Mira-nee, Kana, Levy… even the girl on his own arm had her attention stolen. No wonder Loke found it hard to ignore the newcomer.
Judging by looks and the way he carried himself, the kid was a sunny, gentle-type pretty boy—
Especially with that striking beauty mark beneath his eye. Even Loke had to admit: this newcomer's charm was a bit much.
After all—
"Who steals a guy's girlfriend the first time they meet?"
Glancing at the girl beside him—cheeks flushed, lips lightly pressed—Loke couldn't help tugging the corner of his mouth.
With a scene like this, practically cheating in broad daylight, it was hard not to suspect the brat's magic might be some kind of charm spell.
On the other side of the room, Aurel—still keeping Kana company over drinks—opened his system interface.
Yesterday he'd cleared both the Romance track and the Ashina Sword Saint task: one sunny doll gifted to Juvia, and an entire school of Ashina-style swordsmanship flowed straight into his mind, fully digested.
There was no doubt—his sword skills would rank among the very best in this world. Never mind all the Ashina-style specialties; just one Swallow Reversal—three cuts launched to different angles in the same heartbeat, a strike you simply could not evade—would be enough to shock most swordmasters.
"I really want to test it on someone."
Chin in one hand, Aurel swirled the amber in his glass with the other, murmuring under his breath.
His magic, "Sun," was so overwhelmingly strong that he had to tread carefully day to day, afraid a slip might let it run away from him.
But swordplay didn't come with quite so many shackles—no matter how fierce, he wasn't going to level an entire town with a single cut.
"Test it?"
Perched cross-legged on a tall barstool, Kana turned, puzzled.
"Aurel, don't tell me you want to have a real match with someone?" Mira-nee blinked, asking on instinct.
"Sparring with Aurel… not happening. In the guild, aside from Gildarts and Master, I doubt anyone can take him."
Levy tapped a dainty finger against her pale pink lips, tilted her head, and ran through the remaining S-Class mages in her mind before waving the thought away.
"You're forgetting Mistogan."
Mira-nee smiled in reminder.
No one had really seen Mistogan's true strength—not even Mira-nee, who stood on the same rung.
That was why he ranked among the candidates for the guild's strongest alongside Laxus and the others.
Although, after Aurel showed up, Laxus's name had slipped right off that list.
A Laxus who'd been casually one-shot didn't exactly fit the title "strongest in the guild."
"You guys aren't giving Er—… never mind."
Kana stopped halfway, then took an amused sip.
Erza was strong—no question—but she still trailed Laxus by a bit.
This guild had picked up a terrifying monster.
She couldn't help the thought.
"You're laying it on a bit thick… but yeah, I do want to trade pointers—sword to sword."
Aurel first shook his head modestly, then went on.
Swordplay?
Mira-nee and Levy both blinked, clearly not expecting Aurel to know that side of things too.
"With swords… looks like only Freed and Erza, right?"
"Erza goes without saying. And though Freed's magic is scriptwork, his swordsmanship is quite good as well," Mira-nee said, fingers at her smooth chin.
Erza and Freed…
Aurel instinctively pictured the green-haired member of the Thunder God Tribe—and flicked an incoming Natsu back the way he'd come.
"Aye, Aurel, we missed ya!" Happy soared overhead, ignoring the pink-haired projectile as he wrapped both paws around Aurel's head, eyes shining.
"We want fish!"
"You don't miss me—you miss my gourmet napkin," Aurel deadpanned.
"Fufu, yesterday on a job, Natsu accidently flattened half a street," Mira-nee giggled behind her hand. "Because of that, Master's still writing apology letters."
"No wonder I haven't seen Master today…"
Aurel nodded, enlightened.
On a normal day, with the tavern this chaotic, Master would've already laid down the law. No way he'd let the brawl drag on this long.
"Want me to shut this down? If they keep going, the guild's due for renovations. Master would hate to see that bill."
He'd been part of the family three days now; helping lighten Master's load felt right.
"Eh, I think that's—"
Before Mira-nee could finish, the guild doors slammed open. Marcus stumbled in, face a mask of horror.
"B-Bad news—Erza's back!!"
His shout—thick with fear—fell, and the rowdy hall froze into eerie silence. A chill prickled across everyone's brows.
"Looks like I won't need to."
Hearing that familiar name, Aurel's tone turned thoughtful.
Right then, a figure stepped in behind Marcus. Silver armor flared with the noonday sun.
A cascade of scarlet hair. A flawless, expressionless face. Blue miniskirt, black knee-high boots, and silver plate marked with the fairy's crest—a striking, singular beauty.
Most eye-catching of all was the flat cart she pulled behind her, piled with luggage like a small mountain.
At first glance—"mage" felt lacking. "Dashing lady knight" fit better.
"Handsome, isn't she? Feeling your heart skip?" Mira-nee's warm voice brushed his ear.
"Not as much as with you, Mira-nee."
Aurel replied softly without looking back.
"Mm~"
Meaning to tease him, Mira-nee instead turned rosy, a cute sound slipping out.
She couldn't match Erza's cool, gallant aura in looks. Which meant… compared to Erza—did his heart beat more for me?
The thought fluttered up before she could stop it.
(End of Chapter)
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