"What are you laughing about?"
Realizing something was wrong, Cogita quickly composed herself, narrowing her eyes as she questioned Diancie, who was quietly giggling nearby.
Suddenly aware she'd revealed a bit too much, Diancie's smile abruptly froze.
She hurriedly covered her small mouth, shaking her head frantically at Cogita.
But this reaction only confirmed Cogita's suspicion even more.
Stepping around Elias, Cogita swiftly reached out and caught Diancie, who was about to flee.
"If you don't explain, neither you nor Elias will leave this house today," she calmly threatened.
By now, she was quite certain the situation wasn't as Elias had just described. There was definitely some little secret between these two that she didn't know about.
"Cogita, let go!"
"Elias, she's bullying me!"
Realizing she'd been caught, Diancie twisted her body twice in protest, quickly turning to Elias for help even as she struggled.
"Alright, Cogita, stop bullying Diancie."
Seeing that Cogita had already figured out something due to Diancie's clumsy acting, Elias finally spoke up.
Only then did Cogita release her grip on Diancie.
She knew very well she wouldn't get anything useful out of this Pokémon; it would have to be Elias who explained things to her.
Thinking thus, she folded her arms and turned to him expectantly.
Meeting her gaze, Elias hesitated a moment before speaking:
"I already asked Diancie earlier."
"She agreed to stay here with me, on the condition we visit the underground kingdom once a week."
This was something he'd discussed with Diancie privately earlier while Cogita was busy.
Diancie herself didn't seem to care much about where she lived.
In fact… she seemed more interested in experiencing human society for a change, having grown tired of her own underground kingdom.
As for Cogita, although Diancie openly resisted, she didn't genuinely dislike the woman.
After only a brief consideration, she'd easily agreed to Elias's proposal.
Her only condition was simple: regularly returning home to the Carbink Kingdom.
After all, she was still its princess.
On the other side, upon hearing Elias's words, Cogita was momentarily stunned.
"Just like back then at the Pearl Clan…"
She murmured softly.
As if suddenly recalling something, Cogita uncharacteristically stood frozen for a moment.
But soon enough, she regained herself.
Under Diancie and Elias's expectant gazes, she curled her lips slightly, speaking quietly:
"In that case, I'll temporarily allow both of you to stay here… Or rather, I'll temporarily allow you to stay here."
When saying this, Cogita deliberately directed her gaze toward Diancie.
From her perspective, Elias was always meant to stay here—only Diancie counted as a guest.
"I still have to ask the Queen's permission tomorrow! If Her Highness refuses, I'll definitely take Elias away!"
Seeing Cogita's smug attitude, Diancie snorted softly, offering a light threat.
Although she wasn't purely bluffing—she truly needed to speak with Dianna tomorrow.
Otherwise, if she snuck out secretly, she'd just be dragged back by Dianna shortly afterward.
Even today, she'd come here secretly behind Dianna's back.
Luckily…
Diancie glanced at Elias standing beside her.
With him at her side, she felt significantly more confident.
Even Her Highness probably wouldn't scold her too harshly after seeing Elias awake again.
On the other side, Cogita clearly thought of this too.
She merely glanced faintly at Diancie, not feeling particularly worried.
Still, after brief consideration, she added:
"If you need help, come find me anytime."
"Also… you'd better prepare a Poké Ball for her."
Considering Diancie was literally covered in diamonds, Cogita didn't forget to remind Elias.
It wasn't hard to see that Cogita's mood had greatly improved upon hearing they'd be staying here long-term.
After saying her piece, she turned toward the stairs leading to the second floor.
Back in Hisui, Elias's room had been arranged on the second floor.
Now, she intended to recreate that arrangement as his new room—even though a ghost-form likely didn't need sleep at all.
Watching Cogita leave, Diancie blinked twice.
"Elias, can you still fit inside a Poké Ball?"
Recalling Cogita's words, Diancie asked curiously.
Elias was momentarily stunned by the question before helplessly replying:
"Cogita meant you."
Cogita's words did remind him, though—
If Diancie intended to live long-term in human society, preparing a Poké Ball for her was indeed necessary.
...
[It seems your room had already been mostly arranged long ago.]
[Cogita tidied it up quickly and easily.]
[Somehow, the furnishings gave you a familiar feeling—likely related to Cogita herself.]
[Unfortunately, as a ghost-form, you don't require much rest, making the room's usefulness limited.]
...
"Elias, aren't you coming to rest?"
Diancie patted the bed lightly, softly asking.
Although Cogita had protested, Diancie eventually ended up sharing Elias's room.
After such a long and eventful day, she was already feeling drowsy.
"You sleep first—I still have something to do."
Holding a book, Elias replied gently.
He planned to take advantage of the night to craft a Poké Ball for Diancie.
Fortunately, at first glance, the crafting process didn't seem overly complicated.
"Hmm… alright," Diancie answered reluctantly.
She'd suddenly remembered—with Elias's icy-cold ghostly body, she'd probably freeze through the night and be unable to sleep anyway.
Realizing this, Diancie pursed her lips, feeling increasingly unhappy.
She absolutely had to find a way for Elias to regain a proper human body.
This became her new goal.
[Soon after, Diancie drifts into dreams, while you begin studying how to craft a Poké Ball.]
[Since it's your first attempt, you've chosen to craft only the most basic Poké Ball.]
In the courtyard—
Under moonlight, Elias flipped slowly through the instructional book on Poké Ball crafting.
After several repeated attempts all ended in failure, he began suspecting the book might've omitted certain key steps.
After all, he'd meticulously followed the instructions word for word.
"If you can't figure it out, you could try the instructions in this notebook instead."
At that moment, a lazy-sounding voice spoke from behind him.
Elias turned around to find Cogita had appeared at his back without him noticing.
Her slender, pale hand held out a small notebook toward him.
Elias took it doubtfully, but upon opening it, his expression abruptly froze.
This seemed to be a journal filled with detailed notes on crafting Poké Balls.
From the slightly yellowed paper, it clearly had some age.
But…
Looking at the handwriting inside, Elias inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity.
"This is…?"
He asked uncertainly.
"Something handwritten by a little fellow who liked me."
Cogita turned her head slightly away, calmly replying without even a hint of embarrassment.