Mavis's resting place.
"Whether it was your fearlessness against Gildarts in the first round, or your assessment of the situation and seizing the initiative in the second round..." Makarov held the S-Class mage certificate, engraved with the guild emblem, as he looked at the blonde girl who had been the first to arrive. He praised her. "Lucy, you did very well. You exceeded my expectations."
His sincere words were filled with deep emotion.
Even Chase had found it a bit unbelievable when he heard the news, let him alone.
In just a few short months since joining the guild, she had grown from a rookie newcomer, constantly the topic of conversation, to an S-Class mage who had surpassed many seeded competitors.
And it wasn't due to so-called luck, but to the solid strength and sharp, keen thinking that even Gildarts had acknowledged!
In this regard alone, Lucy had already broken the guild's record for "fastest promotion to S-Class mage."
The previous record holder had been Chase, who had taken a year to become S-Class.
Even after receiving the S-Class certificate from Makarov, Lucy was still in a state of disbelief, her expression dazed.
I actually did it?
See, Chase-nii? I didn't let you down. I really, truly did it!!
The bright, shining "S" on the certificate's cover finally made Lucy realize that this was something that had actually happened to her.
Joy and excitement surged into her heart, blurring her vision with a mist of tears.
She was so moved that tears welled up in her eyes.
"Don't get too excited just yet, Lucy. In this guild, becoming an S-Class mage is only the simplest first step," Makarov said with a light cough, his voice earnest. "Without the corresponding strong will and the consciousness to handle many troubles, you're going to have a rough time!"
"Yes, Master! I'll do my best. I absolutely won't embarrass Fairy Tail!"
Lucy clutched the certificate tightly to her chest, a firm glint deep in her beautiful eyes.
Now, she was full of energy, with enough confidence and courage to face all kinds of difficulties.
"Well, that's not wrong either. But I think you might have misunderstood me a bit."
"In any case, don't burden yourself with unnecessary chains just because you're an S-Class mage. That will only hinder your progress."
The moment he said this, Makarov's expression changed slightly. A look of helpless sorrow appeared on his aged face.
The images of Chase, Gildarts, and his bastard grandson Laxus, standing on the ruins of a destroyed town, laughing like demons, involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
He vaguely remembered saying something similar when those three troublesome bastards had been promoted to S-Class...
Lucy... she probably, hopefully, wouldn't turn out like them, right?
The old man secretly prayed.
"Then... what do you mean?" Lucy tilted her head, blinking in confusion.
Makarov put away his worries and smiled without a word. He silently raised his finger and pointed behind Lucy.
Confused, Lucy turned around. Then she was so startled by the sight behind her that every hair on her body stood on end.
"Aaahhh! You bastard Lucy! Hurry up and settle this with me!"
"So annoying! Hey, Lucy! Just because the trial's over doesn't mean we don't finish our fight!"
"Lucy, bursting with manliness, looks like a worthy challenge! A man!!"
"Just one step away from getting closer to Laxus... Lucy, don't think I'm letting you off easy!"
"That damn blonde! How dare you steal Gray-sama's S-Class throne! Juvia will show you the most terrifying hell!"
Amidst the flying sand, the defeated competitors charged toward her with overwhelming force. The scene was quite spectacular, a violent, violent aura rushing toward her.
"Don't! S-so many people! I'm going to die, I'm definitely going to die! Aaahhh~" Lucy turned tail and ran, terrified.
Her cowardly stance, arms raised as she screamed, had no trace of the dignity of a new S-Class mage.
"That's how it is. As an S-Class mage, you need to be prepared to accept challenges from others at any time~" Makarov said with a cunning smile.
At the same time, his mind was finally at ease.
There's no way this Lucy could ever be anything like those destructive maniacs Chase and the others. No way, no way.
The charging crowd soon caught up with Lucy. In front of the first master Mavis's grave, the all-too-familiar daily brawl unfolded.
Natsu and Gray accused each other of not even realizing Lucy was actually Gemini in disguise.
Juvia got a crazy look on her face and prepared to take off her clothes to cheer on Gray, while Lisanna quickly stopped her.
The demonized Gajeel angrily found Freed and demanded a one-on-one duel.
Even Elfman and Evergreen from the same team were arguing.
Lucy, the intended target, managed to escape relatively unscathed. She crawled out of the brawl mess and disheveled, her hair a mess, a large shoe print on her face.
"Congratulations, Lucy. From now on, you're a powerful S-Class mage~" Mira said, walking over slowly.
"Thank you, Mira-nee~" Lucy replied shappily.
"Don't get so smug just because you passed the trial," Erza said, her sharp gaze sweeping over her. She clenched her fist and revealed the truth with a serious expression. "The true standard for an S-Class mage is the ability to one-shot Natsu to sleep!"
"I'm not getting smug! And isn't one-shotting Natsu to sleep way too hard?!"
By the end, Lucy had completely lost her confidence.
Because, thinking about it carefully, aside from the kind Mira-nee, whose situation was unclear, all the guild's S-Class mages—whether Chase-nii, Laxus, or Gildarts—had achieved and indeed had a record of one-shotting Natsu to sleep!
"Oh my, oh my, Lucy just became an S-Class. It's understandable that she can't meet that hard requirement just yet~" Mira said with a mediating smile.
"There actually is such a ?!" Lucy glanced at Natsu, who was still fighting with Gray, and suddenly felt immense pressure.
"No. I just wanted to see how Lucy would react." The smile on Mira's lips was completely mischievous.
...
The simple, easily fooled Lucy silently shed tears.
Just then, the sound of steel boots stepping on rock came from the passage to the grave.
Two dark figures walking side by side cast long, stretched shadows in the slanting sunlight, reaching all the way to where the group was.
The moment she saw who it was, Lucy's dejected expression vanished. A complex glimmer flickered deep in her beautiful eyes.
Feelings of emotion, joy, excitement, pride, and others she had been suppressing for so long, erupted like a volcano.
Instinctively, she walked toward one of them. Her pace grew faster, until she couldn't help but break into a small run.
"Chase-nii, look, look!"
"I did it! I actually did it! This is the certificate the master personally awarded!"
"Haha! Way to go. You really are a sister I can be proud of."
"Hehe. Without Chase-nii's trust, I never could have done it alone~"
"Don't be so humble. I've seen all your hard work and growth. Beating Natsu and Gray to become S-Class was only natural!"
Yes, the above beautiful scene of brother and sister hugging was Lucy's fantasy as she ran.
In reality, on her final leap, she had very cleanly fallen flat on her face.
Chase had been disgusted by the sticky, gooey, green plant sap all over her. Between hugging his sister close and keeping his own person clean, he had decisively chosen the latter.
A large bump appeared on Lucy's forehead from the fall. She crouched on the ground, arms crossed, cheeks puffed out, sulking.
"Yo, Lucy. Congratulations on smoothly becoming an S-Class mage~" Chase walked over, barely holding back a laugh.
"...Go die. You damn card nerd!!" Lucy jumped up and delivered a Lucy Kick.
Nearby, Gildarts looked sorrowful. Two streams of hot tears rolled down his cheeks.
He wasn't, of course, moved by this scene of affectionate brother and humble sister. He had suddenly realized that doing community service in Magnolia wearing sexy clothing wouldn't just be known to Natsu and the others... but also to his precious daughter, Cana!
The sky had collapsed again.
"Alright, you little brats! To celebrate the successful completion of the S-Class Trial, let's have a banquet on Tenrou Island!!"
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to Makarov's shout.
"OOOOOHHHHH!!!" xN
"A banquet! A banquet! A long-awaited banquet~!"
A strange voice, filled with anticipation, mixed in with the crowd's cheers.
The noisy scene instantly fell silent.
***
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