Erza Scarlet

Erza warmly greeted Simon and Kagura, then turned back to help Jiang Bai, smoothing out the last of the hay.

Simon's gaze followed Erza's back the whole time. Only after she and Jiang Bai finished cleaning up did his hostility, like that of a child whose beloved toy had been taken away, ease a little.

"Come on, let's play outside!" Erza suggested.

The four children rushed out of the cabin together.

The afternoon sun shone pleasantly over Rosemary Village. In the children's world, play was the eternal theme.

At first, Simon was clearly still sulking and barely paid Jiang Bai any attention.

When Erza suggested hide-and-seek, he looked reluctant, but when she turned an expectant gaze on him, he couldn't refuse.

Children's hostility came quickly and went just as fast.

Especially between two boys.

With an adult's soul inside him, Jiang Bai knew all too well how to deal with a little kid at the height of his possessiveness.

Meeting him head-on was the worst approach. The best way was to win him over with absolute "strength."

Kagura was "it" for the first round.

Erza took Jiang Bai's hand and darted behind a pile of haystacks with him.

Simon glanced at them dismissively, then found a better-hidden barrel and climbed inside.

Kagura soon found Erza and Jiang Bai, and only found Simon hiding in the barrel last.

Then it was Simon's turn to be it.

He stepped forward and immediately fixed his gaze on Jiang Bai, as though saying, "I'm going to catch you first."

Jiang Bai understood, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

The game began.

Erza and Kagura quickly ran off, each looking for a place to hide.

Jiang Bai, however, remained unhurried. As Simon began counting, he moved forward instead of retreating, quietly circling around to a large tree not far behind Simon.

It was a blind spot: the darkest place was right under the lamp.

Simon finished counting and snapped his eyes open. Sure enough, he immediately raced off in the direction Erza and Kagura had gone.

Jiang Bai leisurely poked his head out from behind the tree, delighted as he watched Simon search in vain in the distance.

After Simon found both Erza and Kagura and came back dejectedly, he discovered Jiang Bai standing under the large tree at the starting point, waving at him.

Simon's face instantly turned red.

In the second round, Simon was still it.

This time, he had learned his lesson and searched a much wider area, but Jiang Bai had seemingly vanished into thin air, and Simon couldn't find him anywhere.

In the end, Jiang Bai emerged from behind the ladder of the village lookout tower himself, announcing Simon's second defeat.

After several rounds, the way Simon looked at Jiang Bai had completely changed.

His initial hostility had turned into unwillingness to concede, and finally into a hint of curious admiration.

He came over and asked sullenly, "H-how did you do that?"

Jiang Bai patted him on the shoulder and said in a mysterious tone, "That's called tactics. Want to learn? I'll teach you."

Just like that, a childish game of hide-and-seek had earned Jiang Bai a little follower in Simon.

The children quickly became close, and their laughing, playing figures could be seen in every corner of the village.

Time slipped quietly by amid those peaceful, heartwarming days.

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed.

Jiang Bai had completely settled into life in Rosemary Village, and the villagers had long since grown used to having the clever, sweet-talking little fellow around.

He, Erza, Simon, and Kagura had become an inseparable group of four, playing wildly together every day and listening to the village elders tell stories.

But one thing still weighed on Jiang Bai's mind.

His magic.

Over those three months, he had secretly tried to use it whenever he had free time.

But no matter how hard he concentrated or how he recalled that feeling of being on the brink of death, the result was always the same.

Every time he tried to summon that power, only a faint, elusive coolness surfaced in the depths of his mind, giving him a sense of something settling and accumulating. Then... nothing.

Forget crushing a wolf's head—he couldn't even make a leaf float.

That power was like a bottle full of water with its cap welded shut. He could feel the water inside, but he couldn't pour it out no matter what he did.

"What the heck..."

By the stream, Jiang Bai stared at a pebble in the water, the veins on his forehead nearly bulging, but the pebble remained completely still.

"Could it really have been a one-use trial card? Or can I only use it when I'm backed into a corner and about to die?"

The thought sent a chill down Jiang Bai's spine.

"Wouldn't that mean I'm screwed? I can't take a day trip to death's door every day just to use magic!"

He sighed helplessly and gave up on studying his magic for the time being.

One day, Jiang Bai saw Erza sitting alone on the steps outside the door, drawing lines in the dirt with a small stick. She looked as though she wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to.

Her crimson eyes held a rare trace of hesitation and disappointment.

Jiang Bai walked over and sat down beside her.

"What's wrong? Look at that glum face. Who made our Erza unhappy this time?"

Erza looked up at him. Her lips moved as though she wanted to say something, but she swallowed the words and merely shook her head.

Jiang Bai could tell at a glance that something was wrong.

He waited patiently, without pressing her.

After quite a while, Erza finally asked in a tiny, uncertain voice, "Jiang Bai... do... do you not have a surname either?"

She asked cautiously, afraid the question might touch on something painful for Jiang Bai. After all, as far as she knew, orphans had no surnames.

Jiang Bai was taken aback, then understood.

He smiled and shook his head. "No. My surname is 'Jiang,' and my given name is 'Bai.'"

"Jiang... Bai..." Erza repeated softly. A small smile appeared on her face, and she was happy for him. "It sounds really nice."

But then the light in her eyes quickly faded, and her little head drooped, her voice full of disappointment.

"I see... so I really am the only one without a surname..."

Seeing how sad Erza looked, as though she was about to cry, Jiang Bai felt a tug at his heart.

He remembered that in that miserable Tower of Heaven, before Jellal gave her the name "Scarlet," Erza had indeed always felt inferior and lonely because she had no surname.

A thought instantly sprang to mind.

Since he had come here, he would change some things himself.

"In that case," Jiang Bai cleared his throat and said solemnly, "how about I think of a surname for you, Erza?"

Erza's head shot up, her crimson eyes full of surprise, which quickly gave way to undisguised anticipation.

She said nothing, only nodding vigorously, afraid that if she spoke, the dreamlike offer would vanish.

Looking at her hopeful eyes, Jiang Bai deliberately put on a look of deep thought.

His gaze swept over Erza's long crimson hair, brilliant as flames in the sunlight, and he smiled.

"Scarlet."

He said the name slowly and clearly.

"Erza, let Scarlet be your surname."

Erza froze. "Scarlet?"

"Mm." Jiang Bai pointed to her hair, a gentle smile in his eyes. "Because that's the color of your hair—scarlet."

He paused, then spoke each word with the utmost seriousness.

"That way, I'll never forget you!"

"Erza Scarlet."

Erza stared blankly ahead, silently mouthing the brand-new name that belonged to her.

An indescribable warmth welled up from the bottom of her heart, instantly sweeping away the loneliness and inferiority that had long occupied it.

Her eyes grew hot, and glistening tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably.

But this time, it wasn't from sadness.

"Thank you..."

Her voice was thick with tears, but she couldn't help breaking into a grin, tears and smiles mingling.

"Jiang Bai! Thank you! I have a surname too!"

The next second, Erza leaped up from the steps and ran toward the village like a happy crimson butterfly.

As she ran, she shouted her announcement to the whole world.

"My name is Erza Scarlet! I have a surname!"

Her clear, joyful voice carried throughout the peaceful village.

The villagers working in the fields, the hunter repairing a roof, and the elders chatting outside their doors all heard her shout.

They were startled at first, then all smiled knowingly.

"Oh! Our little Erza has a surname!"

"Scarlet? What a lovely surname!"

"Congratulations, Erza!"

Kindhearted congratulations came from every corner of the village, gathering into a warm current that enveloped the crimson-haired girl who had just received her full name.