Aslova Port. A moderately sized merchant ship was docked at the shore.
Loading workers methodically moved boxes after boxes of cargo onto the ship, neatly stacking them on the spacious deck.
During breaks, they occasionally glanced toward a rest platform not far from the ship.
There, Chase, having left the Abandoned Lighthouse, was speaking with a fat man covered in whiskers.
The fat man's name was Lambert. He was the captain of this departing merchant ship, planning to transport Aslova's specialty goods across the continent for business.
"I see. So Marshall recommended you." Lambert held Marshall's letter of introduction and pondered for a moment. "We certainly welcome regular guild mages accompanying us, but..."
"Truth be told, the seas aren't very peaceful right now—pirates run rampant. If not for this deal earning us decent money, we wouldn't risk it."
"So if something unexpected happens, we might not be able to guarantee your safety."
This guy had a beer belly and looked like the type of old merchant who only cared about profit—unexpectedly quite honest.
Chase commented that he internally while casually waving dismissively. "Don't worry about that. If we do run into pirates, the ones who need to worry about safety will be them."
Seeing his confidence, Lambert didn't persuade further.
"We'll set sail in about half an hour. Please bear with us until then."
As a shrewd maritime merchant, he'd agreed so readily partly out of self-interest.
Everyone in Aslova knew about Marshall's situation. Any mage could accept his request couldn't be weak.
Having someone like that along was free protection—why not?
"Likewise." Chase shook hands with Lambert.
Suddenly remembering something, Lambert asked, "Oh, for this voyage, we've also commissioned mages from Black Pheasant Foot for escort. Do you know that guild, Mr. Chase?"
Chase hadn't mentioned he was from Fairy Tail.
"Black Pheasant Foot?" Chase frowned in confusion.
Back when he'd returned to the guild standing on the Rock Giant Soldier's shoulder, some bastard had blocked the road—supposedly the strongest mage of that Black Pheasant Foot guild.
Was this small black guild everywhere?
"You don't know them?"
"Heard of them. Our guild isn't familiar with them though."
"I see. That's too bad—Black Pheasant Foot is pretty famous around here."
"Aslova really is a bit behind."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing, nothing." Chase smiled lightly and shook his head.
If their so-called strongest couldn't even beat Macao, and this guild was considered famous?
Chase couldn't tell if Aslova was just too remote or Fairy Tail was simply too strong...
As he pondered, the sound of boots treading the deck reached his ears.
"Ah, they're back."
Following Lambert's pointed finger, Chase saw three mages in suspenders uniforms approaching.
Same setup as Shadow Gear—two young males and one female. The simp mage carried bags on their shoulders while the female mage carried nothing.
Everyone understood.
But why wear such themed uniforms...
The intense deja vu made Chase complain internally—he seemed to see the shadow of someone familiar.
"Mr. Lambert, how's the loading? Can we set sail now?" The lead female mage had short red hair, moderately pretty, with a very ample chest.
"Almost done—soon," Lambert replied with a smile.
"And this is?" The female mage noticed Chase standing nearby.
"He's also a mage. He'll be boarding with us."
"You don't trust us Black Pheasant Foot, so you hired another guild's mage?" Simp Mage #1 demanded unhappyly.
Lambert quickly explained, "No, no—Mr. Chase was introduced by a friend."
"Chase? I've heard that name somewhere..."
The female mage rested her chin on her hand, frowning slightly as she carefully appraised Chase.
After a few seconds of thought, unable to remember, she pointed at Chase and directly asked, "Hey, which guild are you from?"
Hearing this, Lambert curiously perked up his ears, also wanting to know which guild this mage accepted Marshall's request belonged to.
Normally, Fairy Tail's S-Class mages were quite famous—especially someone like Chase, who'd once topped the Weekly Sorcerer "Destruction King" rankings.
But as Mirajane had mentioned earlier—
Having been away from Fiore for over a year, he'd long been replaced by rising stars like Natsu and Gray, gradually fading from public view.
"Sigh, crappy little guild—not worth mentioning." Chase scratched his head with a troubled sigh. "Compared to your Black Pheasant Foot, we're just too shabby."
He wasn't in a hurry to reveal his guild not because he was the low-key type, but...
Out and about, reputation was what you made for yourself!
If he undoubtedly revealed it now, how could he make a big splash later?
—Though he couldn't determine the specific reason yet, Chase firmly believed this voyage would encounter pirates!
And with these three Black Pheasant Foot idiots out front, he could lurk in the shadows and gather as much information as possible.
"Small guilds like yours have it tough. You're not our commission target, but we're all normal guilds—helping each other is normal."
Seeing Chase's honest look, the female mage instantly understood. She stepped forward and understandingly patted his shoulder. "Don't worry—we'll protect you if danger comes!"
"Uh... thanks."
Looking at the girl's seemingly radiant gentle smile, Chase felt a bit guilty and grateful as he thanked her.
His somewhat weak response naturally seemed like lack of confidence to Simp Mage #2.
"Hey, no big deal! With our invincible Middle Part Team around, you can rest easy!"
What the hell is with this super-complaining-worthy team name!!
"Ha... haha." Chase could only laugh awkwardly and scratch his head.
After a bit of back and forth, they'd somewhat warmed up.
At Lambert's call to weigh anchor, they boarded the merchant ship together.
"Oh, Mr. Lambert—this ship of yours is sturdy enough, right?"
Just as they were about to set sail, Chase suddenly asked out of nowhere.
"Don't worry—won't break in any storm!" Lambert confidently patted his chest.
The Black Pheasant Foot mages shook their heads at this, casting pitying glances at Chase: Small guilds really were small guilds—scared of everything, even sailing!
This time, they weren't wrong—Chase was indeed a bit scared.
Captain Lambert seemed like a decent guy. Chase was afraid that if he wasn't careful...
He might demolish the ship.
BOOM!
As power magic circles lit up on the white sails, the merchant ship gradually pulled away from shore, heading toward the rough seas.
Soon, the city's outline disappeared beyond the horizon, replaced by endless, vast waves.
The first half of the voyage went quite smoothly—even passing through areas were highly active with pirates without incident.
But just as Lambert's hanging heart began to settle, and he pulled out a champagne to celebrate the safe voyage with Chase and the others—
WOOO WOOO!
Suddenly, sharp alarms blared across the deck, followed immediately by the lookout's terrified scream.
"B-bad! Pirates! Five o'clock direction—a pirate ship, rapidly approaching!!"