The celebration began the moment Sirius announced both Mira and Aria as his students.
The villagers of Ainz, all poor, tired, and battered by fear and uncertainty, erupted with a joy they had not tasted in a long while. It was a humble celebration by any civilized standard, but to these people, it was magnificent.
A long table made of mismatched planks was set in the village square. Torches burned with flickering orange light, illuminating baskets of roasted roots, dried fruit, and the rare luxury of spiced broth.
Musicians—well, two men with lutes missing half their strings—played an uneven rhythm that somehow carried the crowd into dance.
Mira and Aria were placed at the center, their seats elevated on crates draped with old cloth. Children presented them with flower crowns.
Elders toasted their victories. Young men tripped over themselves offering to fetch them anything including food, drink, water, and even chairs they already had.
Aria was flushed red with embarrassment the entire time.
"This is too much…" she muttered as another villager offered her a cup of herbal tea.
"You deserve it," Mira laughed, nudging her gently. "You won fair and square."
Aria looked down at her hands. "I still can't believe you surrendered."
Mira's eyes softened. "You earned the win. I only helped you see it."
Sirius watched the exchange from behind them, standing silently like a specter at the edge of the celebration. Villagers passed him food out of reverence, which he politely declined, because of course he could not eat.
Instead, he observed.
Mira's magic resonated within her like a calm river. Aria's swirled around her like a storm waiting for structure.
Both were rare talents in their own ways and both were essential to him.
He folded his skeletal hands behind his back. He would celebrate tonight, as they wished. Tomorrow, however, the real work would begin.
As the celebration waned and villagers returned to their homes, Mira approached Sirius with a determined look.
"Lord Sirius," she said, bowing slightly. "We can begin training at sunrise. But first—we need to assess your current mana state properly."
Sirius nodded. "I am aware that my reserves are… problematic."
"That's putting it mildly," Aria said dryly, joining them with her arms crossed. "When you tried to cast a spell during the tournament, even the air trembled."
Sirius sighed—well, mimicked a sigh. "My reserves appear to be far beyond this body's original limits. And I have yet to determine how to regulate something so overwhelming."
Mira nodded. "Then tomorrow, we go far outside the village. Far enough that no one will be harmed. We'll begin with the basics. The absolute basics."
Aria smirked. "Basic for us. Probably impossible for him."
Sirius turned his skull toward her. "…You have remarkable confidence."
She shrugged. "I call it how I see it, Lord Sirius."
Mira cleared her throat. "Let's rest for tonight. Tomorrow will be… strenuous."
Sirius inclined his head. "Very well."
They scattered toward their various resting placing and soon, they were forced up again.
As the first day of their training arrived, dawn painted the sky in pale blue when Mira arrived at Sirius's temporary quarters.
Sirius had not slept, not that his body needed it, but he stood ready, cloak drawn around him.
"Good morning, Lord Sirius." Mira greeted.
Sirius nodded. "Good morning."
"We leave now. Follow me."
They walked past the edge of the village, past the farmland, past the animal pens, and past even the treeline. Mira kept going—deeper into the forest, farther still until the trees began to thin and the land opened into a wide barren clearing.
"We are just over a kilometer away from the village now," she said. "Even if something goes wrong… the worst you can do is destroy this clearing."
Sirius paused. "Destroy…? Mira, I will attempt to—"
"I know, my Lord," she interrupted gently. "You will try to control it. But you do not yet understand your own mana. It's too vast, too dense. So you need a place where you can fail safely."
Sirius stared at her for a long moment, then nodded.
"Very well. What shall I begin with?"
Mira lifted one finger.
"Push a tiny amount of mana into your palm."
"That's it?" Sirius asked with mild surprise.
"That's it."
A simple instruction. Ridiculously simple. Any novice could perform it.
Sirius closed his hand and focused inward.
Mana surged immediately—like a tidal wave responding to a whisper. It flooded toward his palm with catastrophic eagerness.
He clenched his jaw. 'Control. Control. Control.'
He forced his will down on the torrent, bending it, compressing it, but the pressure rose rapidly.
"Slowly," Mira said. "Don't force it. Let it flow as little as possible."
Sirius exhaled.
He relaxed a fraction.
The mana obeyed.
It slowed and reduced. Soon, it became... manageable.
A faint glow formed at his palm.
"There," Mira whispered. "Good. Good. Now hold it. Don't let it grow."
Sirius stabilized the glow. His arm shook under the effort.
Mira watched carefully. "Lower it. Just a bit more."
Sirius tried but the mana resisted. It surged upward instinctively—like a beast straining at a leash.
"Steady!" Mira said sharply.
"I'm—trying—" Sirius muttered.
Another surge of mana flooded and his palm glowed brighter.
Kraaaaa!
The ground beneath him cracked.
"Lord Sirius! Disperse it!" Mira shouted.
He forced his fingers open, but the mana slipped.
Not by much.
Just a small portion.
A single drop of his uncontrolled power.
But that drop was enough to ignite the air around his hand in a burst of violent magic.
"Redirect it!" Mira shouted.
Sirius acted instantly, spinning his arm downward and slamming his palm into the ground.
The explosion hit the earth...
BOOOOM!
The shockwave tore through the clearing. Dirt flew everywhere. Trees far behind them shook violently. Birds scattered into the sky in frantic flocks.
When the dust settled…
A crater nearly twenty meters wide yawned before them. Smoke curled from the freshly torn ground.
Mira and Sirius just... stared.
Even the earth seemed stunned.
Mira whispered, "That… that was the leaking bit?"
Sirius nodded slowly. "…A small portion. Yes."
She dropped to her knees in disbelief.
"You didn't push it out, did you?"
"No."
"You didn't force it?"
"No."
"You were trying to suppress it?"
"Yes."
Mira stood up, her expression shifting from shock to determination.
"Then, Lord Sirius… your training will be much harder than we thought."
Sirius folded his hands behind him, staring at the massive crater.
"I assumed as much."
Mira nodded firmly.
"We will start again. And again. And again—until your smallest thought no longer threatens to annihilate half the countryside."
Sirius almost laughed. Almost.
"That is a very optimistic goal."
She smiled. "Then we will reach it."
Just then, Aria burst through the treeline, panting heavily.
"I felt something explode... What happened?!"
Mira pointed at Sirius. "His mana leaked."
Aria stared at the crater. "Leaked?"
"Yes."
Aria dragged a hand down her face. "We're all going to die."
"No," Mira said, straightening with resolve. "We'll teach him. We have to."
Sirius quietly agreed.
Because if he didn't learn to master even a small portion of his mana, he truly might destroy the very village that had brought him back.
And that was something he could not allow, even if he had to practice for a thousand days.
"Again, Lord Sirius," Mira said, her voice stern.
He raised his palm once more.
And the training truly began.