Chapter 253: Branch Director (7)

Famin lightly chuckled in amusement. He couldn't help but get amused at her reactions.

"Ha? Why are you smiling? Did I crack a joke?" Unfortunately for him, Zelic didn't like his amusement.

"No…" Being a life-long pacifist, it would be weird for Famin to respond back provocatively. Even though he liked to call himself a pacifist, 'spineless' would be a better word to describe him.

"No. Tell me. What did you find funny?" Zelic didn't want to let it go. Thinking about "Qiki", she was furious and he just happened to be the perfect person for her to vent her short-term anger.

With a distressed expression, Famin moved his eyes to the stage. "It's nothing. Look, the Branch Director is about to speak…"

Zelic shook his left shoulder rudely. "You have to tell me."

'Why is she being so difficult?' Famin had a difficult face. Not wanting to linger on the matter, he admitted. "I… uh, found your reactions funny."

Zelic was taken aback by the answer. She had several answers in her mind but this was definitely not one of them. After a moment, she got even angrier. "What about my reaction was funny?"

For Famin, the question was extremely difficult to answer. What was he supposed to say? Her face looked comical? No. That would escalate the matter. After a few seconds of thinking, he decided to remain quiet and not pay attention to her.

"Hey."

Seeing his silence, Zelic hit his left shoulder once again.

Famin didn't respond and his eyes were fixed on the stage.

Zelic looked at him for a few seconds, before turning her head.

On the front seats.

"This is tricky… That girl Qiki was in my class and I've not observed anything unusual about her." Instructor Venitt thought back on the training sessions and tried to think of anything out of the ordinary.

Beside her, Assistant Instructor Xovin patted his thigh. "No wonder…"

The action attracted Instructor Venitt's gaze. "Did you find something?"

The Assistant Instructor didn't answer immediately. He tapped his feet and appeared to be thinking deeply. Looking at the stage, he said. "During the joint combat program, I've always felt that the girl's physique was stronger than a normal Rank 0 Mage. I wanted to confirm this after her fight. However, she lost and I lost my interest."

He paused, then took a deep breath. "Now it seems that it wouldn't be a stretch if I were to say that she deliberately lost her fight to not get questioned about her strength. Sigh, I shouldn't have been negligent."

Instructor Venitt's eyes flickered. She had seen and checked Qiki's progress multiple times but she couldn't figure out her physique while Assistant Instructor Xovin who hadn't even actively checked immediately found out something wrong about her. 'Maybe I should work on my [Sense].'

"That's unfortunate but in that case, I have a bigger blame." Instructor Venitt said.

Staring straight, Assistant Instructor Xovin changed the topic of conversation. "What kind of impression did you have on this kid Rewen Klofar?"

"My impression of him was not the best, honestly speaking." Instructor Venitt admitted. "I'm not fond of the 'rebellious' types and he appeared to be one of the prime examples of a rebel. I'm sure you've watched the short clip with him arguing with me over affinity. He talked and looked as if he had the world in the palm of his hands.

"I didn't like the attitude and didn't have a good first impression of him. Later, when he effortlessly defeated his opponent in the joint combat program, I thought that he was rather capable and had a slight change of impression. Some days later, he asked something along the lines of – 'Would I hide my progress if it would seem 'shocking' or unusual'. The question itself was unusual.

"The next thing I did was to check his progress and found out that it was normal. Immediately, I put him in the category of students who are pretentious and rebellious. Now I'm having doubts whether he really hides his progress or not. After that conversation, I decided that I would keep an eye on him. One thing was for sure. There was something about him that made him stand out from the rest of the students."

Assistant Instructor Xovin slightly smiled. "He was an energetic one…" Then, his face turned serious. "That day, he crouched without any warning…"

Instructor Venitt wasn't clear about what he was talking about and asked. "Did you have an encounter with him?"

"Oh, no. I'm talking about the day of the joint combat program. I arrived late and the boy Rewen was picking up his opponent through the lottery. Under normal conditions, he shouldn't be able to dodge me. I mean, I'm glad he did but I couldn't see how he dodged it without any warning."

"Perhaps he saw a reflection somewhere." Instructor Venitt made a smart guess.

Assistant Instructor Xovin nodded with his feet tapping the floor while his arms folded. "That's possible. However, I don't think that the matter is so simple. Could you have dodged me if you were in his place?"

Instructor Venitt nodded without any hesitation. "I could have dodged it without much effort."

Assistant Instructor Xovin didn't speak anymore. His expression seemed to indicate that he expected the answer. He fixed his eyes on the stage waiting for the Branch Director to speak just when he saw a hand come in front of his eyes. The hand was carrying two drinks.

"Here. Have it."

Both Assistant Instructor Xovin and Instructor Venitt turned their eyes and saw a young woman wearing a robe similar to them. She is Wylla, the Assistant Instructor of the 3rd Grade Class and also the youngest instructor in the academy. Her age, although unknown, was speculated to be not more than fifty.

However, because she got along with the students due to her mannerisms and looks, she is often thought to be younger.

"When did you get these?" Assistant Instructor Xovin took one of the drinks and asked.

Instructor Venitt also followed suit, taking one of the drinks and looking at her.

Assistant Instructor Wylla shrugged. "It was always with me."

"Hm, it feels cold…" Assistant Instructor Xovin drank the drink and wondered. If she had bought the drink before they came to the training ground, then the drinks should have gone cold.

Assistant Instructor Wylla kept her index finger close to her lips and smiled. "Trade secret."

Instructor Venitt and Assistant Instructor Xovin looked at each other and smiled. It wasn't hard to figure out the answer.

On the stage.

"By now, I expect everyone to get a somewhat clearer picture of the event. The reason I'm giving some time before going to the next event is that it's important to digest the information first as it only gets more and more complicated. Therefore, relax. Obviously, just words aren't enough for everyone to envision the event with intricate details. However, I will try my best. With that being said, let's move along.

"The next event happened right on the next day. On the 31st of March, Rewen met the woman who was drugged. On the 2nd of April, Rewen again met her at a nearby restaurant at night. Now, 3rd of April. Morning. He took a leave of absence from the academy. Here's something interesting. The reason he gave for taking the leave was – interference.

"It has been verified that he indeed had interference but that wasn't the reason why he took the leave. For some reason, he took the leave to go to the slums. There, he let himself be kidnapped by a group of people who live off by kidnapping vulnerable people and selling them to organ traders. He let himself be kidnapped, hid his smartphone in… a place others would think several times before checking.

"Then, he called the cops and met up with the kidnappers. He subdued them with his strength and made a deal with them. He promised to give them some leeway in the court in the condition that they answer some of his questions. Through the conversation, he found out that they were kidnapping him for the purpose of selling his organs. Later, he asked them to call the organ dealer they've been trading with.

"After some time, the cops arrived and he didn't keep his promise, handing them over to the cops without batting an eye."

The Branch Director paused for a while. "Before I continue, let me tell you something interesting. The entire case, following everything that led to the death of Rewen Klofar, was the first case in three years where the Provincial Security Bureau violated the terms of the Public Information Procedural Act. One of the terms of the act states that – Any attempt at breaching data from the Privacy Clauses (III) would be considered a crime. Depending on the number of factors, sentencing would be decided.

"It simply meant that only security cameras and honest witnesses could be used as a source of evidence…"