To thank Taylor, Chase, and the others for stepping in to help, the train's chief attendant upgraded them from sed-css seats to the business css for free. tally, this pced them in the same carriage as Julian.

  This made the group feel a bit embarrassed, as they hadn't really done much to help. In fact, if Julian hadn't dealt with the initial swarm of Geodudes, it would have been them who faced the danger.

  All four of them, except for Baker, made their way to the business css. Baker, due to his earlier behavior, had been ostracized by the group.

  Although Julian didn't ultimately hold a grudge, Baker didn't dare show his face around Julian again. What if Julian decided he was an eyesore and wao deal with him?

  The inal passengers in the business css were curious upon learning of Julian's identity. However, siaylor and the other three surrounded Julian, they didn't get a ce to strike up a versation.

  "Julian and Chase were cssmates, right? What's your retionship like?"

  Taylor asked with a gossipy expression.

  "You know, Chase has a lot of admirers at South Lake Uy."

  Before Julian could respond, Chase's face flushed red as she quickly said, "Don't overthink it. Julian and I are just ordinary high school cssmates."

  A lot of admirers? Ba school, she didn't seem all that attractive.

  With some skepticism, Julian gave Chase a closer look and realized she'd ged quite a bit.

  Her skin was noticeably fairer than he remembered, her facial features had softened, and her outfit was well-coordinated.

  Now, Chase could definitely be sidered pretty. She might not be on the level of Hannah or his cousin Thea, both campus belles of Imperial Uy, but she could easily pass as a css beauty.

  Caught off guard by Julian's scrutinizing gaze, Chase froze, especially since his eyes carried a hint of appraisal.

  'Hmm, she's… seems to be a lot bigger.'

  No wohey say college ges people, especially girls.

  "So, what do you think? Isn't our Chase big?"

  Taylor, a sharp observer, had already noticed her friend's feelings for Julian. But since Julian seemed indifferent, she decided to lend a helping hand.

  "Do you have a boyfriend?"

  Julian blurted out in respoo Taylor's teasing.

  As soon as he said it, the atmosphere instantly greard.

  Did "big" have anything to do with a boyfriend? Well, maybe a little.

  'Damn it, this is Luis' fault'

  Realizing he'd said something pletely off-topic, Julian didn't know how to recover, so he simply looked out the window to ease the tension.

  Chase, unaware of any hidden meaning in Julian's words, hurriedly said, "No, no, I don't have one!"

  But seeing Julian looking out the window as if he didn't want to engage further left her feeling uneasy.

  She was so anxious that she almost burst into tears, frantically turning to Taylor and saying, "Taylor, please tell Julian that I don't have a boyfriend!"

  Taylor shook her head secretly. 'My dear friend is probably pletely at Julian's mercy,' she thought. And judging from his words, this guy seems to be quite the seasoned pyer.

  Well, it made sense. As a member of a prestigious family, Julian probably had a lot of experien retionships.

  Taylor couldn't help but wonder just how many "fish" were swimming in Julian's metaphorical pond.

  With someone as na?ve as Chase, if she entered Julian's pond, it wouldn't be surprising if the other "fish" devoured her, leaving nothing but bones.

  Thinking of this, Taylor's thoughts shifted. 'I 't push my friend into Julian's pond—I o pull her out instead.'

  At that moment, the train's annou system came on:

  "Dear passengers, due to a train malfun, we will be stopping at South Lake City for repairs. Passengers needing to transfer or request refunds, please use the app to make arras. We sincerely apologize for the invenience."

  Though the train hadn't been directly attacked by the Geodudes, the tremors from the battle had affected the ground, ily impag the train's safety.

  Now, the train's error codes were lighting up. To ensure passenger safety, the train would stop at South Lake City.

  The passengers naturally began grumbling, but there was no ging the situation. The train had to stop.

  South Lake City didn't have an airport, so the only way to reach the capital was to tiraveling by high-speed train.

  Julian opehe app to purchase a ticket from South Lake City to the capital, only to find that all tickets for the wo days, even standing tickets, were sold out.

  'Fet it, I'll just fly there onite.'

  Julian had retly earned his flying lise during the holiday break, meaning he could now freely fly over major cities.

  Still, in terms of fort, airpnes were far superior. For long distances, flying ercially was defihe best choice.

  "Julian, how about I show you around South Lake Uy?"

  Chase noticed the high-speed train app on Julian's phone and saw that all the tickets to the capital were sold out. Her heart leapt with excitement.

  "What's there to see at South Lake Uy? Julian has important things to do whes back to uy. Don't waste his time," Taylor interjected immediately.

  Right now, Taylor couldn't let Chase spend more time with someone like Julian. The quicker he left, the better.

  Julian, suddenly sensing a wave of disdain through Taylor's Aura, was a bit fused.

  'Isn't she one of my enthusiastis? Why has her Aura gone from bzing hot to icy cold?'

  Taylor's words made Chase hesitate.

  Having finally run into Julian again, she naturally didn't want him to leave so soon. But at the same time, she didn't want to dey anything important for him because of her.

  "There's nothing urgent at uy, so why not visit South Lake Uy?"

  Julian finally said, breaking Chase's internal dilemma.

  Drakoria was vast, and Julian had only been to a handful of cities before. It wasn't until he became a Pokémon Traihat he ventured out of Lake City.

  While South Lake City wasn't particurly famous in the try, it held signifit prestige amohusiasts of rare stones.

  The city was known for its peculiar rocks covered in variously sized holes, aptly named "South Lake Stones."

  South Lake City derived its name from South Lake, one of the top ten freshwater kes in Drakoria. The ke was home to an abundance of Water-type Pokémon.

  "The me be yuide!"

  Hearing Julian agree to visit South Lake Uy, Chase couldn't tain her joy, her face lighting up with a radiant smile.

  "I'll be yuide too!"

  Taylor quickly chimed in. She had no iion of letting Chase spend time aloh Julian.

  Who knew what might happen if this "pond master" had her friend all to himself? He might toy with her feelings and then discard her, leaving her so devastated she'd do somethireme.

  Taylor's imagination truly ran wild.

  Julian g her, exasperated. 'Why has this woman suddenly developed suimosity toward me? If it weren't for the ck of actual hostility in her Aura, I'd suspect she was sent by some fa to assassinate me.'

  "Taylor, I show Julian around by myself"

  Chase said, her tone suddenly wary as she eyed her friend suspiciously. 'Don't tell me you're not satisfied with just being Julian's fan?'

  Taylor: (′⊙ω⊙`)

  'This is exhausting.'