August 27, Year 6783, Friday.
It had been five days since Riolu's birth.
Because Riolu was much heavier than when it was still in the egg, and Louise's constitution was relatively weak, she gave up her previous habit after holding him a few times.
During this period, many students came by to observe Riolu, but when they found he didn't seem particularly special, they quickly lost interest.
Some even wanted to have their familiars battle Riolu.
But without exception, they were all rejected by Louise.
She remembered Dak's words clearly—Riolu was still in his juvenile phase.
Even though Riolu had joined them, Dak's small circle of three students hadn't changed much in their daily routine.
Tabitha and Louise still visited him regularly every day.
Kirche came and went—sometimes showing up, sometimes not, probably off on a date with one of her many boyfriends.
But now, the girls' attention had shifted from the oddities of Pokémon Island to the Pokémon themselves.
Besides their required daily magic studies—
They soaked up knowledge about Pokémon like sponges.
Tabitha and Louise even took notes, treating it like a proper class.
But with such limited time, Dak couldn't teach them anything too advanced. He only introduced the basic concepts: types, natures, and species traits.
He also suggested that they could attend the Pokémon Academy on Pokémon Island for a more structured education.
Tabitha and Louise fantasized about it, but they weren't too hopeful.
After all, they didn't believe they'd have a real chance to travel to other worlds.
Friday, first class of the morning.
Normally, all students of the magic academy had scheduled classes, so no students should've been outside.
But today was an exception.
Tabitha and Louise skipped class entirely.
They were supposed to be in Magical Potions.
But both of them excelled in theory and had no real interest in hands-on practice, so they simply didn't bother.
Louise had another reason.
Because of her Void Magic, she couldn't cast any spell other than explosions—not even perform basic alchemy or potion-related magic.
So the two decided not to waste their time in that class.
Instead, they found Dak and followed him to the back garden.
"Ho-Oh, I'm counting on you again today!"
Dak tapped the Poké Ball on his waist and summoned the Rainbow God—Ho-Oh.
"..."
Ho-Oh landed on the ground with a yawn and shot Dak a sharp glare.
Ever since Dak brought it to this world—
It had been idle every day, cooped up in its Poké Ball, only waking up to be used as a tool bird.
Back on Pokémon Island, Ho-Oh might've been lazy, but at least it could fly around, visit other Legendary Pokémon, or observe the silly two-legged creatures roaming the land.
But now?
Now it spent all day trapped in a Poké Ball, and sometimes even dragged out to work.
To think that the mighty Rainbow God—idolized by countless fans on Pokémon Island—was now reduced to this indignity.
No wonder it was giving Dak the cold shoulder.
"Haha."
Sensing Ho-Oh's feelings, Dak chuckled and stroked its radiant, rainbow-colored feathers.
"!"
Ho-Oh shot him an angry glare and pecked at his hand.
"Ow!"
Dak let out a theatrical yelp.
But in truth, he didn't feel any pain.
First, because Ho-Oh didn't use any force. Second, because Dak's body was already at peak-tier levels, even by One Piece world standards—he hadn't felt pain in a long time.
"Shuu~"
Tabitha, seeing Ho-Oh appear, gave a light wave of her wand and whistled melodiously.
Soon, Illukuku, who had been off somewhere sneaking food, flew in from the distant sky.
When the female Melodrake saw Ho-Oh, her eyes lit up. She folded her blue wings and glided directly toward it.
Just as she was about to crash into Ho-Oh—
Ho-Oh calmly extended a wing and flapped it gently, sending a gust of wind that forced Illukuku to land.
Illukuku often appeared tall.
But that was only because she stood beside petite Tabitha.
In truth, Illukuku was only twice Tabitha's height—Tabitha herself was barely over 1.4 meters.
So even when standing upright, Illukuku was only about 3.2 meters tall.
And with her kind's stubby limbs, she usually squatted—making her height around 2.9 meters.
That was considered tall in the magic world, but pretty average in the world of sailing.
Before Ho-Oh, who stood at 3.8 meters, she looked noticeably shorter.
Still, Illukuku approached and pressed her big head affectionately against Ho-Oh's chest, which she barely reached.
Despite the closeness, there was no romantic intent.
Illukuku saw Ho-Oh as her mentor, having been taught Flying-type skills by her these past few days.
Most Legendary Pokémon had no defined gender, and their breeding methods remained a mystery.
Based on Ho-Oh's personality, Dak figured that if it did have a gender, it would likely be female, so there was no need to worry about pairing with the also-female Illukuku.
What was certain was—
If Legendary Pokémon wanted to reproduce, they could.
After all, in the anime, the "God of the Currents," Lugia, had a baby Lugia that was even captured by Team Rocket.
"Today, Ho-Oh will be teaching Illukuku a move called Dual Wingbeat—a physical attack that uses both wings to strike in close range."
Dak gave them a simple introduction, and the lesson began.
While Ho-Oh demonstrated the move, Tabitha, as the "Trainer," paid close attention—thinking about how she could combine the technique with Wind Magic for even better results.
Louise, meanwhile, watched with Riolu in her arms.
Afternoon.
Dak didn't spend the afternoon with the girls.
Instead, he carried his clothes over to the Staff Services Office.
He needed to bring his worn clothes here each week so the maids could wash them—lest rumors start spreading that "Professor Dak doesn't wash his clothes for a month."
The so-called staff office—
Was really just a separate two-story stone building outside the main schoolhouse. From the outside, it looked quite crude, like the kind of place you'd suspect might leak during rain.
The first floor was where staff waited to receive orders from noble students or teachers, while the second floor housed their dorms.
As Dak stepped through the door with a bundle of clothes in hand, an accident occurred.
A maid carrying a large wooden bucket was struggling toward the entrance.
The massive bucket blocked her vision, and she didn't see Dak—she was heading straight for him.
Naturally, Dak's perception allowed him to dodge easily.
He calmly stepped aside to let her pass.
But just then, the girl tripped over her own feet, ready to perform a full-face floor dive.
Clang.
The large wooden bucket hit the ground with a crisp thud.
Splash—
Water spilled everywhere, soaking into the grass and disappearing into the earth.
"Ah!"
The girl cried out in panic, and Dak caught a whiff of soft soap scent as her voice reached his ears.
Dak didn't let her fall.
As she was about to hit the ground, he extended an arm and caught her.
"You okay?"
Looking at the girl's red face, Dak blinked, then suddenly remembered who she was.
Siesta.
The same maid who had appeared before in the plaza.
One of the important female characters—the commoner maid with a chest size rivaling Kirche, with black straight-cut hair and dark eyes.
No wonder Louise had considered her the greatest romantic rival in the original story.
That classic East Asian beauty would naturally appeal to both Dak and the original protagonist, Saito Hiraga—evoking a sense of familiarity.
Dak remembered seeing her quietly observing from a distance during his outdoor practical classes.
"S-sorry! I'm so sorry, Professor Dak!"
Siesta quickly regained her senses, stepped away from Dak, and bowed repeatedly.
"Uh, it's fine."
Dak blinked.
At first, he didn't understand why Siesta apologized before even thanking him.
Then it dawned on him.
In this world, if a commoner touches a noble without permission, it could become a serious issue.
If she had bumped into a self-important or noble-supremacist type—
Things could've escalated quickly.
But for most, it would be a trivial matter—not worth making a fuss over.
In the original story, the way various characters treated Saito made this pretty clear.
At this moment—
Other commoner staff in the building had gathered around, looking over with concern.
Some of the men even looked ready to act.
If Dak showed the slightest sign of displeasure, they would immediately kneel and take the blame themselves.
They all knew about Siesta's charm. Even before she entered the Magic Academy, some nobles had already tried to take her home as a "special maid."
"Oh, it's fine. You don't have to be so formal with me. I'm not a noble."
(End of Chapter)
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