A few months ago, I spoke with her.

"I'm tired of everything..." Hiram Frestia whispered in a sigh.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Nothing... Anyway, please let me speak with the President if he is available."

"Fufu, I see..."

We're in the Student Council room, and two of us are sitting opposite each other. Ms. Frestia arrived unannounced, so she missed the President's schedule and didn't have time to speak with him. And unfortunately, I'm the only one here because all of the members were doing necessary things.

"Don't speculate anything, Ms. Leyand; that look of yours is a little concerning."

"You're not holding back when you talk to me, are you, Ms. Frestia? Just try to smile every now and then."

"That's good advice; don't worry, I'll remember it. Good thing you already know my name."

"Of course, I had a knack for recalling students who had bothered me for a while; they basically piqued my interest."

Hiram Frestia. From what I've seen, she's a diligent student and has a sense of responsibility. Her overall appearance is not typical of most people, in my opinion. She has these unwaveringly clear eyes and a pristine disposition that draws your attention right away. In any case, she's been frequently visiting the President for some important matters, according to her. She's been acting arrogant recently, which has upset me greatly.

"I see. Speaking of which, Ms. Leyand, has Mr. President told you anything?"

"Like what?"

"...So he didn't say anything?"

"Erm, obviously? What is it anyway, and I wanted to know why you are always coming here?"

I asked the President the same question, but he didn't tell me anything.

"I don't want to tell you this, but you're the first student, aside from the President, to know that I'm leaving the school," she stated, as if she were already determined.

Surprisingly, she was forthright about it. Because of how serious she was, her tone made me fall silent for a split second. And now I can see why she's been here for over a week, preparing her papers.

"Why though? Did you have any problems in school?"

"It was just a whim; in any case, it has nothing to do with you."

"Then why bother telling me?"

"I wanted you to inform Lisa Hollows, Aqua Family's representative."

Mr. President has informed me that Ms. Frestia and Ms. Hollows were formerly friends.

"She'll find out about it eventually because I know the President will tell her. Regardless, wasn't it better if you told her yourself?"

When it comes to disclosing information, it is common for it to spread through rumor, especially if the news is significant. However, if the news is not much of a deal, like in Ms. Frestia's case, it may not be completely a fuss.

"I understand... I'm going to leave now, Ms. Leyand," she seems to be contemplating about something, "This will be our last meeting," she says, getting up from her seat.

"Again, why are you acting as if I will pity you?"

Those words were making me...

"Is that how you see it? You're a human; it's natural to feel sorry for someone."

"You're getting pretty annoying, Ms. Frestia."

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"In any case, don't mind me; I need to go now."

She walked away with an insipid smile.

That was the last time I spoke to her. After that, she didn't even go to the SC room for days, and recently, the President announced that she had decided to leave our school. Although it doesn't surprise us, the Student Council members were still unsure of the cause. I've been thinking about that issue alone for a while now. Even I haven't come up with a justification for her leaving.

When I bring up the subject to the President, all he replies is, "She's been going to transfer out."

Clearly indicating that she will be switching schools. That is the best conclusion I have ever come to. The most interesting part is that we couldn't even reach her Family, and her classmates didn't have any idea either. The only way to solve the mystery is to get in touch with every school I know. But regrettably, visiting and writing letters to different schools would be difficult, even for a Secretary like me in a well-respected school. Additionally, my restricted range and lack of acquaintance with other schools made it unlikely that I would find her.

None of the Student Council members were aware of what I was doing. I'll do this out of curiosity and to break up my boredom, so it's really just a whim.

One thing that comes to my mind is gathering information, which a specific individual I can think of, Ms. Zei Wyte, can provide. I'm sure she can offer you whatever information you require. At that time, she is well known among Representatives and other third parties with different names. I made contact with her without knowing her identity at all. In truth, Ms. Zei Wyte is the one who told me about Ethan's background. With that in mind, I went to her.

"So, what is it that you want now? Of course we're here again for negotiation."

Ms. Zei Wyte and I were at the back of the school, where essentially no one was around.

"Hiram Frestia, do you know her?"

"Oh, is that why you're here?"

"I just wanted to know."

"What are you going do with it?"

"I thought you didn't seem to care about the people with whom you're negotiating?"

"For this time, I wanted to know what your side was."

Technically, I didn't care about silly things, but I realized this incident somehow caught my attention.

"The President didn't tell me the details or the reason for Ms. Frestia's transfer, so why is that? This has drawn my attention, and until now it hasn't answered anything, so this is my last resort."

"I see... but the information you're looking for is limited, and I'm still looking into it, so I don't have what you're looking for right now."

That came as such a surprise to me. Hearing that, I concluded that my chances of learning anything about Ms. Frestia were slim. Now, this is starting to get more interesting. Ms. Frestia has been an unpredicted individual ever since, but she remains a mystery.

Currently, I intended to meet the President again to see if he would discuss it, but the entire thing has become more complicated since there's a massive case right now that we need to resolve first. Ms. Frestia's absences might be an important piece in linking the whole situation. Though there is a slight probability, I highly doubt it.

Tomorrow, a number of adjustments will take place. Even I had no idea what lay ahead.

Ms. Hollows is now in a state of upheaval and says, "What about the President? He possesses the sole piece of information I have to locate Hiram." She is feeling angry and upset.

The question instantly enters my mind, bringing it to a sudden realization.

Am I still going to see Ethan again after this day?

At this point, my thoughts were shattered, and I simultaneously feeling hot and suffocating. I'm getting anxious to the point of feeling remorse.

"Have you not wanted to speak with him?"

All of a sudden, a voice from outside the room can be heard. As it entered, her voice sounded strangely calming.

"Ms. Lock, what are you doing here?" I asked.

She's with Mr. Past, and they're slowly approaching me. They've probably been listening to our conversation from outside. I had a chat with her before, and my conversation with her was nothing out of the ordinary.

"We're here for Ms. Hollows, but we didn't expect you to be here, Ms. Lou, and we never anticipated you to choose this yourself," Mr. Past explained.

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"We thought you wanted to be with Ethan, the President, but I guess we were wrong 'til this far."

"..." Suddenly, my heart aches. Those remarks were enough to wake me up several times.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Lou, I've said enough," he quickly apologizes, "Anyway, Ms. Hollows, we were here to set you off and thank you for serving the Fifteen Organization."

"...That's quite hard to believe and unusual of you, Mr. Past. Regardless, I appreciate it even if—"

"We're sincere, Ms. Hollows," Ms. Lock said, adding, "It's regrettable we couldn't help you, like on Ms. Hunt's case."

"Are you trying to comfort me? Have you changed your mind and want to help me now that I'm no longer a student here?" She said it with a raised tone.

"Don't be mean to us," Mr. Past said with a sigh.

"Do you blame me?"

"Sorry..." Even though Ms. Lock said this in monotone, I could tell it was genuine.

"Uh, no, I'm sorry," Ms. Hollows replied in shock after hearing Ms. Lock's response.

Because it is unlikely that any other Families will visit Ms. Hollows, Time Family assumed responsibility. I know Ms. Hollows was aware of it, so perhaps she immediately regretted raising her voice at them.

"...One last thing before we leave you; Hiram Frestia is probably not too far away." Mr. Past swiftly changed the subject.

"Hm? How could you be so certain?"

"Zei told me about it, and she's been looking into it as well since then. How ironic, Zei Wyte was hiding before too. She knows how that feels, and that's why she told us not to worry much."

"Then maybe Hiram was hiding too?"

"We don't know for sure..."