Of Aura and Ethernano (Fairy Tail/ Jaune Arc SI): Chapter 17

x778. Northern parts of Fiore.

“Jaune! How much longer are we travelling?”

I chuckled as Mira’s desperate voice rang out from behind me while she clung to me like a Koala as Juniper shot through the air at super sonic speeds.

“Just a little bit further.”

“We are not letting Juniper use her magic when we are returning to the Guild!”

I just grinned at her complaints, knowing that she was just complaining because she was scared at the moment.

In the past few months that we have spent at Caith Shelter, things have changed a lot for all of us.

Especially for the Strauss siblings.

But the biggest development, of course, was that Juniper discovered her Semblance.

Size manipulation.

She can now use her Aura to adjust her size as required. Better yet, her physical abilities change according to her size.

That was how she was able to achieve super sonic speeds at this moment. She enlarged herself to the size of a military airship from Remnant, allowing her to achieve ridiculous speeds.

However, there is still a downside to this semblance. She cannot maintain it for long since her Aura reserves are far too small to sustain that kind of strain.

Thankfully, she does not have to worry about that as long as I am nearby.

Soon, we arrived at the demon village that I once visited over two years ago, and from the looks of it, they were really thriving.

The moment we arrived, Juniper reverted to her regular adult Wyvern size and chuffed a bit, which was her version of laughter, as Mira clutched the land beneath us with reverence and reluctance.

“Oh, sweet land! I will never leave you again.”

I just laughed and patted her head, prompting her to slap my hand away with an annoyed glare.

“Don’t be so dramatic, Mira. It was just a little high-speed flight.”

“Don’t talk to me.”

I just grinned at the girl who pouted and looked away from me.

If the guys back at the guild saw her like this, I have no doubt that they would faint out of pure shock.

In the past few months that we have been at the Guild, Mirajane has slowly come out of her shell, which was a good thing.

However, the way she chose to express herself was something that Master Roubaul and I could not understand.

She has started to wear punk clothing, all in dark coloring, and started to speak like a delinquent, much to the terror and concern of her siblings. Well, sibling, singular.

Lisanna was the embodiment of living for the chaos and spared no chance at egging her sister on to cause chaos at the guild.

The only normal person in the family, Elfman, was the poor guy always left to pick up the dignity that was so unceremoniously dropped by his sisters.

However, Mira’s antagonistic attitude was just a front. A sham that she has internalized and made her whole personality, because she wants to protect what she has come to care for.

It was a fact that Master Roubaul and I had long since realized and accepted.

Although i cannot help but tease the girl at every chance I get, just like I did right now with the help of Juniper, to break her out of that attitude of hers.

Hey, a guy has got to have some hobbies, right?

Shaking my head to get rid of those thoughts, I walked towards the entrance where the village chief was already present, along with a few other villagers who were giving Mira curious looks and excited looks at me.

“Jaune! It has been a while! How are you doing, kid?”

I chuckled at the old demon’s words before clasping his hand with mine.

“I am doing good, Old Man Jin. How are you guys doing?”

The old demon with jet black skin and purple eyes laughed.

“Pretty good. The trade has been going smoothly, and we have been living pretty well these past two years. Thanks to your efforts.”

I just grinned at those words.

“Come on, old man! You know it was not all that difficult a task to arrange a simple meeting between you and that human town.”

“I know, yet it would not have been possible without your help. Anyways, come in! Oh! And who is your companion?”

I motioned towards Mira, who folded her arms and gave a haughty look toward old man Jin. A look that was instantly shattered as I rubbed her head aggressively, much to her protest.

“This brat is Mirajane Strauss. My companion for this quest.”

“Hey! Stop that!”

I ignored Mira’s protests and simply wrapped my arm around her neck.

“See? A little brat that only knows how to be a delinquent!”

“What the hell, Jaune!? You are ruining my reputation!”

“HAHAHA! I see how it is!”

Old man Jin and the other villagers laughed at the display, making Mira pout angrily and stomp her way to Juniper, who was busily relaxing near one of the stables where the children scratched her head and neck. She was basically in heaven at the moment and was not bothered when Mira angrily fell against her body with folded arms.

I chuckled at her display, making the girl glare even more intensely at me before I motioned old man Jin to walk with me, spotting some of the demon girls who were moving towards Mira.

Looks like she will be in good hands while I speak about official business with Jin.

“So, what’s the issue? You mentioned that the problem was rather urgent, and details will be given once we get here.”

The cheer on the old demon’s face left as I saw regret cloud his eyes.

“Truth be told, I cannot entrust this kind of quest to anyone else, Jaune. That is why I asked for you specifically through the official request to Caith Shelter.”

I placed my hand on his shoulder in reassurance.

In the few weeks I had spent in this place last time, I had long since realized what kind of man Jin was, so I knew that he would not be speaking like this unless things were truly bad.

“Old man? What happened?”

He sighed heavily before guiding me into his house.

Once inside, I sat down on the couch as he poured me some mead while he put some strong stuff for himself.

“You remember Volan?”

I nodded and drank the mead.

Volan was the son of the former Demon chief. That guy had some serious attitude problems and was particularly violent.

Apparently, he and his father were the reason why this tribe of demons had to migrate from the Kingdom of Seven to Fiore since those two hated humans and believed demons to be superior.

Thankfully, old man Jin and the others left behind that former chief in Seven and left him to fend for themselves while bringing Volan with them since he was still a child back then.

Of course, that decision backfired on Jin, but that is a different matter altogether.

Jin drank his alcohol and sighed again.

“A few days ago, that kid went and tried to attack the nearby human village’s chief.”

“Huh, I thought that kid was smarter than that. But then again, he did have a serious death wish even back then.”

Jin remained silent at my words before shaking his head.

“Whatever it may be. I need your help to smooth things over with the village chief on the Human side again. That is why I asked for you.”

I just grinned at those words.

“Leave it to me. It's not like I have not done that before.”

“Then, I leave it to you. As for payment, treat this as a high-rank quest. We will pay you 500,000 jewels on successful completion.”

Hm. That should be enough to sustain me for some time and more than enough for the siblings to live comfortably for some time.

Since they have only started to take jobs recently after mastering their Take Over magic, this should allow them to take some low-level jobs for a while and gain some experience before tackling some hard missions.

With a shake of the hand, the deal was sealed.

Now, time to smooth over some ruffled feathers and beat some sense into an idiot.

Truly, never a dull moment in this world.