Time flew by. A full week had passed since the highly acclaimed magical parade.
During this period, the entire guild was calm. The members' main work focused on a series of Harvest Festival wrap-up activities.
A few with lighter injuries had already returned to normal life, taking jobs and going out to earn money.
Chase, bored out of his mind, was among them. He took an S-Class job to subjugate a lava monster.
But his real goal wasn't the money. He just wanted to go for a drive, stretch his legs, and try his luck at maybe getting a new card.
However, the lava monster's level disappointed him. He completed the job in just three days — which included two days of travel.
Not only did he not get a new card, he also trashed the natural forest around the client's town, paying out most of his reward in compensation!
This incident even made the headline news of that day's Weekly Sorcerer!
Fortunately, Dark Magician Girl, with her high popularity and cute style, took first place in the Miss Fairy contest. The million-Jewel prize slightly compensated for the loss.
For the record, second place went to Erza, who won 300,000 Jewels. Third place was Lucy, who received a banner!
"Sigh, this is strange. Since when did S-Class jobs become so easy..."
Chase sat at the counter, sighing heavily.
"You're just too strong."
Mira brought him a glass of milk tea. "If Lucy heard that, it would be quite discouraging, you know~"
Yesterday, after finishing a job with Natsu and the others, Lucy had sat in the same spot with the same worried expression.
Even though their reasons for taking jobs were completely different, the difficulty wasn't the same, and their mindsets were totally different — the dejected look on the brother and sister's faces when they returned to the guild was exactly the same!
Mira found it very interesting.
"Thanks, Mira-nee. I heard that!" Lucy, sitting nearby, raised her hand to indicate she wasn't deaf yet.
She felt some envy and jealousy. But on second thought, he was a monster like Chase, so she felt a bit better.
"Haha! Don't be so discouraged. You've learned Star Dress. You might even have a chance to take an S-Class job alone someday." Chase smiled and patted Lucy's shoulder.
No one in the guild knew the latent potential of Lucy as a Celestial Spirit wizard better than him.
If she could master Star Dress proficiently, she would at least be at "little Erza" level!
"Taking an S-Class job alone..."
Lucy repeated Chase's words. A scene involuntarily appeared in her mind:
As an S-Class wizard, a single glance from her would scare the arguing Natsu and Gray into hugging each other, making "Aye~" sounds like Happy.
"Hehehehe." Lost in her fantasy, Lucy covered her mouth and let out a series of pervert-like laughs.
This felt so good!
"Ara, I didn't know Lucy had such ambitious dreams."
Seeing Lucy's inner fantasy written all over her face, Mira smiled and sighed. "You really are bullied too much by Natsu and Gray, aren't you~"
Normal people, upon becoming S-Class, would care more about the generous compensation and fame.
Unfortunately, including Lucy, there weren't many normal people in this guild...
"Hey, Lucy! I heard you and that guy Loki are pretty close. Are you two dating?"
A sudden question from behind interrupted Lucy's beautiful fantasy.
It was Bickslow, without his mask.
After a few days of getting along, the Thunder God Tribe, having completed their punishment, were gradually integrated into the guild. They no longer spent all their time around Laxus.
"Having a leg~!" Happy popped his head out from Bickslow's shoulder, curling his tongue and shouting.
"Having a leg~ Having a leg~" x5
The five puppet dolls behind Bickslow repeatedly echoed.
"Huh? N-No! We're just comrades, like everyone else in the guild!"
Lucy glanced at the strange-looking Bickslow and immediately retorted without thinking. "Which bastard is spreading rumors about me in the guild?!"
At the same time, she couldn't help but silently complained that there were always such strange people around her.
As she finished, Bickslow instinctively glanced at Mira behind the counter. His expression suddenly became very subtle.
"Boo hoo, I-I just thought Lucy, as a Celestial Spirit wizard, and Loki, as a Celestial Spirit, had a special connection..."
Mira covered her face. Small pearls of tears continuously fell through the gaps in her pale fingers.
"It was Mira-nee!" Lucy was startled.
"How mean, Lucy. You made Mira cry." Happy added aJab.
Lucy had no spare energy to curse the damn cat who just wanted to watch the world burn. She flailed, trying to comfort Mira.
Over at Chase's side, Freed walked over slowly and sat down nearby.
"Chase, this is the rune script book I promised to give to the Dark Magician. Please pass it on to him."
Freed handed over a thick magic book.
Whether for study or for analyzing the magic of the Fairy Tail world, rune scripts were very valuable for the Dark Magician's research.
That was the main reason Chase had chosen to side with Freed during the civil war.
"No problem."
Chase took the book and looked up at Freed's bald head. He teased, "This hairstyle suits you."
Freed's mouth twitched. He felt very ashamed.
Shaving his head was his way of showing that he recognized his mistakes and was determined to atone.
This was his promise and assurance to the guild. It had also made Master Makarov give up his impulse to resign (for failing to properly discipline Laxus).
After chatting with Freed for a bit, Chase looked back at the noisy guild hall.
Natsu and Gajeel were having their daily verbal sparing. Gray, finally quiet, sat across from a gaze-locked Juvia.
Evergreen, in a coquetish pose, acted as Lidas's drawing model. Macao and Wakaba were arguing, red-faced, about which street had the best-looking women...
Watching everyone's incredibly relaxed state, Chase frowned. He felt something was off.
Soon, he found the source of the problem. "Hm? Why haven't I seen Erza today?"
Everyone else in the Strongest Team was here. Normally, Erza would be out disciplining them!
"Come to think of it, Erza hasn't been herself lately."
Lucy sighed with concern. "I think it's because of Mystogan."
During the civil war, under Laxus's deliberate attack, Erza had seen Mystogan's face — identical to Jellal's.
Having stopped crying and returned to normal, Mira tilted her head, thinking. "Erza is probably on the third floor of the guild."
She spent every day at the guild. She had naturally noticed Erza's change.
Unfortunately, even the master didn't know Mystogan's identity or background. He couldn't give clear information.
On the guild roof, a terrace with plants and flowers.
Erza, in her regular armor, leaned one hand on the railing, propping her cheek, silently watching the bustling streets of Magnolia.
"There you are." Chase walked over slowly.
"Chase?" Erza was surprised.
"I heard from Lucy and Mira."
Chase braced his elbows on the railing, leaning casually against it. "Erza, are you still bothered by Mystogan's connection to Jellal?"
Hearing this, Erza's pupils slightly contracted. She had wanted to brush it off with an excuse. But when the words reached her mouth, they turned into a sigh.
"Identical faces. No matter what, it's hard not to dwell on it..."
Suddenly, Erza noticed the calm on Chase's face. Her tone couldn't help but quicken. "Wait, Chase, do you know the real reason?!"
Come to think of it, compared to others in the guild, even the master, Chase and Mystogan were indeed quite close.
During the Magic Council investigation after the Phantom Lord incident, the two had even been confined to the same tent!
"While in Guiltina, I heard rumors about parallel worlds. The strange weather phenomenon 'Anima' that Mystogan has been searching for all these years is the passage there."
At this, Chase paused briefly, then analyzed, as if logically deducing, "If I'm not mistaken, Mystogan is probably Jellal from another world."
While explaining, he was also giving Erza a warning about Edolas in advance.
"A world like that exists?" Erza secretly relaxed.
If Chase's judgment was correct, then Mystogan and Jellal had no blood relation. Mystogan couldn't be something like a thought projection.
That way, she wouldn't feel awkward about her comrade Mystogan's face anymore!
"I talked with Mystogan before. It's probably true."
Chase turned to look at Erza, curious. "So, Erza, how do you feel about Jellal now?"
Erza was stunned by the sudden question.
After a long pause, she looked up into the distance and finally spoke. "I don't know how to say it. I feel sorry for him. But that man shouldn't just spend the rest of his life in prison."
Even now, she felt guilty for not having freed Jellal's heart sooner.
A cool breeze came, lifting her flowing, soft crimson hair.
Chase saw the calm expression on Erza's face. He smiled and teased, "Oh? From what Simon and the others said, wasn't Jellal your secret crush?"
This reaction seemed a bit different from the original story?
"Th-That was ages ago!" Erza blushed, instinctively retorted.
Even she didn't fully understand it.
Years later, when she saw Jellal again among the ruins of the Tower of Heaven, knowing the whole truth, she hadn't felt as excited, nervous, or thrilled as she had imagined. All she felt was empathy and pity.
At that moment, she seemed to have been more worried about the heavily injured Chase than about Jellal?
Thinking this, Erza's face reddened even more.
"Anyway, I have to go! A reporter from Weekly Sorcerer is coming for an interview today. I need to prepare my dress. It reflects on the whole guild's image!"
With that, the Fairy Queen ran off in a flash.
"How strange."
Chase stood there, scratching his head in confusion.
He had come up specifically for the gossip. But Erza's reaction seemed different from the original. Why?
Time rewinded a bit.
When Chase went upstairs to find Erza, Lucy had just escaped that weirdo Bickslow. She sat at a table in the corner of the hall. A wine-scented Cana slid over.
"I really want a boyfriend. There haven't been any men around lately. I need some skin-to-skin warmth~"
Whether drunken words or true feelings, Cana lay dejectedly on the table.
"S-Skin-to-skin warmth?!" Lucy immediately associated it with certain inappropriate scenes. Her nerves tightened.
"What's the matter? Why is your face red as an apple?" Cana glanced at her doubtfully.
"N-Nothing. Th-That's perfectly normal." Lucy tried to appear calm.
"Oh~? How many boyfriends have you had?" Cana's eyes turned warm as she leaned in.
"Th-Three!" Lucy's eyes darted left and right. She looked incredibly lacking in confidence.
"Liar."
Even half-drunk, Cana saw through her poor disguise. "So, don't you want a boyfriend?"
"I've thought about it. Actually, I don't even know what I—"
Before she could finish, receiving her affirmative answer, Cana cleared her throat and shouted to Macus and the other men, "Hey, guys! Lucy says she's never had a boyfriend!"
Lucy, about to share her true feelings, immediately panicked. She frantically tried to stop Cana.
Feeling extremely embarrassed, she almost knelt before Cana!
"Don't worry, Lucy. The cards tell me that today is the day you meet your fated man!" Cana pulled out her tarot cards, suddenly serious.
"Huh? HUH?!" Lucy was stunned.
Just then, a hurried Erza ran past behind her.
In the brief moment downstairs, she had already changed into a gorgeous, beautiful dress.
It had to be said, Re-equip magic was incredibly useful and convenient for girls!
Alongside Erza, in a flash, was Gajeel, dressed in a white suit — the electronic musician.
"Erza appeared! Hey, the Harvest Festival is over. Why is she still wearing a dress?" Lucy's attention was successfully diverted.
"Because a reporter from Sorcerer Magazine is coming for an interview later." Mira, passing by with a tray, smiled.
She didn't know what Chase had done, but she was glad to see Erza in better spirits.
"Sorcerer Magazine? Interview? Reporter?!" Lucy's little head exploded.
Could it be that Cana's "fated man" would appear so soon?!
The girl, longing for a sweet shoujo romance, was instantly full of tension.
To appear in her most beautiful form in the magazine she had admired for so long and more importantly, to meet her fated boyfriend Lucy rushed out of the guild to doll herself up.
***
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