Lillie had never smelled anything quite like this before, but she could tell right away—it definitely wasn't the room's original scent.
And there was no way Professor Kukui would've put an honored guest in a room with such a strange odor. That would've been far too impolite—especially given that Kukui clearly had something to ask of Mr. Haru.
Indeed, now that the door had been opened, the odd smell was quickly dissipating. That meant it hadn't been lingering in the room for very long.
Which raised a critical question—if the smell didn't belong to the room, then who had brought it in?
Well… who else could it be besides Haru himself?
Lillie was a clever girl.
The strange odor. That soft, ambiguous voice she'd just heard from inside. Haru's weird behavior.
Put together, those clues started painting a certain picture—one she'd only ever heard about in rumors.
Could it be…?
The moment that possibility crossed her mind, a light blush bloomed across her cheeks like a spreading flame.
W-What do I do?
Did I… accidentally interrupt Mr. Haru while he was practicing Vine Lash techniques?
She'd heard that guys really hated being interrupted while doing that kind of thing. Would he be mad at her for barging in like this?
But still—why on earth would he choose this time of night to work on Vine Lash?
Staying up late was already bad for the body, and on top of that he was training moves like Vine Lash in the dead of night? How could anyone's body handle that every day?
…That said, if that's what was happening, then everything kind of made sense.
The weird smell, the seductive female voice, and Haru's panicked behavior—suddenly it all clicked into place.
And really, Haru was a normal guy. Having those kinds of urges was only natural.
It's just… he didn't have a girlfriend to help him deal with those urges, so of course he'd have to take care of it himself.
If he wanted to "practice" using Vine Lash, he'd need spellcasting materials to act as PP, and that explained where the woman's voice had come from.
But wait… why hadn't he stopped right away when she knocked on the door? Instead, he'd activated the spellcasting material? And even took forever to open the door afterward?
C-Could it be… her appearance actually excited him even more?
After all, she was the person Haru liked… maybe hearing her voice outside had been too much for him, and he'd just… lost control?
If that were the case, then that smell she'd picked up earlier—wouldn't that mean she'd just… sniffed his…?!
Thanks to a chain of misunderstandings, Lillie's imagination had gone completely off the rails.
People always cling to the "reasonable" conclusions they come up with on their own—and Lillie was no exception.
This little "discovery" left her feeling secretly happy… and utterly mortified.
If she were to become Haru's girlfriend someday… would she need to help him with that kind of thing too…?
"S-Sorry for interrupting! I'll be going now!"
The stammering girl gave Haru a deep bow, then spun around like there were a hundred Incineroars chasing her and bolted down the hallway.
But she didn't make it far before she turned her head back, offering a bashful, hesitant warning:
"You really should get more sleep, Mr. Haru. And that sort of thing… you can't do it too often. It's really bad for your health."
With her face now red as a Cheri Berry, she disappeared into her room like a gust of wind.
As for Haru—who had just narrowly survived a catastrophe—he remained frozen at the doorway.
He was thinking.
About something very important.
It might sound a little insane, but… judging from Lillie's reaction just now… could it be that she actually likes him?
As in, really likes him. In a romantic sense.
Honestly, even though he'd run through all kinds of play styles last night, Haru had absolutely zero experience with real, serious relationships. Which was why he'd never been sure where Lillie actually stood.
Maybe she just felt grateful to him, and that's why she'd been so kind.
But now? Now it didn't seem quite so simple.
"…"
Realizing that possibility, Haru suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
He'd just had a "Pokémon battle" with Lusamine… and now it seemed like he might be leading Lillie on too?
What if Lusamine found out? Sure, she had been the one who initiated things, but this was Lillie we were talking about.
Would she back off for Lillie's sake? Or… would she cut things off with Lillie to keep Haru to herself?
Haru glanced at the empty bed, unable to say a word.
—
"Mr. Haru~ Mr. Haru, time to get up!"
Through a sleepy haze, Haru vaguely heard a soft, familiar voice calling to him.
It sounded young—and he'd been hearing it quite a bit lately.
Still wrapped up in his blanket cocoon, Haru wanted nothing more than to stay in bed. But that gentle voice eventually chased away the remnants of his "Spore"-like drowsiness and nudged him into wakefulness.
With a huge yawn, Haru shuffled over to the door in his pajamas and opened it—only to immediately blurt out the name of the visitor outside.
"Lillie?"
Yup. It was the same blonde girl he'd just seen before going to sleep.
Except now she'd changed into a pristine white sundress, making her look just like a graceful white swan. A particularly eye-catching one, at that.
Not only that—this swan had apparently taken up part-time jobs as both Cinderella and a grateful spirit. In her hands, she carried a steaming bowl of what smelled like freshly made soup.
"Mr. Haru, are you hungry? I made some porridge for you—why don't you eat a little something first?"
She walked into his room as she spoke, setting the bowl of red date and lotus seed porridge on the table.
Haru checked the time. It was about lunchtime now—he'd been asleep for roughly eight hours since lights-out.
Clearly, Lillie had calculated her timing beforehand to make sure she arrived just as he was waking up.
And this porridge… she'd probably made it specifically to help him recover from all that "late-night exertion."
At that moment, Haru felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down his back.
Just that morning, he'd been "battling" Lusamine. And now Lillie was here trying to nourish his body?
Even though nothing physical had ever happened between them, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of guilt toward her.
But what now?
Should he distance himself without explaining anything? Or come clean about everything…?
If he told her the truth, Lillie would probably go insane on the spot.
While Haru was still grappling with this dilemma, Lillie suddenly smacked her own forehead as if remembering something.
"Ah—sorry! I was so worried about Mr. Haru that I completely forgot to bring food for your Pokémon."
"I wasn't sure what kinds of Berries Mew and that Mismagius like, so I prepared a little of everything."
"Just wait right here—I'll go grab it!"
And with that, she turned around and ran off.
"No, really, you don't have to—"
Haru tried to stop her, but she vanished around the corner before he could finish.
All he could do was stare after her retreating figure, at a complete loss for words.
Only two words remained in his mind.
Sh*t!!