Chapter 4: Stories, Strength, and Hidden Truths
Another sunrise painted the sky in soft pinks and golds as we made our way to the training clearing—Erza already walking with steady purpose, while I dragged my feet just a little, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes. We'd been training with Tobias every day for as long as I could remember, but today felt different somehow—word had spread that he'd be telling stories about wizards after we finished practice.
"Come on, Ram! You're walking slower than Old Henrik!" Erza called back, already halfway to the edge of the village.
"Give me a break!" I groaned, picking up my pace. "I stayed up late helping Aunt Carla wrap bread for the market tomorrow!"
When we reached the clearing, Simon and Kagura were already there—Kagura sitting on a log drawing flowers in the dirt with a stick, and Simon practicing his punches on one of the wooden posts. The little girl brightened up the moment she saw us.
"Ram! Erza! Look what I drew!" She held up her stick to show us a messy but cheerful picture of all four of us standing under the oak tree.
I ruffled her hair gently—she'd always been like a little sister to me, and I knew she saw me the same way, like an older brother she could always count on. "That's amazing, Kagura! You even got my hair right!"
She beamed with pride before turning to Erza. "Erza, can you show me how to make my lines straighter? Like how you stand so straight when you train!"
"Of course," Erza said, sitting down beside her with surprising gentleness. She took Kagura's small hand in hers and guided the stick carefully across the dirt. "See? Keep your wrist steady, just like when you hold a spoon for soup."
Once everyone had arrived, Tobias gathered us in a circle for warm-ups. He had us run laps around the clearing first—Erza kept pace with Simon easily, while I lagged behind with Kagura, making sure she didn't push herself too hard. When we moved on to practicing punches and blocks, Erza's movements were sharp and powerful—each strike hitting the post with a thud that made even Simon wince.
"Good grief," I muttered to myself as I watched her send splinters flying from the wood with a single well-placed hit. "Her strength is really that strong… this is already nonsense—even for a protagonist, right? I've never seen anything like it in a kid her age."
She turned and caught me staring, raising an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Ram?"
"N-Nothing!" I stammered, quickly turning back to my own practice post. "Just… trying to figure out how you hit so hard!"
After training, we all sat under the big oak tree as promised, and Tobias settled in to tell us his stories. He'd traveled when he was young, and his tales were always bigger than life—filled with wizards who could move mountains with a wave of their hand, summon storms from nothing, and even create armor from pure magic.
"—and this wizard," he said, his voice low and dramatic as he leaned forward, "she was known as the Scarlet Sorceress! They say she could cut through solid steel like it was butter, and that her power was unlike anything the world had ever seen. Some even claim she lived for more than a hundred years—kept strong by forces that flowed through her very blood!"
Kagura's eyes were wide as saucers, while Simon leaned forward eagerly. "Is that true, Tobias? Could someone really be that powerful?"
The old man chuckled, scratching his beard. "Who knows, lad? When you travel as far as I did, you learn that the world's full of things that seem impossible until you see them with your own eyes. The villagers here don't talk about it much, but there are stories of great mages from long ago—people who shaped the very land we walk on."
As he continued his story, my mind began to race. Scarlet Sorceress… red hair… lived over a hundred years… The pieces started clicking into place with shocking clarity.
Erza's mother is Irene.
I glanced over at Erza—she was listening to the story with her usual serious expression, but there was a faint spark in her eyes, like she was drawn to the tale in a way the others weren't. The villagers had never spoken of her parents—all anyone knew was that she'd been left at the orphanage when she was barely a year old, wrapped in a red blanket with no name or note attached.
No wonder Natsu never stood much of a chance against her, even though he's a Dragon Slayer, I thought to myself. The anime never said it outright, but it makes sense now—Erza must retain dragon blood from her mother. Plus, spending more than a hundred years in her mother's womb… that's no longer exaggerated at all. It explains why her strength is so far beyond what should be possible.
I felt the Meteor Dragon lacrima pulse in my chest as if in agreement. Even with my own Dragon Slayer powers, I'd always known there was something extraordinary about Erza—but this put everything into perspective. She wasn't just naturally strong or exceptionally talented—she carried the blood of one of the most powerful wizards in history.
When Tobias finished his story, the sun was starting to dip toward the horizon. We helped him tidy up the training area before heading back to the village—Kagura skipping ahead of us, still chattering excitedly about the Scarlet Sorceress.
"Ram, do you think I could be a wizard like that one day?" she asked, looking up at me with hopeful eyes.
"Of course you can," I said, smiling down at her. "You just have to keep practicing, and never stop believing in yourself."
She nodded seriously before running off to show her mother the picture she'd drawn. Simon headed home too, already talking about how he was going to train twice as hard to be as strong as the wizards in Tobias's stories. That left just Erza and me walking back to the orphanage together.
"Did you believe the story?" she asked suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence between us.
"Some of it," I said carefully. "Tobias always makes things sound bigger than they are—but I think there's usually some truth in his tales. There's more to this world than we realize here in the village."
She was quiet for a moment, kicking at a stone in the dirt path. "I want to be strong enough to protect everyone—even if those powerful wizards Tobias talks about are real," she said finally. "Not just here in Rosemary Village, but wherever people need help."
I looked at her, seeing the determination in her eyes, and knew that one day she'd surpass even the wildest parts of Tobias's tales. With dragon blood running through her veins and the heart of a protector, I thought, she'll become something even greater than anyone could imagine.
"We'll get strong together," I said, bumping her shoulder with mine. "I'll make sure of it."
She looked over at me and smiled—a real smile, not just the small one she usually showed. "I know you will, Ram. Just like I'll make sure to protect you too."
As we walked into the village, the smell of cooking dinner filling the air, I made a silent promise to myself. I'd keep training hard to master my Meteor Dragon Slayer powers, and I'd do everything I could to help Erza unlock her own potential. Even if she didn't know about her mother or her heritage yet—and even if the villagers never found out—I'd be there to support her every step of the way. Just as we'd always looked after each other, ever since we could think clearly.