Erika immediately wilted.
A mix of shame from being called out by the teacher and general annoyance washed over her; she buried her face behind her textbook and muttered under her breath.
…If things stay like this, how is it any different from a normal class?!
It was all the fault of those strange adults; they made her so restless she couldn’t even sit through a lesson.
But even so, Erika didn’t forget their promise.
She finally managed to endure until the dismissal bell rang.
Taking advantage of the chaotic scene as everyone crowded toward the cafeteria…
Erika reached out to grab her water bottle, pretending to go get a drink, and slipped out of the classroom in a flash.
“…The environment at the Daycare Center is truly excellent.
It’s clear that you, Director, have put a lot of heart into these children.” The door to the Director’s office was slightly ajar, and the sound of a conversation drifted out from within.
…An adult’s voice she didn’t recognize?
Erika instinctively stopped in her tracks.
Pressing herself against the wall, she tiptoed slowly toward the window and peeked her head out just a tiny bit.
Several adults dressed in neat suits with ID badges hanging from their necks were standing with the Director, speaking in polite tones.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” The Director gave a couple of dry chuckles, the wrinkles on her face bunching together.
“The children’s safety is our responsibility to begin with.
Since the higher-ups place such importance on it, we will certainly cooperate fully.” “That’s good, that’s good.” The man in the lead nodded politely, though the smile on his lips didn’t reach his eyes.
“By the way, have the children been well-behaved lately?” He feigned casualness as he continued the previous topic.
“After all, this location is quite remote.
Have there been any naughty children who impulsively ran out and made contact with any wild Pokémon?” Outside the door, Erika’s heart tightened.
The Director clearly didn’t notice the other party’s ulterior motives and simply gave a helpless smile.
“Oh dear, they’re just children, after all.
Curiosity is always strong.
Occasionally, a child really will bring back some Pokémon like Weedle or Rattata…” “Oh?” The man’s voice rose slightly.
“But rest assured, our Daycare Center has regulations.” The Director explained hurriedly.
“Once discovered, we organize teachers to educate them and then find a way to release those Pokémon back into the wild.
After all, wild Pokémon are not only dangerous, but hygiene is also an issue.” “…They were released?” A trace of hard-to-detect disappointment and irritation bled into the man’s tone.
Clearly.
He hadn’t gotten the answer he wanted.
Seeing that the Director had no intention of delving deeper into the topic, the man fell silent for a moment, seemingly re-organizing his words.
“Well then.” The man spoke again, his voice dropping even lower this time.
“Among the children in the Daycare Center, are there any of the particularly intelligent type?” “Intelligent?” “Yes—the kind who are more precocious than their peers, or more independent, children who like to act alone.” The Director paused, and though she didn’t understand why the man in front of her was suddenly asking this…
Out of pride for the outstanding children in her care, she answered almost instinctively.
“If we’re talking about intelligence, it has to be Kaname!
Although that child is young and doesn’t have much luck with parents, that cleverness of hers is…” Clang!
A sharp sound suddenly rang out from the corner of the hallway.
Hearing the conversation actually point toward Kaname, Erika had accidentally bumped her elbow hard against the nearby wooden window frame in her nervousness.
“Who’s there?!” The conversation over there stopped abruptly, followed immediately by the sound of hurried footsteps.
Erika didn’t care if she was discovered; she took off and ran upstairs.
…
At dusk.
In Kaname’s room.
“Huff…
huff…
that’s how it was!” Erika was panting, her small face pale; she was clearly quite frightened.
But even so, she insisted on repeating every single word she had overheard.
Including how the man had made indirect inquiries about children contacting Pokémon, how the Director had answered, and the man’s strange reaction at the end.
“Kaname!
Those people are definitely big villains!” Erika clutched Kaname’s sleeve tightly, her face full of eagerness based on her vivid imagination.
“Next, we should expose their true colors and chase them away!” “…” Kaname opened her mouth and looked at the already recovered Erika with a speechless expression.
“If we jump out now, wouldn’t we just be telling them that we were the ones who took Eevee?” “Oh, right…” Erika realized belatedly.
“Eevee!” Eevee crouched to the side, comparing the performance of the two, and the look in its eyes as it watched Erika gradually turned into disdain.
…They’re both human hatchlings, so why does this one feel so dim-witted?
“I have another way.” Kaname hadn’t stayed in her room all afternoon just to waste time.
Ignoring the confusion of the two little ones before her, she turned and pulled a biscuit tin with a Clefairy pattern from under the bed.
This was Kaname’s “treasure chest.” Most children in the Daycare Center had similar collections.
Although they mostly contained worthless junk, to the children, it was their entire fortune.
Kaname was no exception.
Of course.
These were treasures she had accumulated before awakening the memories of her previous life.
Kaname opened the lid without a hint of regret.
Inside were a few oddly shaped stones, some shiny glass marbles, and several Cheri Berries that had become shriveled and rock-hard from being kept too long.
That last pile of stuff was Cheri Berries she’d secretly stashed during outings; she’d probably been curious about the taste but forgot to try them, and now they had turned into biochemical weapons capable of cracking a skull.
“Actually, an Ekans has sneaked into the Daycare Center.” As Kaname picked through the useful items in the box, she dropped a bombshell in the same flat tone one would use to discuss “what’s for dinner.” “Eh…?” Erika’s brain clearly hadn’t processed it yet.
But a second later, when the meaning of the word materialized in her mind, Erika’s face instantly became even paler than before.
In this world, the threat an Ekans posed to ordinary people was basically equivalent to a cobra in her previous life.
Although academically speaking, newborn Ekans have very weak toxicity—most aren’t even venomous and can only attack prey by constricting and biting…
As they grow older, they instinctively learn the Poison-type move, Poison Sting.
If one is unlucky enough to be poisoned, the torment of nausea and vomiting accompanied by high fever is enough to make an adult lose a layer of skin, let alone a small child.
Even if not poisoned, a bite is rumored to be agonizingly painful.
“E-Ekans…?!” Erika’s voice was trembling, her legs went weak, and her body began to shudder visibly.
The Eevee next to her was having a full-blown PTSD episode.
It was a victim who had personally experienced the pain; hearing the name now, it immediately tucked its tail, buried its head firmly in the quilt, and left only a fluffy butt shaking outside.
Looking at the two little ones who were nearly scared out of their wits, Kaname instead nodded with satisfaction.
“It seems the effect is good.” Most people definitely don’t want to be bitten by an Ekans; they feel fear just hearing the name.
Precisely because of this, she wanted to exploit that point.
Since those people want to search secretly, she would help them make a scene—a scene so big that the entire Daycare Center, and even the entire block, would have no choice but to pay attention.
[pokédex system activated.] [Scanning currently available materials: Dried Cheri Berries (Extremely Spicy), chalk dust (desiccant), cheap glass beads…] [Target analysis: Snake-like Pokémon like to use their tongues to sense scents and have extremely low tolerance for irritating odors.] [Plan generated: Need to formulate highly volatile irritating gas.
Currently lacking volatile solvent.] Kaname’s gaze swept around the room and finally fixed on the delicate little satchel at Erika’s waist.
The signature product of the future Celadon Gym would be perfume.
As for now, although Erika didn’t know how to make perfume yet, she always carried some fragrance with her.
The secret of why the young lady always smelled so good was not yet known to the other children.
Kaname reached out her hand to ask for it.
“Erika, give me that bottle of perfume you carry with you.” “Ah?
G-Give it to you?” Although Erika was still shaking, she instinctively protected her bag upon hearing Kaname’s request.
“B-But this is a limited edition my mother gave me…” “Do you want to drive those bad people away?” “I do!” “Then give it to me.” Erika finally parted with her treasure, pulling out a beautifully packaged pink perfume bottle.
Kaname took the perfume.
Her movements were swift as she placed the dried Cheri Berries on the table and used the lid of the tin box to crush them into a deep red powder.
A pungent, spicy smell instantly filled the air, causing the nearby Eevee to let out a huge sneeze.
Next, Kaname unscrewed the perfume bottle cap.
Completely disregarding how precious this bottle of perfume was, she poured the high-concentration liquid with its rose scent directly into the Cheri Berry powder.
Sizzle— A simple mixture.
A mixture of rich floral fragrance and spiciness, an extremely eerie scent rose in the small room.
[Irritant Spray (Simple Version) preparation complete.] [Estimated Effect: Has a strong mucosal irritation effect on snake-like Pokémon with sensitive taste, sufficient to plunge them into a brief state of frenzy or confusion.] That’s what the pokédex system said.
Kaname didn’t doubt for a second that this thing labeled as the simple version was just as lethal to humans as its estimated effect on Pokémon.
However.
Since I finally made a finished product, should I test its effects first?
She inadvertently glanced toward Eevee.
“…Bui?!” Feeling the killing intent, Eevee shuddered, its head, which had just poked out from the covers, shaking rapidly.