On the private jet heading to Victoria, Julian looked helplessly at Ella, who was dressed in a flight attendant uniform, hanging her head low as if she had done something wrong.
"Why are you following me?"
This mission was dangerous, and while Julian was confident he could keep himself safe, Ella—well, that was another story.
"Commander, it was Elder Walker who asked me to accompany you," Ella said softly.
"Grand-Uncle?"
That made Julian even more frustrated. He didn't doubt Ella's words—after all, without the approval of the Elder Council, Ella would never have dared to act on her own.
Moreover, this was the Walker Group's private jet. For Ella to have managed to get on board, someone from the inside must have helped her.
As for why James wanted Ella to accompany him, the main reason was that he hoped to bring Julian and Ella together.
Although Nicole was excellent, her grandfather was Duke, the strongest champion of Drakoria. If Julian were to marry Nicole, it would be a powerful alliance between two prominent families.
The Walker family was already the top aristocratic family, with two champions. If Julian were to marry Nicole, the Walker family would then have three champions—one being the current strongest champion, and another the youngest champion, a seed for the world's strongest powerhouse.
With such power concentrated together, it could even pose a threat to the political authority of Drakoria. Even with James mediating within the Elder Council, the other five Elders might secretly grow wary of the Walker and Aldridge families.
After all, Drakoria had always been a nation prone to internal strife throughout history.
Subjects holding more power than the monarch had been a taboo in every dynasty.
Even if the Walker family had no such intentions, other high-ranking officials in Drakoria might not see it that way.
As a member of the Walker family, James naturally wanted the family to grow stronger. But as a member of the Elder Council, he was caught in a difficult position.
After all, the Walker family didn't really need the Aldridge family's support, so he simply favored Ella becoming Julian's partner instead.
But if Julian ultimately chose Nicole, the Walker family wouldn't go looking for trouble—yet they certainly wouldn't fear it either.
Since Ella was already on the plane, Julian couldn't very well kick her off, especially since the plane had already taken off.
"Forget it, change into something else. Although that outfit does look good on you."
Julian shook his head, giving her a careful once-over. He had to admit, the outfit fit her perfectly, accentuating her well-proportioned figure.
Noticing Julian's gaze, Ella blushed slightly, her heart quietly brimming with joy. She asked in a quiet voice: "So… should I change, or not?"
Julian: "…Forget it, just change when we land."
Since she was already wearing it, taking it off would be too much trouble. Yes, that was all there was to it.
Jirachi watched the scene carefully, then suddenly revealed an enlightened expression. Tugging at Celebi, it whispered: "Celebi, this is what humans call 'uniform play,' right?"
"That's right, Jirachi, you're learning so fast! Then let me ask you, what do you call this behavior of Julian's?" Celebi looked like a proud teacher with a promising student.
Jirachi thought for a moment: "Julian is abusing his power for personal pleasure."
"Brilliant!"
Celebi nodded.
'Abusing power for personal pleasure'—even Celebi hadn't thought of that one. As expected of its little brother, its brain worked so well.
Julian's face turned dark. Had these two forgotten he was sitting right there? Fortunately, Ella couldn't understand what they were saying, or his hard-earned reputation would have been ruined.
He looked at Celebi with a stern expression and said, "If you keep tarnishing my reputation and corrupting Jirachi, I'll delete your Pokémon Glory account right in front of you."
Seeing Celebi's expression of—"I'm sorry, boss, but I'll dare to do it again next time"—Julian simply lay back in his seat and put on an eye mask.
The flight from the capital to Victoria would take about six hours.
His plane had departed at eleven in the morning, so they'd arrive around five in the evening.
Since it was a private jet, there was signal even at high altitude.
Celebi and Jirachi were clearly full of energy, spending the entire trip either chatting or glued to their phones, with Ella occasionally bringing them some snacks.
In the cockpit, the pilot noticed the radar flashing rapidly, with a red dot appearing.
"A Flying-type Pokémon has appeared. Strength: Elite-tier!" the co-pilot said anxiously.
Aircraft were equipped with deterrent devices that emitted sounds to keep flying Pokémon away. Additionally, flight routes were regularly cleared by specialized personnel.
Under these circumstances, if a flying Pokémon still appeared on the flight path, the protectors on board would need to resolve the situation.
But this time, it was an Elite-level Pokémon.
"Don't panic, Champion Walker is on the plane. What do we have to worry about?" The captain gave the co-pilot a sideways glance—too young, too easily rattled.
The co-pilot froze. Right, Champion Walker was on the plane. This was arguably the safest aircraft in the world.
Up ahead, a fierce-looking Swellow stared coldly at the approaching plane, gathering a Hyper Beam in its mouth.
"Captain, why hasn't Champion Walker taken action yet?" the co-pilot asked nervously as the plane drew closer to the red dot on the radar.
Since it was still far away, he couldn't see the Swellow with his naked eyes at all.
"What are you panicking for?" The captain's expression remained calm.
'Dammit, I can't panic. In front of the rookie, I'm determined to keep up the act.'
"Screech—"
The two of them seemed to have heard a sharp, clear cry.
Then a red figure flashed past the side of the plane.
Inside the cabin, Julian removed his eye mask.
He said calmly, "Quite bold."
"Tres~"
Another clear cry sounded.
Outside the window, Moltres' red figure spread its wings and soared, guarding the plane like a protector.
"Commander, when did you release Moltres?" Ella asked curiously.
"It has been outside all along. It said it felt stuffy inside the Poké Ball," Julian explained.
Inside the cockpit.
The captain watched as the red dot disappeared, his expression remained calm as he said, "See? Champion Walker has taken action. There was nothing for you to worry about. You looked pretty pathetic just now."
The co-pilot smiled awkwardly. "Won't happen again. Captain, that bird just now—that was Moltres, right?"
"Of course. Such a magnificent bird could only be a Legendary."
"This is my first time seeing Moltres up close. When I tell people about this later, they're going to be so jealous."
The co-pilot wore an expression that seemed to say, "Mom, I've made it—I saw Moltres!"
"In the future, you'll see Moltres often. And not just Moltres, but also Champion Walker's other Pokémon. After all, the plane we're flying is Champion Walker's private jet."
'Though Champion Walker hardly ever uses it.'
The captain silently added that last part to himself.
*****
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