Year X776.
It had been almost a year since Byakuran joined Fairy Tail.
Rain or shine, his daily routine had become incredibly consistent.
Every morning, he would train his body.
During his free time, he studied Card Magic with Cana, regularly browsed the magic books in the guild library, and took on quests whenever he ran out of money.
Over the course of a year, Byakuran had stubbornly turned his life in Fairy Tail into a rigid and highly disciplined routine.
Gray had long since stopped challenging him after realizing that Byakuran simply wouldn’t accept.
Cana continued researching Card Magic as always, and Byakuran often sat across from her so they could practice together.
Occasionally, guild members would shout at the top of their lungs, asking him to help repair a broken chair.
Card Magic had turned out to be far more difficult and time-consuming than Byakuran had imagined.
The principles themselves weren’t particularly complicated.
The difficult part was obtaining precious materials and maintaining delicate magical control right at the upper limit of the card’s capacity.
From engraving magic circles and selecting materials to the final infusion of magical power, Byakuran had spent an entire year learning alongside Cana through trial and error.
He could finally and reliably create a few low-tier cards.
They were still far from achieving his ideal effects.
However, being able to activate them consistently while keeping the cards intact after use meant that his efforts over the past year hadn’t been wasted.
The exorbitant prices of high-grade materials also prevented him from creating overly advanced cards.
As a result, his primary combat methods remained Wood Make and Nature Magic.
Card Magic was currently nothing more than a tactical reserve, but Byakuran felt that this was a path worth continuing to invest both time and money into.
Compared to that, his quest work had been smooth sailing.
Ever since the Creek Bank Village incident, Byakuran had become much more restrained when using large-scale magic.
Whether it was exterminating Magical Beasts, escorting merchant caravans, or handling seemingly troublesome but ultimately simple jobs, he had practically never failed.
Over the course of the year, the number of quest slips Byakuran had torn from the request board wasn’t the highest in the guild.
But his completion rate was undoubtedly the best.
Collateral damage was practically zero, and his client satisfaction ratings were consistently at the very top.
Gradually, rumors began spreading throughout Magnolia.
Inside Fairy Tail, there was a black-haired boy who could complete almost any quest cleanly and efficiently, never leaving behind a mess for the clients to deal with.
Guild Master Makarov praised him highly for this.
Byakuran himself didn’t think it was anything special.
As the person providing the service, completing the job properly was simply part of his responsibility.
Honestly, asking him to leave a trail of destruction behind after completing a quest would actually be more difficult.
After turning from ten to eleven years old, the magical capacity within his body had increased steadily.
However, his physical combat ability remained his one major weakness.
And so, the days passed peacefully and satisfactorily.
Sometimes, Byakuran couldn’t help muttering to himself:
Come to think of it, ever since I joined Fairy Tail, wasn’t there supposed to be some kind of major event?
What was it again?
Until one particular day.
After returning from a quest, Byakuran stepped into the guild hall.
The atmosphere inside immediately felt like it was filled with gunpowder.
Gray was standing beside a girl, his expression provocative.
The girl had short crimson hair, a cold expression, and a single eyepatch covering her right eye.
She wore a set of silver-white armor and was calmly chewing on half a piece of bread as though no one else in the guild existed.
Gray puffed out his chest and shouted.
“Hey! You!”
The girl continued eating the bread in her hand without even raising her eyelids.
She completely ignored him.
Being ignored caused Gray to instantly lose his temper.
He slammed his foot into the table in front of the girl, kicking it over.
Bang!
The wooden table crashed to the floor, sending the food scattered across its surface flying everywhere.
Only then did the girl finally turn her head.
Her terrifyingly calm gaze landed on Gray.
“What is it?”
Gray crossed his arms, his arrogance flaring as he spoke provocatively.
“Hey! This is a Mage Guild. Why are you wearing armor for no reason?!”
The girl calmly looked Gray up and down.
Then she replied,
“What gives you the right to lecture me?”
“Go put some clothes on first.”
“This isn’t supposed to be a guild full of perverts, is it?”
Gray’s expression changed dramatically.
He had never expected the girl’s counterattack to be so sharp.
For a moment, he froze in place, his face turning bright red as he struggled to come up with a response.
The guild members watching the scene immediately burst into laughter.
“Well said, little lady!”
“Gray, you got completely checkmated!”
Gray instantly became furious from embarrassment.
“You bastard!”
The girl didn’t flinch.
Instead, her eyes became even more impatient.
“Brat, stop bothering me.”
Byakuran finally realized what was happening.
Erza has joined the guild.
Things are going to get much livelier from now on.
At that moment, everyone’s attention was focused on the two people at the center of the commotion.
No one noticed Byakuran, who had just returned from his quest.
Byakuran looked around and quickly spotted Cana.
He walked over and naturally sat down beside her, keeping his eyes fixed on the scene in the center of the hall.
“Yo, Cana. I’m back.”
He motioned toward Gray with his chin.
“What’s going on over there?”
Cana was also watching the situation.
Her expression was somewhat anxious as she answered without turning her head.
“Oh, Byakuran. That’s Erza. She joined the guild a few days ago.”
“Maybe she’s still uncomfortable with the new environment, so she’s been a little cold toward everyone.”
“She sits in the corner wearing her armor all day.”
“Gray was already unhappy about her attitude.”
“After hearing that I tried talking to her and got ignored too, he couldn’t hold himself back.”
“He suddenly rushed over to pick a fight, shouting things like, ‘The new kid didn’t even greet the great Lord Gray!'”
Cana trailed off.
Because Gray had already been completely provoked by Erza.
He roared at her.
“Erza, you’re too arrogant!”
“What’s with that attitude?!”
“I’m definitely going to beat you flat!”
With that, Gray charged toward Erza.
Erza’s gaze turned cold.
She met him head-on without the slightest intention of dodging.
Bang!
A dull sound of flesh colliding echoed through the hall.
The battle didn’t even last two exchanges.
Erza’s solid punch sent Gray flying.
He crashed onto the floor in a miserable heap.
Gray curled up, clutching his stomach tightly.
His face was filled with pain and disbelief.
“Damn it…”
“She’s so strong…”
“It’s… already over?”
Macao stared at Gray with his wine glass in hand, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
“That fast?”
“Isn’t that kid Gray pretty good at fighting?”
Wakaba pushed up his sunglasses and whistled.
“It just means this little girl is even stronger.”
“Knocking someone away with a single punch…”
“This newcomer is extraordinary.”
“Hey, Gray!”
Another guild member laughed.
“Weren’t you pretty arrogant just now?”
“You even kicked over her table, yet you’re the first one lying on the ground!”
“And you said you’d ‘beat her flat.'”
“Looks like you’re the one lying flat instead!”
“Hahaha!”
The guild hall immediately erupted in laughter.
The spectators pounded on tables and wildly jeered at Gray lying on the floor.
“The last person to beat Gray this quickly was probably Byakuran.”
“Tsk, tsk. Looks like our guild has welcomed another monster-level rookie.”
Gray gritted his teeth as he lay on the floor, glaring at Erza with unwillingness.
Erza, however, calmly withdrew her fist.
To her, the battle seemed no more significant than throwing a casual punch.
She silently returned to her original seat.
Without saying a word, she picked up the half-eaten piece of bread and continued eating.
Her entire body radiated an aloofness and wariness that made it clear she wasn’t someone who talked much.
But when she struck…
She struck hard.
Byakuran watched from the side and helplessly shook his head.
Although Gray was the one who had been beaten, he was also the one who had started the trouble.
Still, Byakuran understood Gray’s awkward mindset very well.
The guy actually harbored a crude form of goodwill.
He simply wanted Erza to integrate into the guild.
For Gray, who had once wandered alone before finding Fairy Tail, this guild was the home he cherished most.
He couldn’t tolerate seeing one of his new family members isolated.
Seeing Erza sitting alone and completely out of place with everyone else made him more anxious than anyone.
Unfortunately, Erza had only recently experienced the nightmare of the Tower of Heaven.
She had built enormous walls around her heart to protect herself from the outside world.
Gray’s extreme approach would only make her more wary and place an even heavier psychological burden on her.
I can’t just let this continue.
The atmosphere is way too stiff.
Byakuran muttered inwardly.
As one of the few relatively rational people in the guild, he felt that he should step forward and smooth things over.
He stood up and walked toward Gray.
Then he stopped beside him and casually teased,
“Gray, looks like your ranking in the guild’s strength hierarchy is about to drop by another spot.”
After saying that, Byakuran couldn’t help laughing.
The spectators around them also burst into laughter.
Hearing this, Gray, who had originally been lying on the floor pretending to be dead, suddenly stiffened.
Then he exploded like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
“Byakuran?!”
“When did you get back?!”
“No!”
“Whose strength ranking dropped?!”
“I wasn’t using my full power just now, alright?!”
Gray struggled to prop himself up, his earlobes burning bright red.
The laughter throughout the hall became even louder.
Gray rubbed his stomach while sucking in sharp breaths.
He glared stubbornly at Byakuran.
“I-I just let my guard down!”
Gray tried to force himself back onto his feet.
Unfortunately, his stomach had other plans.
A sharp spasm forced him to grimace.
“Hmph!”
“You wait!”
“I’ll settle things with you later!”
Then he turned his head and unwillingly shouted toward Erza, who was still quietly eating her bread.
“And you!”
“Next time, I won’t lose again!”
Erza didn’t even lift her head.
Gray was immediately left speechless.
At least he didn’t rush back into another fight.
Byakuran smiled helplessly.
He walked over to the overturned wooden table and bent down to set it upright again.
Then he looked at Erza.
“Sorry.”
“That guy Gray is a single-minded blockhead. Please don’t take his rude behavior just now to heart.”
Erza raised her head and glanced at Byakuran.
She still didn’t say anything.
The silence was almost suffocating.
But Byakuran wasn’t discouraged.
Erza had only recently joined the guild and had tightly closed herself off emotionally.
He wasn’t exactly the caring older-brother type either, and he didn’t know how to help her open her heart.
So for now, all he could do was take care of her a little in her daily life.
The rest would have to wait.
He could only wait for the passion of Gray and the other guild members to slowly melt her frozen heart.
“My name is Byakuran.”
“I’m also a member of this guild.”
“I’ve been out completing quests these past few days and just returned.”
“If you run into any trouble in the guild in the future, feel free to come to me for help.”
Byakuran smiled slightly.
After leaving behind this gentle declaration, he turned around without hesitation and walked toward the quest counter.
Erza’s gaze lingered on Byakuran’s straight back for a brief moment.
Then she silently lowered her eyelashes and continued eating the bread in her hand.
At the counter, Guild Master Makarov was still holding his wine glass.
But his eyes clearly weren’t focused on the drink.
He had witnessed the entire farce in the guild hall.
As the guild’s parent figure, he had simply chosen not to interfere.
When he saw Byakuran approaching, Makarov slowly withdrew his gaze.
He reached out and took the quest slip Byakuran handed him.
Several fold marks were visible on the paper.
“You’re back.”
Makarov unfolded the slip.
His gaze traveled from the client’s signature all the way to the final completion evaluation.
The corners of his mouth slowly curled upward.
“Tsk, tsk.”
“Another perfectly completed quest.”
“Collateral damage—zero.”
“The praise about you spreading throughout Magnolia has reached this old man’s ears so many times that they’re practically growing calluses.”
“You’re really bringing honor to Fairy Tail.”
He chuckled.
“Perfect.”
“This is exactly the kind of work Fairy Tail needs.”
“Byakuran, I’ve been extremely satisfied with the way you’ve handled quests this year.”
“You flatter me, Master.”
Byakuran smiled modestly.
“Completing the client’s request properly after accepting their reward is simply my responsibility.”
“Responsibility?”
Makarov snorted with laughter.
He tilted his head back and gulped down another mouthful of wine.
“If those idiots in the guild understood the meaning of that word even half as well as you do, would this old man have to write complaint letters requested by those brats from the Council every single day?”
The smile at the corners of Makarov’s mouth hadn’t disappeared when his gaze crossed over Byakuran’s shoulder and returned to the corner of the hall.
Gray was still baring his teeth while rubbing his stomach.
Erza remained seated quietly nearby, her silver-white armor reflecting a cold glow beneath the sunlight.
She had already finished the bread in her hand.
Now she simply sat there motionlessly, like an exquisite yet isolated sculpture.
Makarov sighed.
His voice lowered.
“You saw what happened just now, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
Byakuran nodded calmly.
“Gray was a little impulsive.”
“Erza only recently joined the guild, so she hasn’t adapted to the atmosphere yet.”
“You’re different from that hot-headed idiot Gray.”
Makarov looked at Byakuran seriously.
“You know how to speak tactfully, and you’re steady in your actions.”
“This old man wants to ask you for a favor.”
“Look after her a little over the next few days.”
“You don’t have to deliberately do anything.”
“Just interact with her normally.”
“That child…”
Makarov hesitated.
“She has been through some…”
The deep heartache in his eyes told Byakuran enough.
Seeing that Makarov was struggling to bring himself to mention Erza’s painful past, Byakuran interrupted him with a smile.
“I understand, Master.”
“However…”
He paused.
“I think that if we really want to break through Erza’s emotional defenses, Gray’s clumsy and reckless approach might actually have some unexpected results.”
Makarov stared at him for two seconds.
It was as though he was trying to determine whether Byakuran was joking.
“Are you serious?”
Byakuran thought about the original story.
He remembered that it was Gray who had first managed to create an opening in Erza’s closed heart.
After that, Erza had slowly begun integrating herself into the guild.
“Yeah.”
“Erza is already a member of Fairy Tail.”
“She’s family.”
“Gray usually looks unreliable, but his persistence and the importance he places on his guild members are no weaker than anyone else’s.”
“That passion of his might just be enough to move Erza.”