Okay, here's my big theory after rewatching the first 20 episodes:
Hootlet is actually Minerva reborn.
I know people laugh because Hootlet is basically the show's nonverbal comic relief mascot. Most episodes treat Hootlet like a Scrappy-Doo, Yamcha, or Jar Jar type character who accidentally causes problems and then stumbles into helping at the last second.
But that's exactly why I think the writers are hiding something.
Look at Episode 3, when Hootlet wanders into the Hall of Inventors and accidentally activates the ancient puzzle mechanism. None of the kids can solve it, but Hootlet presses the exact sequence needed to reveal the hidden chamber.
Then in Episode 7, the mural beneath the library shows a crowned owl standing beside a figure many fans believe is Minerva. The camera lingers on the owl symbol longer than any other image in the scene.
Episode 11 is another huge clue. Hootlet gets separated from the group and somehow leads them directly to the forgotten archive vault. The show plays it as a joke, but Hootlet repeatedly chooses the correct path while everyone else gets lost.
Episode 15 has the scene where Hootlet reacts to the ancient feather relic. Every other character sees an ordinary artifact, but Hootlet becomes unusually focused and the relic briefly glows.
And in Episode 19, when the Circle manuscript is uncovered, Hootlet is the first character shown on screen before the story transitions into the Minerva legend. That feels deliberate.
Across the first 20 episodes, Hootlet never speaks, yet constantly understands things nobody else does. The writers keep presenting Hootlet as comic relief while quietly connecting the character to wisdom, archives, relics, and owl imagery associated with Minerva.
If Season 2 reveals that Minerva was reborn as Hootlet and has been guiding the heroes the entire time, I honestly wouldn't be surprised.