Makarov's sudden stern tone caught Lucy and the others off guard.
No one dared to dawdle everyone quickly began casting magic, working in a rush to clear the rubble.
"By the way, what kind of guild is the Master planning to build? Will it be the same as before?"
Macao asked curiously as he used his magic to lift a massive slab of stone and toss it into the lake.
"No, the new guild will be much larger. During the time we were under the Council's restrictions, the Master already came up with some preliminary ideas."
Mira smiled, taking out a rolled-up draft and presenting it to everyone with confidence.
Macao leaned in for a look and was instantly stunned by the abstract lines and shapes that looked more like a child's doodle than an architectural design.
"Oh? You've got a design already?"
Gray walked past, carrying a wooden plank, and glanced over. "Huh? What kind of blueprint is this? Which idiot drew this mess?!"
At those words, Mira's sweet smile froze. A second later, she covered her face and began to cry.
"Mira wait! It was you?!" Gray froze on the spot, panic setting in.
"Hey, that's really mean, Gray. You made her cry."
"Yeah, that's awful. No gentlemanly manners at all."
As his friends gathered around to scold him, Gray grew even more flustered, fumbling for words to comfort her.
Just then, a familiar figure stepped forward.
Chase reached out, gently taking the sketch from Mira's arms and studying it carefully.
"Hmm… a grand, castle-like building… a spacious bar… a surrounding food street… and even an outdoor swimming pool. Looks like a pretty good design for the new guild."
"Gray, are you blind? It's drawn in so much detail, and you still can't tell?!"
Mira's tearful eyes suddenly sparkled with delight Chase understood! She had stayed up all night sketching this, following the Master's description.
"Wait Chase, are you being serious?" Gray, Macao, and the others stared in disbelief.
Not far away, Lucy, Natsu, and Happy huddled together, trading suspicious looks.
"Hold on… since when is Brother Chase this understanding? Normally, wouldn't he be the first one laughing?"
"If it were Lucy, that'd make sense!" Natsu nodded solemnly.
"...What's that supposed to mean?! As a girl, I have a very delicate heart, you know!" Lucy protested.
After a brief pause, the three of them exchanged glances and said in unison, "There's an affair~"
And with that, the little episode came to an end.
By the time the site was completely cleared, the sun was already dipping toward the horizon.
Most of their guildmates had gone back to the girls' dormitory or their own homes, leaving only Makarov and Mira behind.
The two were still discussing the finer details of the new guild's construction, arranging the order in which different material suppliers would arrive so work could officially begin the next day.
Lucy, meanwhile, dragged her weary body back toward her rental house.
It was the same dangerous riverbank as always, the same kindly boatman who offered a warning in passing, and the same trembling Canis Minor, Plue, following closely behind.
"I heard from the Council members that a guild that starts a war will usually end up being disbanded. It's such a relief to know that's how it turned out."
"Brother Chase is incredible he fought the Phantom Lord master, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, to that extent. Erza and Mira were amazing too. They seemed to handle the Element 4 without breaking a sweat."
"And Mistgang… he took out all of Phantom's branches single-handedly, but disappeared the moment he left their base."
"If it hadn't been for everyone in the guild, I might have "
Lucy's voice trailed off. She wasn't sure if she was talking to Plue or simply speaking her thoughts aloud. But gradually, her eyes hardened with resolve.
"To make sure nothing like this ever threatens everyone again… I need to make a clean break with that man."
From the moment she chose to answer her friends' trust and remain in Fairy Tail, she had already made her decision:
She would return to that cold, unwelcoming home and show her father Jude Heartfilia her determination with her own hands.
"But before that… I'm going to take the long, hot bath I've been waiting for. I haven't had a chance to really relax these past few days at the Council station."
With that thought, Lucy pushed open the door of her rental house, full of anticipation only to find, as expected, the lights blazing brightly inside.
"Hey, Lucy, you're back!"
Natsu greeted her with a wide grin from where he was sprawled out on her large pink bed.
"Lucy, you're so slow. Natsu and I already finished our showers," Happy added, before turning back around to sharpen his claws on the stone pillar.
Lucy: " "
For two and a half seconds she stood frozen. Then, in the blink of an eye, the cute girl transformed into a devil straight out of hell.
"This is my house!!!"
With a roar, she hurled her suitcase like a missile.
Thud!
The heavy case nailed Natsu and Happy in one strike, sending them spitting blood before it embedded itself in the broken wall like a grotesque ornament a clean double KO.
Scene change
Lucy, now looking slightly more composed, slid two cups of tea across the table toward Natsu and Happy, who were sporting fresh lumps on their heads. "Drink this, and then go home."
"Lucy, you're so heartless. You know our house is out in the forest, and you still want us to leave at this hour."
"Yeah, and we're exhausted from helping clean up the guild ruins. You have zero sympathy… and you still call us teammates?"
Natsu and Happy ignored the tea, turning their backs to her as they started grumbling in unison.
"Don't be so cruel to me!"
Seeing their pitiful, aggrieved expressions, Lucy's kind heart wavered almost instantly. After a moment of thought, her eyes lit up. "Oh, I know you two can go stay with Brother Chase. His house is big enough!"
"No way. I have zero freedom at Chase's place. I could get beaten up at any time, and if I break something, I have to pay for it," Natsu said, curling his lip.
"We can't even use the walls to sharpen our claws," Happy added, going so far as to walk over to the nearest wall and demonstrate.
"You mean you don't have to pay me any compensation? Get your filthy claws off my wall, you mangy cat!!"
A vein throbbed on Lucy's forehead, her mouth twitching in irritation.
"Hm? Sounds like you two have a lot of opinions about me, Natsuhabi."
That sudden, all-too-familiar voice made Natsu and Happy freeze in place, clamping their hands over their mouths.
Looking up, they saw Chase and the Dark Magician Girl stepping into the living room by jumping in through the rental house's window and landing squarely on the desk.
"Can't you enter like a normal person?"
Lucy's tired gaze dropped to the desk, now sporting muddy footprints. "My house has a door."
As for why Chase and the Dark Magician Girl would show up at this hour, she was… unfortunately, very used to it.
"Aha, sorry, Lucy. I saw your window was open, and I didn't feel like walking around to the door," the Dark Magician Girl said, scratching her head apologetically.
"That's impossible. When we moved to the Council's residence, I made sure all my doors and windows were locked," Lucy said, narrowing her eyes.
It didn't take her long to figure it out this had Natsu and Happy's break-in route written all over it.
"Hahaha, don't sweat the small stuff," Chase said with a grin. Unlike the Dark Magician Girl's polite apology, he was completely nonchalant as he walked over, picked up one of the teacups, and took a long drink.
"…That's my teacup!"
Lucy groaned, rubbing her forehead as Chase set the empty cup back down. "Forget it… Brother Chase, you didn't come here this late just to drink my tea, did you?"
The Dark Magician Girl smiled mysteriously and answered for him.
"Of course not, Lucy. The Master brought you something good!"
....
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