Chapter 130: Go Take Mammon Back — I'm Behind You All the Way!
Around nine in the evening.
Mauville City Airport. Mammon and Gladion were waiting.
It didn't take long. Lillie came through the arrivals corridor looking lovely — white dress, hair pulled up into a high ponytail, backpack straps held in both hands.
The moment she spotted Mammon and Gladion, her eyes lit up.
"Mr. Mammon! Brother!"
She broke into a small jog toward them, her pretty face bright with undisguised delight.
"Lillie." Gladion's reserved expression softened into the faintest smile for his little sister.
"Good to see you, Lillie." Mammon waved with an easy smile.
"Mm~ It really has been a while."
Lillie's clear eyes blinked — reflecting back the face of the young man standing in front of her, the face she found herself thinking about more often than she should.
Gladion noticed something was off. He looked at Lillie — who only had eyes for Mammon — then looked at Mammon.
Lillie. I'm your brother. Right here.
He smoothed his expression back to neutral. Fine. Fine. This was the long-awaited reunion.
Also — since when did Lillie even know Mammon?
Gladion's brow furrowed slightly. Honestly, he wasn't thrilled about his little sister getting entangled with Mammon. As one of Mammon's subordinates, he knew Mammon treated the people around him well — genuinely friendly, looked after those under him.
But the issue was—
Gladion knew perfectly well that Mammon's personal life was complicated. And Caitlin was right there.
If Lillie had feelings for Mammon, she'd be going head-to-head with Caitlin from day one.
Was that even a fight she could win?
Gladion would support his little sister through anything, obviously. But even with him backing her up, Lillie — who wasn't a Trainer — wasn't going to outmatch Caitlin on any competitive front.
"Long flight. You must be tired — want to grab something to eat?"
The three of them walked out of the airport. Mammon smiled and reached out, taking Lillie's backpack from her with the easy manners of someone who did this sort of thing naturally.
Gladion: "…"
"Mm — actually, it's fine. I had water on the plane."
Lillie pressed a hand against her flat stomach and thought about it for a brief moment before declining.
She did want to sit somewhere and eat and talk with Mr. Mammon. But she was a girl, and girls didn't eat late at night. Lillie had been paying careful attention to herself lately — when you had someone you liked, you naturally wanted to look your best.
"That's a shame. Have you done any research on Hoenn, Lillie?"
The three of them got in the car.
"Not really! But I had a quick look — it seems like there are a lot of places worth visiting."
Lillie settled in the back seat, her legs swinging lightly, her eyes tracking the side of Mammon's face from the corner of her vision.
It had been a while since she'd seen him. Was it her imagination, or had he gotten better-looking?
If she could just lean over and—
Lillie gave both her cheeks a firm pat and forcibly cooled the thought down before it went anywhere.
Lillie! What are you THINKING! This is Mitsuki's boyfriend!
"In that case, I have somewhere in mind. We can head out tomorrow and take a look."
Mammon tilted his head slightly. He'd received an interesting piece of news just this afternoon — passed along by Courtney — a former Magma scientist who'd reached out quietly through private channels.
"Yes!" Lillie agreed without a moment's hesitation.
Gladion, driving: "…"
"Get a good rest tonight. You'll want your energy."
"Mm mm~" Lillie nodded.
"Oh — Mr. Mammon, I brought Nebby along! She's gotten so big I had to put her in a Poké Ball."
Lillie produced a standard red-and-white ball from her pocket. As if sensing Mammon's proximity, the ball gave a small wobble.
"I've missed Nebby. Looks like I need to stock up on sweets for tomorrow." Mammon's laugh was quiet.
The ball wobbled with noticeably more enthusiasm.
The conversation meandered pleasantly the rest of the way. Gladion dropped Mammon off at the villa first, then took Lillie to his own.
Lillie would obviously be staying at her brother's place rather than Mammon's.
"Wow — Brother, did you buy this yourself?"
Lillie stepped inside and looked around at the sleek, expensive interior with genuine admiration.
"I've been making good money lately." The corner of Gladion's mouth lifted slightly.
As the person currently managing most of Team Rocket's Hoenn business operations, "making good money" was quite the understatement — and the first thing he'd done with it was buy himself a villa.
"Brother is amazing."
Receiving his little sister's sincere admiration, Gladion felt quietly pleased about life.
"So how did you end up working with Mr. Mammon?"
Lillie asked the question with open curiosity.
"…Business arrangements." Gladion paused, then settled on that. "And Lillie — why did you come to Hoenn? I thought I told you it was better if you didn't."
He looked at her seriously. His current identity on the outside world was Team Rocket Senior Executive. Officially, he'd also severed his ties with the Aether Foundation — the League had been reasonable about that: so long as he genuinely had no further contact with Aether, they wouldn't hold his personal actions against the organization. Lillie coming to find him, if the League noticed, would create complications.
"Hm? Why can't I come visit you? I don't understand — Mother said the same thing."
"Certain circumstances. It's complicated." Gladion considered how to phrase it.
"And Lillie — is this visit really about me? Or is it about Lord Mammon?"
Lillie's face went red immediately.
"N — no, it's nothing like that, Brother, why would you say something like that — I don't like Mr. Mammon, that's not—"
Gladion went quiet.
Looking at his little sister's completely transparent flustered response, he had nothing to say.
"Lillie. As your brother, it's not my place to decide your future. But if you genuinely have feelings for Lord Mammon — you need to be prepared to compete. Against other girls. Are you ready for that?"
Gladion's voice was very serious.
Setting aside Mammon's general habits, just counting the ones Gladion personally knew about — Domino, Erika, Courtney. That was already three.
Those three he wasn't too worried about, honestly. With Gladion backing Lillie up, and the Aether Foundation behind her, and Lusamine on track to become the first Alola League President — Lillie had serious resources. And her looks spoke for themselves. Why would those three be able to compete with his sister?
But Caitlin was the problem.
Caitlin was practically inseparable from Mammon. Strong in her own right, from a distinguished Sinnoh family, with a grace and bearing that was genuinely hard to match.
As far as Gladion could see, among all the women currently close to Mammon, Caitlin was the only one who looked like a natural candidate for his future.
Competing with Caitlin would be genuinely hard for Lillie.
"I—"
Lillie bit her lip and looked down. Her golden hair fell forward, shadow crossing her face.
Compete with other girls.
Of course Gladion already knew. Mr. Mammon had a girlfriend.
But Mr. Mammon was the first person who had ever made her heart move like this. She would never forget it — sitting with him on a bench in the shade, talking, and coming away with the family she'd been afraid she'd never have again.
"Brother." Lillie lifted her head. Her eyes were steady and clear. "I've already made my decision."
She had understood what she was choosing when she booked the ticket to Hoenn.
This made her a terrible person, didn't it? She knew. She knew Mr. Mammon belonged to Mitsuki — her friend, her sister in all but name — and she was thinking about stepping in anyway. Going behind Mitsuki's back. The worst kind of person.
But happiness had to be fought for.
"Is that so." Gladion was quiet for a moment. "Then your brother will always be behind you, Lillie."
I need to get stronger. Not just to grow — but to be the kind of backup Lillie could actually rely on. She wasn't a Trainer. Going up against those other girls, she was already at a disadvantage. He needed to cover that gap.
"Mm!" Lillie nodded firmly, the guilt settling deep underneath the resolve.
I'm sorry, Mitsuki.
The next morning.
"Courtney's not coming down to eat?"
Kagura wandered downstairs, mid-yawn, and found Mammon and Caitlin already at the table — along with an unfamiliar girl with golden hair. She tilted her head, puzzled.
"She's not feeling well." Caitlin ate with unhurried elegance and offered nothing further.
"Hm? She seemed fine when we got back yesterday." Kagura scratched at her messy dark hair.
"Who knows." Caitlin's movements paused almost imperceptibly. Her tone remained perfectly even.
As for why Courtney wasn't feeling well—
Caitlin could have worked it out with her eyes closed. Obviously Mammon had been too enthusiastic using Courtney as a test of his stamina last night. She genuinely hoped the woman had been broken for good.
The shameless little thief. Not a day goes by. And now she's too wrecked to get out of bed?
Did she not understand that Mammon was young and still needed to take care of himself? She was a perfectly young girl herself — where did she get the nerve to be so endlessly demanding?
Courtney was a genuine menace.
At this point Caitlin almost missed Erika. At least Erika wasn't clingy. Courtney went in that room and didn't come out for two or three hours.
Was she even human?
"…Mm."
Kagura blinked and decided not to say anything loudly. Caitlin's mood was clearly not good.
"Anyway — who's the pretty girl? Nobody's going to introduce me?"
Kagura, constitutionally incapable of sitting quietly, looked the delicate golden-haired girl up and down with open curiosity.
"You could just ask instead of staring." Mammon gave her a flat look.
"Hello. I'm Lillie, from the Alola region."
Lillie stood up at the mention, introduced herself to Kagura with the polished formality of someone raised around important people — composed, gracious, the picture of a young woman who knew exactly how to conduct herself.
"Aha — you don't have to be so formal! I'm Kagura, Lorekeeper of the Meteor Clan."
The four words Lorekeeper of the Meteor Clan were always part of Kagura's introduction. Her pride. Her faith.
"Lorekeeper of the Meteor Clan — that sounds remarkable." Lillie was visibly curious. She hadn't heard the name before.
"I'll tell you about it sometime. Kagura's lineage really does go deep." Mammon smiled.
"Hehe~" Kagura flashed a bright grin.
"Are you all going out today? Am I invited?" she asked, looking at Mammon.
"Not interested — I'm just here for breakfast." Another yawn. She'd gotten so lazy since joining Team Rocket. She wasn't sure if it was Caitlin's influence rubbing off on her, but she'd been sleeping way more than usual.
"Fair enough."
"Where are you going, though? You could stop by Meteor Falls — I can give you a map of the inner passages."
"We'll save Meteor Falls for another time. Today we're heading to Farnes."
The corner of Mammon's mouth curved.
Farnes. The Wish Star Pokémon Jirachi's resting place — sleeping for its seven nights.
☆☆☆
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