Chapter 16: Personal Inventory Realm

Alaric wasn’t surprised that Ryland made his displeasure known immediately after the conditions had been stated.

“I have suppressed much of my magic so as not to alarm anyone unduly,” Ryland said. “Though it seems the effort didn’t quite match the outcome, going by your reactions so far, Headmaster.”

“Oh, believe me, it certainly did.” Alaric wasn’t going to explain every single warning he had received about Ryland, but he turned the clock on his desk around to face his guests. “Unfortunately, it seems even you cannot evade all scrutiny, Ryland. However, rest assured that things would be several times worse had you not… suppressed yourself.”

“I understand and agree with your point, Headmaster, but hiding away isn’t the point. I certainly don’t intend to if the situation calls for it.”

Viren’s head was switching between the two men. He was starting to look anxious. Truth be told, Alaric could feel the tension rising, which was silly because this felt like such a minor thing. All the casual aloofness Ryland had held onto so far had evaporated like morning mist.

“It’s rather clear, Ryland,” Alaric said. “That you’ve been away from society for a while. However, now that you’ve returned, surely you understand that there exist certain non-negotiable rules that even you must follow. And you’ve already been doing so, if what Viren says is true. So why be belligerent now?”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t mischaracterize firmness as belligerence,” Ryland said quietly. “And while I respect your position, I do not respect being patronized.”

The protective Glyphs Inscribed on Alaric’s clothes and body burned in warning. On his desk, the clock ticked into its face.

Before he could speak again, Ryland rerouted the conversation. “Allow me to make a prediction, Headmaster.”

“A prediction?” Alaric asked.

“Yes. There will come a time, sooner or later, where I will need to choose between the convenience of keeping everyone in the dark that you seem to prefer and taking a necessary stand to prevent a calamitous disaster. What choice do you think I will make then?”

Alaric very carefully noted that he wasn’t asked his opinion on what was the right choice. “Whichever choice leaves me dealing with the fallout, I imagine.”

Ryland smiled challengingly. “I’d rather not hide the truth unnecessarily.”

Right. Wily man was digging straight to the heart of the matter. Because he was right. He was absolutely right. However much Alaric might try containing the situation, it was already well beyond him. He was pretty certain other significant figures in the city had picked up the same warnings from the Inscribed [Warding] spell.

So instead of complying with Alaric’s worldview, Ryland was proposing a counter-condition that would make Alaric exercise Ryland’s worldview. After all, he had been alarmed beyond basically anything else he had ever faced in his life.

It was a reckoning the rest of the academy—perhaps the city and even Androvia at large—would need to deal with eventually.

That was the undeniable truth Ryland had no intention of shying away from.

This man…

This man was shrewd. Not in the sense that he possessed an underhanded cunning, but rather, someone who spoke with enough experience to always strike through the distracting veils and get to the heart of a matter.

Forsaken Calamities, as if it wasn’t bad enough that he seemed to be inconceivably powerful.

“Fine, then,” Alaric said with a sigh. “It seems I have little choice but to accept. I will warn you though, Ryland, that not everyone will be as accepting as I have been.”

Ryland nodded. “I would be rather surprised if that was the case. After all, most aren’t as strong as you, Headmaster, and you’ve already been suppressing yourself just like me, in a manner of speaking.” He turned to the bespectacled boy. “Viren, what is he ranked?”

Alaric was trying not to goggle. Had his reaction to all the alarms and warnings been that obvious? Had Ryland known all along exactly what Alaric felt throughout their conversation?

“Um.” Viren gulped. “The Headmaster is Primordial-ranked, sir.”

“Primordial-ranked! That’s quite high, yes? Much higher than my Silver. And—”

“In no way are you Silver, come on,” Alaric said.

Ryland arched an eyebrow, and Viren stared. It took a few seconds more before Alaric realized how uncouthly he had expressed his disbelief. He briefly thought about tugging his beard off his face entirely.

“It’s true,” Ryland said, and Alaric’s Glyph of Truth confirmed it was. “The Grand Frame says I’m merely Silver-ranked. You did say I was away for a while.”

“Yes, but it still should have characterized you properly for where you truly stand…”

Ryland just shrugged.

Alaric leaned back and rubbed the spot between his eyes for a bit. “The Entrance Trials are in two days. If you pass them, Ryland, then I will happily welcome you into our graduate student body. You have suspiciously fortuitous timing, now that I think about it.”

Slowly, Ryland smiled. “Your suspicion is not without merit, Headmaster.”

Alaric sighed. This man… His apparent aloofness and casual demeanour was a front. He really was shrewd. All this time, he had planned for the fact that he’d need to enrol in the academy again.

He hadn’t appeared at a random time. Not at all.

“Good luck, Marionys Ryland,” Alaric said. Then he shook his head. Who was he kidding? “Not that you’re going to need it.”

“I’ll take my leave, Headmaster,” Ryland said, getting to his feet. “But before I go, there’s one little reminder I’d like to give—please look into the matter of the Excursion Club. Spats between students are one thing, but for the club to leave behind one of their own…”

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Alaric frowned heavily. He had done so before, when they had explained the circumstance of how Viren was in Ryland’s company. Excursion Club members were rigorously trained to prevent the exact sort of scenario that Ryland was complaining about. It was unconscionable that such a thing had come to pass.

“Rest assured,” Alaric said. “That the matter will receive the right resolution.”

“Thank you, Headmaster.”

After the rather successful meeting with the Headmaster, Ryland and Viren parted ways for the time being. Viren had things to take care of at the academy, like letting his club and other academy authorities know that he was back.

Ryland was still miffed that the club hadn’t appeared to be concerned about Viren. He had entertained the benefit of a doubt on his journey to Arcoryx. It could very well have been that they had missed each other on their journeys, that members of the club were taking the return train back to Sunstile to find Viren.

But if that had been the case, shouldn’t Ryland have heard or seen something once they reached Arcoryx? Shouldn’t the Headmaster or his secretary have known about a missing student?

No matter. Alaric was aware of the issue now. The Headmaster’s reassurance had sounded rather convincing, so Ryland would wait and see what came of it.

For the time being, Ryland strolled through Arcoryx City to enjoy its sights. It was nice to visit the spots he was familiar with, especially when contrasted against the many neighbourhoods and locales he had no recollection of. There were a lot of those. The city had changed a great deal.

In the evening, he met up with Viren again. The boy was still insistent that he owed a great deal to Ryland, so he was determined to treat Ryland that night.