Chapter 344: A Love Triangle?
"Don't stop working. We still have a lot to do," Ultear said, gently tapping Sorano on the head.
"I know, I know~" Sorano waved a hand dismissively and resumed her task, though her attention remained firmly fixed on Lyon and the unfolding drama. She was highly anticipating what would happen next.
Seeing Sorano back to work, Ultear also returned to her task. However, much like Sorano, she kept a portion of her attention trained on Lyon's group. After all, both boys were her junior martial brothers; she didn't want to see either of them get hurt.
"Wow, he's so bold..." Erza murmured, her face turning pink as she watched the situation. When will I ever be that brave? she thought to herself.
Seeing Lyon's incredibly direct approach, Alzack's face flushed. He covertly glanced over at Bisca, who was working nearby. When will I ever be that brave?
At that exact moment, Bisca, also blushing, glanced over at Alzack.
Their eyes met in the air. Both of them turned beet red and instantly whipped their heads away to stare intensely in opposite directions.
Noah noticed all of this as well. Since his Thought Projection was handling the guild's paperwork, his main body was free. Moving with unparalleled speed and stealth, he slipped over to a spot near Lyon's group, perfectly positioning himself to enjoy the drama up close without being noticed.
"W-Wait a minute... Is... is this... a Love Triangle?!" Juvia's mind was racing at a million miles an hour.
She quickly constructed a relationship chart in her head, with Gray at the center. She loved Gray, Gray obviously loved Lyon (in her panicked logic), and now Lyon loved her!
Furthermore, Lucy loved Gray (still in her logic), Natsu loved Lucy, Lisanna was Natsu's childhood friend, and Lisanna also loved Gray!
"Don't overcomplicate things. It's definitely not what you're thinking," Lucy said, watching Juvia's expression shift from shock to wild, convoluted fantasy. Having been the primary victim of Juvia's overactive imagination—constantly treated as a bitter love rival—Lucy knew exactly what kind of ridiculous scenarios were playing out in Juvia's head.
"Give me a break..." Gray groaned, rubbing his temples in pain. Having spent the last few days with Juvia, he was intimately aware of her incredible imagination and tendency to jump to absurd conclusions.
"Your name is Juvia, right? I know a fantastic restaurant in Magnolia. Let's go grab a bite to eat together right now," Lyon said, completely ignoring Gray. He placed a firm hand on Juvia's shoulder and began guiding her toward the guild's exit.
"Eh? Wait... What's happening...?" Juvia, still entirely bewildered, found herself involuntarily walking along with Lyon.
"Hold on a second. We still have a ton of work to finish," Gray reached out and yanked Juvia back.
"Gray-sama!" Seeing Gray pull her away from Lyon, Juvia's face instantly flushed, and she looked at him with absolute delight.
"What do you think you're doing, Gray?" Lyon demanded, annoyed that his smooth move had been interrupted.
"There's still a massive amount of preparation work left to do here. How can you two just leave? Besides, couldn't you see she didn't want to go with you?" Gray shot back.
Lyon glanced around. While it was true that almost everyone had slowed their pace to eavesdrop on the juicy gossip, there was undeniably a mountain of work left to finish for the festival.
"Fine. Whatever work is left, I'll help you finish it. Then, we can go to the restaurant together," Lyon declared, launching his second wave of attack.
Gray immediately stepped in front of Juvia, blocking Lyon. "It's obvious she doesn't want to go with you."
"You aren't Juvia. How do you know what she wants?" Lyon retorted without hesitation.
"Gray-sama~" Juvia hid behind Gray, her face radiating pure bliss as she watched him act as her shield.
Ahem. Lyon noticed Gray standing firmly in his way and saw the completely infatuated expression on Juvia's face as she looked at Gray. Realizing he couldn't push any further right now without causing a major scene, he decided a tactical retreat was best.
However, he firmly believed that since they were all in the same guild, they had plenty of time. He was confident that, eventually, he would win Juvia over.
Seeing Lyon back down, Gray let out a breath of relief. Behind him, Juvia was blushing furiously, her imagination running completely wild again. "Gray-sama!"
"Alright, enough of this. Let's hurry up and finish our assigned tasks," Gray said, gesturing for Juvia to follow him back to their work station.
"Yes, Gray-sama!" Juvia quickly trotted after him, happily resuming her work.
Lyon simply walked over and started working right next to Juvia, offering his assistance.
And so, the three of them began working together, the tension between them thick enough to cut with a knife. Fortunately, they managed to actually get the work done efficiently; otherwise, Noah would have been forced to separate them. He couldn't let their romantic entanglement slow down the guild's festival preparations.
"I never expected Lyon to be so aggressive," Simon remarked from the sidelines, having watched the entire spectacle unfold.
As fellow participants in several S-Class Promotion Trials, Simon and Lyon knew each other quite well. However, Simon had never seen this fiercely proactive, romantic side of Lyon.
"Mhm, mhm." Kagura nodded repeatedly beside him. She also hadn't expected Lyon to launch such a direct, immediate assault.
"By the way, brother, do you have someone you like?" Kagura asked suddenly, her curiosity piqued by Lyon's bold actions.
"Not at the moment," Simon shook his head.
Having survived his village nearly being destroyed and narrowly escaping capture alongside his sister, Simon's entire focus upon joining Fairy Tail had been on training and becoming stronger. Romantic love simply hadn't been a priority. He knew that only by gaining true strength could he protect himself and his sister.
He refused to ever experience the helplessness he felt during the Black Magic Cult's invasion again. Once was more than enough. This intense dedication to training was why he had managed to qualify for the S-Class Promotion Trials multiple times, despite not possessing Lyon's level of innate, monstrous talent. He had bridged the gap with sheer, unyielding effort.
"I see. Well, if you ever do find someone you like, you have to tell me! I'll help you win her over," Kagura offered earnestly.
"I understand. If I ever find someone, I'll let you know," Simon nodded, appreciating his sister's support.
"Oh my, to think it would actually develop into a love triangle," Mirajane giggled, watching Gray, Juvia, and Lyon bicker as they worked.
"Mhm, mhm!" Lisanna agreed from beside her.
"What an incredible shift in dynamics," Edolas Lisanna marveled as she helped them with the decorations.
"Hm? How did their relationship work in your world?" Mirajane asked, genuinely curious.
"In my world, Gray was the one desperately pursuing Juvia, not the other way around," Edolas Lisanna whispered conspiratorially to Mirajane and Lisanna.
"Wow! It was completely reversed?!" Lisanna covered her mouth to muffle a gasp of surprise.
"That really is amazing! The dynamic here is the exact opposite of over there. No wonder Noah warned you not to talk about members who hadn't joined the guild yet; he didn't want to accidentally alter their futures," Mirajane whispered back.
Since Juvia hadn't been a member of Fairy Tail previously, Edolas Lisanna had kept quiet about her. Now that she had officially joined, it was safe to talk about it.
"By the way, was Lyon part of this love triangle over there?" Lisanna asked. As a spectator of the current drama, she naturally wanted to know if Lyon played the same role in Edolas.
"I'm sorry, I never met Lyon before I came here, so I don't know if he ever joined the guild or got involved later on," Edolas Lisanna apologized.
"Oh, it's fine. I was just curious," Lisanna waved her hand, assuring her it wasn't a big deal.
"This is likely due to the fundamental differences between our two worlds, which causes these ripple effects. After all, Noah exists here, but he never existed in your world. Considering Noah grew up in this guild, wouldn't it make sense for him to have existed in your Fairy Tail too?" Mirajane reasoned, pointing out a major divergence. Both Lisannas nodded in agreement.
"But wait, sister. Erza was in the guild over there, but she wasn't a member of Fairy Tail, right?" Lisanna pointed out another contradiction.
"That must also be due to the differences between the worlds," Mirajane concluded. Otherwise, it was impossible to explain why foundational members like Noah and Erza were completely absent from the Edolas Fairy Tail. "Besides, Noah mentioned that his existence is quite unique, so it's actually not that surprising that he didn't exist over there."
"I see. I suppose we won't know the full details until Noah figures out a way to travel to Edolas," Lisanna sighed.
"Will I really be able to go back to my own world?" Edolas Lisanna asked softly. While everyone in Earthland Fairy Tail treated her wonderfully, she still longed for her own home. Her own older brother and sister were still waiting for her.
"You definitely will. You have to believe in Noah!" Mirajane smiled encouragingly.
"Yeah! You have to trust Noah. He'll definitely find a way!" Lisanna echoed her sister's confidence.
"Mhm." Edolas Lisanna nodded firmly, her resolve returning.
"Alright, let's focus and get this work done," Mirajane said, directing them back to the task at hand.
"Mhm. I'm really looking forward to the Fantasia Parade." Edolas Lisanna had participated in one Fantasia Parade before, and the memory was etched deeply into her mind. She naturally couldn't wait to experience it again.
"Yeah! Let's do our best!" Lisanna cheered. The three of them resumed their work with renewed vigor.
"Wow! That was incredible!" Sorano practically squealed, having thoroughly enjoyed the dramatic confrontation between Gray, Lyon, and Juvia. The classic expression of a highly satisfied gossip-monger was plastered across her face.
"Alright, that's enough eavesdropping. Get back to work," Ultear said, gently flicking Sorano's forehead.
"I know, I know~" Sorano picked up her tools and returned to her task. The main event was over for now, so she could finally focus on the festival preparations.
Ultear looked over at the three of them, still bickering and tangling with each other even as they worked, and let out a long sigh.
Thankfully, a full-blown fight hadn't broken out, but she could easily foresee the endless stream of headaches and complications that were bound to arise between Gray, Lyon, and Juvia in the future.
However, matters of the heart were something the three of them had to resolve themselves. It was very difficult for outsiders to intervene, and doing so often only made things worse.
She just never expected her two junior martial brothers to end up embroiled in such a dramatic, messy love triangle.
But then again, she herself was deeply entangled in a complex five-person relationship. She really wasn't in any position to judge them.
Thinking about this, she couldn't help but shoot a glare in Noah's direction before turning back to focus intensely on her work.
Noah, catching the sudden glare out of nowhere, was completely baffled. Without any context, he had absolutely no idea what he had done to annoy Ultear.
He could only shake his head, quietly slip away from his eavesdropping spot, and return to the safety of the bar counter.
Still, the gossip he had witnessed today was top-tier. He could already imagine how much livelier the guild was going to be in the days to come.
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