Lucy jogged over from a distance once she saw the enemy drop. She peeked at Brian's caved-in, totally mangled face and her mouth twitched.
"His—his face is sunk in! Shouldn't we do something? He looks like he's about to croak!"
"Relax," Roger said, casually tossing a sleep spell onto Brian.
"It just looks bad. I pulled my punches—after all…" He gave a meaningful smirk. "They might still come in handy later."
"I already contacted Simon. The arrest team for the Six Demon Generals will be here soon."
Mira ended her Take Over and turned curiously to Lucy. "That Celestial Spirit you summoned earlier—wasn't that originally Sora's?"
"You already contracted it that fast?"
"Nope," Lucy said, twirling the golden key on her finger. "Unclaimed Spirit Keys let you do one temporary summon before finding their real owner. It's usually for signing the contract."
"They'll almost always help out if you ask, but it's a one-time thing. If you summon them again for a fight, they won't contract with you."
"Ooh~" Mira nodded, tapping her chin. "Got it. So that 'Lisa' was Gemini, right? They can copy anyone like changing clothes—including their magic?"
Lucy: "Exactly! Not just magic—thoughts and memories too! But if the target's magic is way stronger than mine, Gemini can't pull it off."
"Good thing I took that week-long extermination job—my magic's up a ton, or Gemini never could've copied Lisa!"
She pumped her fist, grinning. "That ten-day boot camp wasn't for nothing! With Taurus Spirit Dress boosting me, I can finally hold my own in a fight!"
"Ara~" Mira leaned in with a teasing smile. "Wanna train with us again, Lucy? Next time you might even beat Brian~"
"NO WAY!" Lucy shook her head like a rattle, crossing her arms in a big X. "Once was plenty! Do it again and I'll lose the will to live!"
Erza scanned the area, her armor clinking softly. "Where'd Wendy and the others go?"
"Happy's giving them the play-by-play," Lucy said helplessly, pointing. A sweat drop rolled down her forehead. "This guy's about to spill how much money he's saved—"
Everyone looked over. Happy was wildly gesturing, wrapping up his epic tale, then scooting up to Charle like he was presenting a treasure.
"Charle~ How'd I do?"
"Hmm—" Charle crossed her arms, chin up. "Not bad."
She praised me! Happy's eyes turned to hearts. He puffed up like a balloon, tail wagging like crazy.
Hehe, her voice is so nice.
Riding the high, Happy slicked back his nonexistent bangs and flashed a thumbs-up.
"That's our strength! Even if Oración Seis showed up, we'd crush 'em~"
"Hey—" Lucy loomed over him, hands on hips, shadow swallowing Happy. "We did the fighting! What's this 'our strength'? You didn't help at all!"
Happy didn't even turn around, just lazily swatted at Lucy with a paw like shooing a noisy fly.
Lucy's temple throbbed. "You little—"
"Um—" Wendy piped up timidly. "Lucy seems mad, Happy. Maybe answer her?"
"It's fine~" Happy waved it off. "She's always like this. That's why no one's after her—she's got zero charm."
"Plus, getting mad gives you wrinkles, Wendy. Don't pick up her habits—"
His sentence cut off as two fists clamped his temples. He was hoisted into the air, pain shooting through his skull.
"OW OW OW! LUCY, WHAT THE HECK?! LET GO OF LORD HAPPY!"
Lucy's head sprouted angry "#" marks. She twisted her fists. "I'm showing you what an 'angry woman' can do!"
"My head's turning into a screw! I'M GONNA DIE!" Happy flailed like a fish on a line.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Charle starting to walk away. He stretched a paw desperately. "WAIT! CHARLE!! I still gotta tell you about Lucy's training mishaps—like when she face-planted in mud, or when she snuck midnight snacks and—OW OW OWWW!!"
Lucy cranked harder, hissing through gritted teeth: "Oh, you know so much, huh? Why don't you tell me all my 'fun' training stories?"
In the nick of time, Happy's eyes bulged. He stared skyward and shrieked like he'd found buried treasure:
"LOOK! A 10,000J bill floating by!"
"Huh? Where?!" Lucy's head snapped up—blue sky, not even a bird.
"Nothing's there—you lying—"
She looked down. Empty hands. Happy rocketed toward Charle, sticking his tongue out mid-flight.
"Hehe~" His tail swished smugly. "As if a mere Lucy could catch the agile Lord Happy?"
Mid-boast, his flight froze. He looked down—a black whip coiled tight around his waist.
Whoosh. He was yanked back like a hooked fish.
Lucy smirked. "Hmph. A dumb cat thinks he can escape my grasp?"
"Let me go!" Happy thrashed. "You're crushing my budding romance with Charle! Just 'cause you're single doesn't mean you get to hate on my happiness!"
"Ha?" Lucy's face said she'd heard the world's dumbest joke. "You? In love? She doesn't even like you!"
Happy shrugged, pouting. "Lucy just doesn't get girls. Charle's totally into me."
"I don't get girls?!" Lucy jabbed her own nose, yelling: "I am a girl!"
"You're saying I don't understand girls?!"
Happy smirked, mimicking Duke Everlue's sleazy drawl: "'No, go home, you ugly hag'~"
"Ya~ Lucy's got zero charm. Her one shot at seduction? Total flop. So bad~"
Lucy: "=_=#"
"That guy's taste was trash!" She struck a magazine-pose, hands on hips, winking. "This girl's cute and sexy—tons of people are into me!"
"Mrow~ I'm just a kitty, I don't get human beauty standards~" Happy shook his head sagely. "But I'm the guild's second to couple up after Roger. Jealousy's useless, Lucy~"
"You? Coupled?" Lucy felt his forehead. "No fever…"
"Of course!" Happy wriggled free, twisting like noodles. "She touched my face! She's gotta like me!"
"=_= She was pushing you away—"
Watching Happy float off in a lovesick daze, Lucy facepalmed. "This lovesick idiot cat… no saving him." She sighed, heading to Roger. He was using illusion magic to fake the other three Oración Seis members.
"To get the Council to arrest them?" Lucy asked curiously.
"But illusions eat magic fast—can you hold them?"
"Lucy's so dumb~" Happy spread his paws. "Just make 'em vanish in custody. Council looks incompetent—enemies 'escaped.' Even you could've thought of that."
"Ohhh—" Lucy scooted next to Charle and yelled: "Wow! Happy's so sneaky! What a scheming black-hearted cat! Gotta stay far away from now on!"
"(O_O)" Happy froze mid-air.
She's ruining my pure, innocent image in front of Charle!
He opened his mouth to explain—then Ichiya's voice rang out:
"Men~! The Oración Seis wiped out so fast? As expected of Fairy Tail!"
Everyone turned. Ichiya and Hibiki led a squad in matching uniforms.
A bespectacled man approached Roger respectfully. "Lord Roger, first meeting. I'm Lahar, Captain of the New Council's 4th Custody Enforcement Unit, here to take the Oración Seis."
"Go ahead," Roger stepped aside.
Young agents slapped anti-magic chains on the unconscious demons. Lucy eyed the illusions nervously, but they held perfectly—even got chained like the real deal.
She exhaled in relief, then felt eyes on her and changed the subject. "You guys are fast."
Lahar smiled. "We were nearby on 'field training.' Got Simon's message and floored it."
He nodded to Roger. "We'll head out."
After the unit left, a rookie muttered: "Captain, why be so polite to that Roger? We're the Council—we should get respect!"
Lahar adjusted his glasses, eyeing the rookie. "Rule one: observe your surroundings."
"Oración Seis annihilated. Blue Pegasus arrived with us—meaning Fairy Tail soloed the fight."
"Most important—" He glanced back at the tiny black specks that were Fairy Tail. "Not one injury. Clothes barely dirty. They crushed it effortlessly. Against that level of power, politeness isn't weakness—it's smart."
"Plus, with Simon and Councillor Ultear in that guild? Even another Councillor would play nice."
He shook his head. "The Council and Fairy Tail aren't what they used to be."
Meanwhile, Wendy remembered the master's request and trotted to Roger.
"Um, Mr. Roger—our master asked if you'd visit our guild after the job."
She turned to the others, voice louder after bonding. "Everyone's invited! Our guild's in a small village—famous for textiles. Lots of cute clothes and local food. You'll love it!"
"New clothes?" Erza's eyes sparkled, finger to chin. "Perfect for expanding my Requip wardrobe."
Seeing her face, Roger smiled and nodded.
The group followed Wendy to a cat-shaped building. Everyone else went with her to explore—Roger entered the main hall alone.
Inside, an old man with a bushy beard and brows nearly merging, colorful feathers in his hair, sat in the center.
He looked up, smiling warmly. "Pleasure to meet you, Prince Roger. I'm Roubaul."
Roger raised a brow at the projection crystal nearby. "You saw the movie?"
"Hehe—" Roubaul stroked his beard. "Wendy loves that story. Watches it on repeat."
His face grew serious. "I called you here for two things: Wendy, and the Oración Seis' target—Nirvana."
"As an illusion mage, you've already seen through it. Everyone here except Wendy and Charle is my illusion."
"And I—" He stared at his palms. "—am just a thought-form clinging to obsession. My real body turned to dust 200 years ago."
"As the chief of the Nirvit tribe that created Nirvana, I've guarded this place, waiting for someone to destroy it."
"Until recently—Wendy bought that crystal from a passing merchant." His eyes burned into Roger. "After the movie, I knew. The one I waited for—powerful magic, fellow illusionist—you."
"I want to hire you to destroy Nirvana and alter Wendy's memories. Payment: ancient spellbooks."
"Alter memories?" Roger frowned. Nirvana made sense—this request didn't.
Roubaul's eyes softened with bitterness and love. "Wendy already suffered one goodbye seven years ago."
"Nirvana's destruction ends my mission. This fake guild vanishes—I don't want her to endure another heartbreaking farewell."
"Kids shouldn't carry this weight. Let her remember only the happy parts."
He shook his head, form flickering. "My thought-form's nearly out of magic. Forcing memory magic could damage her mind—or worse."
"So—" He looked at Roger pleadingly. "I'm asking you—strong, skilled in illusions—to do it."
"I'll teach you memory magic. With your talent, you'll master it fast."
"Will you accept?"
Roger thought, then nodded. "I accept."
"But I already know memory magic—no need to teach me."
He smirked playfully. "But aren't you worried I might want Nirvana's power?"
"That taboo magic could wreck the world. What if I get tempted—"
Roubaul chuckled, beard quivering. "People who ask that are usually the clearest-headed."
"And—" Outside, Erza and Mira's lively bickering echoed:
"This'll look way better on me than some white-haired lady!"
"Oh? Only insecure people compare. Dare let Roger judge?"
"Hmph, you're on! Don't cry when you lose!"
The old man's eyes twinkled with worldly warmth and a hint of mischief.
"Someone who fits in with that crew and earns their trust… has an unshakable heart and kindness."
"Right, Prince Roger?"
Roger's lips curved. He looked at the elder about to complete his final duty. Sunlight streamed through the window, casting warm spots on his hunched form.
Outside, his friends' noisy, lively voices mixed with Wendy's carefree, bell-like laughter.
In that moment, he thought—this outcome wasn't half bad.