The Magic Instructor Has Arrived desu wa!

While she happily watched the medicinal herbs spreading across the field — all thanks to the gardener Beck's help — Marquis Yarkot called out to her.

Behind him stood a kind-looking old man wearing a white coat.

"Hey, Koleha. Is this the field you wanted?"

"Father! Yes, a field is like a tree that bears money desu wa."

"Hahaha. I don't think money actually grows on trees."

"It's a figure of speech. Please appreciate the elegance."

Marquis Yarkot let that slide, thinking her words hardly had any elegance to begin with. In the end, she was a five-year-old child.

"Right. Today, I thought I'd introduce you to your magic teacher."

"Oh my. So you've found me a tutor? In that case, would that gentleman be…?"

"Yes. I asked the royal family to arrange it, and we were able to hire a mage well-versed in poisons."

Koleha wondered if that meant he was some dangerous figure from the shadows, but since Poison Magic itself sounded dangerous, she decided to shelve that line of thought.

Koleha turned to face the elderly tutor the marquis had brought.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, desu wa. I am Koleha Nyarlathotep, eldest daughter of the Nyarlathotep marquis house."

"Oh my, what a well-mannered young lady. I am Roborovski Hastur. I'm a physician, and I have Dual Attributes: Water and Earth. Pleased to meet you, Lady Koleha."

"A physician, is it!"

That made sense — as a doctor, he would surely be knowledgeable about poisons. Koleha was convinced.

What's more, he had two attributes. As expected of someone introduced by the royal family.

And being a doctor was even more perfect. He would surely understand the value of the medicinal herbs spread out before them. He might even buy them at a high price.

Koleha's eyes turned to gold again.

"I hear you have learned to use Poison Magic, Lady Koleha. If so, you could even nullify poison hidden in a meal by political enemies."

"Ufufu. I look forward to your instruction, Roborovski-sensei."

"Oh? You call me 'sensei' already. I had heard rumors you turned over a new leaf, but even so…"

"? Are you not to be my tutor?"

"Yes, yes. Precisely so."

Roborovski nodded in admiration.

… Her previous reputation must have been quite bad. Koleha couldn't help but look up at the sky.

"By the way, Koleha. What are you growing in this field? Spinach?"

"No, Father. These are medicinal herbs."

"What!? Medicinal herbs, you say!?"

The doctor, Roborovski, jumped in from the side.

"… Hmm, hmm-hmm! Now that you mention it, this is indeed the wild herb Kias. I had thought wild herbs weren't worth cultivating in a field… but this is amazing!"

Roborovski stared fixedly at the evenly spaced wild herbs in the plot — the Koleha-enhanced version.

"At this quality, they'd serve perfectly well as ingredients for potions. To think such high-grade wild medicinal herbs existed…!"

"… Ah, well. Roborovski-sensei. Forgive my asking, but is it true that medicinal herbs can't be cultivated in a field?"

"Hm-hmm. The marquis is correct. The medicinal herb used for standard potions, Naori grass, requires rich forest soil and abundant mana… However, Kias is different! Kias is a hardy plant that grows anywhere! In a field, it will certainly grow."

He peered around the field. There, looking similar to lush spinach, rows of splendid Kias stood in orderly lines.

"Ah. Our gardener Beck says the leaves have roughly half the medicinal potency of a standard healing herb."

"The marquis house's gardener — he's a user of Plant Magic, is he not!? In that case, his appraisal can be trusted! … Oh, oh, wonderful! This is a revolution!"

Roborovski suddenly stood up and raised both hands to the sky.

"… Say, Koleha? Where did you find these herbs?"

"They were growing around here, so I tried enhancing them with my magic, Father."

Koleha puffed out her chest with a smug "ufufun."

"So Poison Magic can do such things…!?"

"What!? … With a pupil this talented, I find myself wondering if I even have anything to teach."

(Oh, that's a nicely dejected face, desu wa!)

Roborovski's shoulders slumped in helpless defeat. That mildly unhappy expression was a small, delightful surprise — it warmed Koleha's heart.

That said, there was still plenty to learn to strengthen her Poison Magic.

"Please teach me so I can handle the basics of magic and dealing with poison, alright?"

"Oh! Indeed. Leave it to me, Lady Koleha."

Gently cheered by that tiny misfortune, Koleha let a soft, kind smile bloom across her elegant villainess-to-be face.

Seeing that smile, Roborovski's motivation flared as well.

Afterward, they drew up a contract with Roborovski, putting him in charge of selling the medicinal herbs when the time came.

Also, she did, properly, learn magic as well.