Titania (Part 2)
Magnolia.
Fairy Tail Guild, slightly earlier.
“Master, more letters from the Council.”
Mirajane handed Makarov an impressive stack of correspondence.
The Master sighed sadly and began reading the complaints and angry notes of protest.
Children.
As always, they were making a fuss.
The old mage could probably have stopped reading the incoming mail altogether.
The contents had long since been burned into his memory.
Only the names and lists of destroyed buildings changed.
But one letter was different.
The head of Fairy Tail read its contents, hiccuped, and moved his mug of beer farther away while eyeing it suspiciously.
Then he rubbed his eyes and read the message again.
He sat frozen for several minutes before draining the entire mug in one gulp and reading the letter a third time.
Finally, he believed his eyes.
Tears appeared on his wrinkled face.
The old man pulled out a handkerchief and loudly blew his nose into it.
“Master, are you all right?
Did something happen?”
Mirajane looked at the guild master worriedly.
He nodded.
“Is it something that terrible?”
“N-no, Mira.”
Sob.
“This newcomer, Sephiroth…”
Another sob.
“Did something happen to him?”
The girl caught herself worrying about her new acquaintance.
That was normal, of course.
She worried about Natsu and Gray every time they went on a mission.
But somehow, she seemed to worry about Sephiroth a little more than she did about the Fire Mage or the Ice Mage.
Maybe it was because of guilt.
After all, she’d been the one explaining missions to him.
If he had misunderstood something…
“Ugh…”
The Master finally burst into tears.
“He completed the contract perfectly and didn’t even destroy a single bench!”
He wiped his eyes.
“On his very first mission!”
Then he shook the letter.
“And this…
this is a letter of thanks.”
He stared at it again as if it were some sacred relic.
“A letter of thanks.”
He began crying harder.
“For a member of our guild.”
Today…
“Today is the happiest day of my liiiiii…”
Sob.
“…life.”
On the outskirts of Magnolia.
Sephiroth.
And so we reached the final stretch toward the city.
We climbed the hill overlooking Magnolia and stopped for a moment to admire the view.
I had to admit, it was beautiful.
From a purely aesthetic perspective, everything was magnificent.
From a defensive perspective, however…
Personally, I’d flatten this hill completely.
Under normal circumstances, a hill like this directly in front of a city could create serious problems for its defenders.
With mages on both sides, though…
Who knew?
I’d think about that later.
Right now, I had another question to consider.
Should I wake Lucy?
Or let her sleep a little longer?
Hmm.
She looked even cuter while sleeping.
Let her sleep.
I could simply ask Natsu where she lived and carry her there.
Yes.
That seemed like the best option.
“Hey, Natsu!”
“What?”
The Dragon Slayer wiped sweat from his forehead.
“Pff.
What do you have in there, bricks?”
“Not just bricks, buddy.
Not just bricks.”
I grinned.
“But I wanted to ask you something.
Can you tell me where Lucy lives?”
I gave him my most innocent expression.
“Easy.
I can even show you!”
Happy answered instead of the pink-haired mage.
“Hmm.
Thanks, hallucination.
I’ll buy you some fish.”
“Fiiiiish…”
The cat immediately entered nirvana.
He didn’t even react to the word “hallucination.”
Damn.
That wasn’t nearly as fun.
“Why do you need to go to Lucy’s?” Fullbuster asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Why?
You don’t want to suggest leaving a girl out on the street overnight, do you?
My own house isn’t finished yet.
And if I bring a girl home, what do you think she’ll think of me?”
“What’s the problem?”
Natsu genuinely didn’t understand.
Gray, however, clearly did.
Hmm.
So he wasn’t quite as dense as I thought.
Then why did he spend so much time acting like an idiot around Juvia?
Maybe he simply didn’t like her.
“Mmm…”
How was I supposed to explain this?
“Actually, forget it.
Ask the Master.”
Sorry, Macarych, but I value my brain too much, and you’re a man of experience.
“All right.
What should we do with your things, then, since you don’t have a house yet?”
Good question.
“I rented a room at the guild.
Maybe we should put everything there temporarily?
I’ll take Lucy home in the meantime.”
“Sure,” Gray shrugged.
“We’ll head there.
Come by when you’re finished.”
“Thanks.
You’re a real friend.”
When we reached the gates, we split up.
I carried Lucy home, guided by the blue flying cat, while the others headed toward the guild with my belongings.
I reached Lucy’s house without incident.
After sending Happy back to Fairy Tail, I made sure nobody was watching.
Then I pushed my “cloak” into the keyhole and made it turn.
Click.
The door opened.
Heh.
The ability to take practically any shape really was useful and versatile.
Now, don’t think about tentacles.
I said don’t think about tentacles!
Unfortunately, a vivid imagination combined with an attractive girl in my arms made concentrating rather difficult.
I even had to suppress my hormones.
Otherwise, I was afraid I might actually lose control…
Or do something that went against my principles.
After getting myself under control, I carried Lucy upstairs to her bedroom and placed her on the bed.
Hmm…
I couldn’t exactly leave her there with dirty shoes on, could I?
So the boots had to go.
And she’d be uncomfortable sleeping in her jacket too…
You sly bastard.
A little self-criticism never hurt anyone.
I almost got carried away.
No.
I had nearly managed to outsmart myself.
I needed to leave.
Immediately.
Lucy had only remained asleep by sheer luck.
Still, I couldn’t resist one tiny act of mischief.
I leaned over the sleeping girl and lightly touched my lips to hers.
And now…
Run!
I barely remember how I left her house.
I only really came back to myself when I was standing beside a small hole in the ground.
Well…
“Small” was relative.
It was about half a meter deep and maybe a meter and a half to two meters across.
Apparently, I’d released some excess energy by punching the cobblestones a few times.
There was even a piece of broken stone sticking out of the neighboring wall.
After calming down, I finally headed toward the guild.
I’d already wasted enough time.
Meanwhile, at Fairy Tail Guild.
Mirajane Strauss.
Mira was doing something that sooner or later practically everyone who worked behind a bar ended up doing.
She was polishing glasses.
It required almost no effort or concentration, making it an excellent way to keep her hands busy while thinking about something else.
And there was plenty to think about.
For example, a new photo shoot for the Sorcerer Weekly.
Her pride wouldn’t allow her to continue living off her brother, while finding employment for a mage who had lost almost all of his magical power was difficult.
No.
She didn’t want to think about depressing things right now.
As if anyone ever did.
Maybe she should think about something else.
A newcomer, perhaps.
Sephiroth.
An unusual name.
And its owner was certainly unusual as well.
Then again, who in Fairy Tail wasn’t?
Still, she had to admit that the young man was quite gallant without being nearly as pushy as Loki.
And, if she were being honest, he was more handsome too.
The girl involuntarily giggled when she remembered how Cana had suffered the morning after tasting his “wine.”
Speaking of Cana…
There she was, sitting at the bar and miserably sipping a little fruit compote.
After suffering one of the worst hangovers of her life, she didn’t even want to look at weak wine.
Then the door opened.
Natsu and Gray appeared on the threshold.
They were equally exhausted and battered.
So exhausted, in fact, that they weren’t even arguing with each other.
“Mira…”
Natsu’s voice was hoarse.
“Beer.”
“Two…”
Gray supported him.
Ignoring the slightly shocked guild, the two mages practically crawled toward the bar and collapsed into chairs.
Makarov stared at them while drinking his beer.
“What happened to you two?
Why do you look so exhausted?”
Then he looked around.
“And where’s Sephiroth?”
“Ah.”
Natsu waved dismissively.
“They went to Lucy’s house.”
He said it casually.
“And we had to carry his things here, so we’re exhausted.”
Nobody heard the rest.
The Master was too busy drowning himself in his beer.
Someone in the hall muttered something along the lines of:
“He isn’t wasting any time.”
“Man!”
Mira…
Mira kept smiling.
But for some reason, her heart felt slightly heavy.
“Erm…”
Makarov cleared his throat.
“You two, what exactly did you just say?”
The Master knew his children well enough to hope he’d simply misunderstood them.
The glass Mirajane was holding also gave a tiny crack.
That didn’t exactly help his nerves.
“Lucy just fell asleep on the way back,” Gray explained.
“Sephiroth carried her the entire way, while we had to carry his belongings.”
“Phew.”
The head of Fairy Tail exhaled in relief.
Mira caught herself feeling slightly jealous of Lucy.
Strange.
Then she remembered the belongings.
“What belongings?
He left almost everything in his room.”
“Then what were we carrying in two carts?”
Natsu looked offended.
“Good grief, they weighed like an entire mountain!”
“So…”
Mira thought for a moment.
“The magic really does leave its mark…”
The doors suddenly opened again.
The mage they had been discussing walked into the guild.
“Good evening, everyone.”
He looked around.
“Mmm.
Beer.”
He turned toward the bar.
“Mira, could I have a mug too?”
“Of course.”
She smiled and filled one.
“Oh!
Now all our heroes are finally together!”
Makarov looked delighted.
“I have to admit, you’ve made me proud, boys!”
He raised his mug.
“A letter of thanks!
Just think…”
The entire hall groaned.
“Oh no, not again.”
Makarov became increasingly enthusiastic, encouraging everyone to strive toward the example set by Gray and Sephiroth.
It was obvious that Natsu had absolutely no intention of following Fullbuster’s example.
Mira, however, noticed something else.
With every word the guild master spoke, Gray lowered his head further.
Until finally…
“Enough!
It wasn’t like that!”