"Thanks should be said loudly. There's nothing shameful about it. Oh, right—Mira, can I call you that? Lisanna and Elfman seem to call you that."
Moen spoke softly. By now, he was extremely experienced in dealing with all kinds of problem children; he had simply seen too many cases like this.
Mirajane lifted her head in mild surprise and looked at Moen, then immediately lowered it again. Moen's bright, sunny smile made her afraid to meet his gaze. Like a little sun warming everyone around him, Moen felt as if he could burn her demon arm just by getting too close.
"…Okay."
After whispering her reply, Mirajane turned and hurried away.
She kept her head down, her body shrunk inward, hiding completely beneath her cloak. She felt that, like this, she had no right to stand beside anyone. Her existence would only bring criticism and trouble to her younger brother and sister.
What was that? Did I scare her off by being too straightforward?
Watching Mirajane flee in panic, Moen scratched his head. There truly weren't many problem children who could make even him scratch his head helplessly.
The last person who troubled Moen this much was Erza. Honestly, had Erza not been out on a mission, Moen would definitely have dragged her over to take a look at Mirajane's current condition—it was practically identical to Erza back then.
The only difference was that Erza used armor to protect herself, while Mirajane curled up inside her cloak. Not much of a difference at all.
This Mira… she's completely spiraling.
Moen sighed. The girl now refused to communicate with anyone. Even he could only get two or three words out of her. Others would have an even harder time.
But as for what Mirajane was thinking, Moen could roughly guess.
Driven out of her village as a "demon," and likely facing rejection and hatred throughout her time wandering… she had long come to see herself as a burden—someone whose presence would cause her brother and sister to be hated wherever they went.
If Moen's guess was correct, now that she believed Fairy Tail was a place the two of them could rely on, she might actually try to slip away quietly. She didn't want to drag her siblings down anymore, so she would choose to leave alone.
I need to keep an eye on her.
Moen thought. He couldn't let Mirajane run off like that.
A few days later, after Lisanna and Elfman had both learned how to sense magic power, Moen began teaching the two children "Take Over Magic."
Although Moen himself didn't know how to use it, following the written method wasn't too difficult. The guild had no one else who used this type of magic anyway—whoever taught them was the same, so Moen might as well do it himself.
Besides, even though Moen's own skills were limited, he had outside help. He could directly summon Grandpa Makarov to assist in the lessons.
Naturally, Makarov fully supported Moen's plan; he also believed Moen's approach would be very effective.
Anyone who understood Mirajane's condition could easily see the root of the problem—she cared too much about her younger siblings. That made Lisanna and Elfman the key to breaking through.
"That's all for today's lesson. Go play."
After letting Lisanna and Elfman try the basics of Take Over Magic, Moen ended the day's magic class.
Even though the situation was urgent and Mirajane might "run away" at any time, Moen couldn't force the two kids to study all day with no time for play. That would be too unnatural, and it would raise suspicion.
So Moen had no choice but to give the siblings two short lessons per day. Fortunately, both Lisanna and Elfman were extremely hardworking; within the limited time, they gave it their all.
"Take Over Magic is really hard… As expected, Mira-nee is amazing. She actually awakened such an incredible magic!"
When Moen announced the end of class, Lisanna immediately collapsed onto the desk. She let out a sigh of admiration—she had been struggling quite a bit.
"It's okay. Lisanna has done really well already. If you keep trying, you'll definitely learn it soon."
Seeing Lisanna pouting on the desk, Moen gently patted her head, speaking softly to comfort her.
It really wasn't Lisanna's fault. Although her magical talent wasn't quite on the level of Mirajane or Elfman, it definitely wasn't bad.
Lisanna was struggling only because Moen had started her and Elfman off on a higher difficulty level. It was like asking someone who just learned to walk to immediately run a marathon—of course it was hard.
At their stage, Lisanna and Elfman should be slowly building their foundations. There was no need to rush their magic training—they had only just learned to sense magic, after all.
But there was no choice. The situation forced their hand; they could only grit their teeth and push through.
"Mm! Thank you, Moen-nii! I'll work even harder!"
Lisanna rubbed her cheek happily into Moen's warm palm, then flashed him a bright smile. She pumped herself up with determination.
For Mira-nee's sake, and for Moen-nii who was working so hard to teach her—she absolutely had to master Take Over Magic as soon as possible!
"Go play."
Moen chuckled and motioned for Lisanna to join the other children.
Elfman was standing obediently nearby, waiting for her.
"Mm!"
Lisanna trotted off and joined Elfman, and together they blended into the lively group of children.
Unlike Mirajane, who stayed curled alone under her cloak, ignoring everyone, already labeled strange and withdrawn—
Lisanna and Elfman adapted to the guild quickly. They soon became part of the children's little circle.
Natsu, Gray, Cana, Levy, Wendy—everyone was friendly and didn't reject their two new companions at all.
After class, Lisanna and Elfman always ran over to join them.
"There are more and more children in the guild."
At the entrance, a red-haired girl in armor—Erza—walked in carrying her bag. Seeing two unfamiliar kids mixed into the noisy crowd, she couldn't help commenting.
She had only been in the guild for less than two years, and already four more children had joined!
"Hm? There's another one."
Erza's eyes landed on Mirajane, cloaked and alone. For some reason, that solitary silhouette made her feel annoyed—a strange, inexplicable irritation.
"Did your job go well, Erza?"
Moen suddenly appeared, stepping directly in front of Mirajane, blocking Erza's line of sight and redirecting it toward his smiling face.
"Of course. Completed successfully."
Erza's brows relaxed, and she answered with confidence.
"As expected of you."
Moen praised her with a smile. He had noticed the shift in Erza's expression.
The reason he stepped in front of Mirajane was because he saw that Erza's reaction to her wasn't quite right.
Even though Moen had constantly teased in his heart that Mirajane's current state was practically identical to Erza's when she first arrived—
When he noticed Erza's expression tighten, he suddenly became worried that Mirajane's presence might influence Erza instead.
Moen's praise brought a smile to Erza's face. Then she tilted her head, peeking around Moen to look once more at Mirajane, who was still blocked behind him. With curiosity written all over her face, she asked:
"Moen, who is that person?"
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