Mission 28

A month before midterms, the head of Glooman Pharmaceuticals tells his secretary that he will surrender the company presidency on the tenth of the coming month; the firm's finances left no alternative. His son George eavesdrops at the office door and mishears the situation as the company ceasing to exist entirely.

In the present, Cecile Hall students clean the school grounds. Becky and Anya chat about post-midterm calm until Damian's showboating "Desmond Style Rolling Sweep" kicks dirt into their faces, drawing a crowd of admirers around him. Anya then picks up George's hostile thoughts toward Damian and is startled to learn he is the client who hired Daybreak, the spy meant to wreck Damian's scores, a scheme she recognizes from Loid's mind. Becky, misreading her curiosity as another crush, warns her that George is too gloomy to bother with.

Refusing to give up, George plants a cigarette butt near Damian, accuses him of smoking, and knocks himself down to sell an assault. His story unravels when Anya, of all people, steps forward and tells the teacher what actually happened, a defense that leaves Damian blushing and Becky squealing about romance. Cornered, George breaks down and explains himself: his family firm went bankrupt today, he blames the Desmond Group for crushing it, and he hoped an expulsion would distract Damian's family long enough to spare the company. Believing he will leave Eden and end up destitute, he spirals into self-pity, and his classmates respond with unexpected kindness. Damian buys him juice, secures him the cafeteria's deluxe caviar bowl, and even lends his Stella Star to make it possible. The students grant his final request, a farewell rendition of the school chorus, and shower him with parting gifts, promising he will always belong to Cecile Hall.

That evening Anya recounts the drama at home. Yor is moved; Loid dryly observes that a buyout is not bankruptcy. Sure enough, George's father explains that the Desmond Group rescued the company from insolvency, costing him only his title, and George can keep attending school. His return the next day is met with disgusted stares, demands to give back the gifts, repayment requests from Damian, and a pitying pat on the shoulder from Anya.

George Glooman debuts and is revealed as the client behind Daybreak's exam sabotage. His attempt to frame Damian collapses when Anya publicly defends him, an act Becky and Damian both read as romantic. The class stages an emotional farewell for George, complete with gifts and a chorus, only to learn the Desmond Group actually saved his family's company, turning the goodbye into an embarrassment he must live down.

Mission 28 covers 23 pages in Volume 5, released June 15, 2020, within the Midterm Exams Arc and adapted in Episode 19. George and Becky share the cover, and both George and his father debut here.

The anime's Episode 19 nameplate gives George's father the first name Jack, but Chapter 107 later establishes it as Denis. George's back-turned peace sign during his farewell references a moment from former Nogizaka46 member Nanami Hashimoto's graduation concert.