"Master! You really…"
The moment Gray got a clear look at the woman standing there with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face, he sprang up like he'd been electrocuted.
Though in reality they had only been apart for a few days, the thought that "Ur is dead" had been lodged in his world for far too many years.
That day's despair. That back turned toward him as she became an iceberg to protect him…
Even though he had already steeled himself, even though he knew they had reversed fate at the right point in time, the moment he saw a living, breathing Ur standing in front of him, he still couldn't believe his eyes.
"Yeah, stop rubbing your eyes. I'm alive and well."
Ur stepped forward and, just like before, vigorously ruffled his black hair.
"I'm not a little kid anymore…"
Gray flushed red and awkwardly turned away.
After two seconds, he suddenly complained in frustration, "If I hadn't suddenly blacked out the moment I got back from the past, I definitely would've rushed over to pick you up first!"
As he spoke, he rubbed the back of his head hard.
It still hurt faintly, and there was a huge lump there, hard as a rock, like he'd been smashed by something heavy.
"Blacked out?"
Ur propped her chin on her hand and didn't think too deeply about it.
"So that time-travel magic of yours has side effects too? Hm… I guess it makes sense. Gray, your magic power is weaker than theirs, so your body probably just couldn't handle it."
"…"
Gray's mouth twitched. That one hit him hard.
Off to the side, Shane silently turned his head and looked at the true culprit beside him.
Ultear looked completely calm, and even added another jab with a faintly disdainful look at Gray.
"Gray, you need to train harder. At your current level, you're embarrassing Mom."
"S-shut up! I am getting stronger!" Gray shot back, face bright red.
"…"
Shane looked up at the sky in exasperation.
He had seriously underestimated how thick-skinned this woman was.
She was the one who brained him with a crystal ball, and now she was standing there lecturing the victim!
Seeing Gray still touching the back of his head and brooding over it, Shane hurriedly cut in.
"Alright, enough reminiscing. There'll be plenty of time for that later."
He laid out the plan they had discussed back in the North.
"Next, we settle Ur in somewhere safe. Then we find a time to bring Lyon back. Once everyone's together, we'll all go to the North and finish Deliora off for good."
"We're bringing Lyon back too?"
The second Gray heard that name, his expression soured. His brows knotted immediately.
Thunk!
Ur gave him another simple, brutal knock on the head.
"You two are fellow students, so you're going to get along properly! While I was gone, you two let things get this bad—have you forgotten you even have a master?"
"Ow… got it…"
Gray clutched his head and, under the weight of absolute force, didn't dare push back.
He quietly added this to Lyon's tab in his head instead.
Hmph. After all the devil-training from Shane and Erza recently, I'm way stronger than before.
He had total confidence that Lyon couldn't possibly have improved faster than he had.
When they finally found him, Gray fully intended to punch first and beat some sense into that arrogant senior student who had always looked down on him.
Gray clenched his fist in his mind, brimming with confidence.
"Alright, now that we found Gray, can we head back?"
After finishing disciplining her student, Ur clapped her hands and turned to Shane, eyes full of anticipation.
"That Fairy Tail place looked really lively. I want to go there right now and apply to join Gray's and Shane's guild!"
"…"
Shane instinctively glanced toward the guild's direction.
Erza was definitely there right now.
He had only just barely escaped that whole mess earlier, and he truly didn't want to throw himself right back into it.
Besides, the deep ache in his soul from the true-name backlash still hadn't gone away. It pulsed faintly behind his temples.
"You all go ahead."
Shane waved a hand, the exhaustion on his face impossible to hide.
"I'm pretty wiped out. I want to head home and rest first. The guild registration can happen any time. Gray can take you there."
"Alright."
Ur was a little disappointed Shane couldn't come too, but she could see his face really did look rough, so she didn't push it. She grabbed Gray and headed toward the guild.
Shane watched them leave, then turned and started down the riverside path toward the east.
But after only a few steps, he heard another set of footsteps behind him.
Unhurried, steady, always staying two or three paces back.
Shane turned, puzzled.
Ultear was following him, her hands clasped behind her back, looking completely casual.
"You're not going with Ur?"
He looked surprised. "She just got here. She doesn't know the place at all."
"Gray's with Mom. She won't get lost."
Ultear walked past him, answering without even turning her head.
"But… after not seeing each other for so long, shouldn't you be spending more time with her?"
Shane quickened his pace to walk alongside her.
"There'll be plenty of time later. No need to rush."
She kept her eyes forward, her tone flat.
"…I see."
Shane looked at her thoughtfully.
"You're a lot calmer than I expected. Aside from that first moment when you saw Ur."
"Mm."
And just like that, the two of them made their way along the quiet riverside, chatting in fits and starts.
Shane noticed that even though he and Ultear had already confessed their feelings—basically confirmed the relationship—the way they interacted hadn't actually changed all that much.
There weren't any sugary love lines or sticky-sweet behavior. If anything, they still did exactly what they'd done before: throw sarcastic remarks at each other and butt heads every other sentence.
In his previous life, Shane had been a history-obsessed bachelor with no time for romance. In this life, despite being "twice-lived," it was still his first real time dealing with a relationship like this.
He genuinely had no idea what the "right" way to act was in a situation like this.
Maybe because he'd been staring too long, Ultear suddenly stopped, turned around, and stretched out that pale hand toward him, palm up, impatient.
"Well? Aren't you going to hold it?"
She looked at him with a cold, matter-of-fact expression.
"Oh… right."
Shane blanked for a second, then quickly understood. He reached out and took her hand again.
It felt nothing like Erza's, which carried the faint calluses of years of sword practice. Ultear's hand was unbelievably soft, faintly cool, delicate enough to feel breakable.
Shane unconsciously tightened his grip, rubbing lightly at her palm.
"Don't make me remind you next time."
Ultear's tone didn't change at all, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she laced her fingers through his, locking their hands together.
Palm against palm.
"You…"
Staring at her profile softened by moonlight, feeling her hand in his, Shane suddenly realized something a beat too late.
"You came along… to keep me company?"
Because she knew he was still suffering from the backlash, she had chosen not to stay with the mother she had only just reunited with, and instead came to walk this stretch with him.
Ultear didn't answer. She just gave a soft huff, which might as well have been a yes.
Shane smiled without making a big deal of it.
He was already used to this kind of tsundere reaction from her.
His mood brightened instantly, and he unconsciously slowed his pace.
It felt surprisingly nice—walking like this now and then.
Beside him, the girl stayed silent, but quietly matched his pace, slowing along with him.
The night wind rustled through the treetops, and under the moonlight, their shadows stretched long, sometimes crossing over each other.
They kept walking until the familiar house came into view at the edge of the forest.
Then Ultear suddenly stopped.
"?"
Before Shane could even turn fully toward her, she spoke.
"I've been gone too long this time."
"I need to go back to school. The record I build there… will help a lot later when I enter the Council."
"…"
Shane went quiet for a moment.
"So… you've made up your mind?"
He looked straight into her eyes.
Though she had fulfilled her wish of seeing her mother again, she still clearly couldn't ignore Hades' "key" project.
Shane really wanted to tell her that based on what his Eye of Karma had seen, she didn't bear any great sin that needed redeeming.
But when he opened his mouth, what came out instead was:
"The Council holds a lot of power. If one of us is inside, it'll definitely make things easier for us."
"For us?"
Ultear froze slightly.
Then she smiled—a little too bright for someone like her.
"You've already helped me this much. You brought my mother back. How much more do you want me to owe you?"
Though her words sounded cool on purpose, like she was trying to keep some distance, the smile in her eyes gave her away.
"If you can't pay it off all at once, then take your time."
Shane lifted their still-clasped hands and waved them slightly in front of her with a grin.
"What, planning to skip out on the debt?"
"…"
Ultear looked at him deeply.
"Idiot."
Then she suddenly pulled her hand free.
"I'm going."
No dragging it out. No reluctant turning back.
She spun around, and within moments her figure was swallowed by the shadows of the forest, leaving as cleanly as ever.
Watching her disappear into the night, Shane suddenly remembered something.
He closed his eyes and sank his awareness into the depths of his mind.
The floating Book of Heroic Spirits slowly opened.
As golden text emerged, beneath the entry for Long-Chain Trial II: Path of the Sacred Flame, light gathered into form—and finally settled into a small, adorable chibi figure.
Long straight black hair. A tiny pout. That tsundere look in her eyes looked exactly like the real thing.
[Companion: Ultear Milkovich]
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 120 Chapters Ahead of Others!