"Very sweet."
Freshly baked, still a bit hot at this moment, steaming in her hands.
"Winter Roots and Snow Yams are also delicious when roasted," Leah said, blowing on it while taking a bite.
That bit of charcoal ash stuck to her face. She didn't mind much, rubbing it with her arm, and raised a smile at Ron.
Although she loved the winter scenery, Leah mostly wrapped herself in blankets and huddled by the fireplace.
On one hand, fresh food was hard to find in winter, and Leah herself was somewhat afraid of the cold.
On the other hand, winter always gave people a feeling that the world was empty, leaving only her alone.
But if she could shuttle through the forest with friends, gather around the fire roasting hard-found mountain goods.
Hold hot tea while chatting about everything, and eat some Crystal Fruit picked along the way—that would be different.
"Then how about the day after tomorrow?" Ron asked.
"That's wonderful! Oh right, Haley, let me ask Haley, she might want to come too!" Leah said, stuffing the yam into her mouth in a few bites, waving at Ron, then jogging toward the farm's south gate.
The remaining yams were currently being shared among the Pokémon.
Sailor, who had just returned from finishing a day's work, was preparing to wash his paws and warm himself by the fireplace, when he saw the heart-shattering scene.
"Rat? Rattata!!"
They were eating good food while he wasn't there!
"———" Ron broke the yam in his hand in half, handing it to Sailor whose face looked like the sky was falling: "Leah brought these over just now."
It wasn't that he deliberately ate alone with them.
"Rattata!" Sailor sniffed at the tip of his nose, surveying the crowd of Rattatas before him.
They looked about the same size.
So his anger immediately subsided. Muttering, he jogged into the house to wash his paws.
Then jogged back, happily accepting the half piece of yam Ron handed over.
Meanwhile, Leah had just knocked on Haley's door.
"Come in!"
It seemed no one in the house could spare their hands, so only a voice came through.
Leah pushed open the door and saw Haley wearing a new dress, while Emily nearby was helping her pin up her hair ornaments.
Golden hair paired with emerald gems looked like newborn branches bathed in morning sunlight—beautiful beyond words.
"This is?"
"A dress," Haley said, looking at herself in the mirror: "I'm preparing to go to Kalos to participate in Pokémon Contests! This is the dress Emily made for me!"
Although Leah herself preferred natural and simple styles, she couldn't deny that gorgeous and elaborate accessories had another kind of beauty.
"Beautiful!" Leah said, sitting in a chair nearby: "The day after tomorrow, Ron and the farm's Pokémon and I want to go play in the forest. Want to come?"
"Ah." Haley was startled for a moment, then nodded.
"Don't move———" Emily lightly patted Haley's head, putting the final hair ornament in place, then looked at Haley in the mirror: "Wearing my dress, you better win the championship!"
"I'll try my best!" Haley nodded.
As early as the day before yesterday, Emily had learned that Abigail wasn't planning to continue participating in Pokémon Contests.
But it was normal. Emily didn't feel that if she didn't compete, her clothes would be wasted.
At least Abigail had indeed brought her quite a few customers. She could afford Haley's food, clothing, and expenses in Kalos—that was enough.
To design this outfit for Haley, she had even asked Clint to specially help her polish this set of accessories.
Every piece of emerald and jade on it was from her years of collection.
"Oh right, since you're going to play, can I come too?" Emily then asked.
"Of course!" Leah agreed without thinking.
"It feels like returning to childhood spring outings," Haley said, looking in the mirror again, gazing at herself in the mirror with a satisfied face.
"I should have done this for the Flower Dance too——"
"Stop." Emily immediately interrupted. She patted Haley's head again and yawned: "I don't have time to make another——making dresses is really exhausting."
If she had a choice, Emily preferred to make those exaggerated and bold designs.
If it weren't for Haley's liking, she would never make this kind of labor-intensive, uncreative clothing.
"You should get some sleep, good——morning… uh, sweet dreams." After thinking for a long time, Haley came out with this.
She then looked at Leah: "What preparations do we need to make?"
"Wear some simple, convenient clothes. Do you have any?"
At these words, Haley fell silent.
"Then I can lend you some," Leah said, then added: "If you don't mind."
"Of course!" Haley said.
Time came to the next day.
That is, the 1st of Winter.
Last night Penny and Pam had moved into the new house. This was Penny waking up from a soft big bed, holding her Clefable.
She rubbed her eyes, looked at this spacious and bright room, and said to Clefable nearby:
"Good morning, Clefable."
"Clefable~" Clefable sat up from the bed.
This was probably the best night's sleep Penny had all year.
"Ah, it snowed after all." She immediately threw herself to the window, looking at the falling snowflakes outside and the ground covered by snow.
This was something unimaginable before.
She squinted her eyes, leaning against the window, feeling the sunlight refracting in from outside.
"Let's go, have breakfast."
Saying this, Penny took Clefable's hand and walked out the door.
As soon as she stepped out of the room, she felt a wave of warmth.
The corridor had the aroma of cake at this moment, the fire in the fireplace burning brightly, the house warm and cozy.
Penny walked a few steps to the kitchen, and as expected, saw Pam making breakfast.
"Morning."
"Morning." Pam turned her head and greeted Penny: "I thought you'd sleep a bit longer."
Yesterday they had been tired from cleaning and tidying the new house all day. Even if Penny slept until noon today, she wouldn't be surprised.
"Go sit for a while. Breakfast will be ready soon."
Saying this, she poured the warmed milk into a cup and handed it to Penny.
Penny responded, holding the warm cup, and sat down in the lounge chair.
Under the lounge chair was the rug Ron had given her at the fair that day.
The sunlight happened to shine in, so she buried herself in the lounge chair, covered with the blanket, letting out a sigh.
Everything was so perfectly appropriate.
She quietly curled up in the blanket, watching the sunlight illuminate every word in her book.
She took a deep breath and drank a sip of milk.
"How wonderful."
"Clefable~" Clefable also sat down, calling out to Penny.
Penny looked out the window. The sunlight was just right at this moment—everything was just as Robin had described.
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