Distrust Will Guide Me

“Is that my favorite student, walking with someone, willingly?” Ilara’s teacher and graduation supervisor, the elf Ynae, welcomed them into her office.

“Here are the slimes you requested.” Ilara subtly motioned Alric over. “And the… party member.” Alric and Ynae introduced each other as Ilara took a seat in her teacher’s office. Ynae had been a helpful teacher all those years, and sometimes they even had good conversations. Very rarely, though.

“Sign these papers Ilara, I have some things for Alric here that will help you in your journeys.” Ynae dropped a pile of papers on her desk.

They both walked out as Ilara signed her paperwork, finally becoming an S rank mage, specialized in healing. More importantly though, still unlicensed to work as a healer until her community service was fulfilled. Once she got her license, she’d finally be independent—free from any remaining shackles of schooling, society, military, adventuring…

But she had to finish what was in front of her, first. Once she was done signing heaps of pointless paperwork, Ilara waited for her teacher and Alric to return. What was taking them so long? It was only a few signatures…

She took a look around Ynae’s office one last time. It was full of things that belonged to her former students. Little gifts and mementos overcrowded the desk, table, and bookshelves. She cared about her students, maybe a little too much, but still... for someone whose job was so hard, to have gained so much admiration from her students in such a short time, with likely very low pay… Ilara could say she admired—

They both came back with Alric wielding a proper battleaxe. “Check it out Ilara! A real battleaxe, can you believe it?”

Ilara stared at the axe he was wielding. It wasn't fancy and its edges were rusted.

“A little sharpening and polishing and it will be in top shape!” Alric seemed as excited as a kid receiving an extravagant birthday present.

But Ilara wasn’t buying it.

“Alric, do you know this wretched woman?” Ilara pointed towards her soon to be not-teacher, Ynae. Ilara’s suspicions had only grown over time.

“Not really.”

“Not… really?” Ilara repeated. Alric, despite smiling, looked uncomfortable. “If my party members are hiding something—”

“Ilara, always so paranoid. You’ll never be able to earn your seals from the adventurers' guilds like this, and you need those for your license.” Ynae got in the way of her interrogation. Ilara stared daggers at her—former—teacher.

“I’m S rank because I’m like this, do you want me to stop now?”

“Fine, you have a point Ilara. More importantly, I’m so happy you’re working as a party already!” Ynae’s joy couldn’t fit in that small office.

The teacher escorted both of them to the stables, where she gifted them a small wooden cart with a chipped wheel that was already loaded with the last packed belongings Ilara had, which weren’t many. She even gave Ilara a small pouch with coins, enough for her to be on the road for a few weeks, or so she said. She didn’t specify the quality of life that it could buy, though.

With Alric pulling the cart with their belongings, they started walking to the gate leading out of the campus, one last time. Why was Ilara starting to feel emotional? There was a human brute, an aspiring adventurer, standing next to her, and an elven teacher that seemed happy with a student that had barely learned anything from her.

Still, the towering elven teacher walked towards her, and with watering eyes stuck a pin on Ilara’s robe. Something like that must’ve taken her a while to track down. A platinum pin, worthy for a healer of rank S. Anyone in the Kingdom that saw that pin could immediately identify the category of mage that was in front of them. How did Ynae get a hold of something as valuable as that in such a remote town? Surely the Kingdom was required to pay for those.

Ilara rapidly unclipped the pin and hid it in the inside of her robe. It was a meaningless trinket, if valuable.

“I’m… so proud of you, Ilara…” Ynae, sobbing, was unable to speak properly.

Proud of what exactly? But Ilara couldn’t think too much as her tall elven teacher squeezed every last bit of air from her. That hug was unseemly, embarrassing even given their difference in height, but Ilara couldn’t blame her for trying to bond with her star student one last time. She even closed her eyes and hugged her with one arm in return.

◆

The newly formed party of two left the school and walked towards the path that led them back to the forest where they first met. At first, Alric would look back and wave at the teacher, whose audible cries could somehow be heard from a long distance. But with every step they gained more distance until they could no longer see the teacher, the school, the town, or any of Ilara’s former life.

One more chapter had been closed, in a satisfying way, hopefully never to be revisited again.

“Regenera. Potentia. Celeritas.” Ilara lightly tapped Alric’s shoulder with her staff. His body was enveloped by a white aura that was slowly absorbed into his body.

He paused, bewildered. “What’s that for?”

“It’s a blessing from the goddess.”

It was a total lie, Ilara didn’t believe in goddesses or anything like that, but most of the people in the Kingdom did, and she found it easier to explain than: A spell that constantly regenerates your health, a spell that multiplies your strength and another to increase your speed in the same way even if I’m not nearby while consuming my magic power and many many many more words…

“Oh, awesome.”

Thankfully, Alric wasn’t one to ask too many questions. She hopped onto the cart and sat on it, which was very unlikely to be its intended usage.

“Ilara, I’m not a horse, you know?” Alric looked back at her while he pulled the cart.

“No, of course not.” She paused to snicker for a bit. “You’re better than a horse.”

Alric had a strange look of resignation for someone that didn’t stop, though Ilara knew her so-called blessing would make the experience painless for him.

“Alric, how much did Ynae pay you?”

“Pay me?”

His clueless act was not enough to fool Ilara. Not only was he an idiot, he was a liar too, and even worse, a bad liar. But well, if he was willing to risk his life to run in front of her and protect her, that was way more than she needed. With that answer, Ilara finally pieced everything together.

Her teacher offered her military service knowing Ilara would settle for any other option. She then sent her on a meaningless slime hunt.

Ynae orchestrated the encounter with a bottom-of-the-barrel, dreamy-eyed, essentially free, unregistered adventurer and clothed him as a logger to trick her into forming a party. A musclehead with the heart and body of an adventurer but the looks of a logger?

Well played, former teacher. Ynae had finally won for the first, and last time. Once there was nobody around to see her, Ilara looked back towards the school that was no longer in sight, and smiled.