Seeing Julian again, Ryan was obviously very excited. After all, he was someone Julian had personally recruited, so in that sense, his relationship with Julian was closer than most people's.
Moreover, Julian had explicitly told him that if he ever needed help, he could come to him—though Ryan had never troubled him.
"Senior Julian, are you here to see Senior Nicole?" Ryan asked.
Julian nodded.
It had been a while since he last saw Nicole, and since the TV station was relatively close to Imperial University, it was only natural he wanted to drop by and see her.
After all, Nicole was the girlfriend he had openly acknowledged.
"How have you been lately?"
Although Julian appreciated Ryan, he didn't really pay much attention to him. After all, the guy was just a student—it wasn't like he could stir up any big waves.
To make waves in a place like Imperial University, where elites gathered, you needed to have some real ability.
But Julian had really underestimated Ryan—this guy was now something of a celebrity at Imperial University, though admittedly famous for being an oddball.
"I'm now an official member of the school team," Ryan said proudly.
He was only a sophomore, and the school team was mostly composed of juniors and seniors. Sophomores typically served as reserve members.
For Ryan to become an official member in his second year was indeed quite impressive—it meant his strength had to be at least at the late-stage pseudo-Elite level.
"But compared to you, Senior, I'm still far behind."
After all, Julian had joined the school team as a freshman and had even defeated an Elite-level opponent while still at the pseudo-Elite stage during the Hundred Schools League.
After that, Julian had never participated in the Hundred Schools League again, finding it uninteresting without any worthy opponents.
But for Ryan, joining the school team was already a significant achievement. Not to mention that the team benefits were generous—they received a fixed monthly supply of Pokémon resources, and on top of that, he was a member of the Special Recruitment Class, so his combined monthly allocation was considerable.
If they could secure first place in the Hundred Schools League, aside from the competition's rewards, Imperial Capital University would certainly not be stingy with additional rewards for the school team members.
All these resources added together were quite substantial—enough to exchange for two or three Pokémon with Cyan-grade potential.
For someone like Ryan, who came from an ordinary family, these resources were like rocket fuel for his progress. With a bit of luck, he might even reach the Elite tier by his junior year.
Of course, all of this depended on everything going well.
"Well, Senior, I won't disturb your date with Senior Nicole," Ryan said with a wink before cheerfully walking away.
Half an hour later, Julian arrived at Building 3 of the Research Academy, just as Nicole's class had ended.
So, just as Julian arrived at the entrance of Building 3, he happened to run into Nicole, who had just finished class and was coming downstairs.
The usually cool and aloof goddess of the Research Institute, Teacher Nicole, showed a flicker of delight in her eyes upon seeing Julian, and even her steps quickened ever so slightly as she came down the stairs.
The students naturally noticed Julian as well.
And the next moment, they saw their usually cold and distant goddess rather affectionately loop her arm around Julian's.
Given Nicole's personality, doing something so intimate in front of so many people was truly a bit unexpected for Julian.
With the perception granted by the Seven Apertures Stone, Julian could clearly sense what Nicole was feeling inside.
She liked him, but she also felt that she needed to stake her claim before someone snatched him away.
Julian had always been highly sought after, but back then, Nicole had been very confident.
Whether it was her figure, looks, family background, or intellect, she was far superior to the flashy and shallow women who swarmed around Julian.
So, she never believed Julian could be stolen by another woman.
But now that Julian had become a Champion, his desirability had skyrocketed.
And those making moves on him now weren't just young ladies from influential families; even granddaughters of high-ranking officials from other countries were showing strong interest in him.
There were even rumors that the Fairy Elite, Catherine, was planning to make a move on Julian.
Nicole secretly cursed the woman for having no shame—after all, Catherine was even older than Julian's mother.
But she couldn't deny that Catherine's looks were unnaturally captivating. If the other woman really decided to throw away her dignity and pursue him, there was no telling if Julian might actually give in.
Julian: 'So, I'm that easily swayed, huh?'
On top of that, she had also heard that Julian had a beautiful secretary, and what's more, she was an Elite.
An Elite choosing not to be a full time Trainer, but instead going to be his tea-pouring, document-fetching secretary—what a calculated move. Nicole could practically hear the scheming all the way at Imperial University.
All these factors combined made the usually confident Nicole feel a sense of urgency.
And since Julian hadn't contacted her at all during this period, she had let her imagination run wild.
That was why she now held Julian's arm in public—to openly declare her claim over him.
Noticing that many students were secretly taking photos, Nicole secretly hoped they would quickly post them on social media so that everyone would know Julian was already taken.
Sensing her thoughts, Julian couldn't help but chuckle.
The two of them strolled along the small paths of the Research Academy. Unlike the Trainer Academy, which was filled with battlefields everywhere, the Research Academy was mostly composed of reading rooms and small research labs of varying sizes.
And there were plenty of students hurrying about.
"…What brings you here?" Nicole asked.
"Of course I came to see you."
Julian wasn't foolish enough to say he had just finished an interview and decided to drop by to see her while he was in the area.
"Do you have any classes later?"
"No."
Nicole shook her head. In truth, she did have classes, but since Julian was here, why bother with them?
"Then come over to my place tonight, I'll have Slowking make you something delicious."
"Mm."
The "my place" Julian was referring to was actually his Villa No. 1 at Imperial University. Originally, since he had graduated, the university would have taken the villa back.
But who told him to go and become a Champion? Imperial University was, of course, more than happy to have Julian come back to visit often. But considering that it wouldn't make sense for him to have no place to stay whenever he came back, the school simply gave Villa No. 1 to him outright.
Returning to the villa, Julian felt a wave of nostalgia—after all, he had spent four years of his life here, along with his Pokémon.
The Poké Balls at his waist began to shake, so Julian released all of them.
"Arf!"
Arcanine was the first to dash to the backyard to check on its doghouse. Relieved to find the premium Fire Stone inside still intact, it let out a satisfied bark.
It then turned to Julian and barked again, indicating it wanted to visit the Dog Club to see how the new president was doing.
Moltres flew toward its birdhouse but suddenly noticed a pair of Swellow had taken up residence there.
Its nest had actually been stolen.
Moltres was just about to drive them away when Julian stopped it.
Smiling at the trembling Swellow couple, Julian said, "It's fine, you two can stay here. Moltres, I'll build you a new nest."
Originally, the nest in the tree had been built by Julian for the Swellow pair. Since they were migratory birds and would leave when the weather turned cold, he later expanded the nest to house Moltres.
*****
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