After school, Shulim did not head home right away.
Instead, she took a detour and made her way toward the mining area outside town.
Some time later, deep in the forest...
"Rrrgh."
A massive black boar with glowing red eyes slammed into a tree hard enough to snap it in half.
Behind it, Shulim dropped down from another tree.
"[ᛒᚷᛈᛜᛖᛗᛞᚪᛡᛖᛞᛃᚺיᤤᛜᛣᚢᛜᛣᛃᛈיᛄᚠᛗᛜᛓᚠᛁוטᛗᛓᛖᛡᛓᚠᛏוᛒ]"
"Sinkhole."
Boom.
The ground gave way beneath the beast, and the Iron-Tusk Boar, still a little dazed, dropped straight into the pit.
"Rrraaah."
The hole was too narrow for its huge body. The boar jammed itself firmly in place and could do nothing but roar in fury.
Looking at the trapped monster, Shulim took a deep breath.
Then...
"[ᚷᚲᚠᛏᛗᛜᚢᚪᛖᛡᛞᚠᛟᛃᛜᛃᛏᚠᛞᚲᛜᚹᛚᛖᛗᛜᛖᛗᛃᛞᛋ]"
"Fireball."
"[ᚷᚲᚠᛏᛗᛜᚢᚪᛖᛡᛞᚠᛟᛃᛜᛃᛏᚠᛞᚲᛜᚹᛚᛖᛗᛜᛖᛗᛃᛞᛋ]"
"Fireball."
"[ᚷᚲᚠᛏᛗᛜᚢᚪᛖᛡᛞᚠᛟᛃ...]"
"Fireball..."
One fireball after another rained down into the pit.
A few minutes later, the thick-skinned Iron-Tusk Boar was thoroughly roasted.
"Oh, using that kind of approach against an Iron-Tusk Boar? Shulim, you’re getting better and better at dealing with monsters."
Semirys dropped down from the sky.
Shulim glanced at her and seemed about to say something, but hesitated.
Semirys did not notice the look. She was too busy peering down at the roasted boar in the pit.
"Even if it’s a Rank D+ monster, once it falls into a hole like that, it can only sit there and die. Really, no matter the era, if you target a weakness and use the right counter, even a weakling at Rank E can still bring down someone at Rank C..."
"Semirys..."
While Semirys kept offering analysis of Shulim’s fight, Shulim finally spoke up.
"What is it?"
Semirys turned to her.
"When you’re in the forest, you should probably stop flying around in the sky so much."
"Huh? Why?"
Semirys looked completely baffled.
"...Apparently some adventurers spotted you flying in the air and thought you were some kind of monster. There’s a good chance they’ll start searching this part of the forest soon."
Shulim passed along the rumor she had heard that morning.
The moment she did, Semirys looked personally offended.
"What? They mistook me for a monster? Those idiot adventurers. I ought to teach them a lesson. Who are they?"
"You probably shouldn’t. Even if you showed yourself to them, there’s no guarantee they’d recognize you as the Fairy King. And now there are already rumors spreading through town about you. At this rate, it’ll be hard for you to keep staying here."
"Mm..."
Semirys fell into thought.
"That is a problem. I don’t exactly want people gathering around to stare at me... fine. I guess I’ll hide myself a little better from now on."
She sighed, then the wings on her back lit up.
What happened next surprised Shulim.
Semirys’s body gradually faded until she disappeared completely.
"S-Semirys?"
Shulim stared at the empty air in front of her and asked uncertainly.
Is it Conceal? No, I didn’t feel any shift in dark particles. Then what kind of magic is this?
"Ah. Right. I almost forgot."
At the same moment the familiar voice sounded in front of her, Shulim suddenly felt a fingertip press against her forehead.
A magic circle flashed briefly there, then vanished.
And right after that, Semirys reappeared in front of her.
"You’re back."
Shulim stared at her in amazement, then touched her own forehead, but found nothing there.
"Semirys, did you just do something?"
"That was a spell to let you keep seeing me."
Semirys answered while spinning once in midair.
"I’ve put a spell on myself that keeps my form hidden at all times now. That way, even if someone walks right up to me, they still won’t notice I’m there."
"That’s amazing."
Shulim could not help staring.
"There really is every kind of magic imaginable."
"Of course there is. You can admire me a little more if you want. I might even tell you about some really interesting spells."
Semirys lifted her chin proudly.
By now, though, Shulim was thoroughly used to the way Semirys got full of herself at the slightest opportunity, so she simply ignored that.
"Oh, right..."
Shulim remembered something.
"Starting tomorrow, school is finally beginning magic instruction too."
"Huh? Really?"
To her surprise, Semirys lit up immediately.
"What’s school magic instruction like? Tell me. Come on, tell me."
Maybe because both of them were teaching Shulim magic in their own way, Semirys had developed a weird sense of professional rivalry. She suddenly wanted very badly to know how other people did it.
"Don’t get so excited. I said it starts tomorrow. I’ll tell you after that."
"Oh. Right."
Semirys cooled off a little, though now she seemed faintly intrigued.
Most of the time, she was the one telling Shulim stories and oddities about the world. Maybe this time Shulim would be the one bringing back something new.
Then, as if remembering something important, Semirys quickly added,
"Oh, right. When you start taking magic lessons at school, make sure you don’t reveal your real magical affinities."
That made Shulim pause too.
She immediately understood the problem. A mage with all-element affinity was far too shocking. If something like that became public, there was no telling what sort of trouble it would bring.
Semirys, worried Shulim might not fully grasp why, kept explaining.
"Listen to me. You really need to take this seriously. If a few trustworthy people know, that’s one thing. But if word gets out, there are definitely people out there who’d make a mess of everything and come after you. And I mean truly bad news. If someone like that got their hands on you right now, you’d die a very ugly death. So be careful. Absolutely careful."
...
Hearing Semirys sound this serious was unusual enough that it genuinely unsettled Shulim.
So there really were dangerous people like that in the world?
Come to think of it, Semirys talked all the time about how dangerous this world was, and how careful she needed to be.
By the time Semirys finished, Shulim had already made up her mind.
From now on, she would never reveal the truth about herself if she could help it. The safer and more cautious she could be, the better. And if someone ever did somehow discover her secret by accident, then...
Semirys kept warning her about all the different kinds of danger she might face, completely unaware that the girl in front of her was now quietly entertaining some fairly dangerous ideas of her own.
And so, carrying a small knot of unease about the future, Shulim stepped into the next day.
...
On the prep school training grounds, Shulim stood together with dozens of other boys and girls, all waiting for the magic instructor to arrive.
Magic classes involved a lot of practical work, so most lessons were held outside on the field.
"Hi, hi. Sorry to keep you all waiting."
A woman in a long black mage’s robe approached, carrying a staff and wearing her short red hair loose around her face.
"Are you our magic teacher?"
A boy in the front row asked right away.
"That’s right. My name is Colette, and I’m your brand-new magic instructor. Oh, and just so you know, I’m only twenty-two. And single too. Single."
As she introduced herself, she struck what was clearly meant to be a cute pose and even threw in a wink.
...
The students fell into complete silence.
Their thoughts, however, were in perfect agreement.
Nobody asked your age. And why are you stressing that you’re single to a bunch of kids who aren’t even ten yet? Are you hoping one of us has an older brother to recommend?
"Heehee. Did I stun all of you with my charm? Oh, you’re all so shy."
Colette looked utterly pleased with herself.
No, absolutely not.
That was the collective response in everyone’s head.
The new magic teacher seemed, to put it mildly, deeply unreliable.
For the first time, a lot of the boys and girls standing there began to worry whether their magic education was really going to go smoothly after all.
As a side note, in Hymriel, humans were considered adults at fifteen.