"Since you care so much about what people outside say, since you feel so guilty you think you've dragged your family down, since you keep sighing about how miserable your fate is…"
Shane's voice was no longer gentle. It came rapid-fire, sharp and pressing, like a barrage.
"Then why don't you change it yourself?"
"Why are you hiding in this moldy shack like a turtle with its head tucked in, wallowing in self-pity?"
He didn't give Mira a second to breathe. Those crimson-flamed eyes pinned her in place.
"You have power, don't you? Power strong enough to defeat a demon. Power strong enough to control this 'curse'!"
He lifted a hand and pointed at the tightly shut door. Even through the barrier, the villagers' insults were still clearly audible.
"With that kind of power, changing those villagers' attitudes—or taking your brother and sister and leaving this place—should be easy for you, right?"
"I…"
Mira bit her pale lip, trying to argue, but it was like a wad of cotton was stuck in her throat. She couldn't force out a single word.
She'd been rendered speechless.
"Mira just doesn't want to hurt the vill—"
Lisanna, seeing her sister's pain, hurried to explain, but Shane waved a hand and cut her off.
"Don't hide behind some noble excuse like 'I don't want to lay a hand on the villagers' or 'I don't want to hurt ordinary people'!"
He tore straight through the flimsy cover she'd wrapped around herself.
"There are plenty of ways to change your situation. Intimidation. Negotiation. Even just leaving."
"At the end of the day… you're just scared, aren't you?"
"You're afraid that the moment you start using that power, you'll slowly become a real demon—ugly like that arm—until you can never go back to being a pretty, ordinary girl again."
This time his tone carried real, cutting sarcasm.
"What a vain little girl."
"You'd rather drag your brother and sister through people's glares and rocks… than face your own ridiculous pride!"
"Y-you…!"
Mira's whole body trembled. Her eyes were full of wavering shame and fury—yet she still didn't know how to refute him.
"Shut up! Don't you talk about Mira like that!!"
Elfman finally snapped. He couldn't stand an outsider humiliating the sister he admired.
"AAAAAH!"
This boy who looked timid somehow found a burst of courage. He raised his wooden stick, squeezed his eyes shut, and swung at Shane as hard as he could.
"Brave."
Shane didn't even blink. He simply flicked a hand.
Bang!
Elfman flew backward as if struck by a sledgehammer, slammed into the wall with a dull thud, and slid down to the floor.
The commotion instantly caught the villagers' attention.
"They're fighting! The mage finally did it!"
"Good! Kill them all!"
The excited shouts outside stabbed into Mira's ears like knives.
And the sight of her brother collapsing to the ground shattered the last thread of "reason" in her mind.
All the inferiority, hesitation, and fear—thrown away in an instant.
"Who… gave you permission… to hurt my little brother?!"
Mira snapped her head up. Those once-dull brown-blue eyes flooded red, turning bloodshot.
"Die!!"
She roared. The demon right arm she'd hated and rejected for so long became her most instinctive weapon.
No hesitation. No technique.
Like a furious lioness, she lunged at Shane and drove her fist into his stomach.
Thud!
Shane grunted and went flying, crashing onto his back.
But Mira wasn't satisfied.
All the fear, humiliation, and rage she'd suppressed for so long erupted at once.
She straddled Shane, that grotesque right hand clenched tight, and started punching—again and again—wildly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The dull impacts echoed inside the tiny cabin.
Pinned to the floor, Shane cracked one eye open. Watching the white-haired girl, eyes red like a true demon, he could only suffer in silence.
"Gah… that hurts!"
He'd only meant to play along and provoke her into using her power.
He hadn't expected her punches to be this heavy.
Without any class card reinforcement, he was actually getting rocked.
"Seriously—what kind of monstrous strength is this…?"
Shane hurriedly raised his arms to shield his face, letting her vent.
Mira kept hammering him until she was panting, and only then did her blows finally start to weaken.
"Um… w-wait, Sis…"
A small, shaky voice spoke up.
"I… I think I'm okay?"
Mira's raised fist froze in midair.
She turned stiffly.
Elfman—who had supposedly been "smashed into the wall"—was climbing to his feet, scratching his chest in confusion.
"Uh… it sounded really loud, but it doesn't hurt at all."
"…"
Mira stared at her perfectly fine brother, then at Shane beneath her—dusty and bruised-looking—her whole body locking up.
"Whew…"
Shane finally got a chance to breathe.
Peering through his fingers at the girl sitting on him, he couldn't resist a snide remark.
"Wow… you can swallow your pride and endure the villagers who bully you every day…"
"But when it's someone who doesn't fight back at all, you sure hit hard."
He rubbed his aching body, baring his teeth.
"Truly worthy of the title 'demon,' huh—picking on the softest target?"
"W-wait… were you doing that on purpose?"
Mira's face, which had been vicious moments ago, turned flustered.
In truth, that throw had looked brutal—but Shane had used a clever force to cushion Elfman. He hadn't let him get hurt at all.
"All right, off. You're heavy."
Shane shoved her softer-than-she-looked body aside and stood up, brushing the dust off himself.
"See? You can use your power cleanly."
He pointed at Mira's right arm, half-smiling.
"Just now, when you were protecting your brother, you used it without thinking."
"…"
Mira stared blankly at her right hand.
She was right.
In that instant, she hadn't thought of anything—only protect Elfman.
And the arm she'd treated as a curse had become her strongest weapon.
"What I want… is to protect my family."
She whispered.
"Even power this ugly… can do that?"
"If I didn't have it… if Elfman really went down…"
"Would I have just stood there, watching, unable to do anything?"
The thought made her shiver with fear.
And at the same time, the hard ice of resistance around the word "demon" began to melt.
Seeing the tension ease from her expression, Shane felt a weight lift—along with a deep, bone-level exhaustion.
This was the first time he'd ever played the role of an "instructor."
He sighed inwardly.
Does Makarov deal with this every day? Babysit Natsu the demolition man, Gray the exhibitionist, and then talk these problem kids off ledges…?
Just imagining it made his head throb. His respect for the old man rose a notch.
"Um…"
While he was lost in thought, someone tugged lightly on his sleeve.
Lisanna looked up at him, her big eyes full of gratitude.
"I'm sorry… and thank you."
The girl's sincerity eased Shane's irritation. A small sense of satisfaction returned.
At least it wasn't all for nothing…
For the first time, he understood Makarov a little better.
Maybe this was why the old man could keep going—because watching everyone grow up was worth it, and because he truly loved the guild.
But even as his thoughts softened, Shane's voice stayed stubbornly blunt.
"No need to thank me."
"Because next…"
He gave them a hard look.
"I'm going to 'deal with' the demon."
"W-what?!"
Elfman, who'd just gotten up, turned pale. Without thinking about whether he could win, he ran back over and spread his arms in front of Mira like a martyr.
"Idiot brother."
Lisanna grabbed him, exasperated. "He's obviously joking!"
"Huh?" Elfman blinked.
"If he really wanted to hurt us, he would've done it already. Why would he let himself get punched for that long?" Lisanna explained, half-laughing.
"Uh… yeah. True." Elfman scratched his head and grinned sheepishly.
By now Mira had mostly gathered herself.
She hid her demon arm behind her back again—this time not out of disgust, but out of politeness.
"So… why did you come to us?" she asked softly.
Seeing that his scare tactic had only fooled someone as dense as Natsu, Shane pouted.
"My commission was 'exterminate the demon in the church.' But since you already took care of that demon, my job is… technically done."
He paused, looking the three of them over.
"But I didn't travel all this way just to do nothing."
"So I'll 'deal with' you instead."
He deliberately emphasized "deal with."
This time even Elfman didn't fall for it.
"Tch. No fun."
Shane sighed, then extended his right hand.
A vivid red guild mark appeared—bright and alive.
"Fairy Tail."
He tapped it and looked at them steadily.
"Those villagers won't accept you. You can't stay here."
"So—how about it? Want to join our guild?"
Part of it was because he couldn't stand the villagers.
But more importantly, he didn't want three decent kids to rot in this cesspool.
That was why he'd bothered playing reluctant life coach in the first place.
"Fairy Tail…"
Mira stared at the emblem for a long time before answering.
"Is everyone there… like you?"
"No way."
Shane gave her a look like she'd asked something stupid.
"How could a guild have tons of mages as reliable, mature, and considerate as me?"
He held up one finger and declared shamelessly:
"At most, there's only one more."
"Hah… thank goodness."
Mira visibly relaxed and patted her chest.
"If the guild was full of people with… uh… your 'unique' personality, that would honestly be worrying."
"Hey!" Shane protested.
Mira ignored him and turned to the other two.
"Lisanna. Elfman. What do you think? Should we go?"
They exchanged a look and saw the same hope in each other's eyes.
"I think… he…" Lisanna pointed at Shane.
"Shane. My name is Shane."
"Right. I think Shane isn't a bad guy." Lisanna smiled, revealing two little fangs. "And everyone here hates us. I don't want to stay."
"Yeah! Me too!" Elfman clenched his fist. "As long as I'm with Sis, I'll go anywhere!"
"Okay."
Mira nodded.
She took a deep breath, reached out, and clasped Shane's hand.
"Then… please take care of us."
Shane smiled and gripped back.
Her hand didn't feel icy like he'd imagined—just soft, springy, alive.
It was his first time "picking up" people for the guild like Makarov did, and a thrill sparked in his chest.
"All right! Welcome to the team!"
Then he seemed to remember something and added:
"Oh, and the other person who's 'reliable' like me is around your age too. A red-haired girl. I'll introduce you."
He genuinely thought Mira had joined because he was such a great guy, so he enthusiastically tried to sell Erza.
"Red hair… and as 'reliable' as you?" Mira murmured.
If this weird guy praised someone like that…
She couldn't help feeling curious.
"All right, if we're leaving—" Mira said, turning to Lisanna and Elfman. "Let's pack. We go tomorrow."
She was about to help, but she stopped and turned back.
Looking at Shane, who was still rubbing his stomach, she hesitated… then bowed her head.
"Sorry. I didn't think. I hit too hard…"
"No need to apologize."
Shane waved it off casually.
"Because… I'm going to ask you for 'compensation.'"
"Huh?"
Mira blinked, thinking she'd misheard.
This guy… really didn't follow any normal script.
Were city mages all this mercenary? A flicker of anxiety crept in about the future.
She nervously patted her empty pocket. "Um… if it's money, we might—"
"Nope. Not money."
Shane wagged a finger, then nodded toward the door, wearing a "kind" smile.
"Didn't I say it? I really can't stand those scumbags outside."
~~~
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