Volume 7 Chapter 5 Come to Think of It, I Actually Got Called to the Principal's Office Quite a Lot
"Huh? Expulsion?!"
"It's not decided yet," Lucius sighed apologetically at Randy, who blurted out the question.
Randy got encouragement from his father Alan and Keith in the form of "Do your best at school" indirectly, but when he went to school the next day, he was called to the principal's office by Principal Lucius.
After Randy finished the required courses in the morning, he was told "You might get expelled" in the principal's office before lunch.
Randy, who didn't even sit on the sofa, asked, "Huh? Seriously?" Lucius urged him to sit down on the sofa.
"Coffee's okay?"
Randy could only nod and say "Yes" as Lucius made coffee for him as always. He was in a total state of confusion.
The two words "Expulsion" swirled in his head. "Lucky," "No way," thoughts crossed over and over, and he couldn't process those 2 words well.
Randy finally managed to digest those heavy 2 words when a steaming cup of coffee was offered to him.
"Thank you for the meal."
When he tilted the cup, the familiar bitterness spread in his mouth, and the warmth slowly seeped into his body, as if in proportion to his calming feelings.
Randy, who had taken a breath, was ashamed of his previous blank reply and bowed his head to Lucius.
"Don't worry about it. It's a sudden story. You must be upset."
Lucius was being considerate, but Randy just gave a wry smile. Because...
"Well, I thought it was a bit lucky."
...Randy scratched his head and said that he had been stopped from dropping out by his family, but if the school told him to leave, he could quit with a big wave. Lucius looked at him with a dumbfounded expression at Randy's words.
"You're that kind of guy, huh?"
"No, no. I don't really want to quit."
Randy shook his head in a hurry, saying that the coming year would undoubtedly be a crucial time in his life. Certainly, Randy has no interest in academics, but it's still a valuable year to spend as a student with Liz and Ellie.
He has other friends too. Once graduated, he probably won't see them often. Thinking about that, he reckoned student life wasn't so bad.
Of course, there are parts he finds troublesome, but as Alan would put it, Randy's got a lot on his mind about things you can only experience at the academy.
"So, I don't mean to be a downer, but..."
Randy scratched his cheek and returned Lucius's gaze, realizing he hadn't mentioned the possible reason for dropping out.
"Could it be about that incident at the entrance ceremony?"
Remembering the brief conversation with Ragnar, Randy furrowed his brows, and Lucius shook his head with a wry smile.
"Surely it's not just that..."
Lucius, with a bitter expression, averted his gaze from Randy, who might have piqued his interest. Lucius showed a subtle reaction of "Huh?" to the unexpected remark before nodding vigorously, acknowledging it was plausible.
"Did I stir things up unnecessarily?"
"Well, it's not that you stirred... they just kept throwing boomerangs."
Randy scowled, feeling like he was close to an argument, but Lucius let out a heavy sigh, recognizing it as the stance of the empire's successor.
"Even if you understand, you must flaunt the fact that you 'won'. To assert the power of the empire both domestically and abroad, you see."
Lucius informed him that among the people he brought along, there were also imperial officials.
"Well, I get what you're trying not to say."
Randy also sighed and leaned his body against the backrest. From Randy's perspective, he couldn't help but think that if he hadn't unnecessarily said "I won," he could have saved himself some embarrassment.
"If you understand, you should've just laughed it off."
Showing a dumbfounded face, Lucius, Randy stuck out his tongue, teasing, "Still a kid, aren't you?"
"Well, what happened wasn't entirely meaningless, that's a fact."
Just as Lucius said, it's a decent pitch to the Empire's clueless bureaucrats. Meaning, from Ragnar's perspective, it was a meaningful chat, but Randy's totally in the dark.
"By the way, not aimed at you, but he kept saying, 'If you have problems in school, let me know,' you know? Regardless, he's definitely interested."
Randy asked Lucius, rubbing his chin, to undo the 'might get kicked out' thing, but Lucius shook his head, saying it was impossible.
"What the...?"
Lucius explained to a frowning Randy that the Prince, despite his title, has his reasons for being useless.
"The conditions for expulsion are still undecided, but it's also true that it depends on you from now on."
"I see... So, they'll set some kind of standard, and if I cross it, I'm out, huh?"
Lucius nodded at Randy's words. If that's how it is, they can't just take it back. He wonders if he can stop them from making the standard... but judging from Lucius's tone, that's not possible either.
Lucius stayed silent, not speaking, as Randy pondered. It's not that he's dodging the answer, but since Randy's thinking, he's letting him reach his own conclusion.
(The headmaster, who's at the top of the school, can't interfere with the standards...)
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