Not Being a Trainer This Time-Chapter 575 - 322: Second Contact_3

The door opens, and a grandmother with a head full of white hair stands outside, her expression complex.

Upon seeing the visitor, Naoki is quite surprised: "Yukiko Grandma?"

Yukiko nods and straightforwardly asks: "You broke into Oni’s Maw yesterday and saw a ghost there, didn’t you?"

Naoki pauses for a moment: "How did you know?"

Yukiko: "The entire town is talking about it! You all have such daring courage to go to that place!"

Naoki: "..." The countryside is annoying in this way; nothing stays hidden.

Naoki initially thought Yukiko, like the town mayor, had come to persuade him not to visit Oni’s Maw again, but her next words caught him by surprise.

Yukiko looked complicated as she asked: "Did you see the ghost with your own eyes? How was it?"

Naoki sensed something was off: "I saw it, but it doesn’t quite match the ghost described in the legend..."

"Ah, just as expected." Yukiko lets out a sigh and then says: "Come with me! My husband wants to tell you something."

Naoki is dumbfounded for a moment, but quickly reacts and decisively follows her.

He follows Yukiko, taking Koraidon and the others with him, leaving the community center and arriving at a house on the outskirts of the town.

Under the eaves, a hunched old man with a face full of wrinkles and a middle part hairstyle awaits.

"Let’s talk inside the house!" the old man says.

Naoki nods and then enters the living room, taking Koraidon and the others with him.

They sit on the couch, and the old man looks at him and Koraidon and the others for a while before speaking: "You saw the ghost at Oni’s Maw, didn’t you?"

Naoki is somewhat puzzled: "If that green-masked Pokémon is a ghost."

"I knew it!" Upon hearing this, the old man understands: "It’s hard to believe that the ghost willingly appeared in front of you; it seems that the time is right!"

Naoki: "..."

In his heart, he thought it didn’t actually appear willingly; if Koraidon hadn’t alertly discovered it, he probably wouldn’t have known anything!

"Have you heard the legend of the ghost circulating in the town?" the old man asks.

Naoki nods: "I’ve heard of it."

"What do you think of the ghost legend?" the old man asks again.

Naoki pauses, thinking about how he sees it...

"I suspect the masked Pokémon I encountered isn’t the ghost."

Or perhaps the ghost has two personalities, one timid and fearful, the other fierce and aggressive, decisive and ruthless.

Like Long Kui in Chinese Paladin.

However, the old man shakes his head: "No, it is the ghost, and that event did indeed happen; it’s just that what is recorded diverges from the true history, which is the opposite!"

"The opposite...? What do you mean?"

"Since you’ve encountered the ghost... no, you should respectfully call it Ogerpon, I’ll tell you all about it! Let me recount the true history passed down through our family for generations!" the old man says solemnly, beginning slowly.

"This story was also told to me by my father, a true story that you absolutely must not tell anyone else in the village! If it wasn’t willing to reveal itself to you, I...forget it, you absolutely cannot spread this!"

Seeing the old man’s stern face, Naoki nods in agreement: "I promise."

Cyclizar, Pawmot, and the others nod repeatedly as well.

Sunshine streams in through the window slits, leaving mottled shadows on the floor in the living room.

Dust floats slowly in the beams of light, the old man’s voice heavy and ancient, as if an old scroll slowly unfolding before Naoki.

"Long, long ago, a man from a distant land and a ghost arrived at Kitakami due to losing their way."

"The people in the village feared their foreign appearances and thus didn’t allow the man and ghost to approach the village."

"The man and ghost felt saddened by the villagers’ lack of welcome, but as long as they were together, they were happy."

"Thus they left the village, living modestly in a cave in the back mountain."

"Only the mask artisan in the village felt sorry for them and created several masks for the man and ghost."

"The masks were decorated with gems the man and ghost brought from abroad, radiant and incredibly beautiful."

"Wearing the masks allowed them to hide their faces and interact amicably with the villagers; the man and the ghost were very happy and grateful to the mask artisan’s kindness."

"From then on, the man and ghost would wear masks and secretly attend village celebrations."

"However, those exquisitely crafted masks soon gained high popularity, and word spread to distant countries."

"Perhaps hearing of these rare radiant masks, some greedy Pokémon came to Kitakami..."

"They stealthily sneaked into the man and ghost’s dwelling, attempting to take the carefully guarded masks; the man happened to be there, barely managing to keep one mask."

"But he was outnumbered and couldn’t protect the remaining three masks, which were stolen by those Pokémon, and he was fatally injured, losing his life."

"Hours later, when the ghost returned to the cave and saw everything..."

"In the end, it donned the remaining green mask, descended the mountain to the village, and took out the Pokémon cheerfully flaunting the shiny masks."

"The oblivious villagers were baffled by what had occurred, fearing only the ghost’s wrathful appearance."

"The villagers believed it was the three Pokémon that saved the village from the ghost’s hands and affectionately called them the Loyal Three, giving them a respectable burial."

"The injured ghost, drowning in grief, returned alone to the cave in the back mountain."

"Our ancestor, the mask artisan, also struggled to let the truth be known, but nobody paid attention, and he was even persecuted as a heretic."

Naoki grows increasingly silent, and at the end, he can’t help but speak: "How could such a thing happen..."

Beside him, Koraidon and Cyclizar hang their heads sadly.

Pawmot holds tightly to a small hammer in its hand, thinking of the Pokémon it saw yesterday, its face full of anger.

Even Flutter Mane, floating in mid-air, reveals its small fangs, growling angrily.

The old man watches their reactions and then speaks:

"Since Ogerpon is willing to appear before you, it means it has a fondness for you, so I hope you can take Ogerpon with you, leaving this place to live elsewhere."

"Rather than remaining in Kitakami, enduring the hatred and dislike of the people here for no reason."