"Macao and Wakaba were that worked up over what, exactly?"
Shane's thoughts were a complete mess. He hadn't even managed to latch onto the right part of the story.
"Probably… because it felt like some pig came along and rooted up the precious cabbage they'd worked so hard to grow."
In the hallway, Mirajane slowed her pace and offered the comparison with a straight face.
Shane frowned, suddenly feeling strangely annoyed.
"Hey. That's way too harsh, isn't it? Talking about Erza and Ultear like that doesn't seem very nice."
"…"
Mira's steps paused for a beat. She was so stunned by his sheer shamelessness that she couldn't speak.
After a short silence, she said helplessly, "Could you at least have a little self-awareness as the 'pig' in this comparison?"
"You were asleep for a full four years. The newcomers who joined the guild after that haven't even seen your face."
Without giving Shane a chance to argue, she turned and resumed leading the way.
"And besides, putting Ultear aside. Just in terms of reputation and popularity inside the guild, Erza could leave you in the dust by more than ten streets now."
"Same goes for me, by the way." At that, she casually brushed a strand of hair by her ear aside and added with a snort.
"No way." Shane looked openly doubtful. "Erza, with that dead-serious personality and that habit of drawing her sword at the drop of a hat, is actually wildly popular in the guild?"
"Wouldn't the normal reaction be more like Gray and Natsu clinging to each other and trembling whenever they see her?"
"Well, that can't be helped. After all, she's one of the newly appointed Ten Wizard Saints now."
Mira casually tossed out the bombshell over her shoulder.
"Erza? A Saint?"
Shane stumbled and nearly lost his footing on the carpet.
For a second, he honestly wondered whether sleeping too long had damaged his hearing.
That title was officially certified by the Council. It represented the highest level of human magical power on the continent.
So she's really grown to the same level as the Master… Shane murmured inwardly.
Once again, he acutely felt the enormous disconnect created by four missing years.
Back then, he himself had once been nominated as a candidate for the Ten Wizard Saints.
Except, for reasons such as "terrible conduct," "reckless behavior," and "unclear guild loyalties"…
the Council had cleanly shoved him into cold storage for further observation.
He never would have imagined that after waking up, it would be Erza—that hopelessly stubborn woman—who had already claimed that achievement first.
But… once his emotions settled, the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
Putting aside Erza's occasional lapses in logic—
when it came to responsibility and seriousness, she really was the most normal and dependable of Fairy Tail's incurable disaster children.
And as for strength, that was the least questionable part of all.
With her monstrous physical gifts, and that monk-like level of relentless effort, there was nothing outrageous about how far she could have climbed in four full years.
"And also—" Mira spoke again, but there was something subtly strange in her tone.
"Outside, the papers and guilds have already started giving her exaggerated titles like 'The Scarlet Fairy Queen' and 'Fairy Tail's Strongest Female Wizard.'"
"Pfft…"
Catching the odd note in her voice, Shane immediately perked up. Just moments ago, he had been the one being laughed at, but now—
"I don't know… you don't sound very happy about your teammate's achievements."
"Could it be… you're jealous?"
"What a joke. It's just a Saint title."
Mira turned her head with a look of utter disdain.
"If I wanted it, I could get it sooner or later too. Why would I be jealous of that violent woman?"
Her words were tough as stone, but the faint flush on her cheeks very honestly betrayed her competitive streak.
"Oh wow. Your relationship with Erza really is as 'good' as ever."
Shane was just about to go on needling her when another thought suddenly occurred to him.
If even Erza had already become a famous Wizard Saint… then what about Ultear, who had always aimed for the Council?
He asked the question out loud without thinking too much.
The instant Mira heard Ultear's name, all the prickly pride on her face vanished, replaced by undisguised disgust.
"She's already the youngest full councilor in the Council's history now."
Mira sneered, her tone dripping with mockery.
"Ever since she got promoted, she's started acting like some grand councilor and barely ever comes to a 'backwater guild' like ours anymore. She hardly even makes time to visit Ur."
"And that's exactly why, when she suddenly came to the guild last year and confronted Erza in front of everyone… people got so worked up."
Those idiots were probably just excited because a Wizard Saint and a councilor fighting in public sounded too juicy to pass up, Shane grumbled inwardly, thinking about the guild's natural instinct to enjoy chaos.
But even while thinking that, he quickly caught onto something odd in Mira's words.
"Wait. You said she barely comes to the guild? Ultear… still hasn't joined Fairy Tail?"
How was that possible? He clearly remembered that before they went to take down Brain, Ultear had personally promised him that once everything was over, she'd join the guild.
"Well, she's a councilor now, isn't she? And even so, Erza that hopeless blockhead kept inviting her over and over."
Mira rolled her eyes.
Everyone knew the guild had never liked the Council, not with how much they loved throwing orders around. And Mira had never exactly liked Ultear's cold attitude to begin with.
With old grudges and new irritation piled together, it was only natural that her tone wouldn't be pleasant.
Shane looked at Mira's indignant side profile and cautiously asked, "You're this annoyed… are you standing up for Erza?"
"I just dislike that black-haired woman's whole way of doing things more than I dislike Erza's stiff, righteous nonsense!"
Mira sped up her steps and denied it at machine-gun speed.
"…"
Seeing such a classic case of saying one thing and meaning another, Shane fought back a laugh and cleared his throat before offering an explanation on someone else's behalf.
"Ultear's personality is definitely nasty, and she likes to control things too much. But every once in a while… well, every once in a while, she can be surprisingly reasonable."
"The reason she deliberately keeps her distance from the guild is probably… to avoid suspicion."
When he first heard that Ultear had broken her promise, Shane had definitely felt a little unhappy.
But once he ran the situation through his head with her current position in mind, he immediately understood.
The Fairy Tail of today already had both Makarov and Erza—two highly influential Wizard Saints.
If it also ended up too closely linked with a full councilor who held real political power… that kind of stacked influence and political web would be way too conspicuous.
Given the guild's usual headache-inducing style, it would absolutely provoke extreme wariness and criticism from the top brass of the Council.
If Ultear hadn't intentionally downplayed her connection to the guild, then no matter how capable she was, those old foxes in the Council would never have allowed her to sit in a councilor's seat.
"You really are quick to defend her." Mira clicked her tongue softly. "Who knows what that woman is actually thinking."
Still, after hearing Shane's explanation, the bite in her tone noticeably lessened.
Seeing the conversation drifting farther and farther away, Shane quickly yanked it back on track.
"Anyway, put that aside for now. You still haven't told me—what happened after the two of them confronted each other in public?"
He asked it with clear tension in his voice.
"Was Erza… really upset?"
"Upset? Why would that stiff idiot be upset? I can't even imagine her crying."
Mira shot him a distinctly odd look.
"She accepted what Ultear said very calmly. Then the two of them just walked out of the guild together without saying much. When Erza came back alone afterward, somehow the whole issue about you just… quietly passed."
"She was calm?"
Shane's brows drew together even more tightly.
That was way too abnormal. He knew better than anyone how close those two women were.
And more than that, with how airtight Ultear usually was, why would she suddenly do something so out of character and bring it up in public, in front of everyone?
Wasn't that basically forcing both of them onto a stage and making it easy for one of them to lose face?
Something was definitely off. The more Shane thought about it, the more every part of the incident felt strangely out of character for both of them.
Then again… maybe that wasn't entirely a bad thing. At the very least, it didn't sound like his personal hellscape had actually arrived yet.
Shane let out an awkward little laugh, using pure coping logic to prop himself up.
"Alright, stop standing around overthinking it. You can slowly suffer through this mess later."
Just as Shane's brain was running wild, Mira came to a stop.
She tugged him along and stopped in front of a room.
"We're here."
~~~