"Julian, long time no see."
While Julian was busy signing autographs for the teachers—or more accurately, for their kids—a beautiful young teacher suddenly appeared in front of him.
Her tone carried clear delight, and her bright eyes shone with barely restrained excitement.
"Chase—it's you!"
Recognizing her at once, Julian smiled. Noticing her outfit, he added, "So you're a teacher at Lake City No. 1 High now?"
Chase was dressed in a professional teacher's uniform, which made it obvious that she was now part of the school's staff.
Beside them, Teacher Mary smiled and said, "Teacher Chase is actually one of the strongest trainers among all our faculty. Sigh... Teacher Edgar sure was lucky—he just happened to teach the class you both were in."
"Teacher Mary, you can't say that—I know you're just jealous," someone interjected.
As they spoke, Edgar, Julian's homeroom teacher during his senior year of high school, walked over. He had since become the vice principal of the School.
Next year, when the current principal retired, Edgar would officially take over.
Becoming the head of a nationally prestigious high school in his early forties was no small feat.
But then again, Edgar had been incredibly fortunate—Julian, a Champion, had happened to be in his class. Even though Edgar hadn't directly contributed to Julian's rise, the fact remained: Julian had been his student, and not even Julian could deny that.
That said, Edgar had always been an excellent teacher in his own right.
"Teacher!"
Julian greeted him with a smile.
"You rascal—you keep surprising me more and more every time!"
Edgar patted Julian's shoulder enthusiastically, his excitement plain to see.
First, Julian had become the youngest Champion in the world. Then, he had gone on to command the First-class Legendary, Kyogre and defeat another First-class Legendary, Groudon.
His achievements kept growing more and more remarkable.
"Chase's doing really well too—she's already at the peak of pseudo-Elite tier," Edgar added proudly.
Aside from Julian, that "freak of nature," several other students from Edgar's class had turned out outstanding as well—and Chase was among the best of them.
"Teacher, please don't tease me. Compared to Julian, I'm nothing," Chase said, a little shy.
"You can't compare yourself to this monster," Edgar laughed. "That's just asking for trouble."
Julian: ⊙▃⊙
Noticing how Chase's eyes never left Julian, Edgar couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Back in high school, he had already noticed that Chase had feelings for Julian—the boy who had once helped her.
What he hadn't expected was that even after all these years, she still hadn't let go of those feelings.
He glanced around at the surrounding teachers, and his expression suddenly turned stern. "Alright, everyone's got their autographs, right? If you're done, hurry back to class."
Then he turned to the young woman beside him. "Chase, since you and Julian were classmates, you two can have a chat."
"Teacher Mary, the new teaching plan just came in. Come with me to go over it," Edgar added before walking off.
Before leaving, Teacher Mary also took Haley with her.
"Brother Julian, will you come pick me up after school?" Haley asked, her expression somewhat sulky and carrying a hint of hostility toward Chase.
"We'll see," Julian said, not making a direct promise, which only made Haley pout even more.
Watching Haley leave, Chase asked, "She's your sister?"
Although she taught senior year, she was aware of Haley, a student who, despite only being a freshman in high school, was already known throughout Lake City No. 1 High as one of its "school belle."
"She's the daughter of my mom's best friend. She used to follow me around when we were kids, but she moved abroad when she was eight and only recently returned. Her personality has become a bit wild after being overseas. If possible, could you keep an eye on her at school for me?"
Chase nodded, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Her eyes soft and clear as she looked at Julian. "Mhm, but now that everyone in school knows Haley is your sister, I doubt any of the other teachers will dare to discipline her."
Julian smiled wryly. "That's fine—so long as you dare."
"By the way, why did you decide to become a teacher? With your talent, pursuing a career as a professional trainer would have been better."
After all, South Lake University was one of Drakoria's top institutions, and Chase had decent talent. As long as her luck wasn't too bad, she could have become an Elite trainer by her late twenties.
But she had chosen to become a teacher instead. Once she took on this role, her focus would shift toward teaching, which would undoubtedly slow her progress in improving as a trainer.
"The life of a professional trainer doesn't really suit me. I love this job—teaching and nurturing students. So I returned to Lake City and became colleagues with Teacher Edgar."
At the end of her explanation, she playfully winked at Julian.
'And also because Lake City is your home!' she added silently in her heart.
"Julian, this woman likes you," Celebi on his head abruptly chimed in.
"I know," Julian replied calmly.
His Aura powers and the Seven-Aperture Stone inside him could both sense Chase's feelings toward him—a very pure emotion, untainted by greed or ulterior motives.
This was different from Ella and Nicole, whose initial attraction toward him had come from his status and background.
Of course, feelings were feelings, regardless of their starting point.
"Here's a hundred. Take Jirachi and go get some milk tea," Julian said, glancing upward.
Julian transferred a hundred bucks to Celebi—because as long as this little troublemaker was hanging around, there was no way he could have a proper conversation.
Celebi and Jirachi happily floated off together. With a hundred bucks, they could buy two milk teas for fifty and still have enough left for two burgers afterward.
As the two small Pokémon left, Chase asked curiously, "Where are they going?"
"To buy milk tea," Julian replied.
After he spoke, the atmosphere suddenly grew quiet. Neither of them seemed to know what to say for a moment.
"Are you free tonight? Let's have dinner together."
Chase asked with a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
"Sure, but you're treating. Teachers at Lake City No. 1 High earn quite a good salary, after all," Julian said with a smile.
"Well, then, Champion Walker, please go easy on me."
As they bantered, the atmosphere returned to normal, and they began to talk more freely. Most of their conversation revolved around their high school days.
They also talked about how, during university, Julian had unexpectedly run into Chase and ended up going to South Lake University with her. It was there that Julian encountered Magearna, who had lost its Soul-Heart.
They chatted for over half an hour until Chase had to go to class, finally bringing their conversation to an end.
Julian sent a message to Celebi and Jirachi, telling them that he was heading home and that they should come back directly after buying the milk tea. He also mentioned they should bring back the remaining 50 bucks.
This nearly made Celebi so angry that it almost threw the milk tea right in Julian's face.
Celebi: "Once the money is in my pocket, don't even think about getting it back. No way!"
*****
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