Chapter 340: The Strongest Rookie
If she wanted to be famous as the eldest daughter of the Heartfilia Consortium, she naturally had countless opportunities. But Lucy wanted to make a name for herself as a member of Fairy Tail, as the Celestial Spirit Mage, Lucy.
Because she loved Fairy Tail, and she loved being a mage.
"It's decided! I'm going to make him interview me!" Lucy clenched her fists, pumping herself up.
She charged over to Jason, putting on her sweetest, most charming smile. "Hello there! My name is Lucy~♡ I'm Erza's very good friend, and—"
Before Lucy could even finish her sentence, Jason spotted his next target. He completely ignored her, shoving past her so hard she nearly spun around, and sprinted toward his goal.
"It's Gray—!! It's the living, breathing Gray Fullbuster!!" Jason screamed, sliding to a halt next to Gray's table.
"Huh? Who the hell are you?" Gray looked at the hyperactive man in confusion.
"Ah... this must be the magazine reporter Noah mentioned yesterday," Juvia said from her seat across from Gray.
"Could you be... Juvia?! COOL—!!" Jason exclaimed, snapping a quick picture of her before whipping his attention back to Gray. "Gray! Question! Why do you have a tendency to strip off your clothes at the drop of a hat?!"
"I do NOT strip off my clothes!! Don't make me sound like some kind of pervert!!" Gray exploded, instantly defensive. He slammed one foot onto his chair and the other onto the table, yelling down at Jason.
"Gray-sama... your pants..." Juvia pointed a trembling, blushing finger at Gray's lower half.
"AH!!"
Gray looked down. He was wearing a completely normal t-shirt and jacket on his upper half, but from the waist down, he was in nothing but his boxers.
Horrified, he scrambled off the table and frantically began searching for his missing pants.
"It feels a bit hot in here. Maybe I should take some clothes off too~" Lucy muttered to herself. She casually slipped one strap of her top off her shoulder, exposing her smooth skin, and fanned herself delicately, trying to look alluring.
"AHHHH!! WHICH ONE OF YOU IS THE REPORTER—?!"
Suddenly, Natsu flipped the table he was sitting at with a massive roar.
The flying table clipped Lucy, sending her tumbling away before she could strike her pose.
"Natsu!! Salamander Natsu!! The mage I've wanted to meet the absolute most!! WAHH—!!" Jason was so excited his words were practically melting together.
"You're way too excited," Lucy groaned, picking herself up off the floor and dusting herself off.
"Hey!! You're always writing bad things about me!!" Natsu yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Jason.
"YES!!"
"It's always 'Natsu destroyed this' and 'Natsu destroyed that'!!"
"COOL! COOL! COOL—!! What do I do?! He's right in front of me! So incredibly cool!!"
Jason was practically hyperventilating. His face was bright red as he extended a trembling right hand toward Natsu. "P-Please... please shake my hand!!"
"You're too damn loud!!"
Natsu delivered a swift, flaming punch directly to Jason's face.
Jason went flying through the air, spinning like a top. He hit the ground, rolled several times, and finally skidded to a halt.
Incredibly, he didn't miss a beat. He was already furiously scribbling in his notepad before he even stood up. "Incredible!! So ridiculously cool! As expected of a Hero!! That was the most COOL handshake I've ever experienced!"
As Jason furiously took notes, Lucy watched him in awe. "That is some serious professional dedication..."
She took a few steps forward and approached Jason as he scrambled back to his feet. "U-Um... Mr. Reporter? Do you have any questions for me...?"
Jason completely ignored her again. His eyes locked onto someone standing right behind Lucy. "It's Elfman—!! COOL!!"
He scrambled to his feet and sprinted past Lucy.
"Ahhh..." Lucy stood there, utterly defeated.
"Elfman! Question! What does it mean to be a real man to you?!" Jason fired away.
"To be a man... is to be a MAN!" Elfman roared, flexing his biceps.
"COOL—!!"
"Is my very existence really less interesting than a question with an answer like that?!" Lucy cried out in despair.
"Shadow Gear! Question! Are the rumors of a love triangle within your team true?!" Jason had already found his next targets.
"NO COMMENT!!" Jet and Droy yelled simultaneously, both blushing furiously.
"COOL—!!"
Jason jotted it down and bolted toward the next table.
"Lisanna! Question! You share the exact same name and appearance as the late Lisanna Strauss. Are you twins?!"
"No, we're distant relatives," Edolas Lisanna answered with a polite smile.
"COOL—!!"
Jason nodded, spun around, and sprinted away.
"Long time no see, you two!" Jason snapped several photos of Macao and Wakaba.
"You've grown quite a bit, kid," Macao noted.
"Try to go a little easier on us in your articles, yeah?" Wakaba added, puffing on his pipe.
"Of course!" Jason finished his photos and spotted his ultimate target.
"Master Makarov!! Please tell me! What is the ultimate goal of Fairy Tail?!"
"Ah... well... to engrave love and justice into our hearts... and to strive for daily improvement," Makarov answered, standing perfectly straight with his hands behind his back, trembling slightly from nervousness. He had to pause several times just to get the rehearsed, PR-friendly sentence out.
"COOL—!!"
"That is so incredibly fake!!" Lucy yelled, unable to hold back her critique of Makarov's blatant lie, even through her depression.
"Waaaah... he's completely ignoring me..." Lucy trailed after Jason as he bounced around the guild, but he never once looked in her direction. She was on the verge of tears.
"Has Jason still not interviewed you?" Mirajane walked over and asked gently.
"Waaaah! He's completely ignoring my existence!" Lucy pointed at the hyperactive reporter, tears welling in her eyes.
"Is that so..." Mirajane thought for a moment, then cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, "Jason! Come over here for a second!"
"COOL—!!"
Hearing Mirajane's voice, Jason instantly finished his notes and sprinted over. "Do you need something, Mirajane-san?!"
Mirajane gently pushed Lucy forward until she was standing right in front of Jason. "Make sure you don't forget to interview Lucy! She's our guild's strongest rookie!"
"COOL—!! The Strongest Rookie?!" Jason's excitement spiked instantly.
"Huh? I don't think I am... am I?" Lucy was startled by Mirajane's claim and quickly tried to downplay it.
"I am absolutely certain you are the guild's strongest rookie," Mirajane said, giving Lucy a serious, encouraging thumbs-up.
Lucy's strength was genuinely impressive. Even when she first joined, she was stronger than many of the guild's veteran members. Since joining, she had regularly trained at the guild's training grounds, and her power had grown significantly.
Most importantly, Lucy was the only true rookie to join recently. Gajeel and Juvia were already famous, established mages, so they didn't count. By default and by merit, Lucy was undeniably the strongest rookie. Mirajane wasn't lying.
"Hehe... I'm the Strongest Rookie!" Lucy couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle, instantly getting lost in a glamorous fantasy.
"Question! What kind of magic do you use?!" Jason's rapid-fire questioning snapped Lucy back to reality.
She quickly composed her expression and answered confidently, "Celestial Spirit Magic. I am a Celestial Spirit Mage."
"COOL—!! Do you happen to possess any of the Zodiac Gate Keys?!"
"Yes, I have a few."
"COOOOOOOOOL—!!!"
Jason's excitement reached critical mass upon hearing her answer. He knew perfectly well how incredibly rare and valuable the Zodiac Keys were. For a rookie to possess several of them... she truly lived up to Mirajane's "Strongest Rookie" title.
He began scribbling furiously in his notepad, capturing every detail.
"Hehehe..." Lucy beamed with pride.
Not only was she finally being interviewed by Jason, but she was being interviewed under the incredibly cool title of "Fairy Tail's Strongest Rookie." All her previous frustration vanished like smoke in the wind, replaced entirely by her blissful fantasies. Hehe, I'm the Strongest Rookie!
Suddenly, every light in the guild hall snapped off, leaving only the natural light filtering in from the entrance.
"What the?"
"What's going on?"
"Could it be Mira?!"
"Is Mira going to sing again?!"
The guild erupted in excited chatter.
Lucy snapped out of her fantasy. Hearing the whispers around her, she turned to Mirajane, who was still standing right next to her. "Oh? Are you going to perform?"
"No, I never planned to sing today," Mirajane replied, looking equally puzzled.
"Then who is it?"
Both Lucy and Mirajane turned their attention to the stage.
A single spotlight clicked on, illuminating the center of the stage.
Standing in the beam of light was a man dressed in a crisp white suit, a white fedora, and dark sunglasses. He wore a small red flower pinned to his lapel and held an acoustic guitar. The winged microphone hovered patiently beside him.
"GAJEEL—?!"
"HUH—?!"
The entire guild had been fully expecting Mirajane. Seeing Gajeel standing there in a white suit produced a psychological whiplash so severe they could barely process it.
Everyone stared in absolute, stunned silence.
Natsu and Happy, who had just taken identical sips of water, simultaneously spit it out in a massive spray.
"OHHH! IT'S HERE! It's the Iron Dragon, Gajeel!! COOL—!!" Jason, however, was absolutely thrilled.
Strum~ Twang~
Gajeel awkwardly strummed the guitar a few times before launching into his song.
🎵 The guilds willing to hire me are few and far between~ 🎵
"WAAAH!! He actually started singing!!"
The guild stared in collective horror. Most were immediately appalled by his incredibly terrible guitar playing.
🎵 Even a taken-in stray wolf can become tame~ 🎵
🎵 Even to yesterday's enemies, I want to offer this song as a friend~ 🎵
As Gajeel belted out the lyrics, Gray stood in the crowd, his face covered in dark lines. "His guitar playing is absolute garbage, but... the lyrics actually aren't bad."
"You can do it! Gajeel-kun!" Juvia cheered loudly from the front row.
This entire performance was actually Juvia's idea. She had tirelessly persuaded Gajeel to get on stage.
She couldn't bear to see her former comrade join Fairy Tail only to remain isolated and distant from everyone else. She desperately wanted Gajeel to integrate and become a true member of the family. Seeing him actually go through with her plan, she naturally cheered him on with all her might.
CLANG! CLANG!
Gajeel struck the guitar strings hard and announced into the microphone, "This is an original composition. 'Best Friend'. Dedicated to all of you."
Compliance Checklist Completed.
~~~
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