"You... you... what did you say?"
Erza was a bit stunned, looking at Qi Yan in disbelief.
Qi Yan said with a smile, "I said, 'Alright!' After this matter is over, we'll go back to the marriage registry, get our marriage certificate, and then have a grand wedding witnessed by everyone in the Guild."
"Wedding?!!!"
Lucy and Happy were startled by this, but luckily they were prepared and quickly covered each other's mouths. As for not covering their own, they were afraid they might accidentally let out a gasp.
Qi Yan continued, "After we get married, we'll have a few babies. How many? Hmm, the more the merrier."
"Ma... ma... marriage... babies..."
When Erza heard that Qi Yan actually agreed to marry her and have babies with her, her face flushed crimson.
If there was anything Erza was most interested in, besides armor, it was marriage. She even had a carefully selected wedding dress in her magical spatial suit, ready to wear for her own wedding someday. This wedding dress, besides when she secretly wore it in her dorm, had never been seen by outsiders.
Erza waved her hands frantically, "I... I... I was just joking! Besides, you... aren't you in love with Mira?"
"I do like Mira, but that doesn't mean I don't like you!"
Qi Yan sighed, feigning sadness, "Sigh! I thought my spring had finally arrived, but I didn't expect my feelings to be deceived."
Erza felt a pang of guilt seeing Qi Yan like this.
Seeing Erza's expression, Qi Yan couldn't help but laugh, "Haha! Just kidding!"
Hearing Qi Yan say that, Erza felt a bit angry. Although she was the one who joked first, she was still annoyed.
"However, jokes aside, if I could really marry such a wonderful woman like Erza, I'd wake up laughing in my dreams."
As Qi Yan said this, his hands were clasped behind his head, a relaxed smile on his face, but his words were exceptionally sincere and earnest, making one feel that they came from his heart.
Erza's heart couldn't help but pound faster, and her face slowly turned red.
Lucy and Happy, eavesdropping not far away, had expressions of having stumbled upon a big piece of gossip, trying hard not to make a sound.
They never expected to overhear such an exciting conversation.
Lucy even imagined a love story between Qi Yan, Mira, and Erza, which provided great inspiration for her novel.
Just as the two thought they might hear something even more explosive...
Suddenly!
Qi Yan's voice rang out, "Hey! Have you two heard enough?!!"
Lucy and Happy froze for a moment, then looked up to see Qi Yan's face.
"Eek——!!!!"
The two couldn't help but scream in fright.
"Oh! Qi Yan, what a coincidence! Are you out for work too!"
Lucy awkwardly raised her hand to greet him.
"Coincidence? You've been stealthily following me since the train station, so that's quite a coincidence indeed."
"We were discovered?!"
Lucy and Happy's eyes widened.
"You didn't really think you were hiding well, did you?"
From the moment he entered the train station, Qi Yan had noticed the two. Perhaps due to repeatedly taking on different roles, or maybe his breathing technique, his five senses and magic perception had greatly improved. The moment their gaze fell on his back, he noticed them. However, he didn't make a fuss, wanting to see what they were up to.
It turned out these two were quite bold, openly approaching, and he even heard their gasps clearly.
"Happy... you... hmm, you were at Fairy Tail yesterday too, right..."
Erza also stood up and saw the two. When she returned to the Guild yesterday, she had also seen Lucy. The Guild didn't have that many people, and Erza had met almost everyone. A young, beautiful, unfamiliar girl like Lucy still left an impression on Erza.
Lucy immediately bowed and said, "I'm a newcomer, my name is Lucy. Please take care of me."
"I'm Erza, please take care of me. So, you're the girl the Guild members were discussing, the one who defeated the mercenary gorilla and such. Very reliable."
Erza had also heard many people discussing Lucy, because she had dealt with a certain influential person, causing quite a stir and spreading widely.
"That was... Natsu who defeated him. It's a bit different from the truth..."
Lucy had been explaining all day yesterday. She wasn't sure why Natsu's good deed was being attributed to her.
"By the way, where's Natsu?"
She wasn't familiar with Lucy, but she knew Happy and Natsu were almost inseparable.
"That's right, Natsu!"
Lucy finally remembered Natsu and quickly went over to help the motion-sick Natsu up.
"Ha ah! Ha ah! Ugh~~!"
Natsu looked very uncomfortable.
"Hey—! Don't you dare throw up on me?!"
Soon, the group sat facing each other.
"So... tell me, what are you here for?"
Erza had reverted to her usual cool and composed self, as if the person who had just joked with Qi Yan wasn't her at all.
This startled Lucy and the others.
"It's Natsu! Natsu was curious about what you invited Qi Yan to do, so he dragged Happy and me along."
"Aye~!"
Adhering to the principle of sacrificing others to save themselves, Lucy and Happy unhesitatingly sold Natsu out.
"Ugh! Ugh ugh~! Ugh ugh~!"
Natsu immediately covered his mouth, shaking his head repeatedly, while glaring at Lucy and Happy. He had suggested it, but weren't they two very interested? They couldn't let him take all the blame, those two traitors.
"I see."
Erza nodded.
"You... you're not angry?"
Lucy remembered how Erza had lectured almost the entire Guild yesterday when she returned, and everyone in the Guild was afraid of Erza. She had thought Erza had a bad temper.
"Angry? Why would I be angry? Actually, if Qi Yan wasn't here this time, I would have invited Natsu and Gray to come with me for this mission. Since Qi Yan is here, I naturally don't need them."
"Then why didn't you just invite Natsu and Gray?"
Qi Yan was a bit helpless. He still wanted to do S-rank missions. Working with Erza, no matter how difficult, the system wouldn't give him any rewards.
"Of course, because you're more reliable!"
"Don't think I'll be Happy just because you say nice things. Tell me, what do you really need my help with?"
"That's right! For someone as powerful as Miss Erza to need help from others, it must be a very tricky matter."
After Erza left yesterday, Lucy had also learned from Mira that Erza was actually Fairy Tail Guild's strongest female Mage, also known as the 'Fairy Queen.'
She wasn't familiar with the name Erza, but she knew 'Fairy Queen.' That was a famous Mage in the magic world. She just hadn't expected her to be such a beautiful woman like Erza.
"No need to be so polite, just call me Erza. It's time to get to the point. This is something I unexpectedly overheard on the way back..."