As for the intense debate going on within the Council on the other side, Shane naturally had no way of knowing about it.
At this moment, he was standing by the shore of a secluded mountain lake, watching the churning waters in the distance with a tense expression.
Boom—!!
Above the lake, wild dark-purple magic and razor-sharp sword energy were violently clashing.
A crimson figure moved through the air like a swift swallow, weaving and dodging the abyss-like surges of dark magic trying to swallow her whole.
"Hahhh—!"
Midair, Mira let out a sharp cry.
The demonic wings on her back beat hard, and her hands clenched in the air. In her palms, a sudden burst of magical attraction erupted.
"Evil Explosion!!"
Crash—
In an instant, the lake below seemed to answer some terrifying summons and exploded upward.
Countless tons of water, dragged along by her magic, transformed into a massive waterspout. With an unavoidable pulling force, it roared toward the red-haired girl opposite her.
It was an incredibly imaginative move. Not only did it make use of the environment, it perfectly combined the magic-control techniques Mira had been developing these past days.
Even for battle-hardened Erza, facing this kind of full-area attack in midair made it difficult to evade.
"Mm!"
Erza frowned and could only cross her swords to block it head-on.
Bang!!
The giant waterspout swallowed her instantly, and the tremendous force smashed her straight into the lake below, sending water exploding into the sky.
"She did it!"
On the shore, Shane's eyes lit up.
As Mira unleashed that stunning finishing move, the long-silent Book of Heroes in his mind finally trembled.
Its pages turned on their own, making an incredibly pleasant rustling sound.
At last, it stopped on the line of text he had been waiting so long to see:
[Long Chain Trial II: Path of the Sacred Flame]
[Companion Verification: 5/5 (Complete)]
[Trial Complete!]
"Nice!"
After nearly a whole year, he had finally cleared this maddeningly tedious companion-raising trial!
Shane pumped a fist in excitement. The feeling of that boulder finally lifting off his chest made him want to throw his head back and shout.
But now wasn't the right time to check the reward.
He forced himself to suppress the urge to flip to the later pages, took a deep breath, and ran to the edge of the lake, shouting up to Mira, who was still panting in the air:
"That's enough for sparring today!"
"Mira! That was amazing!"
Watching the silver-haired girl slowly descend, Shane's face was full of completely genuine relief and admiration.
"That's the first time you've ever pushed Erza this hard in a direct fight!"
"The way you used the environment just now was absolutely perfect. You were incredible!"
Thank god.
The other four companions either had ridiculous talent and came pre-equipped with cheat-level advantages, or were self-motivated enough that he barely had to worry about them.
Only Mira—
Only this problem girl, who at the start couldn't even control her Take Over properly—
was someone he had personally dragged, little by little, from being a "She-Devil" who only knew how to brawl into a "mage" who actually understood tactics.
Only he knew how many brain cells he had burned trying to discipline this girl.
And now, seeing her finally bloom, even reaching the point where she could stand toe-to-toe with Erza, the sense of proud-father accomplishment was almost overwhelming.
Splash—
The lake surface broke apart, and Erza walked back to shore on churning water.
She was drenched from head to toe. Water was still streaming out of the gaps in her armor, and even her long eyelashes were dotted with droplets.
But there was no anger in her eyes—only pure admiration.
"You're already stronger now than I was last year."
Clearly, even Erza was surprised by how terrifyingly fast Mira had grown over the past few months.
Yet faced with praise from her longtime rival, Mira was unexpectedly calm.
She released the Take Over, and the fierce magic around her vanished. Her silver hair fell softly over her shoulders again.
"Erza was just careless."
The girl shook her head and coolly analyzed herself.
"If she had changed into the Sea Empress Armor instantly just now, she could've countered by riding the current and knocked me right out of the sky."
"In the end… that was just reckless luck."
"Oh?"
Shane raised a brow, walked over, and hooked an arm around her shoulders with a grin.
"Being able to make such mature, rational analysis… that really doesn't match how other people describe you."
"Our famous 'She-Devil' Miss Mira."
"You should be happy when you get stronger. Too much humility is just another form of pride, you know."
Because the past few months had mainly been for training Mira, she had always been the one fighting at the front and making the most moves.
And with that wild, seductive Satan Soul form of hers, the nickname "She-Devil," which had once only been used inside the guild, had now spread throughout Fiore just as thoroughly as Shane's title "Azurefall."
Ironically, Erza—who had mostly been acting as sparring partner and backup—had rarely gone all-out, so her fame now wasn't even as loud as Mira's.
"..."
With Shane throwing an arm around her and teasing her like that, Mira shifted awkwardly.
She gave him a strange look.
His mood today felt… weirdly high, for some reason.
"Shane's right."
Erza shook the water from her hair like a dog, spraying both of them in the process.
"If you can instantly seize the opening in battle and make a decision your opponent doesn't expect, that's skill—not luck."
"Well… fine. I'll take it as praise, then."
Hearing that, Mira finally stopped acting awkward.
She looked down at her own hands, and the corners of her lips slowly lifted.
In that moment just now, she really had felt something amazing.
It was the ultimate exhilaration of taking all her past effort, sweat, and technique—and perfectly fusing them together in one instant.
And all of that…
The girl turned her head and glanced at Shane, who was grinning stupidly beside her.
Naturally, none of it would have been possible without the "torture" and help this bastard master of hers had put her through these past days.
Without him, she'd probably still be stuck in the same place, clumsily trying to chase after Erza in all the wrong ways.
Thinking that, Mira hesitated.
Then, a little awkwardly, she looked away toward the lake and spoke in a voice barely louder than a mosquito:
"Um… I guess… thanks."
"Master."
"!!!"
Shane's eyes went wide. He stared at her like he'd just seen a ghost.
"What did you just say?"
This was the first time this girl had ever called him Master so seriously—so properly.
Before, it was always "that bastard Shane" or just "hey." And if she ever called him master at all, it was always dripping with sarcasm.
Was this really the same Mira who snapped at everyone, including her own master?
"What?!"
Mira's cheeks heated up under his stare, and she glared back, embarrassed and annoyed.
"Don't look at me like that, you creep! You're acting like I'm some ungrateful person who doesn't know how to say thank you!"
"Then… say it two more times?"
Shane shamelessly leaned closer, turning an ear toward her.
"The wind was too loud just now. I didn't hear it properly."
"Tch!"
Mira shoved him away at once and shot him a disgusted look, like she was looking at garbage.
"..."
"What cheap master-student affection," Shane said, shaking his head with a wounded expression.
But joke aside, when he looked at the girl who had now completely grown into her own strength, his smile quickly faded, and his expression turned serious.
"Now that you've reached this level, it means you've completely found your own rhythm in battle."
"At this point… I don't really have anything left to teach you."
"From here on, you'll have to explore the potential of Satan Soul on your own."
"Of course—"
He raised a finger and added firmly:
"Meditation absolutely cannot stop. That's the foundation."
"Yeah, yeah, I know!"
Mira turned her head away impatiently.
Shane repeated those lines almost every single day by now.
At this point, daily meditation was practically turning into a physical reflex for her.
If she didn't meditate once before bed, she couldn't sleep. And when she opened her eyes in the morning, her first instinct was no longer to stretch—it was to start circulating her magic.
It was honestly getting weird.
If the growth in her magic reserves hadn't been so visible, Mira swore she would've quit long ago.
"..."
Watching the two master and student still going back and forth over there, Erza stood to the side and couldn't help smiling inwardly.
But the smile faded quickly, replaced by a trace of sadness.
They had spent these past few months away from home, and because of her own training, she had had much less contact with Kagura.
Tilting her face up toward the blue sky, Erza's gaze drifted.
"I wonder how Kagura's doing… whether she's been practicing properly."
"That expression is way too serious, Miss Erza."
A pair of warm hands suddenly reached over and pinched both of her cheeks, tugging them out to the sides.
"Mm?"
Erza came back to herself and looked blankly at Shane, who was suddenly right in front of her.
"What are you daydreaming about now?" Shane said with a smile as he let go.
"I was worried about Kagura…"
Erza sighed and answered honestly.
"Will she think I'm an unqualified master? Will she be angry with me?"
"If you're that worried, then this New Year, why not just invite them to Fairy Tail and see for yourself?"
Shane suggested.
"Didn't Kagura really want to join Fairy Tail anyway? We could use that as a chance to trick her over here… I mean, invite her over and let you spend a few days with her."
"Wouldn't that be… bad?"
Erza hesitated.
"Wouldn't it be too much of a burden on them?"
"What's bad about it? It's not like we'd be kidnapping her. It still depends on whether she wants to come."
Shane shrugged.
"And besides, the guild's always lively during New Year. A few more people would just make it feel even more festive."
"..."
Erza thought about it, and her eyes gradually brightened.
It really was a good idea.
"Alright, it's settled!"
Before Erza could start overthinking the details, Shane clapped his hands and decided it for her.
"Okay! December's here, which means our dear Master should be finalizing the list for this year's S-Class exam soon."
His gaze swept over both girls.
"Now that Mira's special training is officially complete, I'd say… it's about time we headed back to the guild!"
"The S-Class Mage Exam…"
Hearing those words, Mira and Erza looked at each other.
Both of them could see the eager fire burning in the other's eyes.
A stage where they could go all out, hold nothing back, and compete with their guildmates to the fullest…
Just imagining it was enough to make their blood start boiling.
"Let's go!"
This lake was way out in the middle of nowhere, with no train nearby.
And Shane, who was already desperate to check the reward from the Long Chain Trial, had absolutely no patience left for slow travel.
"Lancer!"
At a thought—
those black dragon wings exploded open behind him.
One arm around each girl's slender waist, Shane shot into the sky and flew straight toward Magnolia.
High overhead, the wind roared around them, and the clouds streamed past beneath their feet.
Shane didn't have the slightest bit of spare attention to appreciate the warm, soft bodies pressed against him.
The moment they rose high enough and his flight stabilized, he immediately sank inward into his thoughts.
"Come on… I worked way too hard for this harvest."
"Don't disappoint me now."
~~~
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