Chapter 17
[Stop reading my thoughts! If you keep doing it, I’m going to get angry—even if you are just a little kid!]
[Don’t worry. My ability has limits. I can only hear thoughts within about a hundred meters, and right now I’m just using ordinary Telepathy to talk to you.]
[If you focus carefully, you should be able to cut the connection from your side. You haven’t learned how yet, though, so for now... you can’t refuse me.]
[...I see. Then I’ll learn as soon as possible!] Erza paused. [Wait! Nobody else in the guild is listening right now, are they?!]
[Nope. This conversation is just between us, so please don’t be angry anymore.]
[Fine. I wasn’t really that angry anyway, but I have a lot of secrets that no one else can know. You’ll respect that, won’t you, Marshall?]
[Of course. I would never tell anyone your secrets.]
[I mean you’re not allowed to go looking for them in the first place!]
Erza was furious!
Even after wrapping herself in thick armor, she still did not feel the slightest bit safe.
How could such a shameless form of magic possibly exist?
[Erza~]
[What?!]
[You wouldn’t want everyone in the guild hearing your thoughts again, would you?]
[...Urk! W-What do you want?]
[I want you to promise me something~]
[...Fine, as long as it isn’t unreasonable.]
[Erza, you’re wary of the entire world, and you don’t trust anyone. My guess is that you either lived somewhere filled with cruelty or were betrayed by someone close to you. That’s why you’re so sensitive around people now.]
Erza lowered her head between her knees and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.
Memories of the past flashed through her mind, and her body began trembling uncontrollably.
[Marshall... are you really just a child?]
Erza had asked around about him yesterday.
Marshall was a six-year-old prodigy who had joined Fairy Tail less than three months ago, already knew several forms of magic, and, like her, had arrived without a family.
Yet the intelligence he displayed now seemed far more frightening than any talent for magic.
Erza was already too far from the guild for Marshall to hear her thoughts directly, but he could guess what she was thinking.
The others constantly called him a little monster and complained that he did not behave like a normal child.
Marshall had never cared.
In fact, he found the complaints rather insulting.
’All you people ever do is overthink everything. Have any of you ever been child prodigies? Do you know how exhausting it is to pretend to be six years old every day? Show me some sympathy!’
’I’m only six in this life, so of course I’m a child~’
His next words, however, made Erza’s head snap up.
[I was captured by a dark magic cult once too. If a certain perverted old man from the guild hadn’t rescued me, I might have gone through the same things you did. Actually, I probably would’ve died. Hahaha.]
[You... were captured too?]
Erza’s heart tightened.
Her mind immediately filled in the gaps, and guilt swept over her for ever doubting why a child might seem so mature.
[I was luckier than you, but I still understand how you feel]
[That feeling of losing everything, when your mind is in complete chaos and you have no idea what you’re supposed to do next...]
Even across the distance between them, Erza could feel the sadness on the other side of the connection.
Her heart ached even more.
’He went through that kind of pain too? Then Marshall is much stronger than I am...’
The most vulnerable part of her heart was shaken.
[Marshall... I’m sorry...]
[Why are you apologizing? Pain from the past isn’t something you should cling to forever. People have to keep looking ahead.]
Marshall was remembering the moment his previous life’s memories first awakened.
He did not know exactly what Erza had endured, but the loneliness and helplessness she felt now had to be similar to what he had experienced then.
That was why he believed he could help her find a way forward.
[Whenever you feel lost, you only need to give yourself a new goal. Once you have somewhere new to go, you can set your worries aside for a while and keep moving.]
[So tell me, Erza—what do you want most right now?]
He was right.
Fear and confusion would solve nothing. Even a child understood that much.
If she did not have the answer yet, she would find it herself.
But before that, she needed power.
The confusion in Erza’s heart gradually faded, and determination returned to her eye.
[I want to become stronger! Marshall, I’m going to become stronger than anyone else, and then...]
[Then I’ll return to that place one day and settle everything!]
...
Back at the guild, Marshall stretched and gave Cana an okay sign.
Makarov’s request was officially complete.
’That wasn’t so hard. Who knew I had this much talent for being everyone’s understanding little brother?’
Still, he did not end their conversation there.
[Hehe, it sounds like you’ve found your answer. That goal won’t be easy to accomplish, though.]
[Don’t underestimate me, Marshall. I’ll prove I can do it!]
[No, no, that isn’t what I meant. I meant that the strongest Mage in Fairy Tail is obviously going to be me!]
"...Pfft—hahahaha!"
Erza suddenly burst out laughing beside the river, wiping the tears from the corner of her eye.
For some reason, imagining those boastful words coming from such a tiny boy made Marshall seem unbearably cute.
[You just laughed at me, didn’t you, Erza?]
[I didn’t! I understand how determined you are. Let’s both become stronger.]
[Hmph. You should try trusting me a little more, Erza. Since we’ve had such a nice conversation, I’ll tell you one of my secrets!]
[Huh?! W-What is it?]
Her anticipation was obvious.
[The truth is... I’m the Family Hero!]
Erza blinked.
[The... Family Hero?]
[That’s right! We’re members of the same guild, aren’t we? And a guild is family. Whenever one of my family members needs help, I’ll appear right beside them!]
[I heard you asking for help, so I came. That’s what happened today, and it’ll be the same in the future. So—]
"Erza, will you promise me something?"
Erza turned around and looked up.
At some point, Marshall had arrived at the riverbank. He stood above her with a gentle smile.
"Someday, when you’ve decided that Fairy Tail really is your home... and when you’re ready to trust me as family...
"Will you tell me about your past?"
Erza’s vision blurred.
At that moment, she did not remember the suffering she had endured in the Tower of Heaven.
Instead, her thoughts returned to something even further in the past.
She had been abandoned in Rosemary Village and raised by the church. She had no surname, no idea who her parents were, and no explanation for why they had thrown her away.
She had once dreamed of having a family.
For a brief time in the Tower of Heaven, she had believed she had finally grasped that dream.
Yet the person who had given her the name "Scarlet" had abandoned her once again.
’I betrayed my friends for my freedom.’
’I only bring misfortune to everyone around me.’
’No one needs me.’
’Is this really the freedom I wanted?’
Those thoughts had repeated endlessly during her journey to Magnolia.
Again and again, Erza had asked herself, ’Is there any reason for someone like me to keep living?’
Now, however, a child even younger than her—one who had also arrived without a surname—stood before her.
He had seen through the fragile armor protecting her heart with a single glance, yet he had not forced her to reveal the painful details of her past.
Instead, he had shown her a path forward.
Then he extended his hand and invited her to become part of his family.
"Family..." Erza whispered, tears filling her eye. "Can someone like me... really have a family?"
Marshall understood exactly what she needed at that moment.
He stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her, and answered calmly.
"Of course."
"From today onward, we’re family!"
He smiled as he held her.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Erza."