A small gathering of young women met in the rear garden of the Mercure estate. Well, a “gathering” was a grand word for it; it was just me, Ahn, and the other two. I would be teaching them some magic today. The three of them periodically came to visit to learn something new, which also gave us an opportunity to catch up.
Having just had their mana unsealed recently, they weren’t at a level where they could use proper spells yet. So far, I had mostly given them lectures on how to use certain magic items, as anyone could operate those as long as they had mana.
“All righty, today we’ll move on to actual spell learning,” I announced.
The three women seemed ecstatic to hear that they would finally perform actual magic.
“Cool! We can finally use our powers!”
“I want to learn that spell you used to turn alcohol into juice!”
“And I want to learn techniques to repel perverts in the streets!”
I gave them a big nod.
“Noted. Then, today, we shall work on spells to transform liquids, as well as how to make shock waves using Wind Magic.”
I didn’t know if they would be able to perfect either today, but we would still give it a try.
The little ones eventually mastered them when I made it look like a game.
It was always easier learning spells when one was interested in them, after all.
I was looking forward to seeing how Ahn’s and the other two’s talents would blossom.
“First you do this, then this, and lastly, this!” I explained, giving them a demonstration of the antipervert wind spell.
I’d teach them the spell to transform liquid later, once we moved indoors.
“Wow, that’s so cool! We could even have sent that pervert of a former captain flying with that spell!”
I chuckled. “You could’ve.”
As we laughed and worked on the spell, I suddenly spotted three of Épée’s subordinates making their way over toward the mansion from the next island over.
Did Épée send them on an errand? I wondered.
His men often came to gift us magic items or rare food and to play with the children. Despite their scary exterior, they had been quite nice and well-behaved so far.
“Oh, ma’am!” they said by way of greeting when they spotted me.
“Hello. Did Épée send you here?” I asked.
“Nah, we’re just here to bring candy to the kids. We promised ’em we would the last time we came over to play, and...” The man froze in the middle of his sentence when his gaze landed on Ahn and my other two guests. “G-Girls! Girls other than the ma’am and the little ones at the Mercure estate!”
Oh, right, the two groups had never met before.
“They’re my friends. I’m currently teaching them magic.” I gestured toward Ahn. “This is the new head of the schoolhouse dormitory. She looks after the children. As for the other two, one of them is a maid at the Lèvres palace, and the other is a knight in training.”
For some reason, the men let out ecstatic roars at my explanation. What could have made them so happy, I wondered.
“Ma’am, are your friends married too?” one asked.
“No, they’re all single. They’re from Hanche, and they’ve come to Lèvres to look for work.”
Another roar. I truly didn’t understand what was causing them such excitement.
“Um, can we introduce ourselves to them?”
“Of course. I’d love it if you could get along and teach them all sorts of spells.”
“Hell yeah! Thanks, ma’am!”
In high spirits, the three of them went to introduce themselves to Ahn and the others. I noticed that they were acting much more courteous than usual. My friends seemed a little wary at first, but it didn’t take long for them to relax and lower their guard. Épée’s men even agreed to let Ahn and the others test out the wind spell on them—using magic to protect themselves, of course.
After that, they accompanied us indoors and volunteered to act as taste testers for the wine transformation spell. Overall, this lesson went much smoother than I expected. During the class, I took it upon myself to teleport the snacks they’d brought to the children.
My next lesson with Ahn and the others saw even more of Épée’s men joining in, and it wasn’t long before I had a full house during my classes.
Sometimes, Épée himself came to visit me during my lessons, perhaps out of concern for his underlings who regularly went missing.
“You’d better not bother Aurora or I’ll kill you all,” he warned them.
“Of course not, boss!”
“We won’t, boss!”
He even helped me with my lectures sometimes. Perhaps because he was my first disciple, Ahn and the others seemed to look up to him quite a bit.
All in all, I was getting along quite nicely with my friends and neighbors.
As a sidenote, these days, I often came across subordinates of Épée taking care of odd jobs around the schoolhouse, who claimed to be there to “Help Miss Ahn.”