After class.
Jacob left the classroom and sent a message to Nina, inviting her to eat out together.
Nina, who was surrounded by students asking questions, picked up her phone and looked at it after hearing it ring.
Upon seeing Jacob's message, the corners of Nina's mouth curved slightly upward.
"Teacher Nina, who sent you a message that made you smile so happily?"
"Was it your boyfriend who sent you a message?"
"It's rare to see Teacher Nina so happy; it must be a message from her boyfriend."
Several male students beside her kept probing, clearly curious about who sent the message.
Who could make Nina, who usually had a composed expression, show such a brilliant smile?
Nina did not answer the students' questions but smiled and continued to answer their questions.
Nina had always been so serious and responsible; otherwise, she wouldn't have cared about Jacob, the last-place transfer student, from the very beginning.
Ten minutes later, after answering the last student's question, Nina let out a long breath, then quickly walked out of the classroom.
As she walked, she tidied her hair, her mood soaring. She hadn't seen Jacob in a long time and missed him greatly.
Thinking of this, Nina couldn't help but quicken her pace.
Inside an ancient and elegant traditional restaurant, Jacob had booked a table early and was patiently waiting for Nina to arrive.
After waiting for about half an hour, Nina finally arrived.
Unlike her classroom attire, Nina had touched up her makeup slightly and styled her hair, adding a touch of charm.
"Nina." Looking at Nina, the corners of Jacob's mouth also unconsciously curved upward.
"Are you done with your work? You didn't even call me when you came back." Nina put her bag aside and gently complained to Jacob. "Oh, by the way, Eleanor has asked me several times these past few days if you've returned. It seems to be about a new experiment, and she's quite anxious. If you're back, find some time to see her."
Mentioning Eleanor, Jacob felt a headache coming on, a bit annoyed. "I've already seen her. I found you after getting my leave approved by her."
"What did she want from you?" Nina asked curiously.
"Nothing much, just about a new experiment," Jacob replied casually.
"Oh." Hearing it was about a new experiment, coupled with Jacob's tone, Nina showed a curious expression and softly said, "Did you encounter any difficulties? You don't seem to be in a good mood."
"It's nothing, I can handle it," Jacob replied. He didn't want Nina to worry, and besides, the Eleanor matter wasn't too serious; as long as she didn't reveal his identity, it was within control. "Let's eat, Nina. Look, you've gotten thinner after not seeing you for a month."
"Mm." Nina saw that Jacob didn't want to elaborate, so she didn't press further.
Although Eleanor was her best friend, Jacob was still her boyfriend.
She understood Jacob's personality and believed he could handle this matter well.
"Nina, do you have class this afternoon?" Jacob asked.
"No class, I only teach two classes," Nina replied with a smile.
Being a combat Trainer class teacher was much easier than she imagined, with plenty of free time each day to focus on training her Pokémon and doing things she enjoyed.
"What about you? I remember you Trainers have quite a few classes," Nina said, looking at Jacob.
"There are quite a few, but the flexibility is very high. After all, the most important thing for a Trainer is their own strength. If you're strong enough, whether you attend class or not doesn't matter."
"That's true."
The two chatted and laughed, finishing their lunch. To avoid suspicion, they left the restaurant one after another, like cautious lovers.
After parting ways with Nina, Jacob prepared to return to Purple Mountain Villa.
Over the past month, Purple Mountain Villa underwent a second round of major expansion, specifically constructing a spacious underground training room and, most importantly, a large underground aquatic Pokémon habitat, used to house Jacob's Pokémon and Gigantamax Lapras.
Such a massive project would undoubtedly be a huge and difficult undertaking in the previous world, but in this world with Pokémon, with the help of supernatural powers, construction was quite easy.
Returning to Purple Mountain Villa, Jacob entered the house. Several housekeepers were cleaning and tidying the flower garden.
Jacob walked directly to the basement.
The first basement floor was a spacious, reinforced training ground and battle arena, specifically used for physical conditioning and Pokémon battles.
At the edge of the training ground, one could also see a huge tempered glass wall, connected to the lake within the Purple Mountain Villa community, which was also where Gigantamax Lapras rested.
"Come out."
Jacob released all of his Pokémon.
"You all train first; we'll do special training later." Jacob let them exercise first, while he picked up his phone and dialed Raya's number.
"Beep."
"Beep."
The phone rang for a while before being answered. Raya's voice came from the other end. "Hello, Jacob, why are you calling me at this hour? You usually only call me at night."
"Cough cough." Jacob felt a little awkward hearing Raya's teasing. "Isn't it because I have something important to discuss with you?"
"What is it? Tell me," Raya asked with a smile. "It just so happens I have something to tell you too."
"I returned to the Capital today," Jacob said concisely. "Someone already knows my identity as Giovanni."
"Who?" Raya asked, frowning. "Your girlfriend, Nina?"
"No..." Jacob shook his head, then recounted the day's events.
"Eleanor?" Hearing Eleanor's name, Raya also pondered.
Although Eleanor was only a scientific researcher, her identity was quite complicated.
Not only because her grandfather was a Champion, but more importantly because of her father.
"If it's her, it is indeed a bit troublesome." Raya frowned and said, "But from your tone, you should have already handled this situation? She shouldn't reveal your identity, right?"
"Mm." Jacob nodded. "She probably doesn't intend to leak it to the Pokémon Association; she just made some conditions. She wants a Gigantamax Pokémon."
"You agreed?"
"Mm." Jacob nodded, but he was also afraid Raya would overthink, as these two Gigantamax Pokémon were hard-won, so he quickly explained. "Just to stabilize her for now."
"You don't need to explain to me. If she really wants it, it's not impossible to give it to her." Compared to many women, Raya's most charming quality was her keen intelligence.
Many people would definitely be unwilling to give up a Gigantamax Pokémon at this time, but Raya saw through these things very clearly. "But Jacob, you must make sure she can keep the secret."
"I'm not sure, that's why I came to ask you," Jacob said. "Do you have any good methods?"
"It's very simple," Raya said with a smile. "First, involve her deeply. The deeper she's involved, the less likely she is to leak the secret."
"Second, if there's truly no other option, you must ensure she can't speak, but her identity is special, and she's in the Capital. She also knows your identity as Giovanni and your trump cards. It would be very difficult for you to quietly eliminate her; the risk is too great."
What Raya said was exactly what Jacob was worried about, plus the relationship with Nina, he hadn't considered that method.
At this point, Raya paused slightly, then continued. "Of course, there's another way."
"You can bypass Eleanor directly and cooperate with Madden, dragging the entire family into it. Then she won't have a choice."