(15) Misfortune

Chapter 15: Misfortune

Just as Silver was wholeheartedly agreeing with Cana's interpretation of the tarot reading, an arm suddenly locked around his neck, dragging him away once again.

"Demon?" Seeing the person hauling Silver off, Cana suddenly understood.

She glanced over at Erza, who was scolding Natsu and Gray, and murmured to herself, "Knight?"

Finally, she picked up the third card that Silver had flipped over on the table, looked at it with pity, and said, "Poor Silver, a Knight following the Demon—it's certain defeat."

Elsewhere, at the edge of the forest near the guild, Silver sat on the ground, looking up speechlessly at the person who had dragged him out here.

"I heard from people at the guild that you plan to leave my Faction and defect to Erza's Faction?" Mira was staring at Silver with a dark expression, questioning him fiercely.

"No, it's not like that. Mira, let me explain." Although he knew guild members liked to gossip, he didn't expect the rumors to spiral so wildly.

Mira now looked like a volcano about to erupt; if he didn't calm her down, he'd definitely be in for a brutal beating.

"Go ahead, I'm listening. But if your answer doesn't satisfy me…" Mira raised her fist, hinting at the consequences.

"It's not what you think. I was just learning about weapon handling from Erza," Silver quickly explained, seeing Mira's threatening gesture.

However, Mira didn't seem pleased with this explanation.

She grabbed him by the collar, pulled him close, and, with a mocking smile, said, "So, you're saying I can't teach you how to handle weapons?"

"No, I was just thinking that by doing this, our Faction is taking advantage of Erza's Faction. That's all—nothing more." Sensing Mira's displeasure, Silver's survival instincts kicked in, and he quickly came up with a new excuse.

"What do you mean?" Mira was momentarily puzzled, not quite understanding how they had taken advantage of Erza's Faction.

"Think about it. I learned weapon techniques from Erza, but none of Erza's Faction learned hand-to-hand combat from you. Doesn't that mean our Faction has the upper hand?" Seeing Mira's confusion, Silver immediately explained.

"Well, when you put it like that, it does make a little sense." Mira thought about it for a moment, realizing that, according to Silver's logic, their team indeed gained an advantage.

But right after saying this, she delivered a solid punch to Silver's head.

"Ow, that hurts! What was that for?" Clutching his head, Silver glared at Mira.

"What? You have a problem?" Mira glanced at Silver, her expression dark.

"No, I just want to know why you hit me. Don't I deserve a reason?" Seeing her expression, Silver instantly backed down.

"Hmph, that punch was to remind you to tell me next time you plan on getting a deal like this." Mira, looking annoyed, explained, "Also, considering your lack of battle skills, I've decided I'll be training you in real combat from now on."

"What?" Silver was stunned.

Just that afternoon, Erza had also mentioned training him in combat whenever she had free time.

Now, with both of these powerhouse women planning to put him through rigorous training, Silver could only shudder at the thought of his future.

After receiving a "training" session from Mira, Silver returned to the guild with a black eye, following her closely.

His appearance immediately provoked laughter from the guild members.

Seeing everyone laughing at his misery, Silver felt furious.

If it weren't for their rumor-mongering, Mira wouldn't have dragged him out for a beating.

And, even worse, now he'd be subject to regular combat training with both Erza and Mira.

To put it bluntly, he'd be getting beaten up.

"Just wait and see…" Silver vowed to himself, determined to get his revenge if he ever got the chance. Exhausted, he slumped onto the table.

"What's Mira's problem anyway? Lisanna was just playing around with Natsu. Why get so worked up?" muttered Macao, who was sitting nearby in a white outfit, looking disgruntled.

Macao Conbolt mainly used 'Purple Flare' magic—a type of flame that couldn't be extinguished by water or wind. Aside from 'Purple Flare,' he also used 'Transformation' magic, allowing him to change himself or parts of himself into other people or objects.

He was a powerful mage.

"Yeah, and all this talk about Erza's Faction and whatever… the competition sounds intense," added Wakaba, chuckling with his pipe in his mouth.

Wakaba Mine, Macao's friend, used 'Smoke' magic to battle with different types of smoke.

Hearing their conversation, Silver, still slumped over the table, was taken aback. He raised his head and asked, "Did you just say that Mira got mad when she found out Lisanna was hanging out with Natsu?"

"Oh, Silver. Mira must've really roughed you up." Turning around, Macao noticed Silver's black eye and grinned, saying, "This afternoon, Mira overheard us talking about how Lisanna has been playing a 'hatching game' with Natsu in the park, and they even made a secret base there. It's been days since she's gone home. Mira got so mad, she smashed a table without a word…"

With Macao's explanation and Wakaba's added comments, Silver finally understood one thing: he had taken this beating unfairly.

Mira was actually angry that Lisanna hadn't been home in days, but instead of directing that anger at her sister, she had taken it out on him.

"Darn it, Mira," Silver muttered, frustrated.

Anyone would be upset being used as a scapegoat and getting beaten up for no reason.

But what could he do? He couldn't beat her in a fight, and reasoning with her was pointless.

"Silver, are you okay? Sis can be so violent—why does she have to act that way?" Not long after, Silver's friend Elfman hurried back into the guild, looked around, and ran over to Silver.

"I'm fine, Elfman," Silver replied, shaking his head.

Though Mira had given him a hard time, it only looked worse than it actually was; he wasn't really hurt.

"That's a relief." Hearing Silver say he was okay, Elfman let out a long sigh.

"By the way, where were you today? I didn't see you at the guild all day," Silver asked, curious, since he hadn't seen Elfman since he arrived at the guild that morning.

"Oh, my sister found a simple mission for me to do on my own this morning—she said it was to train me a bit…" Elfman then began explaining his activities for the day to his friend.