Bang, bang, bang!
Rows of fireworks shot into the sky.
With Chairman Rose and Champion Peony cutting the ribbon together, Hulbury’s seaside scenic area officially opened for business.
However, Rose had barely finished the ribbon-cutting and said only a few words before boarding a helicopter and leaving.
There was nothing anyone could do about it.
Galar’s economy was still a serious problem, and as Chairman of the League, Rose was so busy every day that his feet barely seemed to touch the ground.
Supposedly, he slept less than four hours a night.
Peony left soon after as well since he had other work to deal with too.
Although his relationship with his older brother Rose was not exactly good, at the very least, the two of them shared the same desire to revive the Galar region.
They were both the type to work themselves half to death.
“There are so many people!”
Nessa struggled through the crowd and handed a string of charms to a customer who had just paid.
Then she fought just as hard to take the money from them before squeezing her way back behind the counter.
No one had expected so many people to attend the opening ceremony.
Even more unexpectedly, Blake’s little shop, which had originally felt almost like something he had opened for fun, had attracted a ridiculous number of customers.
“Gastly!
Gastly!!!!!!
∑(゚Д゚ノ)ノ”
Even Gastly, who was usually as outgoing as they came, was starting to feel a little socially overwhelmed.
He had never seen this many people in his life!
The whole mess had started when a Trainer who also worked as a popular online blogger came into the shop.
The moment he saw the various charms hanging on the wall, he recognized at a glance that they were genuine articles—and high-quality ones at that.
After that, word quickly spread.
A lot of people realized these were rare items that were usually hard to buy, and the crowd immediately surged in like a wave.
After all, this was a scenic area selling genuine goods, valuable ones at that, and the prices were not even outrageous.
In no time at all, it felt as if nearly everyone in the entire scenic area had crowded over.
“Guys!
Move in!
Help keep order!”
At that moment, Uncle Sam arrived with his fellow fishermen.
A group of broad-shouldered, thick-armed men stepped in to replace the security guards who had been shoved around until they were practically stumbling, doing their best to maintain order.
But to be honest, even with them there, it was barely enough to make a dent in such a massive crowd.
“Everyone, don’t push!
Please don’t push!
There’s enough, there’s enough!”
Blake shouted at the top of his lungs.
Perhaps the people of Hulbury were too used to his family’s existence, so he had completely forgotten just how tempting some precious Pokémon items could be to the outside world.
“Shut up!
Take my money and give me my charm!”
“I want a Cleanse Tag!”
“Spell Tag!
I want a Spell Tag!
My Froslass can use it!”
“Oval Charm!
Give me an Oval Charm!”
“Exp.
Charm!
They actually have Exp.
Charms here!
I’ll take them all!”
“Get lost!
You can’t be that selfish!
If you buy them all, what about everyone else?”
Here you go, sir, your Cleanse Tag.
Miss, your Spell Tag.
Nessa!
We’re out of Exp.
Charms!
Bring me some more!”
If Nessa’s side could still be described as merely crowded, then Blake’s side had completely turned into a sea of people.
Before that blogger arrived, most of the customers in Blake’s shop had been young people looking at pearl necklaces and similar accessories.
Now, those pearls and trinkets had been abandoned in the corner without anyone sparing them a second glance.
“Everyone!
Everyone!
I made these items myself!
There’s no need to rush!
Please take it slowly and line up properly!
Even if you can’t buy one today, you can place a custom order!
These items aren’t that high-end!
Please don’t crowd together!
Many of these things can be bought elsewhere too!
You can buy them elsewhere!
Don’t panic!”
There were simply too many people!
With no other choice, Blake finally stood directly on top of the counter and shouted to the crowd.
Fortunately, the scenic area’s management staff finally sent reinforcements at that moment.
A large group of security personnel rushed over and finally managed to separate the crowd.
At last, the scene was no longer packed to the point of suffocation.
“Hello, sir.
One of each charm you requested, plus a Cleanse Tag and a Spell Tag.”
Blake packed the items and handed them to the customer.
“Thank you.
Um, I’d like to confirm something.
Are all the items in this shop really made by you?”
The middle-aged male customer accepted the package and asked quietly.
“The pearl necklaces and bracelets aren’t, but the charms, Cleanse Tags, and Spell Tags were all made by me.
Next!”
After patiently answering him, Blake turned and called for the next customer.
At this rate, he felt like he would not be eating lunch today.
How had so many people shown up?
“Oh, oh, all right.”
The middle-aged man left the shop with his purchases, then immediately opened the package and took out the items, examining them carefully.
“Hmm…
not top quality.
The materials used are only basic materials, but there’s no doubt that the technique is excellent.
If he used higher-grade materials, the results would be incredible.
No, I can’t stay here any longer.
I need to report back to the boss right away.”
With that thought, the middle-aged man took out his phone and hurried toward the scenic area’s entrance.
“Hello?”
A slightly tired male voice came through the phone.
“Boss, it’s me, Carter.”
The middle-aged man spoke between breaths.
“Carter?
What’s the matter?”
The tired voice sounded curious.
“Boss, you left too quickly!
“What?
What happened?!”
Before Carter could finish speaking, the person on the other end shouted in alarm.
As one might easily guess, the person on the other end of the call was none other than Rose, Chairman of the Galar League.
Carter, meanwhile, was an employee of Rose’s company, which was why he called him “Boss” instead of “Chairman.”
“It’s not a bad news!
Not a bad news, Boss.
It’s good news.
Good news instead!”
Afraid that Rose would misunderstand, Carter quickly clarified.
“Good news?
Whew…
That’s a relief.
What kind of good news?”
Hearing Carter say that, Rose let out a breath.
After all, Galar’s economic recovery plan could not afford any setbacks.
Right now, he was genuinely afraid of receiving any bad news.
“There’s a small shop in the scenic area.
At first, I thought it was just an ordinary souvenir shop, but I never expected that the things being sold there were genuine items.
And not only that, the shop owner made them himself.
What’s more, the shop owner is still a teenager!”
Carter did not dare waste any time and quickly explained.
He knew better than anyone how valuable Rose’s time was.
“You’re saying there’s a teenager who can make valuable items on his own?”
Rose’s voice became noticeably more serious.
“Yes.
They aren’t extremely valuable, but that’s only because of the materials used.
His technique itself is absolutely solid.
And the things he makes are charms.
I even found extremely rare ancient charms like Substitute Charms and Safety Charms.”
Carter spoke quickly, afraid Rose would not take the matter seriously enough.
“I see…
All right, I understand.
You don’t need to come back for now.
Stay there and keep an eye on things.
If anything happens, report to me immediately, no matter what time it is.
For the moment, I can’t personally spare attention for an item crafter, but we absolutely can’t neglect him either.
If anything comes up and you’re not sure how to handle it, contact me immediately.
If anyone causes trouble, you know what to do.
Oh, and you can bring your wife and child over to stay with you as well.
Treat it as a vacation for now.
That’s all!
I still have work on my end, so I’m hanging up.”
After saying that, Rose ended the call.
A short while later, Carter received a text message.
Its contents were simple: his right to use a room at the scenic area hotel had been extended from one day to half a year!
“Whew…
Looks like I’ll be on a business trip for half a year.
Well, that’s fine.
I might as well bring my wife here for a vacation.
Hulbury’s scenery really is pretty nice.”
Looking at the message on his phone, Carter let out a long breath.