The next morning.
Chase arrived early at the guild to share the embarrassing photos he had dug up from under the tree with Mira.
Looking at the picture of herself as a "little delinquent," her mouth pulled apart by a young Erza until her face was twisted, Mira didn't react much. Smiling, she said she missed the old days.
Then, without changing her expression, she put away the photos. The carefully prepared breakfast she had set before Chase was silently replaced with a hard, tough French breadstick.
"Chase, you're having this today!"
"Hey, I specifically brought your dark history photos!"
Chase picked up the breadstick, which could double as a weapon. He examined it for a long time, finding no way to take a bite.
"So this is my thank-you gift." Mira said matter-of-factly.
You saw my embarrassing childhood photos and still want good food? Dream on!
And the master too. Secretly taking such evil photos. Today, I'll give him an extra-spicy cup of tea as punishment!
Meanwhile, at the magazine shop with a long line, a certain old pervert who had woken up early to buy the latest gravure magazine suddenly felt a chill.
"Weird. Why do I feel like something bad will happen today?" Makarov frowned.
But soon, the feeling dissipated. He had bought the magazine he had been longing for.
Back at the guild.
"Sigh. I shouldn't have brought those photos." Chase sighed regretfully, chewing on the breadstick.
Used to various warm, delicious breakfasts, this tasteless, waxy texture was truly unpleasant.
"If you do that again, this will be the standard from now on!" Mira put her hands on her hips, her expression serious.
That said, she eventually relented. She took the hard bread away and brought back the original breakfast.
Not wanting to waste food, she decided to save the breadstick for Elfman, who hadn't arrived yet.
Touched, Chase unhesitatingly started devouring his breakfast.
Mira rested her arms on the counter, propping her cheeks. Her narrowed eyes stared directly at him. She smiled. "No need to eat so fast. I won't change my mind."
Finished with breakfast, seeing no one else had arrived, Chase chatted with Mira, mainly about the SS-Class job he had taken.
Half an hour later, Lucy, in her blue-white outdoor outfit, hurriedly ran in.
"Sorry, sorry, Chase, I overslept." Lucy bowed apologetically.
After Natsu's antics, she had lain in bed last night, her mind full of random thoughts. She couldn't sleep at all.
Finally, with the help of Lyra's singing, she had barely fallen asleep.
"It's fine. A little late or early doesn't matter. More importantly—"
Chase looked up at Lucy and asked in a meaningful tone, "How was your date with Natsu last night? Enjoyable?"
"Enjoyable my foot!"
Mentioning it, Lucy was full of anger. "Seriously, who asks a girl to dig dirt in the middle of the night?!"
Then, she suddenly realized an important issue and firmly rebutted, "No! It wasn't a date to begin with!"
"Is that so? Everyone in the guild thinks it was. Maybe you're just too dense?" Chase smiled.
"The misunderstanding is huge!" Lucy's mouth twitched.
"Lucy, you haven't had breakfast yet. Have something to drink." Mira thoughtfully brought a glass of hot milk.
"Thanks, Mira-nee."
"Speaking of which, Lucy, how many children do you plan to have with Natsu? I heard Juvia wants to have thirty with Gray."
"PUFF!!!" Lucy couldn't help but spray out the milk in her mouth.
Such a zero-frame startup question caught her completely off guard...
"I have no such intention at all! And why compare me to Juvia?!"
"Because Natsu and Gray compete in every area."
"So what does that have to do with me—"
Lucy sighed heavily, exhausted.
Meanwhile, Chase was tiredly wiping the milk off his face.
Lucy's breakfast was spent constantly explaining herself to Mira. Though by the end, even she wasn't sure if she liked Natsu or not.
"If you're ready, let's go."
Chase stood up and led the way to the guild stairs.
"Huh? Why aren't we going out the front door?" Lucy blinked, confused.
"The normal way is too slow. We'll take Guardian of the Fortress and fly directly. It'll save us a lot of time." Chase turned back.
This alternative, efficient method refreshed Lucy's knowledge. "You can do that?!"
Then what was the point of her carefully studying the location of "Forest of Bondari," planning the optimal route, and mentally preparing to pay all the travel expenses?
Diligence and awareness?
In contrast, Mira was used to it. She smiled and waved at the departing pair. "Bon voyage~"
And so, Chase and Lucy went up to the guild's spacious rooftop terrace.
Chase raised his arm. Light swirled around the card between his fingers.
Blue wings flapped, creating gusts of wind. Guardian of the Fortress emerged from the lit magic circle. Its fierce, sawtooth-fanged appearance startled Lucy.
She knew Guardian of the Fortress existed. But this was her first time so close.
It was, after all, a legendary "dragon." The innate racial oppression made her instinctively fearful.
Guardian of the Fortress
sensed her state. It let out a low, gentle cry, folded its wings, and slightly lowered its body.
Beneath that fierce exterior, it was unexpectedly gentle.
Seeing this, Lucy's concerns vanished. She stepped forward and greeted him. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lucy."
Guardian of the Fortress blinked in friendship. The girl and the dragon were now acquainted.
As Chase and Lucy sat on its back, the powerful dragon wings stirred up wind.
Guardian of the Fortress shot into the sky like a blue streak of light. In the blink of an eye, it had left Magnolia!
Unlike the trip to the Tower of Heaven with Mira, this time, it didn't cunningly shake its body to force Lucy to hug Chase. Instead, it activated a magic barrier, blocking the oncoming wind.
This method was extremely stable. The downside was using a bit more magic power.
"S-So amazing!"
Lucy, sitting behind, widened her eyes, looking down at the rapidly retreating land. She couldn't help but gasp.
This was an unimagined visual feast!
"Flight magic is very useful. If you're interested, you could learn it from Dark Magician Girl." Chase suggested.
"Really?!"
Lucy's face lit up, but she soon sighed again. "It seems so hard. Never mind."
She couldn't even fully master Star Dress yet. Flight magic was completely out of reach.
"True." Chase nodded affirmatively.
"Chase, you're so mean! Couldn't you be more euphemistic?" Lucy puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"Actually, you don't necessarily need flight magic. Look at Natsu. He uses flames as thrusters to fly." Chase said instead.
He could understand Natsu's method. But Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer, had also flown. That he couldn't figure out.
Continuously outputting iron filings for thrust?
The magical world was truly full of infinite possibilities...
"Do I look like I could pull off such magic?" Lucy pointed at herself, lacking confidence.
"Lucy, you're the guild's only Celestial Spirit wizard. And you'll be the strongest."
After a short pause, Chase said seriously, "No matter what others think, at least I've always believed so."
"Th-The strongest... I'm still too far from that..."
Praised by the monster-strong Chase, Lucy felt flattered and a bit elated. She resumed her fantasy of becoming an S-Class wizard scolding Natsu and Gray.
"Not that far. The opportunity is right in front of you. See what you can do on this SS-Class job."
"Mm! Leave it to me, the future strongest Celestial Spiri— HUH? Chase, what do you mean?"
"That's right. Until you fail, I won't interfere with this job."
"HUH?!!"
***
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