"W-what?!"
Before Shane could even say anything, Gray was the first to blow up.
His eyes went wide as he stared at his master in horror.
"Master! You're entering the S-Class exam too?!"
"What?"
Ur raised a brow. She stuck out her hand, pressed her knuckles against Gray's temple, and started grinding them in like a drill.
"Why can't I enter? Am I not a member of Fairy Tail too?"
"Ow ow ow! My brains are gonna come out!"
Gray bared his teeth in pain, tears flying.
"Of course you are, Master! I was just… too shocked!"
He begged out loud, but inside he was miserable.
After all, his goal had always been to become an S-Class Mage before Natsu did, so he could completely outshine that idiot who did nothing but breathe fire all day.
But now? Even his master was stepping in?
Then what the hell was the point of taking the exam at all?!
He was absolutely not prepared to treat his own master as an opponent.
But then another thought hit him. His former senior, Lyon, had always seen Ur as his lifelong goal, and Gray himself was Ur's student too…
No matter what, he couldn't lose to Lyon, and he definitely couldn't chicken out here!
"Hmph!"
Gray's eyes sharpened. Enduring the pain, he shouted loudly,
"Even if you become my opponent, Master, I won't hold back! This year's S-Class Mage… will definitely be me!"
"Heh. Nice spirit."
Shane casually dumped a bucket of cold water on him from the side.
"But before that, maybe you should think about how you're even going to qualify for the exam."
He raised two fingers and waved them.
"You've been in the guild for two years, and you still haven't even earned a single qualification spot for the exam."
"Urgh!!"
It was like Gray had been shot straight through the heart. Clutching his chest, he staggered back two steps.
"Gray, you're so lame~"
Ur helpfully stabbed him one more time from the side. It was a new phrase she'd recently learned from Shane, and she found it surprisingly easy to use.
"Even you too, Master…"
Gray's whole world dimmed. He crouched on the ground and started drawing circles, while a tragic autumn breeze seemed to drift through the background.
Shane ignored the utterly crushed Gray. Turning back to Ur, he spoke seriously.
"The S-Class exam is usually held in December every year."
"To earn a spot, you need to complete a certain number of high-level jobs and get the Master's approval. It's only July right now, so there's still plenty of time."
He honestly wasn't that surprised Ur wanted to enter. With her strength, keeping her stuck as an ordinary guild member really was a waste.
"December, huh…"
Ur nodded thoughtfully.
"Good. That gives me a few months."
As she spoke, she grabbed Gray by the back of the neck and hauled him up like a giant piece of trash.
"Come on, idiot apprentice! Since you want to be my opponent, I'll give you some special training and see how much you've actually improved over the years!"
"If you can't even get yourself qualified for the exam, that'll be way too embarrassing for me, Ur!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Easy, Master!"
Amid a fresh round of miserable screaming, Ur moved with ruthless efficiency and dragged Gray away into the distance.
…
Meanwhile—
Natsu was already sprawled on the ground, black and blue all over, looking like he had more air going out than coming in.
"Wait!"
Seeing Erza getting ready to add another punch, Shane's eyelid twitched. He hurried over and grabbed her wrist.
"If you keep going, he's really going to pass out!"
It wasn't that he felt bad for a thick-skinned guy like Natsu.
It was just that the so-called "dragon egg" still hadn't hatched yet. If Natsu got beaten unconscious now, wouldn't the whole burden of taking care of it get dumped on Lisanna alone?
That would be way too irresponsible.
"Really?"
Erza stopped, looking confused. Her beautiful face was full of genuine puzzlement.
She really hadn't noticed what state Natsu was in. She'd just felt he needed to be disciplined, and punching him had felt pretty good… so she'd gotten just a little carried away.
"Y-yes! Sister Erza!"
Lisanna was trembling beside them, even her voice shaking.
"Natsu… Natsu really can't take much more."
This was the first time she had truly experienced, firsthand, what her sister Mira meant by "that violent red-haired woman."
This was way too brutal!
"Whew…"
The moment Erza paused, Natsu tried to spring up like a carp—
And failed.
So instead, he had to scramble away on all fours, crawling out of Erza's attack range.
Then, the shameless idiot actually hid directly behind Lisanna's tiny frame, only peeking out with a pair of wary eyes as he stared at Erza.
"What's wrong with him?"
Erza looked even more confused, unable to understand why Natsu was being so defensive around her.
"I was clearly just trying to correct his mistakes."
"…"
Looking at the deep fist-craters all over the ground, Shane honestly had no idea how to answer that.
He let out a helpless sigh, then gently squeezed Erza's hand and carefully used his sleeve to wipe away the blood and dirt stuck to the back of her hand.
At the same time, he secretly shot a look at Natsu hiding behind her.
Natsu was still sitting there dazed, completely failing to understand.
Thankfully, Lisanna was quick on the uptake. She immediately got the hint.
"Take Over! Soul of the Sky Goose!"
A flash of light—
She turned into a big goose again, flew up to the giant tree that Natsu had protected so carefully, and gently brought the dragon egg down.
"Natsu! Let's go!"
She grabbed Natsu—who still hadn't fully processed what was happening—and dragged him off without caring anymore about building a nest or anything else, as if some terrifying monster were chasing them.
"Why did they all leave?"
Looking at the suddenly empty park, Erza tilted her head. A few crimson strands slipped down beside her ears, making her look oddly adorable.
"It's nothing. They're probably just in a hurry to hatch the egg."
Shane reached out helplessly and tucked that loose strand behind her ear, the gesture natural and intimate.
"Let's head back too."
He had more or less figured it out now—this girl had absolutely no idea how strong her discipline was, or just how destructive she could be.
Of course, if he pointed it out right now, with how serious Erza was about everything, she'd definitely realize her mistake immediately.
She might even chase after Natsu and bow to him in total sincerity to apologize.
But then again, Natsu really did need someone around who could keep him in line with absolute force…
So Shane decided to keep quiet.
That was called letting evil be conquered by evil.
…
On the way back, the sunlight cast their shadows so close together they almost overlapped.
Because of what Ur had brought up earlier, Shane casually asked,
"By the way, you're entering the S-Class exam this year too, right?"
"Yes!"
Erza nodded immediately, her eyes full of determination.
"I'm going to become an S-Class Mage! Just like you, Shane!"
"Mm…"
Shane smiled, then reminded her,
"But this year might be especially hard."
"It's not just Laxus, that guy who's always looking to prove himself… now Ur's entering too."
He didn't reveal that the location of this year's exam would be very unusual. He was only reminding her to be mentally prepared.
"Mm! I'll be careful!"
Erza clenched her fists. Not only was she not afraid, her eyes shone even brighter.
"Whether it's Ur-senpai or Laxus, I won't lose to either of them! I'll give it everything I've got!"
Seeing how fired up she was, Shane said nothing more.
This girl always gave everything her full effort no matter what she did. He really didn't need to worry about her.
And sure enough—
The moment they got home, Erza didn't even stop to drink water. She went straight into the yard, picked up her sword again, and started another round of intense training.
Meanwhile, Shane tied on an apron and took over the kitchen again for the first time in a while.
Listening to the steady rhythm of sword swings outside the window while chopping ingredients in his hands, this quiet, warm bit of everyday life eased the tension in his heart—just a little—the tension Igneel's warning had left behind.
…
The next few days passed in peaceful, fulfilling quiet.
Because he'd promised Makarov he would do the interview, Shane had been unusually well-behaved and hadn't gone running off to take jobs.
Counting the days, it was probably about time.
So early that morning, Shane brought Erza with him to the guild.
He had already decided that if the reporter still hadn't arrived, he would smoothly use "I'm too busy" as an excuse and slip away.
However—
Bang!
The moment he pushed open the guild doors—
"OHHHHH!!!"
An insanely excited scream came flying straight at him.
"Shane the Azurefall! The spotless mage! Fairy Tail's youngest S-Class!!"
"Is that really him? Is that really him? Is this really the legendary Shane who shattered a Wizard Saint in a single strike?!"
Before Shane could even see what was happening—
A yellow blur shot in front of him with a textbook-perfect sliding tackle.
Click click click click!
Then came a burst of rapid shutter sounds and blinding flashes.
Shane narrowed his eyes.
There, half-kneeling in front of him, was a young man with short blond hair and a single cowlick sticking straight up like an antenna.
"Can we take a picture together? Can we take a picture together?!"
The man held up a camera excitedly, his eyes shining as he stared at Shane with a level of enthusiasm that made it look like he wanted to swallow him whole.
"Uh…"
The corner of Shane's mouth twitched violently. For a moment, he didn't even know what to say.
"I mean, I guess, but—"
"OHHHH! COOOOOL!!"
The man didn't even let him finish. Letting out a weird yell, he threw an arm over Shane's shoulder, forcibly pulled him into position, and struck a wildly exaggerated peace-sign pose.
"Come on! Look at the camera! Give me a smile! Yeahhh—!"
Click!
The flash went off again and nearly blinded everyone in the room.
"…"
Shane stood there stiffly in the pose he'd been forced into, black lines all over his face.
Who the hell was this hyperactive monkey of a man…?
"Whew… Amazing! Absolutely perfect!"
After taking the photo, the man hugged the camera happily and gave it a kiss before finally remembering to introduce himself.
He suddenly straightened up and then bowed a full ninety degrees to Shane.
"I am unworthy! I'm Jason, a rookie reporter from Weekly Sorcerer!"
"This is my very first exclusive interview for Sorcerer! It is the honor of three lifetimes to interview someone as important as you! Please take care of me! COOOOOL!"
"…You really don't need to go that far."
Watching this over-energized guy who kept blurting out weird words, Shane rubbed at his brow.
He wasn't quite the sharp, gossipy reporter Shane had imagined…
But that level of excessive enthusiasm?
It was still way too much for him to handle.
~~~
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