Watching Jellal bolt with Wendy on his back—practically fleeing for his life—Shane slowly turned his head.
His gaze crashed straight into Ultear's black eyes, practically glowing with delight.
For a beat, the air felt frozen.
"Pff—"
Seeing the blank, baffled look on Shane's face, Ultear finally couldn't hold it in. She broke, bending over as her shoulders shook with laughter.
"Looks like you really are a disaster magnet," she said, openly savoring it. "Even people from another world want nothing to do with you."
Like she was admiring a rare specimen, she strolled around him with exaggerated elegance, then nodded solemnly. "Yep. The image fits perfectly."
Shane wanted to argue that none of this was his fault—that it was Edolas' "tryhard" counterpart who had committed the sin of existing.
But when his eyes met Ultear's I'm absolutely doing this just to amuse myself expression, he swallowed the rebuttal.
He was still in his "special tolerance window" for her, so he decided to be generous and not fight.
He silently wrote the debt onto the tab of that unseen, truly inhuman counterpart.
But Shane's rare silence made Ultear's glee cool down almost instantly.
Mocking an opponent who just lay flat and accepted it… even if you "win," it's not satisfying at all.
Then a lightbulb went on in her head. Her clear, cool eyes widened.
"Don't tell me…" she leaned in half a step, like she'd discovered a whole new continent. "You're only being this patient because I kicked you away and saved you, and now you feel awkward about it—so you're holding back and letting me off?"
Her usually flat, expressionless face suddenly became way too animated, her brows and eyes brimming with surprise. "Wow. I didn't think you even knew what gratitude was. I thought your dictionary only had the words push your luck."
Ultear's increasingly shameless face-to-face trash talk made Shane's mouth twitch.
He seriously suspected she still hadn't fully recovered from Nirvana's effects.
Not only was she talking way more, her venom had leveled up too—her old "don't come near me" ice-queen vibe was basically gone.
Tsk. This woman…
Shane clicked his tongue in his head.
But when his gaze landed on her messy hair—still a little tousled from taking Heavenly Tower head-on—and her slightly pale face, his irritation faded by more than half.
Whatever. He'd tolerate her a bit longer. No point fighting with a "patient."
He forced down the urge to just leave her here.
Then his mild OCD kicked in.
In Ultear's glossy black hair were a few pale, dried blades of grass—probably from when she hit the ground. Against that dark shine, they were painfully obvious.
Shane frowned. It bothered him.
He walked straight toward her.
Ultear instantly picked up the shift in his "presence." She clearly enjoyed dancing on the edge of his patience. Instead of backing off, she lifted her chin and puffed out her chest.
"What? Did I hit a nerve? You gonna swing?"
It was obviously a joke.
Even with her sharp mouth, she knew this guy—twisted personality and all—had a strong sense of limits.
But what she got wasn't anger.
Shane lifted his hand, slid his fingers into her hair, and started smoothing down the stray strands—patiently, carefully, taming the mess.
Ultear froze, full-body.
The sarcasm she'd prepared jammed in her throat.
She genuinely hadn't expected this.
"What are you doing—"
"Don't move," Shane cut her off, voice irritated as he picked out the grass like it was a crime against nature. "Not changing clothes is one thing, but you're this dirty too? If I have to carry you later, you'll get me dirty. You know I'm a neat freak."
As the last bit of grass fell from his fingers, Shane nodded internally at his own "noble character."
I'm really a virtuous man, huh.
Even when dealing with a vicious, sharp-tongued, black-hearted woman like Ultear, I can show this much tolerance.
What does that Edolas lunatic even have on me?
Shane's disgusted tone actually made Ultear relax.
Yes. This is more like it. This matched her mental image of Shane.
That weird, awkward feeling vanished, and she quietly exhaled in relief.
"Stop doing pointless things," she snapped—her tone sharp and annoyed, but strangely… she didn't slap his hand away.
Shane, used to Ultear calling everything "pointless," treated it like background noise.
What surprised him was that she didn't even bother to clap back about the "not changing clothes" jab.
Did she… change?
He didn't think too hard about it and kept going.
He pinched out the last tiny piece of grass at her hairline. His fingertips brushed her cool ear by accident, leaving a faint trace of warmth.
Ultear pressed her lips together, oddly tense. Her nice-shaped lips looked even glossier from the pressure.
She stayed quiet—like a cat that had put its claws away and was letting someone groom it.
That "well-behaved" silence made Shane even more surprised.
Did she finally realize she's bullied me too much and is feeling guilty?
He didn't get it. And he didn't feel like spending brainpower trying to parse Ultear's moods.
Once he was done, he patted his hands like the job was finished and stepped back. "There. Clean. Let's go."
"…Yeah." Ultear answered, muffled.
Another sudden mood swing?
Watching her snap back into her usual ice mask, Shane complained internally, then stepped forward and smoothly scooped her up in a princess carry.
This time, though, he was smarter.
His right arm around her waist stayed slightly loose, and he put most of the support under her knees with his left hand—ready to drop her if she tried another neck-snare.
Learn from pain. That was Shane's rule.
Never fall into the same trap twice—especially not with the same woman.
Ultear, meanwhile, was deep in thought and didn't notice his precautions at all.
Being lifted made her instinctively lean into him a little.
She was thinking: Small favors work on him way better than expected.
All she did was save him once, and his attitude softened this much?
That petty, stingy guy actually let her mock him, and even—rarely—showed a bit of consideration.
Given Shane's "strong but annoying as hell" nature, Ultear started seriously considering:
If she needed to borrow his power more in the future, and he was the type who "responds to softness," maybe she should adjust her approach?
She inhaled, mentally pulling up the sugary tone used by women who knew how to act cute.
Then she cleared her throat and forced the coldness out of her voice.
"Shane~ this time… thank you~ for helping me find Nirvana~"
"…"
The instant that syrupy voice hit his ears, Shane flashed back to the horrifying scenario he'd imagined earlier.
A full-body, biological nope surged up. Goosebumps exploded.
His hand jerked, and he nearly dropped her.
"S-sorry," he stammered, staggering to steady himself, face going gray. "That was just… really gross. Reflex."
He apologized with absolutely zero sincerity.
As for what kind of weird episode Ultear was having now—Shane was scared to ask. He didn't want it to be contagious.
Ultear's forehead vein jumped. Her fists clenched.
That "gentle persuasion plan" was instantly sentenced to death.
Yep. You can't give this kind of person a good face.
Next second, Ultear straightened in his arms, closed the distance, and—without warning—
Chokehold.
Her arms looped around his neck with frightening speed and torque.
Even though he'd been on guard, Shane still didn't react in time.
He'd underestimated how hard she could snap when embarrassed.
So that disgusting sweet voice was just a feint to lower my guard—psychological warfare?!
Shane suddenly felt he understood Ultear's twisted personality at a deeper level:
With her, you could never relax.
"Wait— I only said that because of Jellal! I misspoke! Sorry, sorry!!" Shane pleaded instantly, very wisely choosing survival.
After a long midair struggle, Ultear finally snorted and loosened the pressure a little—though she kept her arms around his neck like a warning collar.
Shane flexed his sore neck and carefully looked down at her.
The sunset lit her pale skin like jade; her features were flawless. Her normally icy aura, with that faint blush of anger, looked weirdly… seductive.
Shane evaluated with cold logic:
Aside from not being a white-haired type that would perfectly hit the "Shane's homeland beauty weakness," she was still a woman with essentially no flaws in appearance.
But of course, the universe was "fair"—or just malicious.
It gave Ultear perfect looks, and then dumped an entire bucket of tar and acid into her personality stats.
Mean. Petty. Vindictive. Moody. Sharp-tongued.
Shane sighed in his heart, exhausted.
They'd only been out for a single day, and he already missed Erza.
Which was funny—he'd been away for two months before and hadn't felt this way at all.