Fairy Academy, behind the university teaching building.
A tiny figure, standing on tiptoes and moving with light steps, advanced with a rustling sound like a little mouse stealing cheese in the night. Finally, this small figure stopped at the library entrance, revealing her true face. It was indeed Ultear.
The girl looked left and right, peering forward and back; after confirming no one was around, she leaned her back against the door and slipped into the Magic Library, immediately closing it behind her.
The library by day was three parts less quiet than the library by night, but seven parts more solemn. Ultear looked up toward the small sanctuary by the window on the second floor. The old man from three nights ago was sitting there now in the exact same posture, quietly reading a magic book.
"Ahem..."
During the day, the Magic Library was likewise empty of people. Ultear became much bolder, intentionally making some noise as she went "deng-deng-deng" up the wooden stairs to the second floor and sat opposite Weston.
"Old Man, I'm back!"
Weston looked up, his eyes containing a smile. "We meet again, little girl. So, is your cultivation of the magic I gave you going smoothly?"
"Smoothly—it's going too smoothly!" Ultear answered, but her face didn't hold a trace of joy; instead, a hint of distress lingered there.
After three days of study, Ultear was shocked to discover that she possessed quite remarkable talent in cultivating the magic Arc of Time. Looking at magic power alone, the rate at which her power grew while practicing Arc of Time was more than three times faster than when practicing Ice-Maker Magic. If one accounted for the actual use of specific spells, her current self could completely beat down ten versions of her self from three days ago. Of course, part of this was due to the elemental counter between the two magics, but it still concretely proved that compared to Ice-Maker Magic, she was much better suited for Arc of Time.
After telling Weston about the changes in herself, Ultear suddenly let out a heavy sigh.
Seeing this, Weston was puzzled and asked, "The magic training is smooth and your strength is rising fast—isn't that good? Why do you still have that distressed look on your face?"
"Well..." Ultear thought for a moment. Feeling that the old man in front of her seemed to have a lot of life experience, she poured out her inner thoughts all at once.
From childhood until now, the magic Ultear cultivated had always been Ice-Maker Magic. This magic was personally passed down by Ur; it was taught hand-in-hand, from "stripping to resist the cold" to "making gestures" and "circulating magic power." It carried her mother's earnest hopes for her daughter and served as the best bridge for daily communication between the two.
Ultear originally thought her future magical path would involve constantly practicing Ice-Maker Magic until she surpassed her mother, Ur, becoming one of the most powerful wizards in the Kingdom of Fiore and a daughter her mother could be proud of.
But now, a glitch had appeared in the situation.
Arc of Time, this accidentally acquired magic, was like a domineering and unreasonable "delinquent blondie" who had forced his way into her life, disrupting her life plans and potentially becoming the fuse for a breakdown in the emotional bond between mother and daughter in the future. At the thought of her mother's disappointed gaze, Ultear felt as if she were sitting on a bed of needles, feeling incredibly uneasy.
"Sigh..."
"Old Man, what do you think I should do now??"
"When I think about secretly practicing Arc of Time behind Mom's back and making progress this fast, I feel so sorry for the way she taught me..."
After hearing Ultear's thoughts, Weston remained silent for a long, long time. "Do you... really reject Arc of Time that much?"
"Actually, not really." Ultear thought seriously for a few seconds and replied, "I tried it out these past few days; using Arc of Time in combination with Ice-Maker Magic can instantly increase the original spell's power dozens of times over!"
"Most importantly, practicing Arc of Time is very helpful for increasing magic power. In just these three short days, the capacity of the Second Origin in my body has already increased by half compared to before—this is an experience I never had while practicing Ice-Maker Magic!"
"The feeling is very strange, like... uh... like your stomach being filled with food; it's very satisfying!"
"But the more satisfied I am, the more uneasy I feel in my heart."
How strange, too strange! Weston thought. It's clearly just practicing a new magic; why would it produce this strange sense of "immoral betrayal"? Are the minds of little girls in this era all this complicated? How am I supposed to comfort her... Wait, is there really a need for comfort?
"Old Man, are you actually listening to me?"
"Um... yes, I am."
"Then what do you think I should do now?"
"I think you should practice your magic properly. If you're really so idle that you have nothing to do, go outside and play with some mud—practice your sculpting skills and stop overthinking random nonsense all day!"
"Gah? Can't you be a bit more serious? I came to you for help because I'm genuinely feeling distressed!!"
Was that answer not serious enough??! For a moment, Weston only felt his head grow dizzy, heavy, and painful. "No, I truly don't know what you are actually distressed about! What mother would be disappointed in her child for becoming more excellent?!"
Ultear shook her head and gave Weston a "you don't understand" look, acting profoundly deep as she said, "Sigh... it seems this kind of feeling is something you'll only understand when you reach my age."
Weston: "..."
For some reason, he suddenly really wanted to hit her. This little brat has definitely grown up crooked!! Why did the beautiful, kind, yet slightly charming "Big Sis" from the original timeline turn into this "Chuunibyou" and dorky little girl? Could it be that having a different father and a different growing environment really had that big of an effect on her?
In the days since returning to Magnolia, Weston had already investigated the situation in Fairy Tail—and all the butterfly effects caused by his appearance—very clearly. He knew the current Master was the fourth generation, who was his own great-grandson; he knew members like Serena and Bluenote had joined the guild; he knew Ur and Silver had become husband and wife, making Ultear and Gray siblings; he knew Lucy had become Erzi... Therefore, Weston was mentally prepared for the changes in the original plot's characters.
But he hadn't expected the change to be this massive!
"In short, my suggestion is to go back and tell your mother the truth, then let her prepare a sumptuous dinner for you as a celebration!"
"Should I really tell the truth?"
"Exactly!"
Ultear widened her eyes and asked with a bit of nervousness, "Does that include the matter about you—can I talk about that too?"
Weston was stunned for a moment, and only after a good while did he finally have an epiphany. So this was the thing she was truly conflicted about...