Sho's expression was not very good. He closed the door, his voice kept very low. "I saw Jellal. But even he has only seen Brain once and has absolutely no clues about that man."
Hearing this news, there wasn't much surprise on Shane's face.
He had mentally prepared himself last night that things wouldn't go smoothly, so he didn't feel disappointed at this moment.
Instead, he stepped forward, patted Sho's shoulder, and comforted, "Don't take it too hard; things will work out in time."
As he spoke, he paced to the window and pointed to the busy construction site below. "Speaking of which, how did Jellal manage to turn this place into this?"
Actually, this construction site was what he cared about most right now. If it was as he thought, then many problems would be easily solved.
Mentioning this, Sho's expression visibly brightened a bit. "That Brain seems completely indifferent to the tower's progress, handing all authority over to Jellal. Ultear also doesn't care about these trivial matters.
So Jellal hired a group of voluntary laborers from outside. This makes the tower's construction look like it's proceeding, and also provides these people with work and income—consider it putting on a show."
"Phew—it really is like that!" Shane breathed a sigh of relief.
What he worried about most was that Brain was still continuing to abduct children from various places, repeating their past experiences.
Now it seemed the pressure exerted by the Magic Council was greater than they imagined, forcing this mastermind behind the scenes to restrain his claws and teeth.
Of course, there was another possibility.
That was, his goal of scavenging for children had been achieved, and there was no need to repeat such things.
"In that case, we have time to execute Plan B." Shane turned to Sho, his gaze becoming sharp. "Where is Ultear right now?"
Beside them, Gray, who was dozing off a bit, woke up upon hearing the name "Ultear."
"She is in the tower," Sho answered. "What's wrong?"
While speaking, Shane noticed Sho's expression; he seemed completely unaware that Ultear might have connections with other forces behind her.
Since Jellal hadn't told Sho the deeper inside story, Shane didn't plan to explain either.
He guessed this was probably Jellal's way of protecting Sho, not wanting him to continue wading into this muddy water.
"Ultear's background is mysterious; maybe she knows clues about Brain." Shane's tone was calm. "If convenient, I want to take her down right now."
Since it was confirmed Brain wasn't in the tower, no one here could pose a threat to him.
Shane didn't want to waste any more time; he wanted to handle things decisively.
"Wait!" Hearing Shane wanted to make a move, Gray immediately became anxious, stepping forward to speak.
But Sho spoke first. "No! Absolutely cannot do something so outrageous in the tower!"
"Why?" This time, before Shane could ask, Erza spoke up strangely.
Having stayed with Shane for a long time, her brain had also become direct; unknown who influenced whom.
"If something suddenly happens to Ultear inside the tower, and we haven't found traces of Brain yet—" Sho's face was written with worry. "I'm worried Brain will see the situation is bad and disappear directly."
Knowing the truth, he indeed hated Brain, the controller, to the extreme, fearing the possibility of him surviving.
Shane pondered slightly and felt Sho made sense.
If they alerted the enemy, causing Brain to abandon this tower and start anew in the dark, they would really lose all clues.
He pondered slightly, quickly outlining a new plan in his mind.
Since they couldn't make a big fuss inside the tower, then move the battlefield outside. As long as things were done silently, Brain would have no way to detect it.
"Mhm," Shane nodded, a trace of memory flashing in his eyes. "Jellal said Ultear has a huge prejudice against me—this might be exploitable."
He looked at Sho and instructed, "In that case, have Jellal find a way to 'inadvertently' let Ultear discover my tracks. I will wait for her in that port city nearby."
After speaking, he glanced out the window again and greeted the two: "Let's go."
"?" Gray stood up blankly, looking confused. He completely couldn't keep up with the rhythm, coming in a hurry and leaving in a hurry. "Didn't we agree to find Ultear?"
Shane pulled him out without explanation. "We'll see her soon enough later.
Staying here without being able to meet Jellal for a detailed talk, might as well go back early and do some serious business."
---
The air on the sea carried salty stickiness. The three on the deck were silent all the way.
Gray had his back to Shane and Erza, looking at the turbid seawater cut open outside the gunwale, his expression exceptionally low.
He felt he was dragged here and dragged away by Shane with just a few casual words, feeling stifled in his heart.
Shane glanced at him, seeing through his little thoughts. "You heard it too; our target is Ultear. Don't worry, you'll see her sooner or later."
However, this was exactly what Gray was worried about.
He turned his head. "That is Master Ur's only daughter! If we really catch her, what do you plan to do?"
Shane had no expression on his face. "Didn't we talk about this? Use my 'eyes to see,' see clearly 'how much karma she carries,' before I take corresponding action."
After saying this, he paused, his gaze sweeping over Gray's conflicted face, and added, "However, I don't think a woman who bewitches Jellal in the dark and pushes the construction of the R-System would be some good person untainted by sin. You better be mentally prepared."
These words were like a stone smashing into Gray's heart. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something to refute but couldn't start.
After all, he hadn't even seen Ultear's face, completely unaware of what kind of person she actually was.
For the rest of the voyage, Gray was constantly thinking. Shane let him think without saying more.
After docking, they returned the rented boat to the shop.
Shane very naturally used Gray's wallet to pick a clean-looking inn in the city.
After checking in, he took Erza and walked toward the blacksmith shop where Knoll worked.
Gray hurriedly finished paying and chased out the inn door, seeing the two had already walked some distance with a clear direction.
"Aren't we supposed to deal with Ultear? Do we not need to do anything now?" He caught up quickly and couldn't help asking.
Shane didn't stop, finding it a bit funny.
He was somewhat confused about whether Gray hoped they would act or not.
He explained, "We've done what we can here. The bait has been laid; next, we just wait for Jellal to exert effort over there."
"Jellal?" Gray was even more confused. "You didn't even see his face this trip, yet you trust him so much?"
"Well, consider him a friend for now; this kind of trust still exists." Shane answered ambiguously, making Gray even more curious.
However, Shane ignored him. He still had to rush to the blacksmith shop to get some ore.
Taking advantage of the time while Jellal mediated, he would forge the two Lacrimas he prepared early for Erza.