The day after Jin expressed his feelings to Liko on the wing deck, he woke up bathed in the morning sunlight streaming through the window.

"Mm～～～～～"

He sat up, stretched, and did a light warm-up before slowly getting out of bed.

After changing into his usual casual clothes, he left his room to head to the meeting room for breakfast. On his way to the deck, he happened to run into Liko and her Sprigatito, who were heading the same way.

"Good morning, Liko, Sprigatito."

"Meow!"

"G-Good morning!"

When Liko heard Jin's greeting, she turned red and looked away, clearly remembering the previous night's events.

"...So, did you manage to apologize to Roy?"

"Y-Yeah! We made up!"

If Liko's words were true, then the tense atmosphere from last night in the meeting room would have been resolved. However, a new issue had arisen.

Liko, despite responding to the conversation, was making no effort to look at Jin.

"......"

"......"

"Meow?"

Sprigatito watched the two with a puzzled expression. To Sprigatito, the two had always seemed close—almost like more than friends but not quite lovers. This sudden change was confusing.

(What should I do? I can't look at Jin's face!)

(...Hmm... maybe I went a bit too far? ...No, it would have ended up like this anyway.)

Ever since they had rescued Sprigatito from the Explorers and reunited on the ship, Jin had been aware of his feelings for Liko. Realizing his feelings meant that he would confess them sooner or later. This outcome was inevitable.

"...Liko."

"E-Eep!"

(Eep?)

(Ugh, I stuttered!)

Liko turned even redder, feeling embarrassed and flustered. It was honestly quite entertaining, despite the sympathetic appearance she tried to maintain.

Seeing Liko's state, Jin's mind was tempted by the devil's whisper to tease her, but he managed to suppress it. Struggling to keep a straight face, he spoke seriously.

"...About what I said yesterday, there's no rush for an answer."

"......"

"The most important thing is how you feel, Liko. I'll wait patiently until you figure that out."

(My feelings...)

"Well, anyway, let's have breakfast first. If we don't hurry, Roy or Fuecoco might start eating without us."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"...Okay!"

(Finally, she looked at me... I planned to go all out, but I guess I'll have to be patient.)

Last night, Jin had been ready to push forward, but he decided to change his approach. Whether this was the right choice was unclear. However, based on Liko's reactions today, pushing too hard might have caused her to retreat, making it difficult to talk. Given that possibility, changing tactics didn't seem like a bad idea.

(Well, it's fine. I've got confidence in my patience.)

＊＊＊

"Ah! Jin, Liko! Good morning!"

"Fue~"

As they walked down the corridor toward the deck, they encountered Roy and Fuecoco. It seemed that after having dinner together last night, they had played together and then spent the night in the room prepared for Roy.

"Morning!"

"Good morning."

Jin and Liko returned the greeting. Roy and Fuecoco looked at them with determined eyes.

"Hey, Jin, Liko, I have something I want to tell you!"

"Y-yes?"

"What is it?"

"I've decided! I want Fuecoco to be my partner Pokémon!"

Roy declared loudly.

"Wha—what?!"

"Heh... is that so?"

Unlike the surprised Liko, Jin didn't seem shocked at all. In fact, he looked rather pleased.

"Ha, I knew you wouldn't be surprised, Jin."

"Yeah, I had a feeling this might happen."

(Oh, right. Jin said last night...)

Liko recalled her conversation with Jin the previous night.

Liko hadn't noticed the bond between Roy and Fuecoco because of her narrow focus. Jin, however, had seen it clearly and invited Roy to the ship, allowing them to spend the night together. Jin played a significant role in Roy's decision to make Fuecoco his partner.

(Jin... he's really amazing.)

If Jin's words were true, he had even considered the possibility of Roy and Fuecoco becoming partners. Liko was in awe of Jin's ability to do things effortlessly that she couldn't even imagine. Unconsciously, she found herself blushing and staring at Jin.

"Just to be sure, you got Fuecoco's approval, right?"

"Yeah! We talked about it last night and decided together. Right, Fuecoco?"

"Fue!"

Fuecoco jumped onto Roy's shoulder and raised his hands energetically, as if to say, "Of course!"

"Is that so? Then it's fine."

"Hehe! It's all thanks to you, Jin!"

"Hm? No, I just created the opportunity. The fact that you two became partners is because of how well you get along..."

"No! It's thanks to you, Jin."

Jin tried to downplay his role, but Roy interrupted him, expressing his gratitude.

"You know, if I hadn't seen you catching Scyther, I probably wouldn't have considered Fuecoco's feelings. I would have acted without thinking."

That might be true. Unlike Liko, Roy is the type to act on his emotions and instincts rather than carefully thinking things through. If he hadn't witnessed Jin's respect for Scyther's feelings, he might have made reckless decisions.

"Seeing you respect Scyther's feelings made me think about Fuecoco's feelings too. We became partners because of you, Jin! So, thank you so much!"

"Fue!"

Roy and Fuecoco expressed their heartfelt gratitude to Jin.

"Alright, then. I'll accept it."

Jin rubbed the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed. He hadn't expected his small act of kindness to be met with such appreciation.

"Alright, I'm going to tell Friede and the others about this!"

"Yeah, you should."

Even though Fuecoco was technically a wild Pokémon, he'd been living on the ship for quite some time. It made sense to get approval from the rest of the crew.

Roy and Fuecoco headed towards the deck. Jin was about to follow, but he suddenly stopped. He turned around to see Liko holding onto his shirt, preventing him from moving.

"...Wait a minute."

(Respecting others' feelings... I was so caught up in my own emotions that I couldn't even look at Jin until he told me to take my time... I haven't considered Jin's feelings at all.)

"Liko? Are you okay?"

Liko had her head down, so Jin couldn't read her expression, but the atmosphere she exuded made it clear that something was seriously wrong.

"...Yeah. I'm okay."

(Roy... he's amazing... He's only just met Jin, but he seems to understand him better than I do... But... that really bothers me.)

When Jin was talking to Roy, Liko initially didn't feel anything. Last night, Jin had told her she was his number one, and that gave her a sense of superiority.

But now, it was different. While Roy was expressing his gratitude to Jin, Liko's heart had been aching constantly.

Why did her chest hurt and her heart feel so heavy?

Jin's words from last night, the rapid heartbeat when she saw him earlier, and now her jealousy towards Roy—Liko wasn't so dense that she couldn't figure out her feelings.

Thinking back, her roommate Ann at Sekiyei Academy had pointed this out to her many times. She had been avoiding acknowledging her feelings out of confusion, embarrassment, and shyness, but now she couldn't deny it any longer.

(So, I... I like Jin...)

Breaking the long silence, Liko lifted her head. Her expression seemed clearer, as if a fog had lifted.

"Jin... I like you."

Their relationship was about to undergo a significant change.

// END