The sky was growing dark.
Kaname slipped back into the Daycare Center at the tail end of the sunset, and as soon as she entered the gate, she smelled the rich aroma of curry.
Today’s dinner was sweet curry with beef stewed with potatoes.
This was the children’s favorite menu.
Usually, the children would have long been lining up at the cafeteria entrance with their trays, but Kaname was not in a hurry to join the crowd.
Acting like a thief, she looked left and right, and after confirming that the teachers and other children were all in the direction of the cafeteria, she clutched the bulging bundle in her arms and slipped back into her room.
“Whew…” Closing the door and locking it, Kaname finally let out a sigh of relief.
She carefully placed the coat in her arms on the bed and untied the knotted sleeves.
As the fabric unfolded layer by layer, a little brown fur ball was revealed.
Even after all the tossing and turning, being stuffed into her clothes, and being carried back through all the bumps, this Eevee showed no signs of waking up, and was even smacking its lips, sleeping soundly.
“What a carefree heart…” Kaname was speechless and poked Eevee’s soft cheek.
However, sleeping like a log was a good thing.
It saved her from it waking up halfway and making a noise, which would be impossible to explain.
Kaname had no intention of bringing back a wild Pokémon, let alone an Eevee.
If it weren’t for the faint uneasiness in her heart, coupled with the offensive launched by Erika’s big, watery eyes, Kaname would never have taken this risk.
Although the children in the Daycare Center would bring wild Pokémon home from time to time, finding a Rattata, Pidgey, or Pikachu was completely different from finding an Eevee.
In this era, the buying and selling of Pokémon was still quite common, with black markets and underground trading rampant.
Just carrying a Pokémon around on the street could make you a target.
A few years later, the League would step up its efforts to combat illegal poaching, and legitimate Pokémon Daycares would spring up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.
But even ten years later, Pokémon Hunters who took risks for rare Pokémon would still emerge one after another, not to mention the current chaotic period where order was still being established.
A rare Pokémon of unknown origin appearing in an abandoned greenhouse in the wilderness in itself hinted at something unusual.
—It was highly likely due to human factors.
Kaname made the logical deduction.
It had either escaped from a poacher’s cage or was a “defective product” from an illegal underground breeding farm.
Regardless, as long as she got involved with it, there was a ninety-nine percent chance of trouble, and it might even bring disaster to the Daycare Center.
It wouldn’t be difficult to confirm this.
“If it was lost through legitimate channels, or if some Pokémon Trainer accidentally lost it, the Daycare Center would definitely receive a notification soon, and then I can just ‘find’ it at an appropriate time.” Kaname sat by the bed, watching Eevee breathe steadily.
“But if it’s poachers…” Although Kaname didn’t know the exact price of an Eevee on the black market now, it was definitely a huge sum of money.
For profit, humans were capable of anything.
…She had to think of a countermeasure.
At the very least, before confirming it was safe, she absolutely could not let anyone discover its existence.
While brainstorming various possible emergencies and response plans in her mind, Kaname gently covered Eevee with a quilt, leaving only its little head exposed for air.
After doing all this, she pushed the door open and walked out.
The cafeteria was bustling with activity.
Although the Daycare Center was a public institution, Celadon City was a commercial metropolis, and with the backing of a city government with sufficient funding, the children’s meals were always quite good.
The long dining tables were filled with little rascals tucking into their food.
Teachers wove through them, occasionally wiping the mouths of the younger children or refilling their bowls.
Kaname took her portion and sat down in a quiet corner.
She scooped up a piece of soft-stewed potato with her spoon and put it in her mouth.
The sweet and savory taste melted on the tip of her tongue, and warmth flowed down her esophagus to her stomach, dispelling the evening chill.
“Kaname, remember to come and drink your medicine after you finish eating!” A young female teacher walked over with a bowl of pitch-black medicinal soup, wearing a smile that brooked no refusal.
“This was brought specially by Erika, and I’ve heated it up for you.” Looking at the full bowl of liquid emitting strange steam and a strong, bitter smell, Kaname’s little face instantly scrunched up.
She had almost forgotten about this.
The “love-filled herbal medicine” brought by Erika.
Although she was a hundred percent unwilling in her heart, in order not to let down Erika’s good intentions and also to maintain her persona, Kaname bit the bullet and took the bowl.
“Thank you, teacher…” She took a deep breath, trying to use her adult willpower to fight against this dish of dark cuisine.
It’s just herbal medicine, right?
In her past life, when working overtime, she drank black coffee like water; as long as she gulped it down in one go, it would be fine!
Kaname held her breath, tilted her head back, and heroically downed the medicinal soup in the bowl.
“Gulp—” The next second.
“Ugh!!” Kaname slammed her hands over her mouth.
As soon as her tongue touched the medicinal liquid, a physiological urge to vomit surged up instantly, her whole body shivered, and tears streamed out uncontrollably.
Kaname’s little face turned bright red, and tears uncontrollably welled up and swirled in her eyes.
Her young body had betrayed her soul.
Bitter!
It was too bitter!
It was simply not something for a human to drink!
Kaname suddenly remembered.
There seemed to be a saying that children’s sense of taste was much more sensitive than adults’.
No wonder she had almost spat out the medicinal soup…
actually, she had already spat out a little bit; if she hadn’t covered her mouth, she might have sprayed it all over the table.
Sugar, she needed sugar…
Kaname instinctively reached for her pocket.
However, her fingertips only touched empty fabric.
…Oh no.
The handful of candies Erika gave her, along with her coat, had all been left in the room to serve as a nest for that Eevee!
“Oh my, is it too bitter?” The teacher looked at Kaname’s pitiful appearance as she stuck out her tongue with teary eyes, and quickly handed her a cup of warm water.
Kaname took the glass and gulped down a few mouthfuls, yet the despairing bitterness in her mouth remained.
Meanwhile, in a room at the Daycare Center.
Eevee twitched its ears and slowly opened its eyes.
An unfamiliar ceiling, an unfamiliar scent.
It shrank its neck, instantly becoming vigilant, its body tense, emitting a low, threatening growl from its throat.
But soon, it realized it wasn’t locked in a cold cage.
So warm…
A soft, warm sensation wrapped around its body.
The little one twitched its nose.
A faint milky scent mixed with a subtle sweetness, along with the lingering smell on the coat wrapped around it, drifted into its nostrils.
It didn’t dislike it.
It even felt inexplicably at ease.
Even though this should be the time to be most vigilant, it had relaxed without realizing it, unable to make any threatening gestures.
Eevee felt confused by its own disordered instincts.
“…Eevee?”