—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
On her way to the dilapidated dormitory, Rayna replayed her conversation with the Headmaster.
“Headmaster, you summoned me?”
“Ah, Rayna. I need you to summon a student for me.”
“Certainly. Which student?”
“Luke, the 200th ranked first-year.”
Recalling the short, simple exchange, Rayna thought about Luke, ranked 200th in the first-year class.
“He’s… the student with no magic power, right?”
It would be stranger for Rayna, a second-year, not to know Luke.
At Gemini Academy, his name was infamous.
Firstly, the academy, true to its meritocratic nature, ranked every student.
While people admired the top ranks, not everyone focused solely on first and second place.
Superior students often looked down on those below them, and mid-ranking students, riddled with insecurity, tended to belittle those beneath them rather than aspire to those above.
Thus, Luke, at 200th place, was the laughingstock of the entire academy.
He was impossible to ignore.
Why was Luke singled out when there were three years at the academy?
Well, many students got expelled between the first and second year, leaving only the truly skilled in the upper years.
And secondly, Luke was the first student in Gemini Academy’s history to have zero magic power.
Having no magic wasn’t unusual, but for someone with zero magic to even enter Gemini Academy was unprecedented.
“He must have gotten in through the theory exam.”
Theory was still a skill, after all.
Lost in thought as she walked down the dormitory hallway, Rayna arrived at Luke’s door.
Wanting to fulfill the Headmaster’s request swiftly, she knocked.
Knock knock.
No response.
Thinking he might not have heard, she knocked again, this time announcing herself.
Knock knock.
“Luke, are you there? It’s Rayna from the student council. I have an urgent message for you.”
She could sense someone inside, but still, no answer.
Feeling deliberately ignored, Rayna decided to enter.
“I can hear someone inside, but I don’t understand why you’re not answering. I’m coming in.”
She turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.
The silhouette of a man came into view.
He was inside, ignoring her knocks.
Why?
The question arose, but she dismissed it as unimportant.
“There you are. What in the—?!”
Rayna trailed off, stunned by the sight before her.
The student presumed to be Luke was facing the wall, gyrating his hips in a bizarre dance.
…Am I hallucinating?
She knew she wasn’t easily flustered, but this was a first.
Even after she entered, Luke showed no sign of stopping his… performance.
Shamelessly, he continued his eye-searing dance, almost making Rayna gag.
She barely managed to suppress it and deliver her message.
“Luke, the Headmaster has summoned you. Please proceed to his office immediately.”
“The Headmaster?”
Rayna wanted to correct his casual address, but refrained.
Everyone had their own way of speaking, and she unconsciously attributed it to his commoner background.
“Do you know why?”
“I was only asked to summon you, so I don’t know.”
Rayna replied, facing away from him.
Being summoned directly by the Headmaster was rare, and given Luke’s rank, she had a good idea why.
However, she kept quiet to avoid a barrage of questions.
“Anyway, please get ready quickly.”
Luke showed no sign of stopping his repulsive dance, even while talking to her.
Rayna desperately wanted to escape.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Knock knock.
“Headmaster, I’ve brought Luke.” Rayna announced.
A clear, melodious voice responded from within.
“Enter.”
With permission granted, Luke and Rayna opened the ornate door and stepped into the Headmaster’s office.
“Thank you, Rayna.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be going now.”
Having fulfilled her duty, Rayna quickly excused herself from Luke’s presence.
“Welcome, Luke.”
Luke looked at the Headmaster who had summoned him.
Hair as white as freshly fallen snow, sparkling sapphire eyes, a youthful face that belied her age of over thirty, and a curvaceous figure that wasn’t overshadowed by her elegant attire.
This was Lucia Marigold, the Headmaster of Gemini Academy.
Wow, she’s gorgeous. Is this the average in this world…?
Seeing a character he’d only read about in person was captivating, especially for a shut-in with little experience with women.
“Luke?”
Lost in his appraisal of Lucia, Luke snapped back to attention when she called his name.
“Yes?”
“Do you have any idea why I called you here?”
Lucia asked, her hands neatly folded on her desk, her expression serious.
Why ask me that?
She called him and now she’s asking if he knows why.
It was like being summoned by his mother and asked, “Do you know why I called you?”
Even if he hadn’t done anything wrong, he’d feel compelled to confess everything, just in case.
But this time, there was nothing to confess.
He was reincarnated as an extra, not the protagonist.
How could he know what the original Luke had done?
Did he do something incredibly stupid right before the reincarnation?
“Hee hee. Don’t be so nervous, I’m not here to scold you.”
Luke wasn’t nervous, but Lucia didn’t know that.
Why would I be nervous?
If Luke messed up and got called in for it, then sure, he’d be nervous.
But that was the original Luke, not him.
If she scolded him, he could just play dumb.
“However, it’s not a trivial matter. Luke, I’m going to tell you why I called you, so please don’t be surprised.”
Lucia composed herself, her expression turning serious once again.
“Luke, you’re being expelled.”
Expulsion.
For students who had worked tirelessly to enter this meritocratic academy, the word was devastating.
“Oh, really?”
Luke responded with an indifferent shrug.
Lucia was taken aback by his nonchalant reply.
Was he so shocked he was speechless?
That was the only explanation she could think of.
“Um… Luke, don’t worry. I called you here to prevent that from happening.”
Every year, Lucia’s heart ached as she witnessed students being expelled.
They had poured years of effort into entering the empire’s top academy, only to have it all crumble.
She had tried various methods to help them, yet many still faced expulsion.
Even with her authority as Headmaster, she couldn’t simply do as she pleased—that would be abuse of power.
So she resorted to more reasonable approaches.
Just like in the novel.
Lucia, as portrayed in the novel, cherished her students, even those at the bottom of the ranking like Luke.
She wasn’t a heroine, but she played a significant role in the story.
Luke had wondered why she wasn’t one of the main love interests.
But that’s beside the point.
He had been reincarnated into an academy setting, and he was willing to attend if that was expected.
But being expelled…
Even better!
What was an academy, if not another school?
Who would want to go back to school after experiencing it ad nauseam in their past life?
As a student, he was sentenced to the prison of the academy, confined to the cell of the classroom, wearing the uniform of a convict, and subjected to the punishment of studying.
He was free from all that now!
“I’ll explain how you can avoid expulsion, so listen carefully—”
“I’ll drop out.”
“…What?” Lucia was dumbfounded.
“W-what did you say…?”
“I said I’m dropping out.”
Is she hard of hearing at such a young age? Poor thing. Luke thought, but the reality was quite different.
Dropping out…?
Lucia respected her students’ choices.
If they wanted to drop out, she wouldn’t interfere.
However, Luke, with his lack of magic, must have worked incredibly hard to gain admission.
His easy surrender was unexpected.
“May I ask why you entered the academy in the first place?”
He must have had a reason for working so hard to get in.
Perhaps he had achieved that goal, and that’s why he was dropping out.
Even if he ceased to be her student, Lucia wanted to help him if she could.
As Headmaster, it was all she could offer.
After a moment of silence, Luke finally spoke.
“I don’t know.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
