(16) Morning

Chapter 16: Morning

Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Silver's bedroom door was suddenly flung open.

Hearing the noise in his sleep, Silver drowsily half-opened his eyes. When he saw Erza standing by his bed, he greeted her sleepily, "Oh… it's you, Erza. Morning…"

With that, Silver rolled over and was about to drift back to sleep.

"Get up now! Training starts today!" Erza didn't care about Silver's groggy state.

Seeing he was awake enough to recognize her, she wasted no time in dragging him out of bed.

When he looked ready to doze off again, she gave him a solid punch on the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Silver sat up immediately, clutching his head in pain and glaring at Erza.

Then, as if just realizing she was there, he muttered, "Erza? Why are you here?"

"Hmph. Finally awake," Erza said, arms crossed and looking as energetic as ever. "Did you forget that you wanted me to teach you weapon skills yesterday?"

"No, I didn't forget. But isn't it a bit too early? Can't we do it in the morning or afternoon instead?" Silver asked, rubbing his still-aching head.

"No way. The morning and afternoon are reserved for missions, not training. So, the only available time is early morning or evening, and I prefer mornings," Erza replied firmly.

Seeing her serious expression, Silver understood that there was no chance he'd be able to go back to sleep.

So, he got up and followed Erza to the edge of the forest where they had trained the day before, ready to start a new day of training.

As time passed and the sun rose higher, Erza, holding a long wooden staff, struck Silver's helmet with pinpoint accuracy.

"I told you, you need to move more fluidly. Standing there like a tree stump only gets you beaten," she lectured, pulling back her staff with a stern look.

"Got it. Let's go again." Silver adjusted his helmet and took his stance once more.

"Enough for now. It's about time to head to the guild. We'll continue tomorrow," Erza said, and the wooden staff vanished from her hand.

Silver removed his helmet and looked up at the now-bright sky.

His armor, covered in dents from Erza's strikes, also vanished. "Didn't realize how fast time flew… it's already that late."

After tidying up, the two returned to the guild, where things were already bustling.

Most members were either chatting together or picking out missions from the board—Mira among them.

Seeing Mira by the mission board, Erza immediately headed over, while Silver ambled over to sit beside Cana.

"Hey, what brings you here with Erza today?" Gray, who was chatting with Cana across the table, greeted Silver with a raised hand, curiosity in his eyes.

"I asked her to teach me some weapon skills yesterday…" Silver, feeling sore from the morning's intense training, slumped over the table as he spoke.

Before he could finish, Gray guessed, "So this morning, she went straight to your room to wake you up for training, right?"

"How'd you know?" Silver asked, surprised.

"Just a guess," Gray chuckled. "With Erza's personality, it was a pretty safe bet she'd do that."

"No one knows Erza better than Gray and Natsu, so it makes sense he'd figure it out," Cana added, smiling as she explained to Silver.

"That's true. If you get beaten up by Erza at least three times a day, you'd have to know her pretty well," Silver agreed.

"Hey! What do you mean by 'three times a day'? You're talking about Natsu, not me," Gray protested, quickly denying the claim.

"Really? Because from what I've seen, Natsu usually drags you into it. That's what I see every time," Silver replied.

"Huh…" Cana mused, thinking over what Silver said. "You know, now that you mention it… it does seem to happen that way."

Not only Cana but Gray, too, was deep in thought after hearing Silver's words.

He thought back to every time he'd been beaten by Erza, and his face quickly turned to one of anger.

He jumped to his feet, exclaiming, "That Natsu… I won't let him off this time!"

With that, he stormed out, making it clear exactly what he planned to do.

Watching Gray leave, Cana turned to Silver with a sweet smile and asked, "Silver, do you have plans for this afternoon?"

"The afternoon? Not really. Why?" Silver thought over his schedule and shook his head.

"Perfect! I need a bit of help with something today—would you mind?" Cana's face lit up with excitement upon hearing his answer.

"Sure, as long as it's something I can handle," Silver nodded, but he was curious. "What do you need me to do?"

"Well…" Cana smiled as she explained, "You remember the story you told me and Levy last time, with the moving pictures? I told the kids at the orphanage about it, and now they're all really curious and want to see it…"

Silver immediately remembered.

A while back, when his magic could only animate small drawings, he'd once seen Cana looking bored.

So, he'd created a little story with a picture animation just to entertain her. Levy, Gray, and even Natsu had ended up joining to watch.

As for the orphanage, it had a special place in Cana's heart.

When she first arrived in Magnolia, she'd had no place to stay, and it was the church orphanage that took her in.

Though she no longer lived there, she still visited weekly and donated part of her earnings to the orphanage, aside from her own expenses.

"Oh, that? No problem. I'll draw something much bigger this time so everyone can see it clearly," Silver replied, standing up to start gathering the materials he'd need for the animation.

And of course, he began to plan out a captivating fairy tale to go along with it…