“Thank you for your assistance, Mr.
Scott.” The valiant Officer Jenny led the group of police officers in a sincere salute toward Michael.
The parents of the three rescued children hugged them tightly as though they had survived a disaster, crying as they repeatedly expressed their gratitude to Michael.
Michael wasn’t very good at handling situations like this.
He laughed awkwardly and endured the barrage of thanks until Officer Jenny escorted the kidnappers away.
Only then did he turn toward Nemona, who had been waiting nearby with a middle-aged butler named Sebas, along with the luxury sedan parked behind them.
‘Whoa…
if I remember correctly, that car costs at least ten million Poké Dollars, doesn’t it?’ Michael’s eyes widened in amazement as he stared longingly at the understated black luxury car.
If he hadn’t happened to watch an online video introducing it recently, he probably wouldn’t even have recognized it.
A rich young lady really was different, even her everyday ride was this extravagant.
Michael looked so captivated that he was practically drooling.
Noticing that Michael had been staring at the car behind her, Nemona thought for a moment.
Michael’s house looked pretty old.
Their garage had plenty of cars just like this one.
‘Maybe…’ She was about to ask Sebas to simply give the car to Michael when the butler beat her to it, addressing the approaching Michael first.
Dressed impeccably as a butler, Sebas gave a slight bow, placing one hand over his chest.
“Mr.
Scott, please allow me to express the deepest gratitude of my master and his family.
Thank you for rescuing our second young lady from those criminals.” Michael smiled.
“It was nothing much.
I only do my job.
There’s no need to be so formal.” Sebas immediately shook his head, his expression earnest.
“How could that be?
During Young Lady’s disappearance, the master, madam, and eldest young lady were beside themselves with worry.
It was only because of your intervention that our family was spared such a heartbreaking tragedy.
If you would honor us with your presence, we’d like to invite you to our estate.
My master has prepared generous gifts to properly express his gratitude.” Nemona’s eyes sparkled.
‘Big Bro is coming to my house?
Yay!’ However, Michael’s attitude was unwavering.
He shook his head and politely declined.
“I appreciate their kindness, but I didn’t step in for a reward.
Please allow me to decline this invitation.” He might be short on money, but he wasn’t so desperate that he’d leverage such a simple act of kindness for personal gain.
Besides, with his strength, there were plenty of ways for him to make money.
He simply chose not to.
“Eh…?” Nemona’s face immediately fell.
She’d thought she’d get to spend a little more time with her savior.
“I understand.” Sebas handled the rejection with remarkable tact.
Seeing that Michael had no interest in material rewards, he reached into his pocket and produced an elegant gold-embossed business card.
“Then please accept this small token of our gratitude.
This is my business card.
It contains my personal contact information.
Should you ever require anything in the future, please don’t hesitate to contact me.” Sebas was a clever man.
If Michael wouldn’t accept a physical gift, then he’d express their gratitude another way.
As the butler responsible for managing the affairs of the estate, contacting him was, in a sense, the same as contacting his master.
The favor wouldn’t disappear.
It would simply take another form, waiting until the day it could be repaid.
Besides, compared to material gifts, the master was far more interested in maintaining a good relationship with Michael, a retired Champion-level Trainer.
Who knew?
Perhaps someday, when traveling to another region on business, he’d need to hire Michael as an escort to avoid attacks from evil organizations.
In this world, the strong were always in demand.
Michael accepted Sebas’s business card.
Before Nemona left, he told her she was welcome to visit his ranch whenever she had time.
Only then did he return home.
Not far from the small Western-style house where he lived, around ten workers and several Machoke were bustling about with great enthusiasm.
Noticing Michael’s return, the hearty middle-aged voice from the earlier phone call rang out.
“Mr.
Scott, you’re back!” Turning toward the speaker, Michael saw a middle-aged man wearing a hard hat with a distinctive mustache.
At first glance, the man looked like the sort of person who was full of schemes.
Michael looked him over carefully.
Then his expression changed slightly.
A closer look revealed unmistakable admiration in his eyes.
‘Good grief…
you’re really doing childcare while running a construction crew.’ The middle-aged man had two half-grown children hanging from each arm, another sitting on top of his head, while a few more children played noisily just a couple of meters away.
It was an absolute hellscape.
If it were Michael, he’d probably lose his sanity in less than ten minutes.
Respect.
Filled with sincere admiration for the foreman, Michael nodded.
“I’m back because everything’s been taken care of.” Then he looked toward the busy workers.
“So…
are you getting started already?” The foreman grinned.
“Well, after you agreed to such an unreasonable request from us, the least we could do was get everything arranged as quickly as possible.” A smile spread across Michael’s face.
“Then I’ll leave the ranch’s basic planning in your hands.” The foreman puffed out his chest proudly.
“The Machoke Construction Crew, it’s a quality you can trust!” Without the slightest embarrassment, he finished his slogan and struck Machoke’s signature bodybuilding pose, drawing delighted giggles from the children.
Afterward, under the watchful eyes of the curious kids, Michael and the foreman discussed a long list of details before finally settling on the ranch’s development plan.
The Machoke Construction Crew accepted the project for a total payment of 100,000 Poké Dollars.
The work included dividing the ranch into three major zones, > Farmland > Pasture > Lake Area Of course, such a low price only covered the basic zoning and construction of essential infrastructure.
Most of the buildings and facilities would be made of wood.
Upgrading everything later would require a considerable amount of money.
Unfortunately, Michael simply didn’t have that kind of budget.
After paying the construction fee, he had less than 300,000 Poké Dollars left in savings.
It was barely enough for everyday living expenses.
Fortunately, Luxray and the others occasionally went out hunting to help reduce the household’s financial burden.
Now, the real challenge before Michael was figuring out how to turn this startup capital into more money.
Thinking about it, he couldn’t help feeling that he’d merely escaped one nightmare—working a 9-to-9, six-days-a-week (996) schedule—only to fall into an even worse 24/7 (007) pit.
Still…
Compared to most people starting from scratch, he was already well ahead at the starting line.
…
In Cortondo, Inside a luxurious mansion complete with its own private garden and beach, Nemona returned home and tugged gently on her father Allen’s sleeve.
Encouraged by the warm gaze of her older sister, Karen, she blushed and said, “Father…
I want to become a Trainer.” Allen stopped walking.
A hint of surprise flashed across his eyes, which were the same color as Nemona’s.
He crouched down and smiled gently at his daughter.
“What made our little princess change her mind?
Let me guess…
Was it that retired Champion-level Trainer?” Blushing deeply, Nemona nodded.
Then, gathering all her courage, she declared, “I want to become as strong as he is.
My goal is to become a Champion-level Trainer!”