The Meaning of the Scarlet Surname

"Ah! Someone, come quick! Someone!! This bastard is rebelling!!!" Just as Chen Wuming had imagined, after the overseer was thrown away, he first cried out in pain from the fall, then immediately started screaming at the top of his lungs.

"What? What? Who's rebelling? Who's rebelling?!" The overseer's shout immediately caught the attention of the other overseers scattered around the area. A crowd of them rushed over at once, warily sweeping their eyes across the "sacrifices" doing forced labor nearby. One overseer who appeared to be their leader glanced at the man groaning painfully on the ground and asked in a low voice, "Who exactly is trying to rebel?"

"It's these two!" No longer caring about the pain, the overseer scrambled up from the ground, rubbing his aching backside. He pointed at the scarlet-haired girl who had dared to throw him aside and was now glaring stubbornly at him, as well as the blond boy hiding behind her. "You dare attack me? You little bastards must be tired of living!!"

"Fine, fine, fine! Very good!" The leader's expression darkened sharply. He viciously slapped the scarlet-haired girl across the face.

Smack— The girl was sent sprawling to the ground. The left side of her face immediately swelled high, and thin streams of crimson blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Even so, she stubbornly held her head high, staring into the leader's eyes with an unwavering, unyielding expression.

"You still dare glare at me?!" Provoked by her gaze, the leader flew into a rage. He raised his magic staff, ready to teach her a lesson, but just then—

"Don't hit my sister!" The blond boy who had been hiding behind the girl stepped forward with a childish roar, placing himself in front of her. Fear still filled his face, and even his legs trembled as he stood, but he forced down his terror and shouted in his young voice, "I won't let you bully my sister!!!"

"No, Shou!" The girl's face went pale in shock. She tried to stop him, but it was clearly too late.

"Hahahaha! Good! Since you're so brave—" Sure enough, the leader's expression abruptly changed. As though he had heard an especially hilarious joke, he burst into wild laughter. Raising his magic staff as he laughed maliciously, he twisted his face and roared, "Then you can be punished together!!!" The moment his words fell, blazing white lightning erupted from several magical devices floating in midair and struck the blond boy named Shou and the scarlet-haired girl.

"Ah—" Shou let out a miserable scream and collapsed, curling into a ball on the ground. His entire body convulsed in agony, trembling without stop. He was clearly suffering unbearable pain. The scarlet-haired girl was also struck by the lightning magic, but she endured it far better than Shou. She merely clenched her teeth tightly. Though her body was wracked with intense pain, she refused to make even the slightest sound.

"Stop!" While Chen Wuming was still stunned, Gerard was the first to lose patience. He shouted and charged forward. Chen Wuming immediately snapped out of his daze. Unable to help it, and worried about Gerard's safety, he could only grit his teeth and follow. To be honest, he rather admired the scarlet-haired girl. He had never expected someone so young to possess such a strong will!

The result was obvious. Gerard and Chen Wuming, who had rushed forward, were both—thoroughly dealt with by the leader's magic...

"Ow! Easy, easy! Could you be a little gentler? Are you trying to murder me while giving me a massage, Wally..." Inside the dilapidated shelter, Chen Wuming sat on a battered stool with his upper body bare. Behind him, a sturdy youth with a nose much longer and sharper than an ordinary person's was clumsily using clean water to wipe the bruises on his back.

"Hey, Boss Nameless, it's just a few bruises on your back and a little scraped skin. Do you really have to scream so miserably?" Wally rolled his eyes and muttered helplessly, "Don't you think yelling like that is pretty embarrassing...?"

"Hey, hey, hey! I heard every word of that!" How could Wally's muttering escape Chen Wuming's ears? Chen Wuming immediately leaped up from the stool, glared fiercely at Wally behind him, and yelled in dissatisfaction, "Just bruises? Just a little scraped skin?! Hell, are you disappointed that I wasn't hurt worse? From the sound of it, you'd rather I got blasted to death by magic! You heartless brat! And here I've always taken such good care of you..."

"Don't be angry, Boss Nameless. I just saw how tough you were and felt a little admiration, that's all." Wally grinned. "Besides, your injuries really don't look that serious."

"Not that serious?!" Chen Wuming rolled his eyes furiously and roared at Wally, nearly beside himself with anger. "Fine! Then go get blasted by magic yourself! I don't need much—just experience every spell I took! Let's see if you can still laugh afterward! You really don't know how painful it is when you're not the one suffering! These are internal injuries! Internal injuries, understand?! Honestly..." As he spoke, he helplessly shook his head and glared at Wally like he was disappointed in an idiot.

"Don't, Boss Nameless!" Wally was terrified. Was this a joke? Did everyone have Chen Wuming's absurd ability to take a beating? If he were the one taking those hits, he would probably be blasted into slag in no time! Thinking of that, Wally hurriedly brought over a cup of water and offered it to Chen Wuming with a fawning grin. "Please be magnanimous and don't hold it against a nobody like me. I was wrong! I admit it, all right?!"

"Hmph!" Chen Wuming snorted and ignored him. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the others nearby, finally settling on Gerard. "Hey, Gerard, are you all right?"

"Thank you so much today, Brother Nameless!" Gerard looked at Chen Wuming with sincere gratitude in his eyes, along with a trace of guilt. "If I hadn't acted so impulsively, you wouldn't have been dragged into this today, and you wouldn't be covered in injuries..." As he spoke, he lowered his head guiltily, seemingly blaming himself for his recklessness. If only he had stayed calmer.

"Forget it. Just remember to think things through a few more times before you act in the future." Chen Wuming waved it off generously and casually reminded him, without blaming him too much. What had happened today was understandable. Anyone with even a little compassion would probably be unable to hold back from helping after seeing the scarlet-haired girl and the blond boy named Shou being tortured like that. Gerard had merely reacted a little faster than he had and beaten him to it. If Chen Wuming had been the faster one, he likely would have done exactly the same thing!

Still, Gerard was pretty skilled in a fight! He had actually knocked that leader to the ground with one move! Even Chen Wuming had been shocked at the time. Thinking back on it now, he was still a little surprised...

The only thing that dissatisfied Chen Wuming was that Gerard had rushed straight in and started fighting! Even if he was good, he could not just directly clash with a mage like that! What if it had drawn a large-scale magical assault? It had forced Chen Wuming to join the fight as well. Fortunately, he had stopped Gerard before he could expand their "victory." Otherwise, they would not have merely been taught a lesson today!

Thinking of this, Chen Wuming wore a helpless expression again. Still, he could not really scold Gerard. In his eyes, Gerard was only a twelve-year-old kid. A little impulsiveness was perfectly normal, especially since he had acted to save someone. Chen Wuming had even less reason to criticize him. A few words of advice were still necessary, though. After what happened today, Gerard should become a little more mature, right?

"Hey, you redhead over there—" Chen Wuming looked at the scarlet-haired girl surrounded by several people asking after her and asked, "What's your name?" His tone carried some dissatisfaction. I got beaten half to death because of you, and you can't even say thank you? That's just rude...

The favorable impression he had of her had dropped a little because of her impolite behavior.

"Erza..." The scarlet-haired girl—Erza—looked timidly at Chen Wuming, who was glaring at her from a short distance away. Somewhat flustered, she explained, "I-I'm sorry! I was busy bandaging my brother's wounds, so I forgot to thank you. Thank you so much for what happened today!" As she spoke, she gave Chen Wuming a deep bow to express her gratitude.

"Forget it—" Chen Wuming's expression improved considerably. He was not someone petty to begin with, and she had not lied. She really had been treating the wounds on that blond kid Shou's back, where the magical whip had torn his skin, so she had temporarily overlooked him. Once he understood that, he naturally did not keep giving her a cold look. Besides, she was only a child...

"And thank you too!" Seeing that the black-haired boy did not seem angry anymore, Erza breathed a sigh of relief and timidly smiled as she apologized to Gerard beside her. She knew that this blue-haired boy had been the first to step in and help her today, so she was also deeply grateful to Gerard.

"Hehe, you don't need to thank me for that." Gerard waved his hand with a sunny smile, then nodded toward Chen Wuming in the distance. "You should really thank Brother Nameless. If he hadn't blocked most of the magical attacks, I wouldn't be standing here talking to you just fine."

That was true. Although his attack on the leader had successfully drawn the man's attention, Chen Wuming had taken the bulk of the magical attacks. He could not help it; he was worried Gerard's body would not withstand them. Though taking nearly all of them had been difficult for him too, he had at least some magic power in his body. It was better for him to endure them than for Gerard, who could not use magic at all...

"Mm!" Erza nodded heavily. Perhaps infected by Gerard's smile, a faint blush flashed across her face as she looked at him. Then an innocent smile bloomed on her face, and she cast Chen Wuming another grateful look.

Chen Wuming rubbed his nose, secretly cursing Gerard's slyness. That brat already knows how to flirt at his age? That can't be right... Still, her expression was much better than before. Remembering the unyielding will and stubborn expression Erza had shown while facing the leader, Chen Wuming could not help sighing inwardly.

Afterward, the blond boy named Shou also sincerely thanked him. Oh, and a kid named Simon thanked him too. Noticing the way Simon looked at Erza, Chen Wuming wickedly mused to himself, Kid, looks like you've got a rival in love too. Tsk, tsk. Kids these days—or maybe kids in this other world—really mature early...

"Oh, right! We haven't introduced ourselves yet! My name is Gerard! Gerard Fernandes! And this is Chen Wuming. You can call him Brother Nameless, like I do." Gerard introduced everyone, then smiled at Erza. "From now on, we're all friends! But you only told us your given name. We haven't heard your surname yet. If it's convenient, could you tell me?"

"I don't have a surname..." Erza fell silent. After a long while, she finally said that.

"I'm sorry." Gerard lowered his head apologetically, then suggested, "How about I give you a surname? If you don't mind..."

"Hm?" Erza was slightly stunned. After thinking carefully for a while, she slowly nodded. Her expression showed a rare flicker of excitement, clearly accepting Gerard's suggestion.

"Since your hair is such a rare scarlet color, then I suggest—why not call your surname Scarlet? Scarlet means scarlet. Erza Scarlet!" Gerard said with a smile, without even needing to think. "I really like the color of your hair! What do you think, Brother Nameless?" His final question was directed at Chen Wuming, who had been watching from the sidelines.

"Scarlet, huh? Erza Scarlet..." Erza softly repeated her name with the surname added. At last, a bright and beautiful smile blossomed across her face once more, and she nodded vigorously.

"Mm!"

"Though I've always thought you were not much of a literary type, there's no doubt that—" Chen Wuming paused slightly, then, under everyone's nervous gazes, praised him with a grin, "the surname you came up with today is really pretty good! Mm! Very good indeed! Hehe—"

And so, Erza's surname was decided. From this day onward, Erza's full name was—Erza Scarlet!