I Reject Quests

Chapter 244: Troubled Francesca

Class 1-B.

Francesca looked over the class for 4th Grade students and stepped inside the class. Her appearance garnered a lot of eyes. Some recognized her as a model student and started gossiping about her. Some looked at her for a while, then went back to their world.

Walking up to the center, she opened her mouth.

"Is there anyone who is close to Rewen Klofar?"

As soon as she asked that, everyone's gaze fell on two young men. They were Vin and Zaplin. According to the class, Rewen wasn't particularly social and the only people he interacted with are those two.

Francesca's eyes also fell on the two. 

Vin and Zaplin walked over to her.

"Can we help with something?" Zaplin asked with a neutral face.

Francesca nodded. "Have you heard of what happened to…"

"Yes, we did." Vin nodded with a serious look. 

Zaplin had a similar look on his face.

The news had shocked them. For them, it came out of nowhere.

Francesca gave a small nod, then asked again. "Do you know any of his close relatives?"

"Why?" Zaplin asked in curiosity.

Hearing the question, Francesca sighed. "On the second day of the semester, Rewen made a sound in the spring-space room. I happened to be near and noticed it. My first thought was to report it to the higher-ups but after thinking for a bit, I felt sorry for him and decided otherwise. Now, the higher-ups found out that I deliberately didn't report it to them and I'm in trouble." 

She explained it as briefly as possible.

Vin and Zaplin looked at each other and were at a loss for words.

After a while, Vin looked side-wise and asked Zaplin. "Did Denny come to the academy today?"

Zaplin shook his head. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen her." 

"Hm…" Vin rubbed his chin, then looked at Francesca. "Zelic Dynette is his cousin. She did come to the academy but we don't know where she is."

"Ah, okay! Thanks!" Francesca gave her thanks, then walked out of the class.

Vin and Zaplin looked at each other and smiled helplessly. They were planning to head outside when they heard a male voice.

"It's tragic, isn't it?" 

When they turned back, they saw a white-haired pale-skinned guy standing in front of them. He was Ludwin Klofar, an extremely anti-social guy. The only time Vin and Zaplin saw him converse properly was the day they were teasing Zelic with Rewen.

"Of course, it's tragic." Vin nodded. 

Zaplin sighed. "It's not a good feeling to see someone you talk to daily to suddenly disappear."

"Did you give prayers?" Ludwin suddenly asked.

Zaplin shook his head. "No. We aren't too familiar." 

"How about you guys come with me? I have a friend who is, err, was close to Rewen."

It's not mind-boggling why Ludwin wanted to give his prayers to someone he barely knew. Both were Klofars. In an age where there is no shortage of last names, it's extremely hard finding someone with a similar last name except for their own relatives. Although it doesn't mean that all Klofars were somehow related by ancestry, people tend to associate themselves with groups.

"Okay." Vin and Zaplin both agreed.

***

Central Canteen.

"Damn! She didn't come today!" Zelic slammed the table and angrily said. The 'she' she was talking about was Denny. Last night, she and her group discussed confronting Svety directly. Naturally, Denny was also included in the group and Zelic is now angry that she didn't want to participate in the confrontation. 

Her anger shocked the group sitting around her.

Salica, who was nearest to her, rubbed her back as if soothing a raging child. "Calm down. All of us know that she isn't in the best of conditions. You know how she looked yesterday. It's not a good idea to force her."

"No! That won't do! She knows that today's going to be important yet she didn't come. How dare she? Does she feel that her feelings are what matters the most!?" 

Zelic was fuming. After every second, her anger increased.

The surroundings' eyes gathered around them. Feeling distressed, Kesha advised. "Excuse me, can you please talk softly? The guests are…"

"I'll talk to your mother!" Zelic angrily roared. "You guys suck!" With a bang, she got up from her chair and left the canteen.

"This girl…" Bianca watched her leave with a frown, then turned to look at the boys. Her eyes were drawn towards Junar who had an unnatural expression. Some seconds later, he broke out in laughter.

"HAHAHA! Ha… Sorry… Sorry. But I unironically found her mannerisms funny."

Gill initially had a grave expression but when he thought of how she looked, he also couldn't help but lightly laugh. 

Evans smiled in a strange manner. He felt like an outsider trying to fit into the group and not look weird.

"Try to take this more seriously. For real, you boys…" Feeling like she was the Big Sister of the group, Bianca tried to educate them but just then, she heard a giggle from near her. "Not you too!"

Kesha forced herself to stop giggling and formed a stiff expression. "I… I'm sorry… but she was too cute!" 

"Nothing less expected from the unofficial mascot of the group!" At this point, Salica was the only one left to give input.

"Seriously, you guys… think about her feelings." Bianca appeared to be concerned.

Salica snorted. "Pretend all you want! Everyone here is aware of how much you secretly dislike her."

"What nonsense. How can I dislike her?" Bianca retorted back.

"Remember the time when you said that you didn't want Zelic to be invited to your birthday party?" Salica exposed her.

"What? Did it really happen?" Junar got interested.

"You are too cruel, Bianca!" Kesha playfully said.

Bianca couldn't believe that Salica had the gall to betray the sisterhood. In a fluster, she said, "That… that's like four years ago! Moreover, she made me really angry."

"Yeah, we hear you."

Just like that, everyone started discussing their past affairs and forgot about their present worries.

"Haha! That's too hilarious, man. If only Rewen was here…" Gill couldn't complete his sentence as he was kicked on his legs lightly. Frowning, he looked straight where he saw Kesha giving him a glare. 

Initially confused, he quickly noticed that everyone had turned silent and immediately blamed his low EQ. 

Few seconds passed by and nobody raised their voices.

Junar, feeling the need to wash away the awkwardness that was present, opened his mouth but just then, he felt footsteps nearing him and turned his head.

"Um, excuse me, would it be inconvenient for you to help me?" 

The group turned their eyes to the speaker. It was a long-haired elegant lady. 

"Aren't you the girl from the 1st Grade? You are the Monitor, right?" Evans was the first one to recognize her.

Before Francesca could get the time to reply, Kesha also recognized her.

"I think I saw you a few days ago at the Welcoming Ceremony…"

"Yes. I'm Francesca. Nice to meet everyone. I wish I could sit down and have a chat but unfortunately, I'm in an extremely dire situation. Presumably, you guys are, err, were Rewen's friends, right?"

"Yes. How can we help you?" Bianca asked in a straightforward manner.

The others' eyes went towards Francesca. Why would a model figure like her want help from them?

Francesca sat down and began narrating what had happened in brief. "On the second day of the semester, Rewen made a sound in the spring-space room. I happened to be near and noticed it. My first thought was to report it to the higher-ups but after thinking for a bit, I felt sorry for him and decided otherwise. Now, the higher-ups found out that I deliberately didn't report it to them and I'm in trouble."

If Vin or Zaplin were to be here, they would have gotten a strong feeling of déjà vu. 

The group looked at each other in wonder.

"So… Rewen was always strong?" Gill asked. As Rewen's closest friend, he never really got the feeling that his friend was someone particularly strong. Until, of course, he realized that he was wrong. 

"That shouldn't be a shock. Remember when Rewen kicked Ruby's ass?" Junar reminded him of the event he had forgotten.

"Ah…" Gill blamed himself for forgetting such an important event.

Francesca didn't completely understand what they were talking about but she waited to hear an answer.

"I see. It's unfortunate but I don't see how we can help you?" Kesha asked with a confused expression.josei

Having expected a reply like this, Francesca patiently explained her thoughts. "Oh no, you can. More specifically, if the relatives or close ones of Rewen were to request for the academy to change its decision, then I could be out of trouble. Is Zelic Dynette with you?"

"This… she was with us a while ago," Bianca answered.

"Oh, okay. Thanks." Francesca got up and prepared to leave.