Chapter 7 - Breaking the Ice

As a show of friendliness, Jin and Jellal approached each other to shake hands, during which Jellal pulled back his hood, revealing an amicable smile.

"Please take care of me while I'm here," Jin habitually said thanks to living in Japan for eighteen years.

"Likewise," Jellal replied.

Right afterwards, Ultear and Meredy also approached him, but without removing their hoods. Although some of their cleavage was visible, he didn't pay much attention to it, but he couldn't prevent his eyes from lingering on Ultear's thighs that were covered by only a tight fitting layer of tan fabric. His eyes lingered long enough for her to notice his gaze and smirk at him. In response, he smiled ruefully.

'I don't think my teenage hormones ever acted up this much until now,'' he reflected.

Meredy, who stood about a head shorter than Jin, reached out to shake his hand first. Briefly, Jin looked at her long pink hair flowing out from under her hood and marveled at how natural the unnatural color looked.

"Name's Meredy. Nice to meet you Mister Sage."

"Just call me Jin, and nice to meet you too," Jin replied while taking her hand which felt small and fragile within his own despite the fact he knew she could kick his ass. The moment their hands touched, he felt a tingling sensation around his wrist and saw a pink-colored band form around it. He also saw one on Meredy's wrist. Raising a brow, he released her hand and asked, "Using your magic already?"

The woman smiled and answered, "Doesn't hurt to be careful. Hope you don't mind."

"Nah, it's fine," Jin replied. However, his brows furrowed when he suddenly felt a foreign mixture of wariness and curiosity. Although he sensed it, part of him realized the emotions didn't belong to him.

Opposite him, Meredy raised her eyebrows and then tilted her head in confusion. A variety of expressions crossed her face, which Jin couldn't help thinking looked rather adorable despite the upper half of her face being hidden by her hood. The moment he thought that, her cheeks reddened ever so slightly, and she dismissed her magic. The pink bands around both their wrists vanished. Jin chuckled at her reaction.

Seeing their companion's current state, both Jellal and Ultear raised a brow and wondered what exactly she felt from using her magic to link up with Jin. After working with her for so long, they could tell she didn't feel anything threatening from him, which relieved them even if they did not outwardly show it.

Out of courtesy, Ultear also shook Jin's hand. Looking up at him with reddish-brown eyes barely visible under her hood, she said, "I'm Ultear."

"You already know my name, so nice to meet you, Ultear."

The black-haired woman gave him a pleasant yet distant smile before walking off to the side with Meredy. From there, Jellal explained a bit about where they were going to Jin while the two women started a quiet discussion.

"What exactly did you feel, Meredy?" Ultear asked out of genuine curiosity.

"Uh, well, it was definitely not what I expected."

"Didn't seem like he was too hostile based on your reaction."

Meredy gave Ultear a strange look before replying, "Rather than hostile, it was more like a grandfather seeing his grandkids for the first time in a long time. It was really weird to feel that after seeing how young he looks. Aside from that, he seems very detached… or maybe aloof would be a better way to describe it? There was also a hint of anxiousness, but it wasn't very strong, and it didn't seem focused on us."

"Interesting. Anything else?"

Meredy's eyes glazed over for a few seconds, but then she cleared her throat and said, "Not really."

Ultear squinted as though trying to peer deep into Meredy's mind, but Jellal called out to them before an interrogation could occur.

"Ultear, Meredy. We're ready to head out."

The two nodded, and then the four of them started walking toward the Dark Guild that was located about two kilometers South.

Walking alongside a character who used to be fiction to him was a surreal experience for Jin. He glanced over at Jellal for a moment. The natural dark blue color of the man's hair and the red tattoo around his right eye certainly gave him a strong presence.

"Dunno if this'll bring up bad memories or not, but I always thought the markings around your eye were cool despite their origin," Jin casually remarked.

Jellal nearly tripped over himself at the unprompted statement. Ultear also did a double-take and tilted her head out of unadulterated surprise and confusion. On the other hand, Meredy didn't show much of a reaction. The mostly exaggerated reactions brought an amused grin to Jin's lips.

Stabilizing his steps, Jellal pursed his lips briefly before hesitantly replying, "...Thanks, I guess."

"No problem. Just trying to break the ice the best way I know how," Jin replied, still sporting a sly grin. However, he quickly erased his expression in favor of a serious one and inquired, "On a serious note, I'd like to figure out the current timeline here. For example, when did you start Crime Sorcière?"

"So you know about our guild, then. I guess it's been close to six years now?"

"Ah, gotcha. So the main members of Fairy Tail went missing about six years ago, too."

In response to Jin's statement, both Ultear and Meredy frowned. At the same time, Jellal's brows furrowed, and his body tensed as though he was holding back strong emotions as he replied, "...That is indeed the case."

"You seem a bit shaken up?" Jin knowingly asked, his lips curling upward slightly again.

"Are you messing with me, Jin-san?" Jellal coldly replied.

"Not really. Those guys'll come back eventually."

The eyes of the three Crime Sorcière members lit up, but then Ultear frowned, stepped forward, grabbed Jin's shirt, and blurted out, "What makes you say that? I personally saw Acnologia destroy Tenrou Island."

Rubbing his chin, Jin showed a gentle gaze and calmly answered, "Dunno if Jellal mentioned it, but I know a lot of things I have no business knowing, such as one of Fairy Tail's most powerful defensive spells. I don't recall the name of it, but if I remember correctly, it basically stops time for people within its vicinity to protect them from an external threat. Or maybe it shoots them forward in time? I can't recall the exact function, but either way, they've essentially been in a state of stopped time for the past several years."

Still clutching Jin's shirt, Ultear blinked a few times while processing his explanation. Then, she lowered her gaze and mumbled, "That could certainly work, but the amount of magic needed for such a thing is massive." Looking back up at him, she released his shirt and said, "If I find out you're lying, I'll age you into an old man in an instant."

Jin grimaced at the thought, but he still assured her, "The spell should last seven years, so they'll return in about a year, give or take, depending on when exactly it happened."

"...I'll choose to believe you for now. I hope for your sake you aren't lying."

"Same. I don't want to become an old man so soon," Jin replied with a wry smile. Then, he looked up and noticed Jellal heaving a sigh of relief. The man apparently believed him to some extent.

The party continued walking in silence for a while. While traveling through the forest, he glanced at Ultear a few times and thought, 'Her end in the Fairy Tail series hit me really hard back in the day. She might still be living with a lot of guilt, but I'd like to prevent her death if Jellal and I can get strong enough by the time the Tartaros event comes around.'

Stopping suddenly, Jin widened his eyes slightly and asked Jellal, "I forgot earlier, but I also wondered if you know a place where I could find some basic magic theory books or something after we finish the mission since I might spend a few days here. I'll need to leave within three days from now, though."

Nodding, Jellal answered, "I've got a few I could lend you, but it might take more than three days to get back to our base."

"Ah, in that case, I did notice an option in the inventory that could allow us to send items to each other. Would you mind sending some to me that way? I'll try to find something useful to send you in return."

"If you show me how to use it, sure. I don't really need anything in return, though."

"Thanks. I'll at least send you some good food or something in return."

Jellal nodded and said, "I'll happily accept that."