"Marco-nii, can we really learn magic too?!" Lisanna widened her eyes, looking at Marco in astonishment.

When Elfman shared Marco's idea with her, the little girl didn't hesitate for a second, immediately declaring she wanted to learn Take Over Magic.

In Lisanna's heart, she felt deeply indebted to Mira.

When she first saw Mira's arm, she had been frightened too and the memory filled her with shame.

So when she learned there was a chance to make amends, Lisanna clung to it like a lifeline.

She stared at Marco with hopeful eyes, terrified of hearing a negative answer from him.

"Let's start with meditation first." Marco didn't give a definitive answer because he couldn't be certain.

Logically speaking, Elfman and Lisanna shouldn't be incapable of sensing magic power.

The reason was simple: their older sister Mirajane was a genius who had awakened her magic on her own.

As her siblings, Elfman and Lisanna must have at least some magical talent.

Magical talent truly could be inherited—Laxus was a prime example.

It was rare for the children of Mages to be unable to use magic; it was usually just a matter of how strong their aptitude was.

This was precisely why Marco had proposed the idea.

But he couldn't make any promises—what if they hit the jackpot in the worst way?

What if Elfman and Lisanna turned out to be 'Squibs'? That would be downright laughable.

"Okay, we'll do our best!"

Though Marco hadn't given a definitive answer, Lisanna wasn't discouraged.

Both she and her brother Elfman would strive hard—they would seize this opportunity tightly.

'What a pure and beautiful emotions.'

Watching Lisanna and Elfman, Marco couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

These three siblings who had grown up relying on each other were all willing to push themselves to the limit for one another.

"You'll succeed." Marco comforted them both.

"Calm your minds and slowly feel it."

Leading the two children to the guild's meditation room, Marco began guiding them to sense their magic power and locate the source of magic within themselves.

Meditating to perceive magic power was a lengthy process that couldn't be achieved overnight.

Though Marco himself hadn't experienced this process personally, he'd heard others describe it this way.

Marco's magic had been awakened on its own.

In a sense, his "magic" was actually the [Saint System].

*****

In the quiet meditation room, Lisanna and Elfman sat silently, beginning their meditation as Marco had instructed.

Before long, Elfman suddenly jumped up excitedly.

"Hmm?" Marco looked curiously at the delighted expression on Elfman's face.

This kid was so excited - had he already sensed it?

"Marco! I can feel the my magic power!" Elfman clenched his fists tightly, clearly overjoyed.

Looking at the excited Elfman, Marco shook his head with a smile.

He couldn't detect any magical aura from Elfman yet.

"Stay calm and take it slow. You haven't even crossed the threshold yet."

Marco signaled for Elfman to continue meditating, though he felt relieved inside.

Elfman definitely had talent - he must have already sensed the presence of magic power within him.

This was precisely the difference between mages and muggles.

Magic power existed in all things, and every person had magic power within them.

In fact, magic power was closely tied to life force itself.

The only distinction between mages and muggles was whether they could perceive the existence of magic power within themself - this single threshold made all the difference.

Elfman already had one foot over that threshold now, he just need to take the final step.

"Yes!!" Elfman sat back down to continue meditating.

His talent did seem slightly better than Lisanna's beside him, as Lisanna was still frowning in concentration, struggling to find the right feeling.

But even if Lisanna couldn't sense magic power now, it didn't matter.

As long as one of them could learn Take Over Magic, it would have the same devastating effect on Mirajane.

Marco stood guard at the meditation room's entrance, waiting for them while preventing anyone from barging in and disturbing their meditation.

This concerned his mission - today, he was commandeering this room!

At one point, Natsu and Gray came barging into the room while fighting like always, only to each receive a kick from Marco that sent them flying back.

The two troublemakers rubbed their sore spots in confusion.

Normally Marco didn't interfere with their fights - why intervene this time?

"Whatever! Fight me Marco!"

After being kicked far away by Marco, Natsu jumped up eagerly, his 'battle addiction' acting up as he prepared to challenge Marco again.

"Bam!"

"Thud!"

Facing the excited, aggressive Natsu charging at him, Marco cleanly knocked him out with one punch, stars swirling around Natsu's head.

"Drag him away." Marco ordered the frozen Gray.

"Yes! Marco-sama!"

Without a word, Gray grabbed one of Natsu's legs and dragged him away in a flash, brushing past Mirajane who was walking in their direction.

Gray took a moment to glance at the strange cloaked girl, thinking she resembled Erza when she first joined the guild.

But he couldn't be bothered to worry.

Marco would handle it, just like he did with Erza.

This girl would probably fit right in soon enough.

Mirajane, huddled within her cloak, also cast a look at Gray and Natsu.

Even in her withdrawn state, Mirajane couldn't help but think these two boys were truly bizarre.

She even began to question whether her decision to stay was the right one.

Was it really appropriate to leave Elfman and Lisanna here?

With these doubts in mind, Mirajane approached Marco, who was standing guard by the quiet room's door.

Since Marco's height was unusually tall for his age, Mirajane had to tilt her head slightly upward from beneath her cloak.

"Where are Lisanna and Elfman?" she asked.

She had seen Elfman call Lisanna to come find Marco, but they hadn't reappeared for quite some time, stirring a hint of concern in her heart.

"They're inside," Marco replied. "I'm teaching them meditation to see if they have any talent for magic. After all, we are a Mage guild."

Looking at Mirajane, Marco smiled warmly and spoke.

He had no intention of hiding this fact—it wasn't something that could be easily concealed anyway.

For Lisanna and Elfman to learn magic, they would inevitably be away from Mirajane's sight for long periods.

Thus, a proper explanation was necessary.

Telling the truth outright would prevent Mirajane from overthinking things.

They only needed to conceal the fact that they were learning Take Over Magic.

That was simple enough—just have Lisanna and Elfman claim they were still meditating and hadn't started learning magic yet.

"Meditation... magic." Mirajane lowered her head, avoiding Marco's smile, and repeated the words softly.

Her demonic arm clenched tightly into a fist before relaxing again.

Though she despised Take Over Magic, she knew Marco was trying to help them.

"Thank you..."

Mirajane shrank into herself, her voice so quiet Marco almost thought he'd imagined it.

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