I Am Jiang Bai Himself!

You're not Xiao Bai.

"Who are you? Why are you impersonating him?!"

Edolas Mirajane's icy voice, like a sharp blade, instantly sliced through the noisy atmosphere of the guild.

Everyone turned their wary gazes toward Jiang Bai, as if he were some extremely dangerous being.

Jiang Bai, however, seemed oblivious to the hostility around him. He simply shrugged, his face still bearing that nonchalant expression.

"First of all, let me clarify that I am not impersonating anyone."

"I am Jiang Bai himself."

After saying that, he didn't even bother to explain further to Mirajane in this world. After all, he liked Erza and Mirajane because of who they were, not because he liked just anyone who looked similar. That kind of feeling was too cheap.

Jiang Bai's gaze passed directly past her, through the commotion of the crowd, and precisely locked onto a white-haired girl who was instinctively hiding behind Elfman.

"Lisanna."

Jiang Bai's voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"It's time to go home."

These four words, like a thunderclap, resounded throughout the Edolas Fairy Tail.

"Lisanna?!"

Mirajane of Edolas turned around abruptly to look at her sister, her eyes filled with shock and confusion.

Her initial absolute wariness of Jiang Bai subtly changed upon hearing the words "go home," as if she had understood something.

But the others in the guild didn't think so.

"What?! You're here for Lisanna?!"

"What do you intend to do to Lisanna?!"

"Damn the Royal Army! Don't even think about touching a single member of our guild!"

Immediately, the crowd was agitated, and many people were already rubbing their hands together, ready to take action.

Even Wendy and Carla were starting to have doubts.

"Brother Jiang Bai," Wendy whispered, tugging at Jiang Bai's sleeve.

"This is another world, could it be... I've mistaken someone for someone else?"

Carla, unusually, chimed in, "Yes, although they look exactly alike, but..."

However, Natsu, standing to the side, didn't think so.

In his simple mind, whatever Jiang Bai said must be true.

Ignoring the tense atmosphere around him, he got up from the ground, his head bearing the two large bumps from Queen Lucy's interrogation, and walked straight up to the white-haired girl.

He stared intently at her, his eyes devoid of doubt, filled only with the eagerness and trembling of someone who had lost her and then regained her.

"Are you... really Lisanna?"

Lisanna, who was being watched by everyone, trembled uncontrollably.

She looked at Natsu in front of her, then at Jiang Bai not far away, and then at Edolas Mirajane beside her, whose face was full of worry.

She thought of her older sister and brother in this world, and how they accepted her and took care of her.

She didn't want to hurt her sister in this world.

So she bit her lip, shook her head with difficulty, and tried to end it all with denial.

"I... I don't know you."

Her voice was trembling with tears.

However, Jiang Bai didn't give her a chance to continue acting.

He sighed, his voice not loud, but carrying a power that could penetrate the heart, directly expressing the thoughts hidden deep within her heart.

"Lisanna, you don't want Mira in this world to be sad."

"But have you thought about it?"

"How heartbroken has Mira from our world been these past two years?"

Jiang Bai's calm yet penetrating words struck Lisanna's heart like a merciless hammer.

Lisanna's body trembled violently, and the tears she had been holding back finally burst forth.

"I... I..." She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word, and could only shake her head helplessly.

"What nonsense are you spouting?!"

Mirajane of Edolas darted forward, shielding the trembling Lisanna behind him like a lioness protecting her cubs, glaring warily at Jiang Bai.

"What do you mean by 'your world'? What do you mean by 'heartbroken for two years'? Who are you anyway?!"

Seeing Lisanna on the verge of collapse, Natsu could no longer suppress his emotions. He rushed over, his eyes filled with urgency and disbelief.

"Lisanna! It really is you! Why did you lie to us! We're comrades!"

"Don't come any closer!"

Unexpectedly, the one standing in front of Natsu was none other than the cowardly Edolas Elfman.

Although his legs were still trembling, he still opened his arms and mustered the greatest courage of his life to protect his sisters.

"You're not allowed to bully my sister and Lisanna!"

The other members of the guild also gathered around, all filled with righteous indignation.

"If you want to take our companions away, you'll have to get over us first!"

"That's right! Fairy Tail is not to be trifled with!"

Jiang Bai completely ignored the commotion around him. His gaze remained fixed on the white-haired girl with tears streaming down her face. His voice wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear clearly.

"Two years ago, to protect Mira from being accidentally injured by the rampaging Elfman, you were caught in the Anima Rift, and everyone thought you were dead."

Jiang Bai's voice was calm, as if he were stating a fact that had nothing to do with him.

"From that day on, Mira never threw a tantrum in the guild again. She withdrew her magic and became a gentle mascot, just so that Elfman wouldn't remember what happened back then."

"Every rainy day, she would go to church alone to pray for you."

"Elfman also lived in endless self-blame, always feeling that you had traded your life for his sanity."

"Our Mira, our Elfman, they were heartbroken for two whole years."

Every word Jiang Bai said was like a needle, piercing deeply into Lisanna's heart.

She could no longer bear the heavy longing and guilt from another world.

"Stop talking!"

Lisanna finally broke down. She pushed away Edolas Mirajane, who was protecting her, her legs gave way, and she knelt on the ground, bursting into tears.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"I just... I just don't want my sister to be sad because of me anymore..."

The entire guild fell into an instant, deathly silence.

Mirajane and Elfman of Edolas were both stunned.

They stared blankly at Lisanna, who was crying on the ground, and then at the man before them whose eyes were frighteningly calm. They finally understood that every word he had said was true.

The Lisanna before me truly doesn't belong to this world.

She has her own older brothers and sisters, and her own family.

In that family, someone was grieving for her "death" for two whole years.

Mirajane of Edolas slowly knelt down and gently hugged the girl who was crying and trembling from behind.

Her eyes reddened, and her voice trembled with a sob she herself was unaware of.

"Fool..."

"Oh, I see..."