Pokémon from Galar

Mary blushed slightly and glared at Yuri, then reached out and peeled off her soaking wet over-the-knee socks, tossing them aside casually.

She rolled over and lay on the edge of the bathtub, looking at Hime-chan and Rokuro who were taking a bath.

"This seems to be the first time we've taken a bath together since we started dating?"

Yuri moved closer to Mary and leaned against her.

"is it?"

"correct."

"That reason for taking a bath together is a bit too unromantic."

"Haha~ That's true."

Yuri laughed out loud, then reached out and hugged Mary's waist, her face flushed, and rested her head on Mary's shoulder.

Slightly shifting uncomfortably, Mary asked without turning around:

"what happened?"

"……nothing."

Yuri muttered something under her breath, not caring whether Mary heard her or not. She tightened her grip on Mary and rubbed her face against Mary's neck.

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly acting all cute?"

Mary rolled over and hugged Yuri, looking down at the girl nestled in her arms, and smiled.

"No, I didn't..."

"No, no, this is just her being cute."

She raised her hand to pat Yuri's head, but Yuri shook her head and pulled away, blushing as she glared at Mary.

"So you weren't being coquettish!"

After saying that, he buried his head in Mary's neck again.

"Okay, okay, I'm not being cute, I'm just suddenly feeling a bit cocky..."

"neeeeeee—! No way!"

Chapter 242 Delivery

The next day, at the Pokémon Center.

Mary and Yuri arrived a little early, before nine o'clock.

Good morning, Miss Joey.

"Ah, good morning, you two. You're here so early."

The very relaxed Miss Joey waved to Mary and Yuri as they entered and smiled.

Good morning! You two are here pretty early. I thought I'd have to wait until ten.

Just as Mary was about to ask something, the woman next to Miss Joey suddenly turned around, smiled, and greeted both Mary and the other woman.

"Miss Officer Jenny?"

Yuri was startled when she saw Ms. Officer Jenny, who had changed out of her police uniform, let down her long hair, and become much gentler.

"What? Wearing a uniform is inconvenient, so I took half a day off and came here in my everyday clothes."

Miss Officer Jenny tugged at her skirt, leaned back against the counter with a somewhat bold air, and said this with her arms crossed.

"Mind your image, Officer Jenny! You're not wearing your uniform right now."

"Ah... I'm so sorry."

After being lightly reprimanded by Miss Joy, Miss Officer Jenny stood up straight with a sheepish smile, bringing her feet together, looking much more ladylike.

"Seriously... I'm going to go change my clothes in the back. Please wait a moment."

Miss Joey waved and then turned and walked into the side passage.

"Did Miss Joey also take leave?"

Yuri walked up to Miss Officer Jenny and asked her a question out of curiosity.

"Well, it's a private matter after all, and how should I put it... it's better not to be too formal about it."

Miss Officer Jenny pursed her lips. According to some of the records she had read, most of them did not have happy endings, so she and Joey were trying to avoid making the atmosphere too serious.

"Well..."

"By the way, if you go back to where you found the little girl, you might be able to find some Ghost-type Pokémon-related items."

Seeing the atmosphere suddenly become tense, Miss Officer Jenny raised her hand and snapped her fingers, smiling as she changed the subject.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because that location has most likely been opened as a passage to the spirit world, you might get lucky and some items might drop out, which are pretty good whether you sell them or use them yourself."

"Is that how it's said...?"

"That's right, but the probability is not high, and in the end, it's not even certain whether the passage was opened there, so you two shouldn't have too high expectations."

Mary saw that Yuri and Officer Jenny were chatting unexpectedly, so she greeted them and went to the nearby Friendship Store to buy some supplies.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I'll leave this place to you for now."

As Miss Joey emerged from the aisle, she gently gave a word of advice to a young woman beside her. Seeing that she was standing in her usual spot on the platform, she turned around and greeted everyone.

Let's set off now.

"Oh—let's go!"

Miss Officer Jenny eagerly patted her skirt and walked at the front.

……

Arriving at the residential area in the west of town, Mary got out of the car and looked at the houses, all of which looked very similar, unsure of which way to go.

"Over here."

After locking the car doors, Miss Officer Jenny pointed to a house on her side and gestured for Mary to knock on the door.

"...Shall I do it?"

"After all, Joey and I are quite recognizable, even in casual clothes we might scare people."

Standing next to Miss Joy, Miss Officer Jenny nudged Mary's shoulder and pushed her up the steps in front of the door.

"Alright alright……"

After thinking it over, Mary decided it didn't matter and raised her hand to ring the doorbell.

After waiting a short while, a sound came from inside the door.

"You've arrived—may I ask who you are?"

The person who opened the door was a very polite little girl. She looked at the four women who appeared outside the door and curiously peeked through the door to ask them a question.

"Excuse me, is this Mr. Frank's home?"

"Frank is my grandfather, just a moment!"

After saying that, the little girl slammed the door shut again, then turned and ran back into the house.

"..."

"Pfft... You're completely out of your depth."

Standing at the bottom of the steps, Miss Officer Jenny, holding Miss Joy's arm, burst out laughing.

"What's wrong?"

Mary blushed slightly and glared at Officer Jenny, who was acting a bit out of character. This was clearly a normal reaction, okay?

After a while, the door was opened again. An elderly man, somewhat overweight, opened the door and looked at the four young women outside with a puzzled expression, asking:

"I am Frank. May I ask what brings you here?"

Mary glanced back at Officer Jenny, and after seeing her nod, she took the old letter out of her pocket and handed it over.

"Here's the thing, we've been entrusted to deliver a letter to you from afar."

"letter?"

Frank reached out and took the envelope. After seeing the two names on it, he paused for a moment, then gave a nostalgic smile.

"The sender... Oh, it's Paula! How nostalgic..."

Lost in his memories for a moment, Frank suddenly snapped out of it, looked at the four women, quickly stepped aside, and said with a smile:

"Sorry, as people get older, they tend to dwell on the past. Anyway, please come in. My back can't take it standing up to talk."

"Well... I'll take my leave then..."

Mary, who was originally going to refuse, saw that Frank looked like he had something to ask, and finally nodded in agreement.

The four men sat down in the living room. Frank, sitting opposite them, opened the envelope, glanced at it, and muttered to himself:

“When we were little, Paula and I used to play together a lot, but she was actually sick at the time and kept it from me… So we had a big fight about it, and then I moved, and we never saw each other again… Could you tell me who asked you to deliver this letter?”

Looking up from the letter, Frank smiled at Mary and slowly asked his question.

"Miss Paula asked me to deliver it."

"..."

Having probably heard an unexpected answer, Frank turned his gaze to Miss Officer Jenny and Miss Joy beside him; they were quite trustworthy.

As expected, he received a positive reply, so Frank looked down at the letter in his hand again.

a long time……

Frank lowered his wrist and let out a long sigh.

"Oh...I see. How is Paula doing now?"

"..."

Mary and Yuri met eyes, blinked, and for a moment didn't know how to answer.

"……fine."