessed all of this, but that he genuinely felt that he had gone too far back then and chose to compensate Lorelei in that way.
Seen this way, the rapport between the two of them was truly extraordinary. Lance's fury when he saw Lorelei gravely injured was something everyone could feel, and it was the first time even Cain had seen that side of him.
"From what you describe, it was undoubtedly someone from the Sacred Church," Cain nodded.
Then, Cain told Lorelei everything they had experienced during that time, as well as the appearance of the Sacred Church and their possible intentions.
It was a long and complex story, but since they were communicating mentally, there was no need to explain it word for word.
After hearing it, Lorelei understood the current situation in broad terms and fell silent once more.
The first time one hears something like this, psychological pressure is inevitable, but that pressure could be turned precisely into the force that propelled them forward.
Just like Lorelei at that moment: after a brief silence, she accepted reality and was already considering how to train her Pokémon over the next three months.
When she was alone, due to the limited amount of medicine and healing sprays she carried, even during outdoor training she didn't dare to push herself to the limit.
Although she had collected many materials and resources, she didn't know how to use them in the most efficient way. Some she didn't even fully understand, which seriously restricted her growth.
But now the situation was different.
She had run into Cain!
As long as she handed the materials over to him, he could craft a large number of useful items. Even if her Pokémon were injured, she no longer had to worry: she could fight without restraint and grow without limits.
Materials that had once been nothing more than ornaments, in Cain's hands became the most suitable objects and medicines.
Of course, she couldn't make him work for free; she had to pay him a reward. Even so, that was infinitely better than leaving the materials stored away unused.
Why had they come to this place?
Wasn't it precisely to become stronger?
Collecting materials had the goal of exchanging them for items that increased their power, but if now those materials could be directly transformed into valuable and specific tools, why wait to return to the Pokémon world?
Advanced-level breeders, who were already a treasure in the Pokémon world, became something even more valuable on this continent.
As long as Cain was there, what did even a war of attrition against the Sacred Church matter?
They wouldn't be able to last longer than them!
(End of chapter)