The person at the door was none other than Sabrina.
It was already December, the coldest time of the year in Kanto, yet she still wore her usual light attire.
Even though Kanto's winters weren't terribly frigid, Silas had at least changed into long sleeves.
"Are we just going to stand here and talk? Won't you let me inside?"
With her hands behind her back, Sabrina smiled at him.
Silas hesitated for a moment. "Please, come in."
He stepped aside to clear the way.
Sabrina slipped inside nimbly.
Silas stood frozen at the doorway for a moment before closing the door and following after her.
Inside the room.
On the table, two cups of tea sent up rising curls of steam, filling the air with fragrance.
The two sat across from one another in silence.
Silas didn't know what to say. Being suddenly approached by Sabrina left him bewildered.
Sabrina, on the other hand, seemed more entertained watching his Pokémon.
His Blaziken sat calmly with its eyes shut, pretending to meditate on Aura with absolute composure.
His Servine and Togepi played together nearby without a care in the world.
"How did you find me?" Silas asked after taking a sip of tea, realizing it was a pointless question.
Whether it was due to her psychic powers or her identity, discovering his location would have been child's play for her.
"Ha~" Sabrina chuckled softly at his question.
She gracefully picked up her teacup and took a sip.
"Mm, I was bored, so I just knocked on a random door," she said lightly.
Silas stared at her speechlessly. She really wasn't going to bother making up a normal excuse.
"Just say what you came here for."
He gave up on trying to figure out what Sabrina was thinking.
The thoughts of girls were already hard enough to guess—much less those of a powerful psychic.
"Mm~" Sabrina cupped her warm teacup between her hands, her gaze finally turning serious.
"The truth is, I came to ask for your help with something."
As Sabrina explained, Silas's expression grew increasingly odd.
"All right, that's that."
Before he could reply, Sabrina vanished from the room in an instant, teleporting away.
"So you mean… your Uncle just agreed that easily?" Silas asked over the phone.
"Yeah. Since she came personally, we couldn't exactly refuse the Saffron Gym," replied Brock, lounging on a sofa.
"By the way, are you close with Sabrina? She came straight to you asking for help."
Silas rolled his eyes, hearing the teasing tone thick with gossip in Brock's voice.
"Not worth explaining." Silas cut the call impatiently.
Hearing the dead tone, Brock absentmindedly stroked his chin, eyes narrowing even more.
It really did seem like there was a story there… When could it have happened? During the short month of training?
It hadn't even been a full month, yet they were already this familiar?
Brock remembered Sabrina suddenly showing up at his house a few days ago, saying: "Lend Silas to me for a few days—I need his help."
Tsk. He shook his head. That wasn't something one could just casually say.
And he had never heard of Sabrina needing anyone's help. Even if she did, she'd never use such a mild and polite approach.
Even their father had been caught off guard.
Now that he thought about it, their ages weren't too far apart… Brock's eyes gleamed with interest.
If those two really got along, that wouldn't be so bad. Round it up a little, and Sabrina would practically be his sister-in-law.
Wouldn't that be something to brag about?
By now, Brock had completely forgotten why he had originally signed all those unfair "treaties" with Silas—because no matter if it was Pokémon battles or even hand-to-hand fighting, he could never win.
Meanwhile, back in his room at the Pokémon Center, Silas sighed as he hung up once again.
It seemed that Sabrina had already informed everyone connected to him, and somehow, he—being the one directly involved—was the last to know.
And without exception, everyone was curious about how and when he and Sabrina had gotten in touch.
The main issue was that what Sabrina had asked for, compared to the payment she offered, felt far too disproportionate and far too coincidental.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have sought advice from others.
To put it simply: the Saffron Gym, together with several other official Gyms, had been exploring an ancient ruin—with Saffron Gym taking the lead.
According to their survey, the ruin wasn't very dangerous, but they still needed a few escorts to ensure the safety of the researchers.
After all, most historians weren't exactly skilled fighters.
The Gyms discussed it and agreed that since the danger was low, it would be a good opportunity to let some of their promising younger trainers gain field experience.
Ruin exploration, after all, was an essential part of any trainer's journey.
But Sabrina said that Saffron Gym didn't have any "trainer heirs" to send. So she had come to recruit Silas instead.
The request itself was simple enough—but the reward she offered was truly excessive.
A Thunder Stone of 95% quality, and a Magnet that boosted Electric-type moves by 15%.
At the time, Silas really wanted to ask Sabrina: Have you ever seen such a simple escort mission pay the equivalent of millions of Pokédollars, and that's just for one Advance Trainer?
But he also admitted that, under such a financial offensive, his brain short-circuited on the spot.
She had given far, far too much.
Of course, after Sabrina left, Silas's overheated brain cooled down quickly.
First of all, it was definitely no coincidence—in fact, Sabrina had "planned this all along."
Mareep had been born less than half a day ago, and yet Sabrina was already pulling this trick, giving him items that were all exactly what Ampharos would need in the future.
And you expect him to believe that was just a coincidence? Ha.
Second, could he even accept such a reward?
Honestly, he was conflicted. It was basically a handout, and what remained of his reason and pride told him this wasn't right.
But after just one phone call, the other suggestions he heard didn't sound bad either.
"Just treat it as being invested in (or kept). Three Gyms is still within the normal range." — from a certain dark-skinned, narrow-eyed man.
"The Saffron Gym is very wealthy, and it rarely comes into conflict with others. It actually suits you well." — from a certain research fanatic.
"The Psychic Gym is necessary." — from Agatha's words.
Silas always had the strange feeling that their opinions were… oddly consistent.
After thinking it over, he picked up his wrist device and typed out a message:
"Fine, but not again next time."
He hesitated for a moment, then deleted the last five words, leaving only one:
"Fine."
Sabrina's reply came quickly:
"Alright. Only this once."
Silas stared silently at the message. This feeling of being seen through by someone was really unsettling.
He was more and more curious now about what kind of future visions Sabrina had seen about him.
"Hmph~" A satisfied, feminine hum echoed inside the empty Saffron Gym.
If you take my things, sooner or later, you'll belong to me.
.....
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