However, Harbos merely shook his head before saying:
"That matter is still far off... What I want to ask is, do you know the female apprentice who sat beside you last time?"
Elan instinctively assumed he meant Lai, but he was unsure how broad Harbos's definition of "beside" was, so he said:
"Do you mean the second person seated to my right last time?"
Once they reached the rank of Formal Mage, their memories improved greatly, which was why Elan asked that. He felt Harbos surely remembered as well.
"No, the first one on your right, the one closest to you."
"The black-haired one?"
"That's right, her. Do you know her?"
Elan was rather bewildered. Harbos usually sought out apprentices for only one reason: he had taken a liking to an apprentice's talent.
As for Fran, all Elan could say was that he knew her very well. But in his view, she was naturally suited for the Sword Chant School, while her Spell talent could only be called modest.
That combination fit the Sword Chant School perfectly. So even though the Law School he belonged to was badly short on people, he had never considered recruiting Fran into it.
He believed joining the Sword Chant School was the best choice for Fran. Although her Spell talent was sufficient for her to enter other schools, there was no need for that. Joining another school would simply waste her swordsmanship talent.
Then he recalled Fran's performance in the previous class. She had constantly been distracted, picking at her fingers, and occasionally chatting with Lai beside her. She had not looked like an apprentice who understood the lesson at all.
So why was Harbos looking for her?
"I know her. We're quite close."
"Has something happened to her recently? Why didn't she come