In the end, Lucy had a sudden stroke of genius and used the tea on the coffee table to summon Aquarius of the Water Bearer.
Although this prevented the serious consequence of her apartment being burned to ashes by Natsu, Lucy's own fate was still quite tragic.
She got thoroughly beaten up by Aquarius.
The reasons: casually using already-drunk tea for summoning, and... she was currently on a date...
"It's never easy. I've survived another day."
Lucy half-reclinated in the foam-filled bathtub, her eyes half-closed as she enjoyed long-awaited peace and relaxation.
Chase had taken Dark Magician Girl back to his place across the river after finishing his performance, and she had forcibly kicked Natsu and Happy out.
So now there was only her left in the apartment...
Or was there?
After a series of gurgling bubbles, a pink head suddenly emerged from Lucy's chest without warning.
"Princess, do you require my service?" Virgo said.
"No! Why haven't you gone back?!" Lucy's fur stood on end at the sudden appearance.
"Failing to assist the princess is a grave fault for a Celestial Spirit. So, Princess..."
Virgo completely ignored Lucy's question, pulled a whip from some strange place, and said seriously, "Please punish me severely!"
"So that question earlier was just foreshadowing for you to ask for a reward!" Lucy suddenly understood.
Although they had spent only a short time together, she had completely figured it out.
Virgo of the Maiden was a pure masochist!
"I feel like normal life is gradually slipping away from me..."
Looking at Virgo's expectant eyes, Lucy thought back to the series of thrilling events and slumped weakly in the bathtub, blowing bubbles.
The next day.
Chase woke up early and, amidst the daily "friendly" greetings from his neighbors, headed to the Fairy Tail guild.
Yesterday, Makarov had already explained the schedule for the guild masters' meeting.
The meeting would last two days, with three sessions total.
The first session was scheduled for this afternoon, but they needed to leave early to catch the first train to Crocus.
If there was ever a quiet time at the guild, it was no doubt now, with the sun not yet fully risen.
Most people were still like Natsu and Happy, sound asleep in bed.
Walking through the entrance, only a scattered few were present.
The guild veterans Macao and Wakaba sat at a table eating breakfast and chatting, their topic being which street had the women with the perkiest butts.
Therefore, their breakfast consisted only of dry, hard bread—the topic was nutritious enough to accompany the meal!
Besides those two, there was Nab, dressed in his primitive caveman outfit, wandering in front of the request board.
This guy seemed almost integrated with the request board; Chase nearly didn't notice him.
After briefly greeting them, Chase walked straight to the guild bar.
As a matter of course, Mira, wearing her wine-red dress, was already standing there.
"Good morning, Chase."
Mira greeted him with a smile, simultaneously pushing a breakfast tray toward him. "I know you're going to the meeting with the Master today, so I specially prepared this for you."
On the plate were steaming fried eggs, soft pork floss bread, and a steaming cup of hot milk.
"Thanks."
Chase didn't stand on ceremony. He pulled up a chair, rolled up his sleeves, grabbed the bread, and Devoured it without any regard for appearances.
Mira tilted her head and smiled, silently watching from beside him.
"Damn it! No wonder Mira wouldn't let me touch it—it was prepared for this guy Chase!"
"This dry stone in my hand suddenly doesn't taste good at all, dammit!"
Macao and Wakaba gnashed their teeth watching this, and in their anger, they got angry.
No matter how upset they were, they didn't have the courage to provoke two S-Class monsters.
That would only result in a beating!
Chase couldn't be bothered with these two moldy old men whose eyes were filled with jealousy. He took a sip of hot milk and looked at Mira. "Where's the Master? Didn't we agree to leave at this time?"
"He said this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so he needed to change into some stylish clothes."
Mira lowered her head thoughtfully. "Hmm... he should be almost done by now?"
No sooner had she spoken than the sound of footsteps descending from the second floor came.
"Yo, Chase, you're here."
Chase looked toward the voice and nearly spat his hot milk all over Mira.
There stood Makarov in a crisp black suit, his tie perfectly knotted, his leather shoes polished to a shine.
This dignified, serious appearance was a far cry from his usual unserious, bad old man image.
It was just a regular meeting—was the Master taking this too seriously?!
Did he really want to show off in front of the other guild masters that badly?!
To be honest, if it weren't for that distinctive Mediterranean hairstyle, Chase might not have recognized him at first...
Sharing his sentiment were Macao and Wakaba, the corners of their mouths were twitching like crazy.
Even Nab's gaze shifted from his beloved request board to look over.
"Master, this suit suits you quite well. You look very handsome too." Mira said with a smile.
Macao: What part of that suits him?!
Wakaba: Where's the handsome part?!
Nab: Huh? Did the guild get a new member?
"Hahaha! After all, I have to make a really good impression at this guild masters' meeting." Makarov nodded satisfactorily.
Macao: He actually accepted Mira's praise of course?
Wakaba: Wait, didn't he look in the mirror before going out?
Nab: Oh, it's just the Master. Never mind.
The man withdrew his gaze and continued agonizing over which request to take today.
"Ah, aha... truly the Master..."
Chase revealed an embarrassed but polite smile.
It wasn't that Makarov's outfit was particularly ugly—it's just that the style shift was as abrupt as picturing Natsu delivering packages with magical transportation.
"Speaking of which, Chase, do you want to change into a suit too? This meeting is different." Makarov seriously suggested.
"Uh, no, no. I'm just going through the motions." Chase quickly refused.
"Too bad. This old man might just steal your thunder then."
Makarov straightened the red tie on his chest, held his head high, and beamed with spring in his step.
A special fragrance, accompanied by bling-bling sparkling special effects, wafted over.
Good grief, he'd even sprayed perfume!
This was too much even for the ever-thoughtful Mira. She gently urged, "Master, it's almost time."
"Ah? Right, right! Let's go, Chase. We'll miss the first train if we're late. We absolutely cannot be late for this meeting!"
Snapping out of his self-indulgence, Makarov quickly responded.
Maca-Super-Reliable-Lov also had such an adorable, childish side...
Watching the little old man's excited, anticipatory expression, Chase sighed helplessly and got up to follow.
Soon, the figures of the old and the young left the guild and disappeared at the end of Magnolia's morning streets.
After they left, Natsu, Happy, Gray, Lucy, and others arrived at the guild.
As more people gathered, the quiet atmosphere once again became lively, full of energy everywhere.
Suddenly, the guild door was forcefully pushed open.
A panicked Loki rushed in. With just one sentence, he plunged the noisy scene into deathly silence.
"B-big trouble! Erza..."
"Erza is back!!!"