The Next Day, Grand Line
A transport ship flying a Slime flag was sailing on a calm sea.
Not far away, a pirate ship was sinking.
"Hmph! These mere pirates actually thought they could rob me! They're simply overestimating themselves!"
Aihara Enju, who had just sunk the pirate ship and returned to the deck, declared proudly, hands on her small waist.
"That was just an unknown small-time pirate! Look how proud you are!"
"If you encounter a Warlord of the Sea or one of the Four Emperors, I suggest you little girl hide and run!"
Zhong Chen said teasingly, lying on a beach chair.
"Hmph! What Warlord of the Sea or Four Emperors? They're all trash in front of our Tokiwadai Middle School!"
"Enju... that's not good to say. You should listen to Chen Gege!"
Xiao Meihui said to Enju with concern.
"Oh, Meihui Jie Jie, I was just saying! If I really encounter someone I can't beat, I can always call for help!"
Hearing this, Zhong Chen slowly stood up from his lounge chair and said to the many young lolis present:
"Mm! In short, you must understand one truth: if you encounter someone you can't beat, you must run away immediately!"
"Remember, you don't need to run very fast, but you must be faster than the last person, understood?"
"Oh!!!"
"Alright, I'm not staying with you little girls anymore. I'm going to find your Rimuru Jie Jie!"
Watching Zhong Chen walk into the ship's cabin, Aihara Enju asked Veldora with a puzzled expression:
"That's right! Why isn't Rimuru Jie Jie awake yet? Even Milim Jie Jie is awake! Is she sick?"
Veldora put down his manga and looked at Aihara Enju with an embarrassed expression.
He was thinking, is this guy really a loyal fan of Eromanga Sensei?
How could she not understand something so obvious?
"Uh... she should be fine! Enju, you're still young. You'll understand when you grow up!"
"So suspicious!"
Aihara Enju stared at Veldora with an expression that clearly said, 'You're definitely hiding something from me.'
Meanwhile, Fuse Midori, who had already seen through everything, gently tugged on Aihara Enju and said softly:
"Enju, don't ask anymore! Let's go fishing!"
"Alright! Come on, I'm going to catch the biggest fish today!!!"
Watching Aihara Enju being led away by the white-haired loli, Veldora finally let out a sigh of relief, then picked up his manga and continued reading.
Zhong Chen, who had arrived at his room in the ship's cabin, looked at Rimuru still sound asleep on the bed, a smile he couldn't hide playing on his lips.
"Rimuru! Time to get up! The sun's already on your bottom!"
Zhong Chen gently nudged Rimuru's body hidden under the covers. Rimuru groggily opened her eyes.
Seeing that it was Zhong Chen, she instantly sobered up and couldn't help but shout:
"Ah ah ah!!! A Chen, why are you here?!"
Seeing Rimuru pull up the covers to hide her body, sit up, and shout, a black line flashed across Zhong Chen's forehead.
You were the one who came to my room with a pillow last night. Do you really need to be so surprised now?
"My esteemed Lady Rimuru, would you like to recall what happened last night?"
Hearing Zhong Chen's words, Rimuru thought back to the events of last night.
The more she thought, the redder her delicate little face became, almost turning into a steam engine.
"Uh... even... even if it was me... you didn't suffer any loss, did you? I'm still hurting now!"
"Get out quickly! I need to get dressed!"
Zhong Chen's eyes lit up at this. He sat steadily on the edge of the bed, with an expression that said, 'Go ahead and get dressed, I'll just sit here and watch, I'm definitely not leaving.'
"Mmm mmm... Get out quickly!"
Seeing Rimuru about to die of embarrassment, Zhong Chen was finally chased out with a look of regret.
"Is there a need to be so shy? What haven't I seen last night! Sigh!"
Seeing Zhong Chen finally leave, Rimuru recalled everything that happened last night, feeling both shy and happy.
Shy because she was instigated by Veldora yesterday and impulsively ran over.
Happy because, as Raphael predicted, A Chen did not reject her.
"Hmph hmph! Now I also have a reason to stop the swarms of women flocking to A Chen!"
..."Report, Lord Chen! The training ship is about to arrive at Alabasta's Nanohana Port!"
Zhong Chen, who was sitting cross-legged on the deck playing Gobang with Milim, looked up when he heard his subordinate's report and said:
"Have the children's training routes been arranged?"
As a member of the Academy Guard, this squad leader was already familiar with the academy's arrangements and quickly replied:
"Yes! The Chairwoman has made a complete plan for this trip based on the intelligence received from the Covert Operations Unit!"
"This ship has a total of two hundred and thirty students, and fifty Security Force members have been assigned to ensure the students' safety!"
"We plan to depart from Nanohana Port, ride camels across the desert all the way to the famous city of Rainbase."
"After sightseeing, we will then proceed to Alabasta's capital, Alubarna."
"Afterwards, we intend to communicate with the royal family of that country to see if the students can visit the royal palace, which is said to be 4,000 years old."
"This is our ship's training route! What do you think, Lord Chen!"
That's right, the Academy Guard squad leader was referring to *their* ship. In fact, more than a hundred training ships were dispatched for this training session.
These training ships were heading to different destinations, some to the Four Seas, some to famous countries on the Grand Line.
There was even one ship whose destination was the New World, and the commander of the Academy Guard was on that ship, responsible for protection.
"Mm, the plan is good, proceed with it! Make sure to protect the children's safety, understood?"
Zhong Chen said to the squad leader in front of him with a serious expression.
"Yes! Rest assured, Lord Chen!"
The soldier quickly placed his right hand over his chest and assured Zhong Chen.
Zhong Chen waved his hand, signaling that he could go about his business. The squad leader then turned to prepare for disembarkation.
At this time, the security soldiers at Nanohana Port also discovered the training ship carrying Zhong Chen and the others.
However, they had never seen a ship made entirely of steel.
If they hadn't seen that the flag was not a pirate flag, they would have sounded the alarm long ago.
"Hey hey hey! This ship is too big! Raff, should we report this to the captain?"
The soldier whispered to his companion beside him.
"No need, it's not a pirate ship, and there are no cannons visible. It should just be a special merchant ship!"
"You're right!"
Click... As the anchor was secured in the port, Zhong Chen and a few others led the way off the ship.
Behind them followed a group of little sprouts less than 1.4 meters tall.
"Wow, what a beautiful girl! I've never seen such a beautiful girl before!"
A passerby in the port couldn't help but exclaim in admiration when he saw Rimuru disembark.
"Indeed, and look, why are there so many cute little girls!"
"They're even wearing the same uniforms. It seems they must all be children from noble families!"
And in the bustling crowd, a blue figure took a deep look in this direction before slowly disappearing into the crowd...