Afternoon.
A logistics company under Devon Corporation delivered a finely packaged Dawn Stone to Natsume-sensei's residence.
The wooden box was made of rosewood, adorned with intricate carvings, and the lid was inlaid with a blood-red agate gemstone.
Natsume-sensei, who hadn't seen much of the world, was instantly reminded of the old saying, "buying the box but returning the pearl."
"Steven's collection... is truly something else," Natsume remarked with awe.
This was a high-quality item certified by Steven, the rock enthusiast.
If it caught his eye, it couldn't just be called "high-quality"—it had to be of legendary quality.
"Now I understand... why it's so expensive," Natsume sighed.
"So, a few months' income from gold miners is equivalent to just this one stone, huh?"
Natsume-sensei's breeding methods were learned from Brock, his training methods from Sabrina, and his resources were approved by Steven.
Thinking about it carefully, it would actually be strange if he could pay off his debts...
But at this point, the only way to barely make ends meet was to keep working.
With Eevee perched on his shoulder, Natsume opened his livestream and changed the title to "Streamer's Side Hustle Series: Gold Miners."
Like the previous "Plants vs. Zombies" special, this one also focused on livestreaming a game.
Although the viewership was slightly lower, a large portion of the fans were here for Eevee.
"Eevee-chan! Uncle's here to see you!"
"Sniff... Eevee's finally streaming again."
"Hey, Streamer, why are you slacking off again?"
Natsume-sensei cleared his throat lightly. "This time, I'll be introducing the second game made by Natsume-sensei. Those who know, know. Let me demonstrate the gameplay for you..."
Natsume-sensei, being a content creator in the gaming section, could even make mining rocks entertaining.
"Are you predicting the rock's movement with that hook?"
"Blind streamer, followed!"
Natsume-sensei's face turned red as he explained, "This move... this move is about calculating the hook's lead time!"
"LOL, even Gold Miners can be this entertaining!"
"Streamer, just let Eevee take over!"
Natsume-sensei suddenly had an epiphany. He patted Eevee's head and tentatively asked, "Eevee, why don't you try pressing this directional key?"
"Eevee."
Eevee, unimpressed, let out a yawn and casually swatted the keyboard with its paw.
The hook flew out, accurately hitting the most awkwardly positioned gem!
"OHHHHHHH!"
"Eevee is the real streamer now!"
Natsume-sensei felt a bit embarrassed. "Sorry, I interrupted the streamer's gameplay!"
Suddenly, the livestream lagged for a moment.
A string of question marks flooded the chat, and Natsume-sensei scratched his head. "Am I lagging?"
The chat was quickly overwhelmed with messages like, "Thank you, boss!", "Big spender!", "The boss is going crazy!"
Natsume-sensei was slightly taken aback. He glanced at the gift section and perked up. "Thank you to 'Result: I'm First Again' for the ten Super Rockets! Boss, you're too generous!"
Despite his mediocre gameplay, Natsume-sensei was still a popular streamer.
Originally, Red was at the top of the leaderboard, and no one dared challenge his position.
But this wealthy boss just dropped ten Super Rockets out of nowhere?!
Natsume-sensei was just mining rocks, not even battling in the livestream!
What kind of strange hobby is it to enjoy watching someone mine rocks?!
Another wave of flashy effects followed. In just one minute, Steven sent another ten Super Rockets.
Natsume-sensei was so overwhelmed with gratitude that he could barely speak, grinning from ear to ear.
"Boss, you really don't have to! Everyone, type 'spend responsibly' in the chat! Seriously, no need to keep gifting!"
"Stop! Boss, spend responsibly!"
The livestream fans sighed in disappointment.
"Boss, you're making a mistake!"
"Oh no, after making easy money, Natsume-sensei's gonna ghost us again!"
"Jumping straight to the top of the leaderboard! Boss, do you have some kind of interest in Natsume-sensei?!"
In Natsume-sensei's Fan Group:
Blue Oak was surprised. "This ID... could it be the Vice President of Devon Corporation?"
Red nodded thoughtfully. "It must be Mr. Steven... I didn't expect him to watch Natsume-sensei's livestreams."
"Your top spot on the leaderboard got taken, huh," Blue Oak said with a complicated expression, nudging Red. "Think about it... maybe you should gift your way back up?"
"Haha," Red glanced at Blue Oak. "I'm not stupid enough to compete with Mr. Steven in gifting."
Blue Oak chuckled awkwardly.
But... if even Mr. Steven is following Natsume-sensei's livestreams...
Blue Oak stroked his chin, deep in thought.
Could it be that Natsume-sensei has some kind of strategy... to gain Mr. Steven's approval?
Steven, being the rich heir he is, always strives to be first, even in gifting.
By the end of the afternoon, Natsume-sensei's wallet was significantly thicker.
But as he laughed, he suddenly realized something was off.
Wait a minute...
Isn't this just using the money I spent on the Dawn Stone to gift me back?!
Natsume's mood became subtle.
Still, after ending the stream, he made Steven a moderator and sent him an invitation to the fan group.
"What's this?" Steven asked.
"It's a discussion group. Everyone here is a fan, and we exchange game manuscripts."
Natsume-sensei thought to himself.
Although, it might also just be Red's harem group...
"I see," Steven nodded thoughtfully.
"But... I rarely use social media. Is that okay?"
"No problem."
Natsume-sensei chuckled. "It's like collecting stamps—one more won't hurt!"
"Collecting stamps?"
"Ah... never mind!"
Natsume-sensei nervously coughed.
Crap, I accidentally let my true thoughts slip!
[Member 'Result: I'm First Again' has joined the Chat Group.]
Old Man Wattson exclaimed, "What the—! Isn't this the guy who's always stealing my spot on the score leaderboard?!"
Gold laughed. "Old man, you can't even beat him with cheats. You should be ashamed!"
Blue Oak's eyebrow twitched as he coldly said, "This is the former Champion of Hoenn. Show some respect!"
Gold stroked his chin and nodded. "Yeah... I know. Mr. Steven is a transfer Champion, while Blue Oak Senior was dethroned by Red Senior."
[Admin 'Blue Oak' has deleted a group member's message.]
[Admin 'Blue Oak' has muted 'Gold' for 24 hours.]
Natsume was shocked.
That's so like you, Gold, saying what I've always wanted to say!
Lance: "Welcome. @Steven"
Lance and Steven had faced off in the Master League before.
However, Steven, being obsessed with mining, didn't give his all in battles.
After all, Steven's peak achievement was using his Mega Metagross to go head-to-head with Primal Kyogre, which was several tiers above a certain unknown actress's record...
Steven looked at the chat interface, slightly puzzled.
Mr. Lance... is also a follower of this game group?
The misunderstandings just keep piling up!
...
What followed was a series of "Welcome, big shot!" and "Group status -1."
However, Steven rarely used social media, so he quickly went into lurking mode.
Natsume also closed the chat interface.
Carrying Eevee by the scruff of its neck, he walked to the couch and placed the Dawn Stone next to the Calm Mind move manual.
"Well... that's pretty much the training method," Natsume said, stroking his chin and nodding.
"If you don't understand, just ask me!"
Natsume thought to himself.
If there's anything I don't get, I'll just ask Sabrina...
"Eevee..." Eevee's gaze was full of disdain.
Such a simple training method—who do you think you're underestimating?
Haunter also pushed Natsume's shoulder, guiding him toward the kitchen while laughing and patting his back.
"Haunter!"
Just focus on cooking.
Leave the training to me!
Natsume opened his mouth, wanting to say something but ultimately finding no excuse.
In the end, Natsume-sensei let out a humble sigh.
So it's not that I don't want to train...
It's that my Pokémon think I'm too weak!
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