Pop~ At lunchtime the next day, the ever-adorable Aito suddenly appeared inside the Fairy Tail guild hall.
“Yo, Aito.
Your Teleportation Magic is getting smoother.” Aito raised a hand to block the buzz-cut man trying to open his mouth and bite him.
“Big Brother Mest, can you please fix that bad habit?
Stop randomly trying to eat children.” “Hahaha!
I bite adults too!” “Big Sis Airo, one steak set, please…
Whoa!
Gray, what happened to you?!” Aito had barely sat down when he noticed a black-haired pig-faced creature beside him and nearly jumped out of his seat.
“Hahaha!
Aito, listen to this!” Cana immediately rushed over to share the morning’s comedy, laughing so hard that she had to clutch her stomach.
“Gray went to bully that new girl this morning, and she beat the crap out of him!” “Yoo liah!” Gray’s swollen face made his speech almost incomprehensible.
“Look at my face!
Who was bullying who?!” “You were!
You went over and kicked her chair!” “She was ignoring everyone!
Damn it!
Just wait, I’ll get my revenge!” Aito scanned the guild hall.
It took him a while to finally spot Erza sitting alone in a corner.
She had changed into clean, pretty clothes, but she was still wearing yesterday’s armor over them.
The combination looked rather strange.
“…It’s like that girl built a castle around herself and locked the door.” Cana rubbed Aito’s hair and lowered her voice.
“We’ve all tried talking to her, but she just ignores us.” “Why don’t you try cheering her up, little Aito?” “Me?” “Your magic lets you talk directly inside her head.” “If she won’t answer us normally, you’re our only hope~” “…Fine.
I’ll give it a try.” Aito scratched his head.
This seemed troublesome, but he was always willing to help a pretty girl.
Yes.
The “pretty” part was important.
Even with one eye covered, Erza was clearly a beautiful girl.
Once she grew older, she would probably become a stunning woman.
Aito was still young himself, but he certainly didn’t mind helping her slowly open up and watching her regain her confidence.
It was even better to build a close relationship since childhood.
Besides, Makarov had already given him this assignment.
‘Then I’ll help her become part of the guild.’ [Hello, Big Sis Erza~] [It’s you.
I remember your name…
Aito?] [That’s right!
Why are you sitting all alone in the corner?
Do you dislike everyone in the guild?] [No!
The guild is nice.
I don’t dislike it…] [Then come sit with us!] […No, thank you.
I prefer being alone.
Being around other people actually makes me uneasy.] (The tower…
Grandpa Rob…
Sho…
Simon…
Jellal…) A person’s “thoughts” could roughly be divided into three layers.
At the surface was the conscious mind.
Beneath that lay the deeper preconscious.
And at the very bottom was the subconscious—the core hidden beneath everything else.
Ordinary conversations through Telepathy Magic happened within the shallowest conscious layer.
But Aito’s magic was extremely high-level.
He could hear the “voices” of all three layers.
Normally, those three levels of thought were aligned.
Only someone whose mind was in serious turmoil would display contradictions between what they consciously thought and what lay deeper beneath it.
Erza was currently in exactly that state.
Her preconscious was racing wildly, thoughts tangled together into an incomprehensible mess.
But within her deepest subconscious…
She was crying.
And calling for help.
[That’s a lie~] [But I’ll respect your decision.
How about we just talk like this instead?] [We’re both members of Fairy Tail now, so we’re guildmates.
Can I be your friend?] [No…
I…
all right…] [Yes.
We can be…
friends.] [You’re pretty nervous, Big Sis Erza.] [I’m just a little kid, and you’re still nervous around me?
You’re surprisingly timid.] [We’ll stop here for now.
Let’s talk again later~] [I’m not!
I’m not scared!] Erza suddenly shot to her feet and turned around to stare directly at Aito.
Aito looked back at her.
He mischievously blinked once.
Then he lowered his head and resumed eating.
Erza’s face reddened.
Seeing Aito completely ignore her and focus on his food, she puffed out her cheeks before reluctantly sitting back down.
[I’m not a coward!] [And I wasn’t lying!] [Are you still there?!] […] Aito happily listened without answering.
He kept eating.
‘Looks like he’s really gone…’ ‘Magic outside the tower really is incredible.
There are so many different kinds.’ ‘That boy seems kind…
and he’s really pretty…
but he’s not cute at all!
Talking directly inside someone’s mind is completely cheating!’ ‘Grandpa Rob was right.
Everyone in this guild is gentle.’ ‘The Guild Master is kind, just like Grandpa Rob.
The adults understand that I need space, and even the children are trying to be friendly to me…’ ‘Except that naked little pervert.’ “Pfft—!
Cough!
Cough, cough!” “Aito!
Slow down when you’re eating!” Cana hurriedly patted him on the back and handed him some juice.
Erza glanced over.
She watched Cana pat Aito’s back while helping him drink.
Then suddenly, every hair on Erza’s body stood on end.
The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became.
[H-He heard that?!
You heard everything, didn’t you?!] [I didn’t hear anything.] ‘Phew…
Thank goodness.
He scared me…’ “Eek?!” Erza suddenly sprang to her feet and nearly fell off her chair.
Her face burning with embarrassment, she glared toward Aito.
[You’re not allowed to listen to my thoughts!] [Okay, Big Sis Erza.
I’ll leave now.] […] [You’re still there, aren’t you?!
I know you’re still there!
I’m not falling for it again!] […] ‘Damn it!
I’ll leave myself!’ Erza opened the door and fled the guild with a red face.
The moment she stepped outside, however— A deafening explosion of laughter erupted behind her.
Erza froze.
She immediately spun around and yanked the door open.
Everyone inside was acting perfectly normal.
Some were eating.
Some were chatting.
It was as though the laughter she’d just heard had been an illusion.
Macao happened to be sitting beside the entrance with a mug of alcohol.
“What’s wrong, kid?
Forget something?” “N-No.” “Sorry to bother you.” Erza took a deep breath, closed the door, and walked away.
A few steps later— Another explosion of laughter erupted behind her.
At that moment, Erza’s crimson face expressed more profanity than words ever could.
[Hehehe~ Big Sis, you guessed right.] [Everyone in the guild heard our conversation just now.] [Sorry, I forgot to mention it.
I had LAN chat turned on.] [AAAAAAAAH!
AITO, YOU IDIOT!!!] Erza no longer had enough mental capacity left to come back and punish him.
Her brain completely overloaded.
Burning with humiliation, she sprinted away as fast as she could.
Meanwhile, inside Fairy Tail, everyone was loudly mocking Gray’s swollen face.
“That naked little pervert!
You’re ruining Fairy Tail’s reputation!
Hahahahaha!” “Bwahahaha!
You have no idea how hard it was to hold that laugh in!
That girl is adorable!” “Hahaha!
She really does seem like a good kid.
She’s just awkward.” “Sounds like she’s been through something terrible too.
It’ll probably take her a while to recover.” “Speaking of which, Aito’s Telepathy Magic is ridiculous.” “He can actually divide people into separate communication groups?
Isn’t that something only a master of Telepathy Magic should be capable of?” “That’s talent for you.
Nothing we can do about it.” “Master said Erza’s magic awakened naturally too.
Looks like we’ve got another little monster like Aito.” “A little monster is fine.” “Better than a little pervert.” “HAHAHAHAHAHA!” “YOO GUYS HAVE HAD ENOUGH!” Gray slammed the table.
“YOU’VE BEEN LAUGHING AT ME THIS WHOLE TIME!” “Damn you, Erza!
Next time I’m definitely winning!” [Inspiration Points +233] Aito’s grin was almost impossible to suppress.
Before beginning his conversation with Erza, he’d already connected everyone in the guild to a Telepathy Magic group chat.
He told them that he was about to start talking with Erza.
Their conversation would also be broadcast into the group chat.
Erza couldn’t hear anything said inside the group, while everyone in the group could hear what Erza said to Aito.
His only instruction was simple— Act normal.
Don’t give it away.
LV4 Telepathy Magic didn’t merely have an enormous range.
Any mental communication passing through Aito’s network was under his direct control.
He could decide exactly who heard what.
And who heard nothing.
So even if Erza accidentally revealed something that shouldn’t be shared, Aito could immediately blur or block that portion before anyone else heard it.
This wasn’t a function of Telepathy Magic he’d only just discovered.
But it was the first time he’d ever used it like this.
Judging from the results…
It worked incredibly well.
It had also done wonders for breaking the ice.
Everyone in Fairy Tail now knew that beneath Erza’s cold exterior was an earnest and surprisingly cute girl.
They would naturally be more patient with her from now on.
Meanwhile, Erza had already thoroughly embarrassed herself once in front of the guild.
After surviving something that humiliating, letting down her guard a little in the future should become easier.
Hopefully, that would help her gradually become part of the Fairy Tail family.
Nobody had been harmed.
Except Gray.
A perfect success.
Congratulations to everyone involved.
There was only one minor problem.
‘Is Erza going to come beat me up later?’ Well.
Now it was time to demonstrate his real technique.
…
Erza sprinted all the way to the river.
She sat beside a small pond, waiting for her burning face to cool down.
Then— That demonic little brat’s voice echoed inside her head once again.
[Hehehehe…
Big Sis Erza~] [It’s useless~] [No matter where you run, you can’t escape me~] [I’m always right here beside you~] “KYAAAAA!!!” …
>.< Also, don’t forget to comment and write a review!) …
Replace “é” with “e” on your web browser.)