After announcing the list of trial candidates and the relevant rules, Makarov led Chase and the other three to the master's office on the second floor.
Although the trial content was mostly finalized, it still needed to be refined. He also wanted to hear the opinions of the current S-Class mages.
The excited atmosphere in the guild hall did not dissipate when their figures disappeared around the corner of the stairs. The guild members gathered in small groups, each clique was buzzing.
The scene was even noisier than a marketplace.
Lucy, Natsu, and the others were at the same table as the Strauss siblings.
"The difficulty this year is insanely high. I'm actually getting a bit nervous," Gray said, scratching his head with some distress.
Not only were the number and strength of the competitors formidable, but even the lineup of examiners was much more luxurious than last year's.
Even though Laxus was gone, they had gained Chase, Gildarts, and Mira, whose magic power had recovered and was even more terrifying than before...
Running into any one of them would be trouble!
"I'm fired up! This year's S-Class mage is definitely going to be me!"
In contrast to Gray's worry, his good buddy Natsu was exceptionally excited. Over there, he was yelling about how he would beat up anyone in his way, whether it was Chase or Erza.
"It must be nice to have that kind of overconfident mindset..." Lucy sighed heavily, lying on the table.
Normally, she wouldn't miss an opportunity to mock Natsu. But now that she was also a participant, the pressure was immense. She just didn't have it in her.
"Is it even possible? Defeating those monsters? No! As a man, you must charge forward!"
Elfman tried to psych himself up by shouting, to relieve his nervous anxiety.
"I didn't expect you to all be first-timers," Wendy said, smiling quite easily. "Do your best, everyone!"
"Come to think of it, aside from Wendy, everyone in the strongest team is now a competitor," Lucy said, suddenly finding this quite interesting.
"That's so mean, Lucy! Did you forget about me?" Happy said with a face full of resentment.
"That's right," Carla said, rarely agreeing with him.
She and Wendy had been pulled into the strongest team by Natsu and the others long ago.
"Ahaha, sorry, sorry, Carla," Lucy quickly apologized.
Happy: "You woman, getting all smug just because you've gotten a little stronger! I'm going to throw a tantrum!"
"Dammit! Juvia would much rather be Gray-sama's partner than a participant!"
Juvia appeared from somewhere, her eyes filled with hearts as she gazed at Gray, voicing her imagination. "Becoming the woman of an S-Class mage, then celebrating and having a wedding at the same time, then having fifty children, kyaa~"
The others: "..." Now this one is next level.
"Since the old man chose us, let's just fight with all we've got. If I run into you in the trial, I won't hold back," Gray said, seemingly having developed an antibody to the Juvia virus, directly ignoring her disturbing remarks. He smiled. "Besides, I already promised someone last year that they would be my partner."
"W-w-w-with Gray-s-s-sama... passionate!!" Juvia's brain immediately short-circuited, turning into a steam. She was probably imagining something that shouldn't be described.
"Wait, 'promised someone last year' means..." Lucy's gaze followed Gray's as it suddenly landed on her. For some reason, she had a bad feeling about this.
"It's me."
The Celestial Spirit keys at her waist glowed. Loke, with his leonine hairstyle, stepped out from the magical array.
"We agreed in advance. So, Lucy, our contract will be temporarily suspended during the S-Class Trial. Don't worry, it won't consume your magic power."
Even though he had returned to the Celestial Spirit World, the Fairy Tail emblem on Loke's back had not been removed. He could still be considered a guild member, so it wouldn't violate the rules.
That might be true, but... "Making a decision like that on your own... just how can you be?!"
Losing her strongest Celestial Spirit before even starting made Lucy feel that her already slim chances of winning had become even more distant. But since it was a promise between comrades, she couldn't really find a reason to refuse.
"AAAHHH! Then what am I supposed to do?!" A wail came from across the table.
Just as Loke was explaining his reasons to Lucy, Lisanna had approached the love-brain-overloaded Juvia and offered to team up with her.
The two girls seemed to have been close friends back in Edolas.
Though Juvia looked at Lisanna with a wary gaze that seemed to say, "Are you trying to take Gray-sama away from Juvia too?" she ultimately accepted her offer.
"As for Elfman-nii, someone over by the bar has been staring at you for a while~" Lisanna said with a smile.
Elfman followed his sister's pointing finger. The moment he saw Evergreen's resentful eyes, he immediately broke out in goosebumps.
Among the Thunder God Tribe, Freed had chosen Bickslow, which greatly displeased Evergreen.
"Haha! It's useless, it's useless! No matter who you team up with, you can't beat the strongest team of me and Happy!"
Natsu jumped onto the table, striking a triumphant pose, looking as confident as ever.
"Let's go, Happy! Time for training!"
"Aye~! Training! Then, in the trial, we'll beat up that damn Lucy!"
With that, Natsu and the indignant Happy crashed through the guild wall and disappeared down the street.
"Why me specifically?! And can't you use the door like a normal person?!" Lucy's rant followed immediately.
The wall repairs were paid for by sponsorship from the Heartfilia Konzern.
"By the way, Lucy-chan, have you decided who you're going to partner with?" her good friend Levy asked, walking over.
A fierce-looking Gajeel followed behind her. Jet and Droy were crouched in a corner, quietly weeping.
The result was obvious.
"Hehe. I already decided my partner a few days ago!" Lucy said with a mysterious smile.
Though she hadn't been sure if she would be selected, just to be safe, she had already made a simple agreement with that person during a previous conversation.
That person's magic was very special and could provide her with immense help during the trial. If they coordinated well, they could definitely surprise even the S-Class mages!
From this, it was evident that, under Chase's tutelage, the silly Lucy had made noticeable progress.
At least, in the past, the dense Lucy would never have had such forward-looking preparation!
"Just a few days ago? You seem quite confident, Lucy-chan," Levy said, blinking curiously. "Who is it? Who?"
"Though you're my best friend, Levy-chan, we're going to be competitors from now on. I'm not as dumb as Natsu and the others, exposing my partner in advance," Lucy said, her beautiful eyes narrowing, her expression practically that of a cunning villain. "So... it's a secret!"
"Ah! Come on, tell me, Lucy-chan! I promise I won't tell anyone else!"
Levy immediately clung to her, shaking Lucy's arm.
Lucy's resolve quickly crumbled. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, she leaned close to Levy's ear and whispered the person's name.
"It's actually..." Levy's pupils contracted. She raised her hand to cover her mouth.
How to put it... Lucy's choice of partner made perfect sense, yet it was completely unexpected!
"Hey, hey. Hiding your partner like that is way too shameless, don't you think?"
"Exactly! No manliness at all!"
"Useless. All that cleverness is pointless in the face of absolute power. Just obediently become my stepping stone!"
The other participants turned up their noses at Lucy's behavior. Lucy, having inherited Chase's thick skin, sat firm, neither blushing nor her heart racing.
Trying to use that kind of reverse psychology to get my partner's information out of me, then come up with a counter-strategy in advance?
No way, no way!
"Who would have thought the only one who'd think the same way as me would be Lucy..."
From a corner, Cana's gaze swept past a frantic Gray and the others, landing on Lucy. She raised her bottle in a toast.
"Seems like Lucy is the competitor we should really be keeping an eye on this time~"
***
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