Although Zach had stormed off toward the principal's office at a thunderous pace, he hesitated when he finally found himself in front of the door. But after a brief moment of hesitation, he knocked on the door.
"Come in." The principal's voice had no trouble reaching through the door and inviting Zach inside.
Zach stepped inside waving the signed petition in the air.
"Principal, I have come to—"
"You're not getting out of the club, Zacharia."
"I already knew you would say that, and that's not why I'm here." He put down the petition on the principal's table in front of him.
"I want to change the name!"
The principal raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Zach before picking up and looking at the petition. After a moment he put down the piece of paper and looked at Zach.
"To 'The Underworld Research and Extermination Club' instead?" He asked.
Zach nodded.
"I don't see why not." The principal shrugged.
"Great!"
"But did you come to me for only this?"
"...I mean…Yeah. Why?"
"You're the club president, Zach. As long as you have your members' acknowledgment and approval, you can even rename it to Zach's Underworld Hunters or something."
"What? Oh."
"Too late now, though. Only one name change per year." Continue reading at m|v-l'e -NovelBin.net
"Dammit." Zach reached out and grabbed the petition. He crumpled it and threw it in the principal's paper bin.
Even if nothing had become official yet, the principal's word was as close to official as it would get. Since he had already accepted the first name Zach had submitted, he wouldn't agree to Zach changing it again.
He was stuck with the Underworld Research and Extermination Club.
"Other than that, Zacharia, I see you have completed your homework." The principal nodded in Alzara's direction.
Zach glanced back at Alzara to see what the principal gestured at before turning to look at him with a frown.
"You!" He pointed at the principal and glared.
"How come I'm the only one who had to summon my second familiar during the break?! Do you know how stressful it was and how close to dying I was? Not only was I the only one, you even threatened to kick me out of the Academy and have my parents disown me! I can't believe this!"
The principal nodded and closed his eyes for a moment as he held up a finger.
"First of all, I never said that. I just…wanted to encourage you. Hold on, I didn't even say anything about what would happen if you failed the homework, which I was half-expecting you to do."
"Oh. Thanks for the vote of confidence, I guess."
"Whatever. That's all in the past now. And although you were the only one who got homework, you're also ahead of your classmates in the curriculum, meaning you will have more free time. You will still be busy with your club since you're president, but I'm sure you will make it work. You are our school's little record-breaker, after all." The principal smiled and rested his chin on his hands.
Zach gulped awkwardly. He didn't want to take the sole blame since it was the Underworld's fault, but he was involved in unleashing the Underworld's contamination on the forest. It had worked out since the school was using it to train and teach the students, but it could have been bad.
"I'll take my leave then." Zach bowed politely and was about to turn around to leave when the principal stopped him.
"Not so fast. We'll hold another rank assessment when everyone has summoned their second familiars, but I doubt you'd lie to me like this, Zach. Do you mind telling me the rank of your desert witch?"
Zach's eyebrows rose slightly at the principal's mention of her race. It seemed he knew what it was. But he didn't show any signs of judging her or him.
"Do I have to?" Zach asked for the sake of asking.
"Yes."
'Then why ask like I have a choice?'
"SS."
The principal gave a slight nod, his expression unchanged.
"I see. Impressive. Make sure to take good care of your familiars, Zacharia, both of them. And don't neglect your first just because you have a new one."
"Of course."
"Good. You may leave." The principal dismissed Zach and called for instructor Kami instead. It wasn't emergent, so if Kami was busy with a class, he didn't have to show up at once. But he did.
Only a minute after Zach left, Kami entered the principal's room without knocking.
"What?"
"I guess you've noticed that our young prodigy completed his homework?" asked the principal like he was making small talk without any hidden intentions.
"How could I not notice? That desert witch has been parading around the campus like she owns the place."
"Oh, please, like you were any better? At least she is actually doing it for a reason. You and your familiars were just cocky."
Kami met the principal's gaze stubbornly before turning away, his cheeks slightly rosy as he remembered his days at the Academy. Zach was not humble, especially when he opened his mouth. Kami would have made him look like honeybread. He should not complain about Alzara making her presence known and covering Zach's.
"Did you call me here just to check that?"
The principal shook his head with a growing smile on his lips.
Kami's eyes narrowed, and he sniffed the air.
"No way…" He could tell that Zach and his familiars had just been in the office.
The principal nodded, still with a smile that gave Kami a bad feeling.
"There's no way that desert witch is better than Slimy."
"S…"
Kami shook his head in stubborn denial, but the principal wasn't done yet.
"...S"
"Damn it! SS-rank on his second familiar? I…"
Kami was at a loss for words. But only for a moment.
"Is he better than…?"
The principal shook his head.
"Not yet. Their second familiar was also SS-rank."
"I see. What do you think Zach's gonna get?"
The principal just shrugged at Kami's question.