Cana tilted her face, half-burying it in the crook of her arm, one eye peeking out toward the guild's entrance. "Wonder when the Master will finish his routine meeting," she mumbled.
"I hope he wraps it up before that dessert shop nearby sells out of their limited-edition strawberry cake."
Clank, clank—
A faint but rhythmic metallic sound approached. Erza, clad in gleaming silver armor, stepped up to their table, sunlight bouncing off her gear in dazzling flashes.
"The Master finished the council meeting yesterday," Erza said. "According to his letter, he should be back at the guild today."
Gray, who'd just wandered over from the job board, eyed Erza's full armor curiously. Pointing at her gauntlet, he asked, "Erza, why do you wear that stuff even inside the guild?"
"Don't most people save armor for battles?"
"This?" Erza glanced at the sleek metal gauntlet, a slight smile tugging at her lips.
With a deft motion, she unfastened the wrist buckle. A soft click echoed as she smoothly removed the silver-white gauntlet.
"Here." She casually handed it to a bewildered Gray.
"Huh? Why're you giving it to—" Gray reached out instinctively, but before he could finish—
THUD! CLANG!
The moment his fingers touched the cold metal, an unimaginable weight slammed down!
Caught off guard, Gray stumbled forward, his arm feeling like it had been hit by an anvil. He couldn't lift it! The heavy gauntlet dragged his arm to the ground with a dull boom, the force rattling a few empty mugs on the bar!
"Gah! It's—so—HEAVY!!!" Gray's face twisted in pain, his arm throbbing, bones practically groaning.
His face flushed red as he gritted his teeth, propping himself up with his other hand, straining with all his might to lift the gauntlet. But it was like trying to move a mountain welded to the floor—it didn't budge!
Sprawled on the ground, he gawked at the "light-looking" piece of metal, eyes nearly popping out. "Just… just one gauntlet is this heavy?!" His voice shook from the effort. "You're not wearing this kind of weight all over, are you?!"
Erza bent down, effortlessly plucking the gauntlet from Gray's pinned hand with two fingers, as if it were a feather.
She snapped it back onto her wrist with a click, the gauntlet fitting perfectly again. "Pretty much," she said lightly, like it was no big deal. "It's the best way to train."
"Roger and Kagura have similar weighted gear," she added, glancing at the quiet Kagura nearby. "We often wear them while sparring with swords in the clearing behind the hill."
"What?! No way!" Cana shot up from the table, nearly knocking over her juice cup.
She whipped around to Kagura, her face a mix of shock and betrayal, practically screaming, "You've been doing this behind my back?!"
Under Cana's blazing stare, Kagura rubbed her nose sheepishly. "My armor's not as heavy as Erza-nee or Roger-nii's."
"Probably only an eighth of their weight."
Cana gasped, her trembling finger pointing at Kagura. "So when we were on that mission, you didn't use gravity magic at all—you caught that thief with pure physical speed?!"
"Yup," Kagura blinked, looking slightly confused. "You didn't know?"
"Didn't you signal me to chase him down?"
Cana's eyes went blank, and she slumped back into her chair with a thud.
"I thought you used gravity magic to pin them or lighten yourself to boost your speed," she muttered.
"Who could've guessed you were just that fast?!"
Cana sprang up again, fists clenched, eyes blazing with determination. "No way! I'm getting my own set of that armor! I'm not falling behind you guys!"
Gray, watching from the side, sweatdropped. "Uh, hold on, you use card magic. Why are you competing with a bunch of sword-wielders…?"
Cana shot him a glare, her eyes dripping with disappointment, like he'd failed some sacred test.
"Idiot! Card magic is exactly why you need to master close combat! You don't even get that?!"
"=_=???" Gray's face was a giant question mark.
Seeing his utter confusion, Cana sighed dramatically, pulling a pair of fake glasses from who-knows-where and sliding them on. Pushing the frames up, she launched into a serious analysis:
"Listen up! Card magic, or any 'holder-type magic,' what's the first thing people think? Weak in close combat! Total glass cannons who crumple in a fight!"
She gestured wildly. "So what's an enemy's first move when they see us? Rush in for melee or try to snatch our magic tools!"
A glint flashed in her eyes as she slammed her fist into her palm. "That's why we flip the script! Train insane close-combat skills, so when they think they can steamroll us—"
She threw a fierce mock punch. "BAM! We drop them in one hit! Maybe even knock 'em out cold! Catch them completely off guard!"
Gray stared, dumbfounded, slowly turning to look at Erza and Kagura behind him—who were both nodding in agreement! His brain was screaming, "Is this actually right?!"
Cana seized the moment, pointing at the job board nearby. "And most importantly! Think about it—Roger's gonna keep signing contracts with more and more people!"
"When those high-value, magic-boosting extermination jobs come in, will there be enough to go around?"
She scanned the group, her voice ringing with conviction. "Nope! And what decides who grabs them?!"
Her eyes seemed to ignite as she raised her fist triumphantly, declaring, "Physical strength! Reaction speed! Hand speed!!!"
"The strong snag the big extermination jobs, and their magic power skyrockets! The weak get stuck with low-reward grunt work!" She painted a grim "future" with a pained expression.
"It's a cycle—the strong get stronger, the weak get weaker, and before long, you're digging through trash just to eat!!"
Kagura tugged lightly at Erza's sleeve, whispering, "Erza-nee, doesn't the guild cafeteria have subsidies? Even D-rank jobs cover meals, right? Why would anyone dig through trash…?"
Erza stifled a laugh, covering her mouth. "Cana's just exaggerating to make a point. She means falling behind, not literally starving in a dumpster."
Gray, meanwhile, was completely suckered by Cana's fiery (and slightly unhinged) speech. He swallowed hard, nodding dazedly. "I… I get it now…"
YES! I finally dropped a super cool line like a shonen manga hero! Cana's inner self was rolling on the floor in excitement.
She kept her face composed, nodding sagely with a "you're teachable" vibe. "Exactly! If you don't work hard now, when you face a tough enemy later, you'll just—"
She mimed pounding the ground helplessly, her expression tragic. "—be slamming your fists into the dirt, regretting how powerless you are."
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