manynovel Chapter 19 The Business Card of Detective Hugo
Chapter 19 The Business Card of Detective Hugo
"Finally, thanks to the detective, I acquired the ownership of this Feathered Residence from a real estate tycoon for an unbelievably low price," Touko said happily.
Azure sighed, "It probably includes hush money from the rich man."
"Later, I suddenly realized that even if I bought the property, I couldn't start making movies right away. In order to raise funds, I had to participate in competitions all over United States, and I could only live in the Feather Residence a few days a year."
"Think carefully before you buy a villa!"
Bilan, who had never bought a villa, was furious. Unlike Douzi, she wasn't obsessed with the prize money from the competition, and her attitude towards money was simply that she only needed enough to get by.
Douzi stuck out his tongue and continued, "Just as I was sitting in the empty Yuxi Mansion, which was still under renovation and contemplating life, the door was pushed open, and the detective appeared before me once again."
"He noticed your situation while he was at the rich man's house, so he came to rent a house as soon as possible, right?" Bilan guessed.
"That's exactly right. So we happily signed the contract and became landlord and tenant."
"So that's why that building became a detective agency. Is the person living there the detective named Hugo?" Through the glass, Bilan casually asked, looking at the agency's sign hanging on the second floor.
"That's right. Once you move to the second floor, be sure not to take down that sign. The detective specifically added a clause to the rental agreement that prohibits removing the sign."
Bilan quickly waved her hand: "I'm just asking for lodging, I wouldn't do such a thing."
"Let's not talk about that. Let's go to Yuxi Residence first, and we can talk to Hugo about sharing the apartment in person." After saying that, Douzi got up and hurriedly ran out of the coffee shop, looking like he couldn't wait.
She hasn't paid the bill yet; is she trying to evade it? No wonder she's a woman raising money to become a famous director!
As Bilan watched her junior's retreating figure, her smile gradually froze, but she still paid the waiter for drinks for two. "Oh well," she thought, "consider it a referral fee for my junior."
They had only walked one street when the two girls arrived at the courtyard of the Feathered Residence.
"Although I could tell from a distance, a closer look revealed that this house is actually a bit too luxurious," Bilan remarked.
As Douzi pressed the doorbell outside the courtyard, he proudly replied, "It's because of the atmosphere created by the surrounding high-rise buildings. It's because of the existence of those skyscrapers that this two-story house with a courtyard looks incredibly spacious in comparison—that's exactly what I valued when I bought it."
Before the younger generation could finish speaking, someone had already come to open the door and greet them.
However, to the landlord's and new tenants' great surprise, although they clearly heard the sound of the doorknob turning outside the door, the courtyard was empty when they opened the door.
"Oh, it's a grass turtle."
Azure was the first to react. She pointed to the grass-green turtle Pokémon on the ground, which was slowly retracting its outstretched vine whip.
"Hey, it's a Pokémon!" After figuring out how the door opened, Douzi's surprise only increased.
The detective, dressed in a white coat, arrived late. Upon seeing its owner, the grass turtle hurriedly ran back to the detective's feet—unfortunately, it accidentally bumped into the detective's left foot.
Fortunately, Hugo's coordination was not bad, and he did not fall. Instead, he struggled and swayed for a while in a one-legged stance before finally avoiding the grass turtle that had fallen flat on its back and firmly placed his left foot on the ground.
The thrill was so intense it was like a circus performance, even making the two girls want to applaud and cheer...
"I recently lost a bet and have to take care of these three Pokémon for someone else," the detective explained to the surprised Touko, pointing to the Turtwig at his feet, and the Chimchar and Piplup in the living room behind him.
"Who on earth would make such a bet? It's absolutely vicious." Touko looked at the detective with sympathy.
"Yes, but it's also because I'm not good enough at my job that I made such a mistake," the detective said casually.
"Leaving that aside, is this young lady planning to rent a room on the second floor? Have you decided what form you want your Eevee to evolve into?" Hugo turned to Azure and casually asked a completely unrelated question.
Azure's eyes widened: "How did you know?"
Eevee's Poké Ball is still in my bag, there's no way this strange detective could have seen it.
“I just complained to Toko about the rent last month, and this time she came back with a young man. I can’t think of any other possibility besides a new roommate. But I didn’t expect her to bring a woman. So I think her plan is probably to completely separate the upper and lower floors of the Yuxi Residence, after all, men and women are different.” Hugo explained his reasoning unhurriedly.
The detective continued discussing the co-renting arrangement: "I'm practically thrilled with this co-renting. Dividing it into upper and lower floors is perfectly fine; I rarely use the upper floor of the Feather Residence anyway. After moving a few pieces of furniture that I like down, it can be easily separated. How about this, we'll have a renovation team come over this afternoon to start work, and this young lady can stay on the second floor tonight. Although the office is simple, we do have a few quilts for guests."
“I think what Xiaolan is wondering about is Eevee,” Douzi asked on Xiaolan’s behalf. It turns out that this carefree junior also has a side that can read the room.
“Oh, this.” The detective scratched his head apologetically. “It’s the fur on his shoulders and trouser legs. The color and texture clearly indicate that it’s Eevee’s fur. As a detective, you need to have this level of observation skills.”
"Then how did you know I was thinking about evolution?" Little Blue asked.
"This is a question every trainer who owns Eevee considers," the detective replied with a matter-of-fact expression, seemingly very experienced.
Douzi shrugged at Bilan and spread her hands. The girl knew the unspoken message of her gesture: Look, this is Detective Hugo.
Hugo stepped forward and stood in front of Azure, took a piece of cardboard from his pocket, and handed it to her with both hands.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Hugo, a detective from the Hugo Detective Agency in Feiyun City. This is my business card. However, if you decide to stay on the second floor, these business cards may need to be reprinted, and the words '(first floor)' will need to be added to the address."
"Hello, my name is Azure, I'm from Pallet Town, and I'm currently traveling in Unova." Azure took the business card and returned the same self-introduction. "It's okay if you don't change the business card. I'm just staying here for a while, and I'll probably leave after experiencing the local customs and culture of Unova."
"A traveling trainer, huh? From Pallet Town, no less. I've heard that trainers there have some degree of telepathic connection with Pokémon. Is that true?" The detective casually brought up the topic.
Douzi once again took over for Azur Lane: "Speaking of having a spiritual connection with Pokémon, every trainer must feel that way, right?"
"I'm referring to a more specific type, like hearing a Pokémon's thoughts."
“None of the residents of Pallet Town that I know of have such a talent. As for telepathy, there have been similar rumors in the nearby Viridian Forest, but they are all just idle gossips,” Azure told the truth.
Douzi became curious and asked Hugo, "Why are you asking this?"
The detective pointed to a low, long table in the living room: "Because of that."
Bilan and Douzi followed the detective's finger and looked at the table, and were immediately startled.
The huge table was covered with photos of various people and clippings from various news magazines, with countless handwritten notes on the sides.
The photos, clippings, and notes are connected by brightly colored strings, and from a distance, they look like a giant spider web that encompasses everything.
“You should know about the bank robbery that happened a few days ago,” the detective’s calm voice reached the two girls. “The mastermind behind that case was actually a huge criminal organization operating throughout the Unova region, called—”
“Group Plasma.” Touko stared at a few photos on the table and said seriously. It seemed that, having traveled all over Unova, she had already met some of the members of this organization.
"And Team Plasma's recent activities are all related to a certain special person. The most common claim circulating online about this person is that he can hear the thoughts of Pokémon and communicate with them as if they were chatting with a human."