A week passed quickly, and Magnolia Town finally returned to its usual peaceful state. Of course, damages had to be paid and apologies made. Chen Fan took the lead on these tasksafter all, he was the most "popular" person in the guild.
This was the result of a rare, unanimous vote by the members of Fairy Tail. The fact that the usually rowdy and disunited crowd agreed on this so perfectly showed just how long they had been annoyed with him. Chen Fan could only grit his teeth in frustration.
Fortunately, Mira and Erza took pity on him. They accompanied him as he went door-to-door to apologize. In Erza's words, she shared the responsibility for the incident and believed in taking accountability.
Mira, on the other hand, claimed she was there to supervise Chen Fan so he wouldn't slack off. What was supposed to be a punishment turned into daily dates with two stunning women, which made Chen Fan secretly ecstatic and everyone else green with envy. If they had known it would turn out like this, they never would have voted for him.
It was a rare, leisurely week for Chen Fan. He spent his days bantering with Erza or Mira, occasionally teasing them enough to provoke a "chase" from half the guild.
As for the others, Natsu had initially been quite upset with Makarov for expelling Laxus from the guild. He had spent days throwing tantrums in front of the Master. Makarov eventually grew so exhausted by the pestering that he threatened to resign as Master. He even packed a massive bundle and made a dramatic show of leaving, though he ruined the effect by getting the oversized bag stuck in the doorway.
Thanks to the guild's persuasion and a few well-timed words from Freed, Makarov finally calmed down. Natsu stopped his protesting, though he remained in a bit of a slump. Most of the guild felt the sameexcept, of course, for the heartless Chen Fan.
"The winner is Erza!"
"And Lucy took second place, as expected."
"Third place is Juvia! Congratulations!" A crowd shouted and cheered around the newly posted rankings for the Miss Fairy Tail contest.
"Hmph, I told you my little Erza would take first," Chen Fan said, rubbing his chin with a mock air of wisdom. He closed his eyes and nodded repeatedly, completely failing to notice the murderous aura radiating from Mira right behind him.
Others noticed, however, and quickly scattered. Moments later, a familiar scream echoed through the hall.
"Ah... I still haven't earned enough for rent! What am I going to do!?" Lucy wailed, clutching her head in despair as she collapsed onto a table.
"Just go find a job," Natsu said casually from the side.
"Easy for you to say, but where do I even start..." Lucy groaned.
At that moment, Cana wandered over, looking a bit tipsy. "Ugh... I really want a boyfriend." She punctuated her complaint by tilting another bottle into her mouth.
Hearing Cana's grumbling, Lucy looked up. "What's with the sudden change of heart?"
"Men, Lucy. Men. It's been a while, and I'm starting to miss that kind of warmth..."
Lucy's face turned bright red in an instant.
Seeing her reaction, Cana smirked. "What? Why are you blushing?"
Lucy looked away hurriedly, her eyes darting around. "II'm not... it's nothing like that..."
Cana's interest was piqued. She squinted her eyes playfully at Lucy. "Oh? Tell me, how many guys have you actually dated?"
"Three... maybe three?"
"Liars get caught, Lucy. Don't you want a boyfriend?"
"Well... maybe a little." Lucy stole a glance at Chen Fan, who was currently being pummeled by Mira without even trying to fight back. She sighed, feeling a bit deflated. "To be honest, I'm not even sure myself. Sigh..."
"How cute! Listen up, everyone! Lucy has never had a boyfriend!" Cana suddenly spun around and shouted to the entire guild, triggering a wave of laughter. Lucy waved her hands frantically, trying to shut her up.
Cana turned back to Lucy with a grin. "Don't worry. My cards tell me that today is the day you'll meet your fated one."
"My fated one?" Lucy repeated. She instinctively glanced at Chen Fan again but quickly shook her head, slapping her cheeks to snap out of it.
Suddenly, Erza sprinted past them, already dressed in an elegant gown. Lucy blinked in surprise. "Erza? What's going on? Why are you in a gown?"
Erza skidded to a halt and turned back. "Next is makeup. I can't keep going on like this!" With that cryptic remark, she vanished as quickly as she had appeared, leaving Lucy utterly confused.
Strum-strum... Gajeel strolled by, wearing a suit and plucking at a guitar. A few dark lines appeared on Lucy's forehead. "How strange. The Harvest Festival is already over."
"Don't you know? A reporter from Weekly Sorcerer is coming to the guild today for an interview," Mira explained with a radiant, angelic smile. Unfortunately, the effect was somewhat ruined by the bruised "pig-face" Chen Fan standing behind her.
"No way! Weekly Sorcerer!?" Lucy gasped.
"They're doing a special feature on Fairy Tail all week," Mira added.
An interview... a special feature... a reporter... Lucy's mind began to race. My fated meeting! The reporter will come to interview us, and he'll be completely smitten by my charm! 'Miss Lucy,
I simply must have your lovely face on the cover!' I'll finally be a cover girl! And he'll be my fated one! He'll want to interview me for the rest of my life! And with the interview fees... I can pay my rent! This is like killing ten birds with one stone! Hehehe...
"Hey, missy... you're saying your inner monologue out loud again," Chen Fan whispered into her ear. Mira just stared at her, stunned.
"Natsu, Lucy is broken," Happy remarked.
"Maybe she ate something weird?" Natsu wondered aloud.
Gray chimed in, "Maybe the pressure of rent finally snapped her mind."
Suddenly, Lucy stood up. "I can't keep going on like this!" She shouted, mirroring Erza's words, and bolted out of the guild in a flash.
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