"Ah! Help! Quick, help me!! This little brat is rebelling!!!" Just as Calvin Unknown had imagined, the supervisor, after the initial pain of the fall, immediately started screaming.
"What? What's going on? Who's rebelling?!!" The supervisor's shouts instantly drew the attention of other guards scattered around, and a group of them quickly surged towards the commotion. One guard, who looked like a low-ranking leader, cast a vigilant glance over the "sacrifices" who were toiling away, then looked at the supervisor groaning on the ground. He spoke in a deep voice: "Who exactly is trying to rebel?"
"It's these two bastards!" The supervisor didn't care about the pain anymore. He scrambled up from the ground, rubbing his sore backside, and furiously pointed at the scarlet-haired girl who had dared to throw him—who was now glaring at him defiantly—and the blonde boy hiding behind her. He cursed fiercely, "They dared to attack even me?! You've got a death wish, both of you!!"
"Fine! Very well done!" Hearing this, the low-ranking leader's face instantly darkened. He delivered a harsh slap across the scarlet-haired girl's face.
"Smack—" The girl was sent sprawling to the ground, the left side of her face immediately swelling up, and a trickle of crimson blood leaking from her mouth. Yet, despite this, the girl stubbornly held her head high, gazing back at the leader with unyielding determination.
"Still glaring at me?!" Provoked by the girl's look, the leader exploded in fury. He raised the magic staff in his hand, ready to teach her a lesson. But just then—
"Don't hit my sister!" A tender shout interrupted him. The blonde boy, who had been hiding behind the girl, stepped forward and stood in front of her. Though his face was still riddled with fear, and his legs trembled slightly, he forced himself to summon courage and shouted in his juvenile voice: "I won't let you bully my sister!!!"
"No! Shou!" Seeing this, the girl immediately panicked, trying to stop the boy's actions, but it was already too late.
"Hahahaha! Excellent! Since you're so brave—" As expected, the leader's face instantly twisted in malice. Then, as if he had heard a particularly hilarious joke, he burst into maniacal laughter. As he laughed maniacally, he raised his magic staff, his face contorted as he roared: "Then share the punishment!!!" The moment he finished speaking, searing white lightning bolts suddenly shot out from several floating magic implements in the air, striking the body of the blonde boy named Shou and the scarlet-haired girl.
"Aah—" Shou immediately screamed in agony, collapsing and curling up on the ground, convulsing in pain and trembling all over. He was clearly suffering immense torture. Although the scarlet-haired girl was also hit by the lightning magic, she clearly fared much better than Shou. At most, she grit her teeth tightly. Despite enduring tremendous pain, she didn't utter a single cry!
"Stop!" While Calvin was still frozen in shock, Jellal Fernandes was the first to lose his patience. He roared and rushed forward. Seeing this, Calvin immediately snapped out of his daze. Worried about Jellal's safety, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow. To be honest, he rather admired the scarlet-haired girl. He hadn't expected such a small child to possess such incredible willpower!
The result was, predictably, the same for both Jellal and Calvin—they were both thoroughly punished by the leader's magic…
"Ow! Watch it! Take it easy, you brat! You're trying to murder me, Wally…" Inside the dilapidated dwelling, Calvin was sitting rigidly on a rickety stool, grimacing. His upper body was bare, and behind him, a muscular young boy with a notably long and pointed nose, named Wally, was roughly wiping the bruises on his back with water.
"Hey, I mean, Boss Calvin, you've just got some bruises and a little scrape on your back, right? Is there really a need to scream so dramatically?" Wally rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Don't you think it's a bit embarrassing to be yelling like that?"
"Hey, hey, hey! I heard that clearly!" Wally's muttered words didn't escape Calvin's ears. Hearing him, Calvin instantly jumped off the stool and glared fiercely at Wally, complaining angrily, "Just bruises? And just a little scrape?! I'll be damned! You sound dissatisfied that my injuries aren't worse, is that it? From your tone, it sounds like you'd be happier if the magic blasted me to bits! I swear, you're totally heartless! And here I thought I always looked out for you…"
"Don't be angry, Boss Calvin! I was just admiring your incredible resilience, that's all!" Wally said with a chuckle. "Besides, your injuries really don't look that severe."
"Not severe?!" Calvin's eyes rolled fiercely. He shouted at Wally in exasperation, "Fine! Why don't you go get blasted by the magic and try it for yourself! I don't ask for much, just endure what I did! We'll see if you can still laugh then! You're talking tough because you're not the one feeling the pain! This is an internal injury! Do you even know what an internal injury is?! Honestly…" He shook his head helplessly, giving Wally a look of utter disappointment.
"No, Boss Calvin, please don't!" Wally was startled. Is he serious?! He thought. Does he really think everyone has Calvin's exaggerated ability to take a hit? If it were him, he'd probably be reduced to dust by the magic in no time! Thinking this, Wally quickly brought a cup of water, fawningly offered it to Calvin, and said with a smile, "You're the bigger man, please don't bother arguing with a small fry like me. I was wrong! I admit it, okay?!"
"Hmph!" Calvin snorted, ignoring him, and turned his attention to the others nearby, finally focusing on Jellal. "Hey, Jellal, are you alright?"
"Thank you so much today, Big Brother Calvin!" Jellal looked at Calvin with genuine emotion, his eyes filled with gratitude and a hint of guilt. "If I hadn't been so reckless, you wouldn't have been implicated today, and you wouldn't be covered in injuries…" As he spoke, he lowered his head in shame, blaming himself for his impulsive actions. He wished he had been calmer.
"Forget it. Just remember to think things through more next time you act," Calvin said magnanimously, waving a hand. He didn't overly blame Jellal. After all, what happened today was understandable. Any compassionate person would have instinctively tried to help when seeing the scarlet-haired girl and the blonde boy being tortured. Jellal had only reacted slightly faster than him. If the situation were reversed and Calvin had reacted first, he likely would have done the exact same thing!
But seriously, Jellal is pretty good in a fight! He had managed to take down the supervisor with one move! Even Calvin himself had been mildly surprised then. Even now, he was slightly astonished when he thought about it…
The only thing that slightly annoyed Calvin was: Why did you rush into a direct fight with a Mage? Even if you're good with your hands, you shouldn't directly clash with a Mage! What if you'd drawn a massive magic siege? It forced me to follow you! Luckily, I managed to stop you from trying to escalate the 'battle results,' otherwise, today would have been far worse than just a simple beating!
Thinking this, Calvin felt helpless again, but he couldn't bring himself to scold Jellal. After all, the boy was only twelve in his eyes, and impulse was normal, especially since his intention was to save someone. It was even harder to criticize him for that. However, a small word of caution was necessary. Hopefully, Jellal will mature a bit after today's incident.
"Hey, red-head over there—" Looking at the scarlet-haired girl who was being checked on by a few people nearby, Calvin asked, "What's your name?" His tone held a hint of annoyance. I was beaten up so badly because of you, and you haven't even said thank you yet? That's incredibly rude…
His previously favorable impression of her slightly diminished due to her lack of manners.
"Erza…" The scarlet-haired girl, Erza, looked up timidly at Calvin, who was staring at her from a distance. She seemed flustered and quickly explained, "I—I'm sorry! I… I was too busy bandaging my brother's wounds, so, so I forgot to, to thank you. Thank you so much for what you did today!" She then gave Calvin a deep bow to show her gratitude.
"It's fine—" Hearing this, Calvin's expression softened considerably. He wasn't a petty person, and the girl hadn't lied. She had indeed been focused on tending to the lacerated back wounds of the blonde kid named Shou, which was why she momentarily overlooked him. Realizing this, he naturally stopped giving her the cold shoulder. After all, she was just a child…
"And thank you to you too for today!" Seeing that the dark-haired boy across from her didn't seem angry anymore, Erza sighed in relief and smiled timidly at Jellal beside her, apologizing. She knew that the blue-haired boy had been the first to rush forward to help her, so she was incredibly grateful to Jellal as well.
"Heh-heh, you don't need to thank me for that." Waving his hand, Jellal smiled brightly and nudged his head towards Calvin in the distance. "You mainly have Big Brother Calvin to thank! If he hadn't taken most of the magic attacks, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you now."
That was true. Although Jellal's attack successfully drew the enemy's attention to himself, it was Calvin who took the brunt of the magic assault. He was worried Jellal's body couldn't handle it. While he nearly collapsed himself, having even a small amount of magic reserve made him a better shield than Jellal, who couldn't use magic at all.
"Mhm!" Erza nodded vigorously, seemingly infected by Jellal's sunny smile. A barely noticeable blush flashed across her face as she looked at Jellal. Then, with a pure smile, she cast another look of heartfelt gratitude towards Calvin.
Calvin could only rub his nose and mentally scoff at Jellal's cunning. The kid knows how to charm girls even at this age! That shouldn't be possible… But speaking of Erza, her current demeanor was much different than before! Calvin sighed internally, recalling her tenacious will and unyielding defiance when facing the supervisor earlier.
Afterward, the blonde boy named Shou also expressed his sincere thanks, as did another boy named Simon. Calvin secretly observed the way Simon looked at Erza and couldn't help but think with a malicious delight, Looks like you have a rival too, kid! Tsk, tsk. I must say, young people, or rather, young people in this other world, are damn precocious…
"Oh, that's right! I haven't properly introduced myself! My name is Jellal Fernandes! As for him, that's Calvin Unknown. You can call him Big Brother Calvin, like I do," Jellal introduced everyone, then smiled at Erza and said, "From now on, we're all friends! But I only heard your first name; I haven't heard your surname yet! If you don't mind, could you tell me your surname?" He finished by asking the question on his mind.
"I don't have a surname…" Erza went silent, taking a moment to answer.
"I'm sorry," Jellal apologized, lowering his head. Then he quickly suggested, "How about I give you one then! If you don't mind…"
"Hmm?" Erza paused, slightly stunned. After careful consideration, she slowly nodded, her expression showing a rare trace of excitement. She was clearly accepting Jellal's suggestion.
"Since your hair is a rare and beautiful scarlet color, I suggest your surname should be Scarlet! Scarlet, as in the color red. Erza Scarlet!" Jellal said, smiling without hesitation. "I really like the color of your hair! What do you think, Big Brother Calvin?" The last sentence was directed at Calvin, who had been observing the whole time.
"Scarlet, huh? Erza Scarlet…" Erza softly repeated her new name with the surname. Finally, a radiant and beautiful smile blossomed on her face. She nodded heavily.
"Yes!"
"Although I always thought your literary skills were subpar, this time—" Calvin paused briefly here. Then, under the nervous gaze of the others, he chuckled and complimented, "The surname you came up with today is indeed excellent! Yes! Quite excellent! Heh-heh—"
And so, Erza's surname was decided. From this day forward, her full name was Erza Scarlet!