Decision

Night

Home

Mirajane and Elfman sat silently on the sofa. The house that had once been filled with laughter now held only silence.

Qian Guang grew angry when he saw Elfman's cowardly state. Even at the end, Lisanna had told him not to blame Elfman, yet Elfman was still going to keep running away like this?

"Elfman, come to the study for a moment."

Qian Guang spoke abruptly. Mira and Elfman both looked up at him.

"Qian Guang, don't..."

Tears shimmered in Mira's eyes as she looked at Qian Guang. She thought he was blaming Elfman and did not want there to be a rift between them.

Qian Guang rubbed her head. "It's fine. I just want to talk to him. Go check on Dumb Dumb first. He's been depressed this whole time, like he's sick."

Mirajane no longer insisted. She had panicked just now and lost her composure. She had seen how Qian Guang treated Elfman; although he always sounded disdainful, he regarded Elfman as a younger brother just as she did. How could he possibly blame him?

"Move."

Elfman silently followed Qian Guang upstairs, moving like a machine.

The study door slowly closed. Qian Guang turned around and carefully looked at Elfman before him.

A weary face, a hunched body, and eyes devoid of any light.

Bang!

Qian Guang's face twisted as he slammed Elfman's head against the wall. "Elfman! Look at yourself right now!"

"Is this what you call becoming a real man?!"

"What kind of man is like you? Can you still use magic? Are you even still a wizard?!"

"Lisanna was still worrying about you until the very end! And you? You're wallowing here like a block of wood!"

Qian Guang treated Mira and Elfman completely differently. Mira was grieving too, but she had not become a machine like this.

He had watched Elfman over the past few days. Elfman had been living in self-blame, without the slightest spark of life in him.

Every word Qian Guang spoke struck mercilessly at Elfman's wounds.

Trembling with tears streaming down his face, Elfman said,

"Big Brother Qian Guang, I killed Lisanna."

Qian Guang grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. "The one who killed Lisanna was the Beast King! You bastard! Don't you want revenge? That thing's soul is inside your body, so take control of it!"

Elfman stared blankly at Qian Guang. It was not as though no one had told him that it was not his fault. The guild master had even come to counsel him, but none of it had reached him.

Qian Guang looked at Elfman with some heartache. He had long since regarded himself as a member of this world, this guild, this family.

He did not know whether he would bring change to this world. He only wanted to do his best to protect them.

"You did well, Elfman. You protected Mira. You protected the residents. It was only because that Demon was too strong—so strong that you lost yourself. Next time, don't lose again. You're the strongest man there is."

Elfman looked at Qian Guang, choking up. Qian Guang patted his head, took out some food, and walked out.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

As he left, Qian Guang heard Elfman's heart-wrenching sobs.

"Hang in there, Elfman."

Downstairs

"Is Elfman alright?"

"He's fine. He just needs to let it out. He's been suppressing too much."

"I see."

Mira no longer wore her usual smile. Even her ever-present ponytail had come undone.

Dumb Dumb had already fallen asleep nearby, but judging from the waves of magic power emanating from him, this sleep would bring a different change.

"Hey, Qian Guang... I think I can't use magic anymore."

Qian Guang's body stiffened. He had guessed as much, but a tiny part of him had still hoped that, with him here, perhaps Mira's fate would be different.

So what exactly had I changed?

Qian Guang began to doubt himself. Was I really nothing more than a spectator?

But when he saw Mira's tear-filled eyes and bitter smile, the unease in his heart disappeared, leaving behind only heartache.

Goddess, spectator or changer, please... don't let her be sad, alright?

Qian Guang gently wrapped his arms around her. "It's alright. I'm here. I'll handle it. I'll stay with you."

"Ahhh, Qian Guang... what am I supposed to do?"

Mira could no longer hold herself together. She felt as though she had fallen into an abyss, and Qian Guang was the only support she could grasp, like a drowning person.

The little witch of the guild, the renowned Demon outside it, was helpless like this for the first time. Even when the villagers had ostracized her back then, she had stubbornly struggled to live on.

"Alright, stop crying. Are you trying to let Lisanna laugh at you?"

"Come with me."

Qian Guang led Mirajane out of the house.

He pointed to the brightest star in the sky. "Look, Lisanna is watching us. Can you bear to let her see her all-powerful big sister crying?"

Mirajane stared blankly at that shining star. It was so bright, truly just like Lisanna.

"Lisanna."

Mira spread her arms as though she wanted to embrace someone.

An illusory Lisanna flew down from the sky and came before Mira.

Mira stared blankly at the figure before her. "Lisanna... Lisanna!"

She tried to grab Lisanna, but her hand passed straight through her.

Unwilling to give up, Mira kept trying to pull Lisanna into her arms, but she could only grasp an illusion.

The illusory Lisanna merely watched Mira anxiously, reaching out as if to wipe away Mira's tears. She kept saying something, but her voice could not reach Mira.

Mira wanted to hold the hand on her face, but she was afraid—afraid that she would pass through it again. She could only gently imitate Lisanna, stroking her cheek.

"Lisanna, I'm sorry. I really was an inadequate sister. I couldn't protect you."

"You have to take good care of yourself. You can't be as naughty as before. Big Brother Qian Guang won't clean up after you anymore."

"I'll take good care of Elfman. I also believe he can pull through. He's a real man, after all."

Mira understood something. She did not force it, only giving instructions bit by bit and talking about the trivialities of life bit by bit, as she had in the past. But she knew this was her final farewell to Lisanna.

Qian Guang stood some distance away, watching Mira continuously pour out her feelings.

A magic circle lit up in the hand behind his back—a very rare kind of magic, Illusion Magic.

Gradually, Mira's voice grew quieter and quieter. She only gazed silently at Lisanna.

Lisanna slowly rose into the sky, waving goodbye to Mira with her familiar smile as she headed toward that brightest star.

"Goodbye, Lisanna! Take good care of yourself!"

Mirajane shouted. Her previous gloom had vanished completely. She could not let that child worry about her.

Qian Guang returned to Mira's side.

"Sorry. I talked so much that you didn't even get a chance to say anything."

"You know me. I can't say goodbye."

A smile appeared on Mira's face. "I don't believe that."

The next day

Qian Guang and Mira went to speak with the guild master about some matters. Natsu and the others did not hear what they said.

However,

From that day onward, the guild's bar had an additional beautiful and gentle poster girl. She had long, smooth white hair, with her bangs combed up atop her head, and she usually wore dresses.

A medicine storeroom also opened beside the bar. A gloomy young man was always holding a pipe in his mouth, filled with unknown herbs. The only thing certain was that it was not tobacco.

He usually brewed medicinal wine, went fishing, made potions, annoyed the guild master, annoyed Porlyusica, treated patients, and flirted with the poster girl. The important part was that the poster girl was happy about it! At night, the two of them even went home together!

What? Elfman?

He was probably discussing philosophy in the boys' dormitory.

Provided by Qian Wei: Fairy Tail: Starting with Dual Kamui