Although Rosaria had many questions swirling in her mind, she decided to place her trust in Arthur's unwavering confidence.
After receiving Arthur's assurance that Rosaria could reveal the truth about what transpired during her visit to Rastor Village, they put the matter behind them, shifting their focus to something of greater importance.
Arthur's research funds.
"I'm sure you're aware of just how expensive magic research can be," Arthur began, speaking calmly. "You've seen my summoning circles for Pokémon, the Poké Balls, and the Pokedex. Before I could even finish a prototype for each of them, I had burned through all of my savings, and Lena's as well. That's why I hope you'll consider becoming my patron." He paused, waiting for Rosaria's response, who seemed lost in deep thought.
After a moment, Rosaria smiled and nodded. "I had already planned to fund your research the moment you gave me Ponyta. However, while the royal family has ample reserves of gold, they are not infinite. I'll need to know how much you require first." Although she spoke practically, her mind was already calculating the costs. It shouldn't be too much, she thought. For someone to have accomplished such groundbreaking research on a farmer's budget, the cost of his work would likely be a mere trifle for someone of her status.
She didn't mean to belittle farmers, of course—she was simply stating a fact. How much could a farmer earn compared to the wealth of the royal family?
Arthur pulled a long sheet of paper from his waist bag, which, by now, they had noticed was a homemade storage space, and began reading aloud.
The paper was covered in dense writing, listing his needs in meticulous detail.
"I'll need an unlimited supply of Memora Potions, a large quantity of mana replenishment potions, living samples of monsters, various insect cocoons, spellbooks covering all the basic magics and spells, base materials for magic circles, materials for golem creation, supplies for artificial space storage, a vast amount of refined ores—preferably copper and iron, as well as a significant quantity of Harmonite, Remnora or Nostalith, Archivite, and Echostone..."
"Those are the primary research materials I'm in desperate need of. As for the secondary materials..." Arthur continued, his voice steady but relentless, detailing every necessary component. The list seemed endless.
As he recited it, Rosaria, Wentia, and Lena felt their attention start to slip, their focus fraying as the list stretched on. It was as though Arthur's words had a lulling, hypnotic quality—one that made their eyelids grow heavy, and their thoughts foggy.
Even the three Pokémon were affected, their attention waning, much like how Jigglypuff's Sing could lull others to sleep—though they had yet to encounter a Jigglypuff themselves.
Only Reden, a Court Mage and a research fanatic, listened intently to the list, her eyes sparkling behind her round glasses. She nodded periodically, as if she were piecing together how Arthur had managed to create the inventions he'd shown them.
Arthur wasn't overly concerned about Reden's fascination, as he knew he might eventually need the Royal Family to mass-produce his Poké Items. However, even if they did, they would only be able to replicate the items without understanding the underlying mechanics. The secrets were locked behind runes written in a hybrid of English and Japanese, secured by six separate, randomly generated passwords. These passwords were unique to each item, functioning like a registry number after the magic circles were successfully engraved, ensuring that every item was one-of-a-kind.
With such a secure, random system in place, he doubted anyone could crack it. Not even he could easily break it if he tried.
Rosaria rubbed her temples, as though trying to stave off a headache, while Arthur's voice droned on, listing endless materials like a customer ordering the entire menu at a restaurant one by one.
Finally, she shook her head slightly, raising a hand to stop him.
Her face contorted with a hint of emotional exhaustion, and she asked, "Can you just give that list to Reden? I'll have her calculate and prepare everything for you."
Arthur simply nodded. "Sure."
He handed the long sheet of paper to Reden, whose eyes lit up as she scanned the list with remarkable speed, absorbing every item without missing a single one.
Rosaria, Wentia, Lena, and the three Pokémon exchanged glances, their expressions twitching with a collective thought: Why didn't you just give the list to her instead of reading it out loud?
Arthur, blissfully unaware of the silent reproach directed at him, stretched and took a sip of his now-cold tea, settling back in his seat while he waited for Reden to finish processing the list.
Minutes passed, and Reden worked quickly, converting the list into a monetary value. She leaned toward Rosaria, whispering her findings.
The amount was staggering. Rosaria's body shuddered slightly, as if the very number had jolted her, but she remained composed. Taking a deep breath, she locked eyes with Arthur, her gaze filled with a mixture of curiosity and disbelief.
She had no idea how he had managed to fund such ambitious research with nothing but his family's meager farmer's savings.
After a moment of contemplation, Rosaria sighed and declared, "I'll have Reden arrange everything you need. Additionally, I'm willing to fund your research with a thousand platinum coins!"
The amount made Wentia's eyes widen in shock, while Reden showed no surprise.
Arthur, too, widened his eyes. He had expected his material requests to be fulfilled and perhaps an additional ten platinum coins, but a thousand? That was far beyond what he had imagined!
In this world, the common currency system was as follows: a hundred bronze coins equaled a single silver coin, a hundred silver coins equaled a gold coin, and a thousand gold coins equaled one platinum coin.
A thousand platinum coins, therefore, represented an enormous sum.
Lena, on the other hand, had no real concept of such an amount. She could manage basic math, but anything beyond a hundred gold coins was completely out of her league—and something she never dared to consider.
"Are you sure?" Arthur asked, his voice taking on a dreamy quality, wondering if he had misheard.
"Yes, I'm sure," Rosaria replied with a smile. Initially, she had planned to give Arthur ten platinum coins in addition to the materials, but her plans changed when Reden—who was far more knowledgeable about magic research—expressed great optimism about Arthur's potential. It was Reden's persuasive argument, practically pleading with her, that convinced Rosaria to increase the funding.
However, she wasn't about to offer such a generous amount without expecting something in return.
Resting her elbows on the table, Rosaria crossed her arms and propped her chin on her hands as she asked, "What benefits will I get in return for being your patron?"
Without missing a beat, Arthur answered with a confident smile, "I'm willing to provide you with more Pokémon Eggs. After any of your Pokémon reach a 'special state'—that is, after the results of my theory is confirmed—you can send a hundred trusted aides to Rastor Village each month to receive one egg per person. As for the assessment, I trust that you and Miss Wentia will be able to select the perfect Trainers for these lovable Pokémon."
The 'special state' he referred to was a Pokémon's evolution.
"Huh?" Reden's voice was full of puzzlement as she pointed at herself, "What about me?"
Arthur glanced at her with a deadpan expression, then shook his head, not bothering to respond.
Seeing his lack of response, Reden felt as though her entire body had turned to stone, cracks spreading across her form as her heart sank.
I shouldn't have accidentally said 'dissect'! she thought, her internal despair almost perceivable
If Arthur knew what she was thinking, he would have scoffed. What do you mean 'accidentally'? That was no accident!
Rosaria chuckled and nodded. "Alright. I'll personally oversee it with Wentia. I'll also bring the candidates here so you can assess them yourself."
But Arthur shook his head. "There's no need. I trust your and Miss Wentia's judgment," he said, purposefully ignoring Reden, who stood beside Wentia, pointing at herself with teary eyes.
He had a reason for that. If he took on the responsibility of assessing candidates himself, what would happen if he rejected someone due to personal bias? After all, some people might be loving and gentle with Pokémon but still treat someone like him—a commoner—with disdain. And since the candidates were likely to be nobles, there was a high chance that kind of treatment would surface.
Denying someone a Pokémon could easily spark resentment. That resentment might turn into hostility, and eventually, become an obstacle to his dream.
He trusted Rosaria and Wentia to find people worthy of raising Pokémon. Whether or not those people liked him was irrelevant. As long as they treated Pokémon well, that was all that mattered to him.
That's why it was better to leave the entire assessment process in their hands. His role was simply to provide the eggs.
Even in the Pokémon world, there were countless evil organizations—Team Rocket, for example—but not all of their members treated their Pokémon poorly.
Rosaria fell into a brief silence, her gaze drifting toward Ponyta, then to Beedrill, Butterfree, and finally the Pokémon Egg in her possession. She turned back to Arthur and said, "While Pokémon certainly show great potential, I don't believe your offer alone is enough to match the research materials you're requesting..."
Arthur nodded. He'd expected as much. If Ocasia were a world without magic, Rosaria would have likely accepted his offer without hesitation. But this was a world steeped in magic.
They had seen Ponyta and Butterfree in battle. While impressed, each of them—including Rosaria—could have defeated both Pokémon with relative ease using their own power.
In their eyes, Pokémon were intriguing, full of potential—but if that potential didn't reach a high enough ceiling, it could turn into a wasteful investment.
Arthur understood that, but he stood firm, "I still think it's a fair deal for you.
"How about this? If, after the Pokémon hatched from the eggs reach their first evolution, and you still aren't satisfied with their potential, I'll work overtime to summon even more Pokémon Eggs. In that case, you can send two hundred of your trusted aides each month to receive one egg each."
Rosaria raised an eyebrow, a little surprised by the offer. She hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly. "It's a deal."
She had expected Arthur to add the manufacturing methods for Poké Balls or the Pokédex to the deal—but instead, he offered to provide an additional hundred Pokémon each month. It was a generous offer, an undeniably good deal… yet a small part of her still felt regretful that she hadn't managed to secure those groundbreaking inventions.
Still, Rosaria knew when to step back. The deal was already more than satisfactory—there was no reason to press further.
As for Arthur, he didn't mind the idea of sharing how to craft his inventions. In fact, he'd love to pass that burden on and free himself from the crushing workload. But that would only happen after he properly secured the process using his system of six randomly generated passwords, encoded in magic runes written in English and Japanese. With that safeguard in place, others could mass-produce the items—but without any understanding of the deeper workings of the magic circles or the core mechanics hidden within the code.
After a bit more discussion, the day slipped into evening.
Arthur felt as if he'd spent several days inside the princess's tent.
Before leaving the tent, he approached Ponyta and gently patted her head. "Take good care of Rosaria, alright? And thank you for being by our side."
"Beedrill..."
"Butterfree~!"
Beedrill and Butterfree cried out in response—though Beedrill's usual nonchalant demeanor seemed a bit dimmed, its spirit slightly down.
"Po~!" Ponyta nuzzled her head into Arthur's chest before tackling both Beedrill and Butterfree with a flurry of affectionate headbutts.
"Beedrill!" Annoyed and rapidly losing patience, Beedrill buzzed away, narrowly dodging another wave of 'Charm' attacks. Butterfree, meanwhile, stayed behind, exchanging a few soft parting words with Ponyta.
Arthur smiled as he watched Lena join in, offering her own farewells to Ponyta with a gentle, heartfelt touch.
Just then, Reden approached, pushing up her round glasses with an air of confidence. She wore a bright, knowing smile.
"These Pokémon… they're creatures summoned from another world, aren't they?"
"Huh?" Arthur blinked, surprised—but only slightly. After all, Pokémon had never existed in this world, so it was only logical someone would reach that conclusion.
Reden puffed out her chest with pride, her tone brimming with admiration. "You're a genius! Who would've thought you could use Harmonite to bridge two worlds!"
"...Huh?" Now Arthur was truly lost.
Seeing the stupefied look on Arthur's face, Reden assumed she'd hit the mark. Her lips curled into a proud smirk as she continued confidently:
"I noticed you use two magic circles to connect two separate locations to summon a Pokémon Egg. I couldn't decipher the specific runes you used, but I could grasp the fundamental structure!
"You've figured out the space-time coordinates of another world—the world where Pokémon exist—and etched those coordinates into the first magic circle, forming a tunnel that connects to it!
"Then, you use the second magic circle to anchor the tunnel here, in Ocasia, providing a stable destination on this end.
"But magic circles alone wouldn't be enough to create a safe space-time tunnel, right? The laws of that world and ours must be drastically different! So, you use Harmonite as a catalyst—a bridge—to stabilize the connection between the two worlds!"
She grew more animated with every word, her voice rising with excitement like she'd just uncovered a long-lost truth buried in ancient era. "That's how you're bringing Pokémon into our world!"
Arthur stared at her blankly, utterly speechless.
Her eyes sparkled as she puffed out her cheeks and added gleefully, "As long as I manage to crack your hea—magic circles, I'll be able to find the coordinates of another world!"
Did she just say 'crack your head'? Arthur's lips twitched, and he immediately second-guessed his decision to leave a Pokémon Egg in her care.
But still... what a beautiful misunderstanding, he thought, stifling a laugh.
With a wry smile, he gave her a thumbs up. "You are a genius, Miss Reden!"
"Hehe~ I know I am!" she beamed, striking a triumphant victory pose.