Little guy, thought you could get away with that~
Chase nodded in satisfaction, returning the card to his deck. He straightened up and said seriously, "There's something important I need your assistance with."
He pushed away the sticky clinging to him and drew out Slifer's card, showing it to Dark Magician Girl.
Dark Magician Girl had been about to continue acting cute, but the moment she saw Slifer, her pupils abruptly contracted, and her expression became extremely serious.
"Wait, is that... Slifer the Sky Dragon?!"
"That's right. A new partner I got after fighting that fire dragon. I've been traveling, so I haven't mentioned it to you all."
"That fire-breathing stinky lizard! Next time I see it, I'm going to beat it to a pulp!"
Remembering that arrogant fire dragon, Dark Magician Girl clenched her fists angrily.
During that terrifying encounter back then, she'd barely appeared before being pierced by its flame-covered claws and sadly treated to slumber in the deck.
"Revenge is certain, but right now, I want to try summoning Slifer. You help me maintain the activation state of the Book of Secret Arts."
With that, Chase stood up and handed a Magic Card to Dark Magician Girl.
[Book of Secret Arts]: A book recording complicated and mysterious magical knowledge. Slightly increases the mage's magical power reserve limit.
The moment Dark Magician Girl reached for the card, a magic circle lit up. An ancient book with a quill pen suspended above her palm.
The slowly turning pages emitted specks of starlight.
Chase closed his eyes. The slight rise in his chest meant his power had been amplified.
Normally, even without Dark Magician Girl's assistance, he could maintain the Book of Secret Arts' effect.
But summoning Slifer was simply too dangerous. His mind and every nerve needed to be highly concentrated to prevent accidents.
And this was precisely why he'd waited until returning to safe Magnolia before testing!
"Then... let's begin."
Under Dark Magician Girl's anxious gaze, Chase took a deep breath to adjust his rhythm. Then, pressing his index and middle fingers together, he held Slifer's card high above his head.
His expression was solemn as he murmured incantations.
"At the time when heaven's thunder roars in chaos, gather the ancient grimoires in chains—their power can reach infinity."
"When good and evil meet, begin the ritual to summon the judge of hell."
"Appear..."
Chase's eyes snapped open. He was about to loudly call upon Slifer's name when suddenly—BOOM!
A violent explosion rang out in advance, echoing through the entire hall?
No, wrong!
"Hey Chase! We came to play!"
The familiar idiot's voice came from within the thick smoke rising at the entrance. Natsu strode in casually, stepping over the fragments of the door he'd blasted to pieces.
Behind him followed Lucy, wrapped in a bath towel with a sexy air, and Happy, going "Aye!"
The two groups just stared at each other, eyes locking across the swirling wood chips.
Lucy stared blankly at Chase, who remained frozen in his chuunibyou pose with card held high. Recalling the line she'd "accidentally" overheard at the door, her gaze instantly turned weird:
Who knew that the imposing Mr. Chase was actually such a chuunibyou in private!
After her inner rant, Lucy suddenly snapped back to reality and bowed to Chase repeatedly at perfect ninety-degree angles.
"Mr. Chase, I'm so sorry! I was going to knock, but Natsu just attacked out of nowhere! I'm really, really sorry!!"
——————
A few minutes earlier, just as Chase was settling into his residence.
In the residential area diagonally across the river, on the second floor with an open view.
Having just bathed, Lucy wrapped herself in a towel and sat comfortably at her desk, quill in hand, writing her novel.
"Day two of joining the guild. I'm starting to get a little familiar with everyone."
"That damn cat Happy swindled me out of 3000J. I need to remember this debt. Must not forget to deal with it tomorrow!"
Lucy recalled everything she'd seen and heard at the guild today, recording both the fun and the infuriating moments.
She smiled while writing about the guild's lively scenes, and clenched her fists angrily while writing about Happy.
"Most memorable was meeting the super famous Mr. Chase and hearing quite a bit about dragons."
"Fairy Tail's S-Class mages are terrifyingly strong. When will I ever reach that level?"
"Oh dear! Definitely still wishful thinking!"
Writing this, Lucy shook her head like a rattle-drum, her cheeks slightly flushed.
After all, she was still an unknown rookie!
"Come to think of it, Mr. Chase is much kinder and gentler than his fearsome reputation..."
Just as Lucy was wondering how to describe Chase, strange munching sounds suddenly came from the small living room outside her room.
Burglars?! Already?!
Lucy's relaxed nerves instantly tightened. She quickly grabbed the Celestial Spirit keys on her desk and crept lightly to her door.
Then she saw the crash scene:
Natsu and Happy had somehow broken into her home and were now frantically raiding the food in her fridge and the snacks she'd just bought!
Bones and bags were scattered everywhere, adding a touch of the atmosphere of fireworks to her clean, tidy cozy little hall.
"Natsu! Happy! What are you doing here?!" Lucy exclaimed, clearly terrified.
"Yo, Lucy. Good evening." Natsu grinned in greeting, barbecue grease still remaining on the corner of his mouth.
"Good evening my ass! This is my home! My private space!!"
"Haha, what's the big deal? We came to hang out with you."
"When did I ever invite you over?!"
Facing Natsu's natural expression, Lucy sprayed spittle everywhere. "And you, damn cat—stop scratching that freshly renovated wall!!"
"Aye! Lucy, have some tasty dried fish."
Happy reached into the pack on his back and pulled out a blue dried fish.
"...That was bought with my money."
Lucy's eye twitched as hash marks of anger continuously popped up on her forehead.
"Hey Lucy, what were you doing in your room? Sounded like you were writing with a quill."
With that, Natsu stepped forward, craning his neck curiously toward the desk in her room.
"AHHH! DIE!"
Terrified of her novel-writing secret being discovered, Lucy's face flushed bright red. Her body spun 180 degrees as she launched a flying kick, stomping Natsu's head hard into the wall by the door.
CRACK.
Spiderweb-like fissures immediately appeared in the wall.
Natsu spat blood on the spot—literally seconds the moment his head appeared.
Happy trembled, murmuring, "Lucy's so scary, Lucy's so scary."
After the farce, Lucy's soft heart prevailed. She didn't send these trespassing idiots to the Magic Council for judgment. Instead, she brewed them each a cup of tea.
Her original intention was to make them drink up and get out quickly.
But under Natsu's relentless persistence, she ended up introducing and demonstrating her proud Celestial Spirit Magic to them instead.
Natsu and Happy were amazed.
"Hey hey, Lucy, wanna go visit Chase's place? His house is right across the river—super close!"
At the end of their conversation, Natsu suddenly grinned mischievously with a suggestion.
Still super unconvinced about being knocked out cold by Chase during the day, he was thinking of saving face.
"Ah, what a coincidence?! Mr. Chase lives right across from me?!" Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief.
"While it's natural for juniors to visit seniors, isn't it too late to go now? Let's wait until tomorrow—AAAAH!"
Before Lucy could finish, Natsu grabbed her little hand and dragged her straight toward the window.
CRASH—the fragile window shattered on impact.
Amid the swirling glass shards, Lucy's enraged shriek rang out.
"So you weren't asking for my opinion—you were just telling me!"
"At least let me change into something decent!"
"And! Could we PLEASE use a more human way of going places?!!"