"Although I really appreciate it, I am sorry—I already found my partner a long time ago," Gray said to Juvia with a hint of apology.
"That's right, it's me." Leo, the Lion Celestial Spirit, suddenly appeared before the members in his usual human form as Loke.
"What is going on?! Again?!" Lucy was utterly exasperated. "Loke..."
"Sorry about this, but we made this promise last year," Loke explained smoothly. "Lucy, I am sorry. During the exam, please allow me to temporarily cancel our contract."
"But don't worry, just like last time, I won't be using any of your magic power to stay in this world," Loke added.
"How can there be such a self-centered Celestial Spirit..." Lucy facepalmed, her expression full of sheer exasperation.
"It is fine, I accept it. Facing Loke as an opponent will be a very good experience," Kagura said, patting Lucy's shoulder to comfort her.
"Fine, since Kagura agreed, I will reluctantly accept it," Lucy sighed. "But this is the absolute last time! In the future, you must discuss this kind of situation with me first!"
This time, Lucy's expression and tone were much more serious.
"This is the last time. It definitely will not happen again," Loke replied very solemnly, sensing her seriousness.
"Thank you, Lucy. And thank you, Kagura."
"No problem. Having a real challenge makes it more fun," Kagura nodded as she looked at Gray and Loke.
If there were no challenges, participating in the S-Class exam wouldn't be much fun at all.
As for the actual title of S-Class Mage, Kagura cared less and less about it.
Raw strength was what truly mattered.
As long as she was strong enough to protect her friends, whether her title was grand or prestigious didn't matter to her in the slightest.
"My fate rests entirely on you!" Gray grinned.
"Leave it to me!" Loke smirked back.
"I don't remember these two ever being so close..." Lucy inexplicably felt a weird sense of betrayal.
Although she didn't have romantic feelings for Loke or Gray, seeing the sudden perfect tacit understanding between them gave her a very strange feeling.
"That is how it is, so you guys need to get serious too. Let's have a heated showdown!" Gray declared, though his voice lacked any particular fiery emotion.
"Heated... heated..." Clearly, Juvia's mind had completely wandered again.
Steam began rising from the top of her head.
"Miss! Please get a hold of yourself!" Carla waved her paws frantically beside Juvia, trying to snap the water mage out of her heavy delusion.
"How about I team up with Juvia? I think Juvia is really cute," Lisanna offered with a warm smile.
"Then it is settled."
Lisanna took the initiative, gently grabbing Juvia's hand.
"Could it be... this girl also has her eyes on Gray-sama...?" Juvia muttered unconsciously, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Your personality is really twisted..." Lucy couldn't help but complain from the sidelines.
"Wait, Lisanna!" Elfman instantly burst into comical tears. "Doesn't that mean I don't have a partner anymore?!"
"Really? Someone has been watching you with very passionate eyes since just now," Lisanna pointed out.
Elfman followed Lisanna's pointing finger and noticed Evergreen sitting at a nearby table, staring intently in their direction over the rim of her fan.
"She seems unhappy because Freed chose Bickslow as his partner," Lisanna whispered.
"Evergreen..." Elfman unconsciously felt cold chills run down his spine.
"Do you really think that is a gaze of passion? To me, it looks much more like a death glare... or rather, a gaze that could actually turn people to stone!"
...
After lunch—
"Lucy seems to be finished eating too, so I am going to go find her." Kagura nodded to Raizel and the others at the table.
"Make sure to rest properly. Don't push yourself too hard before the exam," Ultear reminded her.
"Lucy doesn't have the same physical stamina and magical power as you, so you should pay close attention to her condition during training," Raizel added.
Though even without their advice, Kagura would likely have considered these things.
Despite being the youngest among them, she often acted with the most thoroughness and consideration.
"Do your best, but do not expect me to go easy on you if we meet on the island," Erza opted for a more competitive encouragement instead.
"Okay, do not worry," Kagura accepted it all with a small smile.
"Lucy, let's go practice! We need to understand each other's magic better." Kagura tapped the table as she spoke, gaining the blonde's attention.
"Alright, let's go!" Lucy nodded excitedly.
Though she wasn't taking the S-Class exam herself, being able to participate as a partner was still a highly valuable experience.
After all, perhaps one day she could become an S-Class candidate too.
Meanwhile, Natsu and Happy had long since run off to the eastern forest to train.
"We need to train seriously! But... where should we even start?" Natsu asked, looking around the snowy woods.
"Since it's already snowing out here! Of course it has to be that!" Happy declared.
"Great! Let's do that!"
"First special training! Use your bare body to block heavy rocks! Completely improve your defensive capabilities!" Happy ordered, speaking the most vicious words with the absolute cutest expression on his furry face.
He was completely disregarding Natsu, who was currently tied tightly to a tree, shivering uncontrollably in the cold.
"Wait just a minute!" Natsu yelled.
"Fifteenth special training! Lower body strength training! Frog jumps while carrying heavy rocks!" Happy commanded a while later.
...
"Natsu, are you okay?"
While doing frog jumps, Natsu suddenly stumbled and got crushed flat beneath the massive boulder.
"I'm fine... just train me as hard as you want..." Natsu groaned from under the rock.
"Fine! Then hurry up and get up!" Happy yelled, seemingly channeling Erza's strict persona at this moment.
"Sixteenth special training! Combat training!"
...
"You're snooping around and doing some quite thorough work, aren't you?" Raizel noted quietly, suddenly appearing beside Gildarts, who was secretly watching Natsu's chaotic training from behind a tree.
"Who is snooping?! And why would I be snooping on Natsu anyway?! Besides! I am watching him openly!" Gildarts retorted fiercely, absolutely refusing to let Raizel slander his good name.
"I'm leaving," Gildarts grumbled, jumping down from the rock he was perched on.
'I'll head to Tenrou Island first. I will be waiting for you, Natsu,' Gildarts silently cheered for the boy in his heart.
"Whether it is Erza, Mira, Ultear, or Gildarts! I will defeat them all!" Natsu roared from the clearing.
"I will become an S-Class Mage!"
"Aye, sir!" Happy cheered.
...
"I'm definitely going to be Levy's partner, right?" Jet asked.
"Do not be silly, of course it's me!" Droy argued.
Jet and Droy had been arguing loudly over the partner position all afternoon, not even settling down during lunch.
"If you want to become an S-Class Mage, I can help." Gajeel suddenly appeared right behind Levy, his arms crossed over his chest.
"What?!!" Droy and Jet gasped, completely caught off guard by the sudden appearance of their terrifying rival.
"Aren't we allowed to beat up anyone who pisses us off during the exam?" Gajeel grinned wickedly.
"But I'm so small and I don't have any outstanding combat abilities... I will probably get knocked out quickly..." Levy sighed, feeling rather discouraged.
She knew very well that among the participating members, her raw combat ability was practically at the bottom of the list.
Gajeel suddenly reached out and effortlessly lifted Levy completely off the ground by the scruff of her neck with just one hand.
"Do not talk about defeat before we have even started! Mages aren't judged by their physical physique, but by their magical power!" Gajeel yelled, carrying her off.
"Let's go train!"