Raizel really wanted to comment on Erza's habit of bringing a pile of luggage on missions, but Ultear didn't seem to mind at all; she even frequently entrusted her own luggage to Erza.
Carrying all that luggage and their spoils, they completed several missions in a row.
Erza also collected some metals and minerals suitable for crafting armor. While they might not necessarily be usable, they made decent collectibles.
Eventually, they hauled a cart full of spoils back to the guild.
Given the sheer volume, Raizel and Ultear suggested taking it to the girls' dormitory first, whereas Erza had originally planned to bring it directly into the guild hall.
Watching Erza and Ultear chatting happily with Grandma Hilda, Raizel suddenly remembered that Grandma Hilda would later be involved in a carriage accident on a rainy day.
That incident had deeply saddened Erza.
No, it wasn't just Erza—all the residents of the girls' dormitory would be heartbroken, as Grandma Hilda was very kind to all of them.
Raizel sat on the steps, gazing into the distance as he waited.
Grandma Hilda would never, under any circumstances, allow boys into the girls' dormitory.
Ultear helped Erza carry the luggage and spoils upstairs.
"Alright, let's go eat." Ultear patted Raizel, who was lost in thought.
Turning around, he realized both Ultear and Erza were standing behind him; he had been preoccupied with thoughts about Grandma Hilda.
The three of them went to the restaurant where Ur had previously taken Kagura, Erza, and Ultear.
Raizel had no interest in ordering and let the girls handle it, finding a seat for himself first.
He pulled a tissue from his pocket to wipe the table, then asked a server for some hot water to rinse the bowls, utensils, knives, and forks.
"Raizel is quite similar to Ur," Erza teased after sitting down.
She had noticed Raizel wiping the table—Ur did the same whenever they went out with her.
"True. I've always thought he and Ur were the same age. His hobbies include fishing, and his favorite drink is tea—it's just so odd," Ultear nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, Ur and I are both eternally 18," Raizel nodded, even though he wasn't actually 18.
"..."
Both girls were left speechless by Raizel.
Before the food arrived, Raizel got straight to the point.
"Grandma Hilda is very good to you, right?"
"Even though Grandma Hilda often says annoying things, like telling us to quit being Mages, she genuinely cares about us residents. Besides Ur, she fussed over us a lot before our first mission too," Erza replied, smiling slightly as she recalled Grandma Hilda's nagging.
"That's right. She's even been kind to Ur," Ultear added.
Having known Grandma Hilda for over a year—longer than Erza—she also held a fondness for the stern yet soft-hearted grandma.
"I've noticed she sometimes takes a carriage to other cities to shop by herself. I was thinking since she's not a Mage and she's getting older, might that be a bit dangerous?" Raizel said, looking at Ultear and Erza who had fallen into reminiscence across from him.
"What do you mean?" Ultear guessed Raizel had seen something again.
"If there are things that need to be purchased outside Magnolia, we could have Granny Hilda write a request for the dorm girls to help with shopping, or post it on the bulletin board. Especially during bad weather, and we wouldn't need to charge her - just need to mention it to Gramps."
Raizel shared his thoughts.
For shopping within Magnolia, it would be fine to let Granny Hilda go by herself - it's not bad for elderly people to walk around more.
"That's a good suggestion, but Granny Hilda is quite stubborn and might not listen," Erza pursed her lips, pinching her chin.
"That's where you two come in," Raizel grinned.
"Laxus wasn't wrong - that damn smile is really annoying," Ultear could barely stand to look.
"Just act cute! I think Granny Hilda won't be able to resist. She likes the dorm girls so much - get Cana and Kagura, and all of you swarm her together."
The two thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Ur is often in Magnolia now too, she could keep an eye out," Ultear offered another idea.
Seeing both agreed with his suggestion, Raizel felt he'd resolved a concern.
They could handle the specific implementation.
"Raizel, can those three sword spirits of yours act independently?" Erza asked during the meal, remembering that Raizel's Jesmon always had three sword spirits accompanying him.
"Yes, why?" Raizel finished chewing the hell seafood ramen in his mouth before answering.
"I want your three sword spirits to help with special training. I'll only equip a single sword or Dual Blades - this seems more effective than practicing alone."
Even now, Erza still wore armor, but Raizel felt she didn't have the mentality of needing armor protection - she seemed to genuinely like armor.
Most of her earnings went toward armor, with the rest spent on strawberries and cheesecake.
"Those three sword spirits aren't weak, you know. Being surrounded by them won't be pleasant," Raizel agreed with Erza's view - sparring was definitely more useful than cutting air.
"That's fine, let's try first. If it's too much, we can start with two sword spirits," Erza directly skipped the option of one sword spirit, thinking she could handle one sword spirit pretty easily.
"No problem. Just let me know whenever you need it, we're always in the eastern forest anyway."
"If possible, I'd like to start this afternoon," Erza was so familiar with Raizel she didn't consider this troubling him at all.
"Why so eager? Well, that's fine too - being enthusiastic about training isn't bad," Raizel was quite surprised.
They had just returned to Magnolia this morning, just put away their luggage, and hadn't even returned to the guild.
"How long can you maintain your Take Over form now?" Erza asked while eating.
"If not for fighting, I think I can maintain it as long as I want."
Magic power naturally recovers, and if he just maintained the form without using it to fight, the recovered magic would exceed what he used to maintain the state.
"That's good," Erza nodded.
Her idea was to train as much as possible - her current plan was at least four hours of such combat practice per day.
Then she clasped her hands together, pressed them against her forehead, closed her eyes, and said.
"I've really troubled you so much."
If her expression had been a bit more serious, Raizel might have believed her—but what did that smile at the corner of her mouth mean?
However, Raizel didn't call her out on it and simply waved his hand dismissively.
"It's fine. I can meditate to connect with Jesmon or practice martial arts—both are good training methods. Letting the Sword Spirit train with you doesn't affect me."
Seeing how engrossed the two had become in their training discussion, Ultear chimed in.
"Since you're both so enthusiastic, I can't fall behind either. I need to try developing the Arc of Time further."
"And what exactly is that metal of yours made of? I can affect even Erza's Adamantine Armor with my Arc of Time, so why does yours remain completely unaffected?"
"It's Chrono Digizoid. You could think of it as a type of living metal. The Arc of Time probably really can't affect it."
After all this time, Raizel was fairly certain that the Arc of Time had no effect on Chrono Digizoid.
Ultear could use her Arc of Time to damage Erza's armor during their battles, but it was completely ineffective against Raizel.
"Digizoid? What a strange name. Living metal, so that's why it can't be affected?" Ultear pinched her chin thoughtfully.
"I've never heard of such a metal before. Can it still be found?" Erza, who had always been very interested, asked as well.
"I don't think it can be found in Ishgar," Raizel shook his head.
"What a shame," Erza sighed.
She wanted armor like that too!
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