I Reject Quests

"The other parties the Branch Director is referring to are probably from the OCEAN, notably the people behind the idol group – DREAMTEEN. The entertainment industry, especially idol groups, is flourishing in the nation. No. They have been flourishing for more than forty years. Our entertainment industry has become internationally recognized and slowly turning into a source of pride for youth.

"Naturally, some political power has shifted towards the industry and here we have it. An idol who is proven to be a threat to society due to the unfortunate advent of a phenomenon called interference would not be liable for the damage he/she has caused to society. However, if the same person happened to be a normal person without being involved in the entertainment industry and he/she is someone who caused some level of damage to society, he/she would be sent to those special mental institutions.

"Is this…"

Assistant Instructor Xovin stopped mid-sentence; his sharp eyes relaxed.

"I've embarrassed myself."

He was so invested in the topic that he went on a rant.

Instructor Venitt shook her head and gave a rare warm smile. "There's no shame in speaking out against the injustice in the system. In fact, I would love to hear more about it. As Lord Kursh once said – The Land of Celestials as rich and significant as ours needs no praise or glorification. It needs individual criticism. To progress, we must find the need for progress."

Assistant Instructor Xovin understood the context of the quote and nodded in agreement. 'It's hard to empathize with a figure like Kursh but there's little to question about his foundational teachings.'

On the middle seats.

Francesca was more than ninety percent convinced that such a thing really did happen. Immediately after noting down the words of the Branch Director, in brief, she turned to the group sitting with her.

"Could you verify if this is true or not?"

Bianca and Kesha turned their eyes to Gill who was conversing with Evans. Gill sensed their gazes and asked. "Something wrong?"

"Explain to her about what happened in the incident with Ruby," Kesha said in a commanding tone while pointing to Francesca.

Gill appeared dissatisfied. He was sitting three seats from Francesca. Not only would it be difficult to explain, he also disliked her tone. "Why don't you explain it? You were there in the scene and I had taken my precious three hours to explain the situation to you that day."

"I can't hear the Branch Director's speech if I were to start explaining." Kesha frankly said.

Gill was instantly taken aback by her reason. "What about me?" He instinctively asked.

Kesha blankly stared at his face looking as if she had never considered the question. Appearing to be thinking deeply for a second, she replied. "I'll tell you afterward the contents of the speech."

"How about I do that instead?" Gill argued.

Francesca turned her attention to the stage with a strange face. She had already got the verification she needed.

"What? I'm a woman."

"I couldn't care less."

"Is that so? Better luck finding a male partner."

Bianca, Junar, and Evans pretended to not care about the ongoing quarrel. It was just another day for them.

On the last seats.

'The power to overpower an initial stage Rank 2 Mage is nothing to be taken lightly. Normally, this would have been on the news and Rewen would have gotten praise and appreciation from all over the country but for some reason, the affair was forcefully suppressed.

'If I have to make a guess, it's probably got to do with the fact that if the affair were to be spread, it would shrink the reputation of the company or organization behind the idol group as it would have revealed that one of the idols they have selected has a serious case of interference. And this is just the surface… who knows how deep the string of reasoning goes.'

Famin thought. He didn't need to be smart or a person of high IQ to get the general idea of the matter.

On the stage.

As the discussion slowly died down, the Branch Director continued his speech.

"The relevant conclusion we can draw from this event is that the boy Rewen Klofar was strong; he was stronger than any other first-year student. Despite not having used any skills and not even touching the surface of a Mage, he was able to defeat a Rank 2 Mage. There are two simple reasons for this. First, during the short fight, he showed a masterful range of martial arts techniques. His physique was also judged to be almost on the same level as Ruby which is astonishing.

"His background has been checked and he has not been involved in martial arts. At this point, it could only be speculated that he had learned martial arts from someone in secret. He had probably trodden on the route of [Martial Artists] before joining the academy. We weren't aware of that at the time of his admission which is fine. Secrets that wouldn't harm society in any way shouldn't bother us.

"Second, the idol Ruby wasn't in her right mind. She was consumed by rage that originated from her interference. Due to this, Rewen had effectively used it against her and managed to save his life. Immediately after the fight, the cops arrived on the scene. The division that arrived was commanded over by the Former Branch Head George Bamin. Remember the name. Later, at the hospital, he was denied the right to take action against the person who assaulted him.

"That is everything that happened in the event. Let me talk about the part we aren't clear about.

"We don't know why Rewen Klofar was abnormally strong for his age. Even though [Martial Artists] get a head start, they aren't close to the physique Rewen had at his age. At this stage, he was just a young man who was a little strong. I'll consider this as a checkpoint. You'll see why I'm doing so. The journey is mysterious, fascinating, and grievous."

No one in the training ground could say for sure what the "journey" that the Branch Director was referring to was.

Most people related it to the journey that led to Rewen Klofar's death as that is the most probable answer when the context is considered.

"To move over to the next event, there is an important and interesting fact that is to be known. The drugged woman who Rewen Klofar met on the night of 31st March was astonishingly a first-year student as well, who coincidentally was his bench mate."

As soon as he said that, discussions erupted once again.

"Who was his bench mate?"

"Urgh… it should be Ijas."

"Idiot. It's not a guy. It should be the other bench mate. What's her name?"

"I know! It's Qiki. I once tried to approach her to make friends but she didn't seem too much into socializing. It shouldn't be the first time. Many guys and girls tried to get her to open up but she had always rejected our advances." A girl from the 4th Grade Class spoke out.

"Did she come today?"

"She neither came yesterday nor today."

"That's interesting. Do you think that she is behind the death of Rewen?"

"Fingers crossed. This is scary but I do have a bad premonition regarding this…"

Francesca heard the conversations around her and quickly wrote the name 'Qiki' on her little notebook. She appeared calm on the surface but if one were to look closely, he/she would notice that the pen she was holding was shaking. 'This.... this can't be happening...'

"This… who is Qiki?" Bianca said with an incomprehensible expression. She hadn't heard about her from Denny.

"She wasn't aware of the incident where Rewen encountered her. It is likely that even Denny wasn't aware of her. This is getting deeper…" Junar thoughtfully replied.

"Denny only told us what she knows." Gill agreed.

"Do you think that she is responsible…" Kesha didn't complete her question.

Junar understood her question and answered. "Let's wait and see. One thing is clear though. Since the Branch Director felt that it's relevant to bring it up, she is certainly involved in the matter."

On the last seats.

Famin was wondering about the complications of the matter when he heard the sound of gritting teeth. Turning his head, he saw the blonde-haired girl sitting beside him gritting her teeth while looking at the stage.

"Um?"

"That bitch! I knew it! No wonder she was so interested in Rewen!" Zelic bawled her fists and jerked on her seat.

"Um? Are you familiar with her?" Famin raised his voice and asked frankly.

Zelic looked at her side. "Huh? Of course, I am familiar with her. I always noticed her secretly staring at Rewen. When I confronted her about it a week ago, she just said that she was interested in him. Who would have thought that her meaning of "interested" is not the kind I thought?"