Six months had passed in Hage Village.
Time moved quietly in the small village, and most days looked the same as always. The church bell still rang in the mornings, children still ran through the fields, and simple meals were still shared at the long wooden table.
But something had changed.
And one person had noticed.
From the doorway of the church, Yuno watched the yard where the children usually played.
Asta wasn't there.
That had become common recently.
Almost every morning after breakfast, Asta disappeared somewhere outside the village. Sometimes he returned around midday, sometimes later.
At first Yuno ignored it.
But after seeing the same thing happen again and again, curiosity finally got the better of him.
When Asta quietly walked toward the path leading out of the village, Yuno followed.
He kept enough distance so Asta wouldn't notice.
The path led past the outer fields and toward the trees at the forest edge. The morning air was cool, and the grass still carried traces of dew.
After several minutes, the trees began to thin.
Yuno stopped behind a large tree and looked ahead.
A clearing opened before him.
In the center of the clearing lay a massive skull half buried in the ground. It was enormous—far larger than any animal Yuno had ever seen.
And near that skull—
Asta was training.
He ran around the clearing with steady steps, his breathing controlled despite the effort. Sweat covered his forehead, but he didn't slow down.
After finishing another lap, he stopped near the skull and dropped to the ground.
Push-ups.
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty.
His arms moved steadily as he pushed his body up and down.
Thirty.
Forty.
Fifty.
Yuno watched silently from his hiding place.
The number kept rising.
Even when his arms began to shake slightly, Asta didn't stop.
Sixty.
Seventy.
Eighty.
By the time Asta finally pushed himself up and rolled onto the grass, he had already gone far longer than most people Yuno had ever seen try.
"…Still getting easier," Asta muttered while catching his breath.
Six months ago he would have collapsed much earlier.
Now the same training felt lighter.
Which meant he needed to push further.
Yuno stepped out from behind the tree.
"You train here every day?"
Asta jumped slightly and sat up.
"Ah—!"
Then he blinked.
"Yuno?!"
"You followed me?"
Yuno walked into the clearing, his eyes moving across the surroundings.
That was when he noticed something else.
Near the side of the clearing stood a small enclosure made from sticks and woven branches.
Inside it were birds.
Several adult birds moved around the pen, pecking at the ground, while a few small chicks ran between them.
Yuno stopped walking.
"…You caught these?"
Asta stood up and scratched the back of his head.
"Yeah."
He walked over to the enclosure and scattered some grass seeds on the ground.
"There are six birds now. And the chicks hatched a few weeks ago."
The chicks chirped loudly as they moved around the pen.
Yuno crouched down slightly, watching them.
"You built this?"
"Of course."
Asta grinned proudly.
"It took a while, but it works."
Yuno looked at the enclosure again. It wasn't perfect, but the branches were tied together tightly and even a roof made from vines covered the top so the birds couldn't fly away.
"Why raise birds?" Yuno asked.
Asta leaned against the wooden frame.
"Eggs."
Yuno waited.
"If the number keeps growing," Asta continued, "I'll bring some of them to the church."
"The kids can eat eggs too."
Yuno glanced at the chicks running between the adult birds.
"…That makes sense."
Asta nodded.
"For now I keep some here. Training makes me hungry."
He reached into the enclosure and carefully picked up two eggs.
"Speaking of that…"
---
A short while later, a small fire burned beside the giant skull.
Asta placed the eggs in a small pot of water and added a few mushrooms he had collected earlier.
The smell of food slowly filled the clearing.
When the eggs were ready, Asta tossed one toward Yuno.
"Here."
Yuno caught it.
"For me?"
"Yeah. Don't just stand there watching."
Yuno peeled the egg slowly and took a bite.
They sat quietly on the grass for a moment.
Then Yuno asked,
"Why train this much?"
Asta leaned back and looked up at the sky.
"Because I don't have magic."
The answer came easily.
"If I can't use magic like everyone else… then I'll just become stronger another way."
He suddenly sat up and grinned.
"And I'm still going to become the Wizard King!"
Yuno looked away slightly.
"…Then don't lose to me."
Asta laughed.
"Like that would ever happen!"
After finishing the food, Asta stood up and stretched his arms again.
"Alright. One more thing before I head back."
He began walking toward the trees.
Yuno followed.
After a short walk, the sound of water reached them.
Soon a narrow river appeared between the trees.
The river wasn't far from the clearing, but it was hidden enough that someone wouldn't notice it without looking.
Asta stepped onto a rock at the riverbank.
"At first I only trained with running and push-ups," he said.
"But after a while that wasn't enough."
He pointed at the river.
"So I added this."
Without hesitation, Asta jumped into the water.
Splash.
Cold water surrounded him as he began swimming across the current. His arms moved steadily while the current pushed against his body.
When he reached the opposite side, he climbed onto a rock, caught his breath, and dove back in again.
Swimming forced his entire body to work—arms, shoulders, legs, everything moving together.
After several crossings, Asta finally climbed out of the river again.
His breathing was heavy, but his eyes were bright.
"Yeah… this works."
Yuno stood quietly on the riverbank.
Watching.
Even without magic, Asta kept pushing himself.
Again and again.
Yuno slowly raised his hand.
A faint swirl of wind gathered around his fingers.
If Asta was training this hard…
Then he couldn't fall behind either.
---
That night, back at the church, the atmosphere was calm.
After dinner, most of the children had already gone to bed.
At one of the wooden tables, Asta sat with a sheet of paper in front of him.
Across from him stood Sister Lily.
Asta carefully copied a line of letters onto the paper.
The symbols of this world were different from the writing he remembered in his previous life. At first they looked strange and confusing.
But slowly he was getting used to them.
"…Like this?" Asta asked.
Sister Lily leaned forward and looked at the paper.
"Almost."
She gently corrected the shape of one letter.
"You're improving."
Asta looked down at the page again.
His handwriting was still messy.
But it was better than before.
Training during the day.
Studying at night.
Little by little, things were improving.
Outside the church windows, the quiet village slept peacefully.
And somewhere beyond the trees, the small bird coop near the giant skull waited for another morning.