"Shulim."
Colette suddenly leaned in far too close and grabbed both of Shulim’s hands.
With her hands caught and Colette staring at her so intensely, Shulim felt herself grow nervous.
"...Ms. Colette?"
"Would you let me visit your house and see any heirlooms passed down from your ancestor?"
Shulim blinked.
"...Huh?"
At this point, Shulim was genuinely lost. She still had not quite adjusted to how abruptly this new teacher could change gears.
"Okay, yes, I know this is a little embarrassing."
Colette scratched the back of her head with one hand, looking oddly shy.
"But honestly, I’m a huge fan of your ancestor Orubet. Back in the royal capital, I used to read biographies about him all the time. I even wanted to visit the lands he once ruled, but apparently his descendants left that homeland decades ago, and there’s no trace of House Hayeral left there at all. I tried looking into it, but the Empire is so enormous that I couldn’t find anything useful. And then I end up taking a teaching post in this little town by pure chance, and suddenly I run into the Hayeral family, who had basically vanished. This really is divine guidance, isn’t it..."
The words poured into Shulim’s ears like a swarm of bees, so fast and so thick that they nearly wiped her mind blank.
"Um... I understand, Ms. Colette. We’ll invite you over, so could you maybe stop there..."
"Really? Then it’s settled. How about this weekend?"
Colette looked thrilled.
The dependable teacher she had seemed to be in class was nowhere to be seen now. At the moment, she was just an overexcited fan.
"That’s fine... yes, of course. I’ll tell Razelian and Lilia when I get home. I’m sure they’ll be happy to welcome you."
"Hehe. Really? Then I’ll look forward to it."
Colette still acted as though she felt awkward about asking, though Shulim very much wanted to point out that none of her behavior suggested embarrassment in the slightest.
After settling a time to visit the magic shop with Colette, Shulim left the school.
The moment she stepped outside the gate, though, someone blocked her path.
"Took you long enough. Do you really need that much time just to leave school, Shulim Hayeral?"
...
Looking at the blonde girl with twin ponytails standing there for some reason, Shulim could not help wondering why she was acting as though they had made plans and Shulim had stood her up.
"Fran, is there something you need?"
"Hmph. What’s with that attitude? You’re acting like you’re the annoyed one here."
...
Shulim very sincerely wanted to know whether something might actually be wrong with Fran Banton.
"Listen carefully, Shulim."
Fran drew herself up and put on a full, imposing air.
"Don’t think this means you’ve won."
Shulim stared at her.
"...?"
"Today I was just off my game, that’s why I lost to you. But I, Fran Banton, am absolutely not letting this go. Just wait. I’m going to keep my eyes on you, and I’m going to beat you. Remember that."
The moment she finished delivering her dramatic declaration, Fran turned and ran off before giving Shulim any chance to say a single word.
Shulim stood there staring after her retreating back.
Ah. She tripped.
So what exactly was all that about? Did she really wait for half the afternoon outside the school just to say something that strange to me?
"Miss, are you not taking the carriage today?"
At the street corner, a man dressed like a house steward was waiting for Fran.
"I’m not. Not tomorrow either. Or the day after. Starting today, I’m not taking it anymore, and you don’t have to come pick me up either."
"What? Why? Wait, miss, did you hurt yourself when you fell?"
"What are you talking about? I did not fall."
Fran snapped at him, then marched straight past.
Thunk.
"Oww."
"Oh no, the miss fell."
"Miss, are you all right?"
Fran was sprawled on the ground, eyes watering, one hand over her red nose as she whimpered, "Ugh... even the ground is bullying me. Stupid ground. Stupid Shulim. Just wait. Ugh..."
...
Later, in the forest...
"Oh, so that’s what this teacher is like. Honestly, she sounds kind of fun."
Semirys showed great interest in everything Shulim told her about the first day of magic class.
"But yes, Colette, right? She is correct about one thing. Since the opponents you train against are monsters, I nearly forgot that I should also teach you how to control your mana. That’ll make things a lot easier for you later."
Shulim sat beside the monster she had just defeated, quietly recovering her mana. Then, for some reason, she suddenly asked,
"Semirys, have you ever heard the name Orubet before?"
"Orubet? Who’s that? What about them?"
Semirys answered without thinking.
That figures.
How would Semirys know my ancestor? She only comes down once every five hundred years, and Orubet lived three hundred years ago. She wasn’t even in the mortal world then. If their lives had overlapped at all, then it would make sense that she’d heard the name.
Shulim immediately felt foolish for asking.
It was probably just Colette’s strange reaction that had stirred up her curiosity about her ancestor, and that had made her instinctively turn to Semirys, this living piece of history.
But just as she was thinking that, Semirys’s next reaction caught her completely off guard.
"Wait. Orubet..."
Semirys frowned hard in thought.
"That’s strange. Why does that name sound familiar somehow? Where have I heard it before?"
Shulim froze.
Semirys was actually thinking about it.
"Maybe I just heard it in passing somewhere. Otherwise why can’t I remember it properly? So, Shulim, who is this person, exactly?"
Shulim said nothing for a beat.
"Shulim? Hey, Shulim. What’s wrong? Why aren’t you saying anything?"
"...Just one of my family’s ancestors, that’s all. More importantly, do you have any advice about wands?"
"Your ancestor, huh? Then maybe I’m mixing it up with some other similar name. I’ve been around long enough that even my memories get messy."
For once, Semirys looked genuinely troubled.
"But wands... well, I’m a magical life-form, so I don’t need outside tools like that at all. I can’t really say I know them particularly well. For humans, though, they do seem pretty important. Let me think..."
Then her eyes lit up.
"Ah. Right. I remember Lavnrim has several Rank S wands made from the core of the World Tree. You could..."
Shulim just looked at her.
A World Tree. Rank S. Why does she think that’s something I can casually get near right now? And I only asked for advice, so why is she already sounding like she’s about to go fetch one for me?
"Uh... right. That might not really suit you at the moment. Ha. Haha."
Semirys laughed awkwardly.
"Oh, then I remember. There’s one sealed beneath the northern mountain range... no, that’s even less suitable."
"Hm. The White Tower has... or maybe I could just borrow one from Tiramshuin... wait, no, maybe the one in Milnabis would work. That one could work, but maybe not right now..."
"No. Please don’t."
Shulim cut in at once.
Semirys was getting more outrageous by the second, and Shulim genuinely feared she might actually disappear somewhere and come back with a wand that could never be safely used in public.
"I really only need an ordinary wand right now. Nothing too strong. I wouldn’t even be able to use something like that properly. And I already made plans with Ms. Colette, so you really don’t need to worry about the wand."
"Really? You really don’t want me to get you one? I could bring you back a truly incredible wand."
That is exactly the problem. If even the strongest fairy beneath the gods calls it incredible, how am I supposed to use something like that in public? It’d get me killed.
"I really don’t."
"Mmph. What a shame..."
Semirys looked genuinely disappointed.
It did not look like she had been joking. If anything, she seemed to have been fully prepared to act on those suggestions, and that sent a quiet chill down Shulim’s back.
"Ahem. Anyway, Semirys, it’s getting late. You should teach me mana control."
"Oh, right. Fine."
Semirys straightened up.
"So. The key to mana control is still mental force. You need to picture mana as a river, then use your mind to build dams across it, one after another, to regulate the flow..."