The next morning, just as dawn began to break, Shane had already finished washing up and pulled open the door. Right on cue, he ran into Kagura, who had just come down from the attic stairs.
So that extra loft really was built just for her…
Shane thought to himself, then casually raised a hand and greeted her.
Kagura was clutching her sheathed katana tightly in her arms.
She had originally intended to keep a straight face and completely ignore this guy who had "stolen her master's attention."
But just as she took a step forward, the "bait" he had dangled in front of her yesterday suddenly flashed through her mind.
Her movement stopped cold.
She stood there struggling with herself for two seconds, then jogged over somewhat awkwardly and stopped in front of Shane.
"…G-good morning."
Tilting up her face, Kagura let her eyes dart away and forced out the words in an extremely stiff, rushed tone.
Before Shane could even respond, she spun around like she had just completed a mission and bolted into the yard, where she immediately started practicing with her katana in perfect seriousness.
"Heh…"
Watching the girl's almost synchronized limbs and rigid retreat, Shane couldn't help laughing.
This girl's level of awkwardness was almost on par with Mira back in the day.
Leaning against the veranda, he didn't rush to leave. Instead, he rubbed his chin with interest and let his gaze fall on the sword in Kagura's hands, the one called Unforgivable Grudge.
With the "blade aesthetic" he had inherited from Senji Muramasa, Shane possessed an almost instinctive insight into and understanding of all sword-type weapons.
"That blade…"
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Even through the sheath, he could still clearly sense the massive—honestly excessive—amount of resentment and killing intent lurking inside it.
He guessed she still hadn't fully mastered that cursed blade.
Otherwise, when she fought him yesterday, she wouldn't have insisted on smashing people with the sheathed sword instead of drawing it.
"That's a pretty interesting weapon…"
Shane murmured to himself, finding the sword genuinely intriguing. If he got the chance later, he figured he ought to sit down and properly study it with Kagura.
Pulling his gaze back, Shane stuck to the original plan and headed out.
As he passed through the yard, he casually asked, "I'm heading to the guild. Want to come with me?"
Unfortunately, Kagura was already completely immersed in each movement of her practice and didn't hear a word from the outside world.
"Same stubborn, one-track personality, and the same insane work ethic as Erza…"
Watching the girl swing her blade with sweat flying from her body, Shane decided not to disturb her. He pushed open the gate and headed toward town alone.
Winter mornings in the forest were incredibly quiet, but as he walked down the path, Shane couldn't help muttering to himself.
Why was it that when Erza taught someone, they turned out like Kagura—but when he taught someone, Mira turned out completely different?
That girl not only had zero respect for him as her teacher, she also hadn't inherited even the tiniest trace of his good qualities.
Don't tell me… my teaching skills are the problem?
Shane caught himself reflecting, then shook his head hard and threw the thought away.
No way. This was definitely a difference in student quality.
"You're so slow!"
Just as Shane was confidently dodging responsibility, a familiar bright voice cut into his thoughts.
He looked up.
Under the roadside trees not far ahead, the white-haired girl he had just been complaining about in his head was standing there waiting for him.
Morning light filtered through the leaves and fell across Mira in broken patches.
With both hands behind her back, she looked a little bored from waiting, tapping the ground now and then with the toe of her shoe.
Each motion made the long, pale legs beneath her skirt look even more striking in the morning light.
"Mira?" Shane walked over, surprised. "Why'd you come all the way here to wait for me?"
"Obviously because I was worried that after sleeping underground for so long, someone might've forgotten the way to the guild."
Mira dropped her hands and fell into step beside him.
"I just slept for a while. It's not like I got amnesia."
Shane looked at her, speechless at the lame excuse.
"Who knows?" Mirajane tilted her head. "Isn't that how those storybooks always go? The hero sleeps for years, wakes up, and can't even remember his own name."
"The fact that you read books at all is honestly the surprising part…"
Shane shot back mercilessly.
"But I'd still rather you spend less time reading trash and more time on useful magic books."
As he spoke, Shane slipped a hand into his pocket and took out the magic crystal Mira had given him yesterday.
Inside it was the strange magic signature from Edolas.
"Eye of Karma."
The next second, a wavering phantom flame quietly lit up in the depths of Shane's pupils.
"What are you doing?"
Mira leaned a little closer, drawn in by the odd change in his eyes.
"I'm recording the 'line of causality.'"
Shane rolled his eyes at her. "You said yesterday that Mystogan could show up at the guild any time in the next few days to pick up a job, right?"
"If that's the case, he might already be wandering around nearby. I'm recording the line in advance so I don't accidentally miss him."
"…"
Hearing how seriously Shane was taking this, something flickered in Mira's eyes.
"What?" Shane noticed the sudden quiet beside him and turned his head. "Why'd you stop talking all of a sudden?"
Mirajane lifted a hand and tucked back a strand of hair the morning breeze had blown loose.
"Nothing… I just didn't expect you to care this much."
That made Shane frown.
"Lisanna was one of the people I brought into the guild back then too. She's been gone for a full year. How could I not care? Even if you usually act carefree, at a time like this you should at least—"
His voice cut off halfway through.
His gaze landed on the side of the girl's face—still bright, still carrying that faint little smile—and suddenly that expression felt painful to look at.
Yeah… it had already been a whole year.
As Lisanna's older sister, just how much guilt and grief had Mira been swallowing this entire time? He had only just woken up yesterday. There was no way he could truly understand what that felt like.
Something in his chest tightened.
Shane let out a quiet sigh inside and pulled back what he had been about to say, muttering instead,
"Don't worry. Everything will go back to normal."
In the morning breeze, the mood between them quieted for a few seconds because of that promise.
Maybe she couldn't stand the sudden heaviness of it.
Smack.
A sharp little sound rang out.
Without any warning, Mira flicked Shane right in the forehead.
"You—!"
"I trust you a lot, you know. My all-powerful master~"
Mira drew her hand back, made a mischievous face at him, then turned and darted ahead with light, quick steps.
"…"
Shane covered his forehead and stood there for a second in disbelief. Then his eyes flew open.
A forehead flick? Wasn't that his old move for scolding her?
How did she only learn the useless stuff? And she was already grown up—how was she still making faces like a little kid?
Shane was indignant enough that he immediately set off after her, fully intending to catch up and properly reestablish some masterly dignity.
But the instant he was about to speed up—
at the very edge of his vision, in the shadow of the street corner, a thin red streak—so subtle an ordinary person would never notice it—flickered past like a snake.
Shane stopped dead.
Inside the Eye of Karma he still hadn't shut off, the phantom flame suddenly wavered violently.
"That just now…"
His heart skipped.
Following the direction that red line was stretching toward, Shane lifted his gaze.
At the far end of the long street, the wooden building bearing the Fairy Tail emblem stood quietly in the golden morning light.
And that red line—the one belonging to the Edolas magic signature—went straight through the guild's front doors.
"Mystogan…"
Shane narrowed his eyes, the fire in his gaze mingling with the dawn.
"He's already back?"