Under the moonlight, Mira's smile was beautiful.
But Shane felt that those curved brows and smiling eyes didn't look like she was simply admiring the flowers he had just re-soiled.
"Stop!"
Considering this girl was full of tricks, and had a prior record of suddenly pouncing on him to cause trouble, Shane decisively put down the watering can, raised one palm, and took a defensive stance.
"You stay right there. Maintain a safe distance of at least five meters."
He had already mentally prepared himself for her to force her way over and pick a fight.
But unexpectedly—
until Shane had carefully finished tending to the carnations and the precious bougainvillea in the flowerbed, re-covering the soil around them properly—
and until he patted the dirt from his hands and turned around—
Mira had actually stood obediently more than five meters away the whole time, hands clasped behind her back, quietly watching him without the slightest intention of causing trouble.
"Didn't you say you were going to find Granny Porlyusica to treat your injury?" Shane asked strangely. "Why are you standing there?"
"Oh."
Mira lifted her head and glanced at the night sky, then smoothly made up an excuse without changing expression.
"I thought about it. It's so late now, going over and knocking on her door would disturb her rest. I'll wait until tomorrow."
"Fine, suit yourself."
Shane shrugged indifferently, then turned toward the house glowing with warm yellow light.
But just as he reached the porch, he frowned.
"The door's not even closed? Kagura's way too careless. She went to sleep without even locking the door."
He casually complained and was about to take off his shoes and enter.
Before he could step inside, he sensed someone sneaking around behind him. Mira had actually followed him over quietly.
"You really do have something to say, don't you?"
Shane stopped and turned around, staring at her warily.
He couldn't help it. Based on everything he knew about this "rebellious student" of his, when she came looking for him on her own, it almost never meant anything good.
"What? Can't I occasionally want to chat with you?"
Mira raised her delicate chin slightly, her eyes bright, meeting his suspicious gaze without backing down.
Then, without caring whether Shane agreed or not, she grabbed his arm and pulled him down to sit beside her on the wooden steps in front of the entrance.
"…"
Shane sat there passively and sighed helplessly.
He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but from the time they were at the Strauss house until now, sitting here in the night breeze, he felt like Mira had been even more forceful than usual today.
"I'm telling you, you're usually so careless and never serious about anything. Can't you learn a little from that gentle, sensible version of yourself in Edolas?"
Leaning against the doorframe, Shane couldn't help complaining.
"Oh?"
Hearing that, Mira turned her head and looked at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.
"What? You prefer the soft and gentle type?"
"Of course!"
Shane answered instantly without even thinking.
Just remembering the companions around him gave him a headache.
All of them were troublesome people who did whatever they wanted.
Especially Ultear. Whenever something happened, she particularly liked making decisions on her own and never cared about other people's feelings.
Among that whole group, there wasn't even one person who could speak softly and act gentle and considerate.
Back in Edolas, when he saw that warm, graceful version of Mira, Shane had sighed several times in his heart:
Now that is a perfect normal person!
"Is that so…"
Mira suddenly softened her tone.
She turned slightly, her glossy lips parting just a little. Those brown-blue eyes seemed to hold a pool of spring water as she gazed gently at Shane.
That tender appearance, paired with her stunning face under the moonlight, was lethally effective.
She looked exactly like Edolas Mira.
Looking at that innocent face so close to him, Shane's heart uselessly skipped a beat. For a moment, he almost really was tricked by her superb acting and felt his heart stir.
Unfortunately, he knew the truth about this student beside him far too well.
"Ugh… sorry."
Shane's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly lifted a hand to cover his mouth and nose, copying Mystogan's strange expression when facing him. He deliberately said in a tone of extreme disgust,
"I'm feeling a little physically unwell."
"You! Are you asking for a beating?!"
Mira's fake tenderness shattered instantly.
Her almond-shaped eyes widened, and she raised her fist without hesitation, smashing it heavily into Shane's shoulder.
"Hah… there's your true form!"
After taking the punch, Shane instead looked relieved. He rubbed his shoulder and nodded repeatedly.
"Of course. I'm me. Who wants to become someone else?"
Mira gave a little snort and shook out her slightly numb hand.
But in the next second, she suddenly leaned forward.
"By the way, I just thought of how to properly thank you for bringing Lisanna back."
The girl's face rapidly enlarged in his vision, stopping only when the tips of their noses were almost touching.
The atmosphere suddenly became sticky and strange.
Shane suppressed the urge to reach out and brush away that strand of silver hair blown by the night wind onto his cheek, keeping calm as he asked,
"Oh? How do you plan to thank me?"
"Since you saved my most, most important little sister…"
Mira stared straight at him, her voice lowered to a whisper. With a tone full of temptation, she spoke each word slowly.
"Then I have to repay you with something equally precious…"
"Stop keeping me in suspense."
Shane turned his head away and said dully.
By the faint light spilling from inside the house, he could clearly see her moist lips gleaming as she spoke, her pink tongue faintly visible between her pearly white teeth.
This version of the girl carried an alluring aura he had never seen from her before, and it made him deeply uncomfortable.
"So…"
Mira blinked, a trace of slyness flashing in her eyes.
"How about Elfman's worn, unwashed white socks?"
"…"
"You—!"
Shane froze for a full three seconds before glaring at her through gritted teeth.
Putting aside how outrageous it was to equate poor Lisanna's value with a pair of old socks, the most infuriating part was that he had actually thought she might, for once, be serious!
That she might express some deep gratitude toward him.
Instead, this woman had actually dug up the old "socks" joke from four years ago to tease him!
"Hahahaha—"
Seeing Shane so frustrated that he wanted to curse but didn't know where to begin, Mira laughed heartlessly like always.
Only this time, her laughter didn't last very long. Soon, it faded.
Those eyes, usually so direct and straightforward, began drifting unnaturally to the side.
"Um…"
After a confusing silence, she suddenly spoke, her voice thin as a mosquito's hum.
In the moonlight, Shane noticed that the base of the girl's pale neck had somehow flushed with a suspicious red.
"You… you're always so lazy when you do things, and Erza is always away. Without someone watching you, your life is definitely going to become a complete mess, right?"
"Huh?"
Shane was full of question marks. Why had she suddenly started criticizing his lifestyle?
What he had was called leisure.
He was just about to argue that he lived perfectly well.
"If you want…"
Mira quickly turned away, leaving only a slightly stiff back and a silver ponytail swaying gently in the evening breeze.
"I-I do have some free time, more or less."
"Maybe… I can reluctantly help take care of you a little."
She stammered it all out in one breath, as if reciting from memory.
"…"
Shane held his chin, his gaze resting on the tense line of the girl's shoulders.
Although he couldn't see Mira's expression right now, his battle-hardened brain spun quickly and immediately grasped the deeper meaning behind her words.
"This girl… is challenging me?"
Shane sneered inwardly.
Heh. The same trick twice in one night?
Did she really think she could fool him again?
He was an emotional expert who could easily maneuver between Ultear and Erza with complete ease.
This clumsy tactic of first building an ambiguous mood, then pretending to reveal true feelings to lure him into overthinking things romantically—
it was far too immature!
After less than half a second of high-speed mental processing, Shane coughed dryly and launched his counterattack at astonishing speed.
"Don't tell me… you're confessing to me right now?"
At those words, the figure in front of him stiffened even more.
Shane pressed the advantage.
"I'm sorry. For a split second, I almost felt moved, and white hair really is very much within my strike zone."
"But after calming down and thinking about it, I still can't accept it. That kind of thing between master and student is forbidden!"
To complete the effect, Shane even stood up in an exaggerated manner and bowed.
"My apologies. You said it too directly. Please find another opportunity next time!"