At this moment, Mr. Hayden, the founder of Hayden Pharmaceutical, is standing in front of the gate of the Mori no Yokan that has just been cleared.

The limousine, which had been carried under the claws of a large metal bird, had already parked peacefully on the lawn not far from the forest. A black-clad steward who looked no different from a bodyguard stood respectfully beside Hayden with his hands behind his back.

Mr. Hayden looked about the same age as Professor Maidan, but his well-cut suit and well-groomed short gray-white hair made him look much more energetic than his old classmates. The old man wore a black bowler hat on his head, and held a wooden cane with a delicate round head in his hand, looking like a graceful and luxurious rich man.

Having arrived at their destination, the big boss of the pharmaceutical industry did not rush to knock on the door, but smiled very gracefully, and fed the heterochromatic steel crow that had sent them here with the hard candy-shaped energy cube in his hand.

"This new alien elf from the Galar branch is not bad, and it has been flying quite steadily along the way. I originally thought that this kind of Pokémon that was born different in the group would have some problems with its personality, but now it seems that its personality is okay? ”

The grayish-brown steel crow meekly bowed its head in front of Hayden, and with its beak glowing with metallic cold light, it carefully ate the energy cubes provided by the trainer.

The steward bowed down and thoughtfully explained—

"This heterochromatic steel crow was born in a company-owned breeding house. It has been raised separately by our institute since it was a juvenile that has not yet evolved, so it will not experience the regrettable treatment of its own kind. ”

Hayden nodded in satisfaction, and used the luxury ball to tuck the steel crow back into his suit pocket. Looking up at the Mori no Yokan in front of me, where only one side was clean, I suddenly felt a little funny-

"I don't know who demolished the woods wall of the Western-style pavilion. However, it is also easy to do. Shadow, it seems that we don't have to climb the roof again like the thieves. ”

"Sir, you're joking." The steward, known as Ah Ying, replied flatteringly.

"If you hadn't funded the maintenance and renovation of this mansion, let alone living like it is now, it is estimated that even the space in the cracks of the trees for small Pokémon to live in is enough."

"Looks like my old classmate has to thank me a little more. Well, if Medan could have realized this, we wouldn't have had to make such a trip. ”

Mr. Hagrid sighed with emotion, raised his cane in his hand, and knocked on the door with the round head above the holding position.

This time, the Mori no Yokan didn't keep the guests waiting too long.

The door opened almost at the sound of a sound.

Miss Zina, the young maid, stood by the entrance and bowed politely to the two guests—she had already seen the steel crow landing on the outside of the mansion through the window.

At this time, the hall of the Western-style Pavilion was empty except for Zina, Neil and Winisha had returned to their respective rooms to rest, Zhulan and Miss Junsha had explored the basement, and Professor Medan was alone in his bedroom on the second floor.

"You must be the guests who are scheduled to visit today, welcome! I'm a ...... hired by this building."

"Oh, you're the maid Xena."

Mr. Hayden glanced Zina up and down briefly, and immediately interrupted the maid's self-introduction, which had been carefully prepared for the morning.

"Young, quiet, hard-working...... Well, it was a great relief to find such a suitable maid as you in the domestic service center at that time. ”

There was a moment of confusion in Xena's eyes, as if she had many questions to ask the seemingly wealthy guest. But before she could speak, Hayden had already taken his butler and strode into the Mori no Yokan.

"Then take me to Medan, I have important things to explain to him."

The visitor commanded without looking back. The language is polite and decent, but the tone is domineering. Obviously he was commanding others to do things unscrupulously, but he slowly paced to the oil painting near the stairs and admired it to himself.

Xena was a little overwhelmed for a moment. After glancing at the black-clothed steward who was following the guest, and seeing that the other party had no intention of moving, the girl seemed to understand something.

So, she walked quickly up to Mr. Hayden, who was admiring the painting, and whispered carefully, "Please come with me." ”

Seeing the other party's jaw, Zina breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, the guest wanted to talk to the owner of the Meydan Pavilion alone, so his guard didn't follow. After sorting out the purpose of the visitor, Xena led Hayden to the second floor of the mansion and opened the door to a guest room.

In the room, Professor Maidan sat comfortably in a chair with a back, flipping through a book in his hand. Behind the old man was a burning fireplace, the flames of which were giving off a pleasant warmth.

"Xena, you go out first. It seems that this visitor gentleman wants to talk to me alone for a while. ”

Medan snapped the book and beckoned casually for the maid to step aside. At this time, Xena noticed that the book that Maidan was reading was a heavy Pokémon illustrated book in a hard shell.

Seeing that Xena had exited the room, Hayden entered the room with his cane and closed the door of the room, probably closing it too hard, and there was a sound from the doorknob that seemed to be a reverse lock.

The strange discomfort of the noon felt on Xena's shoulders again. It was as if there was a gaze behind him staring at him.

The maid hurriedly turned back, but the staircase passage was still empty. The oil painting hanging on the wall of the gallery is far away from himself, only in the middle of the painting, the two scarlet colors that look like two eyes, look more and more intense at this moment.

"Xena, Xena!"

When the maid came to her senses, she saw a crack open in the room next to Medan. Miss Winexia's short-haired head and an arm protruded from it and were waving at her.

"Come in, I've got something to ask you."

"Oh...... Yes, miss. ”

As if possessed by a ghost-type Pokémon, Xena, who was hazy in consciousness, nodded unconsciously, and walked into Venexia's bedroom as if sleepwalking.

On the first floor of the Mori Pavilion, the shadow of the follower who was left behind by everyone was alone, and at this moment he was looking around the mansion with a complicated expression. Bored, his gaze wandered over the lines of the walls, tracing the coherent patterns of spirals and straight lines.

Ah Ying didn't know that just a few hours ago, the champion of the Bamboo Orchid in the Sinnoh region had also looked around the walls of this space with a solemn face.

And just as the atmosphere of this Mori no Yokan became more and more solemn, almost condensing the mist and converging into a storm, a loud sound suddenly spread throughout the entire building from below.

It was a woman's exclamation of surprise —

"Huh? What happened to Hugo, you say? ”

There was a lot of disbelief in the voice.