Volume 7 Chapter 8 It's Easy to Forget the Simple Things
"I've got an idea," Randy said, relying on Liz and Ellie, and returned to Victor on a weekday.
In the afternoon of a weekday, the sound of Randy's footsteps echoed through the tranquil halls of Victor's mansion, stopping abruptly in front of Alan's office door.
After knocking a few times, "Old man──" Randy called out, but there was a moment of silence before Alan responded with a resigned sigh from behind the door.
'...Come in.'
At the sound of his voice, Randy burst in with a "Sorry to intrude."
Randy noisily entered the room, and Alan greeted him with a thoroughly annoyed expression, holding his head and speaking up.
"...What have you done?"
"Huh? I haven't done anything."
Randy's tone was sharp, but to Alan, coming back in the late afternoon on a weekday like this could only mean trouble.
"Could it be you're planning to cause some now?"
Alan's face twitched as he glanced between Liz and Ellie standing behind Randy, but neither knew what Randy was thinking, so they could only smile bitterly and shrug.
"I'm not gonna cause trouble. Have a little faith, would ya?"
Randy's tone grew sharper, and Alan let out a sigh, suggesting that if there were such a thing as trust, he wouldn't be struggling.
"You may not intend to, but you must have returned to do something?"
"Well, yeah. I was thinking about the development of Verinea, and how to promote it."
Randy said this while making no move to sit on the sofa, prompting Alan to raise an eyebrow.
"You seem in a hurry."
"Well, sure. It's not for you, Old man, it's for Clarice."
Randy clarified that he was just stopping by to ask for Clarice's whereabouts, to which Alan informed him that Clarice was currently in the reception room with Madame, his mother Grace, and Marchioness Flora, who had come to play at the teleportation gate.
"Mother, is it?"
Liz, with her sparkling eyes, looks charming, but for Randy, it's a bit of a miscalculation. After all, to develop Verinea, he's insisted on needing the Marquis family's power to challenge Lucian. It's not that he doesn't consider telling Flora, but he's not entirely sure about it.
"Forget about my mother, but even Lady Flora is here?"
"Is that bad?"
Alan tilts his head, and Randy shakes his head, replying "No." He had indeed said that he wouldn't rely on the Marquis family, but hearing Flora out shouldn't be a problem, he thinks.
Technically speaking, he won't use the Marquis family's wealth or connections, but he isn't excluding them either. There's no issue with hearing their opinions. Besides, having Flora there isn't all bad.
"My mother was definitely unexpected, but if the old lady's here, it's actually convenient. If anything happens, I can count on Lady Flora..."
With just that, Randy rushed out of the office without even saying a proper greeting to Alan. As Randy ran out, leaving the door open, Alan sighed again at his back.
"Do you two even know what he's planning?"
Liz and Ellie, who were left behind, both shook their heads in response to Alan's exasperated expression.
"He said something like... 'Why is this such a simple thing...'"
"It was my blind spot, too."
The two of them acted like they were remembering something, and Alan muttered, "Simple thing..." but Randy's "simple" doesn't equate to what they think is simple in this world, so the 3 of them have no idea.
"The only thing we know for sure is that Ellie and I are absolutely necessary..."
"He's the type to show things through action rather than explanation."
As the two of them shrugged simultaneously like twins, Alan gave a wry smile, apologizing, "Sorry for making you both go through this."
"Liz, Ellie, let's go already."
Randy popped his head through the open door.
"'Let's go already' is what you're saying. And you──"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. I'll explain everything later."
Alan frowned when he saw Randy waving his hand lightly. Usually, Randy's explanations meant trouble. Still, since Clarice and Madame were involved this time, Alan figured he'd be quieter than usual and sighed in resignation.
"Both of you, please take care of Randy."
"Yes, leave it to us."
"Leave it to me. I've got this. No problem."
The two smiled and left the study with Randy. Alan was left behind, staring at the door alone, lost in thought for a while...
"Three in a row... fits perfectly, I guess."
Smiling slightly, Alan went back to focusing on the documents in his hand, unaware of the cheerful voices that would soon trouble him in just a few minutes...
* * *
Randy and the others, after leaving Alan's office, headed straight to the front of the reception room. They raised a hand to the maid waiting outside the door, who then called out to Clarice inside.
'Are the Elder Sisters here?'
Clarice's surprised voice came from behind the door. Since they usually went to the academy on weekdays, it's no wonder Clarice was shocked.
There was a muffled exchange of words behind the door for a moment, then another voice prompted them to come in with a "Please──".
Randy was the first to step into the reception room through the door the maid opened.
"Because your Elder Brother is here too."
Randy was greeted with a smile, but standing there were Clarice and Madame with unhappy faces, Grace looking surprised, and Flora with a happy expression ── a lively and strange group.
"We didn't call for you, Elder Brother."
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