Because Nicole had urged Julian to hurry over—without explaining why—he took it seriously. It was the first ti this woman had ever asked him to go sowhere.
Normally, it would take more than half an hour to walk from the villa area to Building Three.
Building Three was part of the Research Institute, while Julian lived in the Trainer Academy. Since they belonged to two separate departnts, the distance was naturally quite far.
To get there faster, Julian had tagross use Teleport.
anwhile, at the entrance of Building Three—
Nicole stood with an expressionless face, staring at a man holding a bouquet of flowers, exuding an air of scholarly pride.
The scene naturally attracted a large crowd of onlookers, especially since Nicole was once ranked among the top ten campus belles of Imperial University.
Why "once"? Because she had already graduated. She was no longer a student but now worked as an assistant instructor.
The man holding the bouquet was a newly hired professor at the Research Institute—appointed just six months ago. Despite being only 25 years old, he held the rank of associate professor.
Travis—this year’s recipient of the Lugia Award.
The Lugia Award was bestowed by the International Association of Pokémon Scholars to individuals under thirty who had made outstanding contributions to Pokémon-related research.
Only three recipients were chosen each year.
For Travis to win this award, he truly could be considered exceptional.
That was why, despite his youth, he had beco an associate professor at Imperial University—the institution clearly had high hopes for his future.
"Nicole, be my girlfriend! I’ll definitely make you happy!"
Travis got down on one knee, gazing deeply at Nicole with a look of affection.
Nicole—granddaughter of Champion Duke. Most students at Imperial University were unaware of this identity; she had kept it hidden.
As for those from influential families who knew her background, they naturally wouldn’t reveal it without reason.
Travis ca from a modest background. His dream was to beco a Pokémon Trainer, but without the financial support such a path required, he had decisively given it up and pursued a career as a Pokémon scholar instead.
After he beca an associate professor at the university, another professor had accidentally let slip Nicole’s true identity—and combined with her stunning appearance, a bold idea began to take root in Travis’s mind.
With his looks and achievents, he believed that Nicole, a fellow Pokémon scholar, would surely admire him.
Before pursuing her, he had carefully observed and investigated Nicole. He knew she spent most of her ti researching Pokémon, leaving no room for romance, so her love life must be a blank slate.
However, he had also heard rumors that Nicole and Julian seed to have so kind of ambiguous relationship. Many people on campus had seen her coming and going from Julian’s villa.
But Nicole had publicly explained that it was for the sake of researching Julian’s Pokémon.
Travis was a ticulous and cautious man. He had also investigated Julian—if Julian really had a relationship with Nicole, he would have backed off imdiately.
But after looking into it, he was delighted.
From the results of his investigation, Julian didn’t seem to like won at all.
Julian: 'This Mf***ing #$#&%#…'
With that revelation, Travis’s hopes reignited. And with Julian having suddenly disappeared from campus, he saw a golden opportunity.
If he could win over Nicole and beco the grandson-in-law of Champion Duke, he could leverage the family's influence to advance further in his research career. At the sa ti becoming an Elite-level Trainer might no longer be just a dream.
Currently, Travis was already a pseudo-Elite Trainer, but his Pokémon’s potential wasn’t high enough—making it extrely difficult to break through to the Elite rank.
Unless he made a major breakthrough in his research and earned rewards from Drakoria's governnt, breaking through to Elite would be nearly impossible.
After pursuing Nicole for half a year and receiving only cold responses, he had originally planned to continue taking it slow.
But then Julian ca back.
And as soon as Julian returned, Nicole went straight to his villa.
Although his previous investigation had suggested Julian likely wasn’t interested in won, Travis didn’t dare gamble on it.
So he had no choice but to take a risk.
He carefully chose the timing—right after one of Nicole’s classes, when the area would be crowded with students.
He went all out with this dramatic public display, hoping the bystanders would pressure her into accepting.
And sure enough, things were going his way.
Several people he had paid beforehand started shouting, “Say yes! Say yes!”
Soon, the surrounding students joined in.
Onlookers: 'They’re already shouting? If I don’t join in, won’t I stand out? Damn, that guy next to is yelling really loud…'
“Say yes! Say yes!”
As more and more students took up the chant, the entire area around Building Three erupted in noise, drawing even more curious spectators.
When they saw who the “leads” were—Nicole, a forr campus belle now known as the most beautiful teaching assistant at Imperial University, and Travis, one of the university’s youngest associate professors—they were blown away.
Handso man, beautiful woman, both incredibly talented—the crowd practically exploded with excitent over the pairing.
Despite the noise, Nicole’s expression remained completely unchanged. She just silently stared at Travis, who remained on one knee.
Travis, undeterred, gazed at her with affection and continued:
“Nicole, we’re both Pokémon scholars. We share the sa profession, the sa interests. We can support each other, help each other… One day, we might even win the Arceus Award together.”
“Will you say yes?”
The crowd roared: "SAY YES! SAY YES! SAY YES!"
Just then, tagross teleported in with Julian—and the first thing he heard was the deafening chant.
“Where is she?”
Julian scanned the area but didn’t see Nicole. However, he did notice a massive crowd of nearly a hundred students gathered at the entrance of Building Three—chanting loudly.
Hearing the chants of "Say yes!", Julian imdiately understood why Nicole had called him over.
His face darkened—he seed to guess what was going on.
"Move. Move."
Julian shoved through the crowd, forcing his way forward. Those pushed aside initially looked annoyed—until they saw who it was. Instantly, they shut their mouths and moved out of the way on their own.
By the ti Julian broke through the crowd, he was standing right behind Travis. But the guy was so engrossed in his dramatic performance that he didn’t even notice.
He didn’t even register that the crowd had gone silent.
Even the paid plants he’d hired imdiately slinked away the mont they saw Julian.
After all, it was a well-known rumor at Imperial University that Nicole was actually the one pursuing Julian—though unconfird, it was undeniable that the two had 'so' kind of relationship.
And now, Julian had shown up at a mont like this.
Onlooker A: Excited, thrilled, burning with curiosity.
Onlooker B: 'Julian, just punch him already!'
Onlooker C: 'Wait… is Nicole trying to make Julian witness the mont she accepts Travis?'
Onlooker D: 'Julian or Travis… Why can’t I be Nicole?!'
Soone else: 'Screw it. I want them both.'
Nicole, of course, noticed Julian right away when he showed up behind Travis. Her expressionless face finally shifted a little.
That flicker of emotion gave Travis hope—he thought he was getting through to her. His performance grew even more passionate.
Julian, anwhile, looked at Travis’s outfit with a strange expression… then suddenly raised his leg and—BAM!
He kicked Travis square in the back, sending him sprawling face-first into the ground.
“What the hell—wearing the sa clothes as ? What kind of Bas***d is this?”
*****
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