Ever since that day, Erza had finally stopped shutting herself off completely from everyone.
She began trying to interact normally with her guildmates. The first traces of the valiant Titania who would one day awe the continent were quietly taking shape.
That day, Blanc sat in his usual corner by the guild window, studying magic.
Although he was confident that his strength would let him complete most difficult requests, there was a saying: "Sometimes you're only cold because your parents think you are."
At eleven, Blanc had yet to hit puberty. His mental age and actual fighting strength were nothing to scoff at, but no matter how anyone looked at him, he was still just a little kid.
Guild Master Makarov refused to approve any dangerous, high-difficulty jobs. The remaining low-level requests were easy but time-consuming, and did nothing to hone his strength.
Since he could not improve through actual combat, Blanc poured all his energy into studying the nature of magic to broaden his options in battle.
By now, he had more or less mastered the basics of making cards for Card Magic. The next and most crucial step was to inscribe the magic he needed into them.
Blanc often pondered how to use Card Magic to build a combat system uniquely his own, one that could exploit his infinite magic power. But he still had no real ideas. He had a long way to go.
"Blanc! Come here a moment. I need you." Guild Master Makarov's call suddenly rang through the hall, interrupting his thoughts.
"Oh, coming."
Blanc put away his magic book and walked over to the counter. The master had already stepped out from behind it, while Erza stood quietly beside him, dressed to go out.
Seeing Blanc approach, Erza gave him a small nod, her gaze clear.
Blanc smiled and nodded back. Seeing Erza greet everyone normally now filled him with relief. She had come so far from the girl who had kept everyone at arm's length when she first arrived.
"Master, is there a job?"
"Not a job. The Artificial Eye I asked Porlyusica to make for Erza is ready. I'm going to take her over for the transplant." Guild Master Makarov paused, then continued:
"But Porlyusica said she's running low on some herbs. She asked me to bring you along so you can mature another batch with your nature magic. Are you free?"
"Yes, I'm not doing anything right now."
"Then come with us. If she runs short of anything during the treatment, you can grow it on the spot."
"All right."
Seeing Blanc agree so readily, Erza stepped forward and gave him a small, solemn bow. "Thank you, Blanc. Sorry for the trouble."
Blanc waved casually. "No need to be so formal. It's nothing."
Guild Master Makarov nodded in satisfaction as he watched Erza gradually open her heart.
"All right, kids. Let's go."
With that, the three left the guild together and headed for Granny Porlyusica's home in the forest.
Granny Porlyusica lived deep in Vas Forest, outside Magnolia. Few people came here, and its tranquility was the polar opposite of the noisy Fairy Tail guild.
Her home was a huge tree house hollowed directly into the trunk of an ancient, towering tree.
An old, slightly crooked wooden door stood shut. A string of dried herbs hung before it, rustling in the forest breeze.
Before they even reached the door, Guild Master Makarov eagerly shouted toward the tree house:
"Porlyusica, I brought the children!"
The next second, the wooden door was flung open with a bang.
An elderly woman with short pink hair and a red cloak adorned with dragon teeth stood in the doorway, brandishing a large broom and roaring furiously:
"What are you shouting for? You're so noisy! Humans really are the most disgusting creatures."
"All of you, get inside and keep your mouths shut, or get out right now!"
Blanc and Erza both ducked their heads. Granny Porlyusica's temper was as explosive as ever.
But Blanc knew she was Fairy Tail's most reliable pharmacist, a classic case of a cold exterior hiding a warm heart. Well... her exterior ran pretty hot too, just in a different way.
"Yes, yes, we know." Long accustomed to her manner, Guild Master Makarov waved it off and led the way inside.
Blanc and Erza bowed politely in greeting before stepping softly into the tree house.
The moment they entered, Granny Porlyusica's instructions came at them like a barrage:
"Blanc, those seeds in the corner are your job. Erza, lie down on the bed like a good girl. Makarov, go make yourself scarce!"
"Oh, all right." "Yes." "Honestly, still so harsh with me..." The three gave completely different responses.
Blanc walked to the corner with practiced ease. This was not his first time helping out here.
When the master first gained a magical prodigy like Blanc, he had been beside himself with pride and had bragged to his old friend plenty of times.
Granny Porlyusica had taken an interest in Blanc's quick, convenient nature magic. Occasionally, she commissioned him to help grow exceptionally rare herbs with long growth cycles.
It did not happen often, of course. Given how much she hated humans, she would never let Blanc disturb her peace unless it was urgent.
She had probably summoned him specifically this time to treat Erza as soon as possible, saving the time she would otherwise have spent finding herbs.
"Grow the top three pots first. Those are for the treatment later. Take the rest outside and plant all of them in the field."
"All right," Blanc replied automatically. But when he saw the mountain of herb seeds piled in the corner, then the three lonely pots of seedlings above them, each barely the size of his palm, something felt off.
"Uh... Granny, you only need those three pots? Then what are all the others for?"
Without even turning around, Granny Porlyusica answered as though it were perfectly reasonable:
"The rest are for my research."
"Uh, all right." Blanc did not know whether to laugh or cry. She really did need him to grow herbs for Erza, but she had also brought him here for free labor.
Since I'm already here, she might as well squeeze every last bit of use out of me so she won't have to see this 'disgusting human' again later. Still, with Blanc's infinite magic power, growing one pot or an entire pile made no real difference.
Blanc quickly finished growing the herbs needed for the treatment. Then he carried the large bag of remaining seeds to the clearing outside the tree house and scattered them evenly across the herb field.
As vast yet gentle nature magic surged outward, the shriveled seeds broke through the soil, sprouted, and blossomed within seconds. In the blink of an eye, they became an entire field of gracefully swaying herbs.
With his work finished, Blanc returned to the tree house and waited quietly with the master for the results of the surgery inside.
After an unknown stretch of time, Granny Porlyusica finally let out a relieved breath in the inner room:
"All right. The surgery is finished."
Blanc and the master immediately opened the door and went inside.
Erza lay on the bed, still unconscious from the anesthetic. The black patch that had covered her right eye had been replaced by layers of white gauze. The sight of those thick bandages made both their hearts tighten.
Guild Master Makarov asked nervously:
"How did it go?"
"The surgery was a success, but the nerves still need some time to integrate with the Artificial Eye. We'll know once the bandages come off in a few days."
"That's a relief." Blanc relaxed at the news as well.
"Erza will stay here for observation. You two, get out! I hate humans."
"Yes, yes, we're leaving." Makarov's tone was casual, but relief and delight shone unmistakably in his eyes.
"All right. Please take good care of Erza, Granny. I've finished growing the seeds in the field west of the tree house." Happy to hear the surgery had succeeded, Blanc said goodbye with a smile.
"Here, take this."
Porlyusica casually handed Blanc a bag of something as payment for his help. Her face remained as stern as ever, but the lack of irritation in her reply meant she was actually in a good mood.
Then the old man and the boy left the tree house to the sound of her shooing them away.
Several days later, the sunlight was warm and gentle.
Inside the tree house, Porlyusica stood beside the bed, carefully unwinding the bandages around Erza's head.
When the final layer slipped away, Porlyusica took a small brass mirror from her pocket and handed it to Erza, gesturing for her to see the result herself:
"How is it?"
Erza gripped the mirror's handle, her fingers whitening slightly with tension. She took a deep breath, then slowly opened the right eye that had been closed for so long.
At first, her vision was a little blurry. But as her pupil focused, her whole face came clearly into view in the mirror. Two bright, clear eyes blinked back at her.
Erza's eyes widened in surprise, her mouth falling slightly open. Her pupils trembled with disbelief, as though reality felt too dreamlike to trust.
A thought exploded through her mind like thunder-It's healed!
"Did you hear me?" When Erza failed to answer, Granny Porlyusica asked again impatiently.
"I can see!" Erza's voice trembled with uncontainable delight.
"Then hurry up and leave. I've always hated humans," Granny Porlyusica said, turning to look at Erza.
Overwhelmed by the wonderful surprise, Erza wore a brilliant smile. Tears of joy spilled out uncontrollably, except-
The moment Granny Porlyusica saw Erza's face clearly, her expression changed dramatically, her eyes filling with incredulous shock.
"Wait. Your eye..."
Erza froze and looked up at her in confusion.
"One of your eyes... can't shed tears." Porlyusica's voice trembled.
In disbelief, she spun around and hurriedly leafed through the mountain of medical books on her desk. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead as she muttered anxiously:
"That's impossible! The formula I prepared was perfect! Besides..."
Erza's heart sank. She raised the mirror again and looked. Sure enough, tears were streaming from only one eye.
After a brief silence, the joy that had just soared to its peak began to sink. But then, as Erza looked into the mirror, she suddenly found peace with it.
She raised her head again and met Porlyusica's anxious, self-reproachful gaze, saying softly:
"It's all right..."
Tears poured from her reddened eye like water through a broken dam, yet a smile of utter ease and acceptance blossomed across her face.
"It's because..."
"The tears in my other eye dried up long ago."
When Erza returned to the guild, her eye patch was gone for good. Two bright, shining eyes, whole once more, were openly visible to everyone.
The bustling hall abruptly fell silent for a moment.
"...You're back." Macao was the first to break the silence, then burst into hearty laughter. "Your eye's healed? That's wonderful."
Wakaba took the cigarette from his lips and nodded firmly in approval. "You look much more lively. Welcome back, Erza."
"Yeah." Cana waved from her table, her eyes curving into crescents. "You look much prettier without the eye patch. Now you can see everything properly."
Gray stood among the crowd, opening and closing his mouth. His usual greeting of "Let's settle this!" simply would not come out. He awkwardly turned his head aside, his ears bright red. Only after a long while did he stiffly force out:
"...Good. Now that your eye's healed, you won't be able to use it as an excuse when you lose."
He was still embarrassed after speaking, but the people around him had already burst into laughter. "You're dreaming, Gray! You couldn't beat her before, and now it'll be even harder."
"Exactly! Face reality, Gray!"
Gray shot back, red-faced, "Shut up! Erza's only ahead for now. I'll catch up to her!"
On the counter, Guild Master Makarov held his cup of liquor without saying a word. He simply watched the rowdy children below with a cheerful smile, as though all the worry of the past few days had finally lifted.
The guild's mood flared back to life, with welcomes, cheers, and toasts rising in wave after wave. Surrounded by so many people, Erza's ears reddened slightly, but this time she did not retreat into a corner.
Her gaze swept across the noisy crowd before settling on the table by the window. Blanc, Gray, and Cana had returned to their seats at some point, with cards and unfinished snacks spread across the tabletop.
Erza walked over to them, pulled out a chair with perfect ease, and sat down beside the three.
All three froze. This was the very first time Erza had come over and sat with them of her own accord.
She sat calmly, looking at their stunned faces as a faint smile curved her lips:
"Cana, Gray, Blanc. Thank you for everything you've done for me."
An odd silence hung over the table for half a second.
"Huh? Why are you suddenly being so serious..." Gray leaned back against his chair and looked away, his ears reddening again. "You're making me embarrassed."
"You're being too polite, Erza." Cana waved a hand, smiling. "It wasn't anything big."
Blanc smiled too. "We didn't really do much. Mostly, Gray put a lot of effort into getting beaten up."
"Shut up, Blanc!" Gray bristled instantly.
Watching them bicker, Erza nodded softly and did not continue with needless formalities. Cana glanced at her a couple of times, then could not help lowering her voice to ask with tentative concern:
"Your eye... is it completely healed? There aren't any problems, are there?"
Erza raised her right hand and lightly brushed her fingertips over her new right eye. Her gaze and voice were so calm that she might have been telling someone else's story:
"Yes. I can see normally with this eye now. It's no different from an ordinary eye."
She paused, then calmly added, "It just can't shed tears."
The table instantly fell deathly silent.
"Huh? Then it isn't completely healed!" Gray snapped his head up, his anger spilling out before he could think. "What's wrong with that old lady? Didn't she say the surgery was a success?"
"Gray!" Cana drew a sharp breath and reached out to stop him. Yet once she spoke, she bit her own lower lip and looked at Erza with aching sympathy. For a moment, she did not know how to comfort her, afraid of touching wounds that had only just healed.
Beside them, something stirred in Blanc's heart.
He remembered that this was not a problem with Granny Porlyusica's medical skill. Erza could not shed tears because her heart was still trapped in the past. She had not truly escaped it.
Only when she finally resolved that knot in her heart would the eye return to normal. But he could not say that outright now.
Looking at his angry, helpless friends, Blanc tilted his head and thought for a moment. This was probably what Fairy Tail would say.
Blanc smiled. His clear voice was quiet, yet carried an unwavering conviction as it reached everyone there:
"It's all right if you can't shed tears. Because Fairy Tail would never let its friends cry, would it?"
Gray froze on the spot.
It was not just him. Cana, and even Macao and Wakaba, who were eavesdropping nearby, were stunned. The anger quietly faded from Gray's face, replaced by a seriousness and solemnity the boy had never shown before.
He folded his arms and turned his head away with an awkward huff, but continued those words with absolute conviction:
"Hmph... Of course not. If anyone dares make her cry, they'll have to answer to my fists first."
"And me." Cana paused briefly, then broke into a smile, her eyes growing warm. She pushed the large remaining piece of strawberry cake across the table to Erza and spoke gently:
"So, Erza, from now on, all you need to do is enjoy what you see. Delicious cake, a lively guild, and... us. You've got a whole beautiful life ahead of you to look forward to."
Without warning, an indescribable surge of warmth burst through Erza's slight chest.
Her pupils trembled violently as she slowly lowered the hand touching her eye.
She looked at the three people before her, at the friends in the hall still cheering for her, and at the master smiling gently at her from behind the counter.
A faint blush rose on Erza's cheeks. And at last, in that moment, a little girl's radiant smile blossomed fully across her face, without a trace of restraint.
"...Yes!" she replied softly. Her voice was quiet, yet perfectly clear.
So this is what it means to have friends.