The heat in the room gradually subsided.
A lingering romantic atmosphere remained in the air, mixed with the faint, sweet scent belonging to Misty.
Misty snuggled in Roy's arms, her cheek pressed against his firm chest, listening to that steady and powerful heartbeat.
Fine sweat beaded on her forehead, and a few strands of orange-red hair clung to the side of her face.
But those watery eyes were filled with unprecedented satisfaction and sweetness.
Her heart felt blissful, as if soaked in warm honey.
Finally... she had finally broken through her relationship with Roy!
From travel companions, they had become truly intimate lovers.
So... doing this could really make a relationship become so close and tight all at once.
She liked Roy even more now, the kind of liking that goes all the way.
She liked his... so much, Misty thought, and the blush that had just faded slightly from her face surged up again.
Like a lazy and clingy kitten, she rubbed against Roy's chest, adjusting to a more comfortable position, then simply used both hands and feet to crawl onto Roy, lying on his chest and looking down at him.
"Roy..." Her voice was still slightly husky from the aftermath, soft and sweet.
"Hmm?" Roy held her smooth back with one hand, while the other idly toyed with her scattered hair.
"We... we're officially together now, right?" Misty confirmed, her eyes sparkling.
"Of course." Roy smiled, reaching up to pinch her flushed cheek. "After all this, do you still want to run away?"
"I'm not running!" Misty wrinkled her nose, then remembered something and her tone became serious. "But... after this, the two of us... we might need to hold back a bit in front of Sister Delia."
"Sister Delia is all alone; seeing us being so affectionate might be awkward or uncomfortable for her."
"We need to take more care of Sister Delia's feelings. We can't let her feel left out, or... or feel sad inside."
Lying on Roy's chest, she counted on her fingers, chattering away.
Things like giving Sister Delia more food during meals, actively asking for Sister Delia's opinion when discussing travel plans, and calling Sister Delia over first when seeing a beautiful Pokemon... she looked entirely like a considerate young wife thinking, 'we as a couple should be very thoughtful towards our single senior.'
As Roy listened, the smile on his lips deepened, and his gaze became a bit strange.
When Misty had mostly finished speaking, he finally spoke up slowly:
"Um... Misty."
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Misty blinked.
"There's something I think I should tell you." Roy looked at her, his tone calm. "Sister Delia has actually been part of our family for a long time."
"Ah?" Misty didn't react for a moment. "Family? What do you mean? Sister Delia is like an older sister to us, so of course we're family..."
Mid-sentence, she suddenly stopped.
Looking at Roy's meaningful gaze, and combining it with the meaning 'family' might have in a specific context... Misty's eyes widened bit by bit.
An absurd yet seemingly... logical guess suddenly rushed into her mind.
"You... you mean..." Her voice changed pitch, and her fingers unconsciously tightened on the skin of Roy's chest. "Sister Delia... she was also... by you... by you..."
"Yes." Roy nodded frankly. "A bit earlier than you."
Misty felt as if something had exploded in her brain.
Her cheeks instantly turned bright red, and then she puffed them out in anger. She propped herself up, glaring down at Roy, and pointed a trembling finger at him:
"Big bad guy! Roy, you big bad guy! You actually... actually bullied Sister Delia long ago!"
"Sister Delia is such a gentle and good person! You... are so fierce... how could she take it!"
"She must... must have been bullied badly by you! Sister Delia must have had a hard time!"
Looking at her puffed-up and worriedly cute appearance, Roy couldn't help but laugh out loud, reaching out to pull her back into his arms and hold her tight.
"Don't worry, Sister Delia is fine." He whispered in her ear: "She's very capable, more... than you imagine."
"You... you're still saying it! You're not allowed to say it!" Misty was beyond embarrassed, using her hand to cover his mouth, but for some reason, the anger in her heart dissipated by more than half after being held and coaxed like this.
The Harmonious Family Halo began to take effect!
It seemed... not entirely unacceptable?
After all, Sister Delia was so gentle and beautiful, and she looked like a good match standing with Roy.
Moreover... Misty had originally thought in her heart that she would 'assist' Roy and Sister Delia in the future.
She knew that for an excellent and powerful Trainer like Roy, there would surely be more than one woman by his side in the future.
This was one of the unspoken rules of this world.
Rather than letting unknown women approach, it was better to bring in the well-known, gentle, and kind Sister Delia so everyone could get along harmoniously.
In the end... in the end, this big bad guy moved faster than her!
Without making a sound, he had already conquered both her and Sister Delia!
She and Sister Delia were actually unaware of each other... thinking of this, Misty was both ashamed and annoyed, opening her mouth to give Roy's shoulder a light bite.
"Hmph! Big bad guy! Big pervert!"
She grumbled, but her tone had already softened.
"Fine, actually... I'm not really angry." Misty buried her face in the crook of Roy's neck, her voice muffled. "I like Sister Delia too."
"It's just... just what should we do when we meet tomorrow morning?"
She looked up, her face a mix of expectation and embarrassment.
"It's so awkward! Sister Delia definitely knows we... just now... ah!"
She was so ashamed she hid her face in the blanket again, only leaving a pair of watery eyes to look at Roy.
"It's all your fault! How am I supposed to face Sister Delia tomorrow!"
Looking at her infinitely bashful appearance, Roy loved it to death and laughed softly:
"Leave it to me. Tomorrow, just follow my lead."
"I promise you won't be embarrassed."
"Really?" Misty was skeptical.
"Really." Roy kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep, my young lady. We have to travel tomorrow."
Misty was indeed tired; her body and mind had experienced great impact and pleasure. Now that she had relaxed, deep fatigue surged up.
She found the most comfortable position in Roy's arms, smelling his reassuring scent, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Roy held the warm and soft Misty in his arms, closing his eyes contentedly... The next morning.
Sunlight spilled into the corridor through the lighthouse's circular windows.
When Roy and Misty walked out of the room together, they happened to run into Delia, who was also coming out of her room.
Misty's face turned red instantly; her eyes darted around, and she didn't know where to put her hands and feet, wishing she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
Delia, however, looked as usual, with a faint smile on her gentle face.
Her gaze swept over Misty's face, which was clearly more radiant after being fully nourished, and the faint red marks flickering at her neck. Her eyes showed understanding, yet there was nothing unusual.
Roy gave Delia a look.
Delia understood, smiled slightly, and took the initiative to step forward, naturally reaching out to gently hold Misty's shoulder.
"Misty, good morning." Her voice was as gentle as ever, as if nothing had happened last night. "Did you rest well last night?"
"D-Delia... S-Sister Delia... g-good morning..." Misty stammered, her face turning even redder, her body a bit stiff.
Delia acted as if she didn't notice her embarrassment and continued warmly:
"From now on, the three of us will look after each other on the road. Living happily and lively is more important than anything else, don't you think?"
There was not a hint of awkwardness or jealousy in her words, only tolerance and acceptance, as well as a warm yearning for their future life together.
Misty was stunned, looking up at Delia's gentle and sincere eyes. The anxiety and shyness in her heart were instantly washed away by a warm current.
Her nose felt sour, her eyes grew a bit hot, and she nodded vigorously, her voice becoming steadier:
"Mhm! Sister Delia, I'll listen to you."
Delia smiled and rubbed her hair, the movement intimate and natural.
At that moment, Bill poked his head out from the top of the stairs and greeted them from a distance, his face carrying the excitement and urgency of having stayed up all night:
"Roy! You're up? Um... is it convenient to come over for a moment?"
He hadn't slept well at all last night, his mind full of Roy.
Roy instructed Delia and Misty: "You two pack the luggage first and get ready to leave. I'll go have a few words with Researcher Bill."
Delia nodded considerately: "Go ahead, we've got things here."
Misty also gave a red-faced "Mhm" and obediently stood with Delia.
Roy arrived at the research room on the top floor of the lighthouse.
Bill immediately pounced like a cat that smelled fish, his eyes behind his glasses bloodshot but shining:
"Roy! Quick, tell me! What was the situation last night? How did you communicate with it? What did it say to you? Did it have any aggressive intent? What was its skin texture like up close? The energy radiation intensity..."
He asked a bunch of questions in one breath.
Roy waved his hand, interrupting his rapid-fire questioning, and directly pulled out his pokédex.
"The specific communication involved some... personal abilities, so it's not convenient to go into detail. However, I do have some video footage."
With that, he pulled up the video recorded last night.
Although the fog was thick and the image was a bit blurry, the mountain-like silhouette of the Giant Dragonite, its slow movements, and the final scene of it calmly "confronting" Roy were all clearly recorded!
Especially the shot of Roy riding Pidgeotto and hovering in front of the giant beast, as well as the Giant Dragonite's gentle gaze, was extremely impactful and held great research value!
"This... this is..." Bill's hands were shaking with excitement, his eyes glued to the screen, his breathing heavy. "First-hand footage! Direct evidence of super-ancient life activity! My god! This clarity! This angle! It's perfect!"
He suddenly grabbed Roy's shoulders, speaking incoherently:
"Sell it to me! Roy! Sell the exclusive authorization for this video to me! Five hundred thousand! Five hundred thousand alliance coins! I'll buy out the research usage and limited publishing rights for this video! You can keep a copy, but you can't sell it to other researchers or institutions! How about it?"
Five hundred thousand alliance coins?
Roy raised an eyebrow.
This offer was quite generous.
But on second thought, it made sense.
To be able to build and maintain such an advanced lighthouse alone on this remote coast, Bill's own family background was likely extraordinary.
Doing research, especially in niche directions, requires a family fortune to burn through.
This sum of money was definitely a huge amount for the current Roy. It was enough to support travel expenses, Pokemon food, item purchases, and even some extra training resources for a long time.
"Deal." Roy nodded readily. "Pleasure doing business with you, Researcher Bill."
The two quickly completed the signing of a simple electronic agreement and the transfer using their pokédexes.
Roy's account balance instantly ballooned by five hundred thousand!
Now, he was truly well-off.
After bidding farewell to Bill, who was profusely thankful and almost moved to tears while watching the video repeatedly on his pokédex, Roy returned downstairs.
Delia and Misty had already packed their gear.
Although Misty had already cleared things up with Delia, her initial shyness hadn't completely passed, especially when she saw Roy; she would involuntarily remember, and a blush would immediately fly to her face.
On the way to Vermilion City, she always subconsciously kept a small "safety distance" from Roy, either pulling Delia to talk or pretending to be very interested in the wild Pokemon by the roadside.
Whenever she got close to Roy and smelled his scent, she felt her legs go a bit weak and her face burn, turning into a human steam engine.
Roy was in no hurry and was happy to have some peace, just using this travel time to properly take stock of the gains from this trip to Bills Lighthouse.