"It doesn't matter," Shane said nonchalantly while expertly setting the grill rack in place.
Gray hurriedly spread thick slices of meat across the grate. Fat dripped down with an enticing sizzle-sizzle.
Mouth half full, he mumbled in agreement, "Yeah, yeah… I haven't eaten anything good in forever…"
Ever since Shane had "talked him out of" his savings last time, Gray's days really had been tight. He hadn't even seen real meat in ages.
"Exactly!" Shane chimed in, fully on Gray's side for once. "Bringing us to an all-you-can-eat place is already sneaky enough—what's wrong with adding one more Gray? We're eating our money's worth!"
Their original goal had been revenge on Cana, and on the sacred principle of "make the payer bleed," Shane and Gray had finally formed a rare united front.
Cana turned to seek support from Erza—only to find Erza's plate already stacked like a mountain.
Erza was laser-focused, shoveling sizzling meat into her mouth, cheeks puffed up like a hamster. No time for anything else.
Seeing three "wolves" at her table, Cana gave up entirely.
"…Fine, eat. It's buffet anyway."
She patted her wallet and silently did the math.
Between the 30,000 J she'd just paid as commission and this meal, a huge chunk of her small, hard-earned savings—from safe little local requests—had vanished.
Which was exactly why Shane, after one buffet, suddenly felt his anger "smoothly brushed down."
They chatted lightly through dinner, and the meal ended in lively noise.
By the time Shane and Erza got home, the night was deep.
After washing up, Shane flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking that in the two days since returning to Magnolia, his life rhythm had somehow gotten worse than when they were out traveling. He'd basically been staying up every night.
Even so, his mind didn't immediately rest.
Instead, he started replaying the fight with Ivan.
That had probably been the strongest opponent he'd faced since transmigrating.
Even if he'd insulted Ivan out loud, he still understood the principle: despise the enemy strategically, take them seriously tactically.
Lessons were non-negotiable.
Looking back over the battle, Shane realized his current combat system was already fairly complete compared to before.
At range, he had Arash's archery to suppress enemies. Up close, he had Senji Muramasa's swordsmanship to trade blades.
And on top of that, he now possessed a decisive trump card capable of ending things outright—
A Reality Marble.
So while Ivan's spells were bizarre and annoying, the only thing that truly pressured Shane was Ivan's tide-like, overwhelming mana.
Before, maybe none of his enemies had ever forced him to the edge, so he'd subconsciously ignored his weakness in the most basic stat of all: mana.
But this time, Ivan's S-Class reserves had actually suppressed him for a moment, and Shane could no longer pretend it wasn't a problem.
"Mana…" Shane murmured, eyes as if trying to see through the ceiling into the stars.
He'd come to Magnolia intending to study magic, but one sudden incident after another had derailed him. He still hadn't truly started.
Yeah. Time to settle down.
He closed his eyes and began planning.
First priority: learn Requip magic.
It would help his magic training, and it would also let him use Muramasa's forging skill to boost Arash's arrow power and add variety in combat.
As for learning other spells after Requip—he didn't think too far ahead yet.
One, he hadn't encountered any magic that truly fascinated him. Two, he worried that biting off too much would leave him chewing nothing.
If he ever did pick up a new spell, he'd do it after Requip was solid—and then ask the master for guidance.
As for using the "Depth Summon" permission he'd been saving to call a Caster and raise his mana?
He didn't even consider it.
He'd held back this long for the locked classes and traits.
Once the "Initiation" trial settled and he passed the S-Class exam, he could gather enough permissions in at most a year.
There was no way he was giving up now.
So he set his plan: starting tomorrow, go out less, focus on training.
The next morning, a familiar, rhythmic knock woke him from sleep.
He rubbed bleary eyes and opened the door into the dim dawn light.
Erza stood there straight and poised. Her scarlet hair was neatly tied back, and she wore a clean white sleeveless top with a dark blue skirt—fresh, bright, full of energy.
"Feels like it's been a long time since you woke me up like this," Shane yawned, oddly sentimental.
After all the running around, a quiet morning like this felt rare.
"Wait for me a second."
…
Since they'd agreed he'd make breakfast today, Shane washed up quickly.
When he came out, Erza was waiting quietly in the living room, the morning light outlining the increasingly refined beauty of her face.
Shane walked closer and suddenly noticed something. He studied her for a moment.
"Erza," he said, stepping nearer, "did you… get a little taller?"
Without thinking, he pulled her in front of him and used his hand to compare the height of their heads.
Her proportions had always been good, but up close her legs did seem a bit longer.
"If anyone's growing fast, it's you," Erza replied.
The faint, clean soap scent on him—fresh from washing—made her eyes flick away slightly.
Shane blinked. He really hadn't paid attention to his own changes.
Using the doorframe as a reference, he compared himself—and then froze in surprise.
Since escaping the Tower of Heaven a few months ago, he'd shot up by more than ten centimeters.
Erza had probably grown only four or five. Back then they'd been about the same height—now he was already half a head taller.
"By normal logic, girls should hit their growth spurt faster at this age…" Shane mused, pinching his chin.
He quickly blamed the abnormal growth on the continuous tempering and nourishment from the class cards.
"Didn't think you were that observant," he teased.
Erza thought, I'm always looking at you. Of course I'd notice.
She pushed back out loud, "You noticed I grew too, didn't you?"
"Because we're always together," Shane answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
That blunt honesty left Erza speechless for a second.
She turned quickly, sat at the table, and stiffly changed the subject. "So what are we doing this morning?"
The moment food came up, Shane perked right up. He'd bought ingredients last night specifically to show off today.
"I'm making shrimp dumplings for you."