Colette fixed Hulim with an intense, eager gaze, as if the answer to her question mattered more than anything else.

  “......”

  Hulim stared back in surprise, caught off guard by the unexpected name coming from her new teacher’s lips. It was a name no one in the town had ever heard of.

  “......Olubert is my ancestor.”

  “I knew it!”

  Colette suddenly shot to her feet, her voice brimming with excitement.

  “You really are a descendant of that Olubert Heyerar! Everything makes sense now! If you’re his heir, it’s no wonder you possess such incredible talent......”

  Hulim blinked in confusion, completely at a loss for why her teacher was so thrilled to learn about her ancestor. True, her father had told her that Olubert had achieved glorious feats in his time—but that had been three hundred years ago. Three centuries were more than enough to fade even the brightest legacies into obscurity. These days, the townsfolk of Mentor Town had no idea who Olubert Heyerar had been.

  Even if she wanted to boast about her ancestor’s glory to those who looked down on her family, what would be the point? For the once-great Heyerar clan, now reduced to such humble circumstances, those old tales would only rub salt into their wounds.

  Before Hulim could wrap her head around Colette’s reaction, the teacher dropped another bombshell that left her utterly stunned.

  “You’ve already mastered second-tier magic, haven’t you, Hulim?”

  “Wha—”

  Hulim gaped at Colette, her eyes wide with shock.

  “How did you know that, Ms. Colette?”

  “It was easy to figure out, dear~. You haven’t quite learned how to control your magic output yet, have you? When you demonstrated those first-tier spells earlier, the power you unleashed was far beyond what a first-tier mage could manage. That level of precision and strength—you’re at least second-tier.”

  “......”

  What a blunder. A completely unexpected slip-up.

  Hulim chided herself silently. She’d never imagined she’d give away her true level so carelessly.

  “......Ms. Colette,” she asked cautiously, “why bring this up? Did you have something in mind?”

  She couldn’t help but wonder what Colette’s motive was.

  “Oh, I certainly do~!”

  So there was an agenda after all. But what could she possibly want from her? Was it because she’d already mastered second-tier magic at such a young age? Or was it because of her ancestor? Colette seemed unusually fixated on Olubert. Come to think of it, Fran had mentioned that Colette was from the Royal Capital. It was strange, wasn’t it? To travel all the way from the capital to this backwater town...... Could Colette be some kind of secret agent?

  “To tell you the truth, I never dreamed there’d be a student in a beginner’s magic class who’s already mastered second-tier magic! I was totally unprepared—this is a conversation I thought I wouldn’t have to have until next year at the earliest~. Say, Hulim—you don’t have a magic wand yet, do you?”

  “Huh? A mag—magic wand?”

  Hulim’s train of thought came to a screeching halt. One moment she’d been suspecting Colette of being some kind of mastermind; the next, the teacher was asking her about a magic wand. It was a complete non sequitur.

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  “That’s right, a magic wand! I don’t know exactly how advanced your second-tier magic is, but now that you’ve reached this level, getting a wand of your own should be your top priority.”

  “Umm—do you need a wand for second-tier magic?”

  Wait a minute. This wasn’t at all what she’d been expecting. Was Colette actually...... concerned about her?

  Hulim suddenly realized she might have completely misjudged her teacher.

  “Of course you do! Starting from second-tier, the spells we cast require far more time and mana to unleash. But in real combat or emergencies, we’ll never have the luxury of reciting long incantations. Plus, the enormous mana drain would be a huge problem. That’s where magic wands come in—they’re absolute lifesavers.”

  “Every magic wand, even the most basic one, helps you focus your mind, drastically speeding up your spell-casting time. They also effectively reduce mana waste, allowing you to conserve your energy. Higher-quality wands can even amplify the power of your spells, or grant all sorts of other useful effects.”

  As she spoke, Colette held up her own wand for Hulim to see.

  “Take my wand, for example. I’m a fire mage, so this wand amplifies the power of my fire spells.”

  “You could say that for a mage, a wand is part of their very being—indispensable. Just like a swordsman isn’t a swordsman without a sword.”

  Hulim stared at the wand in Colette’s hand, its surface shimmering with a faint red glow. A flicker of envy stirred in her heart. A wand of her own...... It sounded wonderful.

  But still......

  “Ms. Colette, wands are only for mages who’ve mastered second-tier magic or higher, right? If I get one now, wouldn’t that make me stand out way too much?”

  She voiced her concerns, though her real worry was drawing attention to her hidden strength.

  “Hmmm...... You’re absolutely right. That is a problem. Right now, most of your classmates haven’t even managed to cast their first spell yet. How many of them will reach second-tier by graduation is anyone’s guess. If they found out someone in their class is already at a level they can only dream of, it would crush their confidence completely.”

  “Given that, you’re definitely not supposed to show off a wand in front of everyone. But I can’t let that hold you back, either. What to do......”

  Colette frowned, tapping her chin as she wracked her brain for a solution.

  “Oh! I know! Hulim, you just don’t bring the wand to school! Problem solved!”

  Her eyes lit up suddenly, and she clapped her hands together triumphantly.

  “Huh? But if I don’t bring it to school, how can I practice with it?”

  “Ah-ah-ah! You’ve got it all wrong, Hulim! Magic wands are crucial, yes—but their most important role is in practical applications, like combat or missions. School is a place for learning—you don’t need a wand to study theory or hone your basic skills. In fact, wands are rarely used in the classroom at all!”

  “I see! So what you’re saying is, a wand is a weapon for battle, while school is a place to build up our knowledge and abilities. True improvement comes from within, not from the tools we wield.”

  “Umm...... Well, that’s one way to put it, I suppose.”

  Colette felt like Hulim’s analogy oversimplified the wand’s purpose a bit, but she couldn’t quite think of a better way to explain it.

  “I understand now, Ms. Colette. So where should I go to get a magic wand?”

  Hulim asked, eager to move forward.

  “That’s the tricky part......”

  Colette’s expression fell again, back to looking troubled.

  “Normally, once most of your class has a solid grasp of magic and some of you reach second-tier, we can apply to the higher-ups for a batch of basic wands. The Adventurers’ Guild provides them—they’re not free, but it’s the cheapest and easiest way to get a wand. It’s a privilege only reserved for students at the Preliminary Academy.”

  “But obviously, we can’t do that right now. So, Hulim, your only option is to check out the local Magical Artifact Shop.”

  “They sell wands there?”

  Hulim let out a sigh of relief. If she couldn’t get a wand through the school right now, it wasn’t the end of the world—as long as she could find one somewhere else without too much trouble.

  “They should......” Colette replied hesitantly. “But I just moved to this town recently, so I’m not really familiar with the local shops yet......”

  “Wait a minute! I know!”

  Colette snapped her fingers, a bright smile returning to her face.

  “How about this? Sometime soon, I’ll go with you to the Magical Artifact Shop. I can help you pick out a good wand—give you some expert advice!”

  “Really? You’d do that for me, Ms. Colette? How can I ever thank you?”

  “Hahaha~! You’re far too formal, Hulim! I’m your teacher! Helping my students is part of the job—it’s only natural! You don’t have to thank me at all!”

  “I see......”

  A teacher......

  Hulim looked at Colette—who seemed a little flighty and disorganized, but who clearly cared about her students in her own way—and felt a new sense of understanding about what that word truly meant.

  Semiris...... She was like a teacher too, wasn’t she? No—master felt like a more fitting title.

  “Although~! If you insist on thanking me, I suppose I wouldn’t say no~.”

  Hulim: “......”