Josephine was trying to improve her concentration and imagination…

　What!

　She asked for Lou.

　Bluntly speaking, Josephine looked beautiful.

　She had waist-length strawberry blonde hair.

　At first glance, she was seemingly cold, but she had a beautiful face with a well-defined nose.

　When she smiled, her appearance could be strongly attractive to men.

　Her figure was outstanding, and she didn’t lose to Liliane-sensei’s ‘cow’-like breasts.

　She, too, was aware of her beauty. 

　She was absolutely convinced that Lou would do as he was told.

　Thus, she had an absurdly smug look on her face.

　However, Lou responded curtly.

“Hahaha, I’m honored that you chose me, but I’m going to have to decline.”

　His response upset Josephine, to the point where she trembled pitifully on the side.

　Up until now, everything had always been going her way, but when she talked to Lou, the pace kept getting out of control.

“W-Why?! It’s I who’s asking you! Josephine Gallois, daughter of the eminent Count of Gallois!”

“No, I’m the teacher of all the students in Class 2C, along with Francesca-sensei. Even though you’re the daughter of a nobleman, I can’t give you special treatment.”

　Josephine hung her head dejectedly when she was rejected outright… but

　Lou stood in front of her and tapped her gently on the shoulder.

“Ah!”

　Feeling the warmth from his hand, Josephine couldn’t help but look up at Lou.

　Lou smiled at her.

“Josephine, I’ll be watching you closely too.”

“Huh?”

“You’re one of my precious students.”

“……..”

　When Lou told Josephine that she was a ‘precious student’, she fell silent.

　On the one hand, she was honestly happy, but on the other hand, she felt very inadequate.

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ 

　And so it went…

　After rereading the contents of the textbook, each student started the training.

　People who got caught up in distractions and got bored easily were ill-suited to be wizards.

　Also, ’emptying one’s mind’ didn’t mean mindlessly looking at things with a blank stare.

　All the students had various objects on their desks that they were staring at.

　There was a piece of jewelry that someone wore on them.

　There was a magic wand someone loved to use.

　But there was nothing on Josephine’s desk.

　What kind of parents gave birth to Lou? Also, where and how did he grow up?　

　How old is he now, and what are his favorite foods and hobbies?

　What is his relationship with Francesca?

　Does he have a deep connection with a woman, a so-called lover?

　And how does he feel about me?

　If Josephine, like Fran, wanted to think about Lou purely and wholeheartedly…

　This was what would happen.

　However, these were not the reasons why Josephine initially became interested in Lou.

　After their first period, Monique, one of her cronies, said…

　Lou was both their teacher and a servant of their school’s acting principal, Francesca.

　Like a child who was easily piqued and roused…

　Josephine was only a bit intrigued by Fran’s follower, a man named Lou.

　He’s not much of a man anyway, not under my charms…He’s gullible.

　And so she planned…

　She would just mess with Lou and try to make fun of that pompous, snooty acting principal…She thought confidently.

　However, Lou easily declined Josephine’s invitation and deftly dismissed her.

　When something like this happened, Josephine’s stubborn streak surfaced.

　For some reason, she found it regrettable that Lou was now Fran’s servant.

　When something belonged to someone, one would desire it more…

　It was a common occurrence, not just with her, which was a sad fact about human nature.

　Josephine was still following Lou with her eyes, seeing him as her study subject.

　Luu was now teaching Esther Lejeune, the class president.

　Lou heard from Fran during their preliminary meeting of the class.

　Esther was the peacemaker of Class 2C, and she had a few quirks of her own.

　As was usual in this academy where the aristocracy was dominant, Esther would stop someone like Josephine and the others when they were going out of control.

　Her grades were excellent, and she was always in the top five of her grade.

　Although she was born into the Baron of Lejeune family, she treated everyone in her class equally, regardless of their status.

　Therefore, she was well-liked by everyone.

　However, from what Lou saw of Esther, she was not fully cooperating with Fran.

“Thank you for your help earlier.”

“No, I still have a long way to go. Let’s do our best, Esther.”

　Esther’s magical attribute was earth, and her semi-attribute was water.

　She wanted to work for the Engineering Ministry under the jurisdiction of the royal family in the future.

　She wanted to work in construction, development, and irrigation, using her magical attributes.

　Esther seemed to have taken a liking to Lou after he listened to her dream.

　She smiled happily at him.

“I’m not saying that Lou-sensei is inexperienced, but with you here…”

　Esther looked around and made sure that Fran was far away…

　She lowered her voice and began to speak.

“Francesca-sensei’s teaching was all about following the textbook, so yours was amazingly refreshing.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! I … I have this feeling that the exercise I just did will help me get started!”

　Esther had no aptitude for the wind attribute.

　But it was definitely the blessing of the Wind Spirit, Sylph, that did the trick.

　Esther had two items in front of her to begin her training in concentration and imagination.

　She asked for advice from Lou on which one to use as a training tool.

　One was a magic ring she inherited from her grandmother:..

　The other was a plain, ordinary pendant.

“I think the ring you inherited from your grandmother is more suitable for this task.”

　When Lou said this, Esther’s cheeks flushed slightly and she looked down.

“This pendant was a gift from him.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“You’re speaking too loud, Sensei. This is a secret.”

　Esther gently put her index finger to her lips.

　Smiling, Lou looked at the two items again and offered advice.

“The ring evokes a longing for the past and an appreciation for one’s roots, which can have a certain effect.”

“I see…”

“…If you are going to use the pendant, you need to have a clear image of both the expectation of an uncertain future and the determination to face setbacks in order for it to be effective.”

“B-But! If I can visualize it well, it can expect a huge effect, right?”

　Esther was expressly in a ‘brimming with happiness’ state.

　It was obvious that she wanted to use the pendant as a training study somehow.

　She had already made up her mind. This truth was written all over her face, and she wanted Lou to encourage her.

　Speaking of which, there was a different method to visualize, using the pendant.

　That was…

　Esther should imagine the craftsman who made it, not ‘him’.

　But Esther shook her head.

　She didn’t want to visualize such a thing.

　Seeing Esther’s reaction, Lou had a thought.　

“At first glance, you seem like a strong, hard-working kid. But I think you’re not.”

“……..”

“You’re a very sensitive…caring, and kind girl.”

“……..”

“As your teacher, and if you trust me, I want you to start with the ring and use it as a training tool first.”

“……..”

“What do you think? That’s all the advice I can give you. The rest is for you to decide.”

　Esther was surprised and stared at Lou’s face…

　She immediately smiled and nodded.

“O-Okay! I get it! I’ll trust you and use the ring. Thank you very much.”

　With that, she placed her grandmother’s ring in front of her and immediately began her training.

　Lou then proceeded to give advice to the students as they went through the training.

　After a quick tour around the classroom, he took a break and heard that Fran was going to do this exercise as well as the other students.

“What are your training tools?”

　When Lou asked, Fran showed him an item.

　It was a small crystal ball filled with magical power.

“It’s a memento that my father bought for me when I was a child.”

“Well, it’s beautiful.”

“Yeah…There’s nothing else that makes me feel like my father.”

“That’s not true, Fran.”

“Huh?”

“Your very existence here now is a living testament to your father.”

“My father’s living testament…I am…”

“Yeah, right. You had a father and a mother, their fathers and mothers, and the people who lived before them. It is because of these people that Fran is here now.” 

　The roots that gave birth to her existence’.

　With such thoughts in mind, one way to do this practice was to…

　Lou suggested.

“My ancestors…I hadn’t considered it before, but … I’ll give it a try!”

　Smiling, Fran did as Lou told her.

　She let her mind wander, to a time long past.