[Ding! Hidden Romance Mission: Additional Gym Battle with Misty!]
[Victory Reward: 1× Basic Rare Candy]
[Defeat Reward: Everstone – Prevents evolution but allows learning of high-level moves;
Mystic Water – Boosts Water-type move power by 20%]
Whoa!
Kazuki couldn't help but exclaim internally as he read the mission prompt.
This was the first time he'd ever seen a reward given even if he lost a battle!
And the disparity between the victory and defeat rewards was huge!
A single Basic Rare Candy versus both an Everstone and a Mystic Water?
You're practically telling me to lose!
Oh?
Looking closer, Kazuki suddenly understood the system's real intent.
This wasn't a real battle challenge—it was a Romance Mission.
The true goal was to "protect waifu pride": to let Misty shine in front of her sisters and deepen her bond with Kazuki!
It seemed the Perfect Script System had noticed how long his side-quest with Misty had stalled and decided to give it a little nudge.
Nice—gotta respect the system for having his back!
Though to be fair, Kazuki thought to himself, we're just one kiss and a good lay away from being a real couple. Sucking boobs didn't even count as "special" in his book anymore!
Still, letting Misty have a triumphant moment in front of her sisters wasn't the only way to build affection.
He could just whip it out and smack all three of those fine asses into submission. Once they knew who the true alpha was, the family dynamic would be smooth as butter.
…
"Aah! Sis, I didn't come back because I missed home—it's because of him!" Misty, mid-argument with her sisters, finally brought up Kazuki.
The three sisters all turned toward him in unison, scrutinizing him for a good three seconds.
It was Violet who broke the silence first. "Misty, you might be the ugly duckling, but it looks like you've snagged yourself a prince charming. He is pretty good-looking."
"Have you tested the other aspects? How's he perform?"
"W-what?" Misty froze, utterly caught off guard by her second sister's blunt questioning.
Daisy, the eldest, gracefully stepped up with her soft, fair feet, approaching Kazuki and speaking formally. "Hello. I'm Daisy, the eldest of the family and the current head of the household."
"If you want to marry Misty, you'll have to—"
"AAAAH!! No no no no!" Misty screamed and rushed over to her sister. "B-big sis! That's not it at all! We're not at that point yet!"
"H-he and I—we—we—!" Misty's face was bright red, her breathing quick, unable to form a coherent sentence.
"I'm Kazuki, a Trainer from Pallet Town. I came for a Gym Challenge. As for Misty…" Kazuki glanced at her—blushing like a tomato, her chest badge bouncing with every frantic heartbeat, her round eyes locked on him in panic, silently begging him not to say anything weird to Daisy.
"She's right. We're not that far along yet."
"That's a shame," said Lily, draping an arm over Misty's shoulders. "You'd better hurry, Misty. You don't have your sisters' beauty—landing a husband won't be easy. When opportunity knocks, you gotta answer!"
"I—I'm going to become a Water-type Pokémon Master! I'm not thinking about that yet…!" Misty glanced at Kazuki, huffing and puffing, then turned away with a tsundere flair.
Daisy looked between her sister and Kazuki, then spoke calmly. "Since you're here to challenge the Gym, that's fine. But… would you mind doing it tomorrow instead?"
"My second sister's Shellder lost to a Pallet Town Trainer recently and is still recovering at the Pokémon Center."
"And my Pokémon just finished performing today—it needs time to recover as well. Can we schedule the battle for tomorrow?"
Normally, Gym Leaders are supposed to be ready for challenges at any time. If their Pokémon are unavailable, they're supposed to forfeit the badge automatically.
But Daisy had taken a liking to Kazuki at first glance and wanted more time to observe and evaluate him.
Since all three sisters were Misty's relatives—and promising leads for future development—Kazuki had no problem delaying the match.
"Sure. I just got to Cerulean today anyway. My Pokémon could use a little rest too. Let's schedule the challenge for tomorrow."
Kazuki's thoughtful reply earned him another bump in Daisy's affection level.
"Alright, then it's settled—come by tomorrow for your battle!"
"Oh, and one more thing. Misty just got home—can we borrow her for the night? Let her spend time with her family?"
The moment Daisy asked for Kazuki's opinion about Misty's whereabouts, Misty was stunned. She immediately rushed over and dragged Daisy away.
"Daisy! I can sleep wherever I want! Why are you asking him?!"
"Ah—Kazuki! I'll stay with my sisters tonight! You go back to the Pokémon Center!"
"Make sure you're on time tomorrow!"
And with that, Misty tugged her three sisters away as fast as she could, terrified they'd say even more outrageous things.
"Misty! Be a lady around Kazuki, will you?!"
"He might be the pillar holding up all four of us someday!"
"Huh?!" Misty froze in shock. "Why would Kazuki be the one holding all four of us up?! I can hold everyone up myself!"
"Pfft. And how would you do that?"
"I just can! Trust me, sis!"
Kazuki watched the four sisters' retreating figures for a moment… then quietly turned around and headed back to the Pokémon Center for some rest.
----
400 Power Stones? Check! Can we make it to 500? Let's find out!
Join my Patreon for early access to 40+ chapters and to support my work: Patreon.com/rivyura