Lucy's mouth twitched, but the thought of pointless brawling with Natsu versus the allure of super magic made her take a deep breath. She plastered on a strained, sugary smile and chirped in a cutesy voice, "No way, Cana~ I love helping you out! Whatever it is, you can totally count on me~"
"Oh, really?" Cana's grin turned dazzlingly bright. "You said it, Lucy!" For some reason, that smile reminded Lucy of Mirajane, and she swallowed hard, nodding heavily.
"Y-Yeah! I'm sure!"
Cana's lips curled smugly as she raised her right hand high. "Then—deal sealed!"
"(0_0) Again?! Why does everyone pull this contract trick?!" Lucy wailed internally.
"If Lucy's not into it, we can just drop it~" Cana teased, starting to lower her hand.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Lucy frantically grabbed Cana's retreating hand.
"Hehe~" Cana flashed a triumphant grin. "Since you grabbed my hand, I'll take that as a yes!"
"Ugh…" Lucy sighed in defeat, silently agreeing.
Hearing her consent, Cana spun around to Natsu, who was pacing impatiently. "Oh, Natsu, when I passed through the east forest earlier, I heard Gray saying, 'That fire-breathing idiot Natsu doesn't stand a chance against Lucy now.'"
"What?!" Natsu's temper flared instantly. "That droopy-eyed jerk's the one who can't beat me!"
Cana poured on more fuel. "He also said something like, 'Natsu's just my punching bag—'"
"WHAT?!" Flames erupted around Natsu, his body practically glowing with rage. "He's the punching bag! Gray, you're gonna get it!!"
Before he finished shouting, he shot out of the guild like a fiery gust, leaving a trail of sparks behind.
Lucy pointed at Natsu's vanishing figure, dumbfounded. "You… you're not worried he'll confront Gray about this?"
"Hmph~" Cana smirked, completely in control. "No way. Natsu'll see Gray and start swinging before they can even talk."
"I've used that line a million times, and it works every time!"
"=_= So you're a repeat offender, huh? And Natsu falls for it every time—he's gotta be a single-celled organism!" Lucy muttered.
"Wait!" She suddenly pointed at Happy, who was casually licking his paw on a nearby table. "Happy heard everything! That's okay?"
"No problem at all," Cana said coolly, flipping her hands to reveal a dozen cards with various patterns, like a magician pulling a trick.
"He won't snitch. I've got plenty of little 'toys' Happy's terrified of~"
"←_← In a way, you're kinda scary," Lucy said.
Cana clapped her hands, satisfied. "Alright, enough of that! With the troublemaker gone, let's get to business. The Harvest Festival's coming up, right?"
"Besides the evening 'Fantasy Parade,' the guild usually plans an extra event, but it's always something competitive, like a beauty pageant or a cooking contest."
"This year's different, though. With all the dark guild incidents we've handled and two new council members joining, the guild's popularity is through the roof!"
"The Master thinks a regular competition might not cut it, so he's got everyone brainstorming for something more exciting."
"I didn't hear anything about this!" Lucy tilted her head, confused.
Cana shrugged. "That's 'cause you were under Erza and Mirajane's 'special supervision' for ten days. Of course you didn't know."
"Fair enough…" Lucy's shoulders slumped.
"But if it's for the guild, I'm totally in!" Lucy perked up. "Cana, you could've just said so! I'd help even without the super magic bait."
"Really? Don't commit until you hear the details," Cana said, crossing her arms.
"I got super lucky recently and drew an awesome item."
"This item can turn a written story into a real scene—like a super realistic illusion that completely immerses the audience!"
"So, for this Harvest Festival, I thought we could use it to put on a big performance with the whole guild! It'll boost our reputation and be a blast for everyone!"
"But," Cana spread her hands, "I'm kinda bored with the stories from the novels I've drawn. I want something fresh and fun."
"So—I need you, Lucy, to help me adapt a story I've come up with!"
"Me? Adapt a novel?!" Lucy pointed at herself in disbelief. "And perform it at the Harvest Festival, in front of that many people?!"
She shook her head like a rattle. "No way, no way! I'm barely a rookie writer! My stuff isn't ready for an audience, let alone everyone!"
"See?" Cana said, as if it was obvious. "I knew you'd say that."
"But it's the Harvest Festival!" Lucy shrank back like a turtle.
"Relax!" Cana gave her a thumbs-up, brimming with encouragement. "You're not alone! I've got Levy and Roger helping too!"
"You, me, and Levy will write the story. Roger's our 'editor,' checking the plot for any tweaks it needs."
"Th-This… can I really do this?" Lucy hesitated, her confidence shaky.
Being a published novelist was her dream, but this was way too fast! In her mind, that was at least a decade away!
Cana patted her chest confidently. "Trust me! With my years of devouring novels and comics, I know this'll work. Have some faith in yourself!"
"No more talk!" Cana grabbed Lucy's wrist. "We've gotta start writing! The festival's just days away!"
"Wait! This is way too sudden! I'm not ready!" Lucy's protests were ignored as Cana dragged her out of the guild, her panicked voice echoing through the hall: "Hold on! At least let me rest for a bit!!"
Time flew, and soon it was the day before the Harvest Festival.
In the guild hall, Roger took a thick stack of manuscript pages from Cana, glancing at Lucy and Levy slumped in chairs nearby.
Their eyes were glazed, lips parted, looking like translucent white souls were drifting out of their mouths.
Roger raised an eyebrow, amused. "You guys… didn't stay up all night working on this script, did you?"
"Of course not~" Cana took a swig from a nearby bottle, her face showing signs of exhaustion but her eyes sparkling with excitement. "We even squeezed in an emergency job for Lucy to cover this month's rent."
She leaned in eagerly. "Enough about that! Check out the script! I'm super confident in this one!"
Roger looked down, and just the first line of the title made his mouth twitch.
Snow White vs. the Dragon?!
The name was so bizarre it rivaled something like "Peach Blossom Hero vs. Chrysanthemum Monster."
Taking a deep breath to brace himself, he flipped open the script.
After just a few pages, the wild plot made his pupils shrink.
The further he read, the more his expression twisted, almost too much to bear.
What kind of weird ideas were bouncing around in these three's heads?
"So? So?!" Cana leaned closer, her eyes gleaming. "Isn't it mind-blowing? Super creative, right?"
Roger's mouth twitched again as he closed the script, rubbing his temples. "Oh, it's 'blinding' alright—nearly burned my eyes out."
"You crammed way too many elements in here. Will the festival tourists even get it?"
"No worries!" Cana grinned, completely in control, patting her chest. "We'll have live narration to make everything crystal clear. It'll be fine!"
Roger's brows knitted together as he sighed, pointing to a spot in the script. "Okay, but why is the queen who poisons Snow White a beautiful older sister instead of the classic ugly old witch?"
Cana gave him a "duh" look. "Isn't it obvious? A pretty, gentle older sister hands you food versus a wrinkly old hag—who're you gonna take it from?"
Roger: "…"
"Alright, fine. But here—why's it a cake instead of an apple?"
"'Cause apples are boring!" Cana said, as if it was the most obvious thing. "Who'd pick an apple over a sweet cake or a juicy fried pork cutlet? Come on!"
Roger: "…"
He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling like any more questions might ruin his childhood fairy tale memories for good.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he said, "Alright, I get the gist of the script. Have you picked the roles yet?"
Cana flashed a confident thumbs-up, showing off her pearly whites. "No worries! The magic device for the performance auto-scans and picks the perfect cast!"
"And I'm not telling anyone what they're performing—just calling it an 'immersive story experience.' That way, everyone's reactions are raw and real!"
She added smugly, "The device can also generate props and plotlines on the fly based on the story and improv. Even if Erza gets cast, she'll pull it off smoothly!"
Hearing this, Roger didn't press further. After a few seconds of thought, he nodded. "Okay, you pass. Go report to the Master and prep for tomorrow's event."
"Awesome!" Cana cheered, grabbing the still-dazed Lucy and Levy, one in each hand, and bolting out of the guild. "Let's go, let's go! Tomorrow's the festival, and we've gotta send out notices and prep! Time's tight!!"
Soon, it was the second morning of the Harvest Festival.
Roger and Erza had just finished getting ready when a knock came at the door.
They exchanged a glance. Erza frowned, puzzled. "The notice said the guild event's at eleven. Who's knocking this early?"
She opened the door to find Mirajane standing there, smiling brightly and waving her left hand. "Morning, Roger!"
When she saw Erza, her smile dimmed slightly. Her eyes scanned Erza, still in pajamas, and she covered her mouth, teasing, "Oh my~ The mighty 'Titania' Erza, not even ready yet? Lazy girls don't exactly win hearts, you know~"
A vein pulsed on Erza's forehead. "It's six in the morning! Did you come here just to say that?"
"Of course not~" Mirajane giggled, brushing past Erza into the room, curiously looking around. "Nice, spacious place."
She tapped her chin. "Now that Kagura's moved out, maybe I should move in~"
She stepped closer to Roger, leaning forward slightly to show off her graceful profile, winking softly. "I'd love to be roommates with Roger~"
"I could make you a lovely breakfast every day~ Something Erza can't do, right?"
Mirajane was wearing a black dress with a white bow at the collar. Her slight lean revealed a glimpse of her fair, snow-white skin.
Roger froze for a few seconds, then felt a sudden heat in his nose as two streams of bright red blood trickled down without warning.
The unexpected sight stunned both women.
A second later, Mirajane burst out laughing. "Hahaha, Roger, you're too cute! Nosebleeding that easily?"
Wiping a tear from her eye, she deliberately traced a finger along her collarbone, her voice suggestive. "If you saw more, would you just pass out?"
"But, you know, see it enough, and you might build up some resistance~"
Her words hit both of them like a spark. Erza's forehead sprouted more veins, and she swung a fist at the brazenly "provocative" woman.
"Mirajane! That's enough!"
Mirajane nimbly dodged to the left, avoiding the heavy punch.
The gust from the swing cracked a nearby vase, shattering it and spilling water and flowers across the floor.
"Oh my~" Mirajane brushed a lock of white hair from her ear, tilting her head with a smug look at Erza. "Getting so mad, Erza—are you jealous?"
"Hmph!" Erza scoffed, unyielding. A flash of white light enveloped her, and her pajamas transformed into an adorable catgirl outfit.
Fluffy white cat ears perched on her head, and a soft white tail swished behind her. She puffed out her chest, raising a hand in a plush paw glove, striking a cute beckoning-cat pose with a playful, "Meow~!"
Her smooth skin was exposed to the air, and the coy, teasing meow tickled Roger's heart like a feather, making his barely-stopped nosebleed threaten to start again as his cheeks flushed red.
Seeing Roger's reaction, Erza shot a triumphant look at Mirajane. "See? I can do it too!"
"Oh my~" Mirajane covered her mouth, a sly glint in her eye. "I was talking about cooking, Erza. What were you showing off?"
Erza froze, her face turning beet red, steam practically rising from her head.
Another flash of light, and she swapped back to her normal clothes, muttering, "I-I meant cooking too—"
"Ahem," Roger coughed, quickly steering the conversation back. "Mirajane, you didn't come here just to—uh, you know. Is there something else?"
"As expected of Roger, you get me~ We're totally in sync~" Mirajane switched to a sweet smile. "I'm here to invite you on a date~"
"D-D-D-Date?!" Erza stammered like a broken record, her face flaming red.
"Yup~" Mirajane said with a cheerful grin. "I'm only free this afternoon, but the streets will be packed then."
"Lots of shops are open now, and it's not too crowded—perfect for a date~"
---