The Distant Trail Of Ciara Badvia

Prologue: In the Depths of the Lily Mountains
Part 2: Shopping in the Town of Lily

WELL’S DETERMINATION

Tyril’s mind and heart really were so stirred up that she forgot her hunger back at that dingy knife shop—or so she thought.

“Wow, that was delicious,” she said with satisfaction after setting down her fork. Lined up before were empty plates that had been filled with potato gratin, bread, salad, corn soup, vegetable juice, and dessert cake.

Restaurant Mirroux faced Lily’s main street and was at a quality sitting somewhere between mid- to high-end. Their popular dishes were gratin and red stew—ordinary dishes, but the ingredients must have been so good or prepared with great effort, since they were incredibly tasty and pricey. The full-option set menu that Tyril ordered was even more expensive. If one wasn’t careful, they could easily spend 400 to 500 lans on a single lunch, which was a terrifying prospect indeed.

For that reason, neither Tyril nor Well could afford to dine at a place like this with their allowances. Her satisfied expression showed that not only was she feeling full and happy from eating something delicious, but also excited at being able to dine at this restaurant.

“Of course you’d be satisfied if you eat all this for free…” Well said, looking a little resentful.

He glared at the happy Tyril as he drank water. It was easy to guess what was going on in his stomach, just by looking at the two plates of omelet and bread and the half-filled glass of water, the cheapest items on the menu.

“Hehe. Thank you for the meal!”

“You’re welcome. Geez, what a waste of money.”

Well kept grumbling and complaining. Still, while it was an expensive lunch, when he thought about the money that he had casually taken out of his wallet earlier, his guilt diminished somewhat. Besides, he still hadn’t wiped away the anxiety deep in Tyril’s heart, so he thought it was only fair to do this much for her. Yes, it was only natural!

“Anyway, Well, now that we’ve finished lunch, tell me about what you were talking about earlier.”

Tyril decided to broach the subject just as she was coming up with her own assumptions about why he bought that knife. Despite asking several times, she still hadn’t been told why.

“Um, about that…” Well’s face darkened, and he clamped shut for a while.

Tyril’s patience was wearing thin. “Hey, is it something you don’t want to talk about? But then why bring me with you to town?” She waited for his answer.

“N-no. It’s not that I don’t want to. I know I have to, but I don’t know where to start.”

“What do you mean? Is it that complicated?”

“Hmm… No, it’s not that complicated, but…”

Still, Well stayed uncertain. Tyril tilted her head, having never seen him act so indecisively before, then frowned and continued to wait. Eventually, it seemed he had come to terms with not making her wait anymore. He stared sharply and intently at her.

“I’m sorry, I can’t. I don’t know how to explain it best.”

“Huh…?”

“So, I’ll just tell you straight. The truth is, I’m planning to go on a journey.”

As simple as that. After all that fuss, Well delivered the news to Tyril straightforwardly.

Shocked, she couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of his words at first. “Oh, a…trip? Wow, I’m jealous. Where to? The capital? Or maybe another country? Ah, I should come along too—”

“Tyril.” Well’s voice was stern, almost angry. Seeing Tyril’s confusion, he spoke to her plainly. “I’m not going for fun. I’m thinking of going to Dazalt for sword training.”

Dazalt was a small nation situated in the south of the Enea continent, encompassing the Tamia Desert. Called the “land of commerce,” it had developed into a place where merchants gather due to its favorable location at the center of the inland sea for shipping trade. Simultaneously, it was also known as the “land of raiders” since bandits, whose lives rely solely on their skill with a sword, roam the desert.

Well looked straight into Tyril’s eyes. “I want to face real bandits in Dazalt and have a serious fight with them. I believe I can become stronger that way.”

Tyril couldn’t look away, too afraid to even blink. If she did, she might lose sight of Well, or he would never see her again.

“I, um… I don’t really understand. It’s…confusing,” she admitted, her thoughts in disarray. “Why do something like that? Isn’t it very dangerous?”

“Of course. There’s no guarantee of safety. But I want to try. I want to test my strength.”

“Why?” Tyril wanted a clearer answer.

“Well, since I was little, my uncle Yuis taught me a lot of things, including how to wield a sword, up until he’d gone on his journey when I was twelve or thirteen. But even after that, I continued practicing on my own, and I think I’ve become pretty strong. I’ve even been to this town’s martial arts dojo a few times.”

“The dojo… The one in that alley?”

“That’s the one. It’s behind the post office. I wanted to test my skills, so I sparred with the people and the dojo master there. To be honest, I was much stronger than them.”

“Really?” Tyril gasped. “You’ve really gotten that strong, Well?”

“Ah… It’s not just that. The swordsmanship they teach at the dojo is more like a sport with certain rules you need to follow. The swordsmanship Uncle taught me is different—it’s purely for self-defense.”

Tyril couldn’t quite understand Well’s story. She followed his logic, but she didn’t fully grasp the significance of Well being stronger than anyone at the town’s dojo. Even so, the knowledge left her shocked.

For some reason, she felt as if the distance between them suddenly grew.

“But, you know, there are still plenty of people in the world much stronger than me—especially the bandits in Dazalt who bet their lives on their sword,” Well continued softly. His gaze never wavered from Tyril. “I want to become stronger. Strong enough to defeat such people… and to beat my uncle, too.”

“Why… Why would you think like that?” Tyril couldn’t accept his words. Well planned to leave them behind and go on a journey. She didn’t want that. “Why do you want to become so strong? Isn’t being the best in Lily good enough? I’m sure you can even beat my father by now—”

“No.” Well cut her off immediately. “That isn’t true. Uncle was much stronger than me even now. As I am, I’ll never match up to him. That’s why I want to go to Dazalt.”

“But…what about Aunt Rosa? What are you going to do about her? She’s your only mother.”

“I already talked to my mother last night. When I said to her I really wanted to go, she just laughed and told me to go ahead. You know what my mother is like, Tyril. Changing my mind now will only make her angry.”

Well was wearing a faint, bitter smile. Tyril couldn’t find any more words to argue with—there was no room to argue at all. But there was something Tyril wanted to say:

I don’t want you to go.

However, the words refused to come out of her throat. A part of her simply didn’t want to admit to those feelings, and above all else, Well’s decision to leave left her devastated.

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Edited on October 15, 2023.

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