https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-58-The-Cherry-Blossom-Festival-Comes-to-an-End/12537057/
Chapter 59: The King of Swords
Chapter 59: The King of Swords
"Boom!"
Naoki was jolted awake by a thunderous clap of thunder early the next morning.
He opened his eyes, dazed for a few seconds, before abruptly sitting up in bed.
It was raining! The dense raindrops hitting the window panes created a rhythmic pitter-patter, and the sky outside was obscured by a gloomy curtain of rain.
The Pokemon in the room had also been startled awake by the thunder, and they blinked groggily, looking around in confusion.
On rainy days, there was no need to water the plants, so Naoki could afford to be a little lazy. He closed his eyes and lay back down on the bed.
Just then, he felt an unwavering gaze on him that he couldn't ignore.
Naoki opened his eyes to see Golurk's large head looming close by, its eyes fixed on him as its stomach rumbled loudly.
Naoki: "..."
Oh well, he thought with a sigh.
Reluctantly, he got dressed and climbed out of bed.
The air inside the house was damp and uncomfortable on this rainy day.
Before preparing breakfast, Naoki put on his rubber shoes and a raincoat and fetched a few logs from the storeroom, placing them in the fireplace to light a fire.
As the indoor temperature rose, the dampness in the air was evaporated away, restoring the usual dryness of the room.
Looking up at the old wooden house, Naoki muttered to himself, "At least it's not leaking."
The Pokemon in the room had all awakened by now. Froslass left the cabinet and joined Mini-Ninetales by the window, both of them pressing their faces against the glass to watch the pouring rain outside.
Golurk lay contentedly on the wooden floor, patiently waiting for Naoki to cook breakfast.
Motostalks had taken shelter under the eaves, standing there and sensing the wind.
Above it, Butterfree was perched on the wooden box, gently fluttering her wings as she gazed at the rainfall.
Naoki took out the ingredients and began preparing breakfast, his mind wandering as he thought, "This old house must be a few decades old."
The original owner's grandfather had lived here during ancient times, when things were much more backward, and the ranch had primarily focused on livestock.
So, apart from this wooden house and an abandoned Pokemon cottage, nothing else remained.
As for why the house hadn't been expanded, perhaps the old man had thought it was big enough for him alone? Naoki wondered.
Taking a deep breath, Naoki contemplated plans to renovate and expand the wooden house.
Soon, breakfast was ready, and Naoki served the dishes on the table. He then took out a Poke Ball and released the sleeping Aerodactyl within.
Aerodactyl stirred awake, rubbing its eyes before quickly noticing the rain outside.
Its eyes lit up, and it eagerly exclaimed, "Roar!" indicating its excitement about the rain.
"I know," Naoki replied, understanding Aerodactyl's enthusiasm. "Let's eat first, and then we'll go check things out afterward."
Aerodactyl immediately began devouring its breakfast.
Naoki sipped a simple porridge and informed Aerodactyl, "I need to feed the chickens. We'll go take a look after you return from delivering the milk." He then grabbed a cucumber and left the house, munching on it as he made his way toward the sheep pen.
On this rainy day, the riding sheep didn't feel like venturing out either. The three little ones huddled together under the rain shelter, gazing at the falling rain.
When they spotted Naoki approaching, their gazes immediately shifted to focus on him.
Naoki glanced at their feed trough and, as expected, saw that the grass blocks he had filled only yesterday evening had been devoured.
Naoki: "..." He had just refilled them last night!
These three riding sheep were such big eaters.
Sighing inwardly, Naoki resignedly refilled the grass blocks. They were almost out, so he would need to make more this afternoon.
One of the riding sheep bleated happily.
"Baa~"
"Have you mastered a new move?"
One of the Riding Sheep nodded.
"Oh?" Naoki's curiosity was piqued. "What is it? Show me?"
The Riding Sheep began its demonstration. With a serious expression, it manipulated the Grass-type energy surging from its body, condensing it into a sharp leaf blade. The sheep then controlled the blade as if it were a sword, slicing through the air.
"Leaf Blade?" Naoki raised an eyebrow.
"Baa~" The Riding Sheep looked delighted.
Watching this display, Naoki, for some reason, thought of the Galarian legend of the King of Swords, Cobalion.
He suddenly asked, "Can you make that leaf bigger and bite down on it to attack?"
"Moo~?" The Riding Sheep looked confused, seemingly not understanding the request.
Naoki looked around and plucked a blade of grass from the ground, biting down on it to demonstrate to the sheep.
Ding! A lightbulb seemed to appear above the Riding Sheep's head.
It recreated the leaf blade with its Grass-type energy, but this time, instead of attacking directly, it held the sword-like leaf horizontally in its mouth.
"Whoa, cool!"
Naoki was surprised that the Riding Sheep could actually do it. Now it could cosplay as Cobalion in the Galar region.
Biting down on the leaf blade, the Riding Sheep turned its head from side to side, swinging it experimentally. It was delighted to discover that it could control the blade more easily this way!
The other two Riding Sheep looked on with envious expressions.
They wanted to do the same...
So, they turned and began gobbling down the green grass dumplings.
"..."
Naoki felt numb witnessing this scene.
He bade farewell to the Riding Sheep and made his way to the Salt House. There, he filled the salt blocks for the group of Salandit inside and then played with them for a while, lifting them up high.
After that, he headed to the chicken coop.
As soon as he stepped inside, he heard a chorus of cheeps.
He looked down and, upon seeing the scene in the haystack, a delighted expression spread across his face.
The eggs had hatched! In addition to the original three hens and a rooster, there were now six new little lives in the chicken coop.
Six fluffy, yellowish-brown chicks!
Wonderful! Last time, Naoki had placed nine eggs, and now six had hatched, with three more still incubating.
"Well done!"
To reward the hardworking hens, Naoki filled their feeder with chicken feed and water. Then he grabbed a tool and prepared to sweep the floor of the chicken coop.
Just then, he noticed something unusual—a set of tiny, inconspicuous footprints on the floor of the chicken coop.
"Hmm?"
He crouched down, puzzled, to take a closer look.
The footprints, shaped like plum blossoms, stretched from the direction of the door to the feeder and then back out again.
An animal? Or a Pokemon? Several possible suspects flashed through Naoki's mind.
He followed the trail outside, but the grass and rainy weather had erased the footprints.
Standing at the door, he looked around. The chicken coop was built by the river and surrounded by a wooden fence.
To enter, one would first have to pass through the fence.
However, the gaps in the fence were small, indicating that whoever—or whatever—had entered was either small in stature or incredibly agile, capable of jumping high.
Whoever it was had entered the chicken coop, not to harm the hens but to steal a bag of chicken feed. They had done so without attracting the attention of the other Pokemon, indicating a high level of caution and stealth.
What could it be?
(End of Chapter)
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