Colette stared at Shulim with burning intensity, as if the answer to that question mattered a great deal to her.
...
Hearing such an unexpected name come from the lips of her new teacher left Shulim genuinely stunned.
That was a name no one in town even seemed to know.
"...Orubet is my ancestor."
"So it really is true."
Colette jumped to her feet in excitement.
"So you really are descended from him. Then it all makes sense. If you’re his descendant, talent like this isn’t strange at all..."
Shulim was completely lost.
She had no idea why Colette would react so strongly just from hearing that she was descended from Orubet. Razelian had mentioned before that their ancestor had once achieved great things, but that had been three hundred years ago.
Three hundred years could erase a lot.
These days, the people of Mente did not even know who Orubet had been.
Even if House Hayeral wanted to tell those who looked down on them how brilliant their ancestor had once been, that glory belonged to the past. For a family that had declined this far, bringing it up only felt like rubbing salt into an old wound.
While Shulim was still trying to make sense of Colette’s reaction, Colette suddenly said something even more shocking.
"Shulim, you’ve already learned second-circle magic, haven’t you?"
"What?"
Shulim looked at her in alarm.
"How does Ms. Colette know that?"
"Oh, that part’s actually simple. You still haven’t learned how to control your spell output properly, have you? The level of those first-circle spells you demonstrated earlier wasn’t the kind of thing an ordinary first-circle mage could produce. That was already well into second-circle territory."
...
A mistake.
An unexpected one.
Shulim quietly reflected on it. She had not imagined she would expose herself in a place like this.
"...Ms. Colette, since you brought that up, do you have some reason for doing so?"
She could not help wanting to know what Colette was after.
"Mmm, I do have a reason."
So there really is a motive.
But what exactly on me is worth noticing to her? Is it just because I already know second-circle magic? Or is it something connected to Orubet? She reacted so strongly to that name. And Fran did mention she came from the royal capital. Coming all the way from the capital to a place this remote does sound a little suspicious...
"Honestly, I never imagined there’d already be a student who had mastered second-circle magic right at the start. I wasn’t prepared for that at all. Normally this is the kind of thing I wouldn’t even need to think about until next year."
Then Colette tilted her head.
"Shulim, you don’t have a wand yet, do you?"
"Huh? A... wand?"
The question cut straight through Shulim’s racing thoughts. One second she had nearly started imagining Colette as some hidden schemer, and the next her train of thought derailed completely.
"That’s right, a wand. I don’t know how far you’ve gone with second-circle magic, exactly, but if you’ve stepped into that level at all, then getting a wand of your own needs to move onto the schedule."
"Do you need a wand once you reach second-circle?"
Wait, what?
This is not going in the direction I expected at all. Is she actually concerned about me?
Shulim suddenly realized she might have completely misunderstood her teacher.
"Of course you do. Starting from second-circle, the spells you cast take much more time and mana. But in real situations, no one is going to give you that much time to stand there chanting, and the mana cost becomes a real problem too. That’s where a wand comes in."
"Every wand, even the most basic one, helps focus the mind. That speeds up casting, and it also reduces wasted mana when a spell is cast, which means it helps conserve your reserves. Higher-grade wands can even do things like amplify spell power."
As she spoke, Colette raised her own wand.
"Like mine. I’m a fire mage, and my wand boosts the strength of fire spells."
"You could say that for any mage, a wand is almost like a part of their life. It’s something they absolutely can’t do without. A swordsman without a sword hardly feels like a swordsman at all."
Shulim looked at the wand in Colette’s hand, its surface flickering with red light.
She felt a small flicker of envy.
A wand of my own...
That really doesn’t sound bad.
Still...
"Ms. Colette, if wands are normally used by mages who’ve already reached second-circle or higher, then wouldn’t it stand out too much if I got one now?"
That was the concern she voiced aloud.
Her real concern, of course, was that she did not want too many people learning what level she had actually reached.
"Mm... yes, that’s true. That is a problem."
Colette frowned.
"Almost everyone in your class hasn’t even properly begun learning magic yet. By the time they graduate, how many of them will actually reach second-circle is still an open question. If they find out someone here is already at a level they might not even reach by graduation, it could do a serious number on their confidence."
"Taking that into account, you’re right. It wouldn’t be a good idea for you to show up with a wand in front of everyone right now. But at the same time, I can’t let that hold you back either. So what’s the best solution..."
She stood there frowning hard as she thought.
Then her eyes lit up.
"Oh, right. Easy. You just don’t bring the wand to school."
"Huh? But if I don’t bring it, then how am I supposed to practice with it?"
"No, no, that’s exactly where you’re getting mixed up."
Colette wagged a finger.
"Wands are extremely important, yes, but what makes them important is the role they play in actual use. School is mainly a place for learning. Even if you don’t use a wand here, that’s completely fine. Honestly, in a school setting, wands aren’t even used that often."
"I see."
Shulim nodded slowly.
"So what you mean is that a wand is a weapon for battle, while school is where we improve our knowledge and abilities. When it comes to growing stronger, what matters most is still ourselves, whether we have a weapon or not."
"Uh... well..."
Colette hesitated.
"If that’s how you want to understand it, I suppose that works."
She felt Shulim was simplifying the role of a wand a little too much, but she could not immediately think of a cleaner way to explain it.
"I understand what you mean now, Ms. Colette. Then where am I supposed to get a wand?"
"Well... that’s the tricky part."
Colette looked troubled again.
"Normally, once a batch of students has advanced far enough and someone reaches second-circle, the school can file a request above. At that point, the Adventurers’ Guild provides a batch of basic wands. They’re not free, of course, but it’s still the cheapest and easiest chance to get one. It’s a privilege only prep school students get."
"But obviously, at this point in time, that option isn’t available yet. So if you want a wand now, you’ll need to look around at a magic shop yourself."
"Magic shops sell wands?"
Shulim let out a quiet breath of relief.
Not getting one through the school right away was fine. As long as they were not impossibly hard to obtain elsewhere, it was manageable.
"Normally they do," Colette said. "But I only arrived in this town recently, so I don’t know the local situation very well yet."
Then she brightened.
"How about this. One day soon, I’ll go with you to take a look. That way I can help you judge what’s worth buying."
"Really? Ms. Colette would help me with that? Then how should I thank you?"
Colette burst out laughing.
"Shulim, you’re far too serious. I’m your teacher. Helping my student is the natural thing to do. You don’t need to be so formal about it."
"I see..."
A teacher...
Looking at Colette, who still seemed a little scatterbrained but cared about others in her own way, Shulim felt she understood that word a little better than before.
Semirys is a teacher too...
No.
Mentor probably fits better.
"Oh, of course..."
Colette suddenly grinned.
"If you absolutely insist on thanking me, I wouldn’t object."
Shulim said nothing.