After breakfast, the Litwick didn't leave immediately. Instead, they stayed to help Lucas clean up, a gesture of concern that he recognized and appreciated.
However, once the cleaning was finished, Lucas still sent everyone off with Diancie and Munchlax.
While Lucas was leisurely spending his days on the Nebel Plateau, the King of Azoth was bringing his daughter and son to the royal mausoleum to pay respects to their ancestors.
The Azoth royal family held ceremonies at the royal mausoleum every year, placing great importance on this ritual.
The King of Azoth stood at the very front, with his son and daughter—the kingdom's only prince and princess—standing on either side of him.
After offering sacrifices at the royal mausoleum, a guard suddenly approached the king's side and whispered something in his ear. The king's expression changed drastically after hearing the news.
"Go, let's go take a look," he commanded, gesturing for someone to lead the way.
"Sister, what happened?" Prince Raleigh asked his sister in a low voice.
"I don't know, let's go see." Princess Kimia shook her head. "Something significant must have occurred." With that, she strode after her father.
"Sister, wait for me!" Raleigh quickly followed.
Led by a guard, the King of Azoth arrived in front of a tomb, only to see a large hole broken through the wall.
"This is..." The King of Azoth frowned deeply.
The guard stepped forward and explained, "Your Majesty, this is the tomb of Prince Lucas."
"Prince Lucas?"
"Queen Anna's brother," the guard reminded him.
"What?!" The king exclaimed, immediately glaring at the large hole in the tomb and roaring, "Who did this?!"
The guard replied helplessly, "Perhaps it was a tomb robber."
"Which tomb robber ate the courage of a Pyroar, daring to rob even our Azoth Kingdom's royal tomb? Did they eat the guts of an Ursaring? Investigate! If I catch the culprit, I'll execute them!"
Seeing his father's rage, Prince Raleigh asked his sister, "Sister, is Queen Anna the one who single-handedly preserved the kingdom, allowing it to gain a foothold in the League?"
Princess Kimia nodded. "That's her."
In the history of the Azoth Kingdom, Queen Anna was known as the queen who bridged the transition between the old and new eras. She was also considered the last true ruler of the Azoth Kingdom in the traditional sense.
Why was that?
Because although the current king still held the title, the power he possessed was only equivalent to that of a mayor within the League's jurisdiction.
While the Azoth Kingdom still existed in the form of a kingdom, it was essentially only equivalent to a city under the League's authority. Its land area couldn't compare to what Queen Anna ruled five hundred years ago.
Of course, compared to other regions under the League, the royal family enjoyed more privileges in Azoth, and the land completely belonged to the Azoth royal family.
Five hundred years ago, the League had become the new administrator of the entire Pokémon world. Logically speaking, relics of the old era like the Azoth Kingdom should have disappeared into the long river of history.
However, Queen Anna single-handedly saved the Azoth Kingdom from the League's grasp. Although she sacrificed most of the kingdom's autonomy and benefits, she at least prevented the Azoth royal family from vanishing into history like other nobles of the old era.
The one sitting on the throne of the Azoth Kingdom today was a direct descendant of Queen Anna.
"So Queen Anna also had an older brother?" Prince Raleigh said in surprise.
Princess Kimia glared at him. "Even if you prefer inventions and research, you can't just stay in your room all day and ignore everything else. You should read the history of the kingdom's prominent figures more often. Queen Anna and her brother Prince Lucas were twins, but Prince Lucas suffered poor health since childhood, so he passed away very early. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for Anna to inherit the throne as his younger sister."
"I see!" Prince Raleigh scratched the back of his head embarrassedly.
The king was furious that the royal tomb had been robbed. He immediately entered the tomb to assess the situation and discovered that Lucas's coffin had been opened.
Princess Kimia and Prince Raleigh, who also entered the tomb and clearly saw the scene, looked puzzled.
"Strange, wasn't this supposed to be a tomb robbery? Why are all the funerary objects still here, with only the body missing?" Princess Kimia questioned in confusion.
Back then, Lucas's father and mother had doted on him extremely, so the funerary objects they prepared for him after his "death" were exceptionally luxurious. Even if they weren't worth a fortune, they could at least allow ordinary people to live a life of luxury.
(Lucas, who was muddled and didn't notice the existence of the funerary objects: Is it too late to go back and get them now?)
But now, these funerary objects remained intact in the tomb.
"Could the tomb robber be a pervert who likes corpses?" Prince Raleigh asked.
Princess Kimia knocked him firmly on the head. "Don't talk nonsense."
Not only were Kimia and Raleigh puzzled, but the king was also mystified.
"Investigate! Investigate this thoroughly! I want to know what's going on!" the king ordered the guard.
After the ceremony concluded, the King of Azoth led the royal party back to the Azoth City in a dignified procession. (Note: The Azoth Kingdom in a broad sense refers to all lands under the jurisdiction of the Azoth royal family, including uninhabited areas such as the Nebel Plateau; the Azoth City in a narrow sense only refers to the city where the people now live.)
As soon as they returned to the palace, Prince Raleigh retreated to his laboratory and buried himself in research, while Princess Kimia stood before a painting on the palace wall, deep in thought.
The painting depicted Queen Anna and her brother Prince Lucas when they were young. The siblings looked remarkably similar, both possessing the Azoth royal family's signature golden hair.
"Princess," Flamel, the princess's personal secretary, approached and asked, "Your Highness, what are you looking at?"
Kimia shook her head. "It's nothing, let's go."
—————
In the evening, Lucas still went to the training room with Munchlax to hone his cooking skills for an hour before returning to his room for a sound sleep.
The next day, Lucas slept in as usual until midday, then rose and prepared breakfast for the Pokémon with Munchlax.
Because of what had transpired the previous day, only the Litwick and a few others visited the store today.
Since his identity as a human had been exposed, Lucas no longer needed to hide in the kitchen. After making breakfast for the Litwick, he brought Diancie, Komala, and Munchlax to the dining hall to share the meal with everyone.
Seeing that Lucas didn't seem genuinely affected by yesterday's events, the Litwick gradually regained their cheerfulness. Everyone was talking and laughing, creating a relaxed atmosphere.
"Swablu~~"
Suddenly, a soft chirping sound came from the doorway. Everyone turned to look, only to see a Swablu hesitantly poking its head into the store.
Noticing that everyone had spotted it, Swablu hurriedly withdrew its head in a fluster.
Lucas walked to the door and, as expected, found a Swablu crouching by the wall with its head tucked in.
"Swablu, why didn't you come in since you're here?"
Hearing Lucas's voice, Swablu shivered slightly.
"What's wrong? Are you still afraid of me?" Lucas asked with a gentle voice and a warm smile.
"Swablu~ Swablu~"
Swablu gently shook its head.
"Then what is it?" Lucas asked, confused. He wanted to pat Swablu but, thinking it might frighten the Pokémon, silently withdrew his hand.
"Swablu~ Swablu~~"
Swablu called out to Lucas twice but seemed to remember something and its face filled with disappointment.
At this moment, Diancie also emerged and translated for Lucas: "Swablu is apologizing to you for what happened yesterday."
Swablu nodded quickly upon hearing this.
After returning home with its mother the previous day, Swablu had pondered for a long time. Although everyone said humans were bad, and it was indeed scared and bewildered when it first learned that the food it had been enjoying came from a human, the happy times it spent with Lucas were genuine, as was the delicious food.
It couldn't believe that Lucas, who could prepare such wonderful meals, was a bad person. It also liked the gentle Diancie and the friends with whom it ate, laughed, and played in the store. Swablu didn't want to lose any of this.
Recalling the smile on Lucas's face yesterday, Swablu felt truly remorseful. It had eaten so much of Lucas's food, yet it had hurt him alongside its mother.
So after its mother left today, Swablu secretly returned to Lucas's store to apologize.
"So it's an apology." A warm smile appeared on Lucas's face. "It's okay, I forgive you. I know that Swablu's behavior yesterday definitely wasn't from the heart, right?"
"Swablu~ Swablu~"
Swablu nodded rapidly again.
"That's fine," Lucas said. "Have you had breakfast? Would you like to come in and have some?"
Hearing this, Swablu hesitated. It felt that after hurting Lucas, it was no longer worthy of eating food prepared by him.
Lucas immediately understood what Swablu was thinking. He signaled to Diancie with his eyes, and Diancie comprehended at once, stepping forward to pick up Swablu.
"Let's eat together. The store doesn't feel lively without you," Lucas said warmly.
Just as Diancie was about to bring Swablu inside, something suddenly fell from the eaves and splattered on the ground.
Lucas and Diancie looked closer—who else could it be but Fletchling? It was lying on the ground with limbs spread out, looking at Lucas and Diancie with an embarrassed expression.
"Why are you here too?" Lucas asked with a smile.
Fletchling scrambled up from the ground, hopped and hid under the steps, then quietly poked its little head up, appearing too shy to properly face Lucas.
Lucas was amused by its behavior. "We're leaving if you don't come out."
Fletchling then shrank its head and reluctantly jumped out from under the steps.
"Fletch~ Fletch~~"
It called out softly with its head lowered.
After Diancie's translation, Lucas learned that Fletchling was also there to apologize.
Like Swablu, Fletchling was very young, and its understanding of many things came from its parents and friends. Its parents had warned that humans were frightening, so naturally it believed humans were scary.
But simultaneously, young Pokémon had their own independent perceptions and a rich desire for knowledge, which drove them to explore and understand the world on their own terms, forming perspectives different from their parents'.
It was precisely because of this that they now followed their hearts rather than their parents' instructions.
"Okay, I forgive you too. Let's all go inside and have a meal." Lucas stepped forward and gently picked up Fletchling. The small Pokémon's body trembled slightly before quickly relaxing.
Holding Fletchling, Lucas could clearly perceive the changes in its reaction, and a genuine smile spread across his face.
At that moment, there was a sudden rustling sound from the distant grass, and a Bellsprout ran out in a panic.
"Bell~ Bell~" Me too, me too, don't leave me behind!
It turned out that Bellsprout had also been present for some time but had been hiding in the grass, too embarrassed to reveal itself. Now that it saw Swablu and Fletchling had been forgiven, it rushed forward.
Bellsprout~~
Probably because it was running too fast, Bellsprout tripped over itself and fell, immediately tearing up.
"Hahaha~~~"
Lucas and Diancie couldn't help but laugh heartily.
Placing Fletchling on his shoulder, Lucas walked over and picked up Bellsprout, and then everyone went into the store to eat together.
Time passed in the blink of an eye, and several days went by.
During these days, some of the Pokémon who had left after Lucas's human identity was exposed gradually returned one by one.
These Pokémon were mainly young and native to the Nebel Plateau. Those Pokémon who had personally experienced harm from humans would likely find it difficult to accept Lucas in the short term.
With the return of these Pokémon, Lucas's store gradually became lively again. Every morning, bursts of laughter filled the store, and everyone looked truly happy. This couldn't help but confuse some Pokémon who disliked humans but secretly observed Lucas's establishment.
Is the food made by that human really so delicious?
The fact that Swablu, Fletchling, and Bellsprout secretly visited Lucas's place couldn't remain hidden from their parents forever.
This morning, while everyone enjoyed breakfast in the store, Lucas and Diancie came outside together to water the seedlings in the flower garden. Looking up, they spotted a huge Pokémon perched on the ridge of their house, staring at them with sharp eyes. It was none other than Talonflame, Fletchling's parent.
"You... hello!" Lucas waved and greeted Talonflame.
"Talon~~"
Talonflame chirped and turned its head away from Lucas.
"Talonflame, why are you here? If you're worried about Fletchling, please rest assured, I truly won't harm it," Lucas attempted to converse with Talonflame.
"Talon~ Flame~~" I'm here to supervise you.
Talonflame turned its head and spoke to Lucas, while Diancie translated from beside him.
The ones who came to Lucas's place to eat were all young Pokémon. The parents couldn't stop their children, so they sent a representative to monitor Lucas.
Talonflame was that representative.
"I understand. Then please take care of me from now on." Lucas pondered for a moment, thinking this arrangement was acceptable. With Talonflame watching, everyone would eventually believe that he harbored no malice.