The Reason for Wearing Armor

"What? Want a puff?"

Wakaba's joke, like a devil's whisper, struck the most vulnerable chord deep in Jiang Bai's soul.

An expression of profound world-weariness and nostalgia, utterly out of place for his age, appeared on his still somewhat childish face.

That's the stuff!

Jiang Bai was about to nod instinctively. His long-buried heart of a veteran smoker stirred in that moment, almost bursting out of his chest.

But just a second before he could nod, a massive, disproportionately large fist appeared behind Wakaba without warning.

It whistled through the air and struck him squarely on the back of the head.

"Thud!"

A dull, resounding blow.

The cigarette flew straight out of Wakaba's mouth. Stars danced before his eyes as the punch sent him tumbling off his chair with a strange yelp, a huge bump swelling on the back of his head at a visible rate.

Macao, sitting across from him, jolted his glass and spilled beer all over himself.

He watched his old friend get knocked out with one punch, yet didn't dare make a peep.

In an instant, he went from a lazy drunk to an elementary schooler called on by the teacher, sitting ramrod straight and staring fixedly ahead.

Our Jiang Bai also came to his senses and pretended he knew nothing.

The enormous fist rapidly shrank back into Makarov's little, wrinkled hand.

At some point, the old man had appeared there, with Erza, who had just finished having her new armor made, following behind him.

Dressed in a gleaming suit of metal armor, Erza looked curiously at the chaotic scene before her.

Makarov planted his hands on his hips, blew the nonexistent dust off his fist, and glared down at Wakaba, who lay sprawled on the floor, as he angrily scolded him:

"Wakaba! How dare you let such a young child smoke! Are you trying to corrupt the future hope of our guild?"

After scolding Wakaba, he turned to Jiang Bai and looked at him with an expression that said, "I'm deeply disappointed."

That kid—judging by the longing in his eyes just now, he's definitely a potential troublemaker!

To keep this kid from leading the guild's fine traditions astray, I have to nip this in the bud!

Makarov's eyes darted about, and a brilliant idea came to him.

He turned his gaze to Erza, who stood ramrod straight beside him like a little guard.

"Erza." The old man's tone suddenly grew earnest.

"Hm?" Erza looked at him, puzzled.

Makarov pointed at the cigarette butt still smoldering on the floor and said to her solemnly, "Erza, remember this: cigarettes are very bad for your health, especially for children who are still growing. They'll make you stupid, stunt your growth, and make you ugly!"

Although Erza still didn't quite know what this "cigarette" thing was, she understood.

It makes you stupid, stunts your growth, and makes you ugly... Most importantly, it's bad for Jiang Bai's health!

That's enough!

Seeing Erza's little face turn serious in an instant, Makarov nodded in satisfaction and gave his final instruction.

"So, from today onward, your most important task is to keep an eye on Jiang Bai and make absolutely sure he never touches anything this unhealthy! Do you understand?"

Erza's eyes lit up at once, as if she had been entrusted with a sacred and momentous mission.

She straightened her small frame, nodded vigorously at Makarov and the innocent-looking Jiang Bai, and declared loudly, as though taking an oath:

"Yes, Master! I promise I'll keep an eye on Jiang Bai!"

No one in the guild, including the dizzy Wakaba, who had just climbed back to his feet, could have imagined it.

From that day onward, Erza seemed to have awakened a remarkable hobby.

Watching Jiang Bai to make sure he didn't smoke was only the beginning.

Before long, her duties expanded to stopping Natsu and Gray from causing destruction in the guild, stopping the underage Cana from sneaking drinks, stopping Macao and Wakaba from slacking off on their mission reports...

The iron-fisted head of the disciplinary committee who would one day strike fear into the hearts of every member of Fairy Tail was quietly born that day.

The little farce sparked by a single cigarette came to an end with Makarov's iron fist and Erza's solemn oath.

Jiang Bai looked at Erza's serious face, as if she had already made "watching Jiang Bai" her life's work. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but a warm feeling welled up in his heart.

After the farce, his gaze finally settled on Erza, and he looked her over from head to toe.

She wore a brand-new suit of metal armor, its polished plates reflecting a cold, hard sheen under the magic lights in the guild hall.

An indescribable feeling suddenly welled up in Jiang Bai's heart.

He had thought that with his appearance, many things would be different.

But unexpectedly, Erza had ultimately chosen to encase herself in this heavy armor after all.

Is this... the so-called pull of the plot?

No matter how hard I try, will the course of things ultimately return to where it started?

"Erza,"

Jiang Bai couldn't help asking, a trace of confusion in his voice that even he hadn't noticed,

"Why do you have to wear that armor all the time? Couldn't you just use Requip Magic to put it on when it's time to fight an enemy? Isn't this really inconvenient?"

Hearing Jiang Bai's question, Erza looked down at her armor, then raised her head and looked at him with utter seriousness in her scarlet eyes.

"No."

Her answer was quick and decisive.

"Before, when we faced that dark mage, my reactions... couldn't keep up with yours at all."

Erza spoke softly, but every word carried an unmistakable resolve. "So I have to wear it from the start."

She paused, as if gathering her thoughts, then spoke in a tone that sounded almost as if she were stating a truth.

"That way, if we ever run into an enemy you can't react to in time either, maybe... I can block an attack for you."

When she finished, Erza seemed worried that Jiang Bai wouldn't agree with her decision, so she hurriedly added, her little face tense.

"Th-this is what I want to do! I decided to do it myself!"

Jiang Bai froze.

He stared at the girl before him. Her words were like a warm torrent, instantly washing away all his doubts and his ridiculous little "plot theory."

So... that's why?

She had put on the armor not to give her fragile heart somewhere to hide, but so she could be a sturdy barrier for him in the most dangerous moments.

You fool...

An indescribable feeling of gratitude flooded Jiang Bai's heart like water bursting through a dam.

Unable to hold back any longer, he stepped forward, opened his arms, and held the small figure in the cold armor tightly, tightly in his embrace.

"Thank you, Erza."

His voice was a little choked as he held her tightly against the cold breastplate.

Even so...

Erza's armor is really cold, and it digs into me!

Just as that mood-spoiling thought flashed through Jiang Bai's mind, the sensation in his arms suddenly changed.

The cold, hard feeling vanished in an instant.

In its place were soft fabric and the girl's warm body.

Jiang Bai instinctively loosened his arms and looked down.

At some point, Erza had used Requip Magic to change back into her ordinary clothes. Still held in his arms, her face was slightly red, and her scarlet eyes were a little shy, yet held a trace of secret delight as she avoided looking him in the eye.

She would never admit that she had changed out of her armor simply because she wanted to enjoy Jiang Bai's warm embrace.