For onatsume wasn’t busy with farm work all day.

  He spent the eernoon chatting and strolling around the farm with Mei.

  Earlier, he had thought about doing something else, but whenever he wasn’t busy with work, he didn’t know what else to do.

  Training? Not really.

  Maybe it was because he had already decided to give up on being a Trainer, so he didn’t want to engage in activities typical of one. Instead, he preferred lying uhe shade of a tree, idly holding his shiny Furret.

  To be fair, it was quite rexing (not that he’d openly admit it).

  Natsume had sidered pig up some of his old hobbies but always felt unmotivated.

  Living alone in the mountains for so long, most hobbies had faded away, leaving only the skills essential for survival.

  Natsume figured he roduct of this process. Spending so much time alone, he sometimes worried he might lose his ability to i with other humans altogether (ughs).

  Ah, saying it like this feels a bit depressing.

  That wouldn’t do! A transmigrator should be brimming with energy and drive!

  Even when feeling down, you should shout fidently, “It’s not me who’s wrong, it’s this world!”

  Rubbing his face to shake off the ive thoughts, Natsume hahe Bou in his arms to Mei.

  This Bou articurly fond of people. Every time Natsume visited, it would rub affeately against him.

  It was hard to tell who was cuddling whom.

  “Ah, hello there, Bou!”

  With a geouch, Mei carefully took the Bou into her arms, her face lighting up with joy at the adorable creature.

  Cute appearance, affeate personality, and a faint sweet st—what girl wouldn’t adore such a darling Pokémon?

  At least Mei was pletely smitten.

  “Chuu!”

  led in Mei’s embrace, the Bou shifted into a fortable position, using the leaf on its head to nuzzle her arm.

  Ah, a sweet human girl.

  Time to snuggle!

  Girls should stick together, even if they’re from different species!

  It seemed the Bou really liked Mei. For the rest of the walk, it g to her, unwilling to leave. Even when pced on the ground, it would trail behind her like aary schooler on a field trip.

  Mei took a step, and it took three.

  Its tiny legs made that iable.

  “Chuu~”

  The hopping Bou looked like an infted balloon, ready to float away at any moment.

  Natsume g the Bou, a thought flickering through his mind, but he chose not to say anything just yet.

  For now, he would observe.

  Besides…

  He subtly turned his head to look at a nearby fruit tree.

  The leaves on its branches rustled slightly, as if something had just left.

  But sing the area revealed no suspicious Pokémon in sight.

  Osume looked away, a petite figure gradually materialized in midair.

  Satisfied with the photos on its pho nodded approvingly.

  Then, like a fish in water, it gracefully turned and followed after them, leaving behind a series of cat-like giggles that slowly faded into the air.

  ---

  As time passed, the sky turned a shade of golden dusk.

  Mei and Natsume had nearly toured the entire farm.

  Many areas were still under development, so they only gave them a brief look.

  Natsume shared some of his pns for these spaces with Mei—this patch farden, that area freenhouses, and so on.

  In short, there were plenty of ideas.

  The farm could undoubtedly be described as promising.

  High EQ: “Promising,” a first-rate warrior of the future.

  Low EQ: “Nothing much right now.”

  “How do you feel?”

  Standing at the farm’s entranatsume smiled at Mei.

  “It’s been really fun, and also…”

  Mei’s gaze drifted to Natsume’s knees.

  “…Natsume, your stamina is impressive.”

  The remark was slightly ambiguous, but there was no romantidertoween them.

  While t the farm, Mei had noticed that whenever Natsume entered small Pokémon, he would habitually squat down to make eye tact while unig with them.

  This approach maximized his ability to vey goodwill without intimidating them.

  The advantage of squatting to i was clear.

  The downside?

  Sore legs.

  Sisume squatted, Mei followed suit to eh the Pokémon.

  At first, it was fine—she just thought, “Oh, the Pokémon on the farm are so cute,” “This one’s adorable,” and “That one’s even cuter.”

  But gradually, Mei realized something was off.

  It seemed like Natsume squatted a lot.

  They’d barely walked a few steps before entering a few Hoppip.

  Squat, chat, feed, bid farewell, stand.

  A few more steps, and there were some Pooa.

  Squat, chat, feed, bid farewell, stand.

  Then came a chatty Corvisquire.

  Talk, raise a hand, and—smack!

  Wait, what?!

  Acc to Natsume, this Corvisquire was one of the Pokémon he’d caught during his earlier goal of being a Trainer.

  He had hoped to train it into a cold, aloof powerhouse—the kind that avoided chatter and delivered decisive strikes.

  Instead, it turned into a top-tier loudmouth.

  It wouldn’t aless it could taunt its oppo first.

  O excitedly told Natsume it had found a new idol: a Korean streamer known for pying Raven and trash-talkiween bos.

  Natsume’s response? A sp that sent it tumbling.

  “Learn something useful for once!”

  In the end, Mei found her legs sore and her knees ag after the tour.

  Why did it feel like she’d spent the eernoon doing squats at the gym?

  Yet, looking at Natsume, who showed no signs of exhaustioarted w if she should step up her fitness routine.

  As a proper Trainer, a strong body was essential!

  “By the way, what about this little one?”

  Mei g the Bou ging t, looking distressed.

  The Pokémon had been feigning pitifulness since earlier, refusing to let her leave.

  It was clear how much it liked her.

  But this Bou was one of Natsume’s farm residents and seemed to have already been caught.

  “Ah, that’s simple.”

  Natsume shrugged, seemingly uned.

  He had anticipated such situations from the beginning, so he wasn’t caught off guard.

  Gcell