"Hey, Mira-nee, you really take super good care of Chase. You save breakfast for him every day~"
Watching Chase wolfing down his food over there, Lucy sidled up to Mira, her words dripping with strong melon-eating, gossipy excitement.
Just now, because of Happy's comment about "revealing clothes," she had been "complimented" and felt very embarrassed.
So, Lucy wanted to see Mira-nee blushing with shyness too.
Heheh. That would definitely be really fun~
"Well, Chase helped me out a lot back on Demon Ruins Island."
Mira smiled, tilted her head, and simply looked at Chase calmly.
She instantly saw through Lucy's mischievous intentions.
"Oh... is that so..."
The watertight answer left Lucy greatly disappointed. Her prepared teasing lines were unusable. She lay on the counter and sighed regretfully.
She gave up, but Mira's counterattack followed right after.
"But speaking of Lucy, you took Natsu and Gray to meet the parents so quickly. So, did Mr. Jude say which one he prefers?"
The white-haired girl's smile was very gentle and warm, but it seemed to carry an invisible sharp edge.
Hearing this, Lucy immediately became nervous. She tensed up and looked around. Only after seeing that her guildmates were still talking about Laxus and hadn't noticed her did she hurriedly explain:
"Wh-Wh-Wh-Which one he prefers—nothing like that at all! Natsu and Gray went there on their own!"
"Ara~ So it's more like a live-in son-in-law kind of situation?"
Mira rested her finger on her delicate cheek and pretended to analyze seriously. "If he doesn't have a clear preference, it seems Mr. Jude wants you to choose for yourself. But personally, I think Natsu might—"
"I'm sorry! I was wrong, Mira-nee!"
The conversation veering further and further off track made Lucy completely devastated. Face bright red, she threw herself at Mira, hugging her slender waist tightly and begging her not to continue.
She knew very well how terrifyingly fast rumors spread in the guild.
Just the phrase "live-in son-in-law"—if those troublemakers heard it, there would definitely be countless derivative versions by tomorrow!
Chase, having finished his breakfast, watched this crying, pleading, embarrassed scene and shook his head.
You, a greenhorn as tender as a rookie, why would you mess with Mira, who inherently possesses a hidden black-hearted attribute?
That's like trying to reach beyond your limits. You're not capable of it anyway.
"The sound of armor friction with each step came over, which happened to help alleviate Lucy's "scandal crisis."
"Come to think of it, we've all been together a lot lately."
Erza stopped in front of the temporary counter, turned to look at Natsu and Gray, and smiled. "Natsu, Gray, Happy, and Lucy—let's form an official team!"
Natsu and Gray: "?"
Lucy: "Ara? Watashi?!"
The surrounding guild members instantly boiled over, cheering and marveling.
"Wait, you're just now noticing this? I thought you'd already teamed up!"
"Erza, Natsu, and Gray... that might actually become the guild's strongest combat team!"
"Take out 'might.' And don't forget—Lucy's ability is unmatched~"
"Ahaha! That's so true!"
Hearing her guildmates' comments, Lucy shyly covered her face, squirming.
"Would it really be okay for me to team up with you, Erza? I'm just a weak newbie with no real strength."
She was a bit worried, afraid she wouldn't be able to pull her own weight.
"It's not about whether it's okay. The team isn't complete without you, Lucy!" Natsu grinned widely, showing his teeth.
"Aye~!" Happy responded emphatically, completely agreeing.
Hearing this, Lucy's pupils dilated slightly. She was deeply moved, her cheeks a little flushed.
Chase, watching this scene, smiled and shook his head: Truly a high-EQ passionate protagonist and an airhead heroine...
Across the counter, Dark Magician Girl was clinging to Mira's arm, whispering in her ear, "Hey hey, Mira-nee, I didn't know Natsu could be so smooth!"
"Don't underestimate Natsu~"
Mira smiled and patted Dark Magician Girl's head, her gaze landed on a certain card game addict intentionally or unintentionally.
Just as they were talking, Natsu and Gray—those two hilarious Idiots—finally became aware of each other's presence and started loudly criticizing each other's flaws.
"Do you two have a problem with that?" Erza asked in a gentle, kind voice.
The two instantly shut up, laughed, and hugged each other—even more intimate than Alzack and Bisca!
"Actually, I originally wanted to invite Chase too. But if I did, something about it feels off."
Erza's expression was so serious it didn't seem like she was joking.
Everyone: "..."
Is it really okay to just say what's on your mind like that?!
Just your lineup alone is already the strongest. If you add Chase, how are the rest of us supposed to live?!
"I'm not really interested in teaming up, Erza."
Chase waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, Natsu and Gray are weaklings who could hold me back at any moment."
Compared to a fixed team, he preferred to act alone, since he already had so many card monsters.
Although his main intention was to take this chance to insult Natsu and Gray, what he said was true.
The enemies ahead were each more perverted than the last. To grow stronger, he was destined couldn't take low-level requests. At minimum, they had to be S-Class!
And in the entire Fairy Tail guild, there were only a handful of people who could currently team up with him on jobs.
"You bastard, Chase! We can't pretend we didn't hear that!!" x2
Natsu and Gray, feeling underestimated, couldn't take it and tried to challenge Chase to a duel.
But neither of them moved. They were both waiting for the other to make the first move.
"I'm so glad Chase didn't exclude me..." Lucy, on the other hand, sighed in relief.
"Aye~ Lucy, maybe you're so weak that Chase couldn't even be bothered to name you," Happy said, revealing the truth.
"You damn cat! You're the Same!!" Lucy was trembling with anger.
Even though they were both mocking their guildmates' weakness, the reactions to Chase's words were completely different from their reactions to Laxus's.
"What? He said all that about you, and you're still taking it?!"
"A real man proves himself with strength!"
"If Chase said that about me, I'd definitely fight him with everything I've got!"
Instead of lowering their heads in disappointment, they were frantically egging them on, provoking Natsu and Gray to fight.
"Hey, hey, you guys are way too mean..."
Cana burped, slammed her empty barrel onto the table, and shouted, "Hey! Natsu, Gray! Don't you two even have that much courage?!"
One should not have the intention to harm others.
What? The ones being harmed are Natsu and Gray?
Then I guess I'll happily join in too—
Cana's shoutout crushed whatever hesitation Natsu and Gray had left. The two, who cared about saving face, yelled and charged at Chase.
Then, the scene changes.
The passionate, hot-blooded brothers both hit the ground, each with a giant lump on their forehead, lying in the dirt and admiring the sunny, cloudless sky.
"Hahaha!" The guild members doubled over laughing.
"Ara ara." Mira giggled softly.
"A completely unsurprising result." Lucy chuckled secretly.
"You two..." Erza sighed and shook her head.
***
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