Gajeel turned the flustered Levy around to face him.
"I will do my absolute best to help you become an S-Class Mage."
His tone was so genuinely serious that Levy couldn't help but blush furiously.
"Mmm..." Panther Lily nodded approvingly from the sidelines.
Only Jet and Droy felt a bit hurt, crying comedic tears in the background.
Was this a classic case of childhood friends losing out to the edgy newcomer...?
In truth, Gajeel was truly grateful to Levy.
She had often spoken up for him at the guild, and despite his rough exterior, his sharp ears and surprisingly sensitive heart had picked up on it.
He could keenly feel Levy's unwavering kindness, and he wanted to repay it.
...
Nearby, encouraged by Lisanna and egged on by the others, Elfman nervously approached Evergreen.
"Um... Evergreen... I would like to invite you to be my partner..." Elfman stammered, feeling a rare wave of absolute timidity.
"If you..."
"Yes!" Evergreen snapped her fan shut and agreed immediately.
"Huh? You accept?" Elfman blinked, stunned by her speed.
"Of course! I will give it my all to help you, and you had better not hold me back either!" Evergreen demanded, placing her hands on her hips.
Evergreen had teamed up with Elfman during the previous Harvest Festival, and their cooperation had been reasonably smooth.
Of course, a major underlying factor was that she simply couldn't accept being the only member of the Thunder God Tribe unable to go to Tenrou Island.
So, she had agreed to Elfman's invitation very quickly, terrified he might change his mind and ask someone else.
...
"What's wrong, Carla?"
On the way back to the girls' dormitory later that evening, Wendy finally couldn't hold back her concern.
"You have been acting strange since this morning."
"I have been thinking. About this exam... I have a terrible feeling about it," Carla admitted softly.
But then Carla recalled the recent events in Edolas.
Her visions there had been devastating, but had the ultimate outcome truly been bad?
Although the human capital was severely damaged and Edolas had lost its magic power, both humans and the Exceeds had gained a new lease on life.
Strictly speaking, it was a case of destruction preceding renewal.
So, Carla had been pondering whether her new vision might actually not be such a bad thing after all.
Furthermore, visions could be changed, Raizel and the others had already proven that in Edolas.
In her original premonition, the destruction in Edolas was far more catastrophic, but the guild's intervention had managed to limit the damage.
"Shall we go see Raizel? I would like to ask for his opinion," Carla said, looking up from Wendy's arms.
"Okay." Wendy nodded.
Although it was quite late, it was fine if they were just going to see Raizel.
At worst, she could just sleep over at his place, and he could always teleport her safely home later.
"Greetings, Maiden of the Sky." A sudden voice came from the shadows behind Wendy.
"Excuse me... who are you?" Wendy asked, startled by the sudden voice but replying politely.
"I am Mest, the final person on today's S-Class Exam list."
Hearing that name, Wendy finally remembered him.
Holding Carla tightly, Wendy politely bowed.
She felt a bit strange about him but couldn't quite put her finger on exactly why.
After a moment's thought, she figured it might be because Mest, much like Mystogan, was rarely seen around the guild, so she seldom encountered him.
"I would like you to be my partner," Mest requested simply.
"Mmm... okay," Wendy agreed.
She didn't particularly care whose partner she became.
If someone was willing to invite her, she was happy to accept and help them.
"Then I will see you in seven days." After saying this, Mest instantly teleported away.
"What a strange person. He chose you but didn't even mention training together," Carla remarked, her brow furrowed in suspicion.
"Probably because he doesn't take the exam too seriously? After all, he did choose me," Wendy shared her humble thoughts.
"Maybe so," Carla sighed, somewhat agreeing with Wendy's self-deprecating perspective.
"Never mind, let's not overthink it right now. Let's go find Raizel first."
...
Ding dong—
"Wendy? Come in quickly, it is freezing outside." Raizel opened the door, quite curious to see Wendy visiting him so late.
Usually, by this time, Wendy would have long since returned to the girls' dormitory.
After all, if she wasn't out on an official mission, she had to inform Ur and the others if she was going to be back late.
"Would you like some tea? Or should I pour you some plain water instead?" Raizel asked, pointing to the steaming teapot on the coffee table.
He had been idly sipping tea by himself out of sheer boredom.
"Tea would be fine," Wendy smiled, settling comfortably onto the plush sofa.
While Wendy might be overwhelmingly polite and shy with most people, she was completely at ease with Raizel.
His place was practically a second home for her outside the bustling girls' dormitory.
"We came because there is something we wanted to tell you," Carla said, not beating around the bush and getting straight to the point.
"Go ahead." Raizel figured Carla must have foreseen something important and straightened his posture.
"It is like this—after the exam list was officially announced this morning, some dark images appeared in my mind," Carla explained grimly.
"They were not very good images. Some were of people crying, and others were of our guild members sitting helplessly on the ground."
"Oh, and I also saw the Tenrou Tree... it seemed to have collapsed..."
"Collapsed..." Raizel murmured.
He closed his eyes and slowly rubbed his temples with his fingers.
'It seems the dark guild Grimoire Heart is still going to come... It must be Azuma's doing that the Tenrou Tree collapses,' Raizel thought to himself.
'It seems Zeref still currently hiding on Tenrou Island... otherwise, Grimoire Heart would have no real reason to go there.'
'The situation is developing in the exact direction I least want to see.'
'Mavis... August... I wonder where those two are right now...'
Exhaling softly as he emerged from his heavy thoughts, Raizel felt the invisible crushing pressure of Acnologia hanging over his head like the Sword of Damocles.
He didn't dare let his guard down for a single second.
"I have some idea about what this means," Raizel finally said, opening his eyes. "Do not worry. I will not let these things happen."
"That's good."
Seeing Raizel's calm serious expression, Carla could tell he had already anticipated the horrific scenes she had described.
Carla trusted Raizel deeply.
Aside from Wendy, Raizel was the person in Fairy Tail she trusted the absolute most.
If other complicated relationships weren't factored in, Raizel would always be her first choice for advice.
"Oh, and Mest-san also just invited me to be his partner," Wendy added brightly after their heavy conversation concluded.
"Did you accept?" Raizel asked.
"I did." Wendy gave a small nod.
"Then go for it. If you have promised someone your help, you should follow through."
"Mhm!"
Although Mest had his memories magically altered and falsely believed he was a spy from the Magic Council, his inherently kind heart couldn't be completely changed by memory manipulation.
He wouldn't actually harm Wendy, so Raizel wasn't worried about her safety with him.
"Do you guys want some midnight snacks? I was just thinking about making something to eat," Raizel offered, pointing his thumb toward the kitchen.
"What do you have?" Wendy's eyes lit up instantly at the mention of food.
When it came to professional cooking skills, Raizel might not be the absolute best chef in the world, but Wendy loved his home cooking the most.
"There is still some good meat left in the fridge. How about I make some grilled skewers?" Raizel suggested with a smile.
"Great!" Wendy cheered.
If Wendy had to choose the single most delicious thing she had ever eaten in her entire life, it would undeniably be the meat Raizel had grilled for her the very first time they met!
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