María and Aria arrived at the kitchen, where the golems were still going about their routine, moving from side to side, handling food and cleaning.

Despite how much they had seen the golems in action these days, María still found their clumsiness amusing.

Sometimes they spilled water while trying to fill a glass, or dropped utensils on the floor for no apparent reason. That lack of coordination gave the place a curious and almost adorable atmosphere.

While they ate, María enjoyed each bite, finally relieved to fill her stomach after hours of nonstop work.

Aria, on the other hand, remained calm, quietly observing everything with her attentive eyes.

Suddenly, Aria looked up and threw an unexpected question at María.

"Are you interested in learning magic?"

María blinked, somewhat confused, and looked around.

Apart from the small fire spirit swirling beside her and the golems continuing their work, there was no one else there.

María pointed at herself, uncertain.

"Me?"

Aria nodded without saying more.

María thought for a moment and, after a brief "ummmm," responded with a question of her own.

"Why do you want to know?"

"I want to know," replied Aria, dry as ever, as if the answer was obvious.

María sighed, not entirely convinced about having this conversation, but finally said,

"I guess I’d like to learn, but right now I don’t have time." She shrugged. "With everything I have to do for you two, I barely have time to sleep."

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Aria remained silent for a moment, then looked at her intently and said,

"I can teach you."

María was stunned, surprised by Aria’s response.

'Aria wants to teach me magic?' María thought, shocked, as she had never imagined Aria would make such an offer.

María had no idea how to respond, so she took a few more seconds and finally asked,

"How do you plan to teach me?"

From Hugo, that offer might have been understandable—and a bit dubious—but from Aria...

What kind of magic did a two-year-old girl want to teach her!?

"I want to put into practice what I read in the books," Aria explained, as if it were a simple matter.

María nearly choked on her food upon hearing that.

'Theory is one thing, practice is another!' María thought, feeling a slight panic.

Imagining Aria, a girl barely two years old who had only read a bunch of books, trying to teach her how to use magic... it defied logic.

'This is madness,' María thought as she looked at Aria, confused.

Aria continued eating calmly, unaware of the magnitude of what she had just proposed.

María took a deep breath, trying to find the right words to explain to Aria how complicated all this could be.

"Aria, are you sure you can teach me? I don’t think it’s that easy... even Hugo warned me about mana backlash or ring breaking while discussing it with you—"

"It doesn’t matter," Aria interrupted firmly, making it clear she wasn’t open to debate. "We need to start with the basics: forging your first ring."

María opened her mouth to protest, but her curiosity started to overpower her caution.

‘How on earth are you supposed to form a ring?’ María wondered, doubtful.

In the end, her desire to understand won out, and she cautiously asked,

"And how do you do that?"

"First, close your eyes," Aria explained, as calmly as if she were talking about the weather. "Then, you need to feel the mana around you. Feel how it flows within you. Once you’ve sensed it, focus on organizing that flow so it passes through your heart. Just like your heart pumps blood, you need to try to create a ring there to serve that function."

María stared at her, perplexed.

The speed at which Aria had given the explanation left her more confused than before.

"Wait, wait, wait," María said, waving her hands as if she could slow down Aria’s words. "I didn’t catch all that... Can you go slower?"

Aria watched her, as if deciding whether to repeat herself or not.

Finally, with unusual patience, she instructed again,

"Just close your eyes."

María, almost giving in to Aria’s authoritative tone, closed her eyes, but at the last second, her stomach reminded her that she hadn’t finished her meal yet.

"Wait, wait," María quickly said, opening her eyes again and pointing to her plate. "Let me finish eating first."

Aria stared at her for a moment and then nodded, a bit impatient.

"Hurry up then."

María sighed, not sure whether to laugh or worry about the idea of a two-year-old hurrying her to learn magic.