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  ......

  According to the calendar of Himril, a year consists of 360 days, divided into twelve months, and each month is split into several weeks. A week has seven days in total, named in the order of the six gods.

  They are as follows: Monday is Origin Day, named after Terra, the Earth Mother Goddess who is said to have created this world; Tuesday is Order Day, named after Taita, the God of Order who governs and upholds the world’s laws; Wednesday is Renewal Day, named after Helim, the Goddess of Life who breathes vitality into all living things; Thursday is Harvest Day, named after Michester, the God of Hunting and Freedom; Friday is Baptism Day, named after Soto, the God of Forging and War; and Saturday is Enlightenment Day, named after Visos, the God of Mystery and Wisdom.

  As for the seventh day, it is the day of rest for all gods—Sabbath Day.

  Mentor Town,

  On Enlightenment Day (Saturday).

  There were no classes at the Preliminary Academy that day.

  While many places only gave leave on Sabbath Day, more places observed both Enlightenment Day and Sabbath Day as holidays—the Preliminary Academy included, which followed a five-day school week.

  Taking advantage of the day off, Hulim and Colette met at their agreed-upon spot.

  It was the only magical artifact shop in Mentor Town—Tall Grass Magical Artifact Shop.

  “You’re here early, Hulim~! There’s still plenty of time before our scheduled meeting, isn’t there?”

  Colette was dressed in casual clothes today, looking just like any ordinary lady out for a stroll—though she still had her magic wand with her.

  “Good day, Ms. Colette. I just live far from here, so I left home early—that’s why I arrived ahead of time. Also, thank you for taking the time to come with me today.”

  Hulim replied politely.

  As mentioned before, the Heyerar Estate was located on the southeastern edge of Mentor Town, while this shop—the only magical artifact store in town—was on the northwestern edge. To get here, Hulim had to cross the entire town.

  The Preliminary Academy was also in the northwest part of town, but it was near the center, so Hulim only had to walk about half the distance she did today on her usual school days.

  “Alright, no time to waste—let’s go inside!”

  With that, Colette headed straight for the shop door.

  Jingle~!

  The wind chime above the door rang out with a clear, crisp sound.

  “Welcome! How may I assist you two today?”

  As soon as they stepped inside, a young woman greeted them with a warm, enthusiastic smile.

  Hulim glanced around the shop.

  It was spacious, bright, and spotlessly clean, and the shop assistant was so friendly and welcoming. It was hard to believe such a tiny town could have two such drastically different shops.

  It was no wonder that stingy old man never had any customers.

  Hulim thought to herself, while on the other side of the shop, Colette was already talking to the assistant.

  “We’re looking to buy a magic wand. Do you have any in stock?”

  “Magic wands? Of course we do! Right this way, please.”

  The assistant led them to the back of the shop.

  Before they even got close, Hulim could already sense a variety of mana fluctuations coming from that area.

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  “These are all......”

  Hulim’s eyes lit up slightly. Against the back wall, behind a transparent display case, stood a row of wands, each with a unique design.

  “Whoa~! Not bad at all! This shop has quite a nice selection of wands!”

  Colette praised, relieved—she had been worried that a small town like this wouldn’t have any decent wands to sell.

  “Thank you for your compliment, ma’am. Our shop was established here back when the Mentor Mine was being developed. At the time, there were plenty of missions to guard the mine, which drew a large number of adventurers to the area. That created a high demand for our products, so compared to shops in other towns of similar size, we have a much better selection of wands in terms of both quality and quantity.”

  “Although the Mentor Mine dried up a few years ago, and the demand for our goods dropped sharply, for various reasons, we still keep a fairly large stock of wands. I can’t guarantee we have the exact wand you’re looking for, but I’m sure we have something that will suit your needs.”

  “Oh~! You’re quite confident, aren’t you? Well then, could you show us a wand suitable for a second or third-tier mage? I assume you have those?”

  Impressed by the assistant’s confidence, Colette asked, eager to test out some of the wands.

  “Certainly.”

  The assistant nodded with a smile.

  “What type of wand are you looking for, ma’am?”

  “Hmmm...... Hulim, what kind of wand do you want?”

  Colette turned to ask Hulim.

  Hulim thought for a moment, then looked up and said,

  “I don’t know much about wands. Do you have any recommendations, Ms. Colette?”

  “I see. Let me think...... You have fire, light, and non-elemental affinities...... In that case, I’d recommend a fire-affinity wand for you.”

  Colette didn’t suggest a fire-affinity wand because she wanted Hulim to specialize solely in fire magic—it had to do with the nature of wands themselves.

  Among the seven elements of Himril, non-elemental magic was generally considered exclusive to warriors. As such, those with non-elemental affinity didn’t use wands; they typically wielded physical weapons like swords.

  Besides non-elemental, light and dark affinities were also quite special—because people with these two affinities were overwhelmingly rare compared to those with the other five elements. So rare, in fact, that they were almost never seen in daily life.

  What’s more, it was worth noting that once light-affinity magic reached the third tier, it would unlock spells with healing properties. For this reason, light-affinity magic was also known as healing magic. Most people with a light-affinity talent of C-rank or higher were recruited by the Seven Heavens Church to become clerics.

  The wands they used were also different from those for the four primary elements—they were mostly holy staves that enhanced healing abilities. These staves were almost exclusively in the hands of the Church, and were rarely seen among the general public.

  As for dark affinity, while there was no centralized organization like the Church for dark mages, dark-affinity magic also unlocked curse-based spells once it reached C-rank. Additionally, most dark-affinity magic leaned toward stealth, so dark mages generally preferred to operate in secret.

  In such cases, a prominent wand like those used for the four primary elements was clearly unsuitable. That’s why dark-affinity wands were almost always small—small enough to be hidden on one’s person. More often than not, people didn’t realize someone was a dark mage until they pulled a wand out of their pocket—and by then, it was already too late.

  “A fire-affinity wand...... Miss, could you please show me one?”

  Hulim thought it over, then looked up at the assistant, deciding she’d make her final judgment after testing it out in person.

  “Of course! Please wait just a moment!”

  The assistant replied with a smile, then turned and walked behind the display case, taking down a wand topped with a red crystal.

  “Here you go, miss.”

  The assistant handed the wand to Hulim.

  Hulim took it, feeling its weight in her hand. It was a little heavy, and a warm sensation spread from her palm up her arm. It was slightly too long for her current height, but in another two years, it would be just right.

  “May I test it out?”

  Hulim looked up at the assistant again and asked.

  “Absolutely! We have an empty courtyard at the back of the shop. Follow me if you’d like to give it a try.”

  The assistant led Hulim and Colette to the courtyard behind the shop.

  Hulim glanced around—there was plenty of space. She raised the wand, then looked over at Colette for guidance.

  Colette instructed her, “Cast a spell just like you normally do, but visualize the magic flowing out from the tip of the wand.”

  “I understand, Ms. Colette.”

  Hulim nodded, then focused her attention on the wand in her hand.

  Should I use a second-tier spell? No...... I’ll start with a first-tier spell for now. I can try second-tier later.

  With that thought, Hulim quickly began chanting the incantation.

  The moment she started, she noticed the difference between casting with a wand and casting without one. Her mind felt clearer, her focus sharper, and her thoughts seemed to move much faster.

  “【???????????????????】”

  “Ignite!”

  Whoosh!

  A flame burst to life at the tip of the wand. The casting speed was at least a third faster than usual.

  Staring at the spell she’d cast, Hulim noticed other differences as well. First, there was the mana cost—though first-tier spells barely drained her mana these days, she could still tell that the consumption was slightly lower than when she cast the spell bare-handed.

  Second, there was the power. The flame was noticeably larger than when she cast it without a wand. If her normal first-tier Ignite had been somewhere between a spark and a fireball, this one was a full-fledged fireball.

  The effects of a wand...... were truly astounding.