r18novel Chapter 469 The Puzzle Named N
Chapter 469 The Puzzle Named N
Chapter 471 The Puzzle Named N
A silence, a mixture of shame and embarrassment, filled the café, its intensity almost matching that of Cattleya's not-yet-fully-repressed superpowers.
The four kings' gazes moved in unison across the floor, the wine glasses, and each other's faces, like a group of accomplices caught red-handed at a crime scene.
"It seems—" Hugo's voice broke the silence, "I probably don't need to ask you all whether you also entertained" that maverick King of Team Plasma.
The detective looked around in the dim light and saw Lian Wu's tense jaw, Wan Long's fingers unconsciously fiddling with her hair, and Cattleya's constant glances at Cresselia. Finally, his gaze fell on the glass of Lingju, which was now only filled with ice.
"The underground fighting gym in Fanba City collapsed for unknown reasons last month. Afterwards, many people saw the wild Pokémon that had gathered there migrating to the mountains in western Unova. It also seems that someone applied for a small batch of medical supplies for them in the name of Elite Four member Lianwu," Hugo said casually, as if flipping through an internal report. "Did N persuade you to help him after winning the battle?"
The fighting king's Adam's apple bobbed, but he didn't make a sound.
Hugo's gaze shifted to the novelist—
"Outside the Carleton Arts Center, a group of editors who had been looking for you, Mr. Wanlong, said they heard ghostly noises. They thought it was the writer trying to drive them away, so they risked going against the current and ended up witnessing a terrifying scene of a hundred ghosts walking at night. Some of them were even hospitalized that day because they were so frightened."
Wanlong tucked half her face into her signature black scarf.
Finally, the detective looked at the Gambler King.
"As for the blueberries, use the cleaning fee next time." When reimbursing for the high-rise windows shattered by the aftershocks of the battle, perhaps you could come up with an even more inconspicuous excuse. The league's accountant has already come to me. You just made a fortune on the Royal United, is it really necessary to jeopardize your recently exonerated reputation for such a small amount of money?
Yueju chuckled twice: "The champion holds the second-highest level of oversight power within the league, after the chairman. When Mr. Aldak was in charge, it didn't seem like a big deal, but now that a detective has taken over, it's like he's been stripped bare from head to toe."
Don't misunderstand.
Hugo waved his hand. "I don't usually pay much attention to this kind of intelligence. It's just that Agent Luna's department is a bit paranoid about the whereabouts of that Plasma Group King, and they become extra vigilant at the slightest sign of trouble."
He gave a meaningful glance to Miss 'Silent Footsteps,' who had just figured out the situation.
"Actually, N's movements are quite interesting, like playing a meticulously designed game of hide-and-seek. Since he's trying to avoid the omnipresent shadow of his own Plasma Team," it means he'll inevitably leave indelible traces in the sunlight—that is, in the League's field of vision. After all, in this country, completely avoiding one side is almost equivalent to submitting a detailed report on the other's movements."
"I admit, I lost to him." Lian Wu finally found his voice. "It was a fair duel, I have nothing to say. That king didn't even deliberately choose a Pokémon with a type advantage. However, I don't think N's strength surpasses that of Master Alder before his retirement. I didn't expect that even Lantana and Cattleya couldn't stop him."
"Why isn't my name listed here?!" the novelist protested.
"If it weren't for a formal occasion, Wanlong seems like she'd easily lose the match," Lian Wu said, scratching his temple. "After all, didn't you always say that a match without an audience is like a novel without readers—it just doesn't get exciting?"
"That's just an excuse this guy uses to skip practice matches." Before Wanlong could respond, Yueju sneered, then shook her head. "But I lost in the end myself, so I have no right to say anything about others."
"If I had really lost by accident, I wouldn't be so frustrated afterwards," Wanlong said dejectedly. "Even Wu said that N's strength is not as good as Mr. Adek's, but I think that person's command ability is close to that of the former champion, at least he has left me behind."
Upon hearing this, Lian Wu was alright, but Yueju and Cattleya looked at each other with serious expressions.
"What's wrong?" Wanlong looked at the two of them, puzzled.
"In that battle, I used the arena to devise many off-court tactics. Based on past experience, even if Ardek himself were there, he would have been caught off guard and thrown into a panic," Yueju said with a serious expression. "But even though he fell for the trap, he wasn't let those incidents disrupt his rhythm at all. Instead, he seized the opportunity to turn the advantage back on his side multiple times. In my opinion, his on-the-spot reaction was definitely at Mr. Ardek's level."
"I don't usually compare my opponents." Cattleya narrowed her eyes, shifting her gaze from Cresselia to Hugo. "However, I sensed an aura similar to that of Bamboo Orchid from N."
"So, you believe that N's strength is not only enough to defeat the Heavenly King, but is even gradually increasing with each battle?"
Hugo paused for a rare moment, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table, as if calculating some kind of probability.
"If N challenges you, what do you plan to do?" Lian Wu asked the detective directly. "He has defeated four of our Heavenly Kings in a row and has the right to challenge the league champion directly."
"There are only two possible outcomes: either I win or I lose. Relatively speaking, the latter would actually leave me more bewildered," Hugo shrugged indifferently.
"The real problem isn't that. Just like in Wanlong's game, the final mystery wasn't who killed the king, but the motives and consequences of the king's series of unusual behaviors—it's more important to figure out why N made actions that seemed like a challenge to the champion than to figure out how to defeat him."
"Have you deduced his purpose?" Yueju asked.
"We're still in the observation phase," Hugo replied. "Before that battle with Mr. Alder, I had a conversation with N, who claimed that everything he did was to erase the existence of items like the Poké Ball from the world—but that motive doesn't explain all his current actions."
Why didn't N choose to challenge Ardek at that time?
Why choose to act independently at this crucial moment when the Plasma Group and the Alliance are about to go to war?
Why did they suddenly start challenging the Four Heavenly Kings at this particular time?
Why did his challenge have to be kept secret from the Seven Sages, including Quixote?
If that green-haired youth was only after gaining the power of the championship to better promote his own ideas, he had better opportunities before and still has the most suitable allies, but he completely abandoned them and chose to fight alone like a lone wolf.
"Alas—even a detective can't ultimately profile an 'ideal'."
He finally spoke, his tone tinged with genuine confusion—
"N's intentions remain shrouded in mystery. At present, he does not seem to be wavering between the Plasma Team and the Alliance, nor does he show any signs of being controlled by others. I once assumed that this series of challenges was some kind of trial for him to gain the recognition of the two legendary dragon gods—Zekhrom or Reshiram—but that may not necessarily be the case."
He looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the walls of the café, looking towards some unseen distance.
"According to the champion's agent, Douzi—that lady is N's good friend, and she heard that N, at the moment he was crowned King of Team Plasma, had already received the approval of Reshiram, the white dragon representing 'truth.'"
"If we have to find a reason for N's challenge for the championship," Hugo said, almost to himself, "his current actions are likely aimed at that black dragon god—Zekhrom, the one who wields ideals. Perhaps he believes that winning the league championship will pave the way for his ideals—but that still doesn't make sense."
He shook his head, his face showing an expression of hitting a roadblock in his reasoning.
"Now that I've become a champion myself and have experienced it firsthand, I understand even more clearly that the so-called champion title, while glorious, is ultimately just an official position within the league system. It's fine for a trainer chasing their dreams, but for someone like N, whose lifelong ideal is the rights and interests of Pokémon, how can this honorary title, which is more about honor than substance, possibly contribute to his grand, even somewhat ethereal, ideals?" The connection between these two things remains, to this day, a mystery even more difficult for me to unravel than Ms. Wanlong's script.
"
The café fell silent again, with only the faint hum of the air conditioner and the almost inaudible sigh of the ice cubes melting in the glass.
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