"Oh no! The carriage is out of control!" a resident shouted.
The runaway carriage was hurtling down the street, heading exactly where Frosch was happily chasing butterflies.
Sting, Rogue, and Minerva watched in horror, shouting in unison, "Why?!"
"A runaway carriage with no driver!"
"Frosch is in danger!"
"But if we go to save Frosch now, all his previous efforts will be in vain!"
"To ensure his efforts aren't wasted!" Rogue merged into the shadows and instantly appeared on top of the carriage.
"Urgh..." Rogue, who had just grabbed the reins, turned a sickly pale.
Sting scratched the back of his head. "Even in an urgent situation, we still get motion sickness."
"It seems I'll have to step in." Minerva chanted a spell, teleporting herself next to Rogue, and forced the runaway carriage to a halt.
"No need for thanks. Let's chase Frosch first."
...
In the alleyway— Ultear, Erza, and Kagura, who had come to Mandrake Town to complete a commission, encountered the little Exceed.
Frosch looked up blankly at Erza and the others.
"Do you think he's a frog or a cat?" Erza and Kagura crouched down to examine him.
"I think he's a frog, but how can he be so charming..." Kagura looked at Frosch, captivated by his clueless expression.
"He's an Exceed..." Ultear facepalmed, exasperated.
"Fro thinks so too..." Frosch said, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Frosch has always believed he was a frog since he was little," Lector, hiding in the shadows, whispered to his guildmates.
"After he found out he wasn't a frog, he cried for three whole days and nights. Sigh."
"This guy is so pitiful!" Rogue crouched on the ground, fists clenched and tears streaming down his face.
"Is... is that so..." Sting was momentarily at a loss for words.
Ultear looked at the clueless Frosch, resting her chin on her hand. "I remember he's a member of Sabertooth, right? Why is he here alone?"
"Are you lost?" Ultear bent down, resting her hands on her knees.
"Fro thinks so too..."
"Over there." The voices of Sting and Rogue caught Erza and Kagura's attention.
Ultear looked in the direction Kagura pointed.
Sting and Rogue were pressing their index fingers to their lips, signaling them not to blow their cover.
"Looks like he's not lost, then. Let's go." Ultear saw Rogue, Sting, and Minerva lurking in the shadows.
She had no idea what they were up to, but she couldn't be bothered to investigate.
As long as Frosch wasn't lost, it was fine.
"Whew." Sting and Rogue breathed a sigh of relief.
Communicating with smart people was so easy—they understood with just a gesture.
As Frosch made his way through the alley, he caught the attention of a group of troublemakers.
Frosch managed to dodge their lunges with his short little legs.
"Impressive, as expected of Frosch!" Sting cheered.
"Looks like it was just luck..." Lector sweatdropped.
"You guys! You're embarrassing us professional frog traders!" said a man wearing sunglasses, carrying a fishing net over his shoulder.
"What? There are traders who specialize in selling frogs?!" Sting looked astonished.
"Hehe! Prepare yourself! I'm going to catch you right now!"
"The situation seems pretty bad..." Lector said.
"No choice, I'll have to step in." Rogue was already poised to take action.
"Ah!!! What's going on here?!" Lucy got her head caught in the fishing net.
"What! Ended up catching some weird thing instead!" The frog boss's eyes nearly popped out.
"Hey, isn't that Frosch?" Natsu squatted down, looking at Frosch.
He was ignoring Lucy struggling and waving her arms behind him.
"Hi!" Frosch raised a paw in greeting.
"What are you doing here?" Happy asked.
"Stay out of our way!" A man placed a transparent jar over Natsu's head.
Natsu's expression froze for a moment...
"Alright, I don't know what's happening, but I'm fired up!"
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
"I'm joining the fight too! Open! Gate of the Archer, Sagittarius!"
"Just resign yourselves to the punishment arrows, moshimoshi."
"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"
Boom—
"I'm talking to you... What are we going to do now, after causing this much destruction?" Lucy stood with her hands on her hips, looking at the surrounding wreckage.
"What's there to fear? We'll just use the reward from the job we're about to finish to fix it," Natsu grinned.
"Who would go to such lengths..." Rogue was dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Sting clenched his fists in excitement. "As expected of Natsu-san! Always giving it his all, so cool!"
"Frosch was in a tight spot just now! But..." Lector broke into a cold sweat.
"Huh? Where's Frosch?" Happy asked.
"He's gone again..." Lucy said.
"Where did he run off to?" Natsu looked around.
"Nani!!" Sting panicked.
"Frosch!"
"We'll chat next time! We have to go find Frosch, Natsu-san!"
...
"Huh? Isn't that someone from Sabertooth..." Gray glanced over, puzzled.
"It's Frosch." Juvia nodded.
"Huh?" Frosch heard someone call his name.
Gray squatted down, while Juvia half-squatted, resting her hands on her knees.
"What are you doing here all alone?"
"Shopping."
"All by yourself, that's amazing!" Juvia said.
"Fro thinks so too."
Frosch and Juvia looked at each other... tears welling up and spilling over.
"Why are you crying?" Gray was at a loss.
"I'm lost..." Frosch said while crying.
"Frosch!!!" And here was someone crying even harder in the distance... Rogue.
Minerva watched the sobbing Rogue, the corner of her mouth twitching.
"Where is your guild? I'll take you back," Gray offered.
"Gray-sama is so kind!" Juvia swooned.
Frosch's eyes lit up, seeming tempted, but after hesitating for a while, he shook his head.
"Fro wants to go back alone..."
Tears filled Frosch's eyes, his voice trembling slightly.
"Although Frosch always gets lost, Frosch wants to learn how to return alone. Because Frosch is also a member of Sabertooth."
As he spoke, Frosch turned around, unzipped the back of his outfit, and revealed the guild emblem.
"And Frosch thinks Rogue must be cheering for me."
After bidding farewell to Gray and Juvia, Frosch set off on his journey home.
...
Night fell.
Having walked all day, Frosch passed through streets and alleys, crossed plains...
"Finally here!" Frosch looked up.
Arriving at Fairy Tail...
"Oh? Are you here to visit, Frosch?" Mira bent down, resting her hands on her knees as she asked gently, "But it's too late now, we've closed for the day."
Raizel and Mira, who were just about to leave the guild, happened to encounter Frosch.
"Frosch is here, where's Rogue? Oh, there he is." Raizel casually glanced around and spotted the three figures and one cat hiding in the shadows across the street.
They looked very much like they were planning to sabotage the guild tavern.
Rogue fell to his knees.
"This isn't the right place!"
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