First Meeting with Erza

Cain turned to look and saw a girl with crimson hair.

Her right eye was covered with bandages, and she wore battered armor over her upper body. Through the gaps in the armor, he could see that her clothes underneath were rather dirty.

Is this Erza? Cain was not entirely sure, but her appearance resembled the Erza he remembered from just after escaping the Tower of Heaven.

The girl who was presumably Erza stared at him in astonishment. Remembering what she had just said, it seemed she had mistaken him for a mermaid—a male mermaid, at that.

Seeing someone emerge from the water, was that really her first thought?

"Um, I'm not a mermaid. I'm human."

"Human?" Erza stared at Cain in the water in shock. Someone so pretty was not a mermaid? Huh.

Erza's disappointed expression made Cain complain inwardly. Are you really that disappointed that I'm not a mermaid, girl?

After looking around, Cain realized that he had drifted quite far from the small island without noticing. He turned to the girl and said, "Hello, could you give me a ride?"

Erza was still feeling dejected and answered without thinking, "Y-Yes."

By the time she came to her senses, Cain had already climbed aboard the little boat. His soaked clothes felt uncomfortable, so he took off his shirt to wring it dry.

Erza looked at Cain after he removed his top and found that he was clearly different from the people in the Tower of Heaven.

Cain's skin was very fair, but not the sickly pallor of those in the Tower of Heaven who had gone without sunlight for too long. His complexion was like a beautiful piece of jade, giving off a gentle warmth.

There was not much excess flesh on his body, and his figure was well-proportioned. At first glance, he seemed similar to the companions in the Tower of Heaven, but anyone with normal eyesight could tell that his was a beauty called health.

Having been stared at by Erza the whole time, Cain felt a little embarrassed. "Um... is something wrong?"

Startled awake, Erza realized that she had been staring at him the whole time. That seemed rather rude.

With a whoosh, Erza's entire face and ears turned red. She stammered, "Ah... n-no... it's nothing... haha, hahahaha!"

Getting to see the future Fairy Queen blush like this is pretty nice.

As Cain watched Erza, he felt that she resembled himself when he had first escaped the Magic Development Bureau.

Her eyes were filled with confusion, panic, fear, worry, and all sorts of other emotions.

So he said gently, "My name is Cain Saint-Ciris. I'm a Mage from Fairy Tail. I came here to carry out a request, but it seems I got a little lost."

Cain's words seemed to possess some kind of magical power, and Erza gradually calmed down.

Only then did she realize that he was a Mage from Fairy Tail. She looked toward Cain's right arm and saw the same mark that Grandpa Rob had.

"My name is Erza Scarlet. Do you know Grandpa Rob?"

So it really is Erza. After confirming her identity, Cain unconsciously let out a breath of relief.

"Grandpa Rob? I've heard of him. He was one of the guild's seniors, but he had already left by the time I joined."

Seeing that Cain truly belonged to the same guild as Grandpa Rob, Erza felt a flicker of joy and nearly asked him to go with her to save the companions still inside the Tower of Heaven.

But then she remembered what Jellal had said: if she revealed the Tower of Heaven's location, Millianna, Sho, and the others would be killed.

She recalled how Grandpa Rob had died saving her, how Jellal's personality had changed completely, and how Millianna, Sho, and the others were still living in endless darkness.

The light vanished from Erza's remaining left eye, and she seemed to turn into a walking corpse.

Then a warm light appeared. Though it could not completely drive away her sorrow, it restored some of Erza's spirit.

Erza looked up and saw that Cain's hand was resting on her head, with a magic circle appearing in his palm.

The light she felt was coming from that magic circle.

"You..."

"Although I don't know what happened to you, you know Grandpa Rob, so that makes you a companion. You're hurt, so I'm treating you."

Of course, Cain knew what Erza had been through, but he could not say it aloud. Seeing her in such pain, he could only do what little he could.

"Companion?" Erza repeated the word. Somehow, her mood suddenly improved a great deal.

During the treatment, Cain discovered that Erza had many hidden injuries. Long-term malnutrition had also left her body extremely weak.

Most importantly, there was the injury to her right eye. It was beyond his current healing abilities; only Granny Porlyusica could treat it.

"Um, can you take me to Fairy Tail?"

After escaping the Tower of Heaven, Erza had already wanted to see the place Grandpa Rob had described as being as warm as home.

And now that she had encountered Cain, it made her feel even more as if heaven itself were guiding her.

"Of course. But I need to finish my request first."

"A request?"

"That's right." Cain then explained why he had come here and took the sea pearls from his pocket to show her.

Looking at the white, round sea pearls in Cain's hand, which glimmered faintly, Erza praised them from the bottom of her heart. "They're beautiful."

"Do you like them, Erza? Here, this one's for you."

Before Erza could respond, he placed a sea pearl in her hand.

"Huh? B-But aren't these for your client? Is it really... really okay to give one to me?"

Erza stared at the sea pearl in her hand, momentarily at a loss.

Cain showed her the sea pearls still in his pocket and said with a smile, "It's fine. The request only requires ten sea pearls, and I have extra."

"Th-Thank you."

Erza solemnly thanked Cain, then tightly gripped the sea pearl in her hand, as though afraid it might disappear.

After returning to Bagya Coast, Cain did not immediately turn in the request.

First, he took Erza to buy a set of clothes, let her take a bath and change into them, then brought her to a restaurant for a hearty meal.

At first, Erza felt a little embarrassed, but the beautiful little dress and the enticing aroma of food were simply impossible to resist.

Watching Erza wolf down the food before her, Cain said gently, "Eat slowly. There's plenty more."

After swallowing the fish in her mouth, Erza realized how impolite she was being. Cain would surely dislike her for acting like this.

Yet when she cautiously looked up at Cain, she found that he was just like her moments ago, shoveling down the food on the table in huge bites.

Seeing that Erza had stopped eating, Cain asked with concern, "Erza, why did you stop? Did you get a fish bone stuck in your throat?"

Erza shook her head to show that she was fine, then lowered it and continued dealing with the food before her. It felt wonderful to be cared for like this.

"Erza, don't just eat meat. You need to eat vegetables too."

"Okay~"