The Distant Trail Of Ciara Badvia

The Saria Magic Academy
Part 2: To the Academy

REINTRODUCTIONS

“Hey, can I ask you a few things about yourself?” Misty asked. She was poking her lasagne with a fork while peering at Tyril’s face.

Tyril tilted her head, a spoon in her mouth. “About me?”

“Yeah. What country are you from? Based on your hair color and skin tone, I thought you were from Wende at first glance.”

“Oh, no… I’m from Solzarand. From Lily—a small town in the north.”

“I see. But still, your hair should be in a slightly darker color, no?”

“Is that so? I don’t really know myself… So, you can tell where someone is from based on things like hair color? I mean, from which country they are?”

“Well, there are all sorts of people, so it’s more of a trend; it’s not definitive. I mean, compared to the people in the southern part of Enea, folks from Solzarand tend to have lighter hair colors, while people from the northern countries often have black hair. Something like that. By the way, even though my hair is this black, I’m not from Balthe, but from Arianess.”

“Ah… Then, Misty, you’re a foreigner?”

“Uh-huh. Foreigners in this academy aren’t uncommon. After all, it’s the highest institution for magical studies in this continent. People from all over the world gather here because they want to learn magic.”

“Really? I see…”

As she chewed a bit of chicken in her mouth, Tyril nodded absentmindedly. She only knew about foreign lands from the tales and novels she’d read while growing up. Since coming to Saria, all the stories she heard about were real ones that evoked no emotion from her at all.

“Anyway, Lily, huh? Sorry, but isn’t that a pretty rural town?”

The next question came while she lost in thought, mechanically chewing what was in her mouth. Tyril was a bit surprised by the bold way the question was posed, but she didn’t take offense at the wording and smiled back.

“Yes. It’s a peaceful and quiet place, but there’s isn’t much there. There’s been nothing but surprises since I came to Saria.”

“That place… If I remember right, that’s Ciara Badvia’s hometown, right? Oh, maybe… Could it be that you also aspire to become a mage out of admiration for Badvia?”

“No, no, it’s not like that. But…”

“Right, not that, then. Someone I met before from Lily mentioned that, so I thought it might be the case for you. Sorry about that.”

Misty scratched her head lightly and laughed in embarrassment, as if unsure if she said something bad. Tyril smiled to indicate that she wasn’t particularly bothered.

“So, which basic school did you go to?”

“Huh?”

Tyril found it difficult to answer the abrupt question. Faced with a term she was only hearing the first time, she hesitated in her reply.

“Was it Lilithia? Or did you go up to Wayne?”

“Well, I, um… I’ve actually never attended school before. This is my first time coming to one, and I’m really nervous.”

“What? But to enroll in the undergraduate program at this academy, you’re supposed to have completed either the preparatory program here or in a basic school in another town, right?”

“Erm…”

It seemed she said the wrong thing, after all. Tyril regretted her choice of words.

I shouldn’t have said that. Even someone with little knowledge like herself should have been more discreet. Who would feel pleased hearing about how she came to this school under special circumstances?

“Hmm? Is it something you can’t talk about?”

Misty didn’t sound angry; rather, she took on a playful tone and her eyes didn’t seem tense as she gazed at Tyril’s face, as if she was saying that there was no use in trying to fool her.

In the end, the desire not to lie to Misty won. Tyril wanted to cherish the first friend she made in school.

“Well, you see… I was recommended by the king and was exempted from various conditions to enroll in the academy, like the, erm, basic school, was it? I’m sure that’s a place I really have to go to, but I haven’t been particularly told anything about it…”

“Recommended by the king…? Why? Tyril, you’re that amazing of a person?”

“Um… I was told I was Ciara Badvia’s daughter…”

Misty nearly dropped the fork she was holding. “Wow! B-Badvia’s daughter…”

Is it really that much of a shock? Oh, no, it probably is. Tyril recalled that even her mind went blank when she first heard the story.

“O-oh my… That’s amazing. The king’s recommendation makes sense, then. That means you should be quite the skilled mage, wouldn’t it?”

“Actually…” Tyril’s face darkened.

The truth was that she could hardly use magic—she had repeated that fact to the envoy who visited her in Lily and even to His Majesty. Still, when faced with the daughter of Ciara Badvia, anyone would likely think the same way, and so Tyril explained the same story again.

“I see…” Misty nodded, switching for a spoon and scooping up soup, completely at ease.

“But it’s just that you haven’t learned how to use magic, right?” she continued brightly, nonchalant, like the answer was completely obvious. “Study magic here, and you’ll be able to gain skill in no time. By the time you graduate, you might even end up the top student. I’m sure you’ve got the talent.”

“But that’s…”

“You came to the academy to study magic, didn’t you? Then there’s no problem even if you can’t use magic now, and besides, the fact that you inherited Badvia’s talent is an amazing thing. And no matter how great a mage is, they aren’t capable of using great magic right off the bat, you know.”

Misty swept her long black hair away from her face and smiled. Strangely, her words rang true to Tyril. She felt a surge of relief bubbling within her chest and, smiling faintly, quietly clenched her fist on the table.

“I guess so…”

“That’s right!” Misty exclaimed, loud enough that her voice could have echoed throughout the entire dining hall, giving Tyril her best smile. “With that incredible blood, you could become a court mage, or whatever you want!”

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For more from the author, visit:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/inui_takafumi

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Last revisions: 20/08/23

Glossary:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_D4XF1ID8j7zti3pG-fqtcd0h0T9aZHK_CXsCrr5gwY/edit?usp=sharing

Revisions:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jS9QeSLaJfl6P_-Gl-zAY0dnKPep3or9fUl-HPukc9g/edit?usp=sharing