"Infiltrate the League?!"
Hearing Elias's words, Lysandre's eyes lit up.
Right—how hadn't he thought of that?
If you talked about the organization with the broadest reach and greatest influence in any region, it was the League.
If Team Flare could successfully infiltrate it, their influence and information channels would expand by a huge margin.
They could even use that to hide Team Flare in reverse—clean it up, let it operate openly in the public eye.
The more he thought about it, the hotter the fire in Lysandre's eyes burned.
"I understand, Mr. Elias!"
He replied politely.
He was confident—his executives might not be Champion material, but becoming an Elite Four member or a Gym Leader would be more than doable.
"Mr. Elias, you really have a gift for organization and management. If I didn't know better, I'd think you did this for a living."
There wasn't a trace of flattery in Lysandre's words. He truly meant it.
After all, Elias had suggested long ago that they set up branches in major cities to strengthen local connections.
He'd even said they could use arcades and trading companies to conceal those branches, while assigning one or two executives to oversee each region.
If Lysandre had been left to figure it out alone, he felt it would've taken at least ten years—if he managed it at all.
But Mr. Elias had simply tossed the plans right in front of him, and all he had to do was follow them.
Compared to him, Elias looked far more like Team Flare's leader.
Thinking that, Lysandre's eyes flashed as if something occurred to him, and he spoke up.
"Mr. Elias, would you be interested in taking a Deputy Leader position in Team Flare?"
"Don't worry—it would only be honorary. It won't create any extra obligations."
He proposed it partly because he wanted to tie himself more closely to Elias.
And partly because he wanted to thank him.
After all, a deputy leader's yearly cut was no small thing—this was the only real compensation Lysandre could offer right now.
Hearing that, Elias wasn't especially surprised.
He put on a thoughtful look, considered for a moment, then nodded.
"Sure. No problem."
Lysandre already asked him for help plenty as it was. Taking a deputy position wouldn't add any extra workload.
Besides…
Whether it was finding Xerneas or tracking Yveltal, he needed Team Flare.
This would also help him get information on both Legendary Pokémon in real time.
Seeing Elias agree, Lysandre was naturally delighted.
"I'll announce it as soon as possible."
He promised.
...
"Elias… I failed."
Watching the pink light in her hands slowly dim until nothing fell out, Diancie said dejectedly.
Her head drooped slightly, like she'd done something wrong, and she had none of her usual liveliness.
Ever since they moved underground, Dianna had started pushing her to train for creating a giant diamond.
Not only that—even Elias, for some reason, had begun taking this seriously too.
But unsurprisingly, after countless attempts, there still wasn't the slightest progress.
Today marked a full two weeks of training, yet it looked no different from the very first day she tried to make one.
It even made Diancie start doubting herself—was she really that stupid?
"It's okay. Take it slow."
"Don't put so much pressure on yourself."
Elias gently rubbed Diancie's head as he comforted her.
He wasn't disappointed. He'd expected this.
If they didn't solve her physical problem, Diancie's improvement would be extremely slow.
Two weeks was never going to show a change.
But… it made him even more certain.
Relying only on the training plan he'd set, there was no way Diancie would reach the level needed to create a diamond within two years.
He'd have to find another way.
Beside him, feeling the hand stroking her head, Diancie felt both happy and miserable.
After all this time, she'd already noticed that how "solid" Elias looked was tied, to some extent, to her strength.
She often wondered—
If she became strong enough, would he be able to have a real body…?
Just as Diancie was lost in thought, a cold voice suddenly came from nearby.
"Diancie—still no results from training?"
Dianna walked over.
The softness she had when she was with Elias was gone from her entirely right now, leaving only sternness.
"Your Highness…"
Seeing Dianna, Diancie instinctively shrank her neck.
"Elias, don't coddle her too much. If she can't make a diamond, she'll never become a qualified Diancie."
When she reached them, Dianna looked at Elias as she spoke.
Clearly, she'd listened to the whole exchange.
"I'll be able to make one someday!"
Hearing her queen talk badly about her in front of Elias, Diancie puffed out her cheeks and shot back stubbornly.
In response, Dianna gave her a warning glare.
"Dianna, Diancie's still young."
Seeing Diancie retreat behind him, Elias quickly stepped in to soothe things.
He could tell Dianna seemed a little different today.
Normally, she didn't push Diancie that hard. In fact, she mostly let Elias set the training plan and rarely interfered directly.
So…
Had Dianna noticed his attitude lately?
Thinking of how sharp she was, Elias guessed the reason.
Ever since he'd realized he didn't have much time left, he'd started putting real effort into Diancie's diamond training.
Living together day in and day out, it wasn't strange that Dianna would notice.
A large part of why she was saying this today was probably to help him.
Realizing that, Elias couldn't really say anything. All he could do was make sure Diancie didn't get crushed by it.
At the side, seeing Elias speak up for her, Diancie peeked out and mumbled softly as well.
"Yeah… and I'm trying…"
She really did follow the requirements and complete her training every day.
And among the Carbink tribe, she truly wasn't that old—still basically a kid who hadn't grown up yet.
But…
After hearing her, Dianna narrowed her eyes.
She let out a small snort and didn't argue further. Instead, she flicked her wrist and tossed Diancie something like a scroll.
"Go read it yourself. See what happens if you can't make a diamond within the time limit."
As her words fell, a little blue-and-white kitten—standing on two legs—wobbled out as well.
It looked like it was meant to be used together with the scroll.
---
T/N: 4 chaps meeting this weeks quota, last week it was 7dtd this week it was tomodachi life........ teehee
bonus chaps
100 stones -> 1 chapter
200 stones -> 2 chapters
300 stones -> 3 chapters
and so on
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