WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 5 of Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, "Royal Celesteria," now streaming on Funimation and Hulu.
Elaina's journey has taken many twists and turns. What started as a hopeful adventure turned into a series of parables facing both the positive and negative aspects of the world. While the past two episodes explored tragedies wherein Elaina could only see the full picture of in retrospect, her journey to the country Celesteria has a much welcome lighter tone.
Elaina has always had a rough time settling down in new cities. She gets the opportunity to witness the vibrancy of Celesteria, seeing mages use their magic freely while she tries to visit Royal Magic Academy. After she's denied entry, Elaina gets her own unofficial welcome from the academy's students, who want to catch her for a certain reason. Despite the majority of the class' combined efforts, they end up being unable to trap Elaina.
With this day full of the cat and mouse games winding down, it turns out that there wasn't any nefarious intent behind the students' request. It turns out the Stardust Witch is the instructor of all the students chasing Elaina. She uses the class as both a means to find Elaina and as a smaller lesson to demonstrate the abilities of a fully-fledged witch. As Elaina stays in Celesteria she helps her former teacher with instructing her students. Elaina has mentored individuals in magic before, but this is the first time she's taught a class like this.
The moments that Elaina shares with these students are a nice break for her. Whether it be in practical lessons such as shaping water in midair or using magic in a classroom-type setting, Elaina has fun demonstrating magic to the students. While she isn't a permanent member of the faculty, she also does a good job of trying to give advice to her temporary students. In some sense, the fun that Elaina has with them mitigates some of the horrors that she previously encountered.
Outside of these instructional moments, the two of them are able to appreciate some time to themselves catching up with each other. In Fran's office, Elaina and the Stardust Witch are able to talk briefly about the past and their future plans. The Stardust Witch gives Elaina further motivation to work on her journal, mentioning how she would like to hear about Elaina's stories. Adding on the tidbit that Elaina should visit her mother at some point, Fran is supportive of Elaina's life choices to continue her journey of twists and turns.
Sadly, all good things eventually come to an end. As much as the Stardust Witch would like to spend more time with Elaina in Celesteria, she knows that Elaina will continue on her grand adventure. Instead of trying to keep her there, Fran offers Elaina a surprise parting gift. Showering flower petals on Elaina as she leaves Celesteria, Fran along with the students that she taught wants her to remember the times that they spent together. Regardless of what peril Elaina will face in the future, the time she spent here will always be a positive moment to look back on.
