Chapter 142: Special Class Arrangements
— — — — — —
Hancock was admittedly a little disappointed that the Nico Robin she'd found wasn't capable of instantly taking control of an entire aircraft carrier fleet.
Veyron offered to send clones to handle the task, but she turned him down and said it was fine.
Back when she was eyeing the steel warships from the Highschool of the Dead world, it was mostly because Amazon Lily, even with the Calm Belt as a natural defense, didn't feel all that secure.
But now? Things were completely different.
The world's strongest power — the World Government — was nothing more than a puppet under her friends' control. With the Navy and even the emperors of the New World under control, sure, some ambitious fools might still set sail as pirates, but none of them could really shake the status quo.
And more importantly, Hancock herself had grown terrifyingly strong. With the boost from her Gene Lock, she could coat her fists and kicks in Conqueror's Haki, unleashing red-and-black lightning with every strike. Add in the Love-Love Fruit — practically tailor-made for her — and she was more than capable of holding her own against even a Navy Admiral or a Yonko.
So sure, it'd be nice if she could get the fleet up and running. But if it wasn't happening right now? No big deal.
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『Ordinary Human』: If you're good with it, then I won't push it.
Since Hancock didn't need the clones, Veyron didn't bother opening the portal to Umbrella Corp's America HQ.
Instead, he just messaged his secretary at the Excellent Girls' Academy and asked her to swing by his office.
A few minutes later, the click of high heels on tile announced her arrival.
"About those special classes I asked you to set up across the grades — how's that going?"
"They're up and running," the secretary replied professionally. "Each year, we selected 49 top students based on overall performance and special talents. As you requested, all three special classrooms are located in this office building: one directly below your office, and the other two to the left and right."
"Good. Adjust their schedules — compress their regular classes a bit and slot in three martial arts lessons and one meditation session per week."
He gestured to the two girls nearby — one with long purple hair and the other with pink twintails. "These two are Saeko Busujima and Saya Takagi. They'll be teaching the martial arts and meditation classes, respectively."
"Yes, understood."
He continued, "As for these four — Rika Minami, Asami Nakaoka, Kiriko Miyamoto, and Rei Miyamoto — place them in the security department. Once they've adapted, have Rika take over as head of security."
"Shizuka Marikawa is our new school nurse — she'll be in charge of both mental and physical health for the special class students. Also... set them up with villas near each other in the dorm zone."
"Yes, I'll handle it."
And just like that, the secretary led the group — two new instructors, four security staff, a school nurse, and a little loli named Alice who was holding the nurse's hand — over to the lakeside dormitory area.
The Excellent Girls' Academy, in this fusion-world setup, had retained its original identity: an elite, internationally recognized all-girls school where every student was the daughter of some powerful family or another.
Unlike Shuchiin Academy next door — which had a full education system from kindergarten through college — Excellent Academy only offered high school. But in terms of noble prestige and exclusivity, it actually ranked higher. Shuchiin accepted transfer students based on merit, which diluted its "pureblood" status a bit. Excellent didn't.
So yeah, its campus was bigger than a lot of universities.
Well, considering its students came from prestigious families all over the world. To accommodate those who couldn't go home every day, the school provided dormitories—but not the usual cramped dorm rooms. Here, four students shared an entire villa.
There wasn't a single other high school on Earth—this Earth, with its 20,000-kilometer radius—that went this all-out.
After a quick rundown of the dorm setup, the secretary turned to the eight women and asked, "Would you prefer to each have your own villa, or would some of you like to live together?"
"I'll room with Rei," said Kiriko without hesitation.
"I'll stay with Shizuka, then," added Rika.
Asami chose to room with someone—specifically little Alice, since she was still just a child and probably wouldn't do well living alone.
The others, including Saeko Busujima and Saya, opted to live solo.
"Understood. I'll get everything arranged right away," the secretary said, jotting down their preferences.
— — —
Two days later, in the afternoon—
49 third-year students who had already been notified beforehand gathered in one of the school's indoor gyms for their first martial arts class.
"I already thought it was weird enough getting pulled into this so-called 'Special Class,' and now they've got us doing martial arts? What the heck is going on…" Manaka Seto muttered to her best friend while glancing around the room.
Manaka had light blue, medium-length hair and a small beauty mark under her left eye.
"What do you think is going on in our mysterious director's head?"
"We'll know..." replied Shizuru Takahama, a silver blue-haired girl wearing half-rim glasses. "The teacher's already here, watching us in secret."
"Hey, I didn't say anything bad about the teacher or the director. I'm just confused, that's all."
Manaka looked over at a girl with long pink hair standing a few meters away. "Kanako, you got anything? Any inside info?"
The gym fell dead silent at her question. All eyes turned to the pink-haired girl, hoping for answers.
Kanako Tachibana. Third-year student. Student Council President of Excellent Girls' Academy.
But more than that, she had one especially unique connection—she was the daughter of the academy's former chairman. The same chairman who'd built the entire school from the ground up, before handing it off to the current director.
"To be honest… I don't really know, either," Kanako said with a helpless smile, glancing at the crowd of forty-eight expectant faces. "A few months back, right before my father gave up his position and—well, let's be real—forced the other board members out using the family's influence, he told me something: 'Whatever that new director wants, make it happen."
"Cooperate, no matter what."
She paused, then added, "He said it was our honor that someone like that would even consider managing Excellent Girls' Academy."
"....…" ×48
Did she seriously just say honor?
The way Kanako said it, completely serious and without any hint of sarcasm, left the other girls stunned.
Before they could press her for more, the sound of sharp, confident footsteps echoed across the gym floor.
A woman walked in—probably only a few years older than the students—carrying a wooden sword in one hand and, somehow, balancing what looked like a slab of raw meat weighing hundreds of kilos in the other.
She stepped to the front and introduced herself with a calm yet commanding presence.
"My name is Saeko Busujima. I'll be your martial arts instructor from today onward."
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