Even though Colette had seemed completely unreliable at first, once class actually started, that impression faded a lot.
"Before we begin the real lesson, I’d like to ask something. Is there anyone here who already knows magic?"
As soon as Colette asked, the students started murmuring among themselves.
"Do we actually have anyone here who can use magic?"
"Hey, Ande, didn’t you already learn one?"
"Yeah, Ande, show everyone."
After a bit of pushing from the boys around him, a brown-haired boy named Ande stepped forward.
"Ms. Colette, I can use magic."
"Oh? Your name’s Ande, right? What kind of magic can you use? Would you show the class?"
"Yes, Ms. Colette."
Ande nodded, then turned to face everyone else.
"My parents are both Rank C adventurers, so they started teaching me about magic when I was little. I already know a first-circle fire spell. Watch."
He put on a full, dramatic stance and held out his right hand.
"[ᛓᚠᛟᚾᚲתᛖᛜᚢᚪᛖᛡᛞᚠᛟᛃᛜᚣᚲ]"
"Ignite."
Fwoosh.
A small flame appeared in his right hand.
"Nice."
Ande’s friends immediately cheered for him, and plenty of others joined in with applause. It was only a first-circle spell, but compared to everyone who still had not learned magic at all, he was clearly ahead.
Colette smiled, pleased.
"Very nice, Ande. Thank you for the demonstration. You can step back now."
"Yes, Ms. Colette."
Once Ande returned to the group, Colette asked again, "Is there anyone else here who can already use magic?"
"Teacher, I can."
A small hand shot up high from the crowd.
"All right, then. Come on up."
A blonde girl with twin ponytails stepped out to the front.
Colette smiled.
"And what’s your name?"
Asked that question, the girl gave a neat, elegant bow before introducing herself.
"My name is Fran Banton. My father is Baron Banton, who governs Mente. Because my father values education, I was fortunate enough to begin learning magic early."
"Oh, Baron Banton’s daughter. In that case, it’s no surprise you can use magic. What kind do you use, Fran?"
"Ms. Colette, I have wind affinity, and I’ve already learned a first-circle wind spell."
She answered with perfect poise.
"Wind magic. Very nice. Would you show us?"
"It would be my pleasure."
Fran bowed again, then began her incantation.
"[ᚷᚲᚠᛏᛗᛜᚻᚠᛏᛖᛡᛣᛏᚠᚳᛜᚻᛄᚾ]"
"Wind."
Whoosh.
A gust spiraled out from Fran’s palm and kicked up a swirl of dust across the training grounds.
Clap clap clap.
This time the applause was much louder. Compared to Ande’s demonstration, Fran’s spell had far more visible flair.
"Excellent. Thank you, Fran, for that wonderful demonstration. You may return to the group."
Colette praised her with a smile.
"Thank you."
Fran gave another elegant bow, then turned and walked back toward the others.
As she passed Shulim, she shot her a challenging look and said under her breath, "This time, I won."
"Hmph."
Then she swept off with her head held high.
Shulim stared after her.
What was that supposed to mean?
She had absolutely no idea why Fran had suddenly huffed at her like that, much less what Fran thought she had won. As far as Shulim could remember, the two of them had never been competing over anything.
After thinking about it for a second, she decided not to bother with it.
At the front, Colette was still asking if anyone else could use magic.
Shulim, of course, could.
Not only could she use magic, she had already mastered a large number of second-circle spells.
But since she had already decided the day before to keep a low profile from now on, she had no intention of stepping forward.
"Nobody else?"
Colette’s gaze moved back and forth across the group.
The students started glancing around too.
"Wait... Shulim’s a noble too, isn’t she?"
"Right. Shulim probably knows magic too."
Shulim said nothing.
More and more eyes landed on her.
Even Colette had started looking straight at her now.
Left with no real choice, Shulim slowly raised her hand.
"Ms. Colette... I can too."
"Wonderful. Come on up, then."
Colette beckoned to her with a bright smile.
Shulim stepped through the crowd and soon stood at the front.
"Then first, what’s your name?"
Colette was still smiling.
"Shulim... Shulim Hayeral."
"I see. Shulim Hay... Hayeral?"
Colette’s smile suddenly stiffened, and her voice jumped up a few notes.
Shulim looked at her.
"Ms. Colette, is there something wrong with my name?"
"Uh, no. No, nothing at all..."
Colette forced an awkward smile.
"Right then. Shulim, what kind of magic can you use?"
"Magic..."
Shulim answered according to the plan she had already prepared.
"I can use Ignite, Illuminate, Cleanse, things like that."
"Oh, you know quite a few, don’t you? Ignite and Illumi..."
Colette froze.
"Wait. What exactly did you just say?"
She swore to herself that she had come fully prepared today. She had even rehearsed possible situations in advance. She had been absolutely certain she would leave these students with the impression of being a reliable, capable teacher.
And now, because of the same student for the second time, she was on the verge of losing her composure again.
Colette tried hard to steady herself and asked,
"No, wait. Hold on. Shulim, isn’t that a little strange? Didn’t you just say you can use three different elemental branches?"
Shulim nodded silently.
Truthfully, she did not especially want to reveal right away that she had multiple affinities.
But just as she and Semirys had discussed before, pretending to use only one element in public would actually make it easier for people to notice later that something was wrong. It was better to let people know from the start that she had more than one.
Three affinities were surprising, yes, but not so shocking that they would shake the world.
And the three she had chosen to reveal had a perfectly reasonable explanation.
The Hayeral family had historically produced many void-affinity users, while Lilia was a dual-affinity mage with light and fire. From a hereditary standpoint, no one would find it suspicious that Shulim had those three.
And once people were used to the idea that she was a multi-affinity mage, the risk of exposing her true all-element nature would go down a lot. Even if she accidentally let another element slip in public once in a while, most people would probably brush it aside because they already knew she could use more than one.
If she were pretending to be a single-affinity mage, though, the slightest inconsistency would stand out immediately.
For a moment, the training ground fell silent.
It was not just Colette.
Most of the students had already been in school for two years, and they knew that having multiple affinities was something very rare.
"Shulim..."
Colette’s tone had grown unexpectedly careful.
"Would you mind showing us?"
She did not even know why she was asking so cautiously.
"Yes, Ms. Colette."
Shulim nodded, then held out one hand and recited the incantation at speed.
"[ᛓᚠᛟᚾᚲתᛖᛜᚢᚪᛖᛡᛞᚠᛟᛃᛜᚣᚲ]"
"Ignite."
Fwoosh.
A blaze flared up in her palm.
At once, gasps and applause rippled through the group.
Colette, however, said nothing.
She was staring fixedly at the flame in Shulim’s hand, and inwardly, she was stunned.
These students were all still beginners, so they probably did not realize something important.
The same spell did not look the same in every caster’s hands.
For example, when Ande had used Ignite just now, it had produced a normal little flame in his palm. That was exactly what you would expect from an ordinary first-circle caster.
But what Shulim had just produced could hardly be called a little flame anymore.
It was practically a fireball.
And the kind of person who could push a first-circle spell that far was usually a mage of a much higher level.
The moment that thought crossed Colette’s mind, the way she looked at Shulim changed.