Chapter 163: Setting Off Again
Will turned and looked at the parchment inside the ice crystal. "What does it say?" he asked, staring at the words.
"Do you want to know? Let me see," Celestia said, leaning in and frowning as she tried to decipher the script. A thousand years... the written language of humans had changed. If she hadn't been interested in this sort of thing and studied it, she wouldn't have been able to read it either.
When I was a child, my greatest wish was to become the queen.
Because then I could live in the palace of my dreams, and make trouble with Lan every day, making Auntie and Hestia angry.
Now, the palace is still as I remember it, and I have taken the throne.
Logically, my wish should have come true.
But the memories of my childhood have become blurry and distant.
After growing up, I can no longer show my weakness. I must always be mindful of my words and actions. And there is no longer a chubby Pokémon to hold me in its arms, to listen to me wail, to let me wipe my snot on its body.
Now, I no longer long for the palace as I once did. My childhood dream doesn't seem as wonderful as I imagined it.
...If only I could go back to that summer. I would have cherished every single second.
"That's all I can make out," Celestia said, a little wistful after she finished translating. "So even a great queen, who stood above all others, wished she could go back to her youth. It seems she was no different from us ordinary people."
"...She was always just a stupid kid," Will murmured, rubbing his sore nose.
To buy sweet osmanthus and wine for the journey, in the end, it's not like the travels of youth.
Growing up is something every living being must go through. Even Will, who could reincarnate infinitely, could not escape this fate. His body could return to a youthful state again and again, but his heart and soul could never go back to that summer in the palace.
"Meow..." Meowscarada, sensing his low spirits, stirred restlessly in his arms. Will gently patted her back, but she didn't settle down. She slowly opened her eyes.
"Meow?" she looked into his eyes for three or four seconds, then tilted her head, asking him why he was sad.
"It's nothing," Will grinned, tweaking her ear. He would protect her childhood. That was something he had to do, as a father.
"This is the charm of history. It allows us to learn so many unknown truths, to understand the true faces of the famous people of the past," Celestia said, pulling her gaze away from the parchment. She then looked at Will. "Let's go. Let's see what else is here."
Will put the big cat on the ground and followed her.
"Meow!"
"You're awake now, so stop trying to be carried. It's not like you can't walk. There are so many people here, be careful they don't laugh at you."
"Meow," hearing this, Meowscarada immediately put on her cool facade, secretly glancing around to confirm that Will wasn't lying.
Celestia couldn't help but chuckle. This was the charm of Pokémon. Each one had its own unique personality, and when you put different personalities together, interesting things would happen.
After that, they wandered around the museum. Will couldn't tell if most of the objects were real or fake. But among the ones he could identify, most were probably authentic. Perhaps even the museum itself didn't know which ones were fakes. All in all, the Jubilife Museum was quite conscientious. At least it was better than some museums that would auction off the real artifacts and display replicas.
Time passed. In the evening, Celestia led the exhausted Will and Meowscarada out of the museum, still looking like she wanted more.
"Ah~ I learned so much today," she said, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. She looked down; the Budew in her arms was already fast asleep.
Will glanced at her and secretly shook his head. He had originally thought she was a very normal girl, at least compared to a battle maniac like Shigeru. Now he saw that he had been too naive. It wasn't that she didn't have any crazy hobbies; it was just that she hadn't been in the right place to show them.
"Well, I'm preparing to head back to Celestic Town tomorrow. I don't know when we'll meet again," Celestia said, looking at Sceptile and Meowscarada. "Well, with your strength, you two should live for a long time. I think we'll see each other again someday."
"I think so too," Will replied with a smile, turning to look at a distant street. Liz's phantom was standing there, smiling and talking with someone. It seemed she had already found a place to stay in Jubilife Village.
"Let's go home."
"Okay," Will nodded.
They took a leisurely walk through the streets of Jubilife City, taking half an hour to get back to the apartment. Shigeru was already fast asleep on the bed, holding his Turtwig. It seemed he had had quite a few battles today.
"Goodnight," Celestia said, then carried her Budew back to her room.
Will also led Meowscarada back to their room to rest.
"Meow?"
"Tomorrow. Starting tomorrow, we'll be wandering around."
"Meow."
...
The next morning.
"~You're all leaving? Then Turtwig and I will be so lonely!" Shigeru said, grabbing Celestia's hand with one hand and Will's with the other, his expression pitiful.
"I've already been with you for half a month. If I don't go back, my grandmother will scold me," Celestia said, pulling her hand away without a shred of courtesy. Besides, her Budew had just been born and hadn't even seen its hometown of Celestic Town yet.
"We'll pass by Jubilife City often," Will said. He also had no intention of staying. Liz's phantom had already set off to the east, and he was ready to follow with Meowscarada.
"Waaah~"
"Turt-wiiiig~"
Shigeru and Turtwig looked at each other and began to wail loudly. But not a single tear fell.
"Don't mind him. Let's go," Celestia said, nudging Will with her elbow and turning to leave.
"Oh," Will nodded and pulled Meowscarada along.
"Haha! Since I couldn't trick you, I guess there's no helping it," Shigeru said, his act dropping in an instant. "Let me see you out."
Shigeru was very generous to his friends. He called a carriage and personally escorted them out of Jubilife City.
At the north gate.
"I'm heading north. What about you, Sceptile and Meowscarada?"
"This way," Will said, pointing east.
"Then it looks like we part ways here," Celestia said with a smile, not looking particularly sad. "Sceptile, Meowscarada, let's study history together again next time."
"Okay."
"Budew!" at this moment, the Budew wriggled anxiously. "Budew wants to say goodbye too," Celestia said, holding it out to Meowscarada.
"Meow," Meowscarada took the Budew and nuzzled its face against it. She was very fond of this little sister who had just been born.
"Dew!" The Budew gave her a kiss on the cheek, then looked at Will, as if intending to give him one too.
"Meow," Meowscarada, quick as a flash, handed the Budew back to Celestia. You can be my little sister, but you can't be my step-mom.
"Hehehe. Then we'll be going. If you're ever passing through Celestic Town, be sure to come and find me. Let me be your host," Celestia said, then turned and left with her Budew.
"That girl... she didn't even say goodbye to me! I'm so mad!" Shigeru muttered, watching her leave and gritting his teeth like an angry puppy.
"...Then we'll be leaving too."
"Turtwig!" Turtwig came forward to say goodbye to Will and Meowscarada.
"Then I won't keep you. You're always welcome in Jubilife City."
"Thank you."
"Meow~"
Will and Meowscarada once again set out on their journey. Meowscarada didn't know where they were going; she just knew she had to follow Will. And Will had forgotten where he was going too. He was just following the phantom of Liz across the entire continent of Sinnoh.
...
Time flew by. A year and a half passed in the blink of an eye. It was now the beginning of winter, in the 24th year of the League Era.
Will and Meowscarada, following in Liz's footsteps, had arrived at Eterna City, a city near Mt. Coronet in the Sinnoh region. It was already quite far north, on the edge of the snowfields.
"Phew... Eterna City. I think this is our first time here," Will said, looking at the city, which was covered in a thin blanket of white snow. He breathed out a puff of hot air.
"Meow," Meowscarada nodded gently, pulling her down jacket tighter around herself. The weather was cold, and as Grass-types, their resistance to the cold was not high. So Will had managed to get them a few thick sets of clothes.
A Pokémon wearing clothes was an interesting sight wherever they went.
In the year and a half that had passed, Meowscarada hadn't changed much, either in appearance or in personality. Or rather, by staying with Will, she could always be a mischievous big cat, and was not forced to grow up by the outside world.
"Let's go. Let's check it out. This is a very ancient city."
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