Lilie's voice came from outside the door, and Maki instinctively covered his communicator the moment he heard her. Unfortunately, it was pointless—Sabrina's hearing was especially sharp at that moment.
"It's nothing, just someone looking for me."
"A girl?"
"...Yeah."
"Is she pretty?"
"She's... quite cute." Maki replied, feeling a little guilty yet surprisingly honest. After all, anyone who had played Pokémon Sun and Moon had probably, at some point, moved their character onto Lilie's bed, right?
Inside the Saffron City Gym, Sabrina floated her communicator midair using her psychic abilities while turning to Alakazam. "Is there a way to use psychic powers to kill someone through a signal?"
"Ala... kazam~" Alakazam visibly shrank back in fear, shaking its head.
How could such a method of using psychic powers even exist?!
At the same time, as Maki replied to Sabrina, he quietly approached the door, cracked it open, and peeked out at Lilie. "What's up?"
Although she found Maki's behavior a bit strange today, Lilie didn't question it. She simply smiled at him as always.
"Mother wants you to come over."
Hearing that, Maki finally let go of his communicator, which he had been gripping tightly the entire time.
"Ahem, so it's President Lusamine who wants to see me," he said, deliberately raising his voice so Sabrina on the other end of the call could hear.
"You could've just sent someone else to relay the message. You go on ahead, Lilie—I'll be there shortly."
"It's fine. I'll wait here for you so we can go together. You're not that familiar with the way, right?"
Lilie shook her head with a gentle smile. However, someone else's mood might not have been as pleasant.
"...Alright, give me a moment."
"Is something wrong?"
Lilie curiously peeked inside. Today, her Clefairy wasn't with her.
"I just woke up. I need to get dressed." Maki casually made up an excuse. The moment he said that, Lilie's face turned red, and she quickly retracted her head.
Thankfully, she hadn't seen anything inappropriate.
Wait—do boys really sleep without clothes? But her brother, Gladion, didn't have that habit… did he?
Lilie stood outside the door, her cheeks flushed.
"Are you planning to stay in Alola forever?"
"Of course not. I'm still working on expanding Team Rocket's operations, aren't I?"
"By arranging a marriage alliance?"
"Lilie and I just met, and besides, in my heart, you're the cutest." Maki spoke sincerely.
"...Don't say such disgusting things."
"I mean it!"
"That's exactly why it's disgusting."
Even though she said that, Sabrina couldn't help but smirk slightly.
"By the way, who's this Lusamine you just mentioned?" she asked, recalling his earlier words.
"She's the president of the Aether Foundation—and that girl just now is her daughter. The Aether Foundation is the largest organization in Alola, both legally and behind the scenes. While they can't quite compare to Team Rocket, they still hold significant influence." Maki explained.
Even though Sabrina might've known a bit about Alola, she wasn't too familiar with the Aether Foundation.
"So, you're into this kind of woman?"
"??? What do you take me for?"
Sure, Lusamine had taken great care of herself and didn't look much older than Lilie, but was that really what she thought of him?
"So, what happened to my father?"
Trying to shift the topic, Maki wasn't too worried about Giovanni, but being unable to reach him was still concerning.
Given that Giovanni went missing a few days after Maki himself did, he suspected that Giovanni was searching for him.
"I have no idea what's going on with Uncle Giovanni."
"Try to contact him if you can. If you find anything, let him know I'm still in Alola and might be staying here for a while."
"Why are you staying there?" Sabrina frowned.
"The Aether Foundation still needs my involvement for now. Until my father sends someone else to take over, I can't just disappear after securing a partnership with them, can I?" Maki shrugged.
After negotiating a deal with Lusamine, it wouldn't make sense for him to suddenly vanish.
"I can send someone over."
Sabrina spoke stubbornly.
"What kind of people could you possibly send?" Maki rolled his eyes. Given Sabrina's personality, Giovanni wouldn't entrust her with important matters.
Her subordinates were, frankly, weaklings who needed her protection.
"Don't worry, I'll handle things in Alola." Maki reassured her.
Sabrina opened her mouth, thinking, Who cares about Alola or the Aether Foundation?!
"Let me know if you hear from my father. I've got to go—Lilie's still waiting." With that, Maki hung up.
...
Evan, a veteran researcher at the Aether Foundation, had been with the organization even before Mohn's disappearance. Aside from his work, he was on good terms with Lusamine's family.
He was also responsible for repairing Maki's communicator—after all, it likely contained crucial information, so it had to be handled by someone trustworthy.
Evan was quite fond of Lilie. Ever since Mohn went missing, he had felt deep sympathy for the girl who had lost her father at such a young age, treating her almost like his own daughter.
How can I keep Lilie away from that guy?
Evan was well aware of Maki's affiliation with Team Rocket. To be honest, if Lilie and Maki could form a "good" relationship, it would be beneficial to the Aether Foundation. But from a personal standpoint, he didn't want that to happen.
No matter how he looked at it, that Maki guy didn't seem like a decent person.
After all, he was part of Team Rocket—it was better to be cautious.
It was currently Evan's break time, so he was casually strolling nearby when he unknowingly wandered close to Maki's room.
Hmm? Why is Lilie here?
From a distance, Evan saw Lilie standing outside Maki's door, her face flushed red, head lowered, lost in thought.
Evan: !!!?
Moments later, Maki stepped out of his room and exchanged a few words with Lilie before they walked off together, smiling.
Madam President… we have a problem!!!
-------
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to my Patreon ——— patreon(.)com/PrimalDemon [remove the parentheses ( )]