Chapter 113: Discovering the Enemy

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Lorelei was deep in thought when she suddenly heard a knocking sound and a voice from behind her. Startled, she quickly turned around.

From behind the large tree, a familiar figure leaned out halfway. Remembering the words she had just heard, she immediately pouted, let out a cold snort, and turned her head away, making it clear she didn't want to deal with Liam.

Liam noticed Lorelei's expression and actions, scratched his cheek slightly, and said with a smile:

"Heh, judging by your reaction, you don't want to listen, huh? Alright, I won't waste my breath then. Sigh... After walking all this way, I'm a bit tired. I'll rest here for a while."

After saying that, Liam stretched lazily before crossing his arms and closing his eyes, pretending to doze off.

"!!"

Hearing his words, Lorelei turned around to look and saw that he had indeed closed his eyes. Feeling frustrated, she immediately jumped up, grabbed his clothes with both hands, and shook him violently.

"Hey! Hey! I'm dizzy, I'm dizzy! I was wrong, I was wrong!"

Liam, shaken so hard by Lorelei, quickly begged for mercy.

"Hmph! Speak up, now!"

Lorelei let go, kneeling on the grass with her hands on her hips, puffing her cheeks angrily as she glared at him.

"...Speak about what?"

Liam smiled slyly, pretending to be clueless.

Seeing this, Lorelei's hands twitched with the urge to strangle him. Sensing danger, Liam immediately raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright! I'll talk, I'll talk. But… it's already dark now. We should head back to the Pokémon Center first. If Bruno goes there looking for us and doesn't find us, he'll probably start worrying. We can talk on the way."

Liam straightened his clothes, stood up, and reached out a hand to help Lorelei up.

However, Lorelei simply grabbed his hand, used it to push herself up, then quickly withdrew her hand, standing still with an awkward expression.

Liam glanced at his hand, slightly puzzled. Am I that strong?

Then, he heard Lorelei mumble in a quiet voice.

"Uh… I lost my shoe…"

Liam blinked and looked down. Sure enough, Lorelei's red summer sandals were now down to just one. The other was nowhere to be found. One bare foot awkwardly hid behind the other.

"Hah? Where did your shoe go? Weren't you here for a Gym challenge? Did you lose? Don't tell me Cinnabar Gym forces challengers to forfeit a shoe if they lose?!"

Liam's face was full of confusion—he simply couldn't comprehend how her shoe had gone missing.

Lorelei instantly fumed at his ridiculous assumption. "What nonsense are you spouting?! Gyms don't have such weird rules!"

From her reaction, Liam could already guess—she hadn't won the challenge. It made sense. After all that big talk earlier, she had ultimately failed to earn the Gym Badge. That was probably why she was sitting here, feeling too embarrassed to go back, unsure of what to do.

"Then what happened?" Liam frowned and asked.

Pouting, Lorelei pointed toward the ocean behind her and huffed.

"Hmph! I was mad, so I threw my shoe into the sea…"

Liam: "...Littering is wrong…"

"Mind your own business! Are we going or not?! If you're not leaving, I am!"

Lorelei was so annoyed by his nonchalant comment that she angrily stomped off, striding forward barefoot with exaggerated confidence.

Liam chuckled at her reaction before jogging ahead, stopping in front of her, and crouching down.

"Come on, seeing you barefoot like this is kinda pitiful. I'll carry you for a bit."

Lorelei was caught off guard, her anger disappearing as she twiddled her fingers together, looking embarrassed.

"T-That's… That's too embarrassing…"

Liam shrugged. "What's there to be embarrassed about? Aren't we friends? A little thing like this is no big deal between friends."

Upon hearing that, Lorelei's expression darkened slightly. She lowered her head and muttered under her breath, "Just… friends?"

Liam had sharp hearing, so he caught her words clearly. However, he didn't know how to respond, so he stayed silent.

The momentary silence between them made the air slightly awkward. Lorelei glanced at Liam, who was still crouching there without saying anything, then shook her head hard, making her shoulder-length red hair sway. A mischievous grin spread across her face.

Then, without warning, she suddenly lunged at him.

"Whoa!!!"

"Aha! No complaining, no complaining!"

Caught completely off guard, Liam instinctively opened his mouth to say, So heavy!—but before he could finish, Lorelei clamped a hand over his mouth, silencing him.

Liam rolled his eyes but tightened his grip on her legs, easily standing up before heading toward the Pokémon Center.

Lorelei removed her hand from his mouth, subtly wiping it on his clothes before wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Hey… The girl in your heart… What's she like? I'm kinda curious. How different am I from her?" she asked softly.

Liam thought for a moment, feeling speechless. At the very least, when I carried Hanako, my back didn't feel like it was being stabbed…

Of course, he wouldn't dare say that out loud. His neck was still within her reach—if he spoke his mind, he might not live to see the sunrise.

"Ahem. Hanako, huh? Well… she's very beautiful, gentle, loves doing housework, kind to others, and adores Pokémon. Haha! You know, Hanako gives off a slightly airheaded vibe, but trust me—it's all an act! She's actually incredibly smart and—"

Lorelei quietly listened as Liam went on and on, his tone growing more and more enthusiastic, his expressions almost animated.

Somehow, she felt a strange curiosity. A sudden urge to meet this girl named Hanako. To see for herself what kind of person she was, and what kind of magic she possessed.

The Cinnabar Gym wasn't too far from the Pokémon Center. By the time Liam arrived with Lorelei on his back, he was still grinning from excitement over his own story. 

But when he turned to check on Lorelei, he noticed that—whether from exhaustion or being lulled to sleep by his talking—she had already dozed off, her face nestled against his shoulder, her glasses slightly askew.

Liam sighed helplessly. So all my talking turned into a lullaby, huh?

Shaking his head with a wry smile, he was about to step into the Pokémon Center when—

A familiar figure emerged from the nearby convenience store.

Dressed in a long trench coat and a hat, the person carried two large bags of goods and hurriedly made their way toward Cinnabar Gym. Although they were bundled up tightly, Liam instantly recognized that face.

"It's that poacher who used Houndoom and Marowak! Why is he here? Could this place be their latest hideout?!"

Liam's heart tightened with alarm. Watching the man vanish into the distance, he frowned slightly before stepping into the Pokémon Center with a hint of worry on his face.