Ultear seemed to see through his dismissal, the corner of her mouth twitching imperceptibly.
Immediately after, she seemed to recall a specific person. Her lips curled into a very faint smile, one that carried a hint of malicious amusement.
"I don't know all of them yet, but there is one person whose magic you might find very interesting."
"Who? What magic?" Shane followed her lead and asked.
"A guy named Zancrow," Ultear said.
An image floated into her mind: a brat with spiky blonde hair and an arrogant expression.
She felt that with his flashy, over-the-top personality, if he were to run into this guy in front of her—who looked lazy but was actually arrogant to the bone—the scene would definitely be entertaining.
"The magic the Master taught him is—Flame God Slayer Magic."
She paused deliberately to observe Shane's reaction before continuing.
"It is said to be magic that commands pitch-black flames, proclaimed to be the 'Endless Fire' that reigns supreme over all other flames. More importantly, he can not only nullify and ignore fire, but he can also consume flames to strengthen himself."
"Sounds like..." Ultear's tone carried a faint trace of probing, "his magic is a hard counter to your Heart Fire, isn't it?"
"Once he fully masters this Lost Magic, Shane, you might have quite a headache if you run into him in the future."
After speaking, she looked at Shane with interest, waiting to see how he would respond.
However, the expected gravity or apprehension did not appear. Shane just froze for a moment, his expression becoming somewhat subtle.
"Sigh. If we were still enemies, I probably wouldn't bother explaining this misunderstanding to you."
Shane sighed, his tone becoming slightly more formal.
"But since we are technically cooperating partners now, I don't want you making strange judgments that could lead to wrong decisions in the future."
As he spoke, he extended his right palm.
Poof.
A wisp of warm, dancing Heart Fire quietly emerged, a crimson flame burning quietly in his palm.
But immediately after, the interior of the flame began to change.
Stretching, condensing, gradually solidifying—
Under Ultear's slightly surprised gaze, a pitch-black longsword was slowly "forged" from the heart of the flame, hovering silently.
"Look," Shane said calmly, looking at the girl while holding the black sword born from fire. "The impression I give during battle is mostly the ferocity and heat of the Heart Fire.
"That isn't wrong—but the origin of my magic has never been 'Fire' itself."
He stared at the black sword floating above his palm.
" The origin of Senji Muramasa—is the Sword."
"It is 'Creation' and 'Extraction,' ultimately forging the 'One and Only' sword!"
"This Heart Fire is nothing more than the furnace heat and power manifestation produced during the process of forging this 'One and Only Sword'."
As he spoke, his five fingers closed gently. The flame and the black sword dissipated silently at the same time, as if they had never existed.
"So, if anyone holds the idea that they can easily handle me just by targeting my flames... that would be a massive misunderstanding."
Shane looked back at Ultear, his tone carrying a hint of a reminder.
"Remember this well. If you label people based solely on outward impressions, you're going to suffer a big loss in the future.
At the very least, I have never viewed you as some 'Mage of Lost Magic,' but rather... as an Ice-Make Mage."
"..."
If it were anyone else "lecturing" her in this teacher-like tone, it might have been fine. But coming from Shane...
Ultear found it really hard to accept.
She fell silent for a few seconds, too lazy to even correct Shane about not mentioning Ice-Make in front of her.
Instead, she stiffly turned back to her original purpose. "Anyway, I've given you the intel for this time."
Saying that, she turned around directly, making a move to leave. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going first."
"Wait a second."
Seeing her reaction, Shane thought about how knowledgeable Ultear was and immediately called out to stop her.
"What is it now?" Ultear looked back in confusion.
Shane asked directly, "Do you know the name 'Heartfilia'? Or... the family?"
"Hmm?" A flash of confusion crossed Ultear's face. "Of course I know. Why do you ask?"
I got it that easily?
Shane's expression froze, and a wave of unexpected surprise surged in his heart.
He had originally thought it would take some trouble, but he didn't expect the clue to come so easily.
Shane immediately followed up, "Tell me everything you know about the Heartfilias in detail!"
Ultear sized Shane up with a very strange look.
The Heartfilia family, who controlled the railways and possessed wealth that rivaled nations, was known to almost everyone in the Kingdom of Fiore. Did this guy crawl out of some primitive forest cut off from the world?
But seeing that Shane's urgent and serious expression wasn't faked, she pursed her lips and explained anyway.
"Heartfilia is the most famous financial conglomerate family in Fiore. With the railway industry as their core, they possess unimaginable amounts of land and assets on this continent."
So that's it... Shane nodded thoughtfully.
Since it was a trial designated as a "Big Event" by the Book of Heroic Spirits, it made sense that the target involved would have such influence.
"If I wanted to make contact with the Heartfilia family, is there any way?" he continued to ask.
Although Ultear didn't understand what this eccentric guy was planning now, in the spirit of completing the transaction, she revealed what she knew.
"The Heartfilia family recently seems to be collecting all the Zodiac Keys at any cost."
"Zodiac Keys?" This was another term in Shane's knowledge blind spot. Although his strength was good now, in terms of magical knowledge, he was still an out-and-out rookie.
Ultear sighed helplessly, forced to act as a temporary encyclopedia.
"So-called 'Keys' are the medium used by Celestial Spirit Mages."
"Celestial Spirit Magic is a type of spatial summoning magic. Mages sign contracts with creatures from the Celestial Spirit World and use specific 'Keys' to summon and command them."
"And among them, the most precious and powerful ones are the twelve Golden Keys that can summon the Spirits of the Zodiac."
She paused and concluded, "If you want to contact them, cutting in from this angle might be an opportunity. But as for why they are collecting the keys, I don't know."
After speaking, she didn't give Shane a chance to ask anymore. As if afraid he would ask some basic question like "What is the Celestial Spirit World?", she turned quickly and walked away briskly.
Since he had learned almost everything he wanted to know, Shane didn't stop her.
He stood there, his brain working at high speed, connecting the information he just received with the prompt from the Book of Heroic Spirits.
[Witness the Gate of Cycles spanning four hundred years of time.]
Heartfilia family—collecting the Golden Zodiac Keys—
A clear logical chain emerged in his mind: The keys are likely crucial to opening that "Gate"!
If that was the case, then the idea Ultear provided was indeed correct. If he wanted to intervene in this trial, starting with the "Zodiac Keys" was indeed the most direct method.