Chapter 46: Let's Fail Together
The members of IW's "Council of Elders" are the group of individuals who stood alongside the founder during the organization's establishment and helped build it from the ground up.
As the organization grew to its current state, they gradually stepped back from the forefront, retreating to the background. Although they still retain decision-making power over the organization's development, they now live lives akin to retired seniors.
Most of them reside in Europe and the Americas, spending their days leisurely playing golf or occasionally attending international conferences. In essence, they lead quite relaxed lives.
During the organization's rise to prominence, the global situation was particularly turbulent, so twenty years ago, they were all extremely busy. Even now, some of them remain unmarried.
"George went to visit the young master, huh?"
"He just went on his own. It's not like the rest of us couldn't have gone too."
"Back in the day, I had two sons of my own. I'm clearly more experienced in taking care of kids than that old bachelor."
"Don't you already have grandchildren? Why not focus on taking care of them?"
"They have their own lives. There's no way for me to get involved."
At a sprawling golf course, a group of elderly men played golf while engaging in casual conversation.
"Where do you think the boss disappeared to during those years he was gone?"
"Didn't they say he went to run a farm? No idea where, though," one of the old men said as he swung his club, sending the ball flying far into the distance.
"Only Sagara knows the boss's whereabouts, but that kid always tells us, 'Even if you knew, you wouldn't be able to get there.' Can you believe the nerve? We were out fighting wars before that brat was even born."
"If the boss wants to live a quiet life for a while, we shouldn't go out of our way to disturb him," said another elderly man with a somewhat stern expression. "Still, it's surprising that he sent his son here. He must really trust this place."
"Benson, you know how capable the young master is. The boss wouldn't have sent him to the Middle Eastern battlefield if he didn't trust his abilities."
Another gray-haired old man swung his club, then leaned on it and chuckled, "But honestly, if George is going to take care of the young master, his leisurely days are probably over."
"Hahaha, true."
"And we're not jealous at all."
*Buzz~*
A vibration simultaneously rang out in the pockets of the old men. They pulled out their phones and saw a notification from an internal chat group for the decision-makers.
This group was mainly for casual chatter, and usually, people did three things in it: bragging, arranging meetups, and trash-talking Sousuke.
By the way, Sousuke was also in the group.
"George sent something."
"What did he send?"
They all opened the group at the same time. Inside was a photo and a message.
[Visited the young master's place today. He personally cooked lunch for me.] The message was accompanied by a photo of a dining table.
"..."
"..."
*Thud x N*
In unison, the old men slammed their phones on the ground.
...
"Ronan, you'll need to come back to class in about a week. Don't forget to hand in your reflection paper by then."
"If I don't write the reflection, does that mean I don't have to come to class?"
"If you dare not write it, you'd better show up in class tomorrow!"
"..."
At home, Ronan was playing video games while answering a call from Kaname.
"Anyway, the school has already uncovered the truth about Ogino's crimes, but they've been asked not to publicize it to avoid causing harm to Kyoko. All you need to do is reflect on your part in the fight," Kaname said. "Also, I heard that Ogino suddenly disappeared recently. That wasn't your doing, was it? Did you send him off to a research facility as test material again?"
"How could I? Do I look like some kind of demon to you?"
"You *are* a demon."
"I didn't send him to any research department," Ronan said with a laugh. "On the contrary, I really appreciated his cooperation, so I pulled some strings to help him debut as an idol. You might even hear his album someday."
"You're being that generous?"
"Of course."
"That's all for now. Make sure to study hard at home, and whatever you do, don't fail the upcoming midterm exams."
"Got it."
"Alright, that's it."
*Beep—*
The call ended, and Ronan's conversation with Kaname came to a close.
Ronan could still take Kaname's words to heart, as she was practically family to him.
After hanging up the phone, he went back to playing his game.
Studying? He had no idea what that even meant.
"By the way, Ronan, you'll be heading back to school in about a week," Ishigami, who was playing games beside him, remarked.
"Yeah, and you should go too. Staying home playing games all day will rot your brain."
"Aren't *you* playing games all day too?"
"That's different. I'm on a suspension from school, so I have every right to play games openly and justifiably. You're skipping class to play games," Ronan said, turning to look at him. "Also, you might want to get a haircut. It's been almost a month since you came here, and your hair's getting long."
Ishigami's hair, which used to be a neat, short black cut, had grown out from lack of maintenance. His bangs were now long enough to cover one of his eyes.
"Don't talk about me, Ronan. Your hair's gotten longer too, hasn't it? It's fine if I don't get a haircut, but if you don't, then..."
"Then what?"
"..."
"Hey, don't turn your head away. What exactly will happen if I don't get a haircut?"
Ronan asked curiously, noticing Ishigami awkwardly turning his head away.
"You might... look a bit like a JK (high school girl)."
"Nonsense."
Ronan brushed off Ishigami's comment as a joke.
But to be honest, the ticklish feeling of his hair brushing against his ears was starting to bother him.
He habitually reached up and tucked the hair behind his ear. Ishigami, who had just turned back, immediately averted his gaze again.
"Tch, Ishigami, you've been acting really weird lately. Is my hairstyle that bad?"
"No, it's not that... Just wait until you go back to school and see how your classmates react. I'm sure you'll feel motivated to get a haircut then."
"You're being so cryptic."
Ronan ignored Ishigami and went back to furiously pressing buttons on his controller.
"By the way, have you been studying? The midterms are coming up, and I heard that if you score too many 'red points' (below the average by 20 points), you might even have trouble advancing to the next grade. Shuchi'in doesn't offer make-up exams, you know."
Ronan had never worried about advancing grades, but Ishigami was a different story.
"Haven't studied at all. Even if I did, it wouldn't make a difference."
"Nice, you're a real man. I haven't studied either."
Of course not. The two of them had spent nearly an entire month playing games every day. There was no way they could have studied.
They were both fully prepared to fail.
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