Majo no Tabitabi - Volume 6 - Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Seven Days of Ariadne

[Day SixAfternoon]

It was a late summer afternoon, and a cool breeze blew through the air.

Two students entered a lecture hall of Latorita State University.

One of them was a girl wearing a black blazer. Her long, silken hair was the color of ash. Her eyes were lapis. She was staring straight at the other side of the lecture hall.

Who on earth could this ordinary university student be?

That’s right, she’s me.

“Are you nervous, Ariadne?”

There was another female student beside me.

She wore a red blazer and a black skirt. Her red hair was tied into two pigtails behind her head. She gazed over at me with striking blue eyes.

“Hmm? Huh? Do I need to be nervous?”

I would have appreciated it if she’d taken the situation a bit more seriously, but despite the high stakes, she seemed utterly unbothered.

I turned a reproachful gaze on the girl. “The two of us were summoned here together, you know. It would be prudent to assume that there’s something going on.”

But Ariadne was just as oblivious as always. “We don’t know that! Maybe they’re having trouble with something and want us to lend them a hand. This could be our chance, right Elaina?”

“That’s obviously not the look of someone who wants our help.”

I pointed.

Across the lecture hall from us was a girl who had clearly been waiting for us. She was wearing the same sort of blazer that Ariadne had, as well as a long black cloak over that. Her dark red hair was tied into a single ponytail on the side of her head, and she looked down at us with a blank expression. And she stood stock-still, like a mannequin.

As she stared at the girl standing across the lecture hall from us, Ariadne narrowed her eyes slightly. Her gaze was kind yet melancholy.

“So, what was your reason for summoning us?” Ariadne asked the other student. She was straight to the point, or maybe tactlessly frank, but the girl on the other side of the hall simply shook her head.

“I cannot tell you.”

Something in the girl’s voice—in Sara’s voice—made me shiver.

“How cold…” Ariadne shrugged, clearly already out of patience.

What kind of answer is “I cannot tell you” anyway?

Suddenly, the icy click of high heels echoed through the hall.

“She is not the one who summoned you.”

A woman calmly appeared before us, her hair fluttering glamorously behind her like young spring grass swaying in the wind. Her commanding presence froze me in my tracks as she confidently strode toward us.

A chill went up my spine.

Finally, the woman came to a stop beside Sara. “I knew there were some little mice sniffing around our business, but… It was you two, hmm? How unfortunate. How very, very unfortunate…” Her cold words hit us like an icy torrent.

I had heard about this woman; specifically that she was truly an academic elite, that she’d been with the university since its founding, that she was everyone’s favorite choice for next headmaster, and that she was young (she was only in her thirties). She was the brilliant and lovely Miss Vivian.

And I’m sure she enjoyed all that attention (though I’m not quite sure what her age had to do with anything).

Beside me, Ariadne said, “No way. Seriously? Looks like we’ve been found out, Elaina…” Somehow, she still didn’t sound all that concerned.

“…Actually, I was pretty sure we were never going to get away with it,” I replied with a sigh.

If I was being honest, the two of us had probably seemed pretty suspicious these past few days, as we’d attempted to investigate Vivian’s work. Really, if I were in her position, I would have had us captured and interrogated already.

On the other hand, Vivian was pretty suspicious herself. Really, anyone else in my position would have already made a hasty retreat.

“I knew as soon as I began looking into you. The student roster made it obvious. There are no students named Elaina or Ariadne enrolled at this institution.” She pointed her wand at us and demanded, “Tell me who you are. Why are you trying to get in my way?”

I snorted through my nose, “Did the student roster also tell you that we would answer honestly if you threatened us?”

“…I suppose we should include information like that from now on.”

Then she waved her wand.

Immediately, the floor of the lecture hall split apart, and the crack ran up the door right behind us. We only grasped that it had been blown apart by a preposterously strong gust of wind when a moment later that gale blew past us and sent our uniform skirts fluttering.

I see, so she wants to boast about her own power.

Either that, or she’s trying to cut off our retreat by destroying the door.

“It’s in your own best interests to answer honestly,” Sara said, standing next to Vivian. “The professor doesn’t particularly want to kill you…”

I’m sure she meant it as a warning.

“Sara, it’s no use,” Vivian replied. “If I don’t hurt them a little bit, those two definitely won’t give me any answers. They don’t seem particularly bright, after all.”

I’m sure she was trying to provoke us.

But we weren’t the type to readily take the bait.

However…

“We came here to end this foolish charade. Release Sara from your spell.”

I held my wand at the ready. If my opponent wanted trouble, I was prepared to give it to her.

“Why, I’m not under her spell,” Sara replied. “I only wanted to study magic under her peerless tutelage.”

But even as she spoke, I could see that her eyes were glazed over.

The girl loyally obeyed everything the professor said without the slightest hesitation or any concern for right and wrong. The professor had to have been manipulating her somehow. I was certain.

“Are you planning on taking me down all by yourself? Just you?” Vivian’s eyes flicked back and forth between me and Ariadne. “After all, Ariadne over there can’t use magic, right? That’s why I went out of my way to look after her. I thought I could make her into a mage like I did with Sara.”

“I don’t need you to do that!” Ariadne spat. “I’m perfectly happy even without the ability to use magic!” She took a step behind me. “So please protect me, okay Elaina?”

“……Um, sure.”

I couldn’t tell if she was cool or lame.

In any case, I readied my wand as I moved to protect her.

I was up against a gifted instructor with years of magical experience. This was definitely no time to let my guard down.

“Happy without magic…?” Vivian’s expression grew cloudy, and she looked like she was gathering power into her hands. “Give me a break! The lives of people who can’t use magic are meaningless because magic is everything!”

And then, she waved her wand again.

* * *

[Day ThreeAfternoon]

Bang!

An earsplitting sound dragged my awareness back to the present.

Apparently, I had been spacing out. When I shifted my gaze from the classroom window to the teacher’s desk, I saw the middle-aged instructor making a sour face.

The classroom was utterly silent, almost as if speaking was prohibited.

Looking around, I saw students sitting at desks arranged in a half-circle around the teacher’s desk. There were students who were shrinking in fear, students who were desperately jotting down the words written on the blackboard, and students who were staring at the instructor with cold, hostile eyes.

“You there! What’s your name?” The instructor’s gaze seized on me sharply.

“Elaina,” I answered with a yawn.

“All right. Elaina. You’ve been staring out the window ever since class started! Perhaps you think my lessons are boring?”

The middle-aged teacher had her hands on her hips and her eyebrows raised. Scrawled on the blackboard behind her were lists of ingredients and steps for potion-making, winding on and on like a single sprawling recipe.

“If you want to become a witch’s apprentice, this class is compulsory, you know! Don’t you think you ought to pay attention?”

That was the situation.

Latorita State University was a coeducational facility where half the students were mages, and this class was an important one for the those aiming to become witch’s apprentices. The material it covered was sure to appear on the apprenticeship exams.

So, in short, this was all familiar ground.

“…I’m sorry. I’ll pay attention.”

I gave a half-hearted apology.

It may have been boring, but I really hadn’t been paying attention.

“You won’t get off that easily! As punishment, come solve this problem! If you can’t solve it, I’ll make you retake my class! Come now, stand up!” The teacher slapped her wand against the blackboard. She seemed to want to shame her troublesome student into behaving better.

The wand pointed to a recipe for a sleeping potion. The column for the ingredients had been left blank. She seemed to want me to fill in the missing part of the recipe.

A challenging problem.

I stood up.

“First, take stalks of sleeping grass that you have dried for ten days and grind them into a powder. Add a bit of wool pulled from the pelt of a sleeping sheep. Mix it in clean water and infuse it with magical energy. Then—” It took me about thirty more seconds to explain the ingredients and the method for making the potion.

“……”

The instructor just looked at me with a vexed expression, not saying whether I was right or wrong, then struck the blackboard again. “…All right, this one?”

This time she was pointing to an isolated list of ingredients.

“With those ingredients, you could make a paralyzing potion.”

“…And this one?”

“That’s a potion to temporarily transform someone into a mouse. If you’re going to make that…” I fluently spouted off the recipe.

I suppose the teacher was probably trying to bully me, but I answered every one of her questions.

Finally, wearing a bitter expression, the middle-aged instructor said simply, “You may sit. Never look bored in my classroom again.”

“Excuse me, ma’am?”

“…What is it?”

“That recipe there… The ingredients are incorrect. And there’s a problem with the procedure, too.”

“……”

After enjoying my modest revenge, eye for an eye and all, I sat back in my chair. The classroom was very, very quiet. Or maybe I simply stopped listening. That’s more likely, now that I think about it.

I had taken a break from my travels and, for a number of reasons, I was undercover as a student at Latorita State University.

Consequently, I was dressed differently today than I usually was. I was wearing a school uniform with a blazer and long cloak. It had been several years since I had put on a uniform, and I was anxious that it might not suit me, but I have to say, it looked surprisingly good. Just my opinion.

“Elaina! What are you taking for your next class? If you want, maybe you could take history of magic with me—”

“Huh? Elaina’s taking math class with me!”

“No, she’s taking philosophy with me!”

After class, several students stopped me as I tried to leave the room.

Only two days had passed since I had gone undercover at this university, but apparently, I’d already left quite the impression.

The original plan had been to clandestinely infiltrate the university and carry out a stealthy rescue, but… I seemed to be attracting a lot of attention. It could be a problem.

I suppose my charismatic personally is winning people’s adoration.

“Elaina really knows how to shut down those irritating teachers.”

“Yeah, she’s handy.”

“And that’s why she’s coming to my philosophy class.”

“No way! She’s taking magic history.”

“Nope, math!”

“……”

Apparently, it wasn’t my charisma at all. People just thought I was useful to have around.

“Excuse me. I have to go see someone…” I flatly refused all the girls’ invitations and left the classroom.

At Latorita State University, students could choose to attend different classes every day. This made it easy for the two of us to blend into the student body. Security on this campus is far too lax, I thought.

In any case, because of the circumstances that brought me here, I had to blend in with the university crowd. It would probably be best not to get too involved with other people.

I walked toward the central courtyard. I’d made a promise to meet someone there between classes. But…

“…So you see? It won’t look good if you lose a button at a critical moment, right? If you don’t use this free time to fix it, you’ll end up regretting it, you know. You’ve got to be more careful! And you there! Your hair is in your eyes, isn’t it? That’s dangerous. Use this hairpin. Ah! And you, what’s with that short skirt? It’s indecent! Girls should be more modest. Unfold your skirt back to how it should be! A skirt that comes to the knees is just right.”

For some reason, a crowd of girls had formed in the courtyard, and there was some kind of commotion brewing. In the center of the crowd was a girl with red hair, the color of autumn leaves, done up into two pigtails on the sides of her head. She was dressed in a red blazer and a black skirt. She was one of the ordinary students, who didn’t study magic.

She was busily mingling with the other girls, and as she joked around, they kept shrieking in delight.

“Whew… You can just call me Big Sister.”

She brushed back some stray hairs as she delivered this strange line.

……

“What are you doing, Ariadne?”

“Oh, Elaina. You’re late.” Ariadne casually waved hello to me. At the same time, I received many hostile stares from the girls hanging around her. “Sorry, everyone,” Ariadne said to the crowd. “I’ve got a previous engagement with this girl. I can’t go with you to the next class.” She gave the group a big wink and trotted over to where I was standing. When she reached me, Ariadne grabbed hold of my arm.

……

It took less than a second for the looks in her followers’ eyes to turn murderous.

“Would you mind not pouring fuel on that particular fire?”

“Hmm? What do you mean?”

“You must be totally oblivious…”

We walked side by side out of the courtyard, onlookers staring daggers at us the whole way. I had made a promise to take the next class with Ariadne.

“…Actually, you know, you were the one who said that we should try not to stand out because we’re in the middle of a covert operation, right Ariadne? You’re attracting quite a lot of attention, don’t you think? Just what are you up to?”

I cast a scowling look at Ariadne as we walked down the hallway, but she just laughed, “Ah, did I really say that?” She continued, “As long as we’re on the subject, wasn’t it kind of conspicuous for you to harass a teacher in class, Elaina? I heard about that.”

“…Word travels fast.”

“Well, it’s not like I don’t know what I’m doing. If I surround myself with many different people, all sorts of things will make their way to my ears.”

“So have you gathered any secret intelligence on Vivian?”

“Mmm… Not even the tiniest little bit. You?”

“Not even the tiniest little bit.”

“That’s too bad.” Ariadne shrugged.

“It seems like the students who side with Vivian are all pretty tight-lipped, huh?” I said. “Even when I asked about her, most of them wouldn’t give me any answer other than that she’s a ‘good teacher.’”

“Outwardly, that is—inwardly, they must know what she’s up to, right?”

Ariadne came to a quick stop. We had arrived at a classroom at the end of the hall. The class was already almost full. This was where Vivian taught combat magic.

“…That girl, there!”

Standing bolt upright in the doorway, I jabbed Ariadne with my elbow, and pointed.

Because sitting inside was Sara, the girl we had been searching for.

“The spells that I will be teaching you all today are especially versatile spells for use in battle. I am talking, of course, about wind magic. Wind magic is, as the name suggests, a branch of magic in which you take control of the wind and direct its power. The technique’s true potential lies in the inherent invisibility of its effects. That makes it very difficult to evade or counter. It’s an incredibly versatile branch of magic that can of course be used in open battle, but is also practical for covert actions.”

I felt a little twinge of nerves at the word “covert.”

We’re okay, right…? We haven’t been found out?

Indifferent to my anxiety, Vivian continued the lecture. “Now then, allow me to demonstrate.” She stood at the lectern, waving her wand and explaining the spells’ uses and how to best direct one’s magical energy. Her hair, the color of new leaves, fluttered smoothly as she moved.

“Anyway, we have to find a way to rescue Sara…” Ariadne was staring intently at Vivian—actually, she was scowling as she spoke. “Maybe we can convince Vivian to let Sara go.”

“She really doesn’t look like the kind of person who will listen to a polite request.”

I was sure that there were more students like Sara who had fallen under Vivian’s spell. It was even possible that she had already taken control of most of the student body. I didn’t think that approaching her directly would get us anywhere.

“Ah…! I just had a great idea!” Ariadne suddenly clapped her hands together, but at least had the wherewithal to keep her voice to an excited whisper. “You should attack her, Elaina!”

“…And after I attack her, then what?”

“Heh-heh…then…well…you know how it goes. I’ll improvise something amazing.”

“Maybe you could come up with a more…substantial plan.”

“Huh? But it’s a great idea, isn’t it? Come on, Elaina, let’s do it!”

“No way.”

Even supposing I was able to get the upper hand, I couldn’t see any outcome aside from Vivian’s supporters ganging up on us.

“Ah, a momentary digression,” Vivian said from the lectern. “How many students here are from the non-magical program? Raise your hands.” Vivian raised her hand and prompted the students to raise theirs.

Around the classroom, hands went up. Beside me, Ariadne also obediently raised her hand. About half of the students were mages like me, and just stared at the lectern, since the question had nothing to do with us. Sara did the same.

I see, so this is a class on spells to use in battle, but apparently it’s open to non-mages.

“Okay, about half the class,” Vivian continued. “Well, do not assume that this course has nothing to offer you just because you cannot use magic. We will also be covering ways to defend against various attack spells, so I encourage all of you to treat this subject with the utmost seriousness.”

Vivian’s eyes briefly seized on Ariadne.

The difference between the non-magical students and the magical students was obvious. The magical students wore cloaks over their blazers, like Sara and I currently had on. The division should have been clear without asking everyone to raise their hands. It was possible that Vivian had been making a point about our hushed conversation being too loud.

“Well then, to return to the lecture.”

After that, the lesson resumed as if nothing had happened.

If she was more like the middle-aged instructor from earlier, things probably would have gone the way Ariadne wanted them to…

“I think we were making a little too much noise,” I whispered, as I gripped my pen and paper. “Well, as far as our rescue is concerned, we have plenty of options besides a direct attack. Just leave it to me.”

My pen slid smoothly over the page for a few seconds. Then I folded the paper into a small parcel.

After it was done, I tapped the girl sitting in front of me on the shoulder and handed her the note. “Would you pass this to the girl in front of you with the brown hair?”

Two seats in front of me I could see the back of a female student who, as I said, had glossy, dyed brown hair tied up into a single bunch on the side of her head. It was the girl Ariadne wanted to rescue—Sara.

This was my strategy:

Make contact with Sara and ask her to arrange a meeting with Vivian.

My note asked, Are you free after class? If you don’t mind, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.

The first step was to get her to agree to meet.

This is truly the safest option. There’s no way this strategy can fail.

However…

The girl in the seat in front of me let out a soft chuckle, “Huh, what’s this? A love letter?” She tapped Sara on the back, then handed her the note. “Here’s a love letter from the girl behind me,” she blurted.

She had obviously misread the situation, and mistakenly assumed that Sara and I already had some sort of relationship.

“……”

Consequently, when Sara turned around and took the note, she narrowed her blue eyes at me briefly. Then she took up her pen, looking very, very annoyed, scratched something on the paper, and practically hurled it back at the girl between us.

“Wow, I guess she’s the hot-and-cold type, huh?” the girl remarked as she handed the note back to me.

There was just one thing written on it.

Sorry, not interested.

……

“That reminds me. It’s a campus tradition for lovers to exchange little notes in class…” Ariadne was peering at the paper from beside me.

“And you couldn’t tell me that beforehand?”

“Oh, I thought you knew.”

“……”

“But this is our chance, Elaina. Gimme.” Ariadne snatched the pen from my hand and wrote on the paper again. “If we use this opportunity to make friends with Sara, we might be able to get her out from under Vivian’s control.”

She wrote:

Sorryyy! My friend can be weird (whoops), but she didn’t mean anything bad. We just want to be your friends (ha-ha)! I wanna know more about you, Sara!

……

I gave Ariadne an incredulous look as she confidently handed me the note.

It came straight back to us.

Gross, was the only reply.

“She really doesn’t like us…”

“It’s because she’s so cold…”

“Somehow, I don’t think that’s the problem.” It was becoming clear that I would have to figure this one out on my own. “Geez. Give me that.”

I wrote, We want to be your friends, Sara. Please, just talk to us.

I’m busy.

Would that be because you’re assisting Miss Vivian?

Why should I answer that?

Well, what do you think of Miss Vivian, anyway?

You’re hitting on me, but you only want to talk about another woman. I don’t get you.

Trust me, the feeling’s mutual…

We exchanged notes for a little while longer, but to no avail. By the time class was over we had failed to make even the slightest bit of progress.

Vivian sure was a popular teacher, there could be no doubt about it. The moment that class was over, the students crowded around her, buzzing with enthusiasm.

“I thought we could make direct contact after class, but…now it seems like that’s never gonna happen.”

“Yeah, it seems that way.”

A wall of people had formed. Fighting our way through to the middle seemed next to impossible.

“What should we do?”

“…Looks like our best chance of getting to Vivian is through Sara.” I had a sudden realization. “Though I think Sara is also part of the crowd.”

There was Sara, in the center of the mob, staring at Vivian with sparkling eyes. She looked just like a maiden in love. Trying to talk to Sara was not going to be any easier than approaching Vivian herself.

“Tch… What a pain. How on earth are we supposed to get to Vivian?” Ariadne was starting to sound desperate.

“You two,” came a voice from inside the crowd. “You there.”

The eyes of the students turned on us, and then we realized that Vivian was staring directly at us.

She walked straight at us, parting the wall of students in her wake. Suddenly, she was standing right in front of us, smiling broadly.

“Can the two of you spare a moment right now?” she asked. “I was wondering if I could have just a bit of your time to help me with some very important research.”

Research… That was the word Vivian had used when she had taken Sara away.

So possibly, helping with her research would mean becoming subject to Vivian’s control.

This wasn’t part of any plan of ours. She had caught us by surprise.

“…So what should we do if she’s the one who initiates contact?” Ariadne whispered quietly to me.

“I think you ought to improvise something,” I whispered back curtly.

[One Month EarlierAfternoon]

Angry voices echoed from the windows of the bakery that faced out onto the main avenue. A customer who was about to enter the shop turned on her heel, sensing the dangerous atmosphere emanating from the establishment, and wisely hurried away.

Beyond the quivering, trembling glass stood a mother and daughter glaring at each other, and no one else.

“…Say that one more time.” The mother lowered her voice. She had seen the customer run away. “Do you even know what you’re saying?”

The daughter answered her, practically spitting out the words. “I said I’m leaving home to help Professor Vivian with her research. From now on, I’m going to live at the professor’s house. I won’t be back for several years.”

She spoke with total composure. The girl was wearing a red blazer and shouldering a large, heavy-looking bag. She sighed.

Her mother just stared at her, at a loss. “You’re set to inherit our shop. But instead you’re saying you’re going to live with some teacher doing…what, exactly?”

“Nothing! Or anything! Whatever I want! Listen, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not really asking for your permission, Mom. I’m telling you. I’m going to learn magic from the professor.”

The daughter made this decisive assertion.

She was a student at Latorita State University, where mages accounted for about half of the student population. She yearned to be one of them because she was constantly surrounded by the very thing she desired most.

The students who graduated from that school went on to flourish in important positions around the city. On the other hand, when it came to students, like this girl, who couldn’t use magic…well, most of them had very few prospects after graduation. Everyone could see that there was a big divide in the student body.

“…You’ve been acting strange lately, you know that? Ever since you started going to that school…no, ever since you met that Professor Vivian… But you’re doing just fine without magic, aren’t you…? And if you inherit the shop—”

“Don’t feed me that nonsense,” the daughter interrupted. “I want to become a mage. So, Mother…I won’t be home for a while.”

She turned on her heel and left the shop without looking back.

Ever since she had started studying at the university, the girl had changed. Maybe it was the new environment, or maybe it was the people she’d met. But she’d become distant, and she’d closed herself off from her mother. The girl didn’t help around the shop anymore. And she had stopped smiling like she used to.

The mother had meant for the shop to be her daughter’s legacy. She’d sent the girl to the university to learn about the world, believing that a successful business needed a well-connected proprietor. But as soon as school had started, the girl had forgotten all about the little shop.

In this way, the daughter—Sara—left her mother’s house, saying she was never coming back.

The following day, Sara transferred from the normal course into the magic program.

[Day ThreeNight]

“What do you think?”

The bakery on the main avenue of town had quite a special look to it. It even had a space for customers to eat inside. In fact, you could have easily called it a bread-centric café, rather than a simple bakery. They even had free coffee for customers who chose to dine in.

“I think this is the greatest! Place! Ever!”

I was pretty excited by this avant-garde bakery.

Ariadne narrowed her eyes at me. “I wasn’t asking for your impression of the store, you know.”

Oh, did I misunderstand?

“…What do I think about Vivian’s proposal, you mean?” I bowed slightly as I accepted a cup of coffee from the shopkeeper, then took a sip.

Ariadne nodded sharply. “Yeah, I think it stinks.”

“…Well, I think it’s got a lovely fragrance.”

“I wasn’t asking for your impression of the coffee, you know.”

“……”

I set my cup down. “Fine. Honestly, I think it’s a trap. It seems way too convenient.”

“I have to agree…but, it’s also definitely our best shot at getting to her. We can’t miss this opportunity.”

“In other words, we jump right in knowing it’s a trap?”

“Exactly,” Ariadne nodded. “We’ll have to be careful not to let our guard down. Sara changed after she met Vivian, so…”

“…I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine. I’m already a mage, after all.” Actually, it wasn’t clear why Vivian had shown any interest in me at all. “I think she probably has her eye on you. So you’re the one who really needs to be careful.”

“Yeah, probably…”

Ariadne took a deep breath, almost like a sigh, picked up her coffee cup, and took a sip. “In case anything happens to me…well, please get her out of there. Even if I can’t.”

“That sounds like a last request.”

“That was the intention.”

“In that case, I’m afraid I can’t accept. I’ll be in trouble if you die on me,” I answered. “I’m holding you to your promise.”

[Day FourEvening]

The following day, the two of us accompanied Vivian after class.

“Welcome to my lab. Come on in. I’m glad you’re here. Very, very glad.”

Wearing a wide smile, she showed us into her laboratory. It was a room at the end of the hall where she had held her lecture the day before. This small room, deep in the building, held all sorts of chemicals and research materials that were haphazardly strewn about the place.

Some mysterious liquid simmering in a pot, more strange fluids in glass vials, recipes and notes on the various concoctions…everything was right there in the open.

It was totally suspicious.

“……”

Vivian had readily welcomed us into her laboratory, but the young woman who was already waiting there seemed to have other opinions about our intrusion.

Sara fixed us with a harsh stare. “Welcome…,” she said in a cold voice. It sounded like she might spit at us at any second.

It was obvious she hated us.

Vivian didn’t seem to notice, and said, “I haven’t introduced you yet, now have I? This is Sara. She’s been helping me with my research for a little while now.”

“…Hello.”

Sara greeted us while looking down at the floor between her feet.

“I’m Elaina. Very pleased to meet you.” I bowed but was ignored.

“Ariadne here. Good to meet you, Sara!” Ariadne waved, but was ignored.

It was like we weren’t even there.

“Sorry about that…,” Vivian chuckled tersely. “That girl can be so cold.”

No, this is beyond cold. It’s like she has no emotions.

Apparently, Sara was the only other person participating in Vivian’s research. I wasn’t sure why such a popular teacher would target a single student, or what kind of research they had been up to, but at least there weren’t any other students being exploited. In this case, I was happy to be surprised.

“This is sudden, and I’m sorry to rush you, but I’d like your help with my research.” Vivian clapped her hands together, then handed Ariadne and Sara each a piece of paper. “Ariadne, I’ll ask you to procure ingredients, the same as Sara. Elaina, you’ll mix the potions with me.”

Sara seemed to expect this, for she simply said, “Understood,” and shuffled out of the room.

Ariadne said, “Ah, well, I’ll go with her…” She followed after Sara, looking a bit lost.

After the door closed with a bang, Vivian and I were left in the room.

“All right then, let’s start mixing potions, shall we?” Vivian lined up several ingredients on top of her desk. “This is the recipe for an experimental potion.” She handed me a piece of paper. “I’d like to try making it today, but…can you tell what it is?”

Creating a magical potion is a series of trial-and-error experiments, a process by which a single perfect potion arises from a pile of innumerable failed attempts.

I was guessing that Vivian was still working through the failures.

“……”

The ingredients in the recipe, precisely recorded on the sheet of paper I held in my hand, matched the many vials that Vivian had just lined up on the desk. I considered them carefully, trying to grasp what she was attempting.

Then I murmured, “…I don’t know.”

Vivian murmured, too. “My goodness… Well, you are still a student. I suppose it can’t be helped that you don’t know.” Then she said, “This is a new potion, and it will change the world. It’s very near completion, you know? I daresay that when this potion is perfected, there won’t be a single unhappy person left in the world.”

Of course, she was grinning widely as she spoke.

“……”

The potion she was trying to make did not have a name. But judging from the ingredients lined up on the desk and the procedures outlined in the recipe, I could more or less tell what she was going for.

The potion that Vivian was trying to make would temporarily bind magical energy to a person’s body and give them the ability to control it.

It appeared to be a potion that would turn anyone into a mage.

At a glance, it certainly seemed like a revolutionary concoction, but…

“…But Vivian, this is…” One of the ingredients listed in the recipe was known to be toxic. It could be quite dangerous. “There’s no telling what effects this potion might have on the human body. Is it really all right to use this ingredient?”

“My goodness, of course it’s all right,” Vivian assented easily, as if it were totally natural to use the stuff, then said, “You can’t change the world without some sacrifice. In order to acquire magic powers, one has to pay the appropriate price. Isn’t that only natural?”

I didn’t get it. What could possibly be worth experimenting with something so dangerous? What on earth could be driving her toward such a goal?

[Day FourNight]

“…In other words, Vivian is trying to make people like me extinct?”

Just as we had the day before, we were holding a strategy meeting at the bakery.

After listening to my report for some time, Ariadne started banging on the table with indignation.

“We absolutely cannot let her get away with this! Let’s put a stop to that woman’s so-called research right away!”

“Yeah, I thought you might say that. So today I swiped some of her research materials.”

“You’re a little sticky-fingered…”

“I thought you might say that, too.”

But circumstances are circumstances. No way around it, right?

“Frankly speaking,” I continued, “all of Vivian’s potions incorporate very dangerous ingredients.”

No wonder she’d kept her circle of associates as small as possible. If word got out that she was using toxic material in her potions, she would be driven out of the administration.

So, if that’s what’s going on…

“Then the reason that Sara is walking around like a zombie…must be the side effects of all the potions she’s taken!”

Sara had chosen to assist Vivian’s research into the dangerous potions. She was either a very good sport, or she had complete confidence in Vivian, or she was being forced somehow.

We couldn’t deny any of these possibilities, but no matter where the answer lay, if we were to have any hope of rescuing Sara, we would have to stop Vivian.

“Anyway, it’ll be all right as long as that woman doesn’t complete her research, right? As long as we make her think that it’s absolutely impossible, right?”

“……” I was able to guess from the great quantities of research material in Vivian’s lab that she had been working on this for quite a long time, and that she wasn’t inclined to give up just because of a little failure, but…

“Do you have something in mind?”

“Of course, I do!”

She put her hands together and stood.

“We improvise something and get in her way!”

“……”

So that’s a “no” then?

[Day FiveEvening]

Ariadne turned out to have a pretty concrete plan for someone who claimed she preferred to improvise.

She’d filled me in on all the details earlier that morning. I was apparently going to play a critical role in the plan she’d concocted. As a matter of fact, the whole plan depended on me.

Phase One.

“Did the two of you collect all the potion necessities for me?” Vivian greeted Ariadne and Sara, who were returning from procuring ingredients, just as they had done the previous day.

Sara nodded in response, but Ariadne quietly shook her head.

“I wasn’t able to gather my ingredients.”

The bag that Ariadne was carrying looked pretty light. It was obvious that she hadn’t been able to get everything.

She had gathered only enough to give the appearance of a genuine effort.

“Oh no…well, that can’t be helped…” Vivian glanced into the bag and frowned, then said, “Well then, would you go out again and gather some more for me?”

“Ah, my legs are a little tired. I can’t right now.”

Vivian was sure to interpret her flippant attitude as a sign of disrespect. However, that was exactly why Ariadne had settled on this strategy.

The plan was to weaken Vivian’s ability to think straight by making her angry.

……

The first time I’d heard the plan, I’d wondered if Ariadne was all right in the head, but watching her implement her scheme, it looked like she was serious.

“…Well then, Elaina and Sara, will you go out foraging, please? Ariadne, you can assist me here.” Vivian quickly gave us new directions.

This, too, was part of Ariadne’s plan. She must have anticipated that Vivian would send me out to gather ingredients.

Phase Two.

I set off with Sara to search for the remaining ingredients.

As far as I could tell by looking at the list, Ariadne had mostly failed to collect several weeds that grew in the area.

“…I wonder why she wasn’t able to find a bunch of weeds. Is she an idiot?” Sara said venomously, looking down at a thick patch of them growing right in the middle of the courtyard.

“Maybe she didn’t want to touch them because they’re dirty?”

“……”

That was where my conversation with Sara ended. The girl was obviously not the talkative type. She stayed silent as she cut down weeds and stuffed them into her bag.

A passerby might have mistaken her for a conscientious student volunteer, hard at work cleaning up the courtyard.

“How long have you been helping Vivian with her research, Sara?” I tried making small talk as we worked.

“…About a week, now.” This time she gave me a proper answer.

“Interesting. So… Why did you decide to assist her, anyway?”

“…Have you heard about the potion she’s trying to make?”

“Yeah, kind of.” I looked at Sara. She was silently staring down at the weeds with vacant eyes. “It’s a potion that can turn someone into a mage, isn’t it?” I said.

“That’s right… I think that the professor’s plan is incredible. Because once everyone can use magic, no one will have to suffer hardship ever again.”

“You think people are unhappy because they can’t use magic?”

“Of course, they are,” she answered decisively. Her eyes were still dark. “You can’t help but notice it here, in this university where mages and…people like me are all collected in one place. You notice the difference between us and the students who can use magic.”

“……”

She was probably referring to things like the class that Vivian had been teaching. It was a required subject at the university, but the class was obviously meant for mages. For the students who couldn’t use magic, it was nothing but an unpleasant waste of time.

Even though they also taught ordinary subjects at the school, there were also a number of courses exclusive to magic users. The magical pharmacology class I had taken two days ago was one of those.

In this way, the ordinary students were treated with discrimination, and were probably always haunted by the perception of inferiority.

“…So, you want the power to use magic so that you’ll feel better about yourself?”

“Yes, actually,” she said, “though I do have another, more significant reason.”

“…What is it?” I asked with a tilt of my head.

“I want to make my mother happy.”

Clearly. Decisively. In just a few words.

For the very first time, I saw a flicker of light in her eyes.

Phase Three.

We returned with ingredients—or rather, weeds—in hand. Next, we were to assist Vivian, and she would show us how to complete the potion. That said, I was the only one who actually assisted.

“All right, Elaina, channel some of your magical energy into the mixture.”

“Okay.”

“Good job. All right, next, stir it around three times, then channel even more magical energy.”

“Okay.”

I did as I was told, like a puppet. In contrast, Sara sat vacantly staring at the pot in my hands, and Ariadne was fidgeting off to the side.

We were waiting for the right moment to execute the third part of our plan. Ariadne and I occasionally gave each other sidelong glances as we waited for what came next.

And then…

“Ah! The headmaster is outside!”

When the potion was nearly complete, Ariadne suddenly stood and shouted as she pointed out the window.

The headmaster.

Ariadne assumed that, for Vivian, who was using dangerous ingredients to create a potion under a veil of secrecy, there could be no more formidable enemy.

Vivian and Sara only looked up from the bubbling cauldron for a second.

…They looked right at Ariadne, who had suddenly shouted strangely. “Oh, come on,” she muttered.

But any chance is a good chance.

During that moment of golden opportunity, I seized the weeds I had gathered earlier, and tossed them all into the pot.

This was phase three of the plan: in short, to ruin the potion when it was nearly complete. While I was picking weeds earlier, I had taken the opportunity to stick some random flowers and grasses in among them.

Any deviation from the recipe should cause problems with the finished product.

Finally, the potion was complete.

“It’s finished.” Vivian took some of the dubious-colored liquid from the pot and put it into a vial. “Here, Sara. Try this.”

She handed it over, full of confidence—the result of today’s efforts.

Though, of course, the potion in the vial was a failure.

“Thank you very much.”

Sara obediently accepted the vial.

And then, here was where the final stage of the plan came into play.

“I’ll drink it!”

Ariadne snatched away the vial containing the potion we had sabotaged. Tossing it all back with a single gulp, Ariadne then spit up some bubbles and collapsed.

This was the culmination of the plan.

Sara had consumed these concoctions many times before, but Ariadne had basically no experience drinking magic potions. She had no tolerance for them. Factor in the botched potion, and it was no wonder she’d collapsed.

“A-are you all right? Hey, Ariadne…? Ariadne!”

Vivian was in a total panic. She scooped the girl up in her arms and dashed out of the room in a hurry.

The two of us were left behind.

“…What is with that girl?”

I still remember the disgusted look in Sara’s eyes.

“…I left Ariadne in the infirmary to rest. She’ll probably come around soon.”

Vivian returned after some time, looking exhausted.

…I’ll go pick her up later.

“Is Ariadne always like that?” Vivian frowned.

“…Sort of.”

It had only been six days since I’d met the girl, so I didn’t actually know her that well.

“Is that so…? She really is so very unhappy living without magic, eh? Well, as long as there are people without magic, there will be many more pitiful cases like her…”

“……”

Well, I don’t know if I’d call her pitiful. Really, she’s just a plain old idiot, but…

I didn’t say that.

“But the fact that Ariadne collapsed must mean that the potion we made today was a failure. That’s too bad.” Vivian hadn’t realized that Ariadne and I had altered the formula. “Let’s turn this round’s failure into the next round’s success. There’s no time to lose… No time at all…”

Vivian seemed like a woman pursued by something, and she muttered to herself as she started rummaging through her books and scrolls on potions.

I didn’t understand what could possibly be driving her to such great lengths. It was like this obsession with turning every human into a mage was eating away at her.

“…Why are you so determined to create a potion that can turn people into mages?” I asked.

Vivian answered, “I haven’t told you yet, have I?” Her eyes narrowed as she gazed vacantly out the window at the rays of the setting sun. She looked like she was brooding on an old memory. As if she was regretting having let something go. Her eyes were brimming with sorrow.

“I first decided to try to make this potion back when I was a student at this very university.”

And then, she told me a story from long ago.

It took place seventeen years earlier.

Vivian, still a student at the time, was recognized as a rare child prodigy. She was only fourteen years old, but she was taking classes that covered the same material as the eighteen-year-old students. And on top of that, she had some genuine magical talent. It was only natural that she won many accolades.

But Vivian had never been known as the most brilliant student in school. There was another student with whom she shared the distinction.

Her name was Elizabeth, and she was a normal, non-magical student. She couldn’t use magic, true, but her grades were even better than Vivian’s. People said that there was no one who could rival her academically. On top of that, Elizabeth was very caring, and everyone around her trusted her deeply. She was a paragon of human kindness. Vivian looked nostalgic as she told me this.

Even though both of them were recognized as young geniuses, Vivian, who was a lot younger than most of her classmates, garnered a great deal of jealousy from the other students, and had a completely different school experience than Elizabeth did.

You might expect the two of them to have been bitter rivals, but in truth, they had been the best of friends.

They went out of their way to take the same classes, ate lunch together in the courtyard, and met up at the bakery-café after school. The two geniuses spent their days together just like ordinary students.

“Elizabeth, I have a dream.”

One day, when they were chatting between classes, young Vivian suddenly said, “I want to be a teacher at this school. I want to teach everyone magic.”

Elizabeth nodded at her friend’s words, “That’s great! I want to do the same,” she answered.

Just like Vivian, Elizabeth also wanted to take a teaching position after graduation. Both friends shared the same goal, and that had brought them even closer together.

However, it wasn’t long before their amicable relationship fell apart at the seams.

It happened one day when graduation was close at hand. Every graduating student was thinking about their future, but only two had made any decisions.

They were Vivian and Elizabeth.

The school made potential new instructors wait to apply until all the other acceptances for employment and continuing studies were finalized. That meant that if they weren’t accepted by the school, they would be in a difficult situation without any other prospects. The aim was to weed out any candidates who weren’t dedicated enough to risk that possibility.

There were two teaching positions available. The two geniuses, hoping to pass the exam together, had passed up every other opportunity for employment or continuing education in order to become teachers.

Finally, they took the exam.

However…

“When I looked at the results, I saw that I was the only one who had passed the test. Unfortunately, Elizabeth wasn’t accepted. She never became a teacher.”

“……”

“She had always been a better student than me, but the administration didn’t care. Magic was more important than academics, or anything else, really. That’s the only reason I was chosen.”

The committee had determined that, while good grades were important, being a mage mattered much, much more, and that had been the basis for their decision. Elizabeth, it was decided, lacked the single most significant qualification for the job.

“…What happened to Elizabeth after that?”

Vivian shook her head slowly. “…Who knows? After what had happened, things could never be the same for us. I never saw her again. Knowing her, I bet she’s out there making her own way in life, but…”

But Vivian had clearly never gotten over what had happened that day.

If Elizabeth had been a mage, she would probably have an important teaching position right now, just like her friend, and the two of them would probably still be together. Such a small difference should not have been enough to separate them.

That was why.

“So that’s why you want to make everyone in the world a mage?”

“Yes…” She nodded slowly. “When this potion is completed, there will be no more students crying just because they cannot use magic. That is my wish…”

She looked out the window again.

I could see what appeared to be unwavering determination in her eyes as they reflected the rays of the setting sun.

Before long, it was time to adjourn for the evening.

Sara and I were sent home while Vivian stayed behind, saying that she still had some work to do on her own, or something. She seemed completely obsessed with her research.

I carried the still-groaning Ariadne home on my back. Sara walked alongside me, staring at Ariadne with cold eyes. The road was surrounded on all sides by darkness.

“The professor wants to repair a relationship that was severed a long time ago,” Sara suddenly said. “That’s why I’m helping her. And if anyone tries to get in her way…I will absolutely not allow it.”

Could she be on to us?

“Well then, all right. You have to do what you think is right,” I answered, averting my eyes. “But I still don’t understand why you’re willing to risk your life to help her. Do you owe her or something?”

“Risking my life? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Aren’t you, though? Today Ariadne happened to drink the failed potion and collapsed, but you’re routinely exposed to those concoctions, aren’t you? Many of the ingredients are harmful to the human body. I can’t imagine you’re actually all right.”

“I am. I’m fine,” she answered indifferently. “If the professor’s dream can be realized with a small sacrifice on my part, I’ll endure anything. If no one does, then she’ll never finish it, no matter how long she works.”

Both Sara and Vivian seemed to be obsessed with the same idea—consumed with the belief that people could not be happy without magic.

“Tomorrow afternoon, come to the lecture hall. There’s something I want to talk to you about.” Sara eventually said. “Just you and Ariadne. Be there.”

[Day FiveNight]

“So that’s what’s going on. I think it’s obvious that the target has caught on to our plan.”

I had headed for the bakery after parting ways with Sara, where I sat with Ariadne, who had finally woken back up, and shared all the details of our present situation.

“What are you talking about?” she answered. “I don’t think they’re on to us at all…”

“How can you say that with a straight face?”

Ariadne’s cavalier attitude was definitely going to get us caught. Though honestly, when I had agreed to this plan I had known very well that we would eventually be found out.

Ariadne continued, sipping her coffee as she had the day before. “But getting caught could be a good opportunity, in a sense. We would finally get that woman to unmask herself.”

“Well, I suppose I should be grateful that she chose tomorrow,” I replied. “I was hoping to settle all this by then anyway.”

I didn’t want this to be a drawn-out war.

Ariadne and I weren’t supposed to be at this school in the first place, after all.

“Elaina,” Ariadne raised her coffee cup toward me as she spoke. “Tomorrow, let’s definitely rescue that girl.”

“…I’ll handle it.” I copied her and raised my cup as well.

“Give it everything you’ve got.”

As she spoke, Ariadne gently clinked my cup with hers.

A quiet tinkling sound filled the air between us.

Curls of steam rose from the cups and disappeared.

[Day SixAfternoon]

“Magic is everything!”

A thunderous roar reverberated around the lecture hall.

Then, Vivian attacked us straight on.

Ariadne grabbed my blazer, and I pushed her hard on the back as we dodged the oncoming gust. The wind rushed past us and slammed into the wall of the lecture hall, carving a deep crack before abating.

Invisible wind magic.

I knew that if we had taken a direct hit from such a spell, we probably would’ve been crushed flat.

That’s how dangerous this wind magic was.

However…

“You also taught your students ways to counter wind magic, right?”

I waved my wand. Immediately, a pale fog spewed forth from the tip, quickly spreading to fill the lecture hall. Everything looked white and cloudy.

“This way we can see the movement of the wind, right?”

The most troublesome thing about someone using wind spells is that they’re naturally invisible. But if you can figure out a way to see them, they’re not really a big deal. The fog would make the path of the wind quite obvious, so that we could easily defend against any kind of breezy attack.

“Now, come at me from any direction!” I challenged. “I’ll repel your attacks without breaking a sweat!”

I could vaguely see Vivian’s outline in the fog.

“My, my…you really were paying attention in class, weren’t you? What a good student. How clever you are.” A voice rang out in the fog. “But you’re in trouble if you think that’ll be enough.”

The fog stirred.

I could see all sorts of lights flashing in the hazy white clouds.

I couldn’t tell exactly what they were until they got closer, but I did recognize a cluster of high-powered magical projectiles.

They flew at me with enough force to cut lines through the fog. Pillars of ice. Balls of flame. All sorts of weapons formed out of light.

“If your opponent can’t see, then neither can you, right?” Vivian said. Well, how about it? Are you able to take me down among all this?”

“……”

“Come on, what happened?” she taunted. “You only want to play defense? What’s the matter; can’t you counterattack—?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t waste so much energy on pointless banter!”

I sent a sudden blast of wind in the direction of Vivian’s voice. The fog split open, and for a second, I could clearly see the other side of the lecture hall.

There was no one there.

…Did she dodge?

“Don’t forget that I’m here, too.”

“…!”

A voice behind my back…and it wasn’t Ariadne’s. It was much too cold.

I’d been so focused on searching the fog that by the time I turned around it was already too late.

“You can’t do anything without this!” Sara suddenly leaped out of the fog and snatched away my wand. She must have been trying to protect her teacher, despite her lack of magic, and had assumed that taking my wand would leave me powerless.

But…

“Of course, I didn’t forget about you.”

I pulled a second wand out of my breast pocket and blasted Sara with a gust of wind.

“…Ah…ugh…!”

Sara went flying, still clutching my stolen wand. She fell with a clatter in between the benches that were arranged around the lecture hall.

Before she could stand up, I trapped her under a bench. She wouldn’t be attacking me again.

“Did you think that mages only carry one wand?”

There was no response from Sara.

“She knows better than that,” a bold voice said from somewhere nearby. “But she did manage to buy enough time for me to get close to you.”

At this distance, I could make her out quite well.

Vivian had her wand thrust at my throat.

Apparently, she had drawn right up behind me without my noticing.

“……” I slowly readied my wand.

“If I see another threatening move, I’ll blow your face right off your head.”

She jabbed me hard with her wand.

“……”

I prepared myself to surrender. Still holding my wand, I raised both hands above my head. “You wouldn’t dare! I’m too pretty.”

“Wow. You still have a sense of humor, huh? Or maybe you just don’t realize how much trouble you’re in.”

“No, no.” I shook my head. “Neither of those things is true.”

“Then, what is it?”

Well, since you asked…

“I’m just that confident, I guess.”

My eyes moved to peer beyond Vivian. She followed my gaze, turned around to look, and I blasted her wand out of her hand.

“You’re not the only ones who can strike from behind!”

Ariadne, who had been hidden behind me, was now standing behind Vivian.

Vivian looked surprised for a moment, but then…

“How naive!”

Quickly, she stuck a hand into her breast pocket just as I had.

“Hyah!”

I hit her with another blast of wind. The spare wand that she had been trying to retrieve from her robe went flying out of her hand.

“I knew that you would expect me to create fog, then plan your attacks accordingly,” I explained. I thrust my wand toward her neck, just as she had done earlier to me. It was like we had swapped places. “Too bad you’re so easy to read.”

I’d figured if I conjured up a fog, Vivian was almost certain to try and attack me from behind. I had also anticipated that she would try to make use of her companion, Sara.

Then I had just stayed in her sights and waited for Sara to appear.

They must have thought they had sprung their trap quite successfully.

But they were the ones who had been trapped.

“You’ve lost,” I said, gathering energy into the wand pressed against Vivian’s neck. “Please surrender quietly. You will stop the suspicious research you’ve been conducting immediately. And you will set Sara free.”

Vivian glared at me. “Is that what the two of you were after? You wanted to rescue Sara?”

I nodded. “You’ve made her a guinea pig for your research, and it’s having strange effects on her body, isn’t it?”

“……” Vivian hesitated, and then said plainly, “It is. But it was her choice. We’re only trying to make our dream—hers and mine—come true.”

“You’re saying that this is what Sara wanted, even if it had negative effects on her body?”

“You can never achieve anything without some sacrifice. Sara and I both resigned ourselves to that fact.”

Vivian was still somewhat obscured by the fog, but her voice was crystal clear. “Both Sara and I wish for a world where everyone can use magic. When we make that happen, I am certain we will put an end to the world’s suffering…”

“……”

“I talked about this yesterday, didn’t I? This world is a cruel place for people without magic. Discrimination, oppression… They have no hope. Well, I’m tired of living in a world like that. Th-that’s why… So that there is never another Elizabeth, I…”

“You truly are a fool.”

Ariadne was the one who interrupted Vivian’s speech.

Shrugging her shoulders in disgust, she had some words of her own.

“People are miserable because they don’t have magic? How did you come to that conclusion? Do you even know what happened to Elizabeth after graduation?”

“…How could you know such a thing?” Vivian muttered.

“You see, I heard,” Ariadne continued, ignoring her. “I heard that after Elizabeth graduated, she inherited the family bakery. Then she got married, had a child, and had a normal, happy life. She didn’t get the job she dreamed of long ago, but I certainly don’t think the life that Elizabeth led after that dream was destroyed has been an unhappy one. It’s an ordinary, average life, but she appreciates every moment of it.”

“……”

Vivian’s eyes were wide.

“How could you possibly know about her?”

As far as Vivian knew, Elizabeth’s story was a secret that she told only to those very close to her.

It wasn’t hard to imagine her surprise.

“How, you ask…?” Ariadne cackled. “I know Elizabeth’s story…because I am Elizabeth.”

And then, the fog lifted.

[Day OneAfternoon]

The first place I visited, immediately after arriving in the Commonwealth of Latorita, was a bakery on the corner of two streets. The bread there had quite the reputation among bread enthusiasts.

It’s crazy delicious.

It’s too tasty. Like, face-meltingly good.

It’s way too good, like if you eat it, you’ll die.

It’s basically poison.

I was sure that the last one was just a bad review.

Of course, me being a self-professed lover of all things bread, my feet practically moved on their own.

But…

“…………………………………………Huh. It’s not that good.”

To be completely honest, it wasn’t just mediocre. It was downright bad.

I wasn’t sure whether the flavor or the texture was worse. Clearly, something had gone fundamentally wrong somewhere along the line. This bread wasn’t tasty. I was terribly disappointed.

“Excuse me!” I clapped my hands and called out to the shop clerk. “Would you please summon the baker who made this?”

The clerk said, “Uh-huh…” and, wearing a sour expression, disappeared into the back room of the shop.

By the way, that shop had an area with seats for dining, and it was the rare sort of bakery that served coffee as well.

“It’s not delicious…is it? I see…I suppose not…” A haggard-looking woman in her thirties appeared from the back of the store. The arms that extended from her baker’s smock were white and thin, and her red hair dangled limply from her head.

“I’m sorry… The truth is…most of the food has been on the shelves since yesterday… You see…I’m thinking of closing up shop soon…”

“Closing up shop…?”

I was shocked.

Close up shop? Did she really just say that? Seriously? Wait, this bread has been sitting out since yesterday? Well, that explains why it doesn’t taste good.

“…Um, did something happen? Would you like to tell me your story?”

“…It’s not the sort of story you tell a passing witch… It’s a private matter.”

“Aww, c’mon. Come and sit.” I practically forced the bakery owner to sit opposite me. “Okay, there we go. Now, this bakery has quite the reputation among travelers; the bread you make is supposed to be exquisite. But right now, you are not living up to that reputation, you see?”

“Uh…so now I suppose you’re going to tell everyone that this bakery sells terrible, disgusting bread…ah-ha-ha…what a fool I’ve been.”

“This is no joke! Pull yourself together, please. This is serious.”

I shook the owner’s shoulder vigorously as she gazed out the window with lifeless eyes.

And then, large tears rolled down her cheeks.

“…Sniff. I’m sorry…! The truth is, my daughter… My daughter disappeared…”

Then the shop owner suddenly burst into sobs.

After that, she told me about her situation little by little, bawling as she spoke.

To summarize, the woman and her daughter had gotten into a big argument. That was not so unusual, especially because the daughter seemed to be at the rebellious age. The mother wanted her daughter to inherit the bakery, but the girl had run away from home saying she wanted to become a mage.

Actually, what had originally shocked Elizabeth—that was the mother’s name—had been her daughter’s insistence that she would never be happy until she learned to use magic.

Elizabeth told me about her daughter leaving the house. About how she was being used as a test subject for some kind of suspicious research. And about who was conducting that research. I think what had shocked Elizabeth just as much as her daughter’s departure was the fact that the person directing it all, guided by the belief that everyone who was not a magic user must be miserable, was an old friend of hers.

That explained why Elizabeth wasn’t making any bread.

“So in other words, if we get your daughter back, you can go back to making delicious bread again?”

“Huh? Sure…I guess…yeah…”

“I see, I see.” I nodded. “All right, let’s go help her. Together.”

“Help…huh? Together? Why?”

“I don’t know what your daughter looks like. Or the teacher.”

“But…won’t I stand out…?”

“What’s the problem? You have an old school uniform, don’t you?”

“I do have one… And I think I can still squeeze into it…but, me? At this age…?”

“Ah, that won’t be a problem.” I gestured for her to wait and dug through my bag until I came up with a single small vial.

It was a potion that had been forced into my hands by a girl, sometime, in some other place, far away. That potion was imbued with a very special magic.

“If you drink this potion, it can make you appear younger. You’ll look young enough to blend in at school, with years to spare.”

She wouldn’t appear to be an adult at all. So, that solved that.

“B-but…”

“Let’s do it. Absolutely.”

“You’re really eager…”

“I really want to eat that bread.” I leaned forward decisively. “Once we take your daughter back, you can treat me, okay? So, let’s go help your daughter.”

We didn’t have a second school uniform for me to wear, so I hastily whipped up a decent look-alike and we headed out.

That was how we infiltrated the university.

Thinking about it now, the promise of delicious bread was about all it took to get me to spring into action. (One of us had to show some initiative.) But the more I learned about Vivian and Elizabeth, the more I knew I had to help these women.

Because the idea that every person who cannot use magic must be constantly miserable is just too heartbreaking.

“…Understood. I promise. Once we have my daughter… Once we have Sara back, I’ll get serious and make you all the bread you want.”

At least, this woman, nodding vigorously to me, didn’t look like she was miserable.

The woman before me had fire in her eyes.

[Day SixAfternoon]

As it turned out, though we both went in with the goal of rescuing Elizabeth’s daughter, both of us also really enjoyed the return to student life. Maybe that’s why we nearly got snared by our own scheme. But at any rate, we had worked out a plan to make contact with Vivian and then rescue Sara before the effects of the age-regression potion wore off.

And that was why Elizabeth—going by the name of Ariadne—now had Vivian cornered.

“You are…Elizabeth…?” Vivian’s face contorted in bewilderment. “You certainly do resemble the Elizabeth I knew so long ago, but…but, how? How can this be real?”

When she had laid eyes on Ariadne, Vivian had probably noticed a close resemblance to Elizabeth, and may have even seen something of herself in the witch standing next to her—in me. And there was no doubt that the family resemblance between Sara and her mother was also why Vivian had chosen the girl to join her in her research.

Vivian was imprisoned by her past.

“So you think that because I couldn’t follow my childhood dream and become a teacher, I must be miserable?” Ariadne laughed quietly. “Listen…I’m actually pretty glad that I wasn’t able to become a teacher. Sure, I used to hate the idea of inheriting the family bakery, but after I grew up and gave it a chance, it was more fun than I expected. I met a great guy, and I also had Sara.”

Ariadne quickly glanced across the lecture hall.

Sara was standing there among the desks, looking at us with a confused expression.

She and Vivian were utterly dumbfounded. I’m sure they were surprised by everything that was happening.

Ariadne continued, ignoring their shock. “I’m sorry. After graduating, I never saw you again. So, I never realized… I never knew you felt this way.”

“…No,” Vivian muttered.

“You’ve been holding on to these feelings ever since the day I failed the teacher’s exam, haven’t you?” Ariadne continued. “Even now that you’re all grown up…”

“…No, this isn’t right. I…” Vivian was hanging her head, just like a little child. “I… I only wanted to make it so that it would never happen again… So that nobody else would have to face that kind of discrimination…”

“You don’t need to concern yourself with that.” Ariadne shrugged. “No one’s doomed to live a life of misery because of a single broken dream, in the same way that no one is guaranteed happiness even if all their dreams come true. Besides, I for one, do not think I would be very happy even if Sara did learn magic, if this is what it costs.”

Constantly drinking untested potions made with toxic ingredients was clearly taking a great toll on Sara. And as the girl slowly limped over to her mother, it was obvious from the way she walked that she was not doing well at all.

“…Are you all right?” I moved to help her, letting the girl lean on me. I felt guilty for blasting her with wind earlier.

Sara gave me a slight nod. “…Mm,” Then she stared at Ariadne. “…Mom, is that you? Really?”

The resemblance was unmistakable, now that it had been pointed out, though slight enough that it had gone unnoticed until now. It helped that they had different hair colors.

“Shall we go home, Sara?” Ariadne gently embraced her daughter. “Please don’t sadden your mother any further.”

Caught in her mother’s arms, Sara responded, “…Mm-kay.” She nodded slightly again, and let her eyes close.

Vivian was standing there staring at the two, until Ariadne suddenly wrapped an arm around her as well. “Let’s stop this already, Vivian,” she said as she pulled her into the embrace.

And then…

“Please, I don’t want to spoil any more of our memories together.”

Ariadne said nothing more.

Her words had been enough.

The two of them, Sara and Vivian, wrapped up in Ariadne’s—in Elizabeth’s—embrace, were silent, like babies that had cried themselves to sleep.

* * *

[Day SevenAfternoon]

I stopped in at my new favorite bakery-café for lunch.

Until then, I had always visited on my way back from school, but that day was a weekend day. And as one might expect, the place was rather crowded.

“Do you mind sharing a table today?”

In fact, it was so busy that the usual waitress had to ask me that.

I nodded, and she showed me to a seat by the window.

“…Eh?”

I gasped when I saw who was waiting. The two people who were already sitting across from each other at the window-side table had similar reactions. They both looked troubled.

“…Elaina.”

“…Hey.”

It was Sara and Vivian.

I greeted the pair with a simple “hello” and sat down across from them.

I ordered coffee and bread from the waitress, and then looked over at Sara while I waited for my food to arrive. Her complexion had already improved somewhat.

“You’re not drinking the potions anymore?” I inquired.

She nodded ever so slightly. “…Well, we did abandon our research. There’s no reason to destroy my health,” she said.

Ultimately, after everything that had transpired, Vivian had given up on creating a potion that could turn ordinary people into mages. She had heard from Ariadne—from Elizabeth herself—that there was no need for a potion like that. Even if she succeeded, it wouldn’t mean anything.

After that, the three of us talked for a while, sitting together at the window-side table.

Apparently, Vivian had been spending all her days off working on her potion, and now that she was done with the research, she would have a lot more free time. Sara was the same way. Since she didn’t need to work on the research anymore, there was no need for her to stay at Vivian’s house. As of yesterday, she had returned home.

“In short, I am an ordinary teacher, and Sara is once again an ordinary student.”

“How utterly unremarkable.”

“I know. But, well, I have to admit, we’re not unhappy after all.”

“Well then, that’s great.”

We suddenly found ourselves smiling at each other, and that’s when the waitress brought over my bread and coffee.

“Here you are, sorry for the wait. Some of my very best bread, made with gratitude.”

It wasn’t the waitress after all.

It was Ariadne, but…

The effect of the potion that I had given her had worn off, and Ariadne was no longer a young school girl. She was once again an adult woman.

“Okay, it’s fresh out of the oven, so it’s a little hot. Be careful when you eat it, all right?”

Ariadne, or rather, Elizabeth, smiled. It was the smile of a caring mother.

“How about joining us, Ariadne?” We were sitting at a four-person table, after all. I patted the open seat in invitation, but she shook her head slowly.

“I would really love to eat with you, but I have work to do.” Elizabeth shrugged. “Well, please enjoy. Our bread is the very best, after all!”

The gloomy woman I had seen when we had first met was nowhere to be seen.

I placed a hand over my bread as I watched her walk away. It was still hot. I savored the comforting warmth.

“Come to think of it, what are you going to do now, Sara?” I tilted my head questioningly as I tore my bread into pieces. “Will you take over your mother’s shop?”

“I’m planning to give that some thought.” She tore her bread up in the same way and popped a small piece into her mouth. “But probably, almost certainly, I think I’ll take over after Mom.”

But she told me she wanted to think about that after studying more in school. It was a completely ordinary idea.

The girl there with us was entirely unremarkable; a girl who didn’t know what to do with her future. That, too, was completely ordinary.

“Well, I think that’s great.” I nodded, then followed Sara’s lead and dug into my bread. The fragrance of wheat filled my nostrils. The soft texture melted in my mouth. The bread was so delectable that when I bit into it, I couldn’t help but smile.

It was enough to make me want to go on eating it forever.

“It’s so good…,” I mumbled happily.

“…I’m going to start coming here often…” Vivian nodded decisively.

“I eat it all the time, so…” Sara shrugged and smiled.

And in this way, we spent an ordinary afternoon together.

Although for a traveler like me, sharing a meal with friends is not actually all that ordinary. But still.

Extraordinary things do happen sometimes, and it’s that much nicer when they do.