Chapter 461: What Kind of Crazy Idea Is That?
"Why did you sneak into the guild and try to cast a mass memory-alteration spell? The Magic Council didn't assign you to this, did they? That doesn't make any sense. There's no reason for the Council to send an undercover spy to monitor our guild right now," Noah questioned Mest.
"Ah... well... about that..." Mest stammered, his face flushing bright red as he violently avoided eye contact.
"Don't tell me you just came up with some crazy, convoluted idea on your own and decided to sneak in?" Noah's mouth twitched as he stared at the stammering man.
Given that this was the same guy who thought erasing his own memory was a brilliant strategy for infiltrating the Magic Council, nothing was truly off the table. After all, Noah had only sealed his memories regarding Fairy Tail; he hadn't altered Mest's inherently erratic personality.
"Haha..." Mest chuckled awkwardly under Noah's scrutinizing gaze. "When I sealed my memories... because the Master and you visited me frequently, and because the guild's reputation in the Council is... less than stellar... I suddenly had this 'brilliant' idea. I thought I could use my magic to infiltrate Fairy Tail and dig up some hidden dirt on the guild.
"Coincidentally, I heard the guild was holding its S-Class Mage Promotion Trial. I figured I would alter everyone's memories, insert myself as one of the candidates, and gather intel from the inside. And then... you caught me immediately."
"As expected of you. That is a truly spectacular leap of logic," Noah fell silent for a moment before shaking his head in sheer disbelief.
"Haha..." Mest scratched the back of his head, offering a deeply embarrassed laugh.
"So, did you come here on an official mission, or did you just decide to do this on your own?" Noah asked, getting down to business. Since it had already happened, they needed to figure out a cover story. The solution depended heavily on whether the Council was actually involved.
"I came on my own. It wasn't an official mission, but I did mention it to Lahar," Mest admitted.
"That's manageable. Since it wasn't an official mission and you came of your own volition, just handle it yourself. Feed Lahar some basic, publicly known information and leave it at that," Noah sighed in relief.
"Understood," Mest nodded. Now that Noah had restored his sealed memories, he knew exactly where his loyalties lay and how to play the game.
"Since you planned to infiltrate us, you must have requested a leave of absence from the Council. You might as well spend that time relaxing here in the guild. Just make sure to let Grandpa know what happened.
"I won't seal your memories again for now. Also, I'll release the block on everyone else's memories regarding you. If anyone asks where you've been all this time, just say you were away on a classified, long-term mission. Once your leave is up and you head back to the Council, we'll re-seal everyone's memories," Noah instructed.
Since Mest had the perfect excuse to be absent from the Council, Noah figured he might as well let the man enjoy some proper downtime with his real family.
"Sounds great!" Mest's face lit up with genuine joy. The prospect of freely hanging out in the guild without hiding was a massive relief.
"Alright, find a chance to explain everything to Grandpa yourself. Let me know when you're done so I can undo the memory block on the rest of the guild. I've got things to do right now, so I'm heading out."
"Got it."
Noah waved his hand and vanished from the alleyway.
Seeing Noah leave, Mest stepped out of the shadows and walked back toward the bustling guild hall.
Meanwhile, inside the guild, the atmosphere was a mix of tension and excitement.
"The threshold for the exam this year is insanely high," Gray remarked with a heavy sigh.
"The difficulty of the S-Class trials is incredibly high every year," Carla pointed out from the table.
"Fair point," Gray nodded.
"I'm actually surprised none of you have ever participated in the exam before," Lucy said, looking at Natsu, Gray, Elfman, and Juvia, who were all sitting at the same table.
"I'M ALL FIRED UP! I'M DEFINITELY BECOMING S-CLASS!" Natsu roared, throwing his head back and spewing a massive pillar of flame toward the ceiling.
"Gaaah! A true man like Elfman is getting further and further away from S-Class!" Elfman groaned, clutching his head in despair over the terrifying examiner lineup.
"Haha, it looks like everyone participating in the exam is going to have a really tough time," Wendy offered a sympathetic smile.
"This happens every year. It's completely normal," Meredy giggled.
"Do your best, everyone!" Lisanna smiled brightly from beside her brother.
"Speaking of which, have you all decided on your partners yet?" Lucy asked curiously.
"My partner is obviously Happy!" Natsu declared without a second thought.
"Aye!" Happy cheered happily.
"Choosing Happy is totally cheating! If the trial involves a race, he can just fly! It wouldn't even be a competition!" Elfman protested.
"What's wrong with that? The exam tests your ability to adapt to different environments," Lisanna defended Natsu's choice.
"I don't mind. If the trial focuses heavily on combat, bringing Happy along will just put Natsu at a massive disadvantage," Gray smirked.
"That was incredibly mean, Gray," Happy deadpanned. Then, his face hardened into a look of absolute determination. "I will absolutely help Natsu become an S-Class mage!"
"Even though we're comrades, this is the one thing I absolutely refuse to lose!" Natsu declared seriously, looking at Gray and Elfman.
"Therefore..."
"We can't just sit around here! Let's go train!"
"Aye!"
Natsu and Happy immediately bolted from the table, sprinting out of the guild hall and heading straight for the training grounds.
"Natsu firmly believes that once he becomes a fully-fledged, independent mage, he'll finally be able to see Igneel again. That's why he's putting so much more effort into this exam than anyone else," Lisanna explained, noticing Lucy's slightly bewildered expression.
"Ah, so that's why. Do your best, Natsu!" Lucy finally understood why Natsu had been so much more hyped up than usual.
"Um... Juvia wants to withdraw from the exam..." Juvia mumbled quietly from her seat.
"Eh?! Why?!" Meredy and the others stared at her in shock. Countless mages dreamed of participating in the S-Class trials, yet Juvia wanted to drop out?!
"Because... Juvia wants to be... Gray-sama's... partner..." Juvia's voice grew smaller and smaller.
"Because of what?" Gray asked, not quite catching her mumbling.
"Ah! Um... Juvia..." Startled by Gray directly addressing her, Juvia's face flushed beet red, and her voice became completely inaudible.
"She said she wants to be your partner," Lucy translated with a teasing smirk.
"Huh?" Gray blinked in surprise.
"DAMMIT! Lucy, you're after Gray-sama too!" Juvia instantly pointed an accusing, tear-filled finger at Lucy.
"I am NOT after him!" Lucy shrieked defensively.
"Gray-sama, do you want Lucy to be your partner?!" Juvia asked, looking at Gray with big, watery eyes.
"Sorry, but I've already decided on my partner," Gray stated calmly.
"Long time no see, everyone," a smooth voice called out as a figure approached the table.
"Wait!" Lucy's eyes widened in panic.
"Loke?" Elfman looked at the newcomer in surprise.
"We made a promise last year," Gray explained with a smirk.
"Sorry, Lucy, but our contract is temporarily suspended for the duration of the exam," Loke smiled at her. "Don't worry, I crossed the gate using my own magic power, so you can still use your magic and summon your other spirits normally."
"H-How casual can a Celestial Spirit possibly be?!" Lucy groaned, utterly exasperated by Loke's blatant disregard for standard summoning rules.
"But wait, does Loke even count as a guild member?" Elfman asked, raising a valid point.
"I am still a mage of Fairy Tail," Loke smirked. He pulled down the collar of his suit, proudly displaying the green Fairy Tail emblem stamped on his back.
"I swear on the pride of the guild, I will make Gray an S-Class mage," Loke declared confidently.
"I'm counting on you," Gray nodded.
"Leave it to me," Loke replied, adjusting his suit.
"Since when did these two get so close?" Lucy puffed her cheeks out, feeling strangely left out.
"So, you better bring your A-game, Juvia. Let's have a fierce battle for the first time in a while," Gray smiled, looking directly at Juvia.
Juvia froze completely.
"F-F-Fierce battle?!"
Whatever highly inappropriate scenario her mind instantly conjured up caused her to bury her face in her hands, her entire body turning bright red with steam practically rising from her head.
"Hey, lady..." Carla sighed, thoroughly exasperated. Having spent enough time around Juvia, Carla knew exactly what kind of impure thoughts the water mage was currently having.
"Haha..." Meredy, Wendy, and Yukino laughed awkwardly at Juvia's dramatic reaction.
"I'll be teaming up with Elf-nii," Lisanna announced.
"A true man goes all out! I'm definitely becoming S-Class!" Elfman roared, instantly hyped up by his sister's support.
"Mhm! I'll do my best to help you get there, Elf-nii!" Lisanna smiled.
"My partner..." Juvia finally snapped out of her delusions. Seeing that everyone around her had already paired up, she quickly scanned the room and locked eyes with Gajeel, who was standing a short distance away.
"I'll be your partner," Gajeel said, walking over.
"Yes, I'm counting on you," Juvia agreed without a second's hesitation.
For one, Gajeel was incredibly strong, providing a massive boost to her chances. Secondly, they had worked together countless times back in Phantom Lord, destroying numerous dark guilds as a team. They were already highly familiar with each other's combat styles, meaning they wouldn't have to waste time figuring out how to synergize their magic.
"Leave it to me," Gajeel nodded seriously.
"So that's four teams formed already. Over there, Bickslow is talking to Evergreen... looks like they're teaming up. Simon and Kagura are siblings, so they're definitely a team," Lucy muttered, scanning the room to keep track of the competition.
"Oh? Freed is talking to Levy-chan. Is he asking her to be his partner?" Lucy squinted, spotting Freed standing in front of Levy's table, deep in conversation. Given the timing, it was almost guaranteed to be about the exam.
"Levy and Freed both specialize in script and rune magic, and they talk about it often. Levy's actual combat abilities aren't weak either, so it makes perfect sense for Freed to ask her," Meredy analyzed.
"Yeah, that makes sense," Lucy nodded.
"Meredy, be my partner," Lyon suddenly appeared beside their table, looking directly at Meredy.
"Huh? Me? I can't do that!" Meredy waved her hands frantically, completely caught off guard.
"No, you can. You've been trained personally by Noah for years, which means your baseline standard for 'strong' is completely warped because you compare yourself to him. In reality, you are already much stronger than most people in this guild. More importantly, your sensory sharing and auxiliary magic are incredibly potent. With your support, we can easily adapt to whatever unknown trials they throw at us," Lyon stated with absolute seriousness.
"Am I really that helpful?" Meredy pointed at herself, pleasantly surprised by his high praise.
"Of course you are. With your support magic, I'm much more confident about passing," Lyon said firmly.
"Then I accept!" Meredy smiled brightly.
"Do your best, Meredy!" Wendy and Yukino cheered for their close friend.
"Mhm! I'll work hard!" Meredy pumped her fists enthusiastically.
"I'm counting on you." Lyon smiled, pleased that she had agreed. He then turned and glared at Gray. "Hmph! With me here, there's zero chance you'll become S-Class."
"We'll see about that. You'll probably get eliminated in the first round while I cruise straight to victory," Gray shot back aggressively.
"Hmph!" The two rivals glared daggers at each other for a long moment before aggressively turning their heads away in unison.
"Meredy, let's head to the training grounds and work on our coordination," Lyon suggested.
"Okay!" Meredy nodded, standing up to follow Lyon out of the guild. Wendy, Yukino, and Carla tagged along to watch them practice.
"Loke, let's go train too," Gray said, watching Lyon leave.
"Right. I'll make sure you get that S-Class title," Loke agreed, and the two headed out.
"We're going to train too," Gajeel said to Juvia. She nodded, and the two former Phantom Lord mages departed.
"Wow, everyone left to train immediately," Lucy murmured, looking at the suddenly empty table.
"Everyone is taking this exam very seriously. We should go train too. Let's go, Elf-nii," Lisanna smiled at Lucy before turning to her brother.
"A true man always gives it his all!" Elfman stood up, and the siblings headed out.
"Looks like all the candidates are heading out to prepare. Everyone's working so hard," Lucy observed as Bickslow, Evergreen, Freed, Levy, Simon, and Kagura all filtered out of the guild hall, heading toward the various training facilities.
"I need to work hard too!" Fired up by the intense atmosphere, Lucy also left the guild to squeeze in some training of her own.
~~~
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