Back at the farm, Aven once again met with Knight Commander Hunter.
At this moment, Hunter was also carefully observing the renowned apothecary before him—an individual who held a high reputation within the knights.
Scenes of the battles in Fruitvale Village and the front lines surfaced in his mind. Slightly bowing his head, he performed a knight's salute and said, "Master Aven, we meet again."
"Commander Hunter, it's been a while," Aven responded with a warm smile.
After a brief exchange, Aven turned his gaze to the wooden crates that had been unloaded—seven large chests in total.
"Master Aven, as agreed, the sixteen gemstones for the ransom are here," Johnson said, as he checked the goods they had brought.
Since Aven had not yet been formally granted nobility, Johnson continued to refer to him as "Master," respecting his status as a master apothecary.
Aven looked toward a man dressed as a butler standing beside Johnson, who held a wooden box in his hands. If Aven had guessed correctly, the gems he wanted were inside.
"Greetings, Mr. Aven. I am the steward of Baron Ruize. We've met before," said the old man dressed in a pristine tailcoat with a neatly groomed white beard, offering a polite bow.
"I'll honor our agreement and release the nobles," Aven nodded, reaffirming his promise.
The steward sighed in relief and handed over the box. "Then these gems are yours, Mr. Aven."
Aven opened the wooden box in front of the steward. Inside, arranged on either side of the long box, were sixteen gemstones, each radiating a unique glow.
Five of them emitted a pale blue light—Aven instantly recognized them as Water Stones. As expected, Aspiration City likely possessed a Water Stone mine.
"Hm..."
Aven's gaze was suddenly drawn to one particular gem emitting a faint green glow. Through its surface, he could faintly see vein-like patterns resembling leaf veins.
It was a Leaf Stone—the very kind Aven had been searching for. This stone contained the energy necessary for evolving grass-type Pokémon.
For example, Gloom would need a Leaf Stone to evolve into Vileplume.
Originally, Aven had assumed there were no Leaf Stones in the Aspiration City region, as Pokémon like Vileplume and Victreebel had not been sighted in the Black Forest. He was surprised to find one here.
Suppressing his excitement, he continued examining the rest. Among the gems, he also found a Dawn Stone—its cat's-eye surface emitted a green glow.
Then, looking over the remaining nine stones, Aven frowned slightly. None of these were evolution stones, which he immediately recognized.
However, he quickly relaxed his expression. After all, the nobles likely didn't know about evolution stones, so there was no intention to deceive him.
His gaze returned to the Leaf Stone. Although there was no Sun Stone among them, even just finding a Leaf Stone made this a worthwhile haul.
Aven picked up the Leaf Stone for a closer look. As a Pokémon breeder, he knew how to evaluate the quality of such stones—and this one was of excellent grade.
"Mr. Steward, I'm quite pleased with these gems," Aven said with a smile.
"Especially this green gem. I wonder, are there any more like this in Aspiration City? I'd be willing to trade other stones for one."
The steward noted the fond look on Aven's face. So, this master apothecary is fond of gemstones, he thought to himself.
He replied respectfully, "Mr. Aven, these gems were gathered with great effort by the nobles, all of them of the highest quality."
"As for this green gem, it was purchased from a merchant—very rare. It would be difficult to find another like it in Aspiration City."
"However, if you're interested, I'll have people look into it. Should we find another, I'll inform you immediately."
The steward was precise and polite—first confirming the quality of the gems, then offering his goodwill. He was clearly shrewd.
"These gems are indeed top-quality," Aven said with a smile. "Then I'll leave the search to you."
Nearby, Johnson had been quietly observing the conversation, confirming Aven's interest in gemstones.
Conveniently, he had been pondering what gift to give Aven for his upcoming ennoblement ceremony. A high-quality gem now seemed like an ideal choice.
Of course, Johnson wasn't the only one with this idea—so did Baron Ruize's steward, Commander Hunter, and others.
"Mr. Aven, may we see the young master now?" the steward asked, still smiling as though he were simply a guest visiting Aven's home.
"Of course. I'm sure they'll be very glad to see you," Aven replied with a slight grin and narrowed eyes.
…
Simon sat quietly under the shade of a tree.
In the nearby orchard, he could see Sir Berrin pushing a wheelbarrow. Each time he reached a berry tree, he would scoop a ladle of water from a bucket on the cart and pour it around the tree's base.
Watching a noble laboring in the orchard, Simon looked dazed.
That day, when Sir Berrin tried to escape, Simon had chased him down without hesitation.
He knew that no matter what, Berrin was still a noble. If anything happened to a noble under his watch, it would spell disaster for both Fruitvale Village and Aven.
The only reason the nobles had accepted this current situation was because their heirs were still held hostage. If anything happened to them, it would surely provoke a violent backlash.
When Simon caught up with Berrin, he found him being attacked by a Sneasel.
There was no time to think—he jumped into the fight and battled the Sneasel head-on.
His last memory was of the Sneasel piercing through his abdomen. At that moment, he thought he was going to die.
He didn't know whether he had managed to kill the Sneasel or not. But even if he had, he believed that the noble in front of him wouldn't save him.
For a fleeing noble, this was a golden opportunity.
But to his utter surprise, the very same noble whom everyone disliked had carried him back to Fruitvale Village.
Against all odds, he survived.
His injuries were severe, and no one in the village could heal him—he was only kept alive through healing potions.
But once Aven returned, such wounds were easily treated. Thanks to the life energy channeled through Petilil, Simon recovered quickly.
Aven had advised him to take some time to rest.
But after only a short break, Simon requested to return to duty, continuing to supervise Sir Berrin.
'Aven told me there's no need to supervise him anymore...' Simon thought quietly, remembering what Aven had said:
"From the moment he chose to save you, his sentence was over. If he truly wants to leave Fruitvale Village, let him go."
Simon sighed and looked again toward the noble still toiling in the orchard. He had indeed changed a great deal.
At that moment, a Oddish suddenly ran out from the orchard.
Simon tensed up for a moment, but upon seeing it was just a Oddish, he relaxed again and leaned back against the tree.
In the distance, Sir Berrin smiled upon seeing the Pokémon. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pouch of Pokémon food, which he placed in front of the Oddish.
Its eyes lit up with joy. Sitting down, it used the leaves on its head to pick up the food and eat.
After eating, the Oddish squinted happily, a look of satisfaction on its face.
Berrin watched it quietly, smiling gently.
Then, his eyes narrowed slightly as he recalled a conversation he had once had with Aven:
"You said that anyone who earns a magical beast's trust can form a bond with it?"
Aven had nodded without hesitation and smiled. "That's right—anyone. As long as you treat your Pokémon sincerely, you can bond with it."
"But if you ever betray them... For normal people, I'll just take the Pokémon back. But you... I'll kill you."
Hearing those words had stunned Berrin. Aven's serious gaze made it clear he wasn't joking.
If Berrin ever betrayed his Pokémon, Aven would absolutely follow through. For some reason, Berrin always felt an inexplicable fear of Aven.
"Can I really do it?" Berrin wondered again, his eyes never leaving the Oddish.
"Oddish, Oddish!"
The Pokémon quickly finished the food. Looking up at the human who often fed it delicious things, it leaned close and affectionately rubbed its head against his leg.
Berrin's expression softened as he patted the Oddish on the head. "If you're full, head back."
The Oddish looked puzzled.
Usually, the human would talk to it for a long time after feeding it.
During those moments, it always listened attentively like a loyal friend.
Though confused, the Oddish still nodded happily and ran back into the orchard.
"Sigh... I still can't make the decision," Berrin murmured. "If I bond with you and one day betray you... Aven really will kill me."
His heart was in turmoil. He still lacked the confidence to sincerely care for a Pokémon—not because he didn't want to, but because he wasn't sure he could.
(End of Chapter)