The figure of a young man sprinting through the streets of Magnolia kicked up a gust of wind, drawing glances from passersby, yet they saw nothing at all.
"Hey! Did something just go 'whoosh' past us?"
"It must have been someone from Fairy Tail."
"Then that's perfectly normal."
"..."
Relying on 'Gods Foot', Hope braved the scorching midday sun and soon arrived outside the wooden house deep in the eastern forest. Leaning against the doorframe, he shouted inside, "Granny Polyushka, I've brought back the moonlight flower!"
The wooden door opened with a creak, and Porlyusica stood there expressionless. "So restless. I'm not even in a hurry, so what are you rushing for?"
Hope was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Wasn't it you who sent word to Mirajane saying the moonlight flower had to be delivered before this afternoon?"
"I never said such a thing."
Granny Polyushka crossed her arms and offered a rare smile. "I'd say you've likely been tricked by Mirajane. Even if that girl's personality has changed drastically, mischief is still her true colors after all."
So I was teased... Realizing this, Hope's fists clenched.
That little devil in an angel's skin—once he got back, he would definitely get his revenge on her.
Hope carefully took out the moonlight flower preserved in a special glass bottle from his luggage. "Granny Polyushka, here is the moonlight flower you wanted. I hand-picked this one myself."
Porlyusica took the glass bottle, her gaze lingering on the moonlight flower for a moment. After confirming its quality, she nodded with satisfaction. "Hmm, the appearance is good. Consider your mission successfully completed. Come in and get your reward."
"I've just finished making lunch, you should have some too."
Hope looked up at the midday sun, then at Porlyusica as she turned to enter the house, and couldn't help but smile. She really was an old lady with a cold exterior but a warm heart.
Porlyusica's lunch was very simple: one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and one soup.
Hope wasn't hungry; the lavish banquet on Karna Island the night before still left him feeling full, so he only ate a token amount. Otherwise, with his appetite, the old lady wouldn't have even had a plate left to lick.
The meal passed quietly.
Porlyusica took out a cloth bag and tossed it to Hope. "These are 'sunflower' seeds. Once they bloom, they will automatically absorb sunlight and convert it into magic orbs that a Mage can absorb directly."
"Remember to plant them in a spot that gets plenty of sunlight."
Hope weighed the bag of sunflower seeds and suddenly changed the subject, asking, "Granny Polyushka, you said earlier that Mirajane's personality changed drastically... What did you mean by that?"
"You don't know?"
Porlyusica asked back instinctively, but then immediately showed a look of realization. "I forgot, you only joined Fairy Tail this month. It's only natural you wouldn't know about Mirajane's past."
Porlyusica let out a slow sigh and began to tell Hope about Mirajane's past.
"About six years ago, news spread from a certain village about a child being possessed by a demon. That busybody Makarov happened to be passing by and went to see for himself."
"When he arrived, he found the truth was the exact opposite of the rumors. It wasn't a demon possessing a human, but rather that young girl named 'Mirajane' had unintentionally awakened 'Take Over' magic and taken over the soul of a demon."
"Because she didn't know how to control the magic and encountered a group of ignorant villagers, Mirajane and her younger siblings suffered great ostracization."
Mirajane actually had a younger sister?!
Hope was somewhat shocked. Why had neither Mirajane nor Elfman ever mentioned her to him? Thinking back to what Porlyusica said about Mirajane's personality changing, he had a faint suspicion.
Porlyusica's narration continued.
"Makarov brought Mirajane, her younger brother Elfman, and her younger sister Lisanna back to the guild. From then on, Fairy Tail gained three more members."
"Mirajane's personality was tough and bellicose. She saw Erza as a rival, and the two were always fighting. Just imagine Natsu and Gray and you'll understand."
A female version of Natsu and Gray... but Hope still couldn't associate that gentle, beautiful girl who always had a sunny smile with a violent delinquent.
The contrast was simply too great.
According to Porlyusica, in her third year after joining Fairy Tail, Mirajane passed the S-Class exam and became the third S-Class Mage among the guild's younger generation.
With her fierce fighting style and her ability to Take Over demon souls, in less than a year, Mirajane had carved out the title of 'The Demon' in the magical world.
But the good times didn't last. In her second year as an S-Class Mage, Mirajane took her siblings on an S-Class mission to subjugate the magic beast 'Beast King'.
Due to Mirajane's carelessness and underestimating the enemy, she was heavily injured by the Beast King's death-throe counterattack. To protect his sisters, Elfman used 'Full Body Take Over' to forcibly Take Over the soul of the Beast King.
However, because the S-Class beast's magic was too powerful, Elfman went on a rampage. In an unconscious state, he accidentally killed his younger sister, Lisanna, who had come to stop him.
Watching their sister's body dissolve into particles of light before their eyes, Mirajane and Elfman were devastated. Since then, both of their personalities changed drastically.
The originally bellicose Mirajane became gentle and cheerful.
The weak-willed Elfman resolved to become a real man.
But Lisanna's death became an eternal knot in their hearts. Guilt, regret, self-reproach, and a sense of sin deeply affected them both.
Elfman, who had acquired the 'Beast King Soul', should have become much stronger, but because he feared the nightmare would repeat itself, he only dared to Take Over parts of the 'Beast King', resulting in mediocre growth in strength.
And Mirajane, unable to overcome that hurdle in her heart, saw her magic power fall dormant due to the psychological trauma. She could no longer use magic and withdrew from the front lines to become the guild's administrator and receptionist.
Stories of losing loved ones are always sad.
Before his first transmigration, Hope had experienced this deeply... Bidding farewell to Granny Polyushka, Hope leisurely strolled back to the guild. As he walked through the doors, he was greeted by that face with its sunny smile.
"Welcome back."
Mirajane looked at Hope cheerfully, her smile carrying a hint of the craftiness of a successful prank.
Hope didn't respond, only looking at her with calm eyes.
Mirajane instinctively touched her face and asked, "Is there something on my face? You're staring."
"It's nothing..."
Hope spoke slowly, "I just thought that Mirajane is very beautiful today."
Mirajane instinctively looked at her outfit—the same wine-red long dress, the same colored high heels, and her hair still had that small tuft of bangs tied up.
Was she any different from yesterday?
But that guy wouldn't explain anything, making her feel quite uneasy.
Meeting Hope's half-smiling and somewhat cheeky expression again, Mirajane suddenly felt her body heating up slightly, as if some emotion was brewing deep down.
This throbbing... this thirst for an intense clash... Oh, it turns out it was just because she hadn't fought in a long time and her fists were itching.
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