......

  While Colette had seemed completely unreliable at first glance, once she actually started teaching, that impression vanished without a trace.

  “Before we begin formal instruction, I have a question for all of you. Is there anyone here who has already mastered the art of magic?”

  As soon as Colette posed the question, the students broke into a murmur of discussion.

  “Does anyone here actually know magic?”

  “Hey, Ander—didn’t you say you already learned how to cast spells?”

  “Yeah, Ander! Show everyone what you can do!”

  Amidst the chatter of several boys, a young man with chestnut hair stood forward. His name was Ander.

  “Ms. Colette, I can use magic.”

  “Oh~! Your name is Ander, is it? What kind of magic can you perform? Would you mind showing the class?”

  “Of course, Ms. Colette.”

  Ander nodded, then turned to face the crowd, his posture brimming with confidence.

  “My parents are both Rank C adventurers, so they’ve been teaching me magic theory since I was little. Now I’ve mastered a First-Tier Fire Spell. Watch closely, everyone—”

  Ander struck a dramatic pose, extending his right hand.

  “【???????????????????】”

  “Flame!”

  WHOOSH!

  A small cluster of fire flickered to life in his palm.

  “Whoa! That’s awesome!”

  Ander’s friends immediately cheered him on, and many of the other students broke into applause as well. Even though it was just a basic first-tier spell, it still put him head and shoulders above those who hadn’t mastered any magic at all.

  Colette smiled approvingly.

  “Well done, Ander. Thank you for that demonstration. You may return to your place now.”

  “Yes, Ms. Colette.”

  As Ander rejoined the crowd, Colette turned to the class once more. “Any other students who can use magic?”

  “Teacher! I can do it too!”

  A small hand shot up eagerly from the throng of students.

  “Wonderful! Please come to the front, young lady.”

  A moment later, Fran—the golden-haired girl with twin pigtails—stepped proudly into the spotlight.

  Colette smiled at her warmly. “What’s your name, dear?”

  Fran curtsied gracefully, her every movement oozing aristocratic poise as she introduced herself. “I am Fran Banton. My father is Baron Banton, the administrator of Mentor Town. Thanks to his emphasis on education, I have had the privilege of learning magic from a very young age.”

  “Oh! The daughter of Baron Banton! That explains why you’ve mastered magic so early,” Colette replied with a nod. “What type of magic do you wield, Fran?”

  “Ms. Colette, I possess Wind Affinity. I’ve already learned a First-Tier Wind Spell.”

  Fran answered with perfect decorum.

  “Wind magic, huh? Impressive. Would you mind showing us?”

  “It would be my honor.”

  Fran curtsied again, then began to chant her incantation.

  “【???????????????????】”

  “Winds Arise!”

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  WHOOSH!

  A small cyclone burst forth from her palm, swirling outward and kicking up a cloud of dust across the training ground.

  CLAP! CLAP! CLAP......

  A round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the crowd. Compared to Ander’s modest flame, Fran’s spell was far more visually striking.

  “Bravo! Absolutely splendid, Fran. Thank you for that wonderful demonstration. You may go back now.”

  Colette praised her effusively, a bright smile on her face.

  “Thank you.”

  Fran curtsied one last time, then turned to head back to her spot in the crowd.

  As she passed Hulim, she shot her a triumphant, challenging glare, then whispered softly, loud enough only for Hulim to hear. “I win this round~!”

  “Hmph~!”

  With that, she flipped her hair and marched away, her head held high.

  Hulim: “?”

  Hulim was completely bewildered. She had no idea what Fran was talking about, or what exactly she’d “won.” As far as she could recall, she’d never agreed to any sort of competition with the girl.

  After a moment’s confused thought, Hulim shrugged it off and turned her attention back to the front of the crowd, where Colette was still asking if anyone else knew magic.

  Hulim could use magic—far more than just the basics, in fact. She’d already mastered a number of Second-Tier Spells. But ever since she’d made the decision to keep a low profile starting yesterday, she had no intention of stepping forward to show off her abilities.

  “No other students who can use magic?~”

  Colette’s gaze swept across the sea of faces, searching for any volunteers.

  The students began to glance at each other, murmuring quietly.

  “Wait a second...... Isn’t Hulim a noble too?”

  “Yeah! If she’s a noble, she must know magic, right?”

  Hulim: “......”

  She could feel more and more eyes landing on her—even Colette’s gaze had locked onto her now. Reluctantly, Hulim raised her hand.

  “Ms. Colette... I can use magic too......”

  “Great! Come on up, young lady~!”

  Colette waved her over with a warm, inviting smile.

  Hulim threaded her way through the crowd, quickly stepping up to the front beside the teacher.

  “Now then, what’s your name, dear?”

  Colette asked, her smile still firmly in place.

  “Hulim...... Hulim Heyerar.”

  “I see~. Hulim He... Heyerar?!?”

  Colette’s smile froze for a split second, and her voice rose involuntarily by several octaves.

  “Um... Ms. Colette? Is there something wrong with my name?”

  “N-No! Nothing at all! It’s a lovely name!” Colette stammered, forcing an awkward smile. “So, Hulim—what kind of magic can you do?”

  “As for magic... I know simple spells like Ignite, Illuminate, and Cleanse.”

  Hulim replied calmly, sticking to the story she and Semiris had rehearsed.

  “Oh~! You know quite a few spells, Hulim! Ignite and Illumi—wait a minute! Did you just say three different types of magic?!”

  Colette swore she’d prepared thoroughly for this class. She’d even run through potential scenarios in her head, confident that she’d make a reliable, competent impression on her students.

  But because of one single person, she’d nearly lost her composure—not once, but twice.

  Colette took a deep breath to steady her nerves, then pressed on, her voice trembling slightly with excitement.

  “N-No! Wait a second! Hulim, did I hear you correctly? Are you saying you can wield three different elemental affinities?!”

  Hulim nodded silently.

  She hadn’t wanted to reveal that she could use three different elements right off the bat. But as she and Semiris had discussed, limiting herself to just one element in public would actually be more suspicious in the long run. It was far better to let people know she was a multi-element mage from the start.

  While being a three-element mage was certainly impressive, it was by no means unheard of. It was definitely not the earth-shattering revelation that an omni-element mage would be.

  What’s more, her three-element affinity had a perfectly reasonable explanation. The Heyerar family had always produced mostly non-elemental mages, but her mother Lilia was a dual-element mage with both Light and Fire Affinity. From a genetic standpoint, it made perfect sense for Hulim to inherit those three affinities. No one would bat an eye.

  And once everyone knew she was a multi-element mage, the risk of her omni-element secret being exposed would drop dramatically. After all, if she accidentally used another element in public someday, people would just assume it was another one of her affinities—something that would never fly if she’d claimed to be a single-element mage.

  A heavy silence fell over the training ground.

  It wasn’t just Colette who was stunned. Even the students, who’d been at the academy for two years, knew that multi-element mages were an extremely rare breed.

  “Um... Hulim? Would you... would you mind showing us?”

  Colette asked, her voice uncharacteristically tentative. She wasn’t even sure why she was being so cautious.

  “Of course, Ms. Colette.”

  Hulim nodded, then extended her right hand and chanted her incantation in a clear, steady voice.

  “【???????????????????】”

  “Ignite!”

  WHOOSH!

  A ball of flame burst to life in her palm—bright, fierce, and burning steadily.

  Gasps and applause erupted from the crowd immediately. But Colette didn’t join in. Her eyes were fixed intently on the flame in Hulim’s hand, her expression unreadable. Inside, however, she was reeling with shock.

  The other students were still too new to magic to realize it, but there was a world of difference between how two mages could cast the exact same spell.

  Take Ander’s Ignite spell, for example. It had been nothing more than a tiny flicker of fire in his palm—which was the standard level of power for a first-tier mage.

  But Hulim’s Ignite spell was not a mere flicker. It was a full-fledged Fireball—the kind of power that usually only higher-tier mages could muster when casting a first-tier spell......

  As this realization sank in, Colette’s gaze on Hulim grew increasingly complicated.