Chapter 418: We Will Change This World
"Since everything is sorted out here, let's rest for the night and continue our journey to the Royal City tomorrow."
Noah looked up at the sky; it was already approaching dusk.
According to Edolas Lucy, if Noah used his magic to boost everyone's speed like before, they could naturally reach the next city before nightfall. However, they weren't pressed for time now, so there was no need to rush so frantically.
He made the suggestion to the group, and hearing it, no one voiced any objections.
Following Edolas Lucy's lead, they found a hotel in the city and checked in. Noah once again applied his illusion magic to everyone, ensuring their faces wouldn't draw any unwanted attention from the locals.
They rented three large rooms. Since there were more girls, they took two of the rooms, leaving the remaining large room for the guys.
After eating dinner together, everyone went to take a bath.
By the time the guys had all finished washing up, the girls were still in the middle of their baths. In the main hall of their suite, Noah, Laxus, and the other guys were gathered around a map of Edolas they had borrowed from the innkeeper, studying it carefully.
"The topography here doesn't look much different from Earth Land," Noah observed. He had pulled up a map of Earth Land through his Archive magic and compared it with the physical map in front of them, noting the striking similarities in their geography.
"It really is amazing. To think two different worlds could share so many similarities," Laxus said, his eyes shifting between the two maps.
"At a normal walking pace, we're about four days away from the Royal City. We aren't in a hurry, so traveling normally is fine. It'll give us a chance to take in more of this other world's scenery and broaden our horizons," Noah told the group.
Everyone nodded in agreement. They briefly discussed their upcoming schedule, but with Noah's magic at their disposal, there wasn't much else to worry about.
After chatting for a while, the group dispersed, each finding a comfortable spot to sit and relax.
At that moment, Gajeel sneakily approached Noah and signaled for him to step into a secluded corner.
"Didn't you say you'd bring me here to find a cat? Where are the cats?" Gajeel asked in a hushed, urgent voice.
"The cat you're destined to find is in the Royal City. You'll only meet them once we get there," Noah replied truthfully.
"You're not messing with me, are you?" Gajeel eyed Noah with deep suspicion.
"Of course not. Why would I lie to you about that?" Noah spread his hands defensively.
Hearing this, Gajeel nodded. It was true that Noah had no real reason to deceive him about this. A rare smile crept onto his face as he walked away, and Noah returned to the main hall.
Just then, the girls finished their baths and began filtering into the room one by one, dressed in their pajamas.
"Is it really okay for us to discuss our plans out in the open like this?" Earth Land Lucy asked, noticing the map Noah and the others had left spread out on the table.
"It's fine. I've already set up a barrier. No one outside will know what's happening in here; they can't see or hear us, and they'll subconsciously ignore this room altogether," Noah explained.
"That's incredibly convenient. This guy's body is exactly the same as mine too!" Edolas Lucy exclaimed, marveling at the situation now that she knew their privacy was guaranteed.
"Don't just say things like that out loud!" Earth Land Lucy shouted, visibly flustered.
"The guys are right here, you know. You should be a bit more mindful," Mirajane chuckled, looking at Edolas Lucy.
"I don't really care," Edolas Lucy said, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Well, I care!" Earth Land Lucy grew even more frantic.
Natsu stared blankly at the two identical Lucys standing in front of him.
"What's wrong, Natsu? Do you want to see?" Edolas Lucy teased with a smirk, her hands moving toward the hem of her shirt.
"Stop it!" Earth Land Lucy practically tackled Edolas Lucy, pinning her hands down to prevent her from doing anything reckless.
The others couldn't help but stare at Natsu and the two Lucys.
"Pfft!" Natsu's expression suddenly broke, and he burst out laughing.
"W-What's so funny?! Let me guess... you're about to make some snarky comment about how Edo-Lucy's figure is way more explosive than mine, aren't you?!" Earth Land Lucy glared at Natsu.
Hearing this, Edolas Lucy broke into a proud smile.
"I just meant, don't go taking a bath with yourself!" Natsu wheezed, trying desperately to hold back his laughter as he looked at the two of them.
"Now that you mention it..."
Both Lucys froze simultaneously. The others looked at their matching pajamas (which the girls recognized as the ones Earth Land Lucy normally wore) and their identical faces, nodding involuntarily.
"You really can't tell them apart at all," Wendy said, her eyes wide with wonder.
"Just looking at them right now, the two Lucy-nees are completely identical," Meredy observed. As long as they weren't speaking or expressing their vastly different personalities, she admitted it was near impossible to tell who was who.
"It's true. I didn't expect even the shape of our butts to be exactly the same..." Edolas Lucy remarked with a thoughtful sigh.
"I said stop talking about that!" Earth Land Lucy yelled, her face burning red as she scolded her counterpart.
Ultear and the older girls glanced over at the guys. Noah and the others looked a bit awkward; it was a conversation they shouldn't really be eavesdropping on.
Natsu, however, was completely unfazed. He suddenly jumped to his feet.
"You guys could totally play the mirror game, couldn't you?!" he laughed, swiftly darting back and forth, positioning himself face-to-face in two different spots to mime the mirror game he was talking about.
"Who would ever do that?!" Both Lucys clenched their fists and shouted angrily in perfect unison.
"Even their timing is exactly the same..." Cana noted from the sidelines.
"They really are like twins," Ultear added.
Everyone nodded in agreement. If no one had told them, who would ever guess these two had absolutely no blood relation?
"Seeing this is almost like she summoned Gemini," Happy pointed out. He and Carla had taken off their heavy cloaks, though they still wore a few extra layers of clothing as a disguise.
"Yeah, you're right." Natsu stopped his miming, strongly agreeing with Happy's observation.
"Gemini? It really is just like that," Ultear and the others who had seen the celestial spirit nodded.
"Gemini?" Edolas Lucy asked, looking confused.
"They're Celestial Spirits I formed a contract with. They have the ability to transform into other people," Earth Land Lucy explained proudly. To demonstrate, she pulled out a key and summoned them.
"Ta-da! Gemini is here!"
In an instant, a third Lucy, dressed in her everyday Earth Land attire, appeared beside them. Edolas Lucy stared at this brand-new copy, her jaw practically hitting the floor.
"Now it's not just two Lucys, it's three!" Earth Land Lucy declared cheerfully.
"That's awesome! We could use this for a guessing game at the next guild banquet! Guess which one is the real Lucy!" Natsu cheered excitedly.
"NOBODY WANTS TO PLAY THAT!" The three Lucys shouted furiously at Natsu in perfect, terrifying synchronization.
"First it was two of them syncing up, and now all three of them are doing it?" Sorano watched the bizarre scene with intense curiosity. She quickly pulled out her camera and snapped several pictures of the three identical blondes.
"Ah! Stop taking pictures! What if you capture me looking ugly?!" Earth Land Lucy rushed over to Sorano in a panic.
"Of course I won't. All three of you are gorgeous; there's no way the picture would turn out ugly. Besides, isn't having three of you together totally worth commemorating? Obviously, I had to capture it." Sorano printed out the photos she had just taken and handed them out. Earth Land Lucy let out a sigh of relief when she saw she looked quite good in the picture.
Sorano printed an extra copy for Edolas Lucy, who took it and stared at the three Lucys in the frame, finding the entire concept incredibly novel.
After everyone had admired the photos, Gray looked at the two real Lucys. "It really is hard to tell you two apart."
"They're both Lucy-nee," Yukino said, having already given up on differentiating them since it didn't really matter.
"Didn't you say you had a Celestial Spirit who cuts hair?" Edolas Lucy asked Earth Land Lucy, recalling a conversation they had earlier.
"Mhm, Cancer the Giant Crab. Let's have him give it a try," Earth Land Lucy smiled, summoning Cancer.
"Long time no see, ebi!" Cancer said with his signature pose as soon as he appeared.
"He's a crab spirit, but his catchphrase is 'shrimp'?" Edolas Lucy deadpanned.
"See?! That's exactly what I said! You get it!" Earth Land Lucy nodded furiously, thrilled to finally have someone validate her oldest complaint.
"Snip, snip, snip! How does this feel, ebi?"
Per Edolas Lucy's request, Cancer gave her a fresh, short haircut.
"Mhm. That takes care of the confusion problem," Edolas Lucy said, running a hand through her newly cropped hair with a satisfied nod.
"But are you really okay with this? Cutting it so short?" Earth Land Lucy asked, looking at her counterpart.
"Hmm? Is it customary to be super protective of your hair in Earth Land?" Edolas Lucy asked, tilting her head.
"You could say that. It's how most girls generally feel, ebi," Cancer chimed in.
"Most girls prefer to keep their hair long," Mirajane smiled. She gestured to the other girls in the room; aside from Lisanna, everyone had long hair, just of varying lengths.
"Girls, huh..." Edolas Lucy scratched the back of her short hair awkwardly and offered a wry smile.
She fell silent for a moment, walking over to the window. When she spoke again, her tone was heavy and subdued. "In a world like this, worrying about things like being 'girly' is just stupid. Just staying alive takes everything we have."
Hearing her words, Noah and the others fell into a solemn silence.
Happy looked at Edolas Lucy's face—so identical to the Lucy he knew—and couldn't help but walk up and ask, "But... all the guild members back there seemed so happy?"
"That's because they have to be. If we don't force ourselves to smile, it's too easy for our hearts to just break and give in to the despair. Besides, there are still people in this world who believe our existence is necessary. That's why, even if we've been reduced to a Dark Guild, we'll keep the guild going no matter what," Edolas Lucy said, her eyes filled with fierce determination.
Hearing her unwavering resolve, genuine smiles broke out across the Earth Land members' faces.
"But... we can't just keep living like this forever!" Edolas Lucy whispered softly to herself.
"Huh?" Earth Land Lucy hadn't quite caught the whisper and looked at her with a questioning expression.
"Of course you can't."
Mirajane stepped forward, gently taking Edolas Lucy's hands in her own. Earth Land Lucy might not have heard it, but the S-Class mages with their heightened senses had heard every word perfectly.
"Ah?" Edolas Lucy froze, surprised that her quiet murmur had been overheard.
"If things stay the way they are, people will eventually break. Of course it can't go on like this," Erza said firmly.
"We came here—to put it selfishly—for revenge," Noah began, his voice brimming with unshakeable confidence. "But to put it more nobly, we came here to change this world. Because of our arrival, this world is going to be turned completely upside down."
"Exactly. Since they dared to attack Fairy Tail, they shouldn't expect to get off easy. They're going to pay a hundred times over!" Laxus stated grimly. Arcs of lightning began to crackle around his body as his emotions flared.
Noah reached out and patted Laxus to calm him down, then turned back to Edolas Lucy.
"We have the resolve, and we have the power. The King of Edolas is going to have a very bad time. And when the dust settles, this entire Kingdom will undergo a massive shift, and your situation will drastically improve."
"But the Royal Army..." Edolas Lucy couldn't help but voice her fear. Just thinking about the Royal Army's overwhelming might sent shivers down her spine.
"It's not just one or two of us who came this time. It's a whole group of us. And almost every single one of my comrades here possesses the strength to take on an entire Mage Guild single-handedly. And the guy standing next to me? He's way beyond that level. He's incredibly strong," Noah said, clapping Laxus on the shoulder.
Laxus rolled his eyes at Noah, then looked at the thoroughly shocked Edolas Lucy.
"Our strength is decent enough. But the guy standing next to me is the biggest monster of all," Laxus corrected her, pointing his thumb at Noah. "Let me put it this way: speeding up your teleportation sequence, casually forging high-density magic crystals from nothing, enchanting all of us to move at supersonic speeds—none of that is his true power. To him, those things are as easy as breathing. I seriously suspect this guy could take on an entire country all by himself." Laxus eyed Noah with deep suspicion.
"I don't know what you're talking about! How would I know something like that?! Who would be bored enough to try and fight a whole country?!" Noah quickly denied it.
"Aren't we literally preparing to fight a country right now? And notice how you didn't actually refute my point? You're clearly confident you could solo a nation. Seriously, you really are a monster. Spill it! What else are you hiding from us?!" Laxus demanded without hesitation.
"Nothing! You're just guessing! I never said any of that!" Noah argued back.
"Natsu, Gray, Gajeel! Get over here and help me pin him down! We're making him spill his secrets today!" Laxus called out to the other guys.
Natsu and the others grinned, cracking their knuckles eagerly.
Seeing the ambush forming, Noah quickly turned to make a break for it. Laxus and the others gave chase, and soon the guys were running and wrestling playfully all around the main hall.
Edolas Lucy was entirely overwhelmed by their casual boasts. First, she was told that each of them could take on a guild, and then she was told that Noah could potentially take on an entire country! Even if it was just a possibility, it was a terrifying prospect. Her head was spinning.
"What they're saying is exactly how we all feel. We came here to take the fight to the Kingdom because they hurt Fairy Tail. After we get our revenge, the whole world will be vastly different, and things will get better for you. So don't worry so much. Everything is going to be alright," Ultear told Edolas Lucy with a reassuring smile.
"Really? Will things really get better?" Edolas Lucy asked, looking desperately at Ultear and the other girls.
She had been trapped in this hopeless, oppressive environment for so long that she was exhausted, body and soul. It wasn't just her; everyone in the guild felt the same way. The only reason they put on brave faces and forced themselves to smile was so they wouldn't burden each other with their individual despair.
But now, hearing the absolute certainty in Noah and the others' voices, a genuine spark of hope ignited deep within her heart.
"Of course it's true. We are going to change this world. You have to believe us," Ultear affirmed without a shred of doubt.
The other girls around them nodded warmly, reinforcing Ultear's promise.
~~~
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