Motivated to be lazy

Chapter 51

In all my years as a member of the Sakayanagi household, never has my Father ever been angry with me. I have always been the poster child son, never have I embarrassed him or made him angry. Even with small mistakes, he's always been understanding and kind. Knowing that I was socially awkward when I was first brought to the manor, Father has always been patient with me. He had never lost his temper, become cross with me or yelled at me for any reason.

Which is why I was mildly uncomfortable while I sat in the principals office with my father sitting across from me looking at me with pure unadulterated rage.

If possible, in the mere 24 hours or so since I'd seen him last, he looked even more tired and stressed. More so than I'd ever seen him before.

"I thought I was blessed that both of my children were geniuses, Kiyotaka. You have always been a well behaved boy who never gave me any stress or grief. If you were aiming to make me angry, you've done a marvelous job," Father said with barely contained fury.

"I apologize father," I said with a bow of my head. "I'm not sure what you're referring to but if I've upset you then I'm truly sorry,"

Apparently he wasn't happy about the fact that I didn't know what he was talking about. It wasn't until he threw a copy of my memorandum with Nagumo across the principal's desk and it slid onto my lap that I realized what was going on here.

"Care to explain that?"

I sighed calmly, placing the paper back onto the desk before crossing my legs and folding my hands.

"I think that it's fairly self explanatory,"

Father slammed his fist on the desk with a loud thud. I barely winced, not because I was afraid but because I felt guilty that I'd angered the man that I owe everything in my life to. He glared at me as he shot from his seat and leaned forward with his palms on the table.

"This-" He started while grabbing the paper and shaking it in my face. "Is reckless and beyond stupid, Kiyotaka!"

"I'm aware of the risks,"

"Are you!?" Father shouted. "If the terms of this memorandum are met, not even I can prevent you from having to withdraw from the school!"

"I understand," I said with my head bowed.

"Do you!?"

"I thought the rules of the school was that there was to be no outside interference," I said in exasperation.

"Don't give me attitude," Father spat angrily. "I have been more than understanding, Kiyotaka! I've had Sasaki and the government breathing down my neck constantly about you! I've covered for you on more occasions than you'll ever know! This is too far, Kiyotaka!"

"You think that I'll lose?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

The question had him reeling for barely a moment as he gathered himself. I knew he had the utmost faith in me and my abilities, but something like this where it relied heavily on teamwork with the risks as great as it were seemed to be a bitter pill for him to swallow.

"There are too many factors that you can't control!" He screamed. "I have no doubts that you'll win the representative challenge but to guarantee that Class C will win in first place with no restrictions on what Nagumo can do is beyond the pale! One aspect fails and you'll be forced to withdraw!"

"So you don't believe in me," I said sadly with my shoulders sagging and my head down.

I could see from my peripheral vision that he started to lose his fire. Father was incredibly easy to manipulate, this almost wasn't fair. As if remembering who he was dealing with, his posture instantly righted and he glared at me.