[April 8, 1503, Rain
The journey had ended some time ago, and there were now more children on Ghost Island. Everyone seemed to get along quite well.]
Setsuna glanced at Perona, who was lying by the window watching the rain, then continued writing.
[Perona seems to really like rainy days. It's the first time I've seen her enjoy being outside so much. She's even given her toy bear a name, Kumashi. She seems to really like this toy. I wonder if I can ask Lord Arceus to transform that toy bear.]
Nowadays, within the Hundred Beasts, Arceus gave off an impression of being omnipotent—granting abilities, controlling the weather. To most ordinary people, that was almost the power of a god, especially to those in the Arceus Sect, a group of fanatics gradually emerged over time.
For fighting matters, they would seek Kaidou. However, tasks impossible for humans, in their eyes, could only be accomplished by Arceus.
For example, granting some life to inanimate objects.
Although Arceus sometimes remained unseen, in their eyes, that seemed reasonable. If a god appeared before people constantly, solving every problem like a machine, they'd find it odd.
Leaving a veil of mystery, on the other hand, allowed room for more imagination.
The rain dripped steadily along the eaves, dropping to the ground. Outside, farmers clad in straw raincoats continued their work. This was the basic life of farmers; such weather didn't mean resting, but rather doing things impossible during clear days.
[Raising children doesn't seem too bad.....]
At this point, Setsuna paused her writing and temporarily put away the diary, as Perona seemed to have an impulse to play in the rain.
Meanwhile, on Ghost Island, Olga felt overwhelmed—not because of trouble from her or her father, but because Elizabeth was pregnant.
After returning from a trip, Elizabeth's belly inexplicably swelled, which Olga found unsettling, and the Hundred Beasts Pokemon Center didn't have veterinarians to clarify what was happening.
But through special instruments, they confirmed something was in Elizabeth's belly.
Initially, Olga thought Elizabeth was ill, but then she remembered those Oharan scholars on Sky Island; if she recalled correctly, there were paleontologists there.
Though paleontologists weren't veterinarians, they could still be used.
Regardless, Oharan scholars had genuine expertise. After comparing literature, they concluded that Elizabeth wasn't ill but pregnant.
"You're... pregnant?"
"I'm... not sure either."
"Aren't you male?"
"No, I've always been female."
"Then why didn't you object when others called you 'he'?"
"Isn't it all the same? I just didn't care."
Elizabeth's retort left Olga speechless, but then she realized a more crucial question.
"Wait! How did she get pregnant? There's no other Snake Monster Lizard!"
She confirmed Elizabeth hadn't mated with any other lizard in their hundred years together, so even delayed pregnancy was impossible.
"Well, Miss Olga, the Snake Monster Lizard is an ancient species.
According to some literature and studies, to ensure the continuation of their kind, even if they have no mate, adult Snake Monster Lizards have a certain chance to bear offspring alone. They're quite a special kind of creature."
Hearing this explanation, Olga suddenly understood some things. She wasn't the only one affected by the Pure Gold before; Elizabeth as well, meaning back then, Elizabeth was still an immature lizard.
Only recently did she reach the lizard's maturity, resulting in this recent event.
"This kind of thing... will there be more occurrences?"
"We don't know. According to literature, it should only happen once, but specifically... you can observe her closely.
But logically, they are oviparous. Could you let us observe some newly born Snake Monster Lizards? This is a rare opportunity."
"We'll see, we'll see...."
She's been quite overwhelmed recently. Elizabeth doesn't seem to care about gender, and hermaphroditic reptiles are not uncommon, but individual pregnancy... she feels her understanding is somewhat lacking.
...
On the other side, at Peach Blossom Spring Farm, after stopping Perona's behavior, Setsuna continued to write in her unfinished diary.
[Children don't seem that fun. I now understand how my parents must have felt after I left Zou.
Speaking of which, a few days ago, bandits actually appeared.
Zeraora initially wanted to deal with them directly, but there seemed to be a better plan from above.]
This time, she completely finished her diary, put it back in the cabinet, and took out an umbrella intending to take Perona to the cafeteria on Ghost Island for a meal.
Compared to cooking herself, going to Ghost Island was the simplest option.
While she was thinking about what to eat for dinner, in the Flower Capital, some looked rather gloomy.
"What's wrong? This is your task. You three don't expect the mascot to do nothing, right?"
Before Denjiro and the two others, King coldly handed them an order, which specifically tasked them with leading the Shinsengumi to eliminate the bandit group on Head Mountain.
Zeraora could easily annihilate everyone on Head Mountain, but those people were left aside, intending for the Samurai recruited from Wano Kuni to truly experience battle.
However, the leaders were handed to the three former household attendants of the Kozuki Family, which made sense in name: as the General's attendants, they had the obligation to lead the samurai to eliminate the troublesome bandits.
After Kozuki Oden and Ashura Doji died, those Head Mountain bandits lost their leaders. They'd been left to serve as training opponents.
They had been somewhat quiet recently, so they weren't thought of.
Now having exhausted their grains, leaderless bandits not adept at farming turned to rob villages again, bringing this matter to the forefront.
Simple bandit extermination wasn't much, but King specifically required Denjiro's team to lead it. He knew their relationship with Ashura Doji, and precisely because of that relationship, they were chosen to lead.
"Don't you lack a few combatants?"
"How, as the General's attendants, do you have collusions with the bandits? If so, your positions might also be at risk.
Exterminate, capture—those are your tasks this time. It's a compulsory task; it's an order from your General."
"Yes...."
Looking at the order stamped with the General's seal, in the end, they led the Shinsengumi along with the Greninja-led New Imperial Court Guards as adjudicators, venturing to Head Mountain in the rain.