thefictionvixens Chapter 271 The Prelude to the Storm
Chapter 271 The Prelude to the Storm
At this moment, Mr. Hayden, the founder of Hayden Pharmaceuticals, is standing in front of the gate of the Mori Mansion that has just been cleared.
The luxury car that had been carried under the claws of the large metal bird was now parked safely on a 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 to be about the same age as Professor Medan, but his well-tailored suit and meticulously styled short gray hair made him appear much more energetic than his old classmate. The old man wore a black bowler hat and held a finely textured, round-headed wooden cane, exuding the air of a wealthy and elegant man.
Having arrived at their destination, the big boss of the pharmaceutical industry didn't rush to knock on the door. Instead, he elegantly smiled and used the hard candy-like energy cube in his hand to feed the Wicked Corviknight that had brought them here.
"This Shiny Pokémon that the Galar branch just sent over is pretty good; it flew quite steadily the whole way. I originally thought that Pokémon that are born different from their kind in their species would have some personality issues, but it seems that its personality is alright?"
The greyish-brown Corviknight lowered its head meekly before Hayden, carefully eating the energy cubes provided by its trainer with its metallic beak.
The manager bowed and explained considerately—
"This heterochromatic armored raven was born in one of the company's breeding facilities. It was raised separately in our research institute from an un-evolved juvenile tit, so it did not experience the unfortunate treatment it received among its kind."
Hayden nodded in satisfaction and used a Luxury Ball to put Corviknight back into his suit pocket. Looking up at the Forest Mansion in front of him, which only had one clean facade, he suddenly found it somewhat amusing—
"I wonder who tore down the wall surrounding the manor's woods. But it saves us some trouble. Ah Ying, it seems we don't have to climb the roof like thieves anymore."
"You flatter me, sir," the steward, known as Ah Ying, replied obsequiously.
"If it weren't for your funding to maintain and renovate this mansion, let alone living here like it is now, it would probably be difficult to even squeeze out space for small Pokémon to live in the gaps between the trees."
"It seems my old classmate has a lot more to thank me for. But if Meidan had realized that, we wouldn't have needed to make this special trip."
As Mr. Hagrid remarked, he casually raised his cane and banged on the door with the rounded end of the cane.
This time, the guests at Mori no Yamanokan did not have to wait too long.
The door opened almost instantly.
The young maid, Miss Zina, stood by the entrance hall, bowing politely to the two guests—she had already seen the Steel Crow landing outside the mansion through the window.
The mansion hall was empty except for Zina. Neil and Vinnie had returned to their respective guest rooms to rest, Cynthia and Officer Jenny had gone to explore the basement, and Professor Medan was alone in his bedroom on the second floor.
"You two must be the guests who were scheduled to visit today. Welcome! I'm an employee of this mansion..."
"Oh, you must be the maid, Zina."
Mr. Hayden gave Zina a quick glance up and down before immediately interrupting the maid's self-introduction, which she had been preparing for all morning.
"Young, quiet, hardworking... Hmm, it was a real relief to find such a suitable maid like you at the domestic service center."
A look of confusion flashed across Zina's eyes for a moment, as if she had many questions for this seemingly wealthy guest. But before she could speak, Hayden, accompanied by his butler, strode into the Forest Mansion.
"Then take me to see Mei Dan quickly, I have something important to tell him."
The visitor gave orders without turning his head. His words were polite and proper, but his tone was arrogant. While he was blatantly directing others, he leisurely strolled to the oil painting near the stairs and began to admire it himself.
Zina was momentarily at a loss. She exchanged a glance with the black-clad steward following behind the guest, and seeing that he had no intention of moving, the girl seemed to understand something.
So she quickly walked up to Mr. Hayden, who was admiring the paintings, and carefully whispered, "Please come with me."
Seeing the other party nod, Zina breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, this guest wanted to speak with Master Meidan alone, which was why his guard hadn't followed. Having figured out the guest's purpose, Zina led Hayden up to the second floor of the mansion and opened the door to a guest room.
Inside the room, Professor Medan sat comfortably in an armchair, flipping through a book. Behind him was a burning fireplace, its flames radiating a warm and inviting temperature.
"Qina, you can go out now. It seems this visitor wants to have a private talk with me for a while."
Meidan snapped the book shut and casually waved for the maid to leave. Zina then noticed that the book Meidan was reading was a thick, hardcover Pokédex.
Seeing that Zina had left the room, Hayden entered the room with his cane and closed the door behind him. He must have closed the door too hard, because there was a sound like a locking mechanism coming from the doorknob.
That strange feeling of unease from midday crept back onto Qi Na's shoulder. It was as if someone was watching her from behind.
The maid hurriedly turned around, but the stairwell remained empty. The oil painting hanging on the wall stood opposite her, except that the two scarlet hues in the center of the painting, resembling eyes, seemed even more intense at this moment.
"Qina, Qina!"
When the maid came to her senses, she saw that the door to the room next to Meidan's was open a crack. Miss Vinnie's short hair and an arm were sticking out from inside, waving at her.
"Come in quickly, I have something I want to ask you."
"Oh...yes, miss."
As if possessed by a Ghost-type Pokémon, a dazed and confused Zina nodded unconsciously and sleepwalked into Vinissa's bedroom.
On the first floor of the Forest Mansion, Ah-ying, the follower abandoned by everyone, stood alone, looking around the mansion with a complicated expression. Bored, his gaze wandered over the patterns on the walls, tracing the continuous designs that were either spirals or straight lines.
Aying had no idea that just a few hours earlier, the Cynthia Champion from the Sinnoh region had also looked around the walls of this space with a solemn expression.
Just as the atmosphere in this forest mansion was becoming increasingly tense, almost condensing into mist and gathering into a storm, a huge sound suddenly resounded throughout the entire building from below.
That was a woman's surprised exclamation—
"Huh? What happened to Hugo?"
The voice was filled with disbelief.