Night

"They're out, they're out!"

"How did it go? The wizard must have gotten rid of that damned devil by now, right?"

"Of course. How could he possibly leave something that terrifying alive?"

As the battered old doors opened, an uproar rose from the crowd waiting outside.

They whispered among themselves, and without realizing it, the banishment they had discussed earlier became an execution. Perhaps they felt more confident now.

But to their surprise, although two people had gone inside, five came out when the doors opened.

The crowd cried out, sucking in sharp breaths as they hurriedly backed away.

Fear filled their eyes as they stared at the three following Yuri and Erza as though they were monsters... or, more precisely, at Mirajane in her hooded cloak.

Frightened by their stares, Lisanna and Elfman instinctively clutched their sister's cloak and hid behind her.

Under the crowd's gaze, Mirajane also lowered her head and drew in her arms without thinking.

The village chief emerged shakily from the crowd. Pointing at Mirajane and her siblings from a distance, he asked, "Wizard, what's going on? Why are they still..."

"Because in my judgment, they're still human, so naturally the job of defeating a devil has nothing to do with them," Yuri said lightly.

"But that doesn't meet the terms of our request," the village chief said anxiously.

"Then you can consider the job a failure. We'll waive the payment too." Yuri waved a hand, said no more, and strode ahead to lead the way.

The once-menacing crowd parted in perfect accord, opening a straight path. Not one person dared stand in his way.

Mirajane, Lisanna, and Elfman followed behind, looking at Yuri's dashing figure as a hint of admiration flashed unbidden in their eyes. So... so cool!

Erza also stared at Yuri's back, a thought coming to her unbidden. Then what's he going to do about next month's rent?

Yuri maintained his icy exterior, but his heart was bleeding...

Alas, I should borrow money from Erza after all.

As Yuri was thinking this, a shout suddenly came from the crowd behind him.

"The devil's right in front of you, and you won't even get rid of her! Can you still call yourself a wizard?!"

"Huh?!" Yuri twisted his neck to look back, his face fiercely menacing.

The sight was so terrifying that the people behind him shrank back and swallowed involuntarily.

Even Mirajane and her siblings felt a chill, thinking to themselves that he looked far scarier than when he had played the villain earlier.

"If they were real devils, you idiots would have been dead long ago—Griffon!" Yuri looked at the ungrateful bunch in annoyance, intending to teach them a lesson.

At Yuri's call, Griffon flew out of the magic marking on his chest in an instant. Wreathed in purple lightning, Griffon rose into the air and let out a piercing shriek.

The sky, which had been on the verge of nightfall, darkened in an instant, as though a thunder god had descended upon the world, putting everyone's nerves under immense strain.

Brilliant, winding serpents of lightning intertwined in the air. With a beat of Griffon's wings, they swept over the ground, leaving scorched black marks.

Terrifying lightning filled the sky and swept past their eyes. Frightened by the scene, like a natural disaster, everyone collapsed to the ground.

When the lightning subsided, the people breathed a sigh of relief, as though they had survived a calamity. By the time they came to their senses, Yuri and the others had disappeared from sight.

Night fell completely.

Yuri and his companions found a clearing in the mountain forest and set up camp.

As it happened, Erza's thorough preparations finally came in handy.

Although Yuri had privately grumbled earlier that she had brought too much luggage and it was too much trouble, it was precisely because she had come well prepared that they didn't have to sleep out in the open.

Mirajane and her siblings had each brought their own luggage, but none of them had a tent, while Yuri always traveled light.

There happened to be three tents. Lisanna and Mirajane would share one, Erza would have one to herself, and Elfman would have one. Me, me, me...

"I'll keep watch," Yuri said expressionlessly. He certainly didn't want to sleep with a man.

They lit a campfire, set up an iron pot, and used some of the strange ingredients Erza had supplied to make a delicious meal.

"I-is something wrong? Does it taste strange?" Seeing Yuri staring at her, Mirajane asked uneasily.

She had been the one to cook dinner that night.

"Nothing. I was just thinking that whoever marries you someday will be really lucky." Yuri praised the girl's cooking in all seriousness, unaware of why her face suddenly flushed... perhaps it was the firelight.

Yuri was someone who had little interest in food apart from pizza and strawberry sundaes. Having also spent years traveling alone, he was naturally more casual about the necessities of life.

In a word: it was best to have them, but he could do without.

But the skills Mirajane had shown today had given him the rare thought that a change of taste once in a while wasn't bad.

Then again, as an elder sister who had spent years taking care of her younger brother and sister, how could Mirajane not know how to cook?

He just hadn't expected her to be so good at it, so good that Yuri couldn't help expressing himself: "Burrrp—"

That was it.

After dinner, everyone returned to their tents to sleep. Yuri sat alone by the campfire, watching the dancing flames.

"Come to think of it, shouldn't you be the one keeping watch?" Yuri said inwardly.

"I'm not an owl. I need sleep too. Good night, buddy." After saying good night, Griffon stopped responding.

Yuri's eye twitched, and a string of bulging veins appeared on his forehead. You're a nightmare! What kind of sleep could you possibly need?!

With the only bird he could chat with to pass the time gone, Yuri lay on the ground with his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

Until... late that night.

"Can't sleep?" Yuri asked without opening his eyes.

"Ah? Mm..." Mirajane carefully stepped out of the tent, afraid of disturbing Lisanna, who was already asleep.

When she heard Yuri's question, she froze for a moment before realizing he was talking to her.

"Perfect. If you can't sleep, come sit for a while." Yuri patted the warm ground beside him, inviting her over.

Mirajane walked over to Yuri. She did indeed have a lot of questions she wanted to discuss with him.

But before she could speak, he suddenly stood up and patted her shoulder, giving her a solemn instruction. "Since you can't sleep, it's your turn to keep watch."

"I'm going back to sleep. Good night~."

With that, he actually turned and walked away, giving her a smile as he left.

"Get back here!" Not daring to shout, Mirajane gritted her teeth, grabbed Yuri by the back of his collar, and pulled him back.

For no other reason than that he was heading toward Lisanna's tent!