Still Akala Island, Lush Jungle.
This was one of the trial stages on Akala Island, and right now Selene was following Captain Mallow into the forest for her trial.
Outside Lush Jungle, Lillie, dressed in a white dress, was sitting on a bench. She took a letter out of her bag with both hands, a deeply conflicted, hesitant look on her delicate little face.
A stranger had suddenly handed it to her that morning, and only after she opened it did she realize it was a letter from her mother, Lusamine.
Lillie was at a loss now. She had no idea what to do.
Should she go back to Aether Paradise like the letter said? But she was afraid. She was terrified of the Lusamine who existed now.
And Lillie knew very well that Lusamine wanted to use Nebby for research experiments. Her father had vanished because of that. It scared her to death.
But if Lusamine could get someone else to pass a letter to her, did that mean Lusamine had already found her?
"What… should I do…"
Lillie pressed her lips together. She wanted to uncover Nebby's secret, so she'd gone through all kinds of ancient texts, but it still wasn't enough.
So she wanted to explore the ancient ruins scattered all over Alola. She believed that way, she'd definitely be able to learn where Nebby came from.
But… it felt like she was running out of time.
Lillie really didn't know what to do anymore. She was completely lost.
"Cosmog～Cosmog～"
Right then, her bag popped open. Nebby poked half its body out, chirping in delight.
"Nebby? Could it be…"
Seeing Nebby like that, Lillie froze, then seemed to think of something. A mix of shock and joy flashed across her face.
"Well, well, adorable Miss, we meet again."
A familiar, gentle, bright boy's voice reached her ears. Lillie turned her head, and sure enough, the boy from her memories came into view.
He walked in under the shade of the trees, wearing a simple, fitted multicolored shirt and black pants, clean-cut and handsome.
With the light at his back, it felt like he was slowly walking out of the sun itself. That warm smile on his face made him look like some kind of gentle angel.
Lillie stared blankly at the boy. He was just like before—still that good-looking.
"Cosmog～!"
Nebby didn't have nearly as many strange, fluttery thoughts as Lillie did. It floated up happily and flew straight over to Damian, circling around him.
"You little thing, are you really that happy to see me?"
Chuckling, Damian reached out and caught Nebby, pulled a piece of candy from his pocket, unwrapped it, and fed it to Nebby.
Nebby's eyes squinted into happy little slits as it let out a soft, content hum.
"The moment you showed up, Nebby suddenly got all excited."
Before she knew it, a gentle smile had appeared on Lillie's face. In her eyes, there was only the boy in front of her and Nebby in his hands.
Of course. This was exactly what she'd been hoping for. She'd really wanted to run into this sunny, gentle boy again.
Fate was strange like that. In just two or three short months, they'd already met three times.
That had to be some sort of indescribable "bond."
"Hah, well, I really like this little one too." Damian rubbed Nebby's cheeks, then carried it over and sat down beside Lillie.
Of course he liked Nebby. This little guy could evolve into Solgaleo or Lunala someday.
Though come to think of it, he still had no idea which one this Nebby would evolve into.
In the anime, Nebby evolved into Solgaleo, but in "Evolution," Nebby evolved into Lunala.
Whatever. The big lion was cool and imposing, and the giant bat was gorgeous and elegant. Both were great. Damian wasn't picky.
The sudden appearance of the opposite sex at such a close distance caught Lillie off guard. Her pretty face flushed a light pink almost instinctively, but she didn't move away.
Or rather… he smelled really nice.
Her cute little nose twitched. It was the first time she'd been this close to a boy her age, close enough to smell his scent, and her head went a little fuzzy.
She even thought she could smell a faint trace of her mother's scent on him, which made her feel oddly at ease.
If Damian could hear what Lillie was thinking right now, he'd probably just swear and wonder what was up with her nose.
He really had gone to Aether Paradise that morning and "trained" with Lusamine in bed, but he'd taken a shower afterward. And she could still smell that?
Of course, Damian had no way of guessing Lillie's thoughts. He just fed Nebby another piece of candy, and Nebby happily munched away.
"Come to think of it, this is the third time we've met, isn't it, adorable Miss?"
With a smile as warm as the sun, Damian shifted his gaze to Lillie.
Lillie's face turned even redder.
"P-please… please don't call me adorable or anything like that…"
The shy girl twisted her fingers into her dress, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"But Miss really is adorable—and very pretty too." Damian tilted his head like he genuinely didn't understand what the problem was.
Lillie felt like her face was on fire, and her heart thudded wildly in her chest.
"Anyway, if fate lets people meet even from a thousand miles away, then I guess our 'bond' really is pretty deep. So let's do this properly."
Seeing that Lillie looked like she was about to turn into a steaming kettle, Damian just smiled and stopped teasing this easily flustered young lady, changing the subject instead.
"My name's Damian, from the Kanto Region. It's nice to meet you."
"I-I'm Lillie."
Forcing herself to push down her embarrassment, Lillie placed her hand in Damian's outstretched palm.
So warm…
That was her first thought when she felt the heat of his hand.
But soon, the manners she'd been taught since childhood reminded her to pull her hand back. Otherwise it would've been far too impolite.
"Miss Lillie, huh? That's a really pretty name."
"Thank you."
Lillie fanned her cheeks gingerly with her small hands until the heat in her face finally cooled a little.
"I saw you from a distance just now, adorable Miss Lillie, sitting here all by yourself. Got something weighing on your mind?"
Damian scratched Nebby under the chin as he asked.
Lillie froze, then lowered her head, biting her lip. So he'd seen her like that… Well, of course he had…
"Sorry you had to see me like this, Mr. Damian."
"Eh? No need to apologize. Everyone gets sad sometimes—every single person in this world."
Damian raised a brow, leaning in a little closer as he spoke to Lillie in all seriousness.
"Everyone has regrets and memories they don't want to revisit. That's completely normal. It's not like there's anyone who spends their whole life without a care in the world."
"Even the airheaded, always-smiling optimists who look happy every day might be licking their wounds alone in the middle of the night."
"Joy and sorrow, laughter and tears—that's our most basic privilege as humans. So when you run into painful, embarrassing setbacks and troubles, you've got to face them and move past them, not just sit here alone feeling miserable."
Listening to him, Lillie stared blankly at the boy right in front of her. His face was perfectly reflected in her clear eyes, and for a moment she drifted off in a daze.
He really is…
"What's wrong, Lillie?"
After a long pause, when she still hadn't said anything and just kept staring at him, Damian finally spoke up in puzzlement.
His voice snapped her out of it. Color flooded back into Lillie's cheeks all over again, and she hastily looked away.
"S-sorry, I zoned out again…" Lillie mumbled.
"That's okay."
"Mr. Damian… you're so gentle."
"Huh? What was that, Lillie?"
"Please don't mind me, I was just talking to myself."
Flustered, the girl toyed with a lock of hair by her cheek. What on earth had she just blurted out!
Suddenly she understood why Selene was always going on and on about how amazing her boyfriend was.
Oh my gosh.
If a gentle Mr. Damian like this were her boyfriend… she'd probably end up bragging about him to Selene every single day too.