By the time the sun went down, the ever-noisy Fairy Tail guild had finally entered one of its rare peaceful lulls.
Ankh leaned back against the counter, watching the mysterious girl eating at a nearby table with a strange look in his eyes.
Natsu, Gray, and the others sat with him, all of them observing her curiously as well.
Mirajane brought over two glasses of water and placed them on the girl's table.
After politely thanking her, the girl picked one up and began drinking in small sips.
On the table, the talking yellow bird was bent over its plate, eating.
Lucy sat across from the girl and the bird, sweating a little as she gave an awkward laugh.
"So you fainted because you were hungry… and here I went and called a doctor…"
"Yes."
The girl answered softly and said nothing more, leaving even the cheerful Lucy unsure how to continue the conversation.
Natsu quietly leaned in from behind and asked, "Who is she?"
"I don't actually know either…"
While the two of them were whispering, the mysterious girl named Éclair raised her head, set down her utensils, and said quietly, "I'm full."
"Ah, are you feeling better now?" Lucy quickly asked with concern.
Éclair's face remained expressionless as she replied, "I'm fine. Even if I didn't eat, nothing would happen to me."
"Huh?"
Lucy froze at the girl's blunt, ungrateful-sounding response. The others watching from the counter also felt that she was being a little rude.
Ankh, however, frowned and started thinking about what she had just said.
Nothing would happen even if she didn't eat…
That did not sound like something a prideful, ungrateful girl would say. It sounded more like she was simply stating a fact.
The yellow bird beside her immediately grew anxious and hurriedly said to her, "Éclair, you can't talk to people like that!"
"I'm sorry…"
The yellow bird bowed apologetically to Lucy. "I'm really sorry. This child is always like this."
"My name is Momon, and her name is Éclair. I picked her up a few years ago."
Not far away, Gray and Happy complain in unison, "You've got that backwards, don't you?"
Lucy reached out and shook Momon's wing with a smile. "I'm Lucy. Nice to meet you."
After that, Lucy extended her hand toward Éclair as well, but Éclair only stared blankly ahead with a cold expression, looking as though she had no intention of shaking it.
Yeah… this time, she was just being rude.
"Thank you for the meal. Let's go, Momon."
Éclair placed several glittering golden objects on the table, stood up after saying those few words, and headed toward the door.
Momon hurriedly followed after her.
On the other side, Carla, who was sitting on Wendy's lap, frowned in displeasure and muttered. "How rude…"
Before she could finish, Carla looked at Éclair's back, and several images she had never seen before suddenly appeared in her mind.
'That was… a forest?'
Carla's intermittent precognition had struck again.
She quickly jumped down and blocked the girl's path.
"The forest you're heading to might be dangerous. I feel like something sad is going to happen there!"
"Forest?"
Éclair paused.
Then she pressed her finger against her temple, the cloudiness in her eyes clearing slightly as she murmured in thought.
"I remember now… Boundary Forest…"
Éclair lowered her gaze and looked at Carla, but said nothing. Then she turned and continued walking toward the door.
Carla, who had been completely ignored, gritted her teeth in anger.
Did this girl have no manners at all?
"That girl's eyes… They make me feel cold inside," Lucy murmured, staring blankly as Éclair walked away.
Ankh walked over to the seat where Éclair had been sitting and said, "Those are the eyes of someone who wants to die."
"Wants to… die?"
Lucy repeated the words, thinking back to all the strange things that had happened around Éclair since they met.
Ankh nodded and picked up the few golden objects the girl had left behind after finishing her meal.
"Only someone who has lost all hope in life, someone who wants to die but can't because they still have an attachment holding them back, would have eyes like that. That girl has probably been living half-dead for a very long time."
"If that's the case, we can't let her leave alone!"
After hearing that, Lucy quickly stood up and chased after Éclair.
Seeing this, Natsu immediately called Happy and followed after her, loyal as ever.
Erza, Gray, and Wendy were also worried about the girl's condition, so they quickly went after them too.
In an instant, the guild hall became empty and quiet.
Mirajane curiously moved beside Ankh.
Seeing him examining the objects Éclair had left behind, she asked, "Are those gold coins? Are they from some remote region?"
"They look more like antiques…"
Ankh studied the carved patterns on the coins, then asked, "Mira, how far is Boundary Forest?"
Mirajane rested her chin on her hand and estimated, "If we take the express train tomorrow morning, we'll need to spend one night at the transfer station in Rose Garden. We should reach it the morning after that."
"I'm planning to go there."
"Huh? Since when were you this concerned about strangers?" Mirajane asked in surprise.
Ankh shook his head and explained in confusion, "I sensed something familiar from that girl."
"What kind of familiar? Perfume?"
Ankh rolled his eyes at her, but he did not give a clear answer. Instead, he said vaguely, "I don't know. It just feels unpleasant, and strangely familiar."
...
By the time Ankh caught up with the rest of the strongest team, they had indeed already found Éclair.
Lucy was worried about Éclair's safety, so she offered to accompany her to Boundary Forest.
But Éclair seemed to hate magic and mages, and she rejected the offer outright.
Even so, she did not refuse so firmly that there was no room left.
For some reason, Éclair felt a strange, inseparable connection to Lucy, almost as if she were looking at another version of herself.
In the end, after Momon's worried persuasion, and with Erza, Natsu, and the others showing the same enthusiasm to help, Éclair finally agreed to travel with them.
And so, the next morning, the strongest team's beloved group travel by vehicle began once again.
Naturally, Natsu got motion sick again.
His face was squeezed into an expression so awful it looked like a wrinkled backside.
Clutching his mouth in misery, he pleaded with Ankh, "Please, Ankh… call Ophi and let her help me…"
Because of Natsu's frighteningly adaptive magical constitution, Wendy's balancing spell, Troia, had long since stopped working on him.
These days, only Ophiuchus's ability to transfer negative conditions could relieve his motion sickness.
Lucy gave a helpless smile. "Too bad, Natsu. I heard Ophi has gotten obsessed with novels recently and is researching them at Ankh's place. Unless it's something serious, she told us not to disturb her."
"I'm about to die… How is that not serious…?"
Natsu looked ready to cry and his consciousness gradually drifting away!
Ankh sat across from Éclair, then suddenly asked, "Forgive the rude question, Miss Éclair, but how old are you?"
Éclair raised her head and glanced at him, then shook her head.
"I don't remember…"