"Nack was the one who pulled me into this, President." Eldric cried out in pain under the weight of the president's power, clenching his fist tightly against the floor as he struggled to hold his ground and keep his face from touching it.
As if the pressure had been slightly relieved, Eldric took a sigh of relief, but in the same moment the pressure multiplied onto Nack several times over and his whole body collapsed against the ground, the side of his face kissing the floor. His eyes met Alex's for the briefest second, and Alex was looking at them far too intently, a small smile resting on his lips.
Tasting something bitter in his mouth, Nack shifted his eyes toward Eldric, his gaze silently pleading with his boss for help.
"Nack, is it true that you were the one who pulled Eldric into this?" The president asked, his voice absolute, as though he intended to hear nothing but the truth and would not tolerate even the slightest deception at any cost.
"Yes, President, I pulled young master Eldric into this. I felt that bas... Alex took my position in Section S." Nack mumbled out the words in broken syllables, his eyes cutting resentfully toward Alex between every other word.
"Then you must be ready for your punishment," the president said with a slight smile that looked nothing less than that of a devil.
"Yes, I am ready for it," Nack cried in pain.
The president lifted the pressure off both Nack and Eldric. "Then let me revise the punishment I had prepared beforehand." He began tapping his forehead lightly, and then like a brilliant idea had flashed through his mind, he eyed each of them one by one before settling his gaze finally on Alex.
Nack and Eldric had already risen from the ground and both shifted uncomfortably under the president's stare. Alex too did not find the gaze from the president all that settling. The man whom Alex had mistaken for a gentleman previously looked as though he could turn into something like a predator whenever the need called for it.
"Since this is your first day at the academy, I will try to be a little lenient," the president said with a smile. "Nack will have to clean his classroom for two weeks, once in the morning before classes begin and once in the evening after classes end."
"Despite Nack starting all of this, Eldric, rather than stopping his friend, decided to help him. So he too will be punished and will have to clean his own classroom for two weeks, just like Nack." The president then moved his eyes toward Alex and continued, "And Alex, even though you were being bullied and did not start any of this, your decision to pour your food over Eldric was not a rational one. It was impulsive. So you too would have to clean a classroom, but since you and Eldric share the same classroom, cleaning it together would only invite more problems."
The president paused, letting the words settle before adding, "So, you will be volunteering in the library instead, helping the staff every evening until the library closes, but only for a week."
Alex had been ready for any punishment, but just as the president had said he would be lenient, he truly was. And for the better part, Alex had been handed an assignment in the library, a place he would have gone to willingly because in his spare time he might find books related to his status problem, books that his home library did not carry.
"President, can I not volunteer in the library instead, and have him clean my classroom in Section A?" Nack said.
The president eyed Nack from head to toe with a cold, unhurried look, and a small smile formed on his lips, making Nack shudder visibly. "Your punishment is not only to clean the classroom, dear student. You will also apologize to Alex right now, with your hands on your ears."
"No! I won't apologize to that bast-" Before Nack could finish his words, the princess, who had been silent throughout everything, erupted from her seat. "Stop your nonsense. If you continue to utter even a single word, I will not be as lenient as the president." Her voice was so cold and so dangerously tinted with anger that Alex felt worried for her and had to stop himself from walking over and pulling her into a hug to settle her. He shook away the thoughts from his mind before his thoughts could wander any further in that direction because she was no longer his fiancée.
Nack nodded his head rapidly.
The president seemed satisfied and clapped his hands once to draw attention back to himself. The princess settled into her seat. "And Eldric, you too will apologize to Alex with your hands on your ears. Alex will likewise do the same, but he will go last. Nack and Eldric will go first." The president explained, resting his chin against his fist, his elbow propped on the arm of his chair.
"N-" Eldric stopped himself from saying no and instead clapped both of his own cheeks sharply, drawing wide-eyed expressions from the two boys seated on the sofa. Before anyone could fully register what just happened, Eldric turned on his heel toward Alex and with both hands pressed to his ears, he spoke his apology. "Sorry."
There was no genuine remorse visible on Eldric's face, and more than anything, Eldric looked as though he wanted to beat Alex for the humiliation far more than he wanted to apologize.
Nack followed in his boss's footsteps and offered his own apology to Alex.
Alex wanted to scoff at both of them and ask whether that could even be counted as an apology, but stopped himself. The president, who could easily have demanded they apologize more sincerely, was watching with amused eyes and did not appear to have any intention of intervening. And since Alex had no desire to offer a genuine apology either, he too apologized with no visible remorse on his face. "Sorry."
Suddenly the president began clapping. "Done, now you are all dismissed," he said, ceasing his clapping. "Make sure to carry out your duties properly, and if I find that you are fighting with each other again, the punishment will not be so easy the next time."
Eldric exited the room first without turning back even once, and Nack, with a face that looked ready to explode at Alex at any moment, slipped out after him like a fox trailing behind its master.
Alex glanced at the president, who was looking back at him with an expression that plainly said to return to his class, and did not look like he would entertain any further complaints about dissatisfaction with the verdict. So Alex said nothing and with one last glance at the princess, who was watching him with an expression that did not quite know what to make of whatever remained between them, he stepped out of the student council office.
***
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