The Distant Trail of Ciara Badvia

The Saria Magic Academy
Part 5: Secret Revealed

THE MIRACLE IN JERMEL

Tyril at last had an opportunity to observe her surroundings. 

Her eyes were soon drawn to the several oil paintings in a diverse range of colors—blues, reds, a splash of different ones—propped up on the easels. She sighed softly. 

Vanilla watched Tyril through narrowed eyes, an impish look on her face. “Want to take a look? These paintings were made by us arts students—me and the others, and also Professor Fermarl. That one there? It’s a painting depicting the journey of Hars Velia and his two disciples. It’s wonderful, isn’t it?”

Hars Velia was a religious figure who appeared 30 years before the Division era. He was the founder of the Hars religion, the state religion of the Kingdom of Solzarand. Tyril nodded slightly a few times, wondering whether this Fermarl person was an artist specializing in religious paintings.

“Well then, which one’s yours, Vanilla? I’d love to see it!” Tyril turned around and beamed at her friend.

Now looking quite embarrassed, Vanilla scratched the back of her neck and spluttered briefly.

“Mine isn’t, well… It’s not quite finished yet,” she stammered out, a tinge of red on her cheeks. In the end, though, she showed it to Tyril. Vanilla pointed to a large canvas standing in the corner of the room, where several wooden boxes were stacked.

“This is the one? Wow, it’s amazing!”

Tyril’s appreciation was much more apparent than the one she had for the painting earlier. Deep blues and pale greens, all in various, layered shades—the setting had to be in a forest. Amidst the lush and dense growth was a crimson-haired girl, treading the forest in gentle steps, with small lights in red, blue, and yellow floating around her. Lost in the forest, she appeared to be following those mysterious lights. 

Or so that was the impression Tyril got. “It looks wondrous. And certainly… mesmerizing…” Her sincerity was unquestionable. 

“Showing this to you is… embarrassing. I’m actually terrible at it, so…”

“No, not at all! I love this painting. I may not understand what makes one good or bad, but this one has really caught my eye.”

Vanilla blushed a deep red at the praise. She licked her lips repeatedly and softly muttered a “T-thank you.” It was the first time Tyril had seen her like this. Now, her stormy emotions, and her fear and anxiety, dissipated entirely, replaced by a warm feeling like she’d been kissed by the spring breeze.

I saw wonderful paintings and an adorable and shy side to Vanilla. I could go to bed in bliss tonight. 

“Vanilla, don’t you paint religious art like your professor?” Tyril asked. She hummed appreciatively while examining the painting at every corner. From behind, she heard a faint sigh.

“Actually, er… This is based roughly on a Hars myth…”

“Is that right?” Tyril was overcome with awkwardness.

“You know that story about the sermon in Jermel? I liked that story, and when I was trying to decide what kind of subject to paint, it came to mind.”

“Jermel, hm… If I recall correctly, Lord Hars gave a sermon in that town, and the girl who listened to it was suddenly able to use magic the next day. That’s about how it went, right?”

“Uh-huh,” her friend replied cheerfully. But Tyril tilted her head; she couldn’t recall a forest appearing in that story.

Seeing that, Vanilla launched into an explanation. 

“On the night she heard the sermon, the girl in that story dreamed of an angelic figure, and after that, she was able to use magic. This is my interpretation of that dream: with the guidance of the divine messenger, she was led deep into the forest and obtained her magical powers there.”

“Oh…” Tyril nodded emphatically. 

Now that she thought about it, this forest did seem like something out of a dream. Though to her, the red and blue lights were more what she thought spirits would look like than they were divine messengers. They were like fairies from Wende. Perhaps she liked this painting because it struck a familiarity with her.

Jermel, coincidentally, was also the old name for Lily, her hometown.

“This painting, is it still a work in progress?” Tyril asked, not taking her eyes off the painting for even a moment, because it felt like the girl in the painting might suddenly move in that time. Not wanting to miss it, she didn’t blink. 

“Yeah, it still is. I’m thinking of finishing it by summer.”

“I think it’s fine as it is, but are you going to add anything else?”

“Hrm… I guess I will, but…” Vanilla scratched her head, looking contemplative but also at a loss. 

She was missing something, that much she was sure of, but what it was eluded her. This was a side of Vanilla that Tyril was unfamiliar with—the Vanilla who was an artist—and she admired the sight.

Vanilla got hold of herself and suddenly looked up. “Ah. Sorry, sorry. I spaced out for a moment there. Tyril, are you hungry? We skipped lunch, after all.”

Is it that time already? Tyril shook her head and straightened up, finally removing her gaze from the painting. After lunch, she in fact has a lecture on Comparative Civilizations, but she wasn’t in a calm enough mood to attend it. Instead, she’d been planning on going back to her mentor’s office to talk about what had just happened, but the prospect of having lunch at the cafeteria first also sounded good.

“What about you, Vanilla? Do you have a class after this?”

“Nope, but I want to make some progress with this piece, so I’m going to work on it for a bit. It’s still far from complete, though.”

“I see. Well, when it’s finished, please show it to me.”

“Of course.” Vanilla smiled, then paused. “Oh, in that case, how about I go with you to your classroom? That weird guy might still be creeping around somewhere, waiting for you.” 

“Ah…” 

Their conversation about art went a long way to settle her emotions. In her clarity, she realized that she was feeling more confused than afraid. After taking a deep breath, pushing aside all her worries, and thinking about other things, she was now mostly calm.

Tyril still had an eerie feeling about that man. When she considered what to do about him, it dawned on her that there wasn’t much more he could do to her after revealing her secret. 

“No, I’ll be fine. It’s not that far.”

She wasn’t actually sure. Vanilla had brought her here while she was dazed and distracted. Besides, “not that far” meant little in relation to the vast academy. But Tyril was hesitant to impose on Vanilla any further.

“I’ll stay here, then, if you’re going to be okay.”

“Yes, don’t worry. I’ll run away if someone draws attention to me. I might not look like it, but I’m quite fast, you know?”

She clenched her fist in a show of confidence. Vanilla laughed and didn’t insist on accompanying her further, instead waving her hand and smiling. “Well then, see you tomorrow.”

And so Tyril left the art room. 

Now that she was composed, she took the time to observe the building it was in and found it a peculiar sight. It was clearly older and more worn compared to the lecture, research lab, and practical class buildings. It felt like the place was stuck in another time. 

Why is the art room in particular here, of all places? 

Oddly enough, Tyril traversed the school like she was floating. Her complicated emotions from earlier had been replaced with exhilaration, all thanks to an enchanting painting. She didn’t even feel the hunger from her missed lunch. 

She also realized that from that day on, Vanilla had become more casual with her. Not that Tyril was able to do the same for her, at least for a while.

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MTL/N: The last paragraph actually says that Vanilla stopped using honorifics. Ugh. Too late to backtrack on how I translated them… 

For more from the author, visit:

Narou: https://mypage.syosetu.com/1258514/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/inui_takafumi

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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