After all the commotion, everyone sat down in the living room.
The topic of conversation, naturally, centered on what Laxus had done today.
"I'm still super pissed. That bastard Laxus!"
Remembering Gajeel's pitiful state and the descriptions from Levy's team, flames seemed to gushing from Natsu's eyes. His fighting spirit was strong.
"Forget it, Natsu. Remember when you challenged Laxus before, ate his lightning, and couldn't get out of bed for days?" Happy poured cold water on him.
Even though it had happened a year ago, Happy still remembered it vividly. He had been really scared back then.
"Wait. Can't Natsu only eat fire? Why did he eat Laxus's lightning?" Lucy took the black tea Chase handed her and asked doubtly.
"Because he couldn't win at all."
Happy spread his hands helplessly and sighed deeply. "Natsu always does reckless things."
"Damn it! I was still a kid back then. Things are different now!" Natsu clenched his fist, unconvinced.
"...Your sense of time is way too casual!" Lucy held her forehead and complained.
Mira placed her hands on her wine-red dress, her eyes shifting. She smiled and said, "Speaking of which, I remember when Chase first joined the guild, he got beaten up pretty badly by Laxus too."
"Haha! I almost forgot. Chase's hair standing on end from the electricity was hilarious!"
Reminded, Gray instantly remembered the related scene and couldn't help but laugh.
But just after laughing for a moment, he drooped his head like a deflated balloon. "Damn it! I could still bully Chase a bit back then. When exactly did the gap widen?!"
"I was the one who bandaged Chase's wounds back then, but Chase was too stubborn. He refused treatment no matter what." Erza smiled at the memory.
She hadn't realized that Chase — who anyone in the guild could bully back then — had grown to a level she could only look up to.
She was glad that such a strong, gentle man was a comrade she could entrust her life to, not someone like Laxus, who considered weak comrades a sin.
"Struggle gives a chance to survive. With your bandaging technique, Erza, the master would have only one way out: death." Dark Magician Girl covered her mouth and chuckled.
Sitting nearby, Chase took a sip of tea and silently nodded.
That could be said to be the most dangerous crisis he had faced since arriving in this world.
When he accidentally encountered Ignia, he had Monster Reborn as a safety net. With Erza that time, he had been utterly destroyed!
"Huh?! How is that possible? I specifically practiced my bandaging technique!" Erza's eyes widened in disbelief.
Her shocked expression didn't look fake...
"Haha! I didn't know Chase had such a dark history!" Lucy, on the other hand, was very amused.
She had joined too late. Chase's image was already fixed as a "super-strong monster." She had never imagined he had such a weak side.
"But on the flip side, that Laxus really is strong..."
"Aye! After all, Laxus has always been among the top even among S-Class wizards. Of course, Gildarts doesn't count."
"Uncle Gildarts — he's the truly strongest wizard of Fairy Tail you mentioned before, right?" Lucy said cautiously.
With the previous "jewels before her," she didn't even dare imagine what kind of monster Gildarts was.
"Yes! But it's hard to say now. Chase is super strong. And Erza, Mira, and Mystogan are all very strong too—"
Happy jumped onto the coffee table and looked around excitedly. "Hey, everyone, if our guild held a strongest tournament, who do you think would win?"
"Ara. I'm flattered to be included among the candidates?" Mira blinked in surprise.
"Compared to them, I'm a bit outmatched." Erza was modest.
Natsu and Gray: "Happy, what do you mean?! Why aren't we included?!"
Truly a pair of good buddies. Their words were exactly the same.
No one cared about their powerless rage.
"They're all guild comrades. I don't think we need to rank them," Lucy said seriously.
"Speaking of which, this reminds me — next week is Magnolia's Harvest Festival. Our guild is holding a 'Miss Fairy' beauty contest."
Mira remembered that the master had mentioned this to her today. She tilted her head, thinking. "Apparently, the first-place winner gets a million Jewels."
According to past tradition, the prize money was jointly set by Magnolia City and the guild.
It was usually 500,000, but this year, thanks to the wealthy Heartfilia family's sponsorship, the prize money had doubled.
"What? A million?!"
Hearing about money, Lucy — who had just said she didn't want to compete with comrades — immediately had her eyes light up. Excited, she said, "Mira-nee! I want to sign up!!"
"Okay. Just register when the time comes."
Mira smiled and nodded. Her sweet smile carried an inexplicable slyness. "But Lucy, I'll be participating too~"
"A million Jewels would be just enough for equipment maintenance and rent." Erza clenched her fist, her eyes gleaming with strong competitive spirit.
"I missed out last year. This year, I'll make the people of Magnolia c
Ompletely fall for my cuteness!" Dark Magician Girl was also full of enthusiasm.
She could also be considered a member of Fairy Tail.
Lucy's confident smile immediately twitched like crazy.
Her upcoming competitors were: the cover girl who frequently topped Weekly Sorcerer, the heroic Fairy Queen, and a super cute, energetic genius girl...
How the hell was she supposed to compete?!
Lucy suddenly felt like she didn't have much chance of winning this Miss Fairy contest, but she really wanted that million-Jewel prize.
Converted, that was a year's rent with money left over!
So, she began comforting herself: Mira-nee and Erza were already old. She, more youthful and beautiful, had an absolute advantage.
As for Dark Magician Girl, whose age was unknown — even if she lost, she could still get second place.
She could do this!
Lucy quickly finished her self-brainwashing. She stood up and confidently declared victory to Mira and the others. "Bring it on! I won't lose to you!"
"Hey, hey, Natsu. I've seen the ugly, dark side of humanity again. Just a moment ago, she said she didn't want to rank everyone." The damn cat completely didn't give her face.
Although he seemed to be whispering to Natsu, his voice was loud enough to echo through the spacious living room.
"Ha~ppy~ sama~"
Undercut, Lucy didn't get angry for once. Instead, she forcefully smiled a gentle, sweet smile. "How about coming to my place later? I'll treat you to fish."
"And Chase, Natsu, Gray — you come too~"
Mira and the others, as competitors, were coldly ignored.
What a realistic woman...
"I don't accept bribes!" Happy rarely resisted the temptation.
"So weird. Even if you didn't say that, I'd still come over," Natsu said matter-of-factly.
"Sorry, I've decided to stay at Chase's tonight. Your place is too shabby." Gray leaned back on the leather sofa, looking very comfortable.
"Don't worry, Lucy. Even though your chances are slim, at least your rent is still covered every month." Chase smiled and gave his "encouragement."
Four arrows in a row, each hitting Lucy's sore spots — each one more painful than the last. They dealt her tons of critical damage.
The youthful, beautiful little girl quietly broke apart. With a gray, dark background, she crouched in the corner of the living room, alone emo.
"Hahaha!" Everyone couldn't help but laugh.
As night gradually enveloped Magnolia, Lucy, Mira, and the others left.
In the brightly lit living room, only Chase and Dark Magician Girl — who didn't want to return to the card space — remained.
Dark Magician Girl slouched on the sofa Ge You-style, holding a bag of potato chips. Tossing them into her mouth, she asked, "So, Master, what are you going to do about Laxus?"
From Chase, she had learned about Laxus's true heart and that he would become a very reliable comrade in the future.
"Who do you think is stronger, me or Laxus?" Chase smiled and asked back.
"Right after you returned, it was hard to say. But now, whether it's magic power or combat methods, he's no match for you." Dark Magician Girl answered without thinking.
Although she appeared silly on the surface, she was still a genius girl with high magical aptitude and strong insight.
"Funny you say that. I think so too." Chase smiled and nodded, starting to clean the tea set.
As a man who broke the anime trope of "whitewashing weakens by three points," Laxus at this stage was very strong, but he hadn't yet recognized himself and what he wanted to protect (the guild and his comrades).
In the end, he was just a rebellious kid with great power, who hadn't yet spiritual transformation.
According to Chase's judgment, Laxus going all out now would be at most at Jellal's level.
And Chase, whose magic power had been enhanced again with two new cards, could easily handle him.
The only thing Laxus could use to turn the tide was one of Fairy Tail's Three Great Magic — Fairy Law.
Unfortunately, that thing, in the hands of the tsundere Laxus, was just a super-large-scale flare against his Fairy Tail comrades. It couldn't exert any real power!
With absolute certainty and foreknowledge, there were many things he could maneuver during the civil war.
"So, Master, you still haven't said what you want to do. Just beat Laxus up?" Dark Magician Girl blinked her big, beautiful eyes.
She couldn't wait to see the arrogant Laxus completely break down emotionally.
"If I did that, the civil war wouldn't happen." Chase gently shook his head.
During the music magic performance today, he had observed the amplification effect on the guild members.
Fairy Tail had never been about one person's strength, but about everyone's progress together. These people together always managed to create miracles.
Having lived here for so long, even with his foreknowledge and abilities, Chase always believed this.
Although shouting "We are Fairy Tail" and then beating the enemy in a couple of hits was a bit idealistic...
So, taking advantage of this civil war started by Laxus — where everyone would give their all for someone they especially cared about — Chase planned to do so
something big:
Collect everyone's combat data and, like with Lucy, have the Dark Magician create exclusive upgrade plans for them!
With that thought, Chase revealed his plan to Dark Magician Girl, as well as the role he intended to play in the civil war.
"Wow! You can do that?"
Dark Magician Girl jumped up excitedly. "Compared to just beating up Laxus, Master, this plan is way better!"
Aside from finding Chase's characterization very interesting, the main reason she was so happy was that this way, her master wouldn't have time to supervise her!
Deep in the card space, the Dark Magician: ???
Meanwhile.
On the outskirts of Magnolia, on a cliff shrouded in moonlight.
Laxus stood in the cold wind, looking down at the town below with resentful eyes. His gaze finally fell on the Fairy Tail guild at the far end, lit up with colorful lights.
"Just wait, old man. After the all-out war, I will turn Fairy Tail into the strongest guild — one that everyone will tremble before!"
"The weak and naive deserve to be swept out the door!!"
Just moments ago, he had contacted his personal guard, the Thunder God Tribe, and formulated a conspiracy to start a civil war and force Makarov to abdicate!
The next day.
Chase completed the formal housewarming for his new home. He invited many guild members and held a lively party.
With the Harvest Festival just around the corner, he decided not to leave town. He carried out daily training in the card space, preparing thoroughly for the upcoming civil war.
In his free time, he hung around the guild, chatting with Mira, using Natsu as a punching bag for practice, or teasing Lucy as usual.
Life was quite colorful.
During this time, many Fairy Tail members who had been training outside returned one after another, preparing in advance for this year's festival.
A week passed quietly like this. Soon, it was the day of Magnolia's annual Harvest Festival.
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