With most of the guild members hard at work recently, and after asking the three veterans to keep an eye on things, Mira and Chase decided to get started right away on preparing the new house.
Time flew by in the busy schedule of running between the guild and the new house. A week passed quickly.
Early in the morning, Chase brought Dark Magician Girl to the guild construction site.
"Mira-nee! Long time no see!"
Dark Magician Girl pounced into Mira's arms like a hungry tiger, sucking the faint fragrance on her like crazy.
Chase had been staying in Magnolia recently, with no battles breaking out, so she had been taken by the Dark Magician to the territory of their new partner, Chaos Soldier, to train and comprehend the power of chaos.
Only today was she specially allowed to come out for a stroll.
As for the excuse today was the official performance day of the play starring Natsu, Lucy, and the others. She wanted to help support her master's comrades.
"Long time no see, Dark Magician Girl. How have you been these past few days?"
Mira hugged Dark Magician Girl affectionately, reaching out to ruffle her hair.
"Sigh. Don't even mention it."
Dark Magician Girl pouted, looking up from the deep, deep valley toward Mira. Excited, she said, "More importantly, when are we leaving to go watch Natsu and the others?"
"Well... we might have to wait a little. There's someone who wants to come with us. We need to wait for the master to pick him up."
Mira blinked thoughtfully while helping untangle Dark Magician Girl's knotted golden hair. "Mm... it should be soon."
"You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? I prepared some for you."
Dark Magician Girl didn't think much of it. After a quick rant, she obediently ran to the counter and sat down.
Chase, however, was a bit surprised. Who needed the master to personally pick them up?
If he remembered correctly, for this play, Master Bob of Blue Pegasus, Master Goldmine of Mermaid Heel, and old man Yajima would all be in attendance. (Present in the anime, not the manga.)
But even if those old acquaintances wanted to watch the play, why go to the trouble of coming to Magnolia just to leave with them?
Could it be him?
A figure who hadn't appeared in this part of the original story surfaced in Chase's mind.
Only that person would make the master care so much!
The answer was soon revealed.
Shortly after Chase and Dark Magician Girl finished breakfast, Makarov returned from outside.
Behind him followed a man wrapped in a large black cloak.
The man wore sunglasses and a mask, his head completely covered by the hood. As he walked down the path to the construction site, he kept looking around nervously, exuding an extremely sneaky vibe.
If Makarov weren't leading the way, the moment the man stepped onto guild grounds, a group of fierce-looking people would probably have rushed over and given him a beating — letting him experience what Fairy Tail was all about!
"Yo, Chase, you're here?"
Makarov greeted him, then turned to Mira. "Sorry, Mira. Got a little delayed on the way."
"No problem. There's still an hour until my train tickets." Mira smiled.
It was only a half-hour walk from here to Magnolia Station. And Lucy and the others' performance wasn't until 3 PM. They had plenty of time.
"Even if the train is late, it's no big deal. Just a phone call."
Chase slowly stood up, wiped the breadcrumbs from the corner of his mouth, and looked at the sneaky, mysterious man. "Right, the largest investor in Fiore's railways — Mr. Jude?"
That's right. The man planning to travel with them was Lucy's father Jude Heartfilia!
Jude, whose disguise was instantly seen through, was shocked. He nervously looked around.
He had done those things to Fairy Tail and Lucy before. He couldn't escape blame for the old guild being destroyed either.
In the wrong, he felt very guilty. He was terrified that someone might suddenly pop out and beat him to the ground.
And that was the main reason for his elaborate disguise. After all, Fairy Tail had a certain reputation.
Makarov was also surprised. He raised a finger to his face and frantically made shushing gestures at Chase.
He didn't know that Chase had already visited Jude once after the Phantom Lord incident.
The reason he was willing to receive this man who had hurt the guild and the children besides Natsu having said before that "Lucy's dad is a good guy" and the 1 billion investment was that he had also learned some information from his old friend Yajima.
Actually, when he first received Jude's proactive contact, Makarov had still been somewhat wary. He wanted to see for himself what the richest man in Fiore wanted.
It was only after a brief conversation, sensing the other's heartfelt regret and love for his daughter Lucy, that he decided to bring him back to the guild and let bygones be bygones.
That was the "delay" he mentioned earlier.
"Jude? Ah! So you're Lucy's dad!"
Dark Magician Girl's shout directly caused Makarov, who had been crazy making eye signals to Chase, to nearly spit out blood.
How could he forget this simple-minded, clumsy girl!
"What? Lucy's dad? The bastard who hired Phantom Lord to attack us?!"
"Ha! You actually dare to come here? I've got you now!"
"1 billion can't buy back Lucy's tears, you bastard!"
Sure enough, Macao, Cana, and the others who had been chatting nearby heard the commotion and rushed over.
Even Nab, the NPC loitering by the request board, angrily clenched his fists.
Jude, who frequented elegant places, had never seen such a scene. He nervously shrank back, hiding behind Makarov.
He certainly wasn't afraid of "mere" wizards. But these people were Lucy's cherished comrades. Added to his guilt toward them, his momentum was naturally lacking.
"Ara ara." Only Mira could still smile, standing there watching the show.
With the master present, a fight certainly wouldn't break out. But scaring Jude a little was perfectly fine.
Despite her usual gentle, uncompetitive nature, she actually held a long memory and wanted to help bullied Lucy get even a little.
Even if it was just a symbolic "initimidation."
Although Makarov pretended to be worried, "doing his best" to cover Jude's identity, the super protective old man clearly had the same intention.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have stood there dazed for several seconds before shouting at Macao and the others.
All scheming...
In the end, Jude did not get to experience Fairy Tail's signature "loving hospitality."
Under everyone's resentful glares, the cautious man followed Makarov and the others, taking the train to the commercial city of Onibas.
On the way, the atmosphere was relatively harmonious.
The two old fathers chatted happily about various things since Lucy had joined the guild and about Lucy's childhood.
The old pervert Makarov even complimented Lucy's figure, making the serious Jude quite embarrassed.
When the train arrived, they met up with Yajima, who had timed his arrival, and also ran into Master Bob and Master Goldmine traveling together.
On Chase's suggestion, the group had a simple lunch at the most famous luxury hotel in Onibas.
It wasn't good, but it was expensive!
But it didn't matter. Just eating the high-end service was a win Boss Jude said he was paying for everything today!
After eating and drinking their fill, by the time they arrived at the theater where the Strongest Team was performing —
Thanks to Lucy and the others' publicity over the past few days, the surrounding seats were already filled with curious audience members.
Their seats were in the VIP area with the best view in the entire theater. Tickets cost 10,000 Jewels each.
After a few minutes of waiting, the theater lights suddenly dimmed, and the play officially began.
"This is a story from the distant past..."
"A prince from a Western kingdom fell in love with a princess from an enemy nation."
"To rescue the captured princess, the prince ventured to the dangerous Mountain of Death~"
Accompanied by the soothing, healing voice of the Lyra Celestial Spirit, Lila, the spotlight pierced the theater's darkness, focusing on Erza, dressed in a prince's uniform, a sword at her waist.
"I-I-I-I-I... m-my name name name is Frederick..."
"Princess... I-I-I... I've come to save you..."
Extremely nervous, Erza messed up badly as soon as she appeared, stammering and unable to get her lines out.
This poor performance not only drew disdain from the entire audience but also made Lucy, who was also performing hanging by ropes as the princess look disgusted.
Who knew that Erza, strong as a monster, would have stage fright!
"Ara, a prince and princess setting. Seems pretty interesting." Mira watched with great enjoyment.
"Erza is so lame! With a rare chance to perform on stage, she should be confidently showing off her charm!" Dark Magician Girl gave a sharp critique.
If it were her, she would strike a super cute pose the moment she appeared and conquer the entire audience!
"Lucy! Lucy! Lucy!"
Jude, who had eyes only for Lucy, was extremely excited. He waved his cheering stick vigorously, having become a true doting father.
Good thing he was wearing a mask, or he'd be on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow.
While the audience buzzed with discussion, Gray, playing the villain, made a cool entrance.
Then, from some corner of the audience, cheers of "Gray-sama" erupted —Yes, Juvia had come too.
And then — before Gray could finish his lines, Erza one-shotted him with her sword.
Erza, too nervous, skipped over several plot points. After rescuing Lucy, she knelt on one knee and said, "Princess, will you have many children with me?"
This move naturally sparked crazy comments from the people below:
"So weak! The demon king is way too weak!"
"He just rescued her and already wants kids? How perverted is this hero?!"
"Damn it! I can't even complain fast enough to keep up with the plot?!"
"And where did this pervert woman come from? She's drooling everywhere, damn it!"
The play continued. Gray summoned his servant, the Fire Dragon Natsu.
Because the fire dragon's power was too great, the hero and the demon king made peace and decided to join forces against the powerful enemy.
Lucy, playing the princess, said she could help too. Then, leaving behind the words "It's up to you," the hero and demon king held hands and happily turned around and ran away without looking back!
Such explosive plot drew even more heated comments from the audience.
At the same time, because the prop was too heavy, Happy, who was pulling Natsu through the air, lost his grip. The rope slipped from his hands.
Natsu, falling to the ground, accidentally set Lucy's skirt on fire. Then, the entire scene suddenly got out of control.
Gray quickly used Ice-Make Magic to put out the fire on Lucy. Erza was even more direct — several flashes of sword light, and she simply cut Lucy's uniform to pieces!
The audience immediately erupted in excited cheers from the perverts.
With no time to mourn the shredded clothes, amid Natsu's chaotic flames, the entire The theater shook, cracked, and with a BOOM, collapsed into ruins!
***
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