“Um, Student Shulim!”
Collette suddenly leaned in extremely close, grabbing both of Shulim's hands in her own.
Facing her tightly gripped hands and Collette's intense gaze, Shulim couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
“...Teacher Collette?”
“Could you let me visit your estate to pay my respects to your ancestor's heirloom?”
Shulim: “...Eh?”
Shulim was completely dazed. She felt she couldn't quite adjust to this new teacher's eccentric, hyperactive personality.
“Ah~! It's actually a bit embarrassing to admit~!”
Collette let go with her right hand and scratched her head with an embarrassed expression. “But to be honest, I'm a huge fan of your ancestor, Lord Orubet! Back in the royal capital, I used to read Lord Orubet's biography all the time. I originally wanted to travel to his former fief, but I didn't expect that his descendants would have left their ancestral land decades ago. Not a single trace of the Hayeral family remained there. Even when I tried to investigate, I couldn't find any information in such a massive empire. I never thought that coming to this tiny town to teach would be a sheer coincidence that led me to the long-lost Hayeral family. This must be the guidance of the Gods...”
Collette's words buzzed like a swarm of bees, rapidly drilling into Shulim's ears and nearly turning her brain completely blank.
“Um, I understand, Teacher Collette. I'll invite you over as a guest, so could you please stop talking now...?”
“Really?! Then it's a promise! How about this weekend?”
Collette looked ecstatic. The reliable, teacher-like demeanor she had shown in class earlier seemed to have completely vanished, replaced by that of a brainless, starstruck fan.
“No problem... Of course. I'll tell my parents when I go home. They will definitely welcome you, Teacher Collette.”
“Hehehe~! Really~? Then I'll be looking forward to it~!”
Collette still wore an embarrassed expression, but Shulim really wanted to tell her that there wasn't a single shred of actual embarrassment in her actions.
After arranging a time to visit the magic item shop with Collette, Shulim left the school.
But the moment she stepped out of the school gates, she was blocked by someone waiting for her.
“Too slow! How dare you keep me waiting for so long! Does leaving the school gates really take you that much time, Shulim Hayeral?!”
“...”
Staring at the blonde, twin-tailed girl blocking her path for some unknown reason, Shulim couldn't help but wonder why she was acting as if Shulim had stood her up when they hadn't made any promises to begin with.
“Student Fran, is there something you need?”
“Hmph! What's with that attitude? You're acting as if you're the one who's annoyed!”
“...”
Shulim really wanted to know if there was something wrong with Fran Bandun.
“Listen up, Shulim!”
Fran struck a mighty, imposing pose. “Don't think you've won just like this!”
Shulim: “...?”
“I was just off my game today, which is the only reason I lost to you! But I, the great Fran Bandun, will never let this go! Just you wait! I, Fran Bandun, will keep a close eye on you and absolutely defeat you! Mark my words!!!”
As soon as she finished venting her threats, Fran turned and trotted away, without giving Shulim even a single chance to respond.
Shulim stood frozen on the spot, watching the girl's retreating figure. Ah, she tripped and fell... So what on earth was she doing? Did she really wait at the school gates for ages just to deliver a bunch of bizarre, incomprehensible threats?
“Ah, My Lady, are you not taking the carriage today?”
At the end of the street, a man dressed as a butler was waiting for Fran.
“I'm not! Not tomorrow, and not the day after, either! Starting today, I'm never taking the carriage again, and none of you need to come pick me up anymore!”
“Ah? Why?! Wait a moment, My Lady, did you injure yourself from a fall?”
“What nonsense! I didn't fall down!”
Fran snapped angrily at the butler, then pushed past him and marched straight ahead.
Thud!
“Kyaah!”
“Oh no! Her Ladyship has fallen!”
“My Lady, are you alright?!”
Sprawled on the ground, Fran held her reddened nose with teary eyes, whimpering, “Ugh~, dammit! Even the ground is bullying me! Stupid ground, stupid Shulim, just you wait! Waaah~...”
...
...
In the forest,
“My, what an interesting teacher. She sounds like quite the character.”
Semilis showed a great deal of interest in Shulim's experiences on her first day of magic class.
“But that girl Collette was right about one thing. Since your practice targets have all been monsters, I almost forgot that I should teach you magic control techniques. It will make things much easier for you in the future.”
Shulim, who was sitting next to the freshly defeated monster to recover her mana, looked up at Semilis floating in the air. For some reason, a sudden thought struck her, and she asked:
“Hey, Semilis, have you ever heard the name Orubet?”
“Orubet? Who's that? Did something happen to him?”
Semilis replied instinctively.
As expected. How could Semilis possibly know about my ancestor? After all, Semilis only descends to the mortal realm once every five hundred years, whereas my ancestor was a figure from three hundred years ago. Semilis wasn't even in the mortal realm at that time. It would only make sense for her to have heard of him if their active eras had overlapped.
Shulim felt she had asked a stupid question.
It was likely Teacher Collette's bizarre reaction that had sparked her curiosity regarding her ancestor's life, prompting her to instinctively query Semilis, who was essentially a living history book.
However, just as Shulim thought this, Semilis's next reaction caught her completely off guard.
“Wait, Orubet... That's strange. Why do I feel like I've heard that name somewhere? Where was it?”
Semilis actually looked like she was racking her brain to remember.
“I must have heard it somewhere in passing, otherwise there's no reason I wouldn't remember. By the way, Shulim, who exactly is this person?”
Shulim: “...”
“Shulim? Hey, Shulim, what's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?”
“...Just one of my family's ancestors. More importantly, do you have any good recommendations for a wand, Semilis?”
“Oh, an ancestor of yours? Then I must have confused it with a similar name. Having lived through too many things is truly a hassle.”
Semilis wore a rare, troubled expression.
“But, a wand... Since I'm a fairy—a magical lifeform—I have absolutely no need for external tools like wands. So I can't say I'm very knowledgeable about them. But to you humans, wands do seem rather important. Let me think—”
“Ah! Right, I recall there are a few S-Class wands made from the core of the World Tree stored in Ravenrim. You could...”
Shulim: “...”
Shulim silently stared at Semilis.
The World Tree? S-Class? Why would she think those are things I can lay my hands on right now? And I was only asking for some advice; why does she sound like she's about to go fetch one for me?
“Uh... I suppose that might not be very suitable for you right now, ha~, haha~.”
Semilis chuckled awkwardly.
“Oh, right, I remember now! Sealed beneath the northern mountain range, there is a...” She paused. “Uh, that seems even less appropriate.”
“Hmm, the White Tower has... Or maybe I should just borrow one from Tiramsuin... Wait, maybe the one in Mirnabis would be better. That one is doable, but it doesn't seem like a good time right now...”
“No, it's fine! You don't need to worry about the wand, Semilis!”
Seeing Semilis veer further and further into absurdity, Shulim was genuinely worried that the fairy would fly off to some random place and borrow a wand that couldn't possibly be shown in public. Thus, she hurriedly spoke up to stop her.
“I can just use a normal wand for now. I don't need anything that strong, and I wouldn't even be able to use it anyway. Besides, I've already made arrangements with Teacher Collette, so you don't have to worry about this, Semilis!”
“Eh? Are you sure you don't want my help finding a wand? I can get you an incredibly powerful one!”
That was exactly the problem. How was she supposed to use a wand in public when even the Fairy Queen, the strongest entity beneath the Gods, described it as "powerful"? It would be the death of her...
“Really, it's fine!”
“Aw, what a pity...”
Semilis looked thoroughly disappointed. Seeing that she had truly intended to go and get one, a cold sweat broke out down Shulim's back.
“Cough, anyway, Semilis, it's getting late. Why don't you teach me those magic control techniques instead?”
“Oh right! Okay, anyway, the key to magic control lies in your mental strength. You need to visualize your mana as a river, and then use your mind to construct dams across that river to regulate its flow...”
Rate on N.U.
