Night had fallen. The city river reflected the light of the stars and moon.
Lucy left the guild and walked alone on her way home.
Plue stood on the city river railing, his trembling steps giving the impression he might fall at any moment, yet in reality he was as steady as an old dog.
"Hey, miss! Be careful!" A fisherman finishing his work on the river called out warmly.
Lucy smiled and greeted him, then continued walking with her head down.
Her mind kept replaying the day's events.
"Laxus, who's stronger than Natsu and Gray... I get the feeling he's going to be really hard to get along with."
"And that strongest female mage Natsu mentioned earlier—a terrifying monster who can shatter two mountains with a wave of her hand. Just thinking about her sends chills down my spine."
"Even the approachable Mira-nee has a terrifying demon form."
"The guild's S-Class mages are all incredibly powerful beings..."
"Wait! Come to think of it, Chase is actually one of the more normal ones?!"
Comparing them like this, Lucy suddenly felt that Chase, known as the guild's Destruction King, seemed...
Easier to approach?
"Sure, he sometimes says things that sting, and his aura burst is so strong it takes your breath away, and he loves being reckless."
Lucy remembered how Chase had stood up to Laxus for her today. "But Chase really is gentle after all."
As a wealthy young lady who'd grown up in a cool-toned environment, this was the first time she'd felt the security of being protected by an older brother.
That was precisely the fundamental reason she'd longed for Fairy Tail—as a child, it was a big sister with rabbit ears and the Fairy Tail emblem on the back of her hand who'd saved her from a runaway carriage.
Landlady really hadn't been wrong: when danger strikes, Chase's side is absolutely the safest place to be!
Lucy felt an overwhelming sense of happiness.
"Come to think of it, I heard so many interesting stories today."
"The dark guild master who fled to sea, the legendary Eighteen Demon Gods, Mira-nee's past with Lisanna, and Dark Magician Girl's teacher..."
At this thought, joy was beyond words on Lucy's face as she unconsciously quickened her pace.
She couldn't wait to write all these stories into her novel!
Behind her, Plue's little legs swayed rapidly to keep up.
Back at her apartment, Lucy unlocked the door while happily murmuring to herself:
"A nice, comfortable bath, then quietly writing my novel—this is going to be perfect..."
Light spilled through the crack of the opening door, clearly illuminating the scene inside. Lucy froze in place, the corners of her mouth twitching like crazy.
Then came an almost hysterical scream that nearly made her spit blood.
"PFFT! Why are there so many people in my room?!!"
Hearing the commotion, Chase, sitting on the coffee table drinking tea, greeted her. "Yo, Lucy. You're back."
Across from him, Dark Magician Girl smiled and waved. "Good evening, Lucy."
"Lucy, you don't have nearly enough snacks in your place. You should buy some fuel."
"Aye! The fish in your fridge are way too small. Totally not enough!"
Natsu and Happy, crouched in a corner, were even more familiar, not even looking up.
"What normal person buys fuel as snacks?! And you, damn cat—those are my fish! Mine!"
Lucy's fur stood on end as she shouted. After recovering, she walked in with a helpless expression. "And why are Chase and Dark Magician Girl here too!"
"Here, freshly brewed tea." Chase handed her a steaming cup of black tea.
"Thanks." Lucy politely accepted the tea, then turned away as two streams of hot tears flowed down her cheeks.
She suddenly felt the powerlessness of coming home only to become a guest...
"Haha, sorry for the intrusion, Lucy. The workers are still repairing my door and ceiling, so I had to crash at your place for a bit." Chase explained with a smile.
"The roles are completely reversed."
Lucy's mouth twitched. Hands on her hips, she put on a serious face. "This is illegal entry, you know! I could call the cops and have you all arrested!"
Setting aside Natsu and Happy for a moment, she was actually quite happy to have Chase and Dark Magician Girl over as guests.
But...
Since when did guests arrive before the host, boil water, and brew tea waiting for her to come home?!
Lucy suddenly felt that the happiness she'd experienced on the walk home wasn't worth having after all!
"Speaking of illegal entry, if I remember correctly, Lucy, you did the exact same thing to me the night before last, didn't you? You even broke my door and ceiling, leaving me homeless."
Chase calmly took a sip of tea and sighed deeply. "I haven't even held a grudge about it or held it against you."
Hearing this, Lucy instantly lost her confidence and shrank back guiltily.
Come to think of it, wasn't that exactly what happened?
"Well, um... I'm so sorry! Really, I'm so sorry!"
Filled with self-blame, Lucy protested herself on the ground, executing a very proper dogeza apology.
"Hey hey, Natsu. Lucy's really easy to fool, isn't she? You were the one who
kicked the door in, and Chase broke the ceiling himself."
"Happy, should we play a trick on her next time? It'd probably be fun, hehe."
"Aye~!"
Seeing Lucy's reaction, Natsu and Happy whispered their "secret" conversation loud enough for everyone to hear.
Lucy: "...I can hear you."
"Damn cat! Stop digging through the fridge—your stinky claws are scratching the door!!"
"That fridge... it looks so enjoyable. Princess, I want one too."
A sudden voice from beside her startled Lucy. "Virgo?!"
Turning around, the purple-haired maid, hands still bound with chain handcuffs, stood there with a face full of envy and expectation.
"First of all, I have no idea how you can tell the fridge looks to enjoy..."
Lucy delivered a sharp retort. "And where did you come from?!"
Leaning on the sofa, Chase narrowed his eyes slightly, watching the maid suddenly appeared Virgo.
Back at the guild, when he heard Lucy mention obtaining the Virgo key, he'd been quite curious.
According to the original plot, entrusted by Virgo, Happy shouldn't have given Lucy the key so quickly.
Maybe it was the butterfly effect caused by his time travel?
"Yo! Marugo!" Natsu waved in greeting.
"It's Virgo." Virgo corrected expressionlessly.
"Lucy, who's this girl?" Dark Magician Girl curiously appraised Virgo.
Before Lucy could answer, Virgo said, "Hello. I am Princess's exclusive venting tool."
"Uh..."
Dark Magician Girl's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Lucy as if to say: I never knew you had such a perverted hobby.
"That's not it!!"
Feeling her stare, Lucy's skin crawled. She quickly stepped in to introduce her. "She's the Celestial Spirit I just contracted with—Virgo of the Maiden!"
"And this is Dark Magician Girl. The one sitting over there is Chase, a card mage."
"Similar to the relationship between a Celestial Spirit mage and their spirits, Dark Magician Girl is Chase's card monster."
Virgo rested her chin on her hand, nodded heavily with a blank look, and muttered quietly, "I see. So they're master and slave. And that thing like a magical robe—is that also a kind of uniform?"
"...Are you sure you really understand?"
Lucy pressed her hand to her forehead and sighed, completely speechless at Virgo's bizarre thought process.
"Master and I have a relationship even closer than that." Dark Magician Girl smiled.
"Master!"
Hearing those two words, Virgo instantly became excited, her eyes shining as she looked at Lucy.
Lucy was truly exhausted. She gave up struggling altogether and walked with weak steps to sit across from Chase and Dark Magician Girl.