Long cherry-colored hair?
A doctor?
Was there a girl in Magnolia who met both these criteria?
Perhaps he could go and ask Dr. Yakov to see if he had any disciples with cherry-colored hair?
"Dad, you're acting really weird today!"
"Why do you keep asking me all these strange questions??"
Makarov's voice pulled Yuri's thoughts back to reality.
"It's not weird at all!"
"It's just that as a father, I want to understand more about my son's thoughts. Is that so hard to grasp?"
Makarov pouted: "What kind of dad tries to understand his son's thoughts by 'asking his 8-year-old what kind of girls he likes'..."
"The only thing I want right now is to learn magic so I have the power to protect Mama and my companions!"
I see!
The people he wanted to protect were Rita and everyone in the guild...
So the reason he looked toward Darwin earlier was because of what Darwin had said?
Yuri suddenly realized the truth.
To think he thought the brat's heart was fluttering—it turns out it was just a needless worry.
"You want to gain the power to protect your mother and companions? That's great! Go learn magic then!"
"...Then you teach me!"
Yuri gave a sheepish laugh: "Well... I'm not very good at teaching magic. Why don't you go ask Uncle Precht to teach you later?"
"Eh? Dad, you're so lame!"
"What?! You dare talk to me like that? You're asking for a beating, you brat!!!"
"It hurts—!!"
After giving Makarov another knock on the head, Yuri ended the father-son conversation with a chuckle and turned to find other companions to drink with.
Left behind, Makarov clutched his head with a look of utter confusion.
"Stupid old man. If you can't teach, just say you can't teach. Why bother asking all those questions and rambling for ages? What a waste of my time!"
...
When the sunlight hit his backside, Darwin finally woke up.
He stretched his limbs, yawned, and sat up.
"Ha... I slept so well..."
"Where was I again?"
The next moment, a familiar head of red hair entered his field of vision.
The flame-like color appeared even warmer and brighter under the afternoon sun, as if it could grant a person invisible strength.
"Are you okay, Darwin?"
Erza leaned her face close to Darwin.
Her eyes were wide open; Darwin could even see his own reflection in them.
"Hmm? Of course I'm fine! Why are you asking..."
"Ah! I remember now!"
After a dozen seconds of daze, Darwin finally pulled the memory of his defeat at his sister's hands once again from his mind. Immediately, he deflated like a punctured balloon.
"So I lost again..."
Seeing this, Erza reached out and patted Darwin's head, comforting him in an imitation of an adult.
"It's just going from losing 956 times to 957 times; don't worry about it too much!"
"Just like usual, take the experience from this defeat, keep getting stronger, and get your revenge next time!"
"I believe you'll definitely be able to do it in the future!"
Darwin: "..."
If you don't know how to comfort people, you really don't have to force yourself!
"Alright, alright, I'm not that unhappy, just a little bit frustrated..."
"Only a little bit, really!"
From childhood to now, challenging Chris countless times and losing, and continuing to challenge after every defeat, Darwin had long since forged a powerful heart.
The reason he felt dejected this time was purely because he hadn't expected that even after learning magic, he still couldn't defeat Chris; he was deeply feeling that the gap in their strength was far beyond his imagination.
However, since he had experienced this situation countless times, he quickly adjusted his mindset.
Yet, his nonchalant attitude appeared to Erza as a fear of losing face—unwilling to show his dejected side to others, and thus wearing a disguise of forced strength.
"You don't have to act tough in front of me, Darwin!"
"Eh? But I'm not acting tough, I really don't mind..."
"Don't worry, even if your strength is a bit weaker, it doesn't matter. Once I learn magic, I can protect you!"
"This development isn't right, is it?! I should be the one to protect..."
"So promise me, you must pull yourself together! Okay?"
This person isn't listening to a word I say!!
"...Okay."
After receiving a satisfactory answer, Erza flashed a brilliant smile: "Then it's a deal!"
The flash of that smile made Darwin's heart throb. He quickly turned to look around, only to find that the guild companions had mostly dispersed. Only about a dozen drunkards remained, sprawled out in various places in the hall, snoring away.
"Where is everyone else?"
"Some drank too much and went home, others went to work."
"Why isn't Chris here?"
"Earlier, Mama and Auntie Mavis said they were going to make cake. She said she wanted to help, so she went with them!"
"What?! Cake??!"
Darwin sprang up from the floor with a "thud," grabbed Erza's hand, and bolted toward home.
"We have to hurry back, or Chris will eat it all!"
"Ah, surely not?"
"How is it 'surely not'?! You have no idea how big her appetite is..."
On the golden street paved by sunlight, the shadows of the two youths were stretched very, very long.
...
Nighttime.
At Irene and Erza's home.
After dinner, the tasks of washing dishes and mopping the floor were handed to the two servants, "Heine" and "Juliet."
These were not ordinary servants hired with money, of course, but maids created by Irene using "Enchantment Magic: Personality."
Normally at this time every day, Irene and Erza would sit together and read books.
But today, Erza brought up a different idea.
"Mama, what do I have to do to awaken magic?"
"Hmm?"
Irene was somewhat surprised by her daughter's sudden desire to learn magic, but she quickly thought of what happened at the guild today and couldn't help but smile.
"Is it because you saw Darwin awaken his magic today, so you've become anxious too?"
As expected, whether it's a boy or a girl, deep down they both have a 'desire to win'...
"That... something like that!"
"But the main reason is, I saw that Darwin still seemed very weak even after awakening magic. So I want to awaken magic too and become very, very strong—as strong as you or the Guild Master—so that I can protect him in the future!"
Irene's smile instantly froze: "..."
That brat... he really did steal my daughter away!
"Darwin isn't weak at all; he doesn't need your protection!"
Erza's eyes widened, and she shouted back in protest: "Darwin is definitely weak!"
"He's lost to Chris 957 times and hasn't won even once!"