The next morning, Jacob packed his belongings and moved into Nina's house. Though they lived under the same roof, they each had their own bedroom.
There was a small part of him that felt a little disappointed, but honestly, Jacob knew he couldn't complain. It was already more than he had expected.
Still, his stay at Nina's place was only meant to be temporary. The night before, after a long think, Jacob had made up his mind — he was going to spend the money and buy a house of his own.
Up until now, he had always held back because of how tight his budget was. But things were different now. After winning big at the Golden Gamble and collecting a large ransom from Champion Meyer, Jacob finally had more than enough to afford a fine villa. A big one, too — one with enough space to properly house all of his Pokémon.
He could have easily bought back into Purple Mountain Villa, but he thought twice about that. Sylvia and Lucia were staying there, and Raya came and went often enough that it would get complicated. It was better to find somewhere fresh.
When it came to house hunting, Jacob didn't think long before calling Raya. She knew these things better than anyone, and she had connections. Besides, the longer he waited to tell her, the worse it would get.
He had already thought it through. Since he was moving out of Purple Mountain Villa, Raya would find out sooner or later. There was no point in hiding it. It was better to be upfront.
When Raya answered the call and heard that Jacob was moving out, her reaction was surprisingly calm. She didn't make a fuss. She even offered to help him find a villa large enough to suit the needs of his Pokémon team.
Listening to her steady, thoughtful words, Jacob felt a quiet pang of guilt. Both Nina and Raya had always supported him without complaint, even when he gave them every reason not to.
He sighed to himself. He really was the worst kind of person.
Once he had sorted his things and settled in, Jacob made his way to a well-known restaurant near the university. He had already promised Julia a meal — he had let her down too many times before, and he wasn't going to do it again.
Before heading out, though, he made sure to check in with both Nina and Raya. It was the right thing to do.
Nina took the news well. They had just shared a lovely evening at a live concert the day before, and things between them were easy and warm. When Jacob mentioned treating Julia to lunch, Nina simply smiled and teased him.
"Jacob, it's pretty obvious that Julia has feelings for you," she said, her smile playful. "Have you thought about going out with her?"
Jacob nearly choked. "That's — no. There's nothing like that. I love you, Nina."
"You said it yourself," Nina replied, still smiling. "So behave, all right? It's just a meal."
"I promise," Jacob said quickly.
Talking to Raya was a different matter entirely. Jacob was on edge from the moment he brought it up.
He knew Julia wasn't Raya's biological daughter, but the bond between them was real. It still made things complicated.
"Raya," Jacob started carefully.
He could have kept quiet and avoided the whole thing, but after thinking it over, he decided it was better to be honest. If Raya found out later on her own, it would only be worse.
"What is it?" Raya asked.
"I'm taking Julia and her friends out for lunch today," Jacob said, a little stiff.
"I know." Raya's reply was completely unexpected. "Julia already called me last night."
"You're not upset?" Jacob asked cautiously.
"I am, a little," Raya said plainly. "But it's just a meal. When Julia heard you were treating her, she called me for half an hour last night — she couldn't hide how happy she was. How was I supposed to say no to that?" She paused. "But Jacob — don't get any strange ideas."
"I won't. I promise."
"Good." There was a smile in Raya's voice, but the firm edge beneath it made Jacob's stomach drop. "Don't let me down."
Jacob arrived at the restaurant well ahead of time and waited by the reserved private room. He had chosen the place carefully — not just for Julia, but to make a good impression on her friends as well.
Half an hour later, a cheerful group of young people stepped out of a taxi and made their way inside.
"Jacob!" Julia spotted him the moment she walked into the room. A bright smile spread across her face as she walked straight over and set her bag on the seat beside him — claiming it without a second thought.
After settling in, she called the others over and everyone began finding seats.
There were eleven of them in total: eight girls and three boys, all classmates or dorm neighbors of Julia's. The boys were three of the girls' partners. It had barely been a week since the semester began, and somehow three couples had already formed.
Of the three boys, Jacob recognized one — he was pretty sure they were in the same class. The other two were older, one a third-year student and one from another university entirely.
"Everyone, please sit down. Don't be shy," Jacob said with an easy smile, catching the waiter's eye and giving a small nod to signal they were ready.
"Jacob, you really went all out," said a tall girl almost immediately, grinning at him with a warm, bold manner that carried the unmistakable accent of someone from northeastern Unova. "We're the ones benefiting here — eating well on Julia's account."
Julia leaned over to Jacob and quietly said, "Her name's Amira."
"Then I won't hold back," Amira declared, laughing. "Though Julia, you're already whispering to him and we haven't even started eating?"
She winked. "Jacob, if you're after Julia's heart, you've got a long road ahead of you. You'll have to pass our inspection first. Let's start with how well you hold your liquor."
"Stop it," Julia said, her cheeks going pink, though she didn't miss a beat turning to Jacob with proper introductions. "This is Amira — she's the oldest in our dorm, and she's from northeast Unova. This is Sienna, she's from the Johto region — and this is her boyfriend, Griffin, also from Johto. He's studying at Imperial Medical University..."
"And this is Summer— third in our dorm."
The introductions went around the whole table. Jacob did his best to keep up, greeting each person in turn and committing what names he could to memory.
"What would everyone like to drink?" he asked once the formalities were done.
"Spirits," Amira said without hesitation. "It's a happy occasion — might as well drink right. If hard liquor's too strong, there's always wine."
A few of the other girls nodded along, not wanting to disagree.
"How about this," Jacob offered with a smile. "No pressure on anyone — drink whatever you're comfortable with, as much or as little as you like."
"Fair enough," Amira agreed. She glanced at the others and relented a little. "I'm not going to force anyone. But Jacob," she said, turning back to him with a pointed look, "you're drinking today."
"That's fine by me," Jacob replied with a grin.