Vita Magicis (HP SI-WC) (Patreon)

Chapter 58: A Productive Day, A Growing Problem

I followed the shady-looking manager calmly, the two goons positioning themselves behind me, no doubt to make sure I didn’t try to run. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.

‘As if they could stop me,’ I scoffed internally.

It didn’t take long before we reached a small office in the back. One of the goons almost shoved me inside, only stopping when I shot him a cold glare that made him flinch and step back.

“So,” I said flatly as I walked in and dropped into the nearest chair, propping my feet up on the desk, “what do you want?”

The manager’s face twisted into a scowl at the sight.

Unbeknownst to any of them, I’d already sabotaged every camera we’d passed on the way here, bleeding just enough magic into them to make each one quietly malfunction. Whatever happened next, the authorities wouldn’t have a thing on me, even if the higher-ups in Team Rocket might be able to guess who was responsible.

“I’m the one in charge here, brat,” the man snapped as he took his seat behind the desk. “Now get your feet off my desk.”

“Sure,” I replied without moving them. “Now hurry it up. If I miss my chance to get my hands on that Dratini, I’m going to be very annoyed.”

His eye twitched.

Then, slowly, a nasty smirk crept across his face as he leaned forward, folding his arms atop the desk like some discount crime lord.

“I’m afraid you won’t be getting a Dratini today,” he said, chuckling to himself like he was playing the role of a villain in a bad movie. “In fact, you won’t be leaving this building with anything but the clothes on your back, if you know what’s good for you.”

Right on cue, the two goons behind me found their courage again, apparently forgetting the look they’d been wearing seconds earlier. They cracked their knuckles and stepped forward, grinning darkly.

I sighed.

Slowly, I lowered my feet from the desk and stood up, rolling my neck once.

“I’m not leaving without my Dratini,” I muttered blandly.

Then I moved.

In one smooth motion, I spun on my heel and lashed out, my foot snapping upward and connecting solidly with the first goon’s chin. Before the second could even process what was happening, my momentum carried through and I struck him just as hard.

Both men collapsed to the floor in the span of a heartbeat, unconscious before they even hit the ground.

I straightened, letting my foot settle back onto the floor, and turned to face the manager.

He was pale. Sweating. His smugness evaporated completely.

I raised an eyebrow.

“D-Do you even know what you’ve done!?” he barked, the anger in his voice forced and brittle as he rolled his chair backward. “This entire building is under constant surveillance! One call from me and your life is over! The police will hunt you down until—”

He swallowed.

“—until they catch you. Now sit down and do as you’re told!”

I just stared at him.

Then, slowly, I smiled.

“Hahahaha, then it’ll please you to know that every camera in this building stopped working a while ago.”

I couldn’t help the laughter. It bubbled out of me, loud and genuine, and it was so satisfying to watch the color drain from the man’s face as he frantically checked his monitor.

Nothing.

“All I have to do now is delete today’s footage,” I continued casually, taking a slow step forward. “And then I’m clean.”

The manager swallowed hard.

“The only real question,” I added, tilting my head, “is what I should do with you.”

Panic finally won.

“N-Now wait!” he blurted, hands flying up defensively as he nearly toppled out of his chair. “Let’s not be hasty! You wanted a Dratini, right? You can have it! In fact, take all the prizes! Everything we’ve got!”

“All the prizes, huh?” I murmured, pretending to think.

The silence stretched.

The man looked like he was seconds away from wetting himself.

To really sell it, I conjured a small fireball in my palm, lazily tossing it from hand to hand like it was nothing more than a toy. The heat in the room rose instantly.

“You have five minutes,” I said flatly, the fire flaring brighter. “If you take any longer, I burn you to a crisp.”

“O-Of course!” he squeaked, scrambling to his feet and nearly tripping over the chair as he bolted for the door.

Once he was gone, I let the fireball fizzle out and moved to the computer. A few quick keystrokes later, every scrap of footage from today was gone, permanently.

I glanced down at the unconscious goons. “Better take care of you two as well,” I muttered.

It didn’t take long to tie them up securely.

Right on cue, the manager returned, a heavy bag slung over his shoulder. He shoved it into my hands like it was cursed.

“H-Here! Everything, just like I promised!”

I checked the contents and couldn’t help grinning.

TMs.

Rare items.

Stacks of Poké Balls.

And best of all—

The Dratini.

“Good,” I said, making the bag vanish into my inventory.

The manager’s eyes widened in horror, at seeing it vanish into thin air.

“N-Now what?” he whimpered, backing away slowly.

“Now?” I smiled. “Now you forget this day ever happened.”

My eyes glowed softly as I activated my Mind Magic. His resistance folded instantly, memories unraveling and dissolving before I gently knocked him unconscious.

I did the same to the two goons for good measure.

With that done, I strolled out of the office, practically humming to myself.

But instead of heading for the exit, I turned down a side hallway, toward a door I’d noticed earlier. Hidden. Reinforced. Guarded far more heavily than it had any right to be.

Beyond it lay an underground facility, packed with Team Rocket grunts and scientists busily going about their work.

I smiled.

Time to take this place down.

=====

Deep beneath the Celadon Game Corner, alarms began to fail.

Not blaring.

Not warning.

Failing.

A low hum rippled through the underground facility as several monitors flickered, their displays glitching before stabilizing… briefly.

“That’s odd,” one scientist muttered, tapping at his keyboard. “Did we schedule maintenance for the power grid today?”

“No,” another replied absently, eyes narrowing at his own console. “But my diagnostics just—wait, that can’t be right.”

One screen abruptly went black.

Then another.

Then three more followed suit, sparks snapping from a terminal as smoke curled into the air.

“What’s going on!?” a junior technician shouted, panic creeping into his voice. “Security cameras just went offline—no, not offline, they’re gone. There’s no data feed at all!”

“That’s impossible,” a senior scientist snapped. “Those systems are isolated from the main network!”

A sharp crack echoed as an energy containment field destabilized and collapsed, releasing a gust of hot air that sent papers flying.

“Sir!” someone yelled. “Lab Three just lost containment!”

“And Lab Five just lost power!” another voice added. “Emergency backups aren’t responding!”

Keyboards clattered furiously. Screens filled with error messages that made no sense, cascading failures without a clear origin point.

“This isn’t a malfunction,” one scientist whispered, dread settling into his gut. “This is targeted.”

As if to punctuate his words, the facility lights flickered… then dimmed.

Red emergency lights snapped on, bathing the room in crimson.

“Security! Lock down the facility!” a supervisor barked into a comm device. “I want every grunt—”

The line crackled.

Then went dead.

Silence fell, thick and suffocating.

From somewhere deep in the facility, a dull thump echoed, followed by another. Heavy. Deliberate. Getting closer.

A scientist swallowed hard. “That’s… that’s not one of ours, is it?”

Another terminal sparked violently and died, plunging half the room into darkness.

“No,” someone whispered. “If this were an intruder, alarms would be—”

The lights went out completely.

In the pitch black, a calm voice echoed down the corridor.

“Found it.”

Several scientists screamed.

=====

A Few Hours Later

Several hours later, I walked out of the Game Corner with my pockets — well, inventory, to be more accurate — literally overflowing after having robbed the place blind. I felt significantly better knowing I’d just recovered all the money I’d lost earlier thanks to the girls’ shopping spree.

It helped even more that I’d taken down the Team Rocket hideout beneath the building and gotten my hands on a Silph Scope, an item that allowed ordinary people to identify ghosts. Not that anyone in our party really needed it, given our abilities, but still. Nice to have.

To wrap up my good deed for the day, I’d left an anonymous tip with the police. Any minute now, they’d be raiding the place and finding a whole bunch of Team Rocket grunts tied up and unconscious, along with enough evidence to bury the place six feet under.

As a precaution, I’d disguised myself as a middle-aged man with painfully average features. Nobody was going to connect that guy to what had happened.

All in all, I was in a great mood.

Since it was rare that I got some time to myself, I decided to finally check out the Pokémon I’d received today, aside from the Dratini, of course.

“Whew… that’s a haul,” I whistled, genuinely impressed as I looked over the contents of the Poké Balls.

First up was an Eevee.

Then a Porygon.

A Mr. Mime.

And finally…

“A Larvitar!?” I stared for a second before breaking into a wide grin. I vaguely remembered it being available in Pokémon Crystal, and I couldn’t help myself.

“Whoo! Two pseudo-legendaries in one day!” I pumped a fist into the air. “I’m on a roll, baby~”

A few people nearby stared at me. I ignored them.

“Now all I’ve gotta do is train them up if I want to beat a Gym Leader before the end of our trip,” I said with a grin.

Using my HUD, I made my way to the local park, the usual spot where trainers gathered to battle.

Once I arrived, I didn’t waste a second. I immediately locked onto the first trainer who caught my eye and pointed a Poké Ball at him.

“Hey you! We made eye contact,” I declared confidently. “That means you have to battle me now!”

“…What the hell are you talking about?” the teen asked, blinking as he pointed at himself. “You mean me?”

“Obviously,” I replied without hesitation. “Now let’s battle. Or are you too much of a coward to face me?”

As any hot blooded teen, that did the trick.

The teen’s confusion evaporated, replaced instantly by indignation and competitive fire.

“Who are you calling a coward, you dumbass!? Let’s do this!”

“That’s the spirit~” I grinned, tossing my Poké Ball into the arena.

“Go, Charmander!”

My opponent answered immediately, sending out a Pidgeotto.

I felt a familiar thrill settle into my chest.

‘Now this,’ I thought with a grin, ‘is how battles are done.’

=====

That Evening

Finally heading back toward the Poké Center after several hours of nonstop battling, I decided to call it a day. My Pokémon needed healing, and I needed food, badly.

Between everything that had happened, I’d completely skipped lunch, and my stomach was making its displeasure very clear.

I felt like celebrating a bit tonight. After all, Charmander had finally evolved into a Charmeleon. The little rascal had tried to get an attitude afterward, but a brief flex of my presence quickly reminded him who was stronger. He settled down after that, thankfully.

“Onii-chan! Over here!”

I stopped mid-step and let out a small sigh, already knowing my brief moment of peace was over. Slowly, I turned toward the familiar voice.

All the girls were approaching the Poké Center together… but that wasn’t what caught my attention.

It was the mountain of bags behind them.

They’d either bought or rented an actual cart, stacked so high with shopping bags it towered over their heads. Somehow, it remained perfectly balanced despite the absurd weight, almost certainly thanks to magic.

I waited silently as they approached, my expression going flat as they finally stopped in front of me.

I stared.

They stared back.

“…What?” Astoria asked innocently.

“What,” I repeated slowly, gesturing at the towering pile of merchandise, “happened?”

Hermione adjusted her grip on one of the bags. “We were very responsible.”

“I bought snacks!” Illya chirped. “And clothes! And cute things! And less cute but still useful things!”

Ginny nodded enthusiastically. “There was a sale.”

“There is always a sale,” I replied flatly.

Daphne, bless her, at least looked a little sheepish. “We… might have gotten carried away.”

“Might?” I echoed.

Rin smirked. “You said you were staying out of it.”

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I did. I very specifically did.”

Astoria rose onto her toes and kissed my cheek. “And we appreciated your generosity~”

That… helped.

A little.

I sighed and looked them over again. “Please tell me you didn’t buy anything cursed, illegal, or likely to explode. And at least tell me you didn’t get into trouble with the police.”

Illya raised her hand halfway.

“—Illya.”

She slowly lowered it, that teasing grin telling me everything I needed to know.

Rose tilted her head. “So where did you disappear to? You look suspiciously pleased with yourself.”

“Oh, you know,” I said casually. “Gambling. Winning. Light criminal activity. The usual.”

Hermione stopped walking.

“…What?”

“Long story,” I waved it off. “I got Pokémon.”

That instantly derailed any further questions.

Ginny’s eyes lit up. “New Pokémon?”

“Plural.”

That sealed it.

The girls immediately erupted into overlapping questions as we started walking again, bags rustling, voices colliding, excitement spilling everywhere.

As I let myself get dragged along in the middle of it all, I sighed one last time.

I definitely need more guy friends.

=====

With Giovanni

Setting the report down on his desk after reading through it, Giovanni let out a slow sigh, one edged with genuine frustration.

After receiving that anonymous letter along with the bodies of several of his grunts, he hadn’t expected the warning to be quite so… literal.

It seemed he had severely underestimated this unknown individual.

Team Rocket had just lost nearly fifty million in assets after every valuable resource was stripped from the Celadon Game Corner. Even more troubling was the fact that there was no record of who had done it. The security feed for the entire day had been completely erased, and with the building now closed and under police investigation, there was no one left to interrogate.

Clean. Thorough. Professional.

Whoever was responsible clearly excelled not only at infiltration, but at hacking as well, erasing themselves so completely that even Rocket’s internal systems had nothing to work with.

As an extra cherry on top, every single prize had been taken.

Giovanni pinched the bridge of his nose.

Now, in addition to that annoying boy who kept stumbling into Rocket operations and ruining them through sheer persistence, he had to contend with someone far worse, a genuine professional who knew exactly what they were doing.

And based on the damage alone…

This individual was a far greater threat than that Red kid had ever been.

“It’s just one thing after another,” Giovanni muttered, leaning back in his chair. “I need a vacation.”

He stared up at the ceiling for a long moment, wishing — just briefly — for the simpler days. Back when he’d been building his empire instead of constantly defending it from meddlesome outsiders intent on tearing it down.