Ch.278278 – Summer Vacation with Friends

<278 – Summer Vacation with Friends>

Pwooooo.

The luxurious cruise ship sounded its horn, signaling preparations for departure.

After leaving the Academy and arriving at the dock just in time, Oknodie saw a familiar stern face in formal attire and ran toward him with a bright expression.

“Jona~!”

Catching Oknodie’s shoulder with one hand as she ran toward him, Jona spun her around, then set the dizzy girl back on her feet.

Jona’s gaze turned to the students who had followed behind Oknodie and stopped in their tracks from shock.

“While I understand your desire to fully enjoy this reunion, please maintain your dignity, young lady. The position of top scholarship student comes with corresponding responsibilities.”

“Hmph. The Academy never required that.”

“The Foundation does.”

Even Hestia expressed admiration at the sight of Jona handling the mighty Oknodie like a balloon doll.

“What an impressively developed physique. I can sense the compressed muscles bulging beneath that suit. That person possesses extraordinary muscles that even mana refinement techniques couldn’t fully compress.”

“Hahaha! After attending the Academy, I finally understand. That butler was unbelievably strong, wasn’t he?”

Son Ocheon belatedly realized the strength of the butler he had encountered before.

Having survived the harsh first semester at the Academy, he could only now vaguely perceive that level of skill—Jona’s strength was truly extraordinary.

“It’s natural to feel tense, as he might be at the skill level of a professor. After all, he’s a butler of the ‘Wiheomhae Foundation.'”

Giselle approached Jona with a smile while carrying her magic backpack.

She extended her hand in greeting.

“It’s been a while. Since the entrance exam, Oknodie has always missed you. Even after your visit, she wouldn’t stop talking about her butler for quite some time.”

“Our young lady has been greatly indebted to you. On behalf of the Foundation, I thank you for supporting the young lady within the Academy.”

Watching Giselle calmly exchange greetings with such composure, Isabelle thought to herself:

Giselle is no ordinary person either.

While everyone with combat ability admired his strength, and even dangerous individuals like Sing were wary of him, she casually entered Jona’s personal space and offered a handshake.

This wasn’t something one could do without exceptional courage.

But with Giselle breaking the ice, the others gradually relaxed their tense muscles and lowered their guard.

The globally infamous Wiheomhae Foundation seemed to have no hostile intentions toward them, at least for now. If anything, their response was closer to hospitality.

“This cruise ship has been chartered entirely by our Foundation and will operate with verified crew members, so please board without concern.”

Unlike everyone else who hesitated to step forward at this not-at-all reassuring statement, Oknodie excitedly asked:

“Is there a chef in the restaurant?”

“Of course.”

“Let’s hurry and eat! New food!”

As Giselle was pulled along by Oknodie’s insistent tugging, Isabelle and Son Ocheon followed with amused smiles.

Behind them came Dorothy, Rockpell, Hestia, Sing, Arcadia, Zhang, and the others in succession.

* *

Food is the first thing that catches her interest on this vast cruise ship.

Jona thought that the young lady’s direction of obsession was quite consistent.

The cruise ship was a trap the Chairman often used to identify places where someone’s desires were active.

While Oknodie responded to food, Isabelle responded to cooking utensils.

Even in the same place, one could determine what interests a person, what tools could win their favor, or conversely, what kind of traps would be effective.

This information, when compiled, would significantly influence the directives the Foundation might issue someday.

Small favors.

Generous favors.

Favors large and small each come with different costs.

The larger the favor shown, the greater the price to be paid.

“I apologize. I’ve completely lost track of one of the young lady’s friends, someone named Zhang.”

“To evade even the eyes of assassination maids—as expected of the disciple of the Life Thief, one of the Ten Great Thieves of the Continent.”

“I’ll begin the search immediately.”

“That won’t be necessary. Leave it be. Even information that cannot be observed is valid information.”

While Zhang, who was extremely sensitive about information leaks, was nowhere to be seen, there were plenty of others who didn’t easily enjoy the entertainment with their stiff attitudes.

For instance, the “fake friends” who looked suspicious to anyone who saw them.

“Leaf. Are those people really the young lady’s friends?”

“Of course not.”

Near the pool at the bow, Oknodie was munching on watermelon while Ishtar the hero watched her with wary eyes.

Obviously, Oknodie and Ishtar were not in a relationship that could be called friendship.

Yet Oknodie had brought her along.

Going beyond the Chairman’s intention to indulge as much as desired, she had packed up and brought everything, including things that weren’t hers.

From Jona’s perspective, who had some understanding of the Chairman’s intentions, it was simply baffling.

“Not bad for a shabby foundation♡”

“Chartering an entire luxury cruise ship that even our parents’ generation would enjoy—the Foundation must be quite extraordinary indeed.”

At the wine bar, the Imperial Princess and the heir of one of the Three Great Meritorious Families were taking it a step further by enjoying cocktails despite being students.

Jona couldn’t help but question the criteria for being Oknodie’s friend.

“What exactly constitutes a friend to you, young lady?”

“Classmates?”

“Is that why you brought 128 friends?”

Oknodie replied with a face full of regret.

“Everyone declined saying it was too much pressure, so I could only gather this many. Papa told me to bring lots of friends, but I’m embarrassed that there are so few!”

“Don’t worry. No matter how many the Chairman expected, I’m certain it was fewer than 128.”

Even 128 is considered few? She’s too much of a social butterfly.

* *

The lower-class students splashing water and giggling are the Dolphin Pants girls who follow her every morning, aspiring to join the Knight Department.

The female students who start matches at the mere sight of a volleyball and glare at the court from the bench are Magic Department aspirants led by Rozini.

The male boys who hover around the girls, approach them bravely, then walk away with slumped shoulders after being rejected are noble Administrative Department aspirants with time to spare for romance.

‘I’m glad I brought so many!’

Seeing the students who had been stressed from Academy life enjoying themselves made her feel at ease too.

Papa was offering free cruise tickets that reduce stress by 50% and increase favorability by 10 points per boarding—how could she miss this opportunity?

She invited all first-year students, telling everyone who wanted to come to join, and 128 people, including Dorothy, accepted the invitation.

“How rich is Oknodie’s Papa?”

“Hmm… I don’t know!”

“So rich that you don’t even know his wealth!”

That’s not exactly wrong.

I still don’t know much about Papa!

“Total tonnage of 200,000 tons. Length of 350m and width of 50m. A cruise ship with 2,000 crew members and 15 decks, casually chartered—that’s how wealthy he is.”

At Jona’s answer—who stayed by her side saying that serving the young lady was his life’s fulfillment—Titosoga’s mouth gaped in astonishment.

“You’ll catch flies like that?”

“Ah!”

Stupid-soga hurriedly covered his mouth with both hands.

As always, teasing him is fun.

“Why did Papa suddenly want me to bring friends?”

“He wants to know about your social circle. It seems he’d prefer to see it with his own eyes.”

“Ah, so he has special observation abilities!”

Jona’s gaze toward her changed strangely.

It was like the expression of a parent feeling wistful watching a child they thought was immature showing signs of growth.

“Conversely, what do you think is the reason, young lady? The cost of using this cruise ship is by no means cheap. It’s a considerable expense to lavish on your friends.”

There could be several answers.

Perhaps to verify if I’m making friends worth inviting and if my judgment meets expectations.

Or to demonstrate overwhelming wealth and provide solid support so I won’t have to be self-conscious during Academy life.

But well.

One of the Three Great Evils of the Continent wouldn’t arrange this out of mere goodwill or casual curiosity.

“Maybe he wants to play a game of guessing the murderer?”

Jona’s face stiffened with a serious expression.

Apparently not that.

“Or perhaps sealing off cabin areas one by one and giving gifts to the students who survive in the last remaining area?”

“…What exactly have you been learning at the Academy?”

“Hmph. Not this either?”

“As if we would do such things to mere first-years.”

“True. That would be too early, wouldn’t it?”

Even the Three Great Evils wouldn’t advance the third-year summer vacation event this early.

“Then I guess we’re being thrown onto a deserted island so he can watch our love and friendship before coming to take us back.”

Though she was just listing potential events in order of likelihood, Jona looked as shocked as if he’d been hit on the head with a hammer.

“How did you know we’re heading to a deserted island?”

Oops.

Right.

How should I explain how I knew?