Ron hurriedly rushed Emily to the clinic.
Indeedee stayed behind at the cabin, carefully packing away the dress Emily had brought over bit by bit before starting to make breakfast for everyone.
Meowth walked into the cabin rubbing its eyes and looked around. "Hey, is Ron not here today?"
"Indeedee, Indee."
"Ah, he took that girl to the clinic, meow." Meowth followed the Rattatas inside to wash up. After thinking for a moment, it turned its head and asked Sailor, who was nearby, "Does Ron have a good relationship with that girl too?"
"Ratta—Ratta?" Sailor tilted its head and pondered for a while.
"He has a good relationship with every girl," Meowth said, washing its face and turning to look at Sailor. "That's very bad, meow."
"Ratta?"
"This is the kind of thing Pokémon shouldn't worry about, meow." Saying this, Meowth patted Sailor with its paw and walked out the door.
On the other side, at the clinic.
Probably because the folks in Pelican Town were quite mindful of their health, Harvey hadn't handled an emergency case in a long time. He took his white coat off the rack, draped it over his shoulders, and hurried downstairs.
Opening the door, he saw Emily in Ron's arms.
"Lay her down on the hospital bed first. What happened here?" Harvey asked for the details while observing Emily's condition. "Her color actually looks alright; it probably isn't anything serious."
After learning it was likely extreme exhaustion, Harvey brought his medical kit over to Emily's side. "I noticed she seemed really distracted a few days ago—juggling your dreams and daily life really is exhausting."
Saying this, he examined Emily. After confirming she wasn't in any danger, he said, "Just let her sleep for a while. Give her this medicine when she wakes up—uh, are you free? It's the start of spring, so your farm must be pretty busy."
"A bit. I was busy for most of yesterday." Ron hesitated. Seeing this, Harvey said, "Just stay here for a while then. Maru will be here for her shift in about an hour; you can hand her over to Maru then."
Normally, notifying family members was the best course of action in these situations. Unfortunately, Emily's only family was far away in Kalos right now.
And her friend was still out in the desert.
"Alright." Ron agreed.
Harvey poured a cup of coffee from the machine and casually handed it to Ron. "Have a cup. It'll help you feel a bit more alert."
Ron thanked him.
Harvey leaned against a nearby cabinet, lost in thought. After a short while, he asked, "How does farm life feel? Did you come back because you dreamed of becoming a farmer?"
"It's good." Ron paused. "I can't really say. But this current life is indeed the ideal state I hoped for."
"I see." Harvey blew on the hot steam rising from his cup and took a sip. "That's great. Your farm is thriving, and you've even driven the town's development along with it."
Unlike himself—though he held a relatively respected profession, he was barely making ends meet. Occasionally, he even worried about not being able to cover his expenses, which would lead to the clinic going bankrupt.
He had dreamed of becoming a pilot, but unfortunately, his fear of heights and nearsightedness meant he would never have a chance to realize that dream in this lifetime.
"By the way, George came in for a checkup a while ago," Harvey said. "His health has improved a lot too. I originally told him to try and make his lifestyle a bit healthier, and we actually got into an argument over it."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Evelyn said it's thanks to you. And those cheap Moomoo Milk you've been providing—it seems like everyone's overall health has improved because of them."
Harvey felt happy that everyone was getting healthier, but at the same time, he couldn't help but worry about the clinic's balance sheet.
Fortunately, Lewis did provide him with a bit of a subsidy in that regard, so at least his life wouldn't be too difficult to sustain.
"It's really nice to have a dream," he sighed inexplicably. "You stay here and keep an eye on Emily. I have some things to organize over there."
Saying this, Harvey pointed to the counter. "Everyone's files, medical records, and things like that."
"Alright, go ahead."
Emily was still in a deep sleep on the bed.
She was clearly completely exhausted, sleeping soundly enough to start having a magical dream.
As if some invisible force was giving her a guiding hand, in this brilliantly colorful and beautiful dream, she vaguely felt herself forming a special connection with someone.
Just then, in her groggy state, she faintly heard the sound of a conversation.
"Ah, I'm late, sorry."
"It's okay, I'll leave her in your care."
"Alright, you go get back to work."
As they spoke, she vaguely felt someone hold her hand.
In her hazy state, Emily suddenly remembered the Stardew Valley Fair from last year. In front of that fortune-telling stall, she had been shown a glimpse of her future.
It seemed to say that she would get along incredibly well with someone in town, to the point where if she ever ended up in the hospital because of something, that person would be right by her side, keeping her company in worry.
'Who was it? Sandy?'
With this thought, Emily forced her eyes open.
As her vision gradually focused, she saw Maru's face leaning close to hers.
"Ah, you're awake. You could have slept in a bit longer," Maru said, pushing up her glasses. "But since you're awake, drink your medicine first before going back to sleep. Just take the day off from the Saloon."
Saying this, Maru reached out and helped Emily sit up.
She then propped a pillow behind Emily's back, unscrewed the medicine bottle, and brought it to Emily's lips.
"Thank you—"
"Don't mention it." Maru continued, "I heard it was for Haley's dress? I can understand how you feel, but your health comes first. If you collapse from illness here, even if Haley becomes—uh, a top-tier Pokémon Coordinator, she wouldn't be happy about it."
"—I..." Emily took a light sip. "I guess I'm just... a bit too lonely."
"I figured. It's such a big house, and you used to always live with Haley. Now that you're alone, it's perfectly normal not to be used to it." Maru said, gently patting Emily on the back. "If you ever feel lonely, you can come find me too, as long as you don't mind that I'm always researching random things."
Emily smiled.
Her mind drifted back to that fragment from the fair, and she couldn't help but raise her head to look at Maru's face.
'Could it be that I'm supposed to have this connection with Maru?'
Just as Emily was thinking this, Maru continued, "Oh right, there's Ron too. You can go to him if you need anything. You two seem pretty close, right?"
"Hmm?"
"Because he looked really worried," Maru said with a smile. "Look at how incredibly busy the farm is right now, yet he still stayed by your side the whole time and only left when I arrived."
"Ron, huh—"
'So... it was him?'
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