"Well, think it over. I can go with you—it doesn't matter to me."
"But let's finish the training plan first."
Seeing the girl nod in agreement, Icarus smiled and shifted the topic back to training.
"Oooh, okay, Brother Icarus, please continue."
The girl, who had no doubts about him, nodded and looked at Icarus expectantly while holding her notebook.
"Alright, next is the training plan for the mosquito-repellent tadpole. For physical conditioning and dodging, just refer to mine here. This was before they evolved."
As he spoke, Icarus flipped to the first few pages of his notebook and showed Airi the sections on running drills and stone-dodging.
"Yeah, Brother Icarus, you've thought of everything!"
Airi glanced through it and realized he had already considered everything she could think of. She couldn't help but look at him with shining eyes as she sped up her writing.
"The second part is move training. The most developed move right now is Water Sport. It's actually very similar to your own water-control ability, so you can have the mosquito-repellent tadpole practice shaping water together with you.
Of course, this should only be done after both you and the mosquito-repellent tadpole have full control over your energy. That will make things much easier.
First, you need to have it repeatedly practice Water Gun and Bubble Beam. As the number of uses increases, both power and accuracy will gradually improve.
Start with a fixed target at about ten meters. Once its power stabilizes, you can throw wooden boards yourself and have it attack them, turning it into moving-target practice.
After all, in the wild, enemies won't just stand still for you."
Seeing Airi still writing quickly, Icarus simply laid out the full plan.
"Okay, Brother Icarus. Let me finish copying this first, and then we'll go handle the move?"
Airi nodded, but her concern about the neighbors surfaced again.
"There's no real need to rush. It should be fine for a few days. Besides, you've changed a lot compared to a few years ago. As long as people don't see you often, they probably won't recognize you.
Of course, if you're really worried, I can skip training this afternoon and go with you to deal with the house first."
Seeing her worried expression, Icarus deliberately tried to persuade her to slow down so it wouldn't seem too intentional.
He had also realized something—Airi wasn't just reclusive, she was deeply insecure. That past incident had clearly affected her a lot.
"Then let's go after I finish copying, Brother Icarus. You're so kind!"
The girl ignored his attempt to delay things and only wanted to move as soon as possible to reduce any risk of being exposed.
At the same time, she didn't realize how much more dependent she had become on him.
After a while, Airi finally finished copying. She rubbed her sore fingers and looked at Icarus expectantly.
"If you're done, let's go. The documents are in your backpack."
Looking at the eager girl, Icarus rubbed his forehead and gestured for her to follow.
"Okay, let's go—mosquito-repellent tadpole."
As she spoke, Airi pointed her Poké Ball at the mosquito-repellent tadpole waiting quietly nearby.
"Wait. No need to bring it. Let it stay here and train with Victreebel. Have it keep practicing Water Gun and Bubble Beam on fixed targets. If it runs out of water, just use the tap."
Seeing this, Icarus quickly stopped her. Time was money to him—the sooner it became useful in battle, the sooner it could start earning.
"Ah—okay, Brother Icarus!" Airi nodded obediently and turned to give instructions.
"Mosquito-repellent tadpole, stay in the backyard this afternoon and train hard, alright? Work as hard as Victreebel!"
"Yo yo~!" The mosquito-repellent tadpole immediately responded energetically.
"Alright, then rest for now. When they wake up, they'll train with you."
Seeing its enthusiasm, Airi happily patted its head.
"Yo~" It nodded and went to a corner to lie down and rest.
"I'm sorry, Brother Icarus, I kept you waiting so long."
"It's fine. But Airi, you're becoming more and more like a real trainer now, haha."
"No, I'm still far behind…"
After finishing everything, the two headed toward the commercial street while chatting.
---
After some quick transactions, the balance on Airi's bank card increased significantly.
Since she wanted to move as soon as possible, she sold her house directly to a second-hand housing agency. She also bought a small house near the garbage station from the same agency.
After the transaction, she still had a large amount of money left on her card—something that made Icarus quite envious.
Then Icarus contacted a moving company for her, spending 5,000 to move all her belongings to the new house.
The two cleaned the place together, and by the time they finished, it was already past 5 PM.
"Thank you so much, Brother Icarus! We're neighbors now—please take care of me! Hehe~"
Looking at her new home, the girl turned and smiled brightly at him.
She felt much more at ease. Ever since learning of her cousin's death, she had been overwhelmed by sadness, fear, and confusion.
"But now… I have someone to rely on. Brother Icarus, thank you…"
"It's nothing. Let's head back to my place—I'll make dinner, and we can check on the mosquito-repellent tadpole."
Of course, Icarus had no idea she had already grown dependent on him. He simply waved it off.
"Mm~" Airi nodded firmly.
As soon as they returned, she went to check on her Pokémon.
"Shoo~ shoo~"
In the backyard, the mosquito-repellent tadpole was repeatedly firing Water Gun. Its speed and output were already slightly better than before.
"Mosquito-repellent tadpole, I'm back! You worked so hard—amazing!"
Airi immediately praised it.
"Yo yo~!" It wagged its tail happily.
"Alright, I'm going to help with cooking. Keep training!"
"Yo~" It nodded in response.
---
(End of Chapter)