Chapter Seventy-Four: Snowflake Bookstore

Snowflake Bookstore was the largest bookstore in Evergreen City, holding a virtual monopoly; you could buy almost any book in the city there, and several branch stores had sprung up all over Evergreen. Yet, despite having been in this world for quite some time, this was the first time Heath found himself standing at the entrance of the store. Usually, he had no reason to visit; after all, there weren’t any books he particularly wanted to read. But this time, he’d come to fulfill a promise to Zorua.

“Sigh, you’ve been nagging in my head all afternoon. I’m starting to suspect, Zorua, that you’re the reincarnation of the Monk Tang.” Heath let out a weary breath; Zorua really was too much.

After finishing with the stones at noon, Heath had gone to driving school, but his study efficiency suffered. Zorua’s ceaseless chatter about going to the bookstore was relentless—Heath was finally beginning to appreciate the power of the legendary chatterbox monk.

“Who’s Monk Tang?” Zorua, perched excitedly atop Heath’s head, asked curiously.

Heath paused, uncertain how to explain, and decided to drop the subject. Instead, he entered the bookstore with Zorua.

Heath had come to the largest Snowflake Bookstore in Evergreen City. Upon entering, he felt as though he’d walked into a massive shopping mall. The layout was intriguing, organized by floors.

“Let me see... The first floor is for textbooks and study guides, the second for encyclopedias, the third for novels, and the fourth for miscellaneous books. Which floor do you want to visit?” Heath read the directory aloud.

“The third floor, of course!” Zorua answered immediately.

Heath nodded, realizing it was a pointless question. Of course Zorua wanted to go to the third floor.

However, getting upstairs posed a problem. Heath couldn’t find an elevator or escalator anywhere in the store, leaving him bewildered.

“Where’s the elevator?” Heath circled the first floor, but saw no sign of stairs or lifts.

Then he noticed a bell placed at the center of the store. Driven by curiosity, he approached, and suddenly felt the air around him shift. In the blink of an eye, he was on a new floor.

Heath was astonished. He hadn’t expected the bookstore to have a built-in miniature teleportation device. Was this some sort of advanced technology?

Reading the store’s historical introduction posted nearby, Heath calmed down. After all, the bookstore’s manager was an Alakazam—an older one, with an enlarged head due to age. With that explanation, it all made sense.

Following this method, Heath soon made his way to the third floor. It was much busier than the others, with people bustling about, while Zorua bounced excitedly atop his head.

Heath accompanied Zorua as they explored the floor. Eventually, Zorua stopped in front of a certain section.

It was a quieter area with fewer readers. Occasionally, heavily wrapped-up girls passed by, along with men wearing broad smiles.

“Oh, oh, oh! Teacher Matsuno has a new release!” Zorua leapt from Heath’s head, grabbing a book with great excitement.

Heath glanced at the cover. The title read, “My Machamp Mom Is Just Too Cute!” The cover featured a muscular Machamp, but Heath couldn’t tell its gender; he simply assumed it was female.

After checking the price, Zorua decisively placed the book in Heath’s hands. Heath checked the tag: twenty-two Alliance coins.

Under the strange and knowing glances of others, Heath remained expressionless as he navigated the odd little section, his stack of books gradually growing.

Before long, they hit the hundred-coin spending limit. Heath let out a sigh of relief—four books in total, perfectly hitting the cap. One book, with an extra three coins, even came with a little gift, helping Zorua round out the quota.

Heath looked at the stack in his hands and couldn’t help but purse his lips. He doubted there was any hope for Zorua—what on earth had this creature chosen? Heath almost didn’t want to approach the checkout.

The books were: “Eevee’s Tail Stands Up,” “My Gardevoir Has a Huge Stem 2,” and “Every Day with My Newlywed Wife.”

These were Zorua’s later picks. Heath was baffled—how did “Huge Stem” get a sequel? Surely every reader bore some responsibility.

The third book appeared normal enough, except for the fact that the cover featured a Grimer. Heath suspected the authors’ tastes were more than a little questionable.

Thankfully, Snowflake Bookstore seemed to understand the needs of their special clientele, providing dedicated self-checkout machines and complimentary book wrapping paper. This spared Heath from social mortification and made the process much easier.

“Really, I’m never bringing you here again,” Heath muttered resentfully, watching Zorua, sprawled across the rest area’s cart, flipping through a book with relish.

“Alright, I get it. Please go out for a bit, Trainer, don’t disturb my reading. And while you’re at it, pour me a drink, thank you,” Zorua replied nonchalantly, flicking his tail.

Heath took a deep breath—this little creature was truly outrageous! Still, recalling his own gaming habits, Heath felt a little more understanding. After all, when one was fully absorbed in a hobby, interruptions were most unwelcome.

Even if Zorua’s tastes were a bit peculiar, Heath chose to respect his Pokémon’s interests.

He took a cola from the fridge, poured Zorua a glass, and put the bottle back.

This world had cola too, just like his previous life, with blue and red packaging. However, they went by different names: one was Blastoise Cola, the other Charizard Cola. Their advertising battles were fierce, and the debate raged endlessly in the Pokémon world.

Whenever Heath offered cola, he’d have to ask his customers which kind they wanted, often receiving snarky replies.

“Huh? The blue one? Isn’t that for cleaning toilets?”

“Surely, surely no one actually drinks the red dish soap, right?”

It seemed that factional divides were unavoidable in any world. Heath always kept both types in stock for his cart. As for the taste, he thought they were pretty much the same—he rarely drank cola anyway.

“It’s about time to go pick up Charmander and head home,” Heath said, stretching lazily.