Being judged by the Book of Heroes as a qualified companion meant one thing: Erza's strength was now, without a doubt, S-class.
How old is she, even…?
Shane rubbed his brow and looked at the girl in the yard wiping sweat from her forehead. Alongside the shock, what rose in him was a hard-to-name tenderness.
From the ragged slave girl who didn't even understand magic, to the poised, commanding mage she'd become—he'd watched it all, step by step. He'd been there, watering that crimson flower until it finally bloomed.
"Shane?"
Sensing his gaze, Erza lowered her sword.
But she didn't smile the way she usually did.
She stood still, didn't come over, and instead clasped her hands behind her back, silently staring at him.
She wasn't as expressive as Mira—but her tightly pressed lips and the way she kept avoiding his eyes said the same thing loud and clear:
I'm not happy.
And it made sense. For the past two months, training Mira had meant Shane was out early and back late almost every day—sometimes not coming home at all.
Even though he'd asked first, and Erza had agreed like the generous person she was… watching him pour most of his time and focus into Mira still left a quiet emptiness in her chest.
With nowhere to vent it, it had turned into sword practice—several times harder than usual.
"Hm…"
Watching this girl—who somehow managed to sulk in the most restrained, awkward way—Shane's heart went soft in an instant.
Compared to the white cat who exploded at the drop of a pin, Erza was so well-behaved it was almost painful.
He shook his head with a small, helpless laugh and walked over.
Erza didn't dodge. She only turned her face aside, exposing the delicate curve of her neck, flushed pink from hard exercise.
"Good work."
Shane naturally lifted a hand, slid his fingers into her slightly messy scarlet hair, and gently combed it back into place.
"Mmph…"
Erza let out a soft sound through her nose. The tension in her shoulders melted immediately.
Her face still tried to hold onto that cool, flat expression—
but her body didn't lie. She didn't move away. If anything, she dipped her head a little, letting him fuss with her hair.
She'd had to admit it more and more lately:
She was running out of ways to deal with Shane.
"By the way—there's something I need to tell you."
Once he figured she'd calmed down enough, Shane brought up the thing the bristly white cat had been yelling about for half an hour.
"I just dropped Mira off. She told me to pass on a message—she says she's coming to duel you tomorrow for revenge."
"A duel?"
Erza lifted her head. Her black eyes were glossy with moisture—and then, in the next heartbeat, a spark flared inside them.
"Yeah." Shane nodded, then remembered something. His fingertips slid down from her hair to her cheek.
"Um… when you fight her, make sure you—"
Before he could finish, the newly soothed Erza suddenly tipped her chin up, fixing him with a sharp, dangerous stare.
Shane's instincts screamed. He swallowed and blurted the rest at lightning speed:
"—go all out! Don't hold back! Not even a little!"
"That girl's grown way too fast—her tail's basically pointing at the sky. You've gotta teach her a proper lesson so she learns what 'knowing your place' means!"
Hearing that he wasn't about to tell her to "go easy" or "take care of the newbie," the chill in Erza's gaze finally faded.
"If you're saying that…" She nodded, serious. "Then I will use my full strength. That's respect for an opponent."
"Good. Great." Shane wiped imaginary sweat from his brow.
And, in his head, he started offering prayers for Mira.
Before Erza hit S-class, Mira—after the training—still had a sliver of a chance.
But now? Against an S-class mage at full peak condition…
"Heh…"
Shane's mouth curled up into a slightly villainous grin.
Mira, Mira… hope you don't get destroyed too badly tomorrow. Good luck out there.
"Shane."
Two hands suddenly reached in, one from each side, pinching his cheeks and yanking them outward.
"Wh—ow ow ow!"
"No making that evil-guy smile," Erza said, deadpan and strict. "It looks awful."
"Okay, okay—got it. Let go, let go…"
His "spellcasting" interrupted, Shane rubbed his burning cheeks and finally brought his wandering thoughts back.
Taking advantage of the pause, he glanced at the Book of Heroes.
[Trial: 2/5]
The remaining slots… Jellal and Ultear should be fine too.
Meaning: the long chain trial's completion wasn't far off now.
"When the first stage cleared, it gave a permanent +1 to 'Depth Increase'…" Shane felt a faint surge of anticipation. "I wonder if this time it'll raise the Book's permissions again."
Preferably something that let him control when the Heroic Visions triggered.
They were getting more uncontrollable, more real. If one ever hit a city again, it wouldn't be funny anymore.
"Oh—right."
Erza, as if remembering something, broke his train of thought. She ran inside and came back holding an envelope.
"This arrived this morning. No sender name, but the postmark says it's from that seaside city."
"A seaside city?"
Shane's heart skipped. He took it and tore it open.
That familiar handwriting.
Jellal.
Shane's eyes sharpened—he thought something bad had happened—but after a quick read, the contents were surprisingly relaxed.
Jellal just wanted to check in.
He summarized how things were going at the Tower of Paradise: the former laborers were settled safely, teaching Wally and Shô to use magic was going smoothly…
They were just stuck on one problem: they wanted to found a mage guild, and couldn't decide on a name. Jellal hoped Shane, as the Tower's liberator, could offer suggestions.
At the end, Jellal added a casual note:
"Noel's been busy lately. The smithy he works at has apparently consolidated the entire seaside city's forging resources. It's growing fast…"
Shane's eyes lit up.
"Noel and Jellal really got close, huh. That's great."
"And a smithy that's unified a whole city's resources…?"
He'd been worrying about where to route his magi-weapon business. If Noel's side was expanding, that was practically a ready-made partner.
"Looks like I need to visit after New Year."
He folded the letter, already planning.
Not just for business—he wanted to see those friends at the Tower again.
And while he was there… he could register Jellal as a "companion" and push that progress bar forward.
Thinking that, he immediately grabbed pen and paper and wrote back.
He mentioned visiting after the holiday, and specifically asked Jellal to have Noel check with his master about partnering to develop a magi-weapon market.
…
By the time he finished dealing with the small stuff, night had deepened.
Steam drifted in the hot spring.
For the first time in a while, Shane and Erza soaked together in the pool, warm water wrapping around them, washing away the exhaustion of the past two months.
"Is the pressure okay?"
Erza's gentle voice came from behind him.
Her wet red hair was loosely tied back. With a towel in hand, she carefully scrubbed his back.
But even with that luxury, Shane's mind wandered.
Because he suddenly remembered: the last time he'd soaked with Erza like this… was also the day the black-haired girl left Magnolia.
Months had passed. Ultear had practically vanished—no contact at all.
"I wonder what she's doing," Shane frowned.
If their relationship hadn't softened a lot, he'd have assumed she'd cut the partnership and run.
"You're thinking about something."
Erza's voice turned faintly displeased, and a fingertip poked his back like a warning.
Shane snapped out of it and turned his head, meeting her eyes—clear and bright through the mist.
"…Are you worried about Ultear?" she asked bluntly.
"Uh…" Shane touched his face, a little embarrassed. "That obvious?"
Erza nodded. "Yeah. Very. Your eyebrows are practically tied together."
Since she'd already called it out, Shane stopped pretending.
He sighed, resting his chin on his arms at the pool edge. "Yeah. I'm kind of worried."
"She's in a dark guild that eats people alive."
"And she's… 'weak.' If she's been silent for months, something could've happened."
He could call her a "bad woman" all day, but he still couldn't help caring.
"Should we contact her?" Erza paused.
A tiny sourness flickered through her—but she wasn't petty. She gave a practical suggestion instead.
"Doesn't she have a communication lacrima?"
"Let's wait," Shane said after thinking. "She warned me not to contact her unless it's necessary. It could expose her."
"If after New Year she still hasn't moved…"
He looked at Erza.
"Do you want to go look for her—together?"
The moment he said "together," the last trace of Erza's sourness dissolved.
Because she realized something important:
Shane—who used to prefer acting alone—was choosing to bring her into the plan.
Her lips lifted slightly.
She was happy.
~~~
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