Everyone gazed at the night sky in silence for a long time.
Ultear blinked her eyes and broke the silence. "It seems we all met in X774, right? But I met Raizel at the beginning of the year, and Erza and Kagura near the end."
Erza nodded thoughtfully, her voice soft.
"Since we met, we've always been together. Whether in Rosemary Village, during training, or on missions."
"It's been three years before we knew it," Raizel said. It felt fast.
They had been practically inseparable the whole time.
"Raizel, do you remember the first time we met?" Erza suddenly turned to look at him, a playful smile in her eyes.
"Do you mean at the entrance of the village, or when Ultear first brought you to the safe house?" Raizel asked, feeling a bit awkward.
Why was she asking this now? The first time, he had only watched them pass by with Ultear.
"The time at the entrance," Erza paused, her smile widening. "You were staring at me the whole time back then, weren't you?"
Ultear smirked.
She remembered that. It was hard to miss Erza's crimson hair.
Hearing this, Kagura also turned to look at Raizel.
'Crap. Busted.'
Raizel panicked internally.
He didn't know how to respond. He reached up and scratched his temple, trying to look casual.
Finally, he found an excuse.
He leaned back on his hands, looking away from Erza and up at the moon. "Your hair. It's scarlet. It's very rare. I noticed it from far away."
Erza looked like she expected that answer. She leaned back too, mirroring his pose.
"A good answer. I accept it."
Before Raizel could relax, she continued, her tone shifting from teasing to serious.
"Also... you and Ultear went to Rosemary Village specifically for me and Kagura, didn't you?"
Raizel froze.
Erza had never brought this up before!
Back then, Ultear had approached them, and Erza had just gone along with it.
"Why do you say that?" Raizel's mouth twitched slightly. She was right, of course.
"I guessed from how you acted."
Raizel looked into her eyes, waiting for her to explain.
Erza spoke slowly, piecing her memories together. "At first, the Village Chief said you were there for a mission. But Ultear approached me and Simon immediately. Then you took us in and started teaching us meditation and training."
She counted on her fingers. "You stayed for six months. You never left except to buy supplies. Either you or Laxus was always standing guard. That doesn't look like a normal quest—it looks like bodyguard duty. Plus, after we joined the guild, I never saw you submit a report for that 'mission.' And later, the Cult attacked the village..."
Kagura listened intently.
She had never thought about it that deeply, but Erza made sense.
"Erza... I—" Raizel stammered.
He couldn't think of a lie good enough to fool her now.
Erza didn't let him finish.
She shook her head with a gentle smile. "I know. The reason isn't important. What matters is what I felt."
She looked at the moon. "From the moment you celebrated Christmas with us, taught us magic, and bought us sweets... I decided that even if you were lying to me, I didn't care. Because for the first time, I was truly happy."
"Later, you brought us to the Guild. You protected us. You gave us a home. I'm grateful that we get to live happily together. Even though your training is grueling, I kept going because of that."
She tilted her head to look at him.
"There are still some secrets I haven't figured out, but I'm done digging. You'll tell me when you're ready, right?"
Raizel nodded solemnly.
The only secret left was about her mother, Irene Belserion.
"Erza, I never realized you thought about all this so deeply," Ultear remarked, looking impressed.
Erza usually seemed so straightforward.
Erza glanced at Ultear with mild suspicion. "Well, your behavior was weird too, you know? Rosemary Village had lots of kids. Why did you only approach Kagura and me? It was obvious something was up."
Ignoring Erza's jab, Ultear looked down at the youngest member. "What about you, Kagura? Did you think it was strange?"
Kagura hugged her knees, resting her chin on them.
"I was just happy," she whispered. "I didn't have to stay home alone anymore. Meeting all of you... Raizel... these three years have been the best of my life."
Satisfied with the answer, Ultear smiled softly.
She leaned her head against Kagura's. "Earlier, I said it's been three years, right? Well, there will be many more. We're going to be together for a long time."
...
The four of them talked through the night, shifting from heavy topics to travel plans and future dreams.
As Mages with crazy stamina, they stayed awake until sunrise without feeling tired.
On their way back to the Guild, they walked in a comfortable silence.
Suddenly, Raizel stopped.
Smack.
He slapped his own forehead. "Wait. I just realized something stupid."
The girls stopped and looked at him.
"If you guys aren't S-Class Mages yet... Gramps isn't going to let you take S-Class quests."
Makarov was strict about safety.
An S-Class quest required an S-Class Mage to lead it.
Currently, the only active S-Class Mages were Gildarts (who was gone), Laxus, and Raizel.
"In other words," Ultear realized, "if we want to take high-level missions, we still have to go with you or Laxus."
"Right," Raizel scratched his head awkwardly.
"THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT OF ALL THAT DRAMA LAST NIGHT!" Erza shouted, slapping Raizel's arm hard.
"You made us sad for nothing!"
"Don't put it that way," Ultear laughed, shaking her head. "We can't rely on you forever. To become S-Class, we need to build our reputation by doing solo jobs anyway. Raizel is right—eventually, we have to split up."
...
The guild hall was as noisy as ever, though Gray was missing (likely still feeling embarrassed).
Raizel sat at the bar. Makarov was sitting on the counter, drinking.
"Gramps," Raizel said, grabbing a drink. "Their skills are legit now. The three of them worked together and defeated Tob Brian—that Dark Guild leader you tossed to me."
"Huh?" Makarov spat out his beer. "You didn't intervene?"
Raizel nodded. "Not at all. I only dealt with a few grunts. Tob Brian was taken down entirely by Erza, Ultear, and Kagura."
Makarov wiped his mouth, his eyes widening.
He glanced at the table where the three girls were chatting with Cana.
He had assumed Raizel did the heavy lifting.
If those three could take down an S-Class Beast Soul user by themselves...
Makarov stroked his mustache.
He had a new understanding of their power.