He gently knocked on his daughter's door: "Bell?"
Soon, the door opened.
Elo eagerly handed over the egg fried rice, then explained to his daughter the courage-boosting effects it could bring.
Upon hearing it, Bell was full of surprise: "Huh? How can there be such a food?"
"I don't know either. Naoki specifically sent it over. He said this dish could help you." Elo explained, "Naoki is the rancher at the ranch you visited that day. He just moved to the town this spring."
As he spoke, Elo whistled out the window, and soon enough, a small Skwovet scurried in through the window.
"Wanna give it a try?" Holding onto the hope that playing dead would somehow work, he wished his daughter could overcome her psychological barriers, not stay cooped up at home all the time, and be able to live under the sun.
"Okay." Feeling the expectations her father placed on her, Bell took a deep breath and opened the lunchbox.
The enticing aroma instantly wafted into her face. This egg fried rice seemed freshly made, still steaming.
The golden egg liquid nearly enveloped every grain of rice, each grain distinct, with the scent of oil, the fragrance of rice, and the aroma of eggs blending together, revealing a golden sheen that looked incredibly tempting.
Even though she had just had lunch, Bell couldn't help swallowing a mouthful of saliva at this moment.
Elo felt the same. He hadn't expected Naoki to be such a good cook and thought maybe this dish could really help Bell?
"Eat up!" Elo urged.
Bell picked up a spoon and cautiously took a bite.
As the egg fried rice entered her mouth, her eyes immediately lit up.
Elo eagerly asked, "How does it feel?"
Bell blinked, tasting carefully for a moment, and suddenly felt a surge of courage within her.
She bit her lip for a while, as if making some kind of decision, and said to her father in front of her:
"Dad... actually, I don't want to go out. I want to stay at home forever..."
Elo was slightly taken aback.
Bell, too, seemed surprised that she had spoken her thoughts out loud.
She gasped and instinctively said, "I'm sorry," but then continued:
"I know you and Mom want me to go out more, but the outside world is so dangerous. There are Pokemon everywhere, and if I'm not careful, I could lose my life..."
Listening to his daughter, Elo's heart grew heavier: "Is this your true thought?"
The courage-boosting effect of the egg fried rice faded, and Bell quickly covered her mouth, then apologized to her father: "I'm sorry!"
"Sigh..." Elo asked again, "Do you not like it when Dad and Mom always push you to go out?"
"No..." Bell lowered her head, as if giving up: "I just... just feel like it's very dangerous outside. Walking on the street, I could get hit by a car; in the forest, I could be attacked by scary Pokemon!"
"Every Pokemon is so terrifying! I could be electrocuted by them, burnt to death by flames, or sliced in two by Scyther. And if it's a small Pokemon, what if I get bitten and die of infection? Ah ah ah... I don't want to die on the vast plains!"
Elo: "..." This child, why is she talking about death!
He hadn't expected that his actions all this time had brought such a burden to his daughter. Elo sighed and said to Bell:
"Let's talk when your mom returns. Naoki is still downstairs, go on and continue with your drawing!"
Elo turned and headed downstairs.
Seeing his worried expression, and having overheard the conversation just now, Naoki asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Sigh..." Elo let out a sigh. "I just wanted Bell to go out more, see the world, so when her mother and I are gone, she could live well in this world alone."
"Is that her true thought?" Naoki asked.
Elo nodded: "But we should really thank you, Naoki. If it weren't for you, I might still be forcibly pushing Bell to do things she doesn't like."
Upon hearing this, Naoki thought to himself that the daughter might have some sort of paranoia, but it wasn't his place to interfere with family affairs.
He could only offer comfort: "Don't worry too much. That day is still far off. Maybe Bell will change along the way?"
"Let's hope so!" Elo seemed to have an endless amount of sighs. He took a bag of fertilizer from the nearby shelf and said, "Anyway, we need to thank you for your help today. This is new fertilizer from the store..."
"No, I can't accept it." Naoki waved his hands repeatedly, indicating he was just coming over to offer a little help within his ability.
But Elo insisted, handing over the fertilizer:
"We're neighbors. This bag of fertilizer is a Berry Fertilizer, specially used for cultivating Berry trees. It's said to help trees produce more fruit."
"Since it's just arrived, I don't know the effects yet, so I hope you'll accept it. If it works well, come by to buy a few more bags."
Naoki understood and accepted the bag of fertilizer: "I get it. If it's very effective, I'll come back to buy a few more."
"That's the spirit!"
Elo detailed the fertilization stages and amounts for each tree.
Naoki nodded, indicating he remembered everything.
Then, he left the seed store, released Cyclizar from the Poke Ball, and thinking about today's events, he couldn't help but shake his head.
Sigh, such a wonderful girl!
Naoki glanced back just in time to notice a person standing at the second-floor window of the seed store, watching him.
Noticing his gaze, the girl immediately shrank back like a quail.
Naoki: "..."
Forget it! He patted Cyclizar's shoulder and said to it, "Let's go!"
Koraidon broke the bed at home, so they needed to buy a new one.
To prevent future breakage, Naoki thought they should get a different kind of bed.
A Japanese tatami-style bed seemed pretty decent, with no legs and directly on the wooden floor, meaning Koraidon wouldn't break it again.
Moreover, with an extra layer underneath the house, there was no worry about the bedding getting damp.
And even if it did get damp, it wouldn't matter. It was summer, and the sun was strong. A day under the sunshine would make the bedding dry, soft, and filled with sunshine's fragrance.
The streets of Porto Marinada Town were very clean, lined with neat and attractive shops and residences.
Naoki walked with Cyclizar along the streets, hoping that when he reached Keri's store, time, too, would arrive at mid-May.
By then, the crops in the fields should all be mature, and he could see what changes Gogoat's care brought to these crops.
Alas, it was impossible.
By three o'clock in the afternoon, after purchasing a bed from Keri's store, Naoki returned to the ranch.
He began fertilizing the newly planted Berries and transplanted the tall Berry trees from the farmland area to the Orchard.
After completing this, Naoki couldn't ignore the dirt on his hands, went to the storeroom, and used some wood to make a simple fence, enclosing the Berry Garden, leaving a small gate for entry and exit.
He and Koraidon then placed a sign painted with Berries beside the gate, indicating this area was specifically for cultivating Berries.
In the evening, after a busy day, Naoki went to bed early after finishing dinner.
With a new tatami bed, Koraidon no longer worried about breaking it. He even boldly placed his tail on the bed, almost entirely on it.
Every time Naoki saw this, it always seemed Koraidon had deliberately collapsed the previous two beds.
But seeing Koraidon's simple and sincere expression, Naoki would suspect it was his own misunderstanding.
With nothing much for entertainment at the ranch, they went to sleep early every day.
Perhaps because he had never slept on a tatami before, Naoki found himself struggling with insomnia that night.
He lay in the bedding with Pawmo, gazing at the ceiling above, wishing the era could progress a bit faster.
He truly missed his smartphone capable of internet and games!
But now, nothing of the sort was available, and thinking of this, Naoki sighed inwardly.
Turning his head, he saw Koraidon's golden eyes, shimmering brightly in the dark.
"... Still awake?"
Koraidon seemed particularly happy: "Argh-rus~!"
"Look at you, silly." Naoki didn't know what made Koraidon so gleeful and helplessly placed his ankle on its tail.
Koraidon thought to itself it wasn't silly at all!
Naoki shook his head in disbelief and thought maybe he was wrong after seeing Koraidon's innocent and straightforward expression.
With that, he pulled covers over himself and soon fell asleep after a long, eventful day.
"""