"Thank goodness! Mira!"
Lisanna and Elfman were just as overwhelmed—each grabbing one of their sister's arms, crying and laughing at the same time.
Seeing that nobody was going to nitpick the detail he'd "forgotten" to mention—that Receiving magic can affect your mind—Shane let out a satisfied breath.
With that, the whole mess finally felt like it had come to an end.
After a good while, Mira's turbulent emotions settled down. But she couldn't stop the smile tugging at her lips, and every so often she'd lift her hand to the light again, checking and re-checking that it was truly a normal human right hand.
While the three siblings were basking in relief, Shane hadn't forgotten his unlucky commission.
He strolled up to the door of Mira's shack, looked at the village chief sprawled unconscious on the ground, and smacked the old man's wrinkled face a few times.
"Hey. Wake up."
"Ugh…"
The chief opened his eyes groggily. The moment his vision focused, Shane's half-smiling face filled his view.
The old man jolted like he'd been electrocuted, the terrifying image from earlier—Shane chatting calmly with that "demon girl"—flashing through his mind. His heart nearly seized.
Then he glanced past Shane and saw Mira walking toward them.
"Gah—"
The old man's eyes rolled back, and he fainted again on the spot.
"Seriously…"
Shane shook his head, speechless. Looks like the lesson really sank in—this guy was probably going to have nightmares every time he saw white hair for the rest of his life.
To close the case cleanly, Shane had Mira stay farther back. After a lot of effort, he finally managed to wake the chief again.
Technically, Mira had agreed to join Fairy Tail, which made her half a guild member already. In that sense, this "subjugation" request wasn't exactly unfulfilled…
And if Shane wanted to be ruthless, he could probably force the village to pay the remaining tens of thousands of J.
But it was a stretch, and while Shane didn't care much about his own reputation, he was operating under the guild's name. He didn't need to hand people ammunition to gossip about Fairy Tail.
So he said flatly, "Since the 'demon' problem was already resolved before I arrived, you'll go to the guild yourselves and cancel the request. The deposit will be refunded through the proper process."
"Y-yes! Yes! I understand! I understand everything!"
The chief's attitude had flipped completely. Not a trace of the earlier arrogance remained.
Now he nodded so hard it looked like his neck might snap, trembling all over—clearly terrified Shane would get displeased and have that "female demon" do something drastic.
"This village really is out in the sticks…"
Watching the chief act like a different person, Shane felt a fresh wave of irritation.
These people probably had never seen real magic in their lives. Otherwise they wouldn't have dared treat a guild mage like that.
"Alright."
Shane stood, brushed the dust off his hands, and couldn't be bothered with the wreckage or the villagers shaking in their boots.
Mira had hit hard, sure—but she'd held back. No one was dead. Let them clean up their own mess.
He turned and called to the three siblings, "You got all your stuff?"
"Yeah, it's all here." Lisanna lifted a small bundle.
"Then let's go."
Shane glanced at the darkening sky.
"We're leaving tonight."
"Huh? Now?" Elfman looked stunned. "Travel at night? We're not waiting until morning?"
Shane jerked his thumb toward the village chief still shivering nearby and shrugged.
"If you want to stay a little longer and admire them making fools of themselves, be my guest."
"Let's go now."
Mira shot a cold look at the villagers—no attachment, no hesitation. "I don't want to see them."
Shane raised an eyebrow. He got it.
Mira had risked her life to deal with the demon—only to be repaid with hatred and stones.
If it were him, he'd be worse.
And he also noticed something: Mira's personality was starting to look less awkward and self-doubting than when they first met. She was becoming direct, decisive—like a real "big sister" leader.
"Okay. We'll do what Sis says."
Lisanna and Elfman were quick to agree. They grabbed their things and were ready to go.
They barely had anything—some spare clothes and a small package.
Watching them struggle with bulky bundles, Shane once again felt vindicated about mastering Requip magic. Traveling for work was so much easier.
"Alright. One more problem."
He rubbed his chin, eyeing the three of them.
"If I fly at full speed with my dragon wings, I can reach the guild before tomorrow morning. But with three people… how do I carry you?"
Before he finished—
"Bzzzt—"
A huge pair of dragon wings snapped open behind him, kicking up a gust.
"Whoa…!"
Elfman blurted it out first, awestruck. "Even cooler than Sis's demon wings!"
With permission, he crept closer and lightly touched the textured surface, eyes sparkling with admiration.
Lisanna's eyes were shining too. Anyone who shared traits with her sister made her instinctively feel closer.
Only Mira looked… complicated.
Seeing those wings made her recall fragments of the earlier rampage—rage, violence, losing control… and then Shane beating her down without mercy.
"Tch…"
She rubbed her side reflexively. It still hurt—she was sure there'd be bruising.
"You…"
Mira glared at him, suspicious. "You hit me that hard earlier… was that on purpose? Payback?"
"Huh? What?" Shane turned, looking genuinely blank—as if he had no idea what she meant.
"…!"
Mira puffed her cheeks, angry and helpless. No matter what, he'd helped her—untangled her knot of fear and brought her back to herself.
She looked away and huffed. "Just wait. Once I fully master demonization, I'm fighting you again."
"Oh?" Shane looked surprised.
Already thinking about training her power? The moment her arm recovered, she got competitive—bold, even.
That was good.
"Anyway—back to the point."
Shane clapped once to refocus them.
"If we walk back to Magnolia—even with rides—it'll take at least a week. If I fly, it's half a day."
He spread his hands. "So. Flying or walking?"
"Fly! Fly!" Elfman shot his hand up immediately, thrilled.
Lisanna thought for a second and nodded obediently. "Walking is exhausting. If we can fly, let's fly."
Mira gave Shane a look like he'd asked the dumbest question in the world. "Of course we fly. Why are you even asking?"
Yep. This girl's real personality was that blunt. Shane confirmed it again internally.
"Alright—takeoff!"
Shane didn't waste time. Like lifting kittens, he grabbed Mira and Lisanna—one under each arm—tucking them against his sides.
As for Elfman, the biggest by far—
"Hold onto my leg."
"Got it!"
Ready.
"Boom!"
His wings thundered once, and all four of them shot into the sky like a streak of light.
…
High-altitude winds were brutally cold.
Shane had estimated they'd arrive before dawn—but he overestimated Elfman's stamina.
Halfway through, Elfman—still hanging from Shane's leg—started rolling his eyes from exhaustion.
With no choice, they landed on a sheltered plain, lit a campfire, and decided to rest for half the night.
Notably—
Mira, who'd been loudly insisting they switch positions and fly straight through, collapsed the moment she hit the blanket and fell asleep hugging Lisanna with zero dignity.
"Sis… um…"
Lisanna was pinned tight, face bright red, and could only awkwardly explain to Shane, "Mira usually isn't this clingy… she's just really tired today."
In the firelight, Mira's unguarded sleeping face looked peacefully innocent.
The emotional whiplash, plus the massive magical drain from full demonization, had pushed her beyond her limit.
"It's fine. Sleep."
Shane sat by the fire, not overthinking it—just mildly amused by the contrast.
…
Next morning.
Sunlight pierced the clouds over the plain.
Mira woke, sat up—and immediately saw Shane with his back turned, shoulders shaking like he was holding in laughter, and Elfman staring hard at the scenery as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
The vibe was… off.
"What…?" Mira rubbed her eyes. "What's going on?"
"Sis… um… drool…"
Lisanna weakly pointed at her own collar. "It… got on me."
"…!!"
Mira looked.
A clear wet patch.
Instantly, it was like steam blasted out of her head—her face turned bright red, humiliation detonating so hard her hair practically wanted to spike up into demon form again.
"Pff—"
Since they needed to get moving fast, Shane forced himself to look away and "admire the view," letting Lisanna whisper frantically to calm her sister down.
After a long struggle, Mira finally regained control.
But her eyes stayed watery and shaken, and she couldn't bring herself to look at Shane.
"Humiliating… humiliating… this is so humiliating!!"
"Showing that kind of stupid side to someone I just met…"
She chewed the inside of her cheek, seething.
"Ahem. Let's go."
Shane, afraid she'd rage-walk to Magnolia out of spite, quickly switched back into "human cargo transport mode."
They took off again.
This time there were no issues. Near midday, the outline of a bustling city finally appeared.
Magnolia.
"We're here…? That's Fairy Tail's city?"
From the air, the siblings stared down at the lively town, eyes full of anticipation.
Then—
BOOOOM!!
A huge, dull blast erupted from one corner of the city, followed by a plume of dust.
In their stunned gaze, an orange-red figure flashed through the smoke—
—and a major street was pulverized into rubble right in front of them.
"?!"
They saw the whole thing from above.
"W-wait! What was that?!" Elfman shouted in horror. "Is it an attack?! What do we do?!"
Mira turned to Shane, tense. "You're from this city's guild, right? Do we go help?"
"…" Shane stared at that unmistakable "street demolition technique" and fell silent.
~~~
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