Ten odd minutes of walking later, Mira followed a route similar to the one she had taken the day before when heading to the Union. However, this time she bypassed the Union and instead entered the building next to it.
「I believe they said it's on the second floor here.」
At first glance, it appeared to be a lodging house right next to the Spellcasters' Union. It was three stories tall and slightly larger than a noble's mansion, yet its exterior was relatively plain, constructed of wood and stone.
Just past the entrance was a small hall, with stairs leading further up and two hallways branching to the left and right. It strongly resembled a school building.
Although the building was large, very few people were visible. This didn't mean it was empty, as Mira knew most were likely in the various rooms.
「Second floor, to the end of the right side…」
Mira ascended the stairs to the second floor and walked down the hallway, smiling to herself as she nodded at each room, observing everyone diligently working inside. The rooms were filled with children, but these were no ordinary kids; they were aspiring adventurers.
As Nina had explained to Mira, they were there to learn how to fight, identify medicinal herbs, forage resources, and gain general knowledge about monsters. In essence, the building's resemblance to a school was no accident—it was indeed a training institution for future adventurers.
「Now…is she here?」 As all were aspiring adventurers, they had heard about the Spirit Queen, and upon seeing Mira, they began muttering among themselves, wondering if it could be her.
Meanwhile, Mira continued to look around. Nina had told her that their youngest sister, Rina, would go there every day to study summoning. However, Mira could not see anyone matching Rina's description. She decided to approach a young boy who was closest to her, asking, 「I'm looking for this girl, Rina, who comes here. Do you know her?」
「Ah, err… Y-Yes, I know her!」 The boy replied nervously, perhaps because he suspected he was speaking to a rank A adventurer, or simply because of Mira's striking appearance.
At the same time, there was a thud of something falling behind Mira. Turning around, she saw a girl standing with her mouth agape next to a bookshelf, a book sprawled open on the floor by her feet.
「That's…that's her!」 The boy managed to say, pointing at the girl.
「I see, you have my thanks.」 Mira beamed a smile at the boy as she thanked him, then trotted over to the girl, while the boy remained frozen, his face completely red, having fallen victim to an impossible crush.
But Mira was oblivious to that as she began talking with the girl. 「So you're Rina? The little sister of Nina and the rest?」 The girl's face resembled that of her sisters, but Mira wanted to be completely sure, so she asked in a soft voice, met only with silence. Somehow, the girl was even more nervous than the boy, her mouth opening and closing constantly, and her eyes darting around rapidly.
(Hmm…I was told she looks up to me a lot, so I guess it's normal that she's so nervous!) Mira was reminded of her fame, which filled her with pride as she squatted down to pick up the fallen book.
「Th-Th-Thank you very much! I-I'm Rina!」 Rina accepted the book with trembling hands and then bowed deeply. When she raised her head, her nervousness had been replaced with joy.
「Umm, you know! My sisters! My sisters told me! They told me that you'd come! And that you'd teach me! And…」 Rina's emotions spilled out rapidly, like a dam bursting.
「Mhm, I get it, but try to calm down first.」 Mira tried to soothe Rina before taking her out of the study hall and apologizing to everyone there for the disturbance.
After that, they headed to an empty classroom. 「I'm…I'm so sorry, I'm just so happy I couldn't keep my voice down…」 Rina looked away awkwardly, but Mira smiled and told her not to worry about it. Her enthusiasm clearly showed her desire to become an adventurer.
「Let's get started then.」
Rina was a fledgling summoner, and her older sisters had asked Mira to teach her, an opportunity Mira embraced as she aimed to revive the art of summoning.
To begin, Mira wanted to assess Rina's strength. The results were as expected for her age; not surprising considering she was a child summoner with little training. When it came to knowledge about summoning, however, the results were different. Any question Mira posed was met with an instant reply from Rina, and after about twenty minutes, Mira was satisfied.
「Good job! I see you've been studying a lot.」
「Thank you very much!」
Rina was pleased to hear this. Her knowledge about summoning far exceeded what one would expect from someone her age, and Mira felt there was no need to review the basics at all. Rina showed great promise as a future summoner, which filled Mira's heart with expectations as well.
「Considering everything you know, I believe we can skip all the theory and move directly to the next step.」 Not only did Rina know the basics, but she was also familiar with more advanced topics, so Mira decided it was better for Rina to start practical training. So they left the building and flew away on Pegasus, which thrilled Rina immensely.
「This is amazing! It feels so nice!」
A smile formed on Mira's lips as she watched Rina's excitement. Their destination was a set of ruins from an ancient fort, ten minutes away from Haxthausen by air. Once they arrived, Pegasus landed next to the ruins.
「Umm… Are those…」 Those ruins seldom received visitors, but they were not uninhabited. Rina noticed that and pointed at the ruins while firmly grasping Mira's hand.
「Yes, they are Armor Spirits. You need to form a Contract with them before you can get started.」 Those figures wandering around the ruins were Armor Spirits, the most basic of summons. Since Mira deemed Rina's knowledge sufficient, she brought the girl to these ruins so she could truly embark on her path as a summoner.
「But…I…」 While they were the first stepping stone of summons, the power of Armor Spirits rivaled that of middle-level monsters, so Rina was terrified just from the thought of having to confront them.
But Mira continued walking forward, pulling Rina's hand after her, only stopping when they were about to enter the detection range of the Armor Spirits. There, she let go of Rina's hand to hold a bunch of stones instead.
「Ah… Are those what the Wiseman Danbulf always advocated for…」 Rina had studied enough about summoning to correctly guess what Mira was planning to do.