Allister was almost certain. Shiro had something to do with the missing wooden sword and shield.
But...
What did that have to do with him?
"Allister, do you know something?" Granny Shae turned to look at the boy beside her.
Slowly, Allister raised his head. The hollow eyes behind his pale mask seemed like they couldn't speak.
"Aiya… What could my little student possibly know?" Edgar sighed and stepped between Shae and the others, taking Allister's hand. "Everyone knows this child has autism. What could he possibly have seen? Sigh..."
Shaking his head, the old man led the boy straight out of the building. The two quickly disappeared from everyone's view.
Shae stood in silence for a long moment. Her eyes drifted to Shiro and Nessa, then subtly checked on the company staff behind the counter who kept glancing their way.
"Think hard! If you remember anything, let us know!" she called out, deliberately putting emphasis on the word "us." Then she waved her cane, signaling it was time to move along.
"Yeah, yeah!" Marvin waved his hand and responded casually, then walked into the elevator with the other two.
"Ugh, this whole company's messed up. A broken old sword and shield and they want to investigate like it's some big deal," he grumbled, then turned to Shiro. "Everyone knows we got there late. You even went in alone to help them, passed out for who knows how long and got sick on top of that."
"Yeah." Shiro tried to keep his voice even, but his hand was clenched tight around the Poké Ball in his pocket. His palm was damp with sweat, and he could feel the cold, sticky discomfort spreading across his back.
The sword and shield Granny Shae wanted to investigate... were sitting right in his backpack.
If Macro Cosmos had added any kind of psychic scanning tech at the entrances, he would've been completely exposed.
It was clear the researchers had already reported everything to Rose, and he clearly valued the sword and shield a lot. He probably knew what was depicted on the murals inside the ruins.
Ding!
The elevator stopped at the twelfth floor. Shiro said goodbye to Marvin and Nessa and safely made his way to his room.
Once inside, he quickly opened his backpack, shoved the sword and shield even deeper into the bottom of his bag, and released Corvisquire, Gastly, and Growlithe one after another.
Only after his Pokémon surrounded him did Shiro finally let out a long breath and slump down to the floor beside his bed.
Luckily, he had passed out after receiving the power from Zacian and Zamazenta, which made him completely miss everyone's line of sight and wake up outside the crystal cavern.
No one would suspect a sick guy who ventured into the forest alone and had to be carried out. Even Rose's attention was now fixed on the dead B5 members the others had reported.
'But…' Shiro thought about the bandage that Dusclops had wrapped around his arm.
If Allister paid close enough attention, the boy might be able to figure out from small details that he had plenty of time to move around and was very likely the one who took the sword and shield.
'And from Allister's look earlier…'
Shiro tapped his forehead, thinking he was just being paranoid. With the boy's personality, even if he knew something, he probably wouldn't say a word—unless someone very close to asked directly.
But even that possibility wasn't zero. What if that old man Edgar noticed something, and casually asked a few questions? What if Allister spilled everything?
Worse yet, what if Edgar suddenly lost his mind and just reported him straight to Rose?
Even if it was only over a sword and shield, Rose wouldn't flip out. But after that, everything would become harder. He would definitely fall under the chairman's watch. If he ever wanted to leave the company or even the Galar region one day, that chance would be gone the moment something like this happened.
And there was no way he could keep the sword and shield by then. However, he had already made a promise to the sword and shield dogs… and even took a little extra from them. When the time came…
Under Corvisquire and Gastly's confused looks, Shiro suddenly shot up. His tired body, which had been ready to rest, was now wide awake. He started pacing back and forth in the room.
The real issue was this: everything so far was just a guess. None of it might even happen. But if it did… there'd be no undoing it.
'Should I really go talk to Edgar and try to work something out? Even in the worst-case scenario, there might still be time to get there.'
Shiro stood still, carefully going over everything that had happened since he came out of the ruins. Once he confirmed that only Allister could've figured it out, he made up his mind. He recalled his Pokémon, walked to the door, and opened it.
Instead of sitting around worrying whether someone else might know—whether Rose might know—it was better to deal with it himself.
Overthinking would only waste time. He had to act and cover any weak spots before they became real problems. And if it came to negotiation, he just happened to have a spare Sableye he didn't really need. It was also a Ghost type, and a strong one at that. Should be enough to offer as a deal.
...
Behind the Macro Cosmos building.
Dressed in plain black clothes, Edgar held Allister's hand as they walked through the garden toward the training area.
Along the way, the old man turned his head and asked quietly, "Allister, do you know something?"
The boy froze for a moment, then slowly looked up at his teacher.
"Heh. Caught you, didn't I?" Edgar gave him a playful nudge with his finger. "You think I don't know you? If you really didn't know anything, you would've said something clear just now. But instead, you said nothing and just stared at people. That means you've got something on your mind, but don't want to say it. Am I right?"
Allister quickly lowered his head. After a moment of silence, he murmured, "It's someone from our team—"
"Hold it!" Edgar immediately raised his hand and cut him off. "Don't tell me. I don't want to know who it is."
"But…" Allister looked confused as he glanced up at the old man again. If he didn't want to know, then why ask in the first place?
"If it was someone from B5, or some faker who stole something and tried to disappear, I'd say tell me right away. I'd even report it and take the credit," Edgar said with a shrug. "But if it's someone from your team…"
He bent down, lowered his voice, and half-covered his mouth as he spoke, "That's your friend. You're all on the same side. You're supposed to keep each other's secrets. That's what being friends means. Macro Cosmos and Rose? They got nothing to do with you, right?"
"...Right." Allister looked at his teacher and nodded. "I understand."
"Heh..." Edgar straightened up and gave the boy's head a quick rub. "Alright then, get to training."
The garden was quiet and still. Even wild Pokémon stayed away from this place. Allister walked ahead, following the narrow path until they reached the training grounds. There, he took out his Poké Balls and released his team.
Mimikyu emerged first, silent and small. Then came the towering Dusclops, followed by a pale, flickering Litwick and a mischievous Haunter.
Edgar nodded at each of the Pokémon as they appeared. Then his eyes shifted and landed on someone walking toward them from not far away—Shiro.
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