Chapter 44: Filing a Complaint!
"Well, if you’ve decided that he is your roommate, then you should probably know something."
Zane looked at him.
"What?"
"Your new roommate has already left to file a complaint with the dormitory administration."
Zane blinked. "About what?"
Adrien gave him an almost sympathetic look. "About having a roommate."
...
In three long strides, Zane was already out of the room, leaving Adrien behind to suffer the consequences of his loose mouth.
"Look what you’ve done!" Riley snapped, smacking him on the arm.
Adrien winced.
"I was only telling him the truth!"
"You ruined everything!"
"I didn’t ruin anything!"
"You absolutely ruined everything!"
Their argument continued behind him, but Zane paid them no attention as he walked away.
He arrived at the dormitory office only a few minutes later, and true to Adrien’s words, Ethan was already inside, seated before the desk and filling out the complaint form Ava had handed him.
Not on his watch.
Zane calmly pushed the door open and walked inside.
Ethan’s gaze immediately landed on him and his entire expression became exasperated.
Of course.
Of all the places this man could have followed him to, he had somehow ended up here too.
Still, Ethan quickly forced himself to calm down. Maybe Zane had come for the same reason he had, perhaps he had also decided that having a roommate wasn’t ideal and was here to object to the arrangement.
That would actually be perfect.
So Ethan ignored him completely and returned his attention to the report in front of him, continuing to write down his complaint while Ava waited patiently behind the desk.
He was nearly finished when he noticed Zane walking toward Ava.
The man stopped beside her, leaning down slightly before whispering something into her ear.
Ethan couldn’t hear what he said.
Whatever it was, however, seemed to work immediately because Ava’s expression changed, and she gave a small nod before stepping out of the office.
Ethan frowned.
What the hell was that about?
He decided not to bother himself with it.
A few moments later, he finished writing his report and placed the pen down with a satisfied sigh. Finally. Once he submitted this, the academy would have to deal with the roommate situation and, hopefully, send Zane somewhere else.
He picked up the report and was just about to place it on the desk when a hand suddenly stopped him.
Ethan looked up.
Zane was standing beside him.
"What are you doing?" Ethan asked, narrowing his eyes.
Zane merely flashed him that irritatingly calm smile.
"I’m stopping you from making a decision you’ll regret later."
Ethan’s expression immediately darkened.
"What are you—"
Before he could finish, the door to the dormitory office opened.
Ava walked back inside.
And behind her...
Principal Ronan entered.
The moment Ethan’s eyes landed on him, his entire body froze.
Oh, fuck.
Why was he here?
Had Ronan come to question him about the recent activities?
Or worse...
Had the academy investigated what happened and found out about Aster’s book and how he had increased his rank?
His mind immediately began spiraling through every possible disaster.
But contrary to all the scenarios racing through Ethan’s head, Ronan merely gave him a brief glance before walking straight toward Zane.
"Ah... Lord Valcrest."
Ethan blinked.
Lord?
Zane?
His gaze shifted toward the blond man.
So this bastard had an actual title?
Zane, however, calmly corrected him.
"It’s Zane, not Lord. Remember?"
"Oh, right. Pardon my mistake."
Ronan gave an awkward little smile before continuing. "I was just informed of your arrival, and I’m really sorry things had to turn out this way. The academy has recently experienced an influx of students, so the dormitories are currently severely overcrowded. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find you a room without an occupant except for this one."
Ronan gestured toward Ethan.
"The only available room without another occupant is within the S-class residency, alongside Lord Drey. However, if I remember correctly, you specifically made it clear that you didn’t want your accommodation, classes, and other arrangements to align with his."
Ronan’s smile became increasingly strained as a bead of sweat appeared near his temple. "So we didn’t dare assign you there."
Zane listened quietly.
Then, to Ethan’s surprise, he simply shrugged.
"Oh. I have no complaints about my dormitory."
Ronan blinked. "You don’t?" His eyes shifted around the room before landing on Ethan. "So... who does?"
Zane’s lips immediately curved into a mischievous smile.
"Well..." He casually pointed toward Ethan. "My lovely roommate."
Ethan’s eyes widened.
He turned his head so quickly toward Zane that he nearly gave himself whiplash.
You bastard!
Why the hell did he have to drag him into it?
Ronan’s gaze landed on Ethan and his expression changed almost immediately.
"You?"
The single word came out coldly, his brows already furrowing.
Ethan suddenly found himself at a loss for words. "Yeah... me."
He coughed awkwardly before continuing, "I wasn’t told I’d have a roommate. Isn’t it absurd to come back to my room after being discharged and find someone already living there, only to discover afterward that he’s apparently been assigned as my roommate?"
He wasn’t asking for much.
He simply wanted his room back.
Surely that was reasonable.
Principal Ronan stared at him for a moment before a smile slowly appeared on his face.
For some reason, Ethan immediately felt uneasy.
"Well, Ethan," Ronan said calmly, "that’s how things work." His smile remained in place. "You’re not exactly important enough that the academy would need to inform you beforehand about every change concerning your dormitory arrangements."
Ethan’s tounged clicked.
There it was.
That familiar attitude.
Still, Ronan continued before Ethan could respond.
"But if you truly don’t want to share the room, that’s fine. I won’t force you to become roommates with him."
Ethan’s eyes immediately brightened.
Finally.
Finally, someone was talking sense.
He almost felt like celebrating.
"Really?"
"Yes." Ronan nodded. "You can simply move back into your old F-rank dormitory."
Ethan’s happiness instantly began to falter.
Ronan continued with the same calm smile.
"And you’ll share the room with the new F-rank student currently staying there."