"I'm back. Is the Master here?"
After glancing at Yalian, Erza shifted her gaze to Mirajane.
"Welcome back. The Master went to attend a regular council meeting," Mira replied with a smile.
A curious guild member stepped forward and asked, "Miss Erza, what's that huge thing next to you?"
"This? It's a demon horn from a demon I defeated. The locals gave it to me as thanks and suggested I use it as decoration. Does it bother you?" Erza asked naturally, looking at him.
"N-Not at all! Of course not! Haha…"
The man stiffened, laughing awkwardly.
"Erza might know about what happened on Mount Hakobe, you know," Cana said teasingly, swirling her drink as she looked at Macao.
"Uh… then I'm dead. She might actually kill me," Macao froze, cold sweat forming on his forehead.
"Why is everyone so scared of Erza? She's clearly beautiful and doesn't seem scary at all," Lucy said, arms crossed, completely puzzled.
"Just watch. You'll find out soon enough," Lisanna whispered into Lucy's ear.
Under Lucy's confused gaze, Erza began her usual routine.
"I heard all about it on my way back—you've all been causing trouble again, haven't you?"
"Even if the Master forgives you, I won't, Cana."
Her eyes swept across the guild before settling on Cana first.
"W-What?!" Cana stiffened, spilling a bit of her drink.
"Nothing. Seeing you drinking from a cup instead of a barrel is reassuring. But even so, you should still drink less."
Noticing Cana was using a cup, Erza's originally stern tone suddenly softened into gentle advice.
Then came Erza's disciplinary session.
After a long string of lecturing, more than half the guild had been scolded one by one—even Macao didn't escape.
The only thing that relieved him was that Erza didn't seem to know about the Mount Hakobe incident. Otherwise, he'd truly be finished today.
"Sigh… you're all just a bunch of overgrown children. Honestly, it's exhausting. Fine, I'll let you off today. I won't lecture you anymore," Erza said, shaking her head helplessly.
Lucy twitched at the corner of her mouth and whispered to Lisanna, "Didn't she already lecture everyone plenty? Is Erza some kind of disciplinary committee member?!"
"That's just Erza. When she gets serious, she even scolds Yalian," Lisanna replied, covering her mouth as her shoulders shook with laughter.
"But aside from the lecturing, she doesn't seem that scary… so why is everyone so afraid of her? Especially those two."
Lucy glanced at Erza's beautiful face, then at Natsu and Gray, who were huddled together trembling.
"Hehe, I'll tell you quietly…"
Lisanna pulled Lucy aside and began whispering, giving her a detailed rundown of Erza's "glorious achievements."
"Since Yalian and Ultear are here, that saves a lot of trouble."
"There's a very difficult matter I learned about at my workplace. I was supposed to report it to the Master, but since he's at the council meeting… I'll just say it directly."
"Yalian, Ultear—I need your help on this mission."
Erza walked over and placed her hands on Yalian and Ultear's shoulders, her tone extremely serious.
Her words were like pouring cold water into boiling oil—the previously calm guild instantly erupted into noisy chatter.
Everyone stared at her in shock.
Erza herself was already an incredibly powerful S-Class Mage—just what kind of mission would require three S-Class-level mages to work together?
Yalian and Ultear also looked puzzled as they waited for her explanation.
"There's no time. Let's go home and pack. We leave early tomorrow morning. I'll explain everything on the way," Erza said decisively.
"Alright, let's go. Oh—and bring Lucy, Natsu, and Gray along too."
Yalian didn't hesitate. He downed the juice in his cup and stood up to leave, then added that last line after glancing at the three of them.
The reason was simple—this was a good chance for them to gain experience. With Erza, Ultear, and himself together, even if one of the Ten Wizard Saints showed up, they'd have to pay a price to walk away.
"So I'm teaming up with this guy?"
Gray and Natsu glanced at each other.
Neither refused. Opportunities like this were rare—if even Erza needed help from Yalian and Ultear, the mission was bound to be exciting.
Only Lucy looked stunned, pointing at herself in disbelief. "Huh? You mean… me?"
"Let's go, Lucy. We need to pack. Natsu, Gray—you two as well. Meet at the station tomorrow," Ultear said, pulling the still-dazed Lucy along while reminding the others.
After saying goodbye to Mira, Lisanna, Cana, Macao, and the rest, Yalian's group left the guild.
Natsu and Gray glared at each other, snorted, then also said their farewells and went home to pack.
Watching the six figures leave, Mira murmured,
"I never imagined Erza, Yalian, Ultear, Gray, and Natsu would form a team… has Fairy Tail's strongest squad just been born?"
"No, I have to tell the Master this good news!"
A mischievous smile appeared on Mira's face as she hurried off to the underground library to write a letter.
"Wait—!"
Lisanna reached out to stop her, but Mira was too fast. She could only watch her disappear, sighing helplessly.
"Mira, are you sure this is good news…?"
But thinking about how Yalian and Ultear were part of the team, Lisanna relaxed a little. Without them, she'd honestly worry those few might destroy an entire city.
The next day, at the train station platform, all six of them gathered.
The only odd thing was that Erza wasn't wearing her usual silver armor. Instead, she wore a white sleeveless high-collar shirt paired with a sapphire-blue pleated skirt, tied with a dark blue ribbon at the collar—a fresh, clean academy-style outfit that looked strikingly good on her.
…Well, that is—if you ignored the fact that she was holding her lower back.
"Let's make this clear, Erza. When we get back, I'm definitely challenging you to a fight."
Natsu declared firmly before boarding the train.
"Hey, are you crazy? You actually said that? You're asking to get beaten up," Gray said, staring at him like he'd lost his mind.
"Alright. Even if I can't beat you right now, I accept your challenge," Erza replied with a faint smile.
Her response made everyone twitch.
They all knew exactly how strong she was.
Only Natsu would be stubborn—or reckless—enough to say something like that.
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