Chapter 59. St. Anne, Set Sail
"James: '???'"
"Meowth: '???'"
"Jessie: '???'"
Suddenly, James noticed the clothes Natsume was wearing, and he cried out:
"Wait a second, why do you have my household's butler uniform!?"
The reaction was so genuine that not only the onlookers, but even Jessie and Meowth turned at the same time and stared at James suspiciously.
"I looked into it—he's actually Young Master James of the Ryujirō household, one of the top aristocratic families in Kanto!"
"Ah!
I heard Boss Natsume once did a month of summer work at the Ryujirō household, and they gave him this luxury cruise ship for it!"
The crowd around them began to buzz.
"What!
You're actually Young Master James!"
Not far away, Miyamaru seemed to remember something, and his face suddenly changed, as if the sky had collapsed and doom was upon him.
Pointing at James, he drew a deep breath and shouted:
"Don't tell me—you're the legendary young lord who was acknowledged by Victini at age one, beat Arceus at age two, tore apart Dialga and Palkia with his bare hands at age three… now working undercover in Team Rocket to overthrow Giovanni and take the top spot—Young Master James!"
"Don't spout nonsense, you idiot!" James was furious, overcome by the helplessness of being slandered with ridiculous rumors.
"Young Master James, spare me, spare my life!"
Ignoring him, Miyamaru dropped to his knees as if his kneecaps had wheels, slid to a stop before James, and groveled for mercy.
"Hmph!
You wretch!"
Natsume's gaze chilled, and with one slap sent Miyamaru spinning several times in midair before he hit the deck.
"Young Master James, please permit me to serve one last time as the butler of the Ryujirō household!"
Natsume rose and lifted James's hand.
At the side, two terrified crew members immediately set off.
Maybe it was an illusion, but the looks in the surrounding people's eyes seemed to change at once.
They now held three parts envy, three parts dread, and three parts shock.
On the deck, Misty and Brock, who had witnessed everything, were speechless.
"Wait, what are they even doing?" Misty was utterly baffled.
"Performance art?" Brock scratched his head.
Team Rocket Headquarters, Giovanni's office.
"Boss, the League still won't budge." The secretary topped up Giovanni's wine glass.
"I know."
Giovanni's eyes were cold and sharp, and he had already predicted the League's reaction.
Promoting Dynamax was not something the League would allow Team Rocket to meddle in.
He stroked the head of his Persian and merely swirled the wine in his glass without drinking, the mood heavy.
"How's the matter with James?" Giovanni seemed to think of something and asked the secretary.
"According to plan, he's already boarded, Boss.
Would you like to take a look?"
As the secretary spoke, a large screen rose up before Giovanni.
"Let's see it.
It's Ryujirō's request, after all."
Giovanni rubbed his brow.
Even if Team Rocket couldn't directly get involved with the League's future Dynamax roll-out, he could still use other houses in Kanto as gloves—indirect points of contact.
Ryujirō was a fine choice.
Naturally, this request had to be handled well.
It was nothing more than manually padding James's performance numbers to boost his confidence.
Weave a villain operation starring the Trio, and that would be enough.
A trivial favor.
Thinking of this, Giovanni's mood improved, and he downed the wine in one gulp.
"Click—"
With a flash of white light, the St. Anne's surveillance feed appeared.
"Welcome back to your rightful place, Young Master James!" came a ringing voice.
"Pfft—"
"Boss, are you alright!"
The St. Anne had already set sail.
James, Jessie, and Meowth were escorted aboard amid a throng.
Although they felt something was off, they had to admit that if they didn't think too hard, it was actually kind of exhilarating.
Natsume wasn't worried at all that the three would find it strange.
After all, Giovanni's original plan had been full of holes too, yet the Trio still firmly believed that instead of spending the money to host a banquet on a luxury cruise ship, Giovanni might as well hire a few Pokémon hunters, which would catch more Pokémon.
"Hey, hey, hey—Ash, what were you all doing just now?"
At the banquet, Misty, holding a plate of petit cakes, curiously grabbed Ash, who had just come to the party after a shower.
"Oh, that.
Natsume called in a bunch of people to act.
I went too, and afterward he said he'd give me pocket money."
"Pocket money?
How much could that be?" Misty didn't think that kind of embarrassing gig was worth it for a little pocket money.
"One million Pokédollars."
"Wha—!?" Misty and Brock were incredulous.
Just shouting a few lines, for one million?
"Shh—keep it down.
Other people didn't get that much!" Ash hurriedly covered Misty's mouth.
"No way—there's a deal like this and Natsume didn't call us!" Misty was indignant.
"Outrageous!" Brock agreed.
"Don't worry.
You two were the key link in luring Young Master James aboard.
Our Ijuin household won't shortchange you."
Natsume's figure appeared out of nowhere, and without debate he pressed a bank card printed with a Great Ball motif into each of their hands.
"There's 500,000 in there.
Thank you for looking after our young master while he was away from home." Natsume, sporting a fake mustache, put on an elder's air.
Behind Natsume, Honora was still in a suit and square sunglasses, looking every inch the enforcer.
"Hey, hey—don't get too deep into the role."
Misty stared at Natsume, at a loss for words.
"Young lady, haven't you noticed you've put on a lot?" Natsume suddenly eyed the cake on Misty's plate.
"Huh?
Really?"
Misty froze.
"So give it to me." Natsume reached out and popped the cake straight into his mouth.
"Hey!"
Misty stomped her foot, but Natsume slipped away in a flash.
As he walked, he quietly slipped bank cards to people, as if settling up the bill.
Vaguely, Misty also spotted that flamboyant young master called "Miyamaru."
This time, though, he'd taken off the yellow wig and looked much more normal.
The card he got was also the fanciest one Natsume had handed out, with an Ultra Ball printed on it—who knew how much "appearance fee" was inside.
"Natsume said James's father gave him a lot of money, so on this St. Anne trip, he's going to take extra care of James."
On Ash's shoulders, the two Pikachu had climbed back into place, and the three of them were wolfing down fruit and snacks.
"Huh?
James really is a young master?" Misty was stunned.
She had thought Natsume was just acting on a whim.
It turned out James really did have a super-rich dad.
"That's weird.
If James can inherit the family business, why join Team Rocket?" Brock was baffled.
"Mm—when I heard it, I was shocked too.
But Natsume calls it: the road you chose yourself—you finish it even on your knees."
Ash's mouth was stuffed with food, his words muffled.
He had been the one running lines through the crowd for the extras and was exhausted.
Misty's mouth twitched.
Elsewhere, in the St. Anne's market.
"Too scary, way too scary!"
On deck, James folded his arms across his chest, felt utterly unsafe, and kept his head down as he walked.
"Hey there, young master—how about a look at a Shiny Magikarp?"
James ignored the hawker's cry and kept trudging forward.
Did Dad's reach extend into Team Rocket?
As he walked, James ran into Natsume.
The latter sprayed a bit of onion water on his own face, and his eyes immediately reddened as he approached.
"Young Master James!"
James: "…"
"Natsume, what's going on?
Did my dad put you up to this?"
James asked bluntly.
"No, because I truly am the chief butler of the Ijuin household."
Natsume tugged at his tailored butler uniform, looking utterly sincere.
"Who are you trying to fool?" James rolled his eyes.
"Actually, it's like this.
In the second year after you ran away from home, the family head passed away."
"What!!!"
James cried out, worry flashing across his face.
"In the third year, the madam followed him."
"Hold it—you're definitely lying.
Why would you stage all this otherwise?"
"Why, to get rid of you, Young Master James.
Then the estate would all be mine." As Natsume spoke, a Gengar drifted up behind him.
"AAAAAH—"
James spun and bolted, vanishing in a puff.
Watching James run toward the Magikarp stall in the distance, Natsume straightened his clothes.
When you're out in the world, identity is something you assign yourself.
Ryujirō had one more request.
He had prepared a Magikarp for James.
It was just one step away from evolving into Gyarados.
Natsume was to find a way to transfer it into James's hands without arousing suspicion.
Natsume had always been someone who disliked trouble.
But the payment was too generous.
At the Magikarp stall, James, absent-minded, let the hawker press a Magikarp into his hands.
When he returned to the room, he found Jessie and Meowth already waiting.
Last time, James had given them a bit of an explanation about his background.
Jessie and Meowth hadn't made a fuss about it.
At most, they treated James as emergency funds—when broke, they would fake-kidnap him and extort his dad.
But today was different.
With Natsume's ruckus, the Boss's plan was ruined!
"James, it wasn't me who messed things up this time, Meow!" Meowth clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"Hold up, Meowth." Jessie tugged Meowth's arm, since she had noticed James's expression was a bit off.
"I'm calling my dad!"
James's face went solemn.
He strode out of the room and headed to a public videophone booth on the deck.
Jessie and Meowth followed behind.
Soon, the video call connected.
On the other end, a mustachioed, well-dressed, gentlemanly middle-aged man appeared.
"Hahaha!
Well?
Feeling the thrill that comes with your birthright!"
Ryujirō laughed heartily.
He was quite satisfied with Natsume's "script," and maybe it would awaken James's aristocratic genes.
"You're alive!" James blurted.
Ryujirō: "???"
James let out a long sigh of relief.
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