In the brightly lit Magnolia, near the mountainside where the Fairy Tail guild stood, there was a villa with its own small courtyard. Inside the living room, a boiling magic kettle let out a gurgling sound, and the faint aroma of tea lingered in the air. Chase sat alone on the sofa with his legs crossed, sipping tea.
This world bore no trace of his existence, which naturally meant there was no three-story western-style house that Mira had so carefully designed. The temporary residence he was staying in now, with its decent interior decoration, had cost him 500,000 Jewels to rent.
The several hundred million Jewels stored with Dark Magician Girl could naturally be used here without issue, and the amount wasn't particularly large, so there was no need to worry about being investigated.
After all, they would be staying for a while, and living inside the Card Space the entire time would be far too inconvenient. More importantly, being in Magnolia allowed him to keep an eye on his comrades' movements at all times, and he could respond immediately to any emergencies. In all aspects, it was relatively more convenient.
Chase took a light sip of tea and gazed at the empty, quiet living room, suddenly feeling a sense of unfamiliarity.
Lucy and the others had all gone home for private conversations with their counterparts. Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl were busy working overtime to draw up the magic diagrams for the point-to-point Anima transfer device.
"I wonder how those guys are doing after all this."
After encountering this world's Fairy Tail, Chase couldn't help but think of Macao and the others left behind at the guild.
Whether it was due to the butterfly effect caused by his existence, Laxus had not participated in the Tenrou Island battle. And given his changed personality, there was no way he would stand by and do nothing while Fairy Tail struggled.
In fact, even without Laxus, the guild wouldn't necessarily decline just because its main combatants were gone.
Internally, Macao, Warren, and the others had grown significantly stronger through Dark Magician's training guides, more than capable of handling pressure from all sides.
Externally, the situation was even more favorable.
Financially, they had the full support of the Heartfilia Konzern as a year-round partner. Among allies, they had Sabertooth, now led by Ur, as well as Blue Pegasus and Mermaid Heel. Even within the Magic Council, there was Ultear, who had regained her position as a councilor!
Although these relationships would probably gradually fade after they left, there shouldn't be any major problems in the short term.
"Laxus, huh..."
Chase suddenly pictured the scene of Macao, Wakaba, and those other layabouts being zapped by an angry Laxus and forced to go out and work. Somehow, he felt that if Laxus took over the guild, certain people wouldn't be having such an easy time.
At the same time, with this experience of leading the guild, the old man might see his grandson in a new light, thereby reducing his own chances of being chosen as the next master.
Perfect!
"At the current rate of accumulation from the 'Heart,' we'll still need to stay here for over three months..." Chase slowly set down his teacup.
Speaking of enormous amounts of magic power, aside from his Heart Magic, there were other ways to obtain it quickly.
One of them was naturally Etherion—just three blasts would gather nearly ten billion units of conceptual magic power. Unfortunately, given the Magic Council's usual style, there was no way they would help without good reason—it would be a blessing if they didn't treat these "otherworlders" as a threat!
As for the other option, it was right in front of him.
That's right—the Eclipse Gate that the Fiore Kingdom had secretly constructed!
The magic power gathered over six Grand Magic Games was absolutely staggering. If they could channel that into a fixed-point Anima transfer device, the results should be quite good.
However—
Chase instinctively thought of the mastermind behind the Eclipse Project—Princess Hisui of Fiore. Although her intentions were to protect the kingdom, she was stubborn to the point of obsession, the type of person who would never back down until she hit a wall. In some ways, persuading her might be even harder than convincing the Magic Council!
At that thought, Chase's brow furrowed slightly.
There was also a crucial issue involved: which future had they traveled to?
If it was the original timeline or Future Rogue's timeline, things would be relatively easier to handle. The former would just require dealing with Future Rogue, while the latter wouldn't even have the Eclipse Gate opened.
As for Future Lucy's timeline—the one where ten thousand dragons destroyed the world—
To be honest, Chase still hadn't figured that one out. In that timeline, Future Rogue clearly didn't exist, so there was no one secretly manipulating Princess Hisui. So how exactly did the gate get opened in the first place?
Was it solely because of the Eclipse Project—the plan to go back four hundred years to kill Acnologia and Zeref?
If he remembered correctly, both Future Lucy and Future Rogue had traveled back on the third day of the Grand Magic Games.
He would just have to confirm things when the time came.
Chase thought to himself, a glint of anticipation flickering in his eyes.
"The Grand Magic Games, huh? As the first stage for that idiot little sister who just became S-Class, it's not a bad choice at all—"
Ding-dong.
The sudden sound of the doorbell interrupted his thoughts.
Had Natsu, Lucy, and Happy found their way here already?
No, that wasn't right. While he had told the others his address, if it were them, this flimsy door wouldn't have survived so intact!
With a hint of curiosity, Chase rose and opened the door. Two figures in casual attire came into view.
It was Mira and Erza.
"Good evening, Chase. Magnolia seven years later has changed so much—I almost thought I'd taken a wrong turn back there," Mira greeted him with a smile, walking naturally into the living room and looking around. "So this is the place you rented? Pretty fancy~"
"G-good evening, Chase! S-sorry for the intrusion!"
Unlike Mira's easygoing manner, Erza looked noticeably more nervous, her body stiff and rigid. She no longer had the calm composure she used to have when she'd follow Natsu and Lucy on their "breaking and entering" escapades.
After all, it was nighttime, and she had come alone this time—and had even run into Mira on the way!
The Fairy Queen inexplicably felt the embarrassment of having a little secret exposed right in front of her.
Scene change.
The two of them were now seated on the sofa, and Chase poured each of them a cup of hot tea.
"So, coming to see me this late—is there some kind of emergency?" Chase asked.
Normally, they should be "exchanging information" with their alternate selves right about now.
"No, it's nothing like that... I just..."
Mira kept her head down, her gaze fixed entirely on the teacup in front of her. "I suddenly wanted to come see Chase."
Before coming over, she had indeed been talking with Future Mirajane and the others about their different experiences and adventures across the two worlds.
But unlike Elfman and Lisanna, who had been full of enthusiasm, this "exchange of information" hadn't been as interesting as she had imagined—in fact, it had been quite painful.
Every time Chase's name came up, and she saw the unmistakable unfamiliarity on her own face (Future Mirajane's), she felt a wave of inexplicable irritation.
So, after quickly excusing herself from her siblings, the restless Mira had simply left the Strauss household.
There was no particular reason. She just really, really wanted to see Chase—so she did.
***
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