“Hello, mister.
My name is Arven.
I’m ten years old.” On the way to the laboratory inside the institute, the now-energized Arven chattered nonstop in Michael’s ear.
Michael couldn’t help but get a headache.
‘Will this little chatterbox really grow up into the slightly melancholic young man Arven from Scarlet and Violet?
That’s way too drastic of a change, isn’t it?’ Honestly, Arven being talkative wasn’t much of a problem for Michael.
He was a man who could sit through four-hour after-work meetings until the very end without complaint.
A little verbal bombardment was nothing.
However, there was one thing he absolutely could not tolerate.
After Arven called him “mister” yet again, Michael rested a hand on the boy’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Has it ever occurred to you that I’m only about eight years older than you?
Be a good kid.
Call me big bro.” “…big bro,” Arven replied weakly.
He actually preferred calling Michael “mister,” but the smile Michael had just shown seemed to conceal something dangerous that absolutely shouldn’t be touched.
Arven wisely decided to follow his instincts.
Children’s emotions came and went quickly.
Before long, Arven was talking away again, repeatedly calling out, “Big bro!
Big bro!” This time, even Sada, who had been enduring it all along, couldn’t stand her son’s incessant babbling that sounded like someone chanting scriptures.
“Enough already!” she snapped, half annoyed.
“Take Mabosstiff back to your room and go play.” Apparently long accustomed to Sada’s fiery temper, Arven stuck out his tongue at her before riding off on Mabosstiff toward another corridor.
Sada could only watch helplessly as Arven disappeared into the distance atop Mabosstiff.
A tenderness surfaced in her eyes that even she herself failed to notice.
Watching the entire scene, Michael suddenly recalled the sorrowful expression of the grown-up Arven.
Even though his parents had remained in Area Zero for years while researching the time machine, the moment the AI created to replace the two professors contacted Arven, perhaps he had already realized that the parents speaking to him had become completely different people.
That was why an unshakable sadness always lingered on his face.
For an AI, genuinely replicating human emotions was simply too difficult.
Even after inheriting all of Sada’s or Turo’s memories and emotions, the AI Sada/Turo only gradually came to understand those feelings after witnessing the protagonists’ magnificent adventure.
‘Could my arrival change those tragedies?’ Michael fell into deep thought.
Sada noticed that the atmosphere had become somewhat awkward after Arven left.
Still feeling guilty for having wrongly suspected Michael earlier, she decided to casually change the subject.
“Michael, do you know why I was so nervous earlier?” His thoughts interrupted, Michael slowly looked up, confusion appearing in his eyes.
Now that she mentioned it, he hadn’t really thought about it before.
The Paldea region rarely saw activity from evil organizations, so there shouldn’t have been that many criminals.
Yet Sada had been so tense, as if she were afraid of something.
Michael nodded.
“I’m curious.” Sada’s expression turned serious.
“The police have already issued a notice.
Recently, a group of criminals from another region appears to have fled into Paldea.
Their specialty is kidnapping and trafficking children.
If the child’s parents are wealthy or influential, they extort them for ransom.
If it’s an ordinary child, they sell them directly to evil organizations in other regions.
That’s why I reacted so strongly to you.” “I see…” A sharp glint flashed through Michael’s eyes.
He held nothing but contempt for criminals who trafficked children.
He wasn’t the type to go looking for trouble by playing the hero, but if he happened to run into them, they definitely wouldn’t have a pleasant outcome.
Soon, the laboratory where Sada and the never-before-met Turo usually worked came into view.
Contrary to Michael’s impression of a cutting-edge laboratory full of futuristic technology and metallic aesthetics, this research room felt surprisingly lived in.
The research area naturally contained plenty of advanced equipment, but a sizeable living space occupied the room as well.
In particular, the bookshelves were packed with books of every kind.
Noticing Michael’s curious gaze wandering around the room, Sada gave him a detailed introduction to her research.
“Besides accepting commissions to craft Tera Orbs, my husband and I primarily research the ancient legends that have been passed down throughout the Paldea region.” “The four ancient shrines scattered across Paldea…
the ultimate mystery hidden within the Great Crater of Paldea…
Just thinking about them gets my blood pumping.” Sada was undoubtedly a researcher who genuinely loved her work.
Whenever the topic turned to research, her entire face seemed to light up.
Walking over to a bookshelf, Sada pulled out a book with a crimson cover.
While gently stroking its cover, she enthusiastically continued introducing the institute’s facilities.
But Michael wasn’t listening to a single word.
His eyes were fixed on the book in Sada’s hands, his pupils contracting slightly.
‘The Scarlet Book!’ He remembered that it had been written by Heath, the explorer who had successfully reached the bottom of the Great Crater of Paldea one or two centuries ago.
Its contents mainly recorded Heath’s expedition team’s experiences in the mysterious region at the crater’s deepest point, a place they named Area Zero.
However, the contents of The Scarlet Book were so bizarre and fantastical that the mainstream opinion throughout Paldea regarded it as nothing more than Heath’s delusions.
The book had been labeled supernatural fiction, while Heath himself had been branded a fraud.
Incidentally, The Violet Book was published shortly after The Scarlet Book.
Michael still remembered most of the contents of both books.
Copies were also kept in the library of Naranja Academy, so even if he forgot something, he could always review them there after class.
But what shocked him wasn’t the existence of The Scarlet Book or The Violet Book.
It was the fact that Sada was holding The Scarlet Book.
That meant Sada and Turo had likely already begun considering traveling to Area Zero to build the time machine and research Pokémon from the past and future.
Once they had reached that stage, it probably wouldn’t be long before the Paradox Pokémon appeared, followed by the arrival of the legendary Pokémon featured on the covers of Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.
Michael remained silent for a long while.
His dream was to live a peaceful, leisurely life.
But he also couldn’t bear to watch those tragedies unfold.
After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, “Professor Sada, do you like The Scarlet Book that much?” Sada paused before breaking into a radiant smile.
“I’m fascinated by the giant, ferocious Pokémon with primitive instincts described in the book.
That’s what inspired me to devote myself completely to researching Area Zero.
You arrived at just the right time.
My husband and I are planning to restart the Tera Project at the Great Crater of Paldea this month.
My husband actually went out today to negotiate with companies interested in financing the project.
Had you come any later, we probably wouldn’t have had the time to make a Tera Orb for you.” She looked at Michael expectantly.
“Are you interested in The Scarlet Book too?” When Geeta contacted her, she had specifically mentioned that Michael was a Champion-level Trainer whose strength was no less than her own.
If she could persuade him to join her research team, then the dangerous wild Pokémon inhabiting the Great Crater of Paldea and Area Zero would no longer pose a threat.
After thinking for a moment, Michael replied modestly, “I’ve only read it before.
I know a little about it, that’s all.”