That night, Fairy Tail held another celebratory banquet.
As for the reason for the celebration?
Celebrations are naturally for happiness; they don't need a reason.
In any case, the guild funds were plentiful now, and Makarov wished they could hold banquets every day.
Cana, who was drunk, was persuaded by Mirajane to buy a huge amount of alcohol with the newly received mission reward, generously announcing that she was treating everyone tonight. She probably wouldn't know whether she'd slap herself silly after sobering up... Lucy also returned from home. Although the fact that the Heartfilia Conglomerate had gone bankrupt couldn't be changed, she successfully redeemed a small portion of her mother's relics and important personal belongings.
Only upon returning home did Lucy realize that what she truly wanted to take with her were just a few storybooks her mother used to read to her when she was a child.
As well as a doll given to her by her mother and father. Back then, their family was still very Happy.
Little Lucy loved this doll, which was a birthday gift, very much. Not only did she keep it with her every day, but she also treated it like a younger sister, cherishing it greatly.
But good times didn't last. The sudden death of Lucy's mother caused her father's temperament to change drastically, shattering a beautiful family.
Because seeing the doll reminded her of her deceased mother, Lucy distanced herself from it. The pain of losing her mother blinded her to everything else... Later, as she grew older, Lucy gradually forgot her "little sister."
But she never expected that upon returning home this time, she would find this beloved doll in her father's room. Her father had retrieved it.
Looking at the doll, which had clearly been meticulously taken care of, Lucy suddenly felt less resistant towards her seemingly cold father.
Just like her, he had never moved past the pain of his wife's death, and at the same time, he didn't know how to face her, his daughter. He could only constantly numb himself with work, which caused the rift between father and daughter to deepen... At a table in the hall, Lucy, who had just returned to the guild, sucked on a straw, drinking juice while rubbing the doll she hadn't seen in a long time. "Little sister, now it's just the two of us depending on each other. From now on, I have to rely on myself."
"Rely on yourself for what?"
Natsu, who was devouring barbecue next to her, mumbled indistinctly, "Aren't Happy and I here? If worst comes to worst, I'll support you guys."
"Aye! Natsu is right!"
Happy held up a grilled fish larger than himself. "As long as I have a bite of fish, Lucy, you'll have a sip of fish soup!"
"Well, thank you very much then..."
Lucy looked at the two goofballs. "Well, thank you very much then..."
Although these words sounded very touching, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she considered that they came from the mouths of these two unreliable guys.
It wasn't that she didn't trust them.
It was that Natsu and Happy were always extravagant with money. When they received mission rewards, they either splurged on food or had the money deducted as compensation for property damage.
Sometimes these two were so poor that they had to rely on handouts from her, a guild newcomer, just to eat... So where did they get the confidence to say they would support her?!
"We're family!"
Natsu said matter-of-factly, patting Lucy's shoulder with his greasy hand. "Family takes care of each other!"
This sentence made Lucy's heart tremble.
Looking at Natsu and Happy burying their heads in their food, she sighed, accepting her fate, feeling like she would be "dragged down" by them for the rest of her life.
But it didn't seem like a bad thing either.
"Oh right!" Lucy suddenly remembered something and pulled out a thick, hardcover book from her luggage. The cover was dark blue, embroidered with a star pattern using silver thread, and the edges were slightly worn due to its age.
She walked straight to the counter, where Hope was chatting with Erza and Mirajane.
"Hope, there's something I need to ask of you."
Hope was somewhat surprised by Lucy's request. Although Lucy received her guild mark on the same day as him, as a newcomer, she was quite independent and rarely asked others for favors.
Of course, it might also be that Natsu caused her too much trouble, leaving her no time or energy to bother anyone else... Lucy placed the book on the counter. "This book is a relic from my mother. In my Memory, it should be a fairy tale book that I often read when I was little, but strangely, I can't open it now."
Hearing this, Erza picked up the book curiously. With a gentle flick of her slender fingers, the pages opened, revealing exquisite illustrations and text inside.
"It just opened, didn't it?" Erza looked at Lucy, puzzled.
This sight made Lucy widen her eyes. She immediately took the book back, looked at the fairy tales that were incredibly familiar, subconsciously closed the book, and then... she couldn't open it again.
Mirajane immediately became interested as well. She took the book from Lucy's hand and also opened the cover with a gentle flick.
She closed the book and handed it back to Lucy, but Lucy still couldn't open it.
Frustrated, Lucy refused to believe it and tried to pry the book open with brute force, but no matter how hard she pulled, the book remained completely still, as if it had been welded shut.
Yet, everyone else could casually flip through it, but she, the owner, could not. Furthermore, the contents of the book seemed normal... This was truly baffling.
This targeted repulsion made her both confused and frustrated.
Watching Lucy prepare to summon the Celestial Spirit Cancer to cut the book open, Hope yawned and finally spoke: "Don't waste your energy. There is a restricting magic on this book specifically targeting you, which is why you can't open it."
"Eh?!"
Hope gently pulled the storybook from the stunned Lucy's hands, casually flipped it open, and slowly explained, "To be precise, it's an ancient restriction targeting Celestial Spirit Mages who possess the 'Heartfilia' bloodline."
"If either of these two conditions is missing, anyone can open this book casually, but they won't be able to see the true hidden content inside."
Lucy was very surprised. She never expected that the storybook her mother used to read to her when she was little had such a secret.
But why was such a restriction set up?
The Heartfilia family is already single-line inheritance; weren't they afraid that the secret in the book would never be unlocked? Moreover, her mother was clearly a Celestial Spirit Mage of the Heartfilia family, yet she could open the book easily... Lucy looked up. "Hope, can you dispel this magic?"
Hope shook his head. "Forcibly dispelling it will only trigger the restriction's self-destruct ability, and the Arc of Time might not be able to restore the hidden secret."
"If my analysis is correct, this restriction rejects Celestial Spirit Mages of the Heartfilia family, but at the same time, only someone who meets both conditions can see the hidden content."
"The only variable is strength."
"So work hard on your training, Lucy."
Lucy sighed, realizing that ultimately, her strength was insufficient.
But she was already a Mage who had unlocked her second magic source. If even this wasn't enough to unlock the book's secret, when would she finally be able to do it...
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