Cain left Juan's office and headed straight to the door of the adjacent conference room.
There, sitting inside, were three of the major figures of the League's research division.
In terms of hierarchy, the position of Chief-Level Investigator wasn't far below that of an Elite Four member, since both reported directly to the Champion. However, there was still a difference in authority and influence.
Each member of the Elite Four was in charge of a key aspect of the League's structure—something beyond the reach of the Chief Investigators.
And of course, the power of the Elite Four members far surpassed that of the Chief Investigators.
Otherwise, why would so many Chief Investigators eventually rise to become Elite Four members?
Isn't that exactly what Lance is planning?
Juan was also laying out that same path for Cain.
So calling the Chief-Level Investigators "Elite Four in training" wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Knock knock.
Cain gently knocked on the door.
"Come in," a woman's voice replied from inside.
Cain opened the door and stepped in.
The first thing he saw was a small conference table with three people seated.
Three women?
Wasn't one of them supposed to be Steven's uncle? Was it his aunt then?
Though judging by appearances, none of them looked old enough to be an aunt.
All three stood up as he entered.
However, their expressions were all quite different.
The most familiar to Cain—his former superior, Joy Yui of the Joy family—kept her face as serious and expressionless as always.
The Chief Investigator from the Jenny family, however, showed a faint smile as she rose—something rather rare among the traditionally stiff Jenny clan.
But the one smiling the widest was the third.
Though Cain didn't know her, it was clear she knew who he was.
She stepped forward with a bright smile and extended her hand.
"Hi, Cain. I'm Vivian Stone, Steven's first cousin."
Vivian Stone? Steven's cousin?
Cain automatically reached out and shook her hand.
It felt like shaking hands with water... completely unlike what one would expect from a member of the Stone family.
Before he could reflect on it more, another woman approached, dressed in the black uniform of a Chief Investigator. She was a Jenny officer.
"Cain, right? Nice to meet you. I'm Ayame Jenny. I hope we work well together."
Cain nodded and shook her hand as well.
Finally, Yui, though she didn't approach, did meet his gaze.
"Yui," she said briefly, stating her name.
The three women sat down again. An empty seat next to them was clearly reserved for Cain.
He didn't know why, but he felt a slight chill as he sat down among the three.
Still, he gathered his courage and took his seat.
So all three Chief-Level Investigators were women. Interesting.
"Juan already told us everything. Don't worry about your new role—you won't have too many responsibilities at the start," said Vivian, who had taken the lead in speaking. She seemed to have a good impression of Cain, likely due to her relationship with Steven.
Cain nodded. After all, he wasn't here for political ambition. Juan had given him the title more for prestige than anything else.
Later on, once his strength improved, he'd probably be given more responsibility—though maybe not too much. From what Juan had said, he wanted Cain to join the Elite Four of Hoenn.
Of course, if the current Elite Four didn't retire, Cain would have no choice but to remain a Chief Investigator.
"However," Ayame interjected, "for you to properly exercise your authority as a Chief-Level Investigator, you'll be granted access to one of our main squads."
Vivian nodded as well.
A main squad was an elite team led by an Advanced Investigator. This decision had been made jointly by the three of them.
Juan had given them the freedom to decide how much power Cain would hold—and they had all agreed.
Cain would now have access to a team of Advanced-Level Investigators.
Though if he didn't summon them, they would remain under their original leaders. But if he needed them, he could call on them at any time.
A rank more in line with his Chief title.
"There's another thing you should know," Ayame added. "When there were only three of us, each had clear responsibilities. I handle internal investigations within the League, Vivian oversees matters within the Hoenn region, and Yui is in charge of affairs outside the region."
Upon hearing that, Cain understood why he had been sent to investigate the Team Rocket auction. At the time, Joy Yui was his superior—and she was responsible for external operations.
But... someone so cold in charge of external affairs?
Wouldn't that create friction?
Probably the weight of the Joy name was enough to avoid conflict.
Or perhaps her sheer power was so overwhelming that no negotiation was needed. Power commands respect, after all.
"In fact, among the three of us, Yui is the strongest. Since you were her subordinate, you'd better not irritate her," Vivian whispered to Cain with a smile.
Although she spoke as if it were a secret, she didn't lower her voice much—so the others heard it too.
"That's right. Yui is the most powerful. Be careful," Ayame added, laughing and covering her mouth with one hand.
Cain looked at Joy Yui in surprise. He hadn't expected her to be the strongest of the trio.
"Your job will be to support whichever of us is facing a critical situation," Yui finally said. Her voice was clear and cold, yet carried a refreshing tone, like a summer breeze.
Cain nodded. He had no issue with that.
Since the three of them had already defined their roles, and he was mostly a symbolic figure, he had no objections.
After that, Yui stood up and left without another word.
Vivian, sitting next to Cain, stuck out her tongue playfully and commented,
"Sister Yui is always busy. She's the busiest of the three... but also the strongest. She's probably not far from Elite Four level."
Cain felt a slight internal chill.
That strong?
When members of the Joy clan chose to fight... they did so with overwhelming power.
All the Chief-Level Investigators were quite busy, and soon Vivian and Ayame also left, leaving Cain alone in the room.
"Ah... living with a title is nice, but being a Chief Investigator comes with responsibilities. If you're always busy, how are you supposed to train and get stronger?" he said, stretching lazily as he stood up.
It was rare to have a moment of peace.
"Cain!" a voice called out from afar.
Cain felt a slight headache when he saw who it was.
What am I going to do with this problem?
It was Phoebe.
Would Lysandre's method work?
(End of chapter)