After Brian's group of three returned to the Black Bull base, they immediately sought out Captain Yami to report back on everything that had happened during their mission at Sosshi Village.
Upon receiving the information that Brian provided, and after hearing his suspicions regarding the actions of the mages he had captured, Yami immediately relayed the matter directly to the Magic Emperor himself.
Not long after that, Yami and Finral brought the four mages who had attacked Sosshi Village to the capital to hand them over to the Magic Emperor and his personnel for processing.
Brian's [Earth Coffin] was capable of persisting for a long period of time even when the coffins were no longer near him. As for the matter of how to open the coffins, that was not something Brian needed to concern himself with when he handed the four coffins over to Yami to bring to the capital and deliver to the Magic Emperor.
With his Time Magic, the Magic Emperor could easily neutralize Brian's spell. This was hardly a difficult or surprising matter given the extent of his abilities.
The investigation into the backgrounds and the underlying motives of the four mages who had attacked Sosshi Village got underway immediately, and it would take some time before any results came in.
Brian's group of three was also awarded a large number of gold stars by the Magic Emperor in recognition of the achievements they had accomplished during their unplanned mission. For rescuing the villagers of Sosshi, and for discovering and capturing all of the mages who had attacked the village alive, the three of them received a grand total of ten stars combined.
"A whole ten stars?"
Brian asked with a look of surprise on his face as he watched the number of black stars belonging to Black Bull drop down to just twenty remaining.
Standing beside Brian, Noelle also stared in astonishment at the Black Bull achievement board, her gaze fixed mainly on the pile of black stars belonging to their squad.
"Yeah, you three brought in ten stars."
Yami took a drag of his cigarette, a look of clear satisfaction on his face. "The Magic Emperor personally evaluated and recognized your efforts in the last mission. Especially the part where you captured those four mages alive. That's no easy thing to pull off."
To capture a mage alive, the person attempting it needed to have a significant power gap over the target they wished to apprehend. That was an undeniable fact. The task became even more difficult when the enemy fought back with a desperate "break everything on the way down" mentality, or when they had any intention of taking their own life.
Brian nodded at Yami, acknowledging the words of the captain. He turned to look at the mission board in the main hall, where only a few dull assignments were currently posted.
"We don't have any other missions right now, do we, Captain?"
"Missions? There aren't any."
Yami also glanced over at the mission board in the main hall. "I'm not planning to hand out more work to you two when you've just accomplished something this big. If you want missions, go look at that boring board over there. If you don't feel like doing any of those, then just rest up. Do whatever you want, just don't go wrecking the base."
With that, Yami took another drag of his cigarette, rose from his chair, turned his back, and walked away. Before leaving, he tossed Brian and Noelle each a pouch that looked quite heavy.
"Here you go. Your salary, plus a bonus on top for the business at Sosshi Village."
Brian reached out and caught both pouches at once, then handed one over to Noelle. Each pouch was quite large, and he had to use some strength just to hold it steady in his hand.
"That's a lot."
Brian opened the pouch he had just received, and immediately let out a word of admiration at the sum of money he now held. With this amount, he could help everyone back in Hage Village live without having to worry about money for food and other daily necessities for several years.
"Mm... it's acceptable, I suppose."
Unlike Brian, Noelle only glanced briefly at the contents of her pouch before showing no further reaction. Which was fair enough. Given her royal background, she had never once been short on money.
"So what do we do now? We have free time."
"I'm not sure..."
The two of them looked around the main hall and found no other Black Bull members present anywhere. The others had most likely all gone out on missions, so the entire base appeared to have no one left in it but the two of them.
"I-Is it just us here...?"
Noelle asked Brian with a hesitant expression on her face. For some reason she felt her heart beating a little faster when she thought about the vast Black Bull base being left with only herself and Brian in it.
"Not exactly just us, but it's not too far off from that either."
"H-Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, it's nothing."
Brian shook his head without answering Noelle's question. He gazed out beyond the base, where the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze drifted through the trees, and that sound along with the surrounding stillness gave him a wonderful idea.
"Hey, do you want to practice magic with me?"
Brian's unexpected question made Noelle momentarily forget that she had been feeling a little flustered. His serious eyes looked straight at her, and she found herself unable to resist being drawn in by the words he had just said.
"You want to practice magic with me...?"
"Yeah."
Brian answered plainly. "I usually practice magic during my free time. You have trouble with controlling your magic, right? So why not train together with me. I can help you get better control over it. What do you say?"
"But my control is really terrible..."
Noelle looked at Brian with a hint of worry on her face. "I won't be a bother to you, will I?"
"Not at all."
Brian walked calmly out of the base, his hand taking hold of Noelle's and pulling her along outside with him while she was still hesitating. "Everyone has to start from somewhere. You have enormous potential. With the right guidance and the right kind of practice, you'll be able to shine more brightly than anyone else with your magic."
Brian paused for a moment, then turned to face Noelle, who was still caught off guard by what he had just said. "So... stop being so hard on yourself. You have talent. What you lack is confidence. I can help you earn the recognition of everyone around you. Of course, that's only as long as you're serious when you train with me. Do just that much, and I guarantee that you will reach everything you're hoping for."
Noelle's violet eyes stared fixedly at Brian. His confident, warm voice made it impossible for her not to be moved by his words. She wanted to say something, but in the end everything she might have wanted to say condensed itself down into a single word.
"Okay..."
Brian smiled as he watched Noelle's endearing reaction. He had no intention of teasing her at a moment like this. It had taken a great deal for her to let those feelings surface the way they just had. The right thing to do now was to help her.
"Let's go. First we need to find somewhere open."
Taking Noelle along with him into the forest beside the Black Bull base, Brian moved at an unhurried pace as he searched for a suitable location where the two of them could practice magic together. After a short while searching, the two of them found a spot that was good enough for both of them to train without running into any problems.
"This should do."
A clearing in the middle of the forest, surrounded on all sides by trees, with a small pond a short distance away. It was more than perfect to use as a place for practicing magic.
"S-So what do we do first...?"
Noelle asked as she watched Brian walk around the clearing where they were standing. She had no idea what he was going to prepare in order to help her practice magic.
"Hmm, let me think..."
Brian scratched his chin as he looked at Noelle, then spoke in a tone that was clear and deliberate. "You have trouble with controlling your magic. The way to train that is simply to keep using magic continuously so that you get a little better every day. But if that's all you do, then the results won't amount to much, and the proof of that is the fact that you've already spent a long time practicing and still aren't able to direct your magic precisely."
Noelle nodded in agreement with Brian's assessment. "So what should I do then?"
"Control your magic in a different way. Start from the beginning, with controlling your mana."
Brian raised his hand, and the mana inside his body immediately began to radiate outward. Without losing control or letting too much of it spill out beyond himself, he kept everything under perfect management.
"Mages are able to use magic without relying on a Grimoire. In order to control magic, mages are required to work with the mana that exists inside their own bodies. Controlling mana is the very first step toward being able to control magic. Your problem is a serious one that begins at that very first step, which is mana control. That is why we are going to start right here."
Brian continued, "Try using just enough mana to cover your entire body, hold it there for a short period of time, then release it and repeat the process over and over again. Doing this will gradually sharpen your ability to sense the presence of your own mana. After some time, your body will slowly adapt and become accustomed to having mana enveloping it, and that will help your sensitivity to your own mana grow stronger. Once you are better at sensing your own mana, it will become much easier for you to control it."
At this point Brian paused for a brief moment, his eyes resting on Noelle's attentive gaze as she listened carefully to everything he was explaining. "Trying to control your mana without being able to clearly sense it is like trying to walk a path you cannot see. You might still manage to move forward, but you will trip and fall at any moment without warning."
"Go ahead and try doing what I said, Noelle."