— — — — — —

The round for Saeko Busujima, Saya Takagi, Rika Minami, and Shizuka Marikawa wrapped up like a grand finale—a beautiful four-part symphony coming to a close.

Even though the timing had been tight and the tasks demanding, Veyron, with his perfect sense of rhythm and pacing, still managed to fill each of their You-Know-What right on schedule.

...

"Chairman, there might be a situation outside."

The moment the five of them stepped out of the chairman's office, the secretary—who had clearly been waiting for a while—approached and reported quickly, "Captain Asami Nakaoka from the Security Division couldn't get in touch with Director Rika Minami, so she forwarded her report to me. According to her—"

"Someone's watching the school from outside?" Veyron cut her off.

"Yes," the secretary nodded. "According to her, just in the area around the main gate alone, she's counted at least seven different surveillance sources coming from multiple directions."

"It's actually nine," Veyron corrected casually. "Two of them are just better hidden, so she missed them."

"...Should I notify the students? Have them stay in the dorms for the time being?" Unfazed, the secretary asked the same thing Shizuka Marikawa had earlier. She clearly wasn't surprised that Veyron could detect stalkers that even their head of security hadn't.

"No need. It's just a bunch of mercenaries—nothing major." Veyron waved it off like it was barely worth mentioning. "There's still some time before they make a move. In the meantime, contact Kiriko Miyamoto and ask logistics to prep some barbecue ingredients and charcoal on the rooftop. Let's kill some time."

---

"Ok."

Kiriko Miyamoto got the message and soon had the logistics crew setting up the rooftop barbecue.

Actually, she went above and beyond.

Even though it was technically just a high school, you could tell right away that this Girl's Academy didn't play by the same rules as ordinary schools. Just look at the dorms—each villa housed only four students. That alone said it all.

The academy didn't enforce strict lights-out policies either. As long as you showed up to class the next day, no one cared if you were wandering around campus at 2 or 3 a.m. At most, a patrolling security guard might remind you to be careful.

So when some students happened to run into the logistics crew and found out they were prepping a rooftop BBQ...

Well, a few of the girls—those who'd gotten along pretty well with Saeko Busujima and Saya Takagi (even though they were technically their teachers), or had a friendly rapport with the school nurse Shizuka Marikawa—came over and shyly asked if they could join.

With a nod from Veyron giving his unspoken approval...

And considering it was a weekend with no classes tomorrow, Saeko and the others decided, "Why not?" and let those students tag along.

And from there? Word spread like wildfire.

One told ten, ten told a hundred—and by 9:30 that night, nearly a hundred students who'd stayed on campus for the weekend had all gathered on the rooftop.

At first, the students held back a little, unsure how to act in front of the ever-so-intimidating Chairman Veyron.

But after a while, they relaxed. They formed little groups with their friends, chatting, laughing, grilling meat—and slowly but surely, the rooftop filled with the kind of youthful energy only high school girls could radiate.

"…Why do I suddenly feel old?" Veyron muttered to himself as he took a bite of grilled seafood skewer Saeko handed him.

"Did I mess up the seasoning, sensei?" Saeko quickly asked, worried.

"It's not that," Veyron shook his head and bit into the perfectly charred, juicy piece of meat. "I was just… thinking about something else."

The meat itself was already top-quality, and with Saeko's expert grilling—clearly done with precise control over the heat—it turned out flawless. The flavor, the texture, everything was just right.

Across from Saeko, a third-year student with short pink hair, Honoka Shinjou, had been listening curiously to their conversation. "Wait… so Chairman Veyron used to be your teacher, Ms. Saeko?"

Saeko gave a soft smile and nodded. "Mm. I studied swordsmanship under him for a while. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am today."

"That's amazing…" Honoka's eyes sparkled with envy.

Not far away, two other girls—Katy Majima, a green-haired foreign exchange student, and Seto Manaka, with light blue shoulder-length hair—both paused what they were doing for just a second.

They wanted to say the exact same thing… but Hanaka beat them to it.

Ever since the existence of the "Extraordinary" had been officially acknowledged, all their family elders had given the same warning: Don't be too obvious with your goals. Don't act too ambitious at school.

At the moment, being a student at the Excellent Girls' Academy was their greatest asset on the road to power.

But let's be real—who here wasn't the daughter of some noble house or powerful family?

Most of them were girls without inheritance rights. After graduation, their futures were set: either start a small career with limited help from the family, marry some random rich guy, or if they were lucky, end up in a political marriage with someone halfway tolerable. Their best-case scenario? A modest allowance and a life of quiet luxury, enough to keep them comfortable—but bored—for the rest of their lives.

Loved, sure. But not as loved as the real heirs.

It was a weird, awkward spot to be in. So even with all the warnings, a lot of the girls just couldn't help themselves—they tried everything to get close to Saeko Busujima and Saya Takagi, the two teachers running the "Extraordinary" classes.

You think all the girls who showed up tonight really came just for a rooftop BBQ? Please. Some were chasing food. Most were chasing connections.

But how did those attempts go?

Two words: total failure.

Meanwhile, Honoka Shinjou—who in their eyes lacked even basic common sense, and wandered through life in a semi-permanent daze—had randomly met Chika Fujiwara, the second daughter of the Fujiwara family, during a visit from Shuchiin Academy. The two of them hit it off for some reason, and Chika brought her straight into Saeko's inner circle.

At the time, Katy and Seto had just been a bit jealous.

But now? Now Honoka had somehow ended up face-to-face with the freaking chairman—thanks to Saeko again.

Katy and Seto could only sigh. Some people were just born lucky in ways you couldn't replicate, no matter how hard you tried.

That said… they weren't exactly unlucky themselves.

Katy, Seto, and Takahama Shizuru—who had just been dragged off by Yuka Ichinose to help with something—shared a villa with Honoka Shinjou.

.

.

.