Pokémon: My Parallel World Daughters Revealed

The video continued playing.

Unova region, Undella Town—Cynthia’s temporary residence.

At that moment, a barbecue grill half a person’s height had been set up in the courtyard, its charcoal burning brightly.

More than a dozen beef skewers, three whole squid, seven or eight large shrimp, and several slices of pork belly sizzling with oil were arranged neatly across the metal grate.

Asher stood before the grill with his apron tied perfectly around his waist, brushing honey onto the shrimp.

The apron was bright pink.

Two lines of fluorescent-yellow text had been printed prominently across the front:

[Elesa’s Exclusive—Touch Him and Get Zapped]

Beneath the words was a chibi illustration of Elesa standing with both hands on her hips. A speech bubble above her head declared:

[Mine!]

Miori stared at Asher’s apron for a full ten seconds.

”Dad, are you wearing that because Mom has some kind of leverage over you?”

”What leverage?”

Asher handed her a freshly grilled meat skewer.

”Your mother said that as a married man, I need to demonstrate the proper awareness whenever I leave home.”

Miori accepted the skewer and began eating.

”...Exactly how little does Mom trust you?”

”It isn’t that she doesn’t trust me. She doesn’t trust other people,” Asher corrected her. ”Her exact words were, ’Of course I trust my husband. It’s the other women I don’t trust.’”

”Does she trust Aunt Cynthia?”

Before Asher could answer, Cynthia’s voice came from the direction of the living room.

”She trusts me.”

Miori turned around.

Cynthia emerged from the house carrying a plate of freshly sliced fruit, her expression perfectly composed.

”That’s because your father already knew me before he met Elesa.”

”Aunt Cynthia.”

Miori blinked.

”How did you and Dad meet?”

”During a joint operation organized by the Sinnoh League.”

Cynthia set the fruit platter down.

”I had only recently become Champion, while your father had come as a representative of the Unova League to attend an interregional academic symposium.”

Miori picked up a slice of watermelon.

”So you met because of academic research?”

”More or less. After the symposium ended, a joint investigation was arranged. A previously undiscovered ruin had been found deep within Mount Coronet, so the League asked Sinnoh and Unova to each send one person to investigate it.”

A faint smile appeared in Cynthia’s eyes as she recalled the past.

”That was the first time I had ever seen someone move through an ancient ruin faster than I could.”

”He only needed a single glance to understand the mechanisms and ancient writing. It was almost as though... he had personally witnessed the legends depicted there.”

Miori’s eyes instantly lit up.

She leaned half her body closer to Cynthia, her expression clearly declaring that she had detected the scent of gossip.

”Aunt Cynthia, you didn’t have a crush on Dad, did you?”

Cynthia lowered her head and continuously stirred her tea with a spoon.

”...Was it that obvious?”

”Aunt Cynthia, you really had a crush on Dad?!”

Miori planted both hands on the table, her eyes widening into circles.

”I always thought that someone as lazy to the bone as Dad could never attract anyone other than Mom!”

”Ahem.”

Asher coughed twice beside them, attempting to remind his daughter that he was still standing there.

”So, Aunt Cynthia...”

The fire of gossip burned furiously inside Miori.

”Did you never tell Dad how you felt?”

”I asked Diantha to sound him out on my behalf...”

Cynthia’s cheeks turned red as she twirled a strand of blonde hair around one finger.

”The response I received was, ’Cynthia, you’re a wonderful girl, but I already have someone I like.’”

”So Dad gave you the ’you’re a wonderful girl’ rejection?”

Miori slapped the table and sprang to her feet.

”No, wait! Aunt Cynthia, you’re beautiful and incredibly talented! What right did Dad have to reject you like that? It makes no sense!”

”I felt rather unwilling to accept it at the time as well.”

Cynthia took another sip of tea, her voice carrying only a faint trace of nostalgia.

”But I later learned that he genuinely was in frequent contact with a female Trainer in Unova, so I gave up.”

”That Trainer was Mom?”

”That’s right.”

Cynthia nodded.

”Your mother even wrote me a letter. It said, ’Miss Cynthia, I know you like Asher, but he belongs to me. Please conduct yourself accordingly.’”

”Mom actually did something like that?!”

Miori looked thoroughly delighted by the gossip.

”It was merely the impulsiveness of youth.”

A cheerful voice came from the courtyard entrance.

Miori abruptly turned around.

Elesa stood at the gate wearing a pale-yellow dress. She carried a paper bag filled with desserts and had an exceptionally brilliant smile on her face.

”Mom?!”

Miori sprang from her chair.

”Why are you here?!”

”Your father told me there would be a barbecue tonight and asked me to join you.”

Elesa placed the dessert bag on the folding table before turning toward Cynthia.

The two women exchanged a glance—

And simultaneously began laughing.

”I still have that letter,” Cynthia said.

”You actually kept it?”

Elesa sat beside Cynthia.

”When I wrote that letter, I wasn’t thinking at all. It was entirely driven by impulse.”

”That was obvious. The letter sounded extremely imposing, but the handwriting was crooked and uneven. Anyone could tell your hands had been trembling before you even finished writing it.”

Cynthia leaned back in her chair.

”You never needed to worry. My first reaction after receiving the letter wasn’t anger. I merely thought you were rather adorable.”

”Adorable?!”

Elesa covered her face.

”I spent two whole hours writing that letter! By the time I finished, even I thought I sounded like a villain!”

Miori listened to their entire conversation, her expression continuously shifting between shock and intense fascination.

She turned toward Asher and found him concentrating on flipping the squid skewers over the grill, his expression exceptionally calm.

”Daaad~”

Miori moved beside him and lowered her voice.

”When you were younger, did you know a lot of beautiful women?”

Asher remained perfectly composed.

”Mio, remember this saying—the sky is filled with countless stars, but I gaze only to one.”

”Your mother is the only star your father’s eyes have ever followed in this lifetime. No matter how brightly the rest of the universe shines, none of it could ever compare to the light that is your mother.”

[VIP Chat Group]

[Steven]: ”The sky is filled with countless stars, but I gaze only to one.”—listen to that! All of you, listen carefully! This is what it means to be a master of romance! Such moving, magnificent, soul-stirring words!

[Wallace]: It’s perfectly reasonable for the parallel-world Asher to say that, considering he genuinely married only one woman. But would the Asher in our world dare to say the same thing? He already has more than one.

[Valerie]: And he intends to continue collecting stars. Once this episode ends and Elesa joins them, there will be three.

[Roxie]: Three stars to start, with no upper limit.

[Asher]: I’m a practical man. If one star isn’t enough to gaze at, what’s wrong with taking a few more?

[Steven]: Hahahahahaha! Brother Asher truly is eloquent! He can make being unfaithful sound completely justified!

[Asher]: What do you mean, unfaithful? My feelings for every star are sincere. How could that be called unfaithfulness? It’s universal love.

[Misty]:@Asher, would you care to repeat that?

[Brock]: Incredible. That’s one skill I genuinely cannot learn.

[Daisy]: My brother-in-law will probably be kneeling on a washboard tonight. (Snicker.)

[Diantha]: Returning to the important matter—the parallel-world Cynthia actually became the losing heroine. Hahaha! I’m recording this entire scene.

[Cynthia]: ...

[Skyla]: Cynthia may be the losing heroine in the parallel world, but at least the real one is honest about her feelings. Unlike Elesa, who’s still stubbornly denying everything.

[Elesa]: Skyla!

...

TL: I tried my best, but I’m not really a poetic person. I just took inspiration from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince to rephrase the saying. Let me know if it’s too bad—If it is, I won’t rephrase them in the future lol.

Also thanks, 9h4t0m, for the Tier 3 membership! Muah!