There were about twenty, the same number of people who’d chased after me the previous afternoon. Miss Fran was there among them.
I brought my broom down next to her and stood beside her. I could feel solid ground under both feet.
“Oh, good morning. You’re quite early. I don’t believe I gave you a specific time.” Miss Fran smiled at me.
“That’s why I came early.”
“Oh my. You aren’t upset with me, are you?”
“Oh, no. I just want you to praise me.”
“Excellent. Great job.”
“Thanks.”
“Well, in that case, it seems we can get started earlier than planned.”
And then she clapped her hands twice. Clap, clap.
When she did, the students hurriedly stopped their drills and gathered around. In fact, it might be better to say they sprinted over with all their might. I also saw some students dump the water they had been using in their practice onto the ground in their hurry.
Turning to the assembled students, Miss Fran introduced me. “Everyone, this is Elaina, the Ashen Witch. You met her yesterday, too, so you know that already, right?”
I gave a quick bow. “Ah, hello.”
“Today I’d like to have her conduct a special seminar. She may not be much older than you students, but she is a splendid witch. Don’t underestimate her.” Then, after all the students nodded in agreement several times, Miss Fran asked them, “Do you have any questions for her?”
A smart-looking, eloquent young man immediately raised his hand. “Me, meee! Do you have a boyfriend? Do you?”
Oops, my mistake. It was a dumb-looking, crude young boy.
“I do not. I’m a traveler, after all.”
“Only questions related to magic,” Miss Fran cut him off flatly. “Anyone else?”
The next student to raise her hand was a timid-looking girl. I thought she might have been one of the two who had first approached me. She looked at me nervously and asked, “Um… What kind of magic is your specialty…?”
I was relieved to have a normal question. “I don’t really have a specialty. I can perform attack spells, manipulation spells, and transformations of all kinds.”
“Any other questions?”
Someone put a hand up. “Out of all the places you’ve visited so far, which one is your favorite?”
“This one.”
“Oh my. Do I smell flattery?” Miss Fran chimed in.
More hands went up, one after another. There was no end in sight.
“What made you want to become a witch?”
“I read a book called The Adventures of Niche… That’s my favorite reason anyway.”
“What country are you from, Elaina?”
“The Peaceful Country of Robetta—it’s very, very far away.”
“Tell me the secret to doing magic!”
“It’s just hard work.”
“Is it fun being a traveler?”
“Yes. Very fun.”
“Me, meee! How about your underwear? What color are they—?”
Miss Fran pinched the rude, dumb-looking boy to within an inch of his life, and as soon as that was done, the Q&A period came to an end.
The morning’s extracurricular lesson proceeded without incident.
However, since I was completely unsure about how best to instruct the students, I convinced Miss Fran to let me observe for a while from a distance and see how she taught them.
“Oh my. The flow of your magic is all out of whack. Work on calming your mind and stabilizing your energy.”
“You’re sending out too much magical energy. Hold back a bit more.”
“Hey! Don’t make the water into swords. Stop playing around.”
…In this vein, she walked around to each and every student, giving very proper guidance as she went.
Hmm, hmm, I see. All right then, let me try to imitate her. I wandered around among the students at an unhurried pace.
They seemed to be in the middle of a series of drills for handling magic. As before, the students were making water inside vases move. It was a basic drill, but the first step to achieving a high level of skill in magic is being able to move things the way you want to.
I was walking around casually when a male student asked, “Uh, Miss Elaina? My water ball won’t stay smooth. What should I do?” The water at the end of his wand was indeed floating in the air, but it was bubbling like it was moments away from boiling.
I see, I see.
“You’re putting way too much energy into it. Ease up a little bit.”
“Okay!”
Immediately, a puddle of water formed at the boy’s feet with a splash.
“…I lost control of it.”
“You eased up too much.”
Too bad, I thought, looking at him with pity. He seemed very disappointed.
Behind me, I heard a small voice, lacking confidence. “Uh, um…”
When I turned around, there was the timid girl.
“What is it?” I tilted my head a little bit.
“Um, yes… Um, there’s something I’d like you to teach me…”
“Of course. What is it?”
After a short pause, she answered, staring at the ground. “Um, no matter what I do, I can’t really control the water… I can just barely lift it up… What should I do?”
Mm-hmm.
“Let me see you try.”
“Huh? Um, okay…”
She gripped her wand in both hands, faced the vase full of water, and projected her magical energy. The vase began to move about ten seconds later.
First the whole vase lifted off the ground, then, as if she had remembered what the actual task was, the water rose into the air out of it. Then, as it reached the height of the girl’s face, the sphere of water immediately crashed back to the ground.
“Oh my.”
“…What should I do?” Her eyes were filling with tears. She looked like she was taking the situation awfully seriously.
“Looks like you don’t quite have the hang of it yet. I think that at first, you should spend more time practicing getting the water out of the vase.”
“O-okay…”
“After you get the water out of the vase, put it back right away, then take it out again. As you practice that over and over, I think you’ll get quite used to it. Don’t rush things and find your own way of working. That’s the shortest way to success. Do your best, okay?”
“…Y-yes, ma’am!”
That was the best advice I could give. After watching her run off to go scoop water, I started walking around again. As I did, I heard a voice call me from behind.
“Oh, ohhh! Look at me, Miss Elaina! Isn’t this cool?” That stupid-looking, rude boy was wearing a crown he had made out of water. I ignored him.
The students were very enthusiastic (all except one) and came up to me to ask my advice themselves. Of course, we were close in age, so it may have been easy for them to ask me questions.
It didn’t feel half-bad.
The drills continued until Miss Fran clapped her hands twice again.
As soon as the morning’s extracurricular lesson had concluded, Miss Fran’s work for the day was also over, apparently.
Based on what had happened the previous day, I would have thought she also had an extracurricular lesson in the evening, but according to her, “If we have it in the morning, we don’t have it in the evening. If we don’t have it in the morning, we have it in the evening. Basically, it was a once-per-day extracurricular lesson.
“Why do you only do it once?” I asked.
She answered, “Exhaustion, of course.”
“You’re concerned that doing it twice in one day would exhaust the students?” I see, I see.
“No, we don’t do it more than once because I’ll get tired.”
“……”
I had no name for the emotion I was feeling.
After the extracurricular lesson was over, I followed Miss Fr
an out of the school building. We flew leisurely through the sky, headed for higher ground. Eventually, Miss Fran landed her broom.
I did the same, and the tender grass swished quietly. The light green of a wide meadow stretched out around us, drawing a gentle arc against the sky. On the other side of a simple wooden fence was the city and its multicolored houses. The trees near us fluttered in the wind, sending leaves floating off into the distance. Beyond the trees stood the school building with its oversize tower, which I had been using as a landmark. There were clouds floating across the clear blue sky, smooth and white.
“Isn’t it beautiful? This is a place very dear to my heart,” Miss Fran said.
“Yes, I can see why.”
“I’m glad you like it.” Miss Fran’s black hair fluttered softly in the gentle breeze. With a smile, she said, “I wanted you to see it once, before you left the country. I love this view.”
Her smile was contagious, and I felt the corners of my mouth tugging upward. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. So you’re leaving tomorrow morning?”
“Yes. I can’t stay too long.”
“That’s too bad… My students really seem fond of you.”
“That’s just because they’re not used to seeing a young witch.” Not to mention a young traveler.
“Even so, it’s wonderful that they took a liking to you. My students often seem to avoid me.”
“……”
They don’t avoid you; you just don’t understand the sense of distance your elusive nature creates. I won’t say that, though. I can’t say that.
“What is it?”
“…No, nothing.”
As if to escape Miss Fran’s gaze, I turned my eyes to the school in the distance. “Anyway, you’re teaching magic at the Academy, right?”
“Yes.”
“What do the students do when they graduate?”
“Usually they work here in the country. For example, delivering packages, or flying people around. If you did any sightseeing here, you must have seen quite a few mages en route above the rooftops, yes?”
I see.
“Were the people putting on magic demonstrations in town Academy graduates, too?” I remembered the street shows, people singing and using magic to operate puppets and create special effects. I wondered if all the mages I had seen in town had in fact studied at the Royal Magic Academy.
Miss Fran nodded. “Yes, well, those people are pursuing their hobbies. Those aren’t real jobs.”
“Hobbies, huh…? But they get money for it, right?”
“Well, I suppose they do, but I doubt it’s very much. Those people aren’t performing magic because they want money.”
“Then why?”
“It’s because they love it,” Miss Fran said flatly. “You’re traveling because you love to, right, Elaina? It’s the same thing. They’re doing it because they like to make people happy.”
“……”
Not for the money, for themselves, or for someone else. Because they like it.
Ever since I’d stepped across the border of this country, the thought had crossed my mind more than a few times that this was a wonderful place. The cityscape was lovely, and the scenery was lush. People spent their days with smiles on their faces. My heart felt a little tug whenever I saw those happy locals. Perhaps that was because my time in this country of Royal Celestelia had, in some way, reflected my travels themselves.
“Come to think of it, what is something that you love, Elaina?” Miss Fran suddenly asked me.
“Traveling, of course,” I answered.
“Besides that.”
“……”
If not travel, then what? Well, I suppose the thing that inspired my journey.
“Books, I guess.”
“Books…” Miss Fran was silent for a brief moment, then asked again, “Besides books?” She was as frank as ever.
“Um, what is this? Why are you asking?”
“Oh, I’m just a little curious.”
“Are you getting me a farewell gift or something?” I asked jokingly.
“Yes, well,” she quickly assented, putting me in a tough position.
Oh no. What have I done?
“…Uh, no, that’s all right, I don’t need a farewell gift. Just your well wishes are plenty.”
“Now, now, don’t say that. Tell me, what do you like? Perhaps flowers or something?”
“You’re already leading me to an answer.”
“How about it? Flowers. Ah, and butterflies, that would be good.”
“Those are things that you like, Miss Fran.”
“I like them, so my apprentice must like them, too, right?”
“Your logic makes no sense.”
“You don’t like butterflies?”
“They’re fine.”
“I see. You like them just fine.”
“I don’t hate them, but I don’t like them, either.”
“How about flowers?”
“And now we’re back back to flowers.”
“Well? How about them?”
“I mean, I like them…”
“Great.”
“What’s great?”
“That’s for me to know,” Miss Fran said with her usual smile. Despite asking me all kinds of random questions, she wouldn’t answer any of mine.
Even after living together for an entire year, even after meeting again after all this time, she was the same old Miss Fran. I still couldn’t tell just what kind of person she was. But I’m not sure that she really knew, either. I was used to it.
“What is it? Are you planning something?” I knew exactly what she was going to say, but I asked anyway.
And Miss Fran answered just as I expected, winking mischievously. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Let me see, how should I put this…
“I’m leaving this country tomorrow morning, so…”
“Yes, and I’m looking forward to seeing you right before you leave. Let’s meet in front of the gate tomorrow morning.”
Time passed, and morning came.
Strolling leisurely down the main street of the city, I headed for the gate along the same path I had followed the previous day. I walked through the shopping street, gazing at all the mages flying through the air. I passed under the ropes strung between the buildings like so many arches. I could smell the sweet scent of a flowers blooming somewhere.
I walked on—and I didn’t really want to leave.
“……”
Soon I arrived at the gate.
The guard bowed when he noticed me. I lowered my head, too, a little late.
If I continued just a bit farther, I would leave the country. However, looking around, I couldn’t see Miss Fran anywhere.
…We didn’t specify a time, so she probably hasn’t come yet.
“……”
It would probably be best to leave now without saying anything. I don’t know what Miss Fran was going to give me, but guessing from what she said yesterday, she was probably planning to give me flowers. But even if I take them, they’ll just be a burden.
They’ll rot eventually, and then I’ll have to get rid of them, so there’s no point in taking them in the first place. Plus, if I ever see that kind of flower somewhere else again, it’ll probably make me think about Miss Fran and this place.
And that’s not good for a traveler. It would just make me sad.
“……”
If I leave now, I should be able to finish here without taking any painful memories. So I’d really better get going—
“……Huh?” I suddenly halted.
Flower petals were dancing down from the sky. Red, blue, yellow, pink, purple, and every color you could imagine, fluttering like snowflakes. A sweet scent wafted on the breeze as they drifted down.
Everyone knows something like this doesn’t happen naturally. And when I looked up, there she was.
“You got here very early, Elaina. We almost d
idn’t finish our preparations in time.”
“Our.”
Miss Fran was waving at me, and her students were flying around her, dropping flower petals from the baskets they held in their hands. Every single one of them was smiling.
“Elaina,” Miss Fran said from atop her broom, “you chose the life of a traveler for yourself, and so I have no right to hold you back. This is about all I can do.”
“Miss Fran…”
“Did it make you happy?”
I answered, sucking in a breath decisively, “Yes, very much so.”
I started walking and stepped through the flower-petal rainbow swirling around me.
“Elaina,” Miss Fran called out to me again. “As you travel, my students and I will be cheering you on with all our hearts. Never forget that.”
I looked up into the sky and replied, “I’ll never forget you!”
Finally, I was standing right in front of the gate.
After bowing, the guard made way.
The gently sloping plains stretched out into the distance beyond the wall.
“Elaina.” Miss Fran spoke from the air one final time. “Let’s meet again someday. Until then, safe travels.” Of course, as always, she was smiling.
So I smiled back.
“…Okay!”
A broom sped over the plains.
Flowers shimmered in the brilliant sunlight, swaying in the breeze beneath an endless clear blue sky.
Riding on the broom was a witch—a traveler. She was still quite young—in her late teens, to be precise. Her ashen hair billowed behind her, and her lapis lazuli eyes were focused on the horizon dividing the vast plain and the great blue sky. Wearing a black pointy hat and black robe, as well as a star-shaped brooch, she flew on, scattering flower petals in her wake.
She turned her broom toward parts of the world she had not yet seen. What kind of country would she visit next? What kind of people would she meet next? Perhaps a country full of mages, or a country with unreasonably high prices, or maybe the country itself would be in ruins.
Pondering such things, the traveler flew on.
That traveler…who in the world could she be?
That’s right. She’s me.
Afterword
Nice to meet you; my name is Jougi Shiraishi. This book, Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, was self-published on the Amazon Kindle store at the end of 2014, back when I was a total amateur.
Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Vol. 1 Page 20
