Chapter 64: Expose!

“Erza, I bet Gray and Natsu are by that little river—go check there.”

Though deeply exasperated inside, Mo En still made the right decision: he first found a way to send Little Erza away.

“That’s right! How did I not think of that?! Thank Itachi, Mo En!”

Little Erza clapped her hands, looking thoroughly convinced.

Natsu and Gray often go to that little river in town to duel; if Itachi look for them there, Itachi’ll find them every time.

After thanking Mo En, Little Erza sprinted off—she’d been searching for those two jerks for ages, and now she’d finally found them!

“.”

Seeing Mo En’s actions, Lucy and Erza exchanged glances. Though Little Erza had been sent away, they felt no relief—only deeper unease.

“Ladies, I really can’t pretend I didn’t see your guild emblems—they don’t look like something Itachi drew yourselves.”

Under Lucy and Erza’s worried gazes, Mo En spoke slowly, uttering words that left both of them stunned.

“Uh…”

Erza’s gaze fell on the pink emblem on Lucy’s right handback.

“Uh…”

Lucy’s gaze fell on the dark gray emblem on Erza’s left shoulder.

“Could Itachi please explain? This is for the sake of Fairy Tail’s reputation—impersonating its mages and using its name for wrongdoing carries severe punishment.”

Mo En continued slowly, giving Lucy and Erza ample time to think.

‘Make up something—I want to see how far Itachi can stretch this lie.’

Mo En thought to himself, curious to see what absurd story these two could concoct.

“Sorry! Brother Mo En, we’re both die-hard fans of Fairy Tail! That’s why we made these emblems—we never meant to impersonate guild mages!”

Under Mo En’s scrutiny, Lucy bowed deeply—ninety degrees—with sincere apology, but the words she blurted out in panic made Mo En’s expression crack.

“.”

Beside him, Erza looked utterly defeated.

One must admit, habits are hard to break—she and Lucy had already blown their covers several times.

And once Lucy realized what she’d just said, her face turned ashen.

“Itachi two—especially Itachi—”

Mo En opened his mouth, then finally turned to the cat-woman Erza; he simply didn’t know the other one’s name.

“Itachi’re Erza, right?”

Mo En’s question seemed to silence the air.

At that moment, Lucy and Erza both wore expressions of “Of course,” “Just end it, I’m tired,” and “It’d be weirder if we weren’t found out”—their emotions were tangled: shock, yet also a sense of inevitability.

“Erza grown up? That must be it.”

Mo En continued, choosing to reveal everything outright. Honestly, if he didn’t expose their identities, he couldn’t imagine how he’d complete this mission.

He couldn’t just sit around doing nothing. Though Natsu, Gray, and Erza—the key story figures of the [Saints System]—likely wouldn’t derail over this, Mo En refused to gamble on probabilities.

He’d rather make a mistake than do nothing.

Compared to that, doing nothing would haunt him far more.

“Y-Itachi why are Itachi saying that?!”

Erza stammered, still trying desperately to fight back, unwilling to admit her identity so easily.

“First, Itachi look exactly alike—obviously, right? Second, your answers are full of holes—I honestly don’t know how I could believe either of Itachi.”

Mo En scoffed—he truly hadn’t expected that grown-up Erza was still as clueless as a child, radiating unreliability in every single way.

Of course, this might just be due to the suddenness of the situation—if Erza had had time to prepare, she might not have acted this way.

The future Fairy Tail seemed unchanged in atmosphere; Erza’s personality was nearly identical to before, clearly untouched by major trauma.

“.”

Now, Erza and Lucy fell silent again.

They exchanged a glance, both seeing resignation in the other’s eyes.

“Only Itachi, Mo En.”

Erza sighed, as if shedding a heavy burden. She felt moved—Mo En was still the same Mo En.

“No wonder Itachi’re the author of the Great Detective Fūr Mó Sī!”

Lucy couldn’t help but exclaim—unintentionally uttering words that made Mo En’s eyelid twitch.

“The Great Detective Fūr Mó Sī? Did I name that book?”

Mo En asked, expression blank.

Mo En had to admit—he was already writing a book, and yes, it was a modified version of Sherlock Holmes.

But the title “The Great Detective Fūr Mó Sī” still felt unbearable—was a pun really acceptable?

Yet upon reflection, the name wasn’t bad—it was meant purely for his own amusement; no one else could grasp the story behind it.

“Huh?!”

Lucy covered her mouth, startled.

“Itachi haven’t even decided on a title yet?!”

Lucy asked, face twisted in discomfort—she hadn’t meant to say that; she’d assumed Mo En had already settled on the title.

“Uh, no need to apologize—I think the title’s great.”

Mo En smiled, giving a reply that surprised Lucy.

‘Could it be… I’m the one who named it “The Great Detective Fūr Mó Sī”?!’

Lucy’s expression went slack, her thoughts racing—she was trapped in a strange state, consumed by this thought.

“Lucy! Snap out of it! Don’t Itachi remember what I told Itachi?! We can’t interfere too much with the past!”

Only when Erza shook Lucy vigorously did she slowly return to herself—her excitement subsided, replaced by a wave of dread.

“I didn’t mean to!”

Lucy clutched her head, looking as if she’d committed a grave sin.

“Don’t be so tense—I would’ve thought of this title myself.”

Seeing Lucy’s state, Mo En reassured her—this wasn’t a joke; only he could have come up with this title.

“So Itachi two really are from the future, right?”

After calming her, Mo En continued—now they could speak openly and honestly.

(End of Chapter)