Chapter 40
Morning sunlight spilled across the blankets as Mirajane slowly opened her eyes.
Then she suddenly bolted upright, eyes wide.
’Hopefully the villagers won’t start—’
Wait.
She wasn’t in the village anymore!
Never mind, then.
That’s right.
She had come to Magnolia, joined a wizard guild, and become a Mage. She would never have to see those hateful villagers again!
The tension left her body, and Mirajane flopped back onto the bed.
She raised her right arm and noticed that the "light" covering it had begun to distort.
It looked like she would need to visit Marshall and have him replenish the spell again.
Mirajane still had not fully mastered Take Over Magic, so she could not freely return the demonic arm to normal.
Every couple of days, she had to ask Marshall to recharge the illusion hiding its grotesque appearance.
She was sincerely grateful to him.
Without that illusion, if she had been forced to walk around displaying such an ugly arm every day, she might already have chosen to leave the guild alone.
Mirajane would never allow her appearance to affect Elfman and Lisanna.
They had finally been given the chance to begin a new life, and she refused to let herself ruin it for them.
Fortunately, none of that had happened.
It was time to get up and prepare breakfast for her siblings.
Mirajane patted her cheeks to wake herself properly, then washed up, made breakfast, and called Elfman and Lisanna out of bed.
Everything felt so familiar that it was almost like returning to the days before the demon appeared.
Looking around the house their parents had left them, Mirajane felt another wave of gratitude toward Marshall.
After breakfast, she spent several minutes getting ready in front of the mirror, changed into the new outfit she had bought to make herself look suitably fierce, tied her hair into a ponytail, picked up a small lunchbox, and left the house humming.
A two-minute walk brought her to ’Little Garden.’
Before she could knock, the door opened to reveal a voluptuous pink-haired maid.
"Good morning, Virgo."
"Good morning, Miss Mira. If you are looking for Little Master, he is in the study on the third floor."
"Got it. Thanks."
After the Strauss siblings joined Fairy Tail, Marshall had also helped them settle into their new home.
He had removed their entire house from his spatial storage and placed it near the edge of Magnolia.
Their two homes were now each other’s only neighbors.
The maid standing in front of her was apparently a Celestial Spirit.
Mirajane did not understand exactly what that meant, but she did not particularly like Virgo.
The woman was always expressionless, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.
Talking to her felt uncomfortable.
She was the second person Mirajane disliked most since arriving in Magnolia.
Still, for Marshall’s sake, she never showed it openly.
"Marshall~ Your spell is wearing off again! Fix it for me!"
Seated at his desk, Marshall stopped writing and sighed.
"Didn’t I already modify the spell? You only need to supply it with a little magic power every day. You don’t have to come here and find me."
"No! What if I accidentally damage the spell formation? If this arm gets exposed, I’ll die of embarrassment! You need to inspect it personally!"
"Yeah yeah. Come here."
Marshall carefully replenished the spell before waving her away.
"All done. Now hurry up and leave. Stop disturbing my reading."
"Hmph, you little bookworm. Here."
Mirajane placed the lunchbox on his desk.
"I made too many snacks this morning. They’d only go to waste, so you can have them."
"Virgo already made breakfast for me."
"Eat them or don’t. I’m leaving!"
"...Mira, could you stop dressing like a delinquent every day? You’re dragging down the guild’s average sense of style."
"Mind your own business! I like it!"
Mirajane snorted and strutted out of Marshall’s house with her head held high.
Next, she needed to take Elfman and Lisanna to the guildhall.
Recently, she had been training under Makarov to control Take Over Magic, while her siblings had also begun learning magic of their own.
Honestly, Mirajane felt as though she was already close to understanding the trick behind it.
That should have been exciting, yet for some reason she felt no urgency at all.
It was probably because Marshall’s illusion made the problem easy to ignore. Whether she could hide the arm herself or not, nobody else could see it anyway.
There really was no need to rush.
The moment Mirajane entered the guildhall, a pink-haired figure came flying toward her.
She frowned and punched him without hesitation.
"You idiot, Natsu! You nearly hit Lisanna!"
"Ow! That hurt!" Natsu shouted from the floor. "Damn it, Mira! You violent maniac! Fight me!"
"Fine! You think I’m scared of you?"
Mirajane finished the battle with a few punches and kicks.
So much for Dragon Slayers.
After arriving at Fairy Tail, Mirajane had discovered that not every Mage was as powerful or knowledgeable as Marshall.
She had also realized that he had been telling the truth about her talent.
Her magic reserves were extremely high, and she had learned how to reinforce her body with magic power almost immediately.
The demonic fist she could not yet transform back became absurdly powerful under reinforcement.
Almost none of the children her age in the guild could withstand a single punch from it.
She still hated the demon’s power, but sometimes she had to admit Marshall had been right.
Power itself was neither good nor evil.
What mattered was how the person possessing it chose to use it.
If this power allowed her to protect Elfman and Lisanna, then perhaps becoming a demon would not be so—
"Huh?"
Mirajane froze and reached for her demonic arm.
It felt smooth.
Wait.
Had she... mastered Take Over Magic?
"Mirajane! You’re bullying Natsu again! Let him go!"
That irritating voice immediately ruined her mood.
Mirajane’s eyebrows rose sharply. She nudged Natsu with her foot and folded her arms.
"You again! Erza, I’m warning you not to interfere in my business."
She raised her chin.
"I’m different from yesterday. If you make me angry now, you won’t be able to handle the consequences."
Erza Scarlet.
The person Mirajane hated most since joining Fairy Tail!
No contest.
Two days earlier, Mirajane had seen Natsu picking on Elfman and beaten him up.
Erza had returned to the guild at exactly the wrong moment and, after shouting something about not bullying guildmates, punched Mirajane before bothering to learn what had happened.
When Mirajane woke up, she was already lying in bed at home.
She had been knocked unconscious with one punch!
That cowardly brute had ambushed her!
Yesterday, Mirajane had challenged Erza again, determined to settle the matter properly.
Unfortunately, she still lacked full control of her magic and was defeated head-on.
Worse still, after winning, Erza had looked down at her with that infuriatingly serious expression and apologized.
"Yesterday, I didn’t know you were a new guildmate, so I struck you too hard. I apologize. I’m Erza, Marshall’s big sister. I hope we’ll get along from now on."
Humiliation!
Absolute humiliation!
Mirajane had never hated anyone so much in her life!
Violent, arrogant, unbearably self-righteous...
And she called herself Marshall’s big sister?
As though she deserved the title!
Mirajane swore she would make Erza pay!
"Stop attacking your guildmates inside the guildhall!" Erza ordered.
"Hah?! Who do you think you are? Don’t tell me what to do!"
A small hand rose shakily from the floor.
"E-Erza... this was a duel between Mira and me. You don’t need to interfere..."
"Be quiet! Nobody asked you!"
While the two girls glared at each other, the shameless adults nearby had already pulled out snacks to enjoy the show.
"Yohohoho! The new girl has guts. Plenty of spirit too. Has Erza finally found a challenger among the younger generation?"
"When it comes to courage, nobody beats Natsu. That kid genuinely has no survival instinct."
"Place your bets! Mirajane versus Erza! Erza pays 1.4, Mirajane 3.1, draw at 4.0! No more bets once the fighting starts!"
Erza felt the fierce fighting spirit pouring from Mirajane.
The other girl’s magic power was no weaker than her own.
This was an opponent she would need to take seriously.
"Erza, I’ve completely mastered my magic now," Mirajane declared. "Care to test it?"
"I never refuse a challenge!"
"Heh. Then I’ll show you what real power looks like!"
Mirajane licked her lips excitedly.
If it meant defeating Erza here and now, she did not care if she had to use the power she despised!
"Haaah!"
Mirajane drew out the magic power within her body, preparing to perform her first complete Take Over.
Even the power gathering during the initial transformation stirred a violent whirlwind through the guildhall.
Erza refused to be outdone.
"Requip: Heaven’s Wheel Armor!"
Her strongest armor appeared around her, and the pressure radiating from her matched Mirajane’s without yielding an inch.
"Are you kidding me? That magic power is insane!"
"Should children their age even have this much power? Why is every new generation more ridiculous than the last?"
"You two idiots—STOP!"
Two enormous arms stretched down from the guildhall’s second floor.
A giant palm slammed each girl flat against the ground, ending the conflict instantly.
Makarov, who had been sleeping peacefully moments earlier, jumped down from upstairs without even changing out of his nightclothes.
His mustache bristled with rage.
"Were you two planning to demolish the guildhall?!"
"I apologize, Master. I failed to consider the consequences."
Erza immediately bowed with perfect seriousness.
Mirajane was nowhere near as cooperative.
Not only did she refuse to back down, she openly challenged the Guild Master’s authority!
"You damn old man! Why did you hit me?! Don’t interfere in my duel with Erza! Bastard! This isn’t over!"
A vein bulged on Makarov’s forehead.
His hand expanded, grabbed Mirajane, and hurled her into the sky.
"You idiot! Go reflect on what you’ve done!"
"M-Mira-nee?!"
"Master! There’s a hole in the wall!"
"Erza! You’re repairing it!"
"Yes, Master!"
...
Mirajane could no longer hear the commotion inside the guild.
She flew across half of Magnolia before landing with astonishing precision in the courtyard of Little Garden.
"Ow, ow, ow... Damn it! Was that rotten old man trying to kill me?!"
Mirajane dragged herself upright, filthy and disheveled.
To her surprise, she was not nearly as injured as she expected.
Her body seemed to have been strengthened to an almost unbelievable degree.
"So this magic is really that powerful?"
She examined herself in amazement.
"I didn’t even complete the Take Over, and I’m still perfectly fine..."
Mirajane had barely begun reevaluating her own strength when a voice came from above.
"Well, Mira. You look awful."
She raised her head and saw Marshall descending from the sky, hovering in front of her with a mocking smile.
"The first lesson in becoming a competent Mage is learning to judge your own strength."
His tone was cool and unimpressed.
"You can’t even defeat Erza yet, but you decided to challenge the Guild Master?"
"Did you honestly think he was nothing more than a harmless, kindly old man? He’s one of the Ten Wizard Saints. He could crush you with one finger."
Marshall folded his arms.
"How were you arrogant enough to speak to him like that?"
For some reason, losing to Erza had not made Mirajane feel particularly wronged.
Being thrown out of the guildhall by Makarov had not bothered her much either.
Yet after only a few cold words from Marshall, she suddenly felt tears pressing against her eyes.
"You! Why are you taking their side?!" she shouted. "I’m the one who got beaten up!"
"Because you were the one in the wrong. Master asked me to come and straighten you out."
"Hah?! You’re just an eight-year-old brat! What gives you the right to lecture me?"
"Because I was the one who brought you out of that ignorant village, and I personally vouched for you when you joined Fairy Tail."
Marshall met her gaze steadily.
"That means I’m responsible for your behavior. Is that reason enough?"
Heat rushed into Mirajane’s face so quickly that her thoughts became muddled.
"W-Who asked you to take responsibility for me?! Idiot! You talk too much! You’re so annoying!"
Marshall sighed and lowered himself to the ground.
He stood directly in front of her, refusing to let her look away.
"Mira, I know you’re a kind girl underneath all that attitude."
"You’re simply used to forcing yourself to appear strong and dangerous. You’ve wrapped yourself in spikes because you think that’s the only way to stop people from hurting you."
His expression softened.
"But you don’t need that shell anymore."
"Everyone in Fairy Tail is your family. Nobody there is going to hurt you."
"So please don’t use your power against your family. All right?"
Mirajane lowered her head timidly.
She knew she had gone too far.
She had gained a little power and immediately become arrogant.
Wasn’t that exactly the kind of person she hated most?
"You... call me... sister... then I’ll listen..."
"What did you say?"
Mirajane’s face turned red. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced the words out.
"If we’re family, then you’re my little brother too! If you call me your big sister, I’ll listen to you!"
"..."
"This is your punishment for tricking me into calling you Big Bro!"
"..."
"Are you going to say it or not?! If you refuse, I’ll go back and start another fight!"
Marshall released an exceptionally heavy sigh.
"Big Sister."
"Hm?"
"Mira-nee."
"I didn’t hear you!"
"Mira-neesan."
"W-Well, there’s really no helping you~ Since you’re begging me so desperately, I suppose I can try to be a little more tolerant of them from now on~"
"You’re forbidden from using magic inside the guildhall."
"Hm?!"
"...Mira-nee, you’re not allowed to use magic inside the guildhall anymore."
"Okay~"
"Mira-nee, don’t defy the Guild Master inside the guild."
"No problem~"
"Mira-nee, get out of my yard, return to the guildhall, apologize to Master and Erza, and then properly learn to control your Take Over Magic."
"I refuse to apologize to Erza!"
"Mira. Nee?"
"I’ll do everything you say~~~"
Mirajane left Little Garden humming cheerfully.
Mirajane happily apologized to Makarov.
Mirajane apologized to Erza with a completely expressionless face.
Mirajane began practicing her magic.
Then Mirajane suddenly realized something was wrong.
Had Marshall used mind-control magic on her?
Why had she obeyed him as though she were possessed?
She was not such an easy woman!
Then Mirajane remembered what Marshall had called her.
Well...
He had called her his big sister.
What else could she possibly do?
She would simply have to listen to him!
Mirajane fully mastered Take Over Magic and brought a delightful day to a close.