Own Home?!
"Cin? Minccino!"
Just as Hakuya greeted the Milotic in the courtyard pool and slowly stepped forward to push open the villa's main door, a fluffy gray figure and a pair of beautiful black eyes that seemed to twinkle with little stars came into view.
Having finally seen her Trainer again after a week, Minccino's eyes curved into crescents as she let out a welcoming sound.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm back."
Hakuya squatted down and gently rubbed her head, a gentle smile unconsciously spreading across his face.
Behind him, the girls were all amazed by the scene inside the villa.
—The crystal chandelier suspended from the dome was flowing with light like fragmented gold. The giant floor-to-ceiling windows cut the twilight outside into diamond shapes, laying them obliquely on the cloud-patterned white jade floor tiles. That floor, so smooth it could reflect a person's silhouette, had not a single speck of dust to be found, aside from the interweaving flow of the sunset's afterglow and the chandelier's golden fragments.
Pausing to look for a moment gave one the feeling of being about to step into a world of glazed glass; even their breathing unconsciously lightened.
"Eh, can we not go in right now?"
At this moment, May, feeling her pant leg suddenly being tugged and thinking her behavior didn't fit etiquette, looked stunned.
"I think... she's probably reminding us that it's best to change our shoes before going in."
Compared to her sister, whose brows were slightly furrowed and whose face flashed with a trace of confusion and helplessness, Sapphire noticed the Minccino turning around to hug pairs of slippers out of the shoe cabinet nearby, then walking toward them with mincing steps while shaking her tail.
She pursed her lips and pondered for a moment before explaining to May beside her.
"Minccino is a Pokémon that loves cleanliness. Because they are mysophobic, they cannot tolerate even a speck of dirt. We just walked over from the fields, so she's probably worried the mud on our shoes will dirty the floor here~"
"That is indeed correct. The reason the house is so clean is mostly thanks to her."
regarding this chestnut-haired girl's guess, Hakuya smiled and nodded in agreement.
Ever since she cleaned a Luxury Ball and captured herself, "forced" to become his Pokémon, this Minccino had volunteered to take on all the cleaning work in the farm, carrying out a major cleaning of the villa at a set time every day.
However, although having help with cleaning was a good thing, sometimes her overly mysophobic nature made people feel both helpless and amused.
—Every time a sex party in the villa was in full swing, this Minccino girl would be unable to stand the filthy scent coming from Hakuya and would start a major cleaning. In the end, after cleaning everything up, she would hug her wet tail, which was covered in white semen essence, and let out a tragic cry.
"Oh my, what a truly cute little fellow~"
To the side, Lisia, who had changed into indoor shoes early on, squatted down and supported her cheeks with her slender hands, exclaiming in admiration.
With her lively personality, the girl couldn't resist such a Minccino who looked soft and cute on the outside and had a personality that loved cleanliness so much.
"Min~"
Seeing that the farm owner and the guests had all obediently changed into slippers according to her words, Minccino was just about to nod with satisfaction when her gaze shifted slightly, and she caught a glimpse of the spider webs and Ariados hidden in the corner.
Even though she had just done a major cleaning this morning, there were already several spider webs shimmering with silver light in the corner of the wall!
The little guy, who couldn't tolerate a single speck of dirt in her eyes, puffed up her cheeks. The fluffy tail behind her was waved about with vigor as she charged directly over, her face full of resentment.
Damn big-breasted black silk spider spirit sister, do you really think this is your own home or something?!
Ariados, who was still resting and heard the sound of spider silk breaking: "? ? ?"
At this moment, hearing the commotion from outside, Alcremie carefully poked her head out from the kitchen doorway.
Her gaze bypassed the beautiful girls who were looking around and clicking their tongues in wonder, and locked onto the black-haired young man walking at the very front. Her watery beautiful eyes suddenly burst with light.
"Cremie~"
"Slow down, slow down."
Originally intending to play the host and show May and the others around, Hakuya was pulled away by Alcremie in the blink of an eye.
The little guy closed the door with a clack, then stood on her tiptoes to bring out a plate.
At first, he was curious about Alcremie's mysterious behavior, but when Hakuya watched her lift the lid and completely reveal the item on the plate, a warm current involuntarily surged into his heart.
It was a glistening, golden deluxe berry cream cake. The side walls were decorated with a circle of crystal-clear Sitrus Berry flesh, and fragrant, soft fresh cream had been specially poured over it by Alcremie, crookedly drawing Hakuya's smiling face.
Solemnly taking it into his hands, Hakuya used a knife and fork to cut a small piece and put it into his mouth. Then, his eyes widened slightly, and under the little guy's hopeful gaze, he praised:
"Mmm... it's delicious~"
Compared to before, Alcremie's technique in making cream cakes had improved significantly again.
If he weren't in the Pokémon world but in the Food Wars world, this single bite would probably make his clothes explode on the spot~
Of course, compared to the so-called value, the feelings carried by this cake were, for him, incomparable to any expensive item in the world.
"Doom~"
Just as Hakuya was secretly feeling sentimental, the soft bark of the Houndoom leader suddenly came from the doorway.
The Houndoom pack responsible for patrolling the farm had also learned the news of his return immediately. However, right now, it wasn't just a welcome; they seemed to have caught a wild Pokémon trespassing on the farm.
Following behind the Houndoom leader and rushing to the scene of the crime, Hakuya voiced his question.
"This is the... intruder you guys caught?"
"Doom~"
The Houndoom leader raised his head and responded proudly.
This Houndoom leader, who looked cold and aloof on the outside like a ten-thousand-year iceberg, actually had a strong gap moe. He always deliberately raised his head hoping for head pats and praise from his Trainer after completing his work.
However, at this moment, looking at the blue figure that was covered in dirt and obviously roasted by several Flamethrowers, Hakuya finally couldn't help but laugh out loud. Wasn't this the Piplup that had run off and disappeared into the farm as soon as they landed just now?!
He patted the Houndoom leader's head, his tone carrying a bit of teasing but also hidden gratification, saying, "Your patrol work is indeed very serious and responsible, but unfortunately, you caught the wrong one this time..."
"I just came back and forgot to tell you in advance; Piplup is a guest at the farm for these few days."
Hearing the farm owner's explanation, the Houndoom pack looked at each other, awkward expressions floating onto their faces.
"Doom~"
Oh my~ Seeing this chubby round penguin shuttling through the Pecha Berry fields with glowing eyes...
They thought it was another wild Pokémon climbing over the fence and running in from outside to steal food, so they surrounded it and beat it up.
Unexpectedly, in the end, it turned out to be friendly fire—
"Kacha kacha—!"
To the side, Dawn, who had come upon hearing the news, suppressed her laughter and raised her camera, starting a frenzy of snapping photos.
A so-called 'bad friend' type of Trainer would always 'kick someone when they're down' only when the other party was making a fool of themselves.
After all, she had long discovered that although Piplup looked covered in dirt and miserable, in reality, because the Houndoom pack had deliberately held back, he hadn't suffered any serious injuries and would fully recover after just a few minutes of rest.
"Piplup~"
Feeling the flash shining on his face, Piplup protested symbolically a few times, then the highlights in his eyes completely disappeared.
It's over; his record of ugly photos in his Trainer's hands has been forced to increase by one!!!