By the time Shane came back down from Makarov's office, the mages on the first floor who were still fixated on the Ivan situation immediately shifted their attention to him.
"Shane! That guy you were dragging—wasn't that Mr. Ivan? The master's son?!"
"What happened? Laxus just stormed out too—he didn't even hear me calling!"
"Shane, are you okay? What the heck happened?"
"What went on upstairs? The master didn't blow up, did he?"
Questions flew at him from every direction, drowning him in noise. Shane rubbed his head, visibly troubled.
He'd already agreed with the master not to mention anything about "Lumen Histoire," but without that… he genuinely didn't know how to explain what had happened.
Just as he was floundering, a lifesaver appeared.
"Everyone, quiet down."
A voice—serious, stripped of its usual cheer—rang out.
Makarov was now standing at the second-floor railing, face calm, eyes sweeping the hall.
The chatter died instantly. Everyone held their breath, waiting for an explanation.
Makarov announced Ivan's crimes with blunt efficiency:
Attempting to steal guild secrets. Harming comrades.
And the final verdict—
All memories related to magic and the relevant secrets would be erased, and he would be permanently expelled from Fairy Tail.
"W-what—?!"
"Memory erasure…?"
"Ivan had it coming."
"Hey! Not in front of the master!"
Even though many had suspected something, hearing the master confirm it—and deliver a punishment that severe—still triggered a wave of shocked gasps.
A lot of eyes drifted back to Shane, filled with disbelief.
They knew Shane was capable and reliable.
But hunting down and defeating a real S-Class mage on his own? That was beyond how they'd understood the "low-key" kid who usually kept his head down.
Under all those heated stares, Shane rubbed his nose awkwardly.
He'd been in the spotlight a few times now, but he still wasn't used to being looked at like this.
Some people who'd never liked Ivan in the first place started crowding in, eager for details.
"Shane, you've been hiding your strength!"
"Come on, how'd you beat Ivan?!"
Just as Shane's head started to throb again, Macao stepped in.
For once he put on a proper "senior" air and waved everyone off. "All right, all right! The master explained it. Quit swarming him! Go drink if you want to drink, take jobs if you want to take jobs—let Shane breathe!"
The crowd slowly dispersed—though the looks of astonishment kept flickering his way.
After the Ivan incident, Shane's name was officially etched into guild gossip forever.
Shane gave Macao an appreciative glance, then scanned the hall until he found Erza's table.
Gray was still in the same position as before, face-down on the table, eyes vacant—clearly still processing "Shane beat an S-Class" like it was a cosmic injustice.
That was understandable.
What surprised Shane was that even Cana—normally quick, playful, and sharp—was sitting there too, staring blankly, fingers idly tracing the rim of her wooden cup.
Erza saw Shane return and gently set down her now-empty tea cup. "All settled?"
Shane nodded—then immediately lifted a finger to his lips in a "shh."
He hadn't forgotten why he'd come to the guild in the first place.
He still had a score to settle with Cana.
As the poor mage who'd been misled and shorted by the client, Shane had no intention of showing mercy just because Cana was spaced out.
While she was still distracted, he curled his lips into a wicked grin, silently circled behind her, and suddenly drove both fists down on either side of her head in a "drill attack."
"Damn you, Cana!" he growled.
"What was that chapel job?! You made it sound easy—so easy you even bargained the pay down to 30,000 J—and then you still tricked me? Prepare to die!"
Cana let out a startled yelp and snapped out of her trance.
Feeling the violence on her head, she scrambled to protect her hair, half angry, half amused.
At that moment, she honestly wished she'd never had those "left behind" feelings at all.
If anything, she desperately wanted Shane to ignore her and go away.
She truly hadn't expected that the first thing he'd do after dealing with Ivan… was come back to settle the cleaning-job score?
By normal logic, shouldn't he be basking in everyone's awe and answering questions, bragging a little?
"Compensation! The pay has to go up!" Shane insisted.
His "drill" turned into full-on hair-ruffling, turning her carefully styled long black hair into a mess.
Cana dodged behind Erza and peeked out with half her face. "You were the one who agreed to the pay in the end, weren't you? Fairy Tail mages don't break their own promises, do they?"
That line hit like a critical strike.
Shane's hands froze mid-motion. His expression twisted through several stages of pain.
It was true—he'd thought the pay was low, but he'd still accepted the job.
If it was his decision, he couldn't take it back.
Realizing that, Shane's whole face fell into pure suffering, unable to complain properly.
Gray, still "playing dead" on the table, finally found the energy to live. His shoulders shook as he fought not to laugh out loud, terrified Shane would redirect the violence.
Seeing Shane's tragedy-stricken look, Cana softened. She sighed. "Fine, fine. How about this—today, to celebrate you beating Ivan, I'll treat you to a big meal. That good enough?"
Shane grudgingly accepted.
He pulled his hands back and crossed his arms. "Be ready to get absolutely robbed at the table."
Erza blinked, visibly disappointed. She looked at Shane and said seriously, "To celebrate… I'd rather eat your pan-seared steak."
Shane didn't have an answer for that.
Erza's reaction made him realize he might need to upgrade her "food standards" going forward—he couldn't keep fobbing her off with a couple of cheap steaks forever.
In the end, Cana managed to placate Erza with the promise of "a feast."
After handing Shane the promised 30,000 J chapel payment, she led the three of them to a nice-looking restaurant in Magnolia.
A buffet-style barbecue place.
Cana looked at Gray, who'd sat down as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and couldn't help asking, "Erza makes sense, but Gray—why are you coming too?"
She'd actually wanted to invite Levy along, but when she went to the library, Levy was completely submerged in books.
Levy didn't even know what had happened at the guild earlier. When Cana told her, Levy just stared blankly in confusion.
In the end, Cana left Levy to keep "floating in book world" and brought these three "bottomless pits" out instead.
~~~
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