Shane pressed the name "Hades"—along with the ambition of a "Great Magic World"—deep down into his heart.
This time, he didn't treat it with the detached amusement of an onlooker like before.
An abyss of magic who wanted to reshape the world, holding countless lost and forbidden spells…
Facing someone like that, Shane couldn't help but worry: were Arash and Senji Muramasa really enough?
He unconsciously clenched his hand, and a faint sense of urgency crept up his spine.
Looks like I have to unlock Lancer's true name as soon as possible.
Shane drew in a breath, gave Makarov a small bow, and headed toward the center of the guild hall.
There, a one-sided "suppression" was in full swing.
Erza—wearing an easy-to-move shirt and pants—had one foot planted on Gray's back, while one hand casually pinned down Natsu's head as he struggled.
"How many times have I told you? Fighting is forbidden inside the guild!"
Her voice was cold and strict. Her scarlet hair swayed lightly with the motion, radiating a kind of authority that made people instinctively avert their eyes.
Gray's face was smashed against the floor as he whined and tried to beg. Natsu flailed stubbornly, still yelling "Again!"
"…Man, she really doesn't hold back," Shane muttered, stopping a short distance away.
From the outside, her presence really was scary sometimes. No wonder Natsu and Gray acted like mice seeing a cat.
He cleared his throat, shot the two idiots on the floor a "remember to thank me" look, then raised a hand and called out loudly:
"Erza! Forget them—come pick a job!"
At Shane's voice, the icy hardness on Erza's face instantly melted.
She lowered her head and delivered one last warning. "If I see you fighting in the guild again, it won't end like this next time."
Then she released them, smoothed her slightly messy hair, and jogged toward Shane.
Gray and Natsu crawled up in a heap and stared at Erza's back—so different from a second ago—eyes full of stunned gratitude.
"Haaah… we survived…" Natsu wiped cold sweat off his forehead and looked at Shane with awe. "That guy… can make that monster woman act this obedient? What kind of magic is that?!"
"Don't know how," Gray muttered, still shaken as he rubbed his head, "but seriously… this time we owe Shane."
Off in a corner, Cana rolled her eyes dramatically, flicking her playing cards. "Two idiots."
Then she seemed to remember something, and a wicked grin curled across her face as she yelled toward Natsu:
"Natsu! Where's the wind? It's hot!"
Natsu stiffened like a statue.
He turned to Cana, saw her smirking expression, and his face twisted into pure unwillingness.
But that "handle" she had on him…
"Y-yeah, got it!" he gritted out, dragging his feet over and grabbing a fan, fanning her with visible resentment.
Ever since Cana caught him talking trash about Erza behind her back, he'd been forced into an "obey orders for one week" slave contract as hush money.
"Pfft—" Gray immediately started laughing. "If Cana's got dirt on you, you're done for!"
Shane didn't care about their mess. His focus was already locked onto the job board.
He'd decided that until Lancer's true name was revealed, he'd keep taking jobs with Erza.
Partly for Erza's "heartlight" to speed up the next vision, and partly for the year-end S-class slot.
After all, that [Pillar] trial was still hanging over his head—
If he had free time, he needed to rack up achievements.
But…
Shane scanned the densely packed requests—find a missing mage pet, escort a caravan through a canyon, recover fragments from ancient ruins…
So many types, it made his eyes blur.
For a lazy guy like Shane, who'd barely ever "worked," filtering for high value was genuinely a skill.
"Any suggestions, Miss Quest Pro?" Shane turned naturally to the expert at his side—Erza.
When in doubt, ask the specialist. That was his rule.
Erza stood beside him, gaze sweeping the board as she frowned and thought seriously.
"Okay. Considering location, pay-to-effort ratio, and how much time we'd sink into it…"
She pointed out several areas on the board, analyzing with neat logic. "Escort jobs take too long and often come with unpredictable problems—low efficiency. Retrieval jobs need a lot of investigation up front—too tedious."
"Overall, I think it's best to prioritize extermination requests."
"They have clear targets, simple flow, and the pay is usually good. Plus it's great for sharpening combat."
As expected from a task monster who once spammed more than ten requests in a month just to buy armor—her experience was ridiculous.
Shane nodded firmly. "I'm with you."
He focused on the extermination section and sifted fast.
Soon, a slightly yellowed request caught his eye.
[Request]: Exterminate a Wyvern nesting in the northern snow mountains
[Reward]: 500,000J
"…A dragon?" That word instantly snagged Shane's nerves.
Even if a wyvern was only a lesser drake—maybe not even a true drake—just a monster that looked like one…
Shane was desperate for any dragon-related clue that might accelerate Lancer's vision progress.
He didn't want to waste even a sliver of possibility.
Rip—
He tore the request down without hesitation and handed it to Erza. "How about this one?"
Erza read it and nodded. "Northern snow mountains—reasonable distance. Wyverns are fierce, but we can handle it easily. The pay is fair too. Yeah—this works."
With the expert approving, Shane took the slip to the counter to register.
Right then, Makarov—watching from behind the bar—spoke up.
"If you're going to hunt wyverns… bring back some of their scales while you're at it."
"Scales?" Shane paused, curious. "Do they have some special use?"
"Oh, those?" Makarov rubbed his mustache and smiled. "The guild's planning an internal competition soon, to liven things up."
"I've been wondering what to use as tokens. Wyvern scales resist water and fire, and they're tough—perfect for keepsakes."
"Sure." Shane agreed easily. The old man had helped him plenty; a small favor like this was nothing.
Once they were registered, Erza looked visibly excited.
"Then let's go home and pack!"
Her eyes sparkled—clearly thrilled about a long-missed "two-person team-up." "For the snow mountains, I need thicker blankets, sleeping bags, and—"
…
The moment Shane heard "pack," his brain started throbbing.
He'd seen Erza's travel "packing."
That wasn't packing.
That was moving house.
Huge bundles. Giant bags. Sometimes even cookware.
It was the kind of sight that made you want to lie down and give up.
"Wait!"
Shane quickly grabbed Erza before she could sprint off.
His eyes darted—and landed on Natsu, still miserable as he fanned Cana, and Gray next to him, lounging with legs crossed while mocking Natsu.
A brilliant idea to redirect Erza's attention instantly bloomed.
Shane's lips curved as he walked over, waving the request slip. "Yo, you two. Wyvern extermination. Reward: five hundred thousand J. Wanna come?"
"?"
But surprisingly, the first voice wasn't Natsu or Gray—it was Erza.
"You want to bring Natsu and Gray too?"
Her eyes widened. Her tone turned urgent—almost a little hurt.
She'd been looking forward to a trip with just the two of them. Why were these two suddenly being added?
Shane blinked, genuinely not understanding why she was reacting so strongly.
He had reasons.
As potential candidates for [Path of the Ember], Natsu and Gray were miles behind Laxus's S-class level.
If there was a good chance to train them and push them closer, why wouldn't he take it?
Meanwhile, Natsu's eyes lit up at "mission" and, more importantly, a legitimate excuse to escape Cana.
"I'm in! I'm in!"
He was about to jump—when Gray grabbed his arm.
Gray pointed at Erza behind Shane and hissed, "Idiot. Look. Erza's coming too."
"Gah?!"
Natsu followed his finger—and met Erza's slightly dark expression.
He deflated in real time, turning into a human bitter melon.
Going on a mission with that monster woman? He'd rather fan Cana all day.
Seeing both of them instantly chicken out, Shane sighed.
He turned back to Erza and tried to reason with her patiently.
"Erza, think about it. As guildmates, if we see them lacking, don't we have a responsibility to help them?"
"Helping comrades get stronger is something we should do."
Erza pressed her lips together, two feelings fighting inside her—
Her long-awaited two-person trip… versus her sense of duty.
She hesitated, visibly torn.
But in the end, her honest, upright heart won out under Shane's coaxing.
"…Okay."
She nodded reluctantly.
But the sulky feeling didn't go away.
So she snapped her head around and shot the two culprits a murderous glare.
It screamed: If you dare slow us down, you're dead.
"Eek—!"
The two idiots froze, instantly chilled to the bone.
Watching Erza's killing aura, they genuinely looked like they thought they were being forced into a suicide squad.
"W-we'll go! We'll go, okay?!"
They wailed, hugging each other and trembling.