Chapter 160Shifting Paradigms

After relocating to the sitting room, Jason revealed what the Great Sage had said to him, along with his personal speculation about what it could mean. He believed that the Great Sage was hinting at the Zinopup being the key or possibly even the counter to Team Rainbow Rocket gaining the ability to circumvent the digitalization effect of Poké Balls. But his words didn't incite the urgency he expected...

"Hmmn. This Great Sage appears to favor you quite a bit if they're willing to provide you such hints," Lusamine remarked, simultaneously accepting a glass of lemonade provided to her by Maeve.

"Saying they favor me is a bit of a stretch..." Jason countered, shaking his head before acknowledging, "But they've definitely been one of the more helpful Constellations. If they didn't continuously tempt me into behaving like a pervert, I would respect them a great deal..."

[The Great Sage Who Peers Under Skirts stares at you with a half-lidded gaze.]

"Oh? You've piqued my interest. How do they try to get you to behave like a pervert...?" Lusamine questioned, her brows slightly raised and her eyes gleaming with a hint of mischief.

"Ah. I know this one—" Lillie interjected, drawing her mother's interest as she revealed, "One of the Quests proffered to Jason by The Great Sage is to peer under the skirts of one hundred, five hundred, and one thousand unique women. I proposed making it mandatory for research and security personnel to wear skirts, but Jason didn't wish for people to be compelled to dress a certain way."

"Did you not point out that most of our employees are already compelled to adhere to a dress code...?" Lusamine questioned.

"I did," Lillie confirmed with a nod, glancing at Jason as she added, "But Jason contended there is a difference between people wearing a uniform to promote brand and group cohesion and that uniform being changed to pander to a given person or entity's fetish."

Preempting Lusamine's counterpoint, Jason affirmed, "I just think people should be free to wear what makes them comfortable. And while it might be innocuous compared to some of the other Quest objectives I've been proffered, I feel that we would collectively be crossing a line if everyone participating in our projects had the expectation I would be peering under their skirts..."

"Could we not just make the floors reflective...?" Megumi posed, leaving Jason to stare at her with a look that asked, 'Et tu, Megumi...?'

"Let's do that," Lusamine decided, nodding affirmingly, crossing her arms, leaning back, crossing her right leg over her left, and glancing at Jason as she argued, "As you just pointed out, gleaming the contents of a woman's skirt is ultimately an innocuous act. And if we factor in that more than half our employees already wear skirts and swimsuits to combat the heat, I do not believe there would be considerable opposition to the idea."

"Then I suppose it's decided..." Jason conceded, exhaling from his nose but maintaining a smile as he admitted, "Truth be told, I prefer skin-tight clothes like what Maeve usually wears and what Megumi is wearing right now. But skirts, stockings, and garter belts—in particular—definitely have their charms..."

"Hoooo? You're not usually this forthcoming about your preferences and desires..." Lusamine remarked, voicing the thoughts of virtually everyone present as she questioned, "Have your experiences during this quarantine affected you so?"

"It's more that I'm beginning to understand what truly matters to me..." Jason countered, glancing around the room and rather boldly placing his left hand on Lillie's thigh as he confessed, "I've always wanted to protect those I care about. But I feel that my reasons for doing so have become more personal these past few days..."

With Jason directing his final few words at her, Lillie couldn't prevent her face from flushing a vibrant shade of crimson. She knew he was speaking about everyone, not just her. But as he continued holding her gaze with an increasingly potent smolder, she felt as if her heart were about to leap out of her chest...

Just as Lillie was on the verge of burying her face into her hands and exuding steam from her head, Jason returned his gaze to Lusamine, his smile persisting but his eyes serious as he proclaimed, "I won't allow the happiness I've found here to be taken away...not without giving it my all to protect it..."

"Oh? You—"

"Ren will protect Jason~!"

Before Lusamine could offer a narrow-eyed, clearly amused response, Ren, no longer able to suppress her emotions, abruptly leaned into and began affectionately nuzzling Jason from his right. She had been doing her best to follow the conversation up until that point, but most of what had been said had gone in one ear and out the other. All she knew with certainty was that Jason was experiencing an intense desire to protect everyone present, provoking her like desire to protect him.

"R-Right...that's why you're my ever-reliable partner..." Jason responded, the smile on his face cramping. He greatly appreciated Ren's loyalty. But as he was unable to ignore the paradoxically firm yet soft sensation of her breasts and the rubber stopper of her chest spike pushing against him, he couldn't stop his body from tensing.

"Let us conclude things here for the time being..." Lusamine proposed, rising to her feet in a smooth motion before smiling broadly at Jason and stating, "I have more than a few phone calls to make. And the sooner we can arrange for the Zinopup's transport, the better."

"I...I would also like to return to my father's study. Please excuse me..." Lillie appended, her cheeks still flushed as she rather abruptly stood up and made a beeline for the entrance. With nearly every other person in the room following the mother-daughter duo's example, Jason, standing up to watch as everyone departed, suddenly found himself alone with Ren and Maeve.

"..."

"..."

Just as Jason was feeling as though he had been abandoned, Maeve, sporting a slight blush and looking unsure of what to say, approached to ask, "So...wanna hit the gym...?" in an uncertain tone.

"Sur—"

"Yes! Ren wants to train!" Ren exclaimed, cutting Jason off and pumping her paw-like fists. She had been keen to move her body ever since Iris's return. So with her tail wagging behind her and a pleading shimmer in her red eyes, she looked up at Jason, urging him to produce his subspace orb as quickly as possible...

'Ah...so this is why everyone was in such a rush to leave...' Jason realized, exhaling through his nose and smiling wryly as he pulled Ren's head to his chest. He was naturally able to feel the sense of urgency she was keeping at bay. But as she had similarly been trying not to bother or distract him, it hadn't stood out to him until they were practically alone.

'She really is the best partner I could have asked for...' Jason thought, a deeply affectionate smile adorning his face before he psyched himself up, met Maeve's gaze, and surprised her by asking, "You wouldn't happen to be in the mood for a battle, would you...?"

"Oooooooh! Ren wants to battle! Please, please, please, please, please, Maeve...!" Ren exclaimed, separating from Jason and giving Maeve the same pleading look she had weaponized against him—with the inclusion of a hug. Fortunately for her, there were few things Maeve enjoyed more than a Pokémon battle. Thus, without so much as an ounce of hesitation, Maeve beamed confidently, tousled the fur atop Ren's head, and teased, "Just don't be too upset when I win~" in a playful tone.

"Yes~! Maeve is awesome~!" Ren chimed, causing Maeve to laugh aloud as she abruptly and effortlessly picked up the pink-haired Maid and spun her around. Jason couldn't help but feel a sense of incongruence at how affectionate Ren was being with someone other than him. But instead of attempting to make sense of the interaction, he shook his head, produced his Sanctum from his chest, and steeled himself for what was bound to be an intensive training session...

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As could be expected after what had transpired, the Zinopup was gone by the time Jason, Maeve, and Ren emerged from his Sanctum. It was a bit of a shock, but Jason's brain barely registered it as he was more surprised by the guest that came to replace Iris while she escorted the Zinopup and helped it to settle in at the Village of Dragons.

"Haaaaaaa...to think there would be hot springs of this quality outside of the Sinnoh Region. I believe I am going to enjoy my time here..." exhaled an extraordinarily fit and curvaceous woman with angular, steel-grey eyes and long, wavy blonde hair that was presently bundled at the back of her head. The woman ordinarily wore distinctive, black, teardrop-shaped hair accessories on both sides of her head. But after Lusamine suggested that she and Jason should get to know each other better in his hot spring, she had discarded her usual all-black attire for her birthday suit.

"You're welcome to drop by and use this bath whenever you want during your stay here in Alola..." Jason remarked, doing his best to appear and sound calm as he sat a short distance from the woman, none other than Champion Cynthia, on the bath's edge.

"That was my intention..." Cynthia responded, glancing at Jason to her right. Instead of looking up at his face, however, her gaze was directed at his lower half.

"It's longer and thicker than I expected. Will something so large really fit inside of my vagina...?" Cynthia questioned calmly, leaving Jason at a loss for how to respond. He had thought that he had grown used to women in the world of Pokémon having no reservations about sleeping with him. But this was Cynthia, arguably the most recognizable and attractive Trainer in the franchise. And with an appearance akin to a Goddess cosplaying as a human, he couldn't help but feel he would be profaning her if they were to have sex...

"Hmmn...I suppose it can't be helped..." Cynthia sighed, exhaling faintly through her nose before rising to her feet and boldly positioning herself directly in front of Jason.

"...?"

Though Cynthia's actions left him feeling tense and taken aback, Jason didn't avert his eyes. Instead, he raised his gaze, his lips parting but his brain failing to form words before Cynthia positioned her hands on her flat yet toned abs, her index fingers and thumbs forming the shape of a heart around her belly button as she stated, "I have no intention of forcing the matter. But if you find my form appealing, you need only to lean back and let me take the initiative. Understood?"

"..."

Lowering his gaze from Cynthia's face, Jason allowed himself to take in the woman's practically flawless figure properly. Her breasts were nearly as large as Wicke's, but she had a sculpted, hourglass-like figure and long legs that made her feel a full head taller than the buxom purplette. And to his surprise, even her pubes were pristine—carefully waxed with no stray hairs. They were a touch on the thicker side, but they grew in a natural V-shape that pulled his gaze toward her immaculate, visibly untouched slit...

"Such an intense, passion-filled gaze. It's like an invisible flame against my skin..." Cynthia remarked, her sole visible eye narrowing in amusement as she lowered her hands to her crotch and asked, "Tell me...why is it that you hesitate? I have made myself accessible to you, and it is obvious that you yearn for my body..."

"..."

Though it took his brain a few moments to process Cynthia's question, Jason eventually raised his gaze and confessed, "I'm not worthy..." in a low, subdued tone.

"I see..." Cynthia muttered, her steel-grey eye sizing Jason up before she stepped forward and pushed against his left shoulder with her right hand, guiding him to lie backward as she unabashedly climbed onto his stomach and entrusted her surprising weight and softness to his abs.

Guiding Jason's right hand to her breast, causing his fingers to sink into her pillowy mound, Cynthia smiled and stated, "Then, for the time being, consider this a necessity brought upon by our circumstances. Our enemy will not remain idle while you're forming your resolve and working toward becoming the person you believe you need to be..."

"I'm well aware of that..." Jason responded, his expression turning serious as he snaked his left hand under Cynthia's warm and pliant right thigh and took the initiative to hold his penis steady.

"That's plus ten worthiness..." Cynthia hummed, her visible eye narrowing further before she abruptly leaned forward and surprised Jason by deftly slipping her tongue into his mouth for an intense, clearly experienced kiss. It was evident to the latter that Cynthia was the type of woman who took what she wanted. And since she presently wanted his semen and to raise their Bond Level, Jason promptly found himself at the mercy of Cynthia's seemingly limitless stamina and unfettered curiosity...

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