In the end, Lucy reluctantly let Natsu and Happy stay.
Why? Because she was kind.
Under normal circumstances, she would have kicked them out no matter what. But watching them argue endlessly about the fusion incident, she couldn't bring to do it.
As it turned out, her concern was completely unnecessary.
Hearing they could sleep over, Natsu and Happy immediately perked up, laughing and running back into the apartment.
Watching the two carefree idiots collapse on the floor and fall fast asleep, kind-hearted Lucy finally realized the truth, much to her regret:
She'd been played!
Elsewhere…
Chase didn't rest immediately upon returning home. Instead, he withdrew into the card space to train with the Sky Dragon's God-Slaying Magic.
To call it "training" was a bit generous—it was more about familiarization.
Since he'd learned it through his direct connection with the Sky Dragon, basic release and usage didn't require special practice.
He just needed to keep practicing to improve his proficiency with God-Slaying Magic.
Of course, figuring out how to integrate this power with his existing card-based combat style for greater effectiveness was also worth exploring!
After working up a sweat, with all his card monsters present, Chase conducted further tests with the Spell Card Polymerization.
The result: card monsters, unlike mages such as Natsu and Happy, couldn't fuse freely. They required specific Fusion Monster Cards.
It was a bit disappointing, but not entirely unexpected.
After all, according to the deck's internal mechanics, Fusion Monsters were essentially a special type of Special Summon. Without the corresponding card, it simply wouldn't work.
Much like the Spell Card Chaos - Dark Magic Ritual—without the Dark Magician of Chaos, it would have no effect.
Based on this mechanic, Chase suspected he'd eventually acquire Fusion Monster Cards through drops.
Setting aside Dark Paladin and Dragoon—which required fusion materials he didn't yet have—just with the three knights currently in his deck—King's Knight, Queen's Knight, and Jack's Knight—he could look forward to fusing them into Arcana Knight Joker.
That was a high-attack Effect Monster Card with a star rating of nine!
Perhaps this was the upgraded version of the Duelist Soul system?
By the time Chase exited the card space and returned to reality, it was already late at night.
He stripped off his sweaty clothes, enjoyed a relaxing soak in the bath, then returned to the living room to boil water for tea before bed.
Dark Magician Girl had wanted to come out, but her master Dark Magician had beaten her to it, grabbed her by the ear to focus on her studies.
Gurgle, gurgle.
The only sound in the spacious living room was the magic kettle boiling.
"Back to normal life after the chaos at the Council camp, and without Dark Magician Girl chattering away beside me…"
Chase scooped out some tea leaves and murmured to himself. "It's so quiet all of a sudden. I'm not quite used to it."
He was wearing only a pair of shorts, his well-defined, powerful muscles on full display.
The fresh, rich aroma of tea drifted through the room.
"If I know Lucy's personality, she'll probably head back to the Heartfilia estate tomorrow. It's about time to deal with Jude's situation…"
Staring at the ripping tea in his cup, a glint of seriousness flickered deep in Chase's eyes.
Lucy's final parting with her father, Jude, was truly heartbreaking.
When the family was at its peak, Jude had focused solely on consolidating and expanding his business empire, neglecting the bond between father and daughter.
By the time he finally came to his senses after bankruptcy, Lucy had disappeared for seven years due to the Tenrou Island incident. He spent his final days in sorrow, sending letters filled with regret and longing until he passed away.
In the end, father and daughter never even had the chance to properly see each other again!
From the moment Lucy started calling him "brother," Chase had resolved to change this tragedy.
What kind of brother doesn't spoil his little sister?
Even setting aside his relationship with Lucy, purely from a guild perspective, connecting with the Heartfilia family—one of Fiore's top-tier conglomerates—was highly valuable.
After all, even Phantom Lord, with its far larger scale and numbers than Fairy Tail, had gone to great lengths to secure the Heartfilia family's support!
As for the Heartfilia Konzern's eventual bankruptcy…
Though the original story didn't go into detail, given that Fiore was a nation centered around magic, it wasn't hard to guess the root cause.
After Layla's death, the Heartfilia family lacked a powerful mage who possessed both reputation and strength!
This was likely why Jude had taken his wife's surname—the Heartfilia name, which had existed for centuries, carried immense influence in Fiore.
Of course, Jude's personal abilities were beyond question. Otherwise, he couldn't have built the Heartfilia Konzern to such prominence.
But in a world of magic, in the end, fists spoke louder.
Without strong power as a foundation, rivals could employ unscrupulous tactics without fear.
Jude had likely realized this, which was why he wanted Lucy to return and marry into one of the kingdom's great families—to secure his business empire.
There was probably also a genuine desire to keep Lucy safe, allowing her to live free from hardship.
He just overlooked—or perhaps hadn't yet realized—just how powerful Fairy Tail truly was!
Therefore, for both personal and practical reasons, Chase needed to visit the Heartfilia estate before Lucy did.
The next day…
With construction crews and material suppliers arriving, led by Master Makarov, the Fairy Tail members threw themselves into the bustling reconstruction effort.
The spacious lot, now enclosed by construction barriers bearing the Fairy Tail emblem, was quickly taking shape.
Looking across the site, it was piled high with timber, bricks, steel pipes, and scaffolding.
Sturdy walls had already risen from the ground, extending upward little by little, outlining the basic framework!
Even though the site was right by a lake with soft ground, they didn't need to worry about foundations or load-bearing.
Not that it would have mattered—Magnolia's Gildarts Protocol would throw all their careful planning out the window anyway.
Setting aside the mostly optional laws of physics, the construction efficiency in a world of magic was undeniably high!
"Ohhh! Even if it's rebuilding the guild, I'm still gonna be better than all of you!"
On the construction site, Natsu hoisted over a dozen pieces of timber, his challenging gaze sweeping across the area.
Whether or not he was stronger, his voice was definitely the loudest there.
"Oh? I can't pretend I didn't hear that…"
Gray, his competitive spirit ignited, walked over, took a deep breath, and somehow managed to carry twice as much timber as Natsu.
The massive pile of lumber on his bare shoulders looked like a small mountain. He managed two unsteady steps before—thud—Gray collapsed, buried under the avalanche of falling wood.
"Ahahaha! That's hilarious! All that big talk for such a pathetic showing!"
Natsu burst out laughing, pointing at Gray mockingly. "I think you should just carry one log at a time, Gray. We're guildmates—I definitely won't laugh at you!"
His laughter was so loud it shook his body, throwing off the balance of the timber stack on his back.
Following closely in Gray's footsteps, he too collapsed into a pile of scattered lumber.
"You're the one who needs to take it one log at a time, idiot!" Gray immediately seized the chance to retort.
"What did you say, you bastard?!"
"Did you hit your head that hard? How pitiful."
"You wanna go?!"
"Bring it on!"
Radiating opposing auras of ice and fire, the two glared at each other, foreheads practically touching.
***
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