"Shane… is excited?"
Even though she had no idea what exactly had happened, the feeling Shane gave off right now was like a blade that had just been forged through countless hammer blows and finally tempered to perfection.
Its edge was hidden, yet it seemed eager to show the world just how sharp it was.
However…
someone clearly wasn't thinking on that level at all.
"Hey!! What are you doing?!"
Mira, on the other side, had no such refined thoughts and complained bluntly:
"Are you trying to snap my waist in half? Ease up!"
"..."
That shout instantly dragged Shane back to reality.
He looked down at the silver-haired girl flailing in his arms, the corner of his mouth twitching. Most of that grand "the world is mine" feeling vanished on the spot.
"Honestly…"
Shane sighed.
Ignoring Mira's complaints, he looked past the clouds below at the faint outline of Magnolia in the distance.
Then, still in a rather complicated mood, he made a decision that was very true to his heart.
He silently let go of the left arm that had been wrapped around Mira's waist and instead grabbed her slender lower leg.
"?"
Mira hadn't even processed what was happening before the world spun around her.
"Off you go!"
Shane put strength into his arm and hurled Mira forward without warning, like he was throwing a shot put!
"AAAAAHHHHH—!!"
"Shane, you bastard!!!"
With a miserable scream, the silver-haired girl shot off like a meteor.
"???"
Midair, Mira fumbled frantically and hurriedly activated Satan Soul, tumbling awkwardly several times before barely stabilizing herself.
She furiously tried to rush back and demand an explanation, but how could she possibly compare to Lancer's full-speed flight?
"You talk too much! We're this close already, so just fly back yourself!"
Only Shane's faintly disdainful voice was left behind in the wind.
Then, in the next instant, a black blur flashed before her eyes.
With Erza in his arms, Shane turned into a streak of black lightning and instantly vanished so completely she couldn't even see his taillights.
"Shane——!!"
High in the sky, only the girl's roar of grievance echoed.
…
…
Since they still hadn't turned in the request from this trip, Shane and Erza didn't go home. They headed straight to the guild instead.
Creak—
The moment they pushed open the familiar doors, a wave of warm air mixed with alcohol, sweat, and loud voices rushed at them.
"Yo! Young Shane! Long time no see!"
The instant they entered, a lively voice rang out.
Shane looked up.
A woman in nothing but underwear was sitting on the bar counter, curves on full display, holding up a drink and enthusiastically waving at them.
Looking at this ice mage—who clearly didn't care one bit about showing off her beautiful figure in public—Shane couldn't help sighing inwardly.
Her daughter was already that grown, and yet Ur still had the energy of an overactive teenage girl.
"Ur-senpai."
Shane walked over and greeted her.
"You're back already? I thought you'd keep traveling outside with Gray for a while. By the way, did you find Lyon?"
"Ugh, don't mention it."
Ur tipped back a huge gulp of alcohol and wiped her mouth boldly.
"It's the end of the year, right? Work hard for half a year, then it's only natural to relax a little."
"As for Lyon… no idea where that brat ran off to. Thinking back, I should've just followed him secretly when I was in the north."
"You absolutely should not have done that!"
Shane was genuinely startled by the idea.
If this butterfly—who by all rights shouldn't even exist anymore—had actually acted on that impulse back then, who knew what kind of chain reaction it might have caused?
He quickly suggested, "But if Lyon cares that much about Deliora, then maybe if you head back north later, you'll be able to catch him there."
"True enough. No need to rush Lyon's matter."
Ur waved a hand carelessly. She really did have a big heart.
Then her slightly tipsy eyes swept over Shane before sliding teasingly to Erza behind him.
"Hehe… I heard that lately, you've been 'traveling' outside for a full six months with her—and another pretty little girl too?"
"That Fairy Tail monster squad… I've even heard that name while I was away."
Ur leaned closer and lowered her voice with a wicked grin.
"So? Want me to keep it quiet and not tell Tia about it?"
"Tia? You mean Ultear?"
Standing behind Shane, Erza's dark eyes flickered at the mention of the name.
"..."
Feeling the noticeable drop in temperature from Erza's gaze behind him, along with the delighted expression on Ur's face—
Shane immediately straightened his back and put on a righteous expression.
"Senpai, please behave. This isn't something that needs to be hidden."
He spoke in full moral seriousness, then abruptly changed the subject:
"Speaking of which, where's Gray? Haven't seen that kid in a while."
"He's over there fighting with the fire-breathing brat."
Ur's mind jumped tracks quickly—surprisingly, she accepted the shift without issue—and casually pointed toward the noisiest crowd in the corner of the hall.
Erza tilted her head and decided to let the earlier matter drop for now. She looked where Ur was pointing.
In the corner, two boys were wrestling furiously, with tables and chairs overturned all around them.
"Take this, you stupid fire idiot! Ice-Make Hammer!!"
"You bastard, strip freak! I'll burn you to ash! Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!!"
A few months apart had clearly done something—both boys looked taller now, and their muscles were more defined. They definitely looked more mature.
But obviously, physical growth did not mean any actual mental growth.
They had barely returned, and the two archenemies were already at each other's throats again—fighting harder than ever.
"Good! Hit him harder!"
Ur, of course, loved watching the chaos and ran over to join the crowd.
"I'm betting on Gray! Five hundred J!"
"Natsu's gotten way stronger now! He won't lose! Aye!"
Just then, a blue cat flapped out of the crowd on little white wings.
Digging a swaying salted fish out of the green bundle on its back, it shouted:
"I'm betting one fish! Natsu wins!"
"Happy, we don't accept fish here."
With a cigarette in his mouth, Macao looked speechless.
"How about you bet some cash you could use to buy fish instead?"
"Happy talks that fluently now?"
Shane stared in surprise.
Time really flew. It felt like the little guy had only just hatched not that long ago.
"But…"
Watching the blue cat haggle as naturally as anyone else, Shane shook his head in pained disappointment.
"He's already been corrupted into a gambler by all the old degenerates in this guild!"
He chose to pretend he hadn't seen a thing and led Erza toward the bar to turn in the job.
Bang—!!
Before he could even reach the counter, the guild doors were kicked open violently.
"Shane——!!"
The silver-haired girl he had heartlessly thrown aside earlier stormed in radiating murderous intent.
"I knew you bastard would come to the guild!!"
The moment she entered, Mira pounced like a hunting leopard, throwing herself onto Shane and wrapping both arms around his neck.
"You actually left me alone thousands of meters in the air!!"
"Were you trying to kill me by dropping me, huh?!"
"I'm going to kill you ten thousand times over!!"
At this point, her hatred toward Shane had definitely surpassed even her hatred for Erza and reached an all-time high.
And yet—
faced with the rampaging girl, Shane showed no guilt whatsoever.
"You can fly on your own, can't you?"
He calmly started prying her arms off.
"You made it back just fine. Not even a single hair is missing."
"That's not the point at all!!"
Mira was so angry her hair practically stood on end. She pointed at the red-haired girl nearby, who was acting like this had nothing to do with her.
"Erza can fly too! So why didn't you throw her away too?!"
"Why was I the only one you dumped?!"
Shane looked at her like she was an idiot.
"How are you and Erza the same?"
"Look at how Erza behaved just now. Quiet. Well-behaved. And you? Yapping in my ear like a crow."
"For a rebellious student like you—one who talks too much, disrespects her master, and keeps shouting at him…"
Shane let out a cold sneer.
"You could get abandoned a hundred million times and it still wouldn't be excessive."
"You…!"
What a shameless villain trying to accuse the victim first! Mira's eyes widened, her chest heaving with fury.
She had never in her life imagined that a person could be this brazenly shameless.
And since he was already at it, Shane made sure to strike at her weakest point too:
"Besides…"
He looked her up and down and shrugged.
"Erza has a better personality than you, looks better than you, and listens better too."
"How could I possibly throw her away?"
"Hah?" Mira clenched her fists so hard veins stood out on her forehead.
What she hated most in life was being compared to Erza—especially being told to her face that she was worse than Erza.
"Actually…"
Erza muttered quietly from the side, trying to get a word in.
"I think Mira is prettier."
Erza had never really had much awareness of her own looks.
Unfortunately, the two people in the middle of their argument didn't hear a thing.
"How could I possibly look worse than Erza? Are you blind?!"
Mira released her Take Over and struck a pose that very deliberately emphasized her figure.
To be fair, Mira's face was absolutely flawless.
But the moment anyone's gaze moved lower, that delicacy was instantly overwhelmed by a thick rebellious vibe.
Today she was still wearing her usual delinquent-style outfit:
a studded skull choker, a tight midriff-baring tank top, and shorts so short they were honestly borderline dangerous.
In theory, that kind of outfit should have shown off her figure beautifully.
The only problem was…
at this point in time, Mira's chest was as flat as a board, with absolutely no "power" to boast about.
So aside from her long, pale, eye-catching legs, the rest of the look only gave off a feeling of trying a little too hard.
Erza, by contrast, was standing beside her completely without self-awareness.
She was simply wearing a plain sleeveless white shirt and fitted black pants.
No unnecessary decoration. No deliberate posing.
And yet that crisp, capable knightly air about her perfectly highlighted her natural beauty and heroic elegance, making her unexpectedly refined and effortlessly attractive.
"Mm…"
Some of the guild members who had wandered over to watch rubbed their chins and started offering commentary.
"Honestly, if neither of them says anything, Erza really does have more presence."
"Mira's not bad either, but that outfit is way too delinquent-girl…"
"But if you ask me, the prettiest mage in the guild is obviously Ur when she's only wearing underwear!"
"You all!!"
Hearing the comments around her, Mira gritted her teeth, her whole face red with rage.
"See?"
Shane spread his hands, deliberately ignoring all the old perverts' comments about Ur and only picking out the parts that suited him.
"The people have spoken."
"You already lost just because of your weird, try-hard fashion."
"Actually…"
Erza raised a hand again and seriously added:
"I think Mira's clothes look really good…"
"I secretly bought an identical set myself."
"..."
This time—
both of them heard her.
Shane covered his forehead in pain.
He suddenly remembered that Erza's wardrobe was full of armor and private outfits that looked like some kind of abstract art experiment.
His mistake.
He had nearly forgotten that the person in this guild with the most broken aesthetic sense and the strangest taste in clothes… was actually this one.
And Mira, who had already been hammered from every side by Shane and the others, instantly took Erza's words as sarcastic mockery.
"Erza! You're making fun of me too?!"
Mira was humiliated to death. At this point it felt like the entire world was targeting her.
"You all just wait and see!!"
With that, she could no longer keep up appearances. Forget trying to pick another fight with Shane—she stormed straight out of the guild in fury.
"Ah? I didn't…"
Erza held out a hand, looking baffled.
She really had meant it sincerely.
"That felt good…"
Watching the girl flee in humiliation, Shane felt utterly refreshed in both body and soul.
Then he turned around and casually continued toward the counter to turn in the request, hiding his achievement and fame deep within.
"She's such an interesting girl."
Ur came strolling over with a grin, looking toward the door, eyes full of laughter.
"So energetic. Makes you want to tease her a little, doesn't it?"
Shane glanced sideways at this shameless senpai of his.
He remembered very clearly that among the crowd of people loudly declaring "Mira isn't as good as Erza" just now…
Ur's instigating voice had been the loudest of them all.
He really didn't know when Ultear would come back, but Shane had the increasingly strong feeling that in this world, only Ur's daughter could keep this senpai of his from running completely off the rails.