The Distant Trail Of Ciara Badvia

The Saria Magic Academy
Part 6: A Disquieting Shadow

RAVENNA ALCESTE

Third period class was Master Raknag’s summoning magic practical.

Tyril expected the trio to be probably sitting in the same classroom, so she was deliberately waiting until the last minute to go to class. She’d been waiting for a while now, but that was fine; with those three around, she wasn’t keen on standing on pins and needles before class started. To enter the classroom right when the bell rang or shortly after was the plan—until Master Raknag called out to her from behind.

“What are you doing? We’re starting. Hurry and get into the classroom.”

Tyril jumped and replied “Yes!” at the same time the bell started ringing.

Well, she wouldn’t have to worry about gossiping behind her back or direct harassment if she entered with the teacher. In this case, the attention she was going to receive would be trivial compared to her experience these past few days, so she quickly trotted in before him. When she headed toward her usual spot, the seats around it were vacant—and just as intended, it looked to her.

Tyril took her seat and kept her head down as much as possible to not draw attention. Still, she couldn’t hide her worry, especially when she glanced up and three figures were reflected in her vision. They were sitting at the backmost seats, just as they said last time, staring at her with tight smiles.

Tyril wanted to praise herself for not freezing up and letting it stop her from putting down her things and taking a seat.

Time passed painfully sluggishly. Unable to focus at all, Tyril operated at half her usual capability and thus recorded dismal results in all of today’s tasks, doing so terribly that Master Raknag dismissed her work with no more than a glance. As she thought about the individual supplementary lesson with him later, her stomach churned.

The final bell rang.

“That is all for today. Zeeland,” Raknag spat out, in a bad mood, “come to the lab quickly.”

“Ah. Y-yes!”

Unlike Tyril, who knew it was coming, the other students appeared surprised. She hurriedly gathered her belongings and trailed after her professor. Despite the circumstances, she was greatly relieved to be able to leave the classroom without being bothered or subjected to sharp gazes. The lecture that was going to follow didn’t feel like a big deal in comparison, not to mention Tyril had opened up to Master Raknag in the few classes she’d attended.

She followed her professor back to the lab, and as soon as they entered, he tossed his teaching materials onto the desk, sat down in a chair, and massaged his forehead.

“Explain. What was that all about?”

Tyril was expecting a scolding, so the question caught her off guard. “Uh, um… Was what about…?”

“The class just now. No, this has been going on for some time now, hasn’t it?”

Under scrutiny and unable to hide her confusion, Tyril ended up mumbling incoherently in response. She thought she was going to be probed about her poor performance in class but not to explain why in her own words, so she panicked and garbled her answer.

“Is this something you don’t understand either?”

“Um, no, it’s just…” Tyril forced herself to calm down. “I, er… I think I was distracted with all the attention I was getting from everyone. I was overwhelmed, and I couldn’t focus on using magic. I’m sorry!”

“That is not what I meant. I’m asking why you’re attracting attention in the first place.”

“Eh…” She tilted her head.

Since the rumor was the talk of the school, Tyril thought that it surely must have reached the teachers by now. This inquiry came from nowhere and, in her surprise, she ended up asking something rather rude.

“You, um, don’t know about it?”

“I don’t—which is why I’m asking. Is that a problem?”

“No! Not at all!” she said quickly. “Well, you see, I’m in the spotlight now because some time ago, everyone found out that I’m Badvia’s daughter…”

“Is that so? They found out how?”

“Um… Someone I didn’t know suddenly came into a classroom and blurted it out in front of every—”

“What?!”

“I don’t understand it either,” Tyril added weakly, on the verge of tears. Master Raknag crossed his arms, leaned against the backrest, and sighed deeply.

“Do you still not know who that person was?”

“No… I was panicking since it was all so sudden, and it’s been a few days, so I don’t recall his face very well. But I do recall his voice…”

Raknag fell silent and put a hand on his chin, deep in thought. Seeing that, Tyril felt reassured. She’d expected a lecture for not being able to focus in class, but Raknag had thought there was a reason for it and seemed willing to look into it further. It warmed her heart.

Bolstered, she decided to say one more thing on her mind. “Um…”

“Yes?” Master Raknag gave Tyril a sharp look with his upturned eyes, but that didn’t scare her anymore.

“Do you recognize the three girls sitting at the back from your right during the practical class?”

“From my right… The seats farthest from you?”

“Yes, those are the ones.”

“You mean Alceste and the others? They do seem to spend time together often. What’s wrong with them?”

Alceste, is it? Tyril repeated the name inwardly. She felt some resistance about telling her teacher about her interaction with the girls the other day, as she wasn’t very good with speaking badly of others. But the desire to seek help won out.

“The thing is, they approached me the other day…”

Master Raknag listened quietly, sincerely, and without interrupting her story. In the back of her mind, she was waiting for him to protest, to argue that there was no way they could do such a thing. Yet when all was said and done, his first words were not an outright denial of her account.

“Alceste, Eint, and Lute—you’re saying they pressured you into admitting to your ‘lies’?”

“Yes. So those are their names…”

“Ah, you didn’t know? The one with black hair—Ravenna Alceste. The tall one is Sherla Eint, and the short one is Stella Lute. All three,” he added, “are top-performing students.”

The last bit felt like Tyril was being indirectly told that they were more trustworthy. But what does it matter if their grades are excellent? Does it guarantee they wouldn’t engage in bullying? Her heart sank.

“Right now, I cannot judge whether your story is true,” Raknag continued. “I wasn’t there to witness it, nor have I heard their side of the story yet. However—” he paused, gazing at her intently “—there is one thing we know is true, even without their accounts. In any event, the simplest solution you can take right now is to improve your magical abilities.”

“O-oh.” Tyril swallowed hard.

Despite lamenting over her circumstances with Misty on yesterday’s walk—which in itself was a step towards improvement—she hadn’t considered that there was another practical measure they could take.

“Will improving my magical ability really make a difference…?”

“It will allow you to proudly call yourself Badvia’s daughter, no?”

“T-that’s true, but…”

“It’s too late to subdue the rumors. Fortunately, the rumors about you are not lies or exaggerations, but the unmistakable truth. Live up to it, and you will see less envy and it will stop being a burden on you.”

As usual, Raknag left no room for her to contradict him. Tyril’s doubts about her origins were lightly brushed aside like a roadside pebble.

“Now that’s decided, it’s time for a review,” he said coldly as he stood up, removing Tyril from his sight. “You’re already aware of it, but frankly, your performance this week has been abysmal.”

He seemed forceful and harsh, but oddly, Tyril wasn’t bothered by it. She only let out a sigh at the fact that she was up for a tough, hour-long supplementary class after this.

*****

It was not just an hour.

Raknag’s lesson began when the sun was still high and concluded when it had fully set.

She left the laboratory, utterly exhausted. Tyril needed to make her way to Master Forster’s lab now, and thinking about it only made her steps down the stairs heavier.

Suddenly, she felt the presence of someone at the end of the corridor. This research building was generally sparsely populated; it was impossible to not notice the brisk, obvious sound of footsteps nearby. Tyril peered down the stairs and caught a glimpse of light brown hair.***

It was one of the trio—the short girl with twin tails. Tyril had no proof, just a gut feeling. But even so, she felt certain of it. Her name is Lute, isn’t it? It must be her. Perhaps the girl had been spying on her and hurriedly fled to not get caught.

… No. I’m just tired.

It was probably her imagination. After all, she’d taken so long, so there was no way someone kept an eye on her outside that whole time.

I’m jumping at shadows because I’m still tired after that intense lesson. That’s all, she told herself firmly, yet her nervousness didn’t dissipate.

The sound of her own footsteps echoed into the distance. Tyril wanted to go to bed and rest as soon as possible, but she had a feeling that even if she did, she wouldn’t find a restful sleep.

Amidst all that unease, a fire was stoked inside her. The determination to better her magical abilities as soon as possible was burning silently in her heart.

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MTL/N: ***Last I checked, twin-tailed girl had *shining gold hair* first time she was introduced. That said, jisho.org says 黄金色 could also be honey colored, which I suppose is brown or near that? The local honey I’ve seen, at least. I dunno, I’ll chew on this for a bit or wait until it’s mentioned again, then make changes accordingly. I’m sorry for the inconsistency!

Relevant JP: (first mention) 輝く黄金色; (this chapter) ふわりとした茶色

Also, teachers not knowing about bullying, and then basically leaving the student to deal with it. Hah. Classic. It’d be funnier if the bullies get away with it.

… And I still don’t get the purpose of taking a walk around the school…

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For more from the author, visit:
Narou: https://mypage.syosetu.com/1258514/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/inui_takafumi

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