Chapter 37

Nodding, Bill asked, "Wow, cool! What's your teacher's name?"

Puffing out her chest, Sasha proudly answered, "My teacher is the honorable Marine Knight T-Bone! Thanks to his methods, I..."

Ricky's face fell even more, and he couldn't hold back any longer. Interrupting her mid-sentence, he said, "Um... Sasha, you have a booger."

WHAT?! — with a shriek that betrayed her calm demeanor, Sasha began checking her nose. While she did that, Ricky shouted, "OH MY GOD, SASHA ZIMA IS PICKING HER NOSE!"

As all eyes at the dock turned to the trio, Sasha, with a finger in her nose, paled and screamed, "RICKY!"

Moving like lightning, the girl struck Ricky on the back of the head before he could react.

Seeing Ricky fall to the ground despite all his efforts, Bill just thought, "Well, you get what you deserve."

Looking at the headline of the paper on his desk, Bill sat in class with four friends.

More than six months had passed since Sasha's return. During this time, Rance, who had become a ship's boy, began attending classes with Ricky, Fie, Sasha, and Bill himself.

Rance had received a basic education; he could read and do arithmetic, but knew little beyond that.

During this time, on his tenth birthday, an old man affiliated with the Science Department of the World Government came to check on his mother. To Bill's surprise, it was the very doctor he had seen when he was a baby.

The old man was dressed in the same white lab coat, striped shirt, and wore the same gold examination gloves. Bill didn't catch his name, but according to him, his mother was no longer benefiting from her treatment.

He talked about some anomalies in her "Lineage Factor," which Bill assumed was DNA, but how could he explain that?

Even though his mother had these "anomalies," the old scientist explained that she would be inclined to "experience apprehension about the outside world," but: "There is no need to fear the outside world," as her condition was stable.

After the doctor gave his permission, his mother finally, after ten long years, dared to leave the apartment. Now she was unofficially working together with his father, which seemed like a good idea to Bill.

Looking around at his classmates, Bill thought it might be helpful. All of them were planning to join the Sailors, and if the topic was addressed correctly, it could be memorable.

Thinking about this, Miss Angie cleared her throat and began to speak: "In life and in your career, there will always be one group of people present. They are there when you are on the rise and disappear when you fall. These people are the Flatterers."

Looking at the five children, she continued: "Because success often leads to complacency. Those who become complacent start looking for easy ways and are easily swayed by flattering words when they hear what is pleasing to their ears. "Many lose everything because they either follow what they want to hear or cannot face the truth," she said, looking at the children seriously.

"But remember this and never forget: when someone can tell you the truth, you lose respect for these people," she continued.

Pausing, she asked, "Does anyone have questions on this topic?"

Seeing no raised hands, Miss Angie turned to Ricky and asked, "Richcho, what do you think about this issue?"

After a moment of silence, Ricky replied, "Does it mean you shouldn't trust people who tell you what you want to hear?"

Shaking her head, Miss Angie clearly responded, "No, remember this: people cannot exist alone. In life, you need others, and following this path only leads to disdain. When a person, whether in their private life or a leadership position, begins to look down on others with disdain, it quickly leads to hatred and disgust."

Seeing that nobody else was speaking up, she turned to Bill and asked, "What solution against flatterers would you propose, William?"

After thinking for a moment, Bill answered, "In leadership... a leader should surround themselves with only a few advisers. These advisers are the only ones who can speak the truth to him, and only when he asks for it himself. It's challenging... I think... in practice, but ideally, a leader should listen to the opinions of these few and make the final decision based on their own conclusions. As for flatterers in personal life? "I'm not exactly sure, but I think the first step is to avoid disproportionate relationships."

Looking at Bill with approval, Miss Angie nodded, "Excellent, I hope everyone heard that. But also remember that advisers can be flatterers too. Therefore, as a leader, you must be steadfast and resolute in your decisions. If you aren't, you can easily be swayed by others' opinions. You must also be unyielding. If you aren't, you will be overthrown."

In this way, the class continued for a few more hours. There were no grades in these lessons; everything was based on participation.

When the class finished, Fia and Rance said their goodbyes and went about their activities. Rance "worked" under Captain Trapano's guidance, while Fia helped in the kitchen. Fia, in particular, decided not to study the Six Powers, but she was still shown how to do Trapano's Meditative Push-Ups.

Bill had no strong opinion on the matter and decided to leave it to her discretion.