At first, when he heard Momonga talk about "class by class," Ortoren instinctively imagined there would be dozens of people. But when all the students had arrived and Admiral Zephyr stood at the podium, he suddenly realized that the "class" in his mind was nothing like what Momonga and the others ant.
What they called a "class" was barely more than ten people.
And Ortoren could recognize almost all of them.
Aside from the three he already knew, the trainees who arrived afterward included Onigumo, Doberman, Dalmatian, Strawberry, Stainless, and Cancer—every one of them a mber of Marine Headquarters.
Following close behind was soone who wasn't from Headquarters. No one else seed to know him, but Ortoren did. The man looked a little sleazy—not just because of his face, but because of the way he hunched his shoulders and kept his head low. Even his deanor gave off that sa impression. His na was Tokikake.
Among this group of Headquarters officers, Tokikake—a Captain from a branch base—was easy to overlook. But Ortoren knew that out of everyone here, Tokikake would later stand out the most, eventually becoming not only a Vice Admiral at Headquarters but also a candidate for Admiral.
When Ortoren first heard the na "Captain Cancer," he'd thought it was a woman and had even felt a bit of anticipation. In the end, Cancer turned out to be a man—and, to Ortoren's surprise, a strikingly handso blond. He was the only one in the class who could rival Ortoren in looks.
From what he could see, the entire class was made up of n. Not a single woman in sight.
On the podium, Admiral Zephyr smiled as he took off his sunglasses, sweeping his gaze over the rows of seats.
"Is everyone here?"
After scanning the crowd, Zephyr's brows lifted.
"One is missing."
The words drew surprised looks from many of the Marines in the room. Missing? Who would dare be late to sothing like this?
Even Ortoren was taken aback. Being late at a mont like this was usually the kind of entrance reserved for the main character in a story. But wasn't he supposed to be the main character?
Soone was showing him up. He'd been careless—arriving too early!
Just then, as if perfectly tid, the door slid open. A female Marine stepped in, wearing a pink suit that showed off her long legs and an undeniably provocative figure. She leaned against the doorfra, breathing heavily, her "absolute justice" swaying with every breath.
"Sorry, sorry, Admiral Zephyr. I had urgent intel to report, so I'm a little late!"
Before Zephyr could reply, Tokikake—seated in the last row—suddenly shot to his feet as if electrified. He bowed deeply, then extended a hand toward her.
"Nice to et you. My na is Tokikake, Captain from the G-6 Marine Base. I may not know your na yet, and this might seem a bit forward, but… please go out with !!!"
Ortoren recognized her instantly. This was Momousagi, the woman who would one day beco an Admiral candidate.
Even so, he hadn't expected Tokikake to be this bold. Did the man not care about timing or place when making a confession?
After Tokikake's declaration, the other Marines in the class seed to register what had just happened. One by one, they turned to him with looks of admiration and disbelief—though a few eyes held a spark of jealousy.
Yes, that ant you, Momonga.
"Damn it, I was here first!" Momonga gritted his teeth.
"What are you talking about?" Ortoren asked quietly.
"A month ago, I got so important intel out at sea, so I had the honor of personally visiting the Intelligence Staff Office. That's when I got to know the beautiful Gion and even got her Den Den Mushi number..." Momonga said through clenched teeth.
Yamakaji, standing nearby, chose the perfect mont to expose him.
"It's the Den Den Mushi shared by the Second Intelligence Division."
"What's the difference? Gion's still the one who answers it!" Momonga shot Yamakaji a glare, then turned back to Ortoren. "I was planning to ask her out for dinner when I got the chance, but I didn't expect... soone else would confess first!"
"You waited an entire month and now you're blaming soone else for beating you to it?" Ortoren couldn't help but mock.
"Ahem..." Momonga looked slightly embarrassed. "I've just been under a lot of ntal pressure. Only so blockhead from outside Headquarters would dare to be that direct."
"So Gion's really that popular?" Ortoren asked.
"She's called the flower of Marine Headquarters, what do you think? The line of guys wanting to chase her goes from Marineford to Mary Geoise. But so far, not a single person's succeeded," Momonga replied without hesitation.
Just then, Gion seed to recover from her initial surprise. She glanced at Tokikake, politely shook her head, and said, "Sorry, you're not my type~"
The mont she refused, the male Marines in the class lit up. So even clapped. Following the sound, Ortoren spotted the culprit—it was Onigumo!
So the guy who'd been wearing that cold, aloof corpse face since walking in was actually this much of a closet show-off?
Tokikake, however, looked like a man well-versed in rejection. At her words, he straightened up with an expression of regret, withdrew his hand, and said, "Even though you're rejecting now, that's only because we don't know each other yet. Once you truly get to know , you'll see what an exceptional man I am. I'm sure by then you won't turn down. That's right—I won't give up. Whether it's once or a hundred tis, I'll keep confessing!!"
With the Admiral of the Marines standing right there on stage, Ortoren couldn't help but want to give Tokikake a thumbs-up.
"When it cos to awkward confessions, I, Benn Ortoren, am willing to call you the strongest, Brother Tokikake!"
On stage, Zephyr thought to himself, I've been an Admiral for so many years—what haven't I seen? But this? This I really haven't seen before.
Just as Gion seed unsure how to respond, Admiral Zephyr stepped in at the perfect mont.
"All right, all right, enough fooling around. If you had your reasons, I'll forgive you for being late this ti. Now hurry and find a seat."
"Yes, Zephyr-sensei!" Gion replied smoothly, then began scanning the room for a place to sit.
Tokikake struck again. He stood up, moved aside the empty seat next to him, and gestured for her to take it.
Of course—being new and unfamiliar with everyone here, Tokikake had ended up in the last row. That ant the only empty seat in the room was right beside him, giving him a perfect chance to be Gion's desk mate.
Momonga, sitting next to Ortoren, was practically green with envy, gripping the desk like he could crush it and looking ready to trade places in a heartbeat.
If Tokikake hadn't made that awkward confession earlier, Gion—knowing her temperant—probably wouldn't have done anything impolite. But now she clearly wanted to avoid sitting with him and jeopardizing her studies. Her gaze swept the room, then locked onto sothing, and she headed straight toward Ortoren's group.
When Momonga saw his goddess approaching, his face lit up with joy. Could his luck really be turning?
He even shot Ortoren a glance and nudged him with an elbow.
"If Gion wants to sit here with , my friend, I'll have to trouble you to take a seat in the back."
Otoren gave the ungrateful guy a sideways look.
"Then you owe five drinks."
"No problem—fifty drinks if you want!" Momonga agreed without hesitation.
At that mont, Gion reached their desk. She smiled warmly and said, "Commodore Momonga, long ti no see~"
Momonga's heart skipped a beat. See that? She rembers !
Putting on his friendliest smile, he said, "Commodore Gion, long ti no see. Is there anything I can help you with?"
Like chasing away my desk mate for you. I know you're too shy to say it, but don't worry—I'd be happy to help.
Gion looked pleasantly surprised at how agreeable he was and nodded.
"Yes, I was hoping you could switch seats with . My eyesight isn't great, and I'd rather not sit in the last row. Would that be okay?"
Would that be okay???
Momonga's face twitched. Not really.
But seeing her expectant expression, he couldn't bring himself to refuse. Forcing a smile, he said, "Of course, no problem. I have great eyesight—I can see the blackboard clearly from anywhere."
With that, he rose from his seat, looking a little defeated. Yamakaji, sitting on his other side, couldn't hold it in any longer. He covered his mouth, pounding the desk as he laughed so hard he nearly choked.
Even Ortoren almost burst out laughing. He'd thought Tokikake was the only big shot in this class—but it turned out there was another master sitting right here.
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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