Join my p@treon for more chapters
[email protected]/Tempest_29
A Wishing Star is a fragment shed from Eternatus's body and serves as the essential component for triggering Gigantamax transformations.
"It's only been a few days since I started looking, and I've been so busy preparing to capture Darkrai that I've only managed to collect a handful so far," Raya explained. Both of them had sobered up considerably once they turned to discussing business matters. "If you need them urgently, I can give you what I have now."
"Yes, let me have them first," Jacob replied with a nod. There were still two or three months remaining before university classes began, and he intended to use this time to complete the Gigantamax research task and see how things progressed.
With a Champion-level Iron Valiant at his disposal, plus his two Heavenly King-level Pokémon—Darkrai and Alakazam—he already possessed a reasonable degree of combat capability and was fully qualified to undertake the Gigantamax research assignment.
"Oh, that reminds me, Jacob. You mentioned a new experiment earlier—what exactly is this experiment about?" Raya looked at Jacob with undisguised curiosity in her eyes.
"I'll have to keep that under wraps for now." Jacob naturally couldn't reveal even a single detail about the new experiment he was conducting.
"Dr. Jacob..." Raya's voice became softer, her face flushing slightly with an inherently captivating quality. She spoke in an almost enchanting tone, "Please tell me. I'm so curious—won't you satisfy my curiosity?"
"Success comes from secrecy, while failure comes from careless talk," Jacob looked at Raya with a serious expression. "Before you have absolute certainty of success, you must be extremely careful with your words and actions. The fewer people who know about this, the better it will be."
"It seems Dr. Jacob still doesn't trust me completely." Seeing Jacob's earnest expression, Raya stopped pressing the matter. She looked somewhat disappointed as she raised her wine glass. "Alright then, but Dr. Jacob, when you do get experimental results, you have to tell me right away."
"I will," Jacob agreed with a nod.
"Then let me toast to that."
… … … …
Glasses clinked together, and drinks were exchanged repeatedly.
Without either of them fully realizing it, Jacob had become increasingly intoxicated, and Raya wasn't far behind in her drunken state.
By the time they neared the end of their drinking session, both were bleary-eyed and flushed from the alcohol.
Jacob's vision had begun to blur and double—it seemed as though three versions of Raya appeared before him, which struck him as amusingly excessive.
In her deeply intoxicated state, Raya's long hair had come loose, cascading around her shoulders. Her hazy eyes revealed a mysterious, captivating quality. She reclined casually against her chair, radiating a lazy, relaxed atmosphere.
A drunken smile played across her lips. Her floral dress swayed gently with each breeze, and her remarkably slender waist made her resemble an elegant, graceful kitten.
Exquisitely beautiful and utterly intoxicating, the drunk Raya exuded a natural allure that seemed to emanate from her very being—a charm that was simply part of who she was.
Jacob found himself momentarily transfixed, his reactions significantly dulled by the effects of the alcohol. He stared blankly at Raya under the soft, dim lighting of the room.
Even the legendary beauty of hibiscus flowers couldn't compare to her radiance; the evening breeze seemed to carry with it the essence of something precious and refined.
"Can't... drink anymore," Jacob managed to say, his heart pounding heavily in his chest. He forced himself to look away, his words coming out slurred and thick.
At this moment, he genuinely felt his consciousness beginning to slip away, and his usual self-control had diminished considerably.
Raya's cheeks were also deeply flushed, her star-bright eyes carrying a distinct hint of intoxication as she gazed at Jacob. Her red lips parted slightly, and her voice came out melodious despite her condition: "Mm, Jacob... let me toast you just one last time... Thank you for everything."
"Really... the last one?" Jacob shook his head, as if attempting to shake off the heavy fog that had settled over his mind. He asked with clear disbelief in his voice.
"The last... one," Raya confirmed with a smile.
"You've been... saying... 'last one'... for the past half hour," Jacob observed, looking at the smiling Raya. He shook his head quickly and joked despite his condition, "A woman's... promises... can't always... be trusted."
"I'm not lying this time... truly the last one," Raya insisted with that same smile.
"Then... alright," Jacob relented.
Another glass of wine went down his throat, and Jacob truly felt the room spinning around him. His entire body felt warm, and he experienced a peculiar sensation of floating.
His alcohol tolerance had genuinely reached its absolute limit.
"No more drinking... That's definitely... it," Jacob declared. He then stood up from his seat, intending to return to his guest room and sleep off the effects of the alcohol.
The moment he rose to his feet, an overwhelming wave of drowsiness crashed over his mind. His eyelids grew impossibly heavy, and he felt an unconscious urge to simply lie down wherever he was and sleep. His body swayed dangerously, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
"Be careful... don't fall!" Seeing Jacob teetering unsteadily on his feet, Raya quickly stood up and moved to support him. The unexpected weight pressing against her made her stumble slightly as well.
Fortunately, she maintained a regular exercise routine and possessed decent physical fitness; otherwise, she might not have been able to support someone of Jacob's height and weight.
"Jacob, please wait until you're actually in your room before... falling asleep. If you pass out here... I won't be able to carry you," Raya said, feeling his hot breath against her shoulder. Her neck turned an even deeper shade of pink, and she felt increasingly uncomfortable with the intimate proximity.
She was drunk as well, after all.
Breathing in the faint, pleasant fragrance emanating from Raya and feeling the warmth of her skin against his, Jacob's gaze drifted to her face. "Mm, thank you," he murmured.
Meeting Jacob's intense gaze and feeling the heat radiating from where his body pressed against her shoulder, Raya felt distinctly uncomfortable. "Jacob... let me help you... back to your room."
"Mm, sorry for the trouble." Jacob's hand rested on Raya's shoulder for support. He looked up at her profile, his gaze carrying an unusual intensity that seemed to hold a hint of something warmer than simple gratitude. "Thank you," he repeated.
Raya deliberately turned her face away, doing her best to avoid meeting Jacob's gaze directly, to avoid looking into those intense eyes of his.
But her heart was anything but calm. She could distinctly feel the warmth and barely restrained impulse present in Jacob's eyes when he looked at her—the same look that any other man might give her, with no real difference.
Raya was, of course, well aware of how powerful her natural charm could be, and she had grown accustomed to how others typically looked at her over the years.
But for some inexplicable reason, Jacob's intense gaze made her heart race uncontrollably, caused her skin to feel hot, and even gave her goosebumps across her arms.
Raya's mind had never been as chaotic and turbulent as it was in this moment, with thoughts constantly racing through her head.
She found herself thinking about the notebook that had been discovered in Jacob's dormitory room.
She remembered the portrait Jacob had drawn of her—the one she'd seen.
She recalled what Jacob had done for her just a short while ago in the Secret Realm.
… … … …
The two of them walked together toward the guest room, neither speaking a single word throughout the entire journey. Only an ambiguous and enchanting atmosphere continued to spread and intensify around them, enveloping them both in its embrace.
What should have been merely a few minutes' walk somehow stretched into more than ten minutes, which made Raya regret that she hadn't simply asked Zion to escort Jacob to his room instead.
By the time they finally reached the guest room door, Jacob, who had been leaning heavily on her shoulder, was already breathing in the slow, even rhythm of sleep.
"We're here," Raya announced quietly. She pushed open the door and laboriously helped Jacob walk toward the bedroom inside. Initially, Jacob had been able to support some of his own weight and walk with minimal assistance, but as they progressed, more and more of his weight gradually pressed down on her shoulders.
Raya carefully helped Jacob sit down on the edge of the bed and slowly lifted his arm from where it had been draped across her shoulder. "Wake up, Jacob. You're in your room now. Get some proper rest," she said softly.
After speaking those words, Raya prepared to turn around and leave the room.
"Mm..."
Jacob stirred groggily, awakening just slightly. What he saw before him was the breathtakingly beautiful Raya, which made him feel as though he must surely be dreaming.
This had to be a dream, didn't it? Otherwise, why would Raya be standing here in his room?
Just as she began to turn away, she suddenly felt her hand being grasped firmly by Jacob's. She found herself looking into a pair of eyes that were hazy with alcohol yet still remarkably intense.
"Jacob!" Raya only managed to let out a single cry of surprise before Jacob pulled her firmly into his embrace.
The two of them seemed to find themselves transported into a pink-tinted version of the Secret Realm, where reality and dream blurred together.
… … … …