At dusk, the setting sun dyed the snow in Magnolia a warm orange-red.
Shane, Erza, and Ultear finally walked out of the small church, followed by a group of chattering, reluctant children.
Facts proved that Shane's idea of "finish early and get paid early" before departure was laughably naive.
Cana's money wasn't that easy to take.
The simple "help" in her mouth meant cleaning and organizing almost the entire small church from inside out, the workload far exceeding expectations.
Relying on Shane alone, he might not even finish by tomorrow.
Fortunately, Erza exerted her appeal. Not only did she help herself, but she also organized the children in the church, turning the cleaning into a lively game.
Under her command, the children handed rags, collected ribbons, and moved light sundries, busy and happy.
Only then was the work completed before dark.
"Goodbye, Big Sister Erza!"
"Thank you, Big Sister Ultear, for picking up the ball for me!"
"Big Brother Shane, your hair is so fun!"
When leaving, Erza was naturally the center of the children. She responded with a smile, like a truly reliable big sister.
What surprised Shane a bit was that Ultear was also surrounded by several little girls, who seemed very curious and fond of her cold temperament.
"Tsk, didn't expect you to be quite popular with children." Shane rubbed his somewhat sore arm, grimacing.
He thought of that brat who climbed onto his shoulder and pulled his hair just now.
Couldn't help sighing that the difference in treatment between men and women was too big.
However, complaints aside, looking at the tidy and bright church, and thinking of the upcoming reward, Shane felt happy in his heart.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a trophy.
This was a lollipop "confiscated" from the "little enemy" who pulled his hair. He peeled off the wrapper neatly and stuffed it into his mouth.
The sweetness of strawberry melted on the tip of his tongue, instantly dispelling fatigue. Shane narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.
"Sure enough, the trophies after victory taste the best!"
His childish and smug appearance made even Erza, who was long used to his occasional off-track behavior, unable to watch anymore.
The scarlet-haired girl rubbed her forehead, unable to help roasting, "Are you a child? Even snatching candy from kids to eat."
Shane, however, put on a serious face, as if stating some solemn fact. "You don't understand. That man challenged me to a dignified samurai duel! I went all out; this is the greatest respect for him!"
Saying this, he postured to swing a fist, about to describe how tense and exciting the battle just now was.
Just then, Ultear, who had been walking silently beside them, suddenly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Erza noticed immediately, her tone carrying natural concern.
After learning about Ultear's deed of destroying the Bureau of Magical Development, and spending less than a day together, she almost regarded the other party as one of their own.
Ultear didn't look at Erza but cast her gaze toward Shane. "Undo the shackles; I'm leaving."
"Hmm?"
The lollipop in Shane's mouth almost fell out.
He rarely had a change of impression toward Ultear because of her performance in the church today.
He was even calculating in his heart to cook something good himself tonight.
Result, this woman suddenly said she wanted to leave? So fickle?
Ultear didn't explain much.
She couldn't possibly say that she felt if she stayed any longer, she would develop some slackness she shouldn't have in her heart.
This emotion made her feel unfamiliar and panicked. She worried that if she continued like this, she would become not strong enough.
Such a self couldn't gain a foothold in "that guild."
So, she must leave right now.
Shane looked at her for a moment. Seeing the determination on her expression didn't seem fake, he waved his hand, and the shackle on Ultear's ankle disappeared accordingly.
Regaining freedom, Ultear's gaze was complicated and indistinguishable. She only said "meet again in a month."
Then she turned around neatly, walking away in the opposite direction from them.
Perhaps because of this "meet again in a month," Erza's mood recovered quickly. After Ultear's figure completely disappeared from sight.
She leaned close to Shane and looked up, asking, "Are you cooking tonight?"
Shane said grumpily, "You say it as if I rarely cooked before."
"Oh oh!" Erza didn't mind, her eyes shining as she made a request. "I want to eat pan-fried steak!"
Shane looked at this girl with pity. A piece of pan-fried steak could satisfy her; really hasn't eaten anything good.
"Fine, fine."
He shrugged, happy to be relaxed, and immediately greeted, "Let's go. To the guild first, find Cana to get the meal money."
Shane was keeping a tab for Cana. Agreed on "simply cleaning a place," but arrived to find it was a "whole church grand cleaning."
Tired him out enough to feel his ability values were about to break through.
The two walked and chatted, mainly Erza describing which child was particularly interesting today, with Shane occasionally interjecting to roast that kid who pulled his hair.
Unknowingly, the familiar building outline of the Fairy Tail guild appeared in their vision.
Just as Shane was thinking about how to "settle accounts" with Cana while reaching out to push open the guild gate—Bang!
The door was slammed open from the inside. A figure rushed out quickly carrying suppressed anger, colliding full-on with Shane at the door.
Shane staggered from the impact, the lollipop stick in his mouth almost poking his throat.
He steadied himself and looked up.
The one who bumped into him was a tall and thin man, with somewhat messy dark hair and undissipated gloom on his face.
"Ivan Dreyar?"
"Brat, get lost!"
Ivan's gloomy eyes swept over Shane, his tone extremely impatient, even carrying a suppressed anger.
From between his teeth, suppressed whispers could almost be heard: "That stubborn old man—how dare he treat me like this!"
Shane frowned, a trace of flame dancing in his eyes. But for the Master's sake, he couldn't be bothered to argue with Ivan, who was obviously in a rage.
He said nothing, just casually pulled Erza aside to make way. But he thought silently in his heart:
If this guy Ivan appears in the guild—
Ivan didn't look at them again, leaving quickly with a low pressure around him.
Shane and Erza exchanged glances before pushing open the guild gate and walking in.
The atmosphere inside the door was completely different from yesterday's banquet. As Shane expected, it was filled with heavy depression.
Shane scanned around and soon saw Cana in the corner.
He couldn't care about finding her to "settle accounts" immediately, walking over quickly and asking in a low voice, "What happened? Did the Master quarrel with his son again?"
Hearing the voice, Cana raised her head. The usual liveliness and cunning were gone from her face, replaced by a complex, heavy emotion.
She shook her head, her voice dry, giving an unexpected answer: "No."
"The Master expelled Ivan—from the guild."