Woo—woo—woo—
The train whistle echoed beneath the blue sky as the locomotive slowly pulled out of the station.
Inside a relatively empty carriage, Alian, Gray, and Natsu sat on one side, while Erza, Ultear, and Lucy sat opposite them. Happy perched on the small table between.
"Ugh… I—I can't… I'm gonna throw up…"
Natsu clutched his mouth, face pale, cold sweat dripping down his body as if he might keel over at any moment.
"I swear, you're completely useless," Gray crossed his arms and mocked. "We just left the station!"
"What did you say?! Ugh—no, I'm done…"
Natsu tried to snap back, but a slight jolt from the train made him collapse again.
"Is he always like this? That's kind of sad…" Lucy said.
The scene made the others want to laugh, but it felt a bit too cruel.
In the end, Alian couldn't take it anymore. With a quick chop to the neck, Natsu's head lolled to the side as he passed out cold.
Alian casually laid him across an empty seat.
"At least this way he won't suffer… as long as we don't forget him on the train."
"…You can tell us what's going on now, right?" Gray leaned against the window, chin resting on his hand.
"Yeah. Our target this time is the dark guild Eisenwald. They're planning to use a magic called Lullaby to do something dangerous." Erza's expression turned serious.
"Eisenwald? Lullaby… that sounds familiar…" Lucy muttered, then glanced down—just in time to notice Erza subtly rubbing her lower back.
"…By the way, what exactly were you doing yesterday?" she added under her breath.
Her voice was quiet, but Ultear and Erza both heard it clearly.
Ultear covered her mouth, giggling softly, while Erza's face flushed faintly. She shot a sharp glare at Alian, who looked completely unfazed.
"Lullaby? That's what those guys mentioned before, right?" Gray suddenly recalled, looking at Lucy.
"Yeah, exactly." Lucy nodded and quickly recounted their earlier encounter.
"I see. Then those were likely deserters from Eisenwald," Erza analyzed. "Too weak to keep up with the plan, so they ran."
"And the shadow you saw was probably from the main group," Ultear added thoughtfully. "They might've silenced them to keep the plan secret."
"So what is the plan?" Lucy asked.
"This happened when I was returning from a job," Erza began. "I passed through Onibus and stopped at a tavern where mages gather…"
She briefly explained what she had overheard.
"If it's sealed, that means Lullaby is extremely powerful magic," she frowned. "I should've realized sooner. If I had known they were from Eisenwald, I would've slaughtered them on the spot and interrogated the rest."
"…That's terrifying," Lucy muttered.
"Sounds fun," Alian said with a faint smile.
"Fun?!"
Lucy stared at him, speechless.
"Alian, you know about Eisenwald?" she asked.
"They're a dark guild affiliated with the Balam Alliance—the Six Demon Generals. Essentially an assassination guild.
"They were once a legal guild, but constantly took illegal jobs—assassinations, silencing targets—ignoring the Magic Council entirely.
"Six years ago, the Council expelled them, forcibly disbanded the guild, and arrested their master.
"What remains now are the remnants. They believe they did nothing wrong, and blame the Council and legal guilds for their downfall. So they hate all of them."
Lucy blinked. "They're idiots, aren't they?"
"Exactly," Alian nodded. "A bunch of brainless fools. Their current leader should be the one called 'Death God' Erigor."
"I see… so that's why you wanted Alian and Ultear's help," Gray said.
"Right. We're dealing with an entire guild. Alone, it'd be risky," Erza admitted.
"A guild raid? Now that does sound interesting," Ultear smiled.
"…How is that interesting?" Lucy sighed. Without those two around, she'd probably be terrified.
—
The train finally arrived at Onibus Station.
As they stepped onto the bustling platform, Lucy looked around.
"Do you think Eisenwald is still in the city?"
"No idea. That's why we're starting our investigation here," Erza replied.
"But that's like searching for a needle in a haystack! There's six of us—well, five people and one cat…" Lucy groaned.
"Wait," Ultear tugged Alian's sleeve. "Don't you think we're missing someone?"
"One, two, three, four, five, six… nope, six," Happy counted confidently.
"…You're a cat," Lucy deadpanned.
"Oh! Right, I'm a cat—wait… where's Natsu?!"
Everyone froze.
They looked at each other.
Silence.
Not a single one of them had remembered the unconscious Natsu.
"…The train just left," Happy waved at the departing train.
All eyes slowly turned toward Alian.
Even he looked slightly embarrassed.
"…My bad. I got distracted eating and forgot about him," he admitted, rubbing his temple. "I'll go get him."
With that, he activated teleportation magic and vanished instantly.
"…This is on me too," Erza clenched her fists. "I know Alian loses all awareness when food is involved, and I still let him watch Natsu… especially when Natsu gets motion sickness…"
"…You can hit me if you want."
"Whoa, whoa, that's not necessary!" Lucy waved her hands quickly. "Alian already went after him!"
Ultear, meanwhile, silently facepalmed.
Erza's airheaded side is showing again…
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