"Yeah, the one from the competition today, right? A very impressive girl."
"She is Simon's younger sister."
"What?!"
Erza was shocked. She hadn't expected that Kagura was actually Simon's sister.
"Then I'm really happy for Simon! Being able to reunite with family is the best thing!"
After the initial shock, Erza felt truly happy for Simon.
"I'm really happy to see you all safe and sound, Millianna!"
"Me too, Erza!"
"Why didn't you come over sooner? Didn't you know I was thinking about you all?!"
Erza spoke to Millianna in a slightly reproachful tone.
Millianna laughed: "Heehee, I originally planned to only reveal my identity once we won to give you and the others a surprise."
Speaking of this, Erza turned serious: "The one who will win is Fairy Tail. Even if you are my former comrade, I won't back down on this."
"You're still the same as ever, getting so serious the moment winning or losing is mentioned."
"But your guild's Kagura really is incredibly impressive."
"That's for sure. If she gets serious, she might be even stronger than you, Erza. But she definitely couldn't beat that monster Kael!"
Millianna knew Kael was a monster; he was one seven years ago, and after missing seven years of time, he seemed to have become even more of a monster. Seeing the Susanoo he used during the battle against Jura, she really didn't know how anyone could defeat a monster like that.
"Haha!"
Erza laughed upon hearing Millianna's troubled expression. She understood Kael much better than Millianna did. Kael was indeed the most headache-inducing existence; if she were Kael's opponent, she wouldn't have any way to deal with him either.
Afterward, Erza and Millianna found a quiet park to chat together.
After a while, Max shouted: "Lucy! Someone's looking for you!"
"Me?"
Lucy was stunned. She didn't expect anyone to be looking for her, as she didn't know any acquaintances.
Lucy curiously went to the door and saw a girl standing outside.
"Eh? It's you!"
The visitor was Yukino, who had represented Sabertooth in the Grand Magic Games today. As a fellow Celestial Spirit Mage, Lucy naturally had a deep impression of her.
"Miss Lucy, could we go somewhere private to talk?"
"In that case, come to my room."
Lucy led Yukino into her room.
"What is it you need from me?"
Lucy asked directly. She didn't exactly have any good feelings toward Sabertooth, nor did she have any ill will. It was just that meeting Sting and Rogue on the first day in Crocus, hearing them belittle Fairy Tail, had made her a bit unhappy.
"I'm very sorry, but I have a request. Miss Lucy, please accept this."
As Yukino spoke, she pulled out two keys and placed them on the table: "The Pisces key and the Libra key. I hope these two keys can be entrusted to you, Miss Lucy."
"Eh?"
Lucy was a bit confused: "Why? Aren't you a Celestial Spirit Mage too? I can't accept these."
Although she wanted to collect all the keys to the Twelve Gates of the Zodiac, she didn't want to rely on methods of plunder to obtain them. Celestial Spirits and Celestial Spirit Mages signed contracts, which meant they were partners through life and death.
"I decided this from the first day I saw you—that I would hand these keys to you when the competition ended."
"Isn't the competition still ongoing? This is only the second day. There are still three more days of matches."
"My competition is already over. The one who will most likely appear in my place will be Lady Minerva. If that happens, the strongest five who changed Sabertooth will be gathered."
"Weren't you one of the strongest group of five?"
Yukino shook her head: "How could that be?! Someone like me is just a newcomer. I was merely appearing in place of Lady Minerva, who was away on a job."
"But even so, you don't need to entrust your spirits to me! Aren't you also a Celestial Spirit Mage..."
"Precisely because of that. If they can fight under a more excellent Celestial Spirit Mage like you, Miss Lucy, it would probably be a happier existence for the spirits."
Hearing this, Lucy quickly waved her hands: "No, no, no, I'm not that excellent!"
"You already possess ten of the twelve keys to the Zodiac. If you add these two, you will have all twelve keys and open the gate that will change the world."
"The gate that will change the world?"
Lucy looked perplexed.
"It is a very ancient legend, and I don't quite understand its meaning myself. Perhaps you've noticed it already; in these few years, the number of Celestial Spirit Mages has drastically decreased. Not long ago, the Zentopia incident also occurred. Perhaps we are the only Celestial Spirit Mages left. You are someone who is loved by spirits and who cares for them. You are the one who should hold all twelve keys and move forward together with the spirits."
After thinking for a moment, Lucy answered: "I can't. I still can't accept them."
Yukino looked at Lucy in surprise. To a Celestial Spirit Mage, the spirits of the Twelve Gates of the Zodiac were a massive temptation, and gathering all twelve keys was a dream for every Celestial Spirit Mage. Lucy actually chose to refuse in the face of such a temptation.
Lucy explained: "Celestial Spirit Magic is a magic of bonds and trust. It is never just a simple relationship of ownership. Spirits trust us, and that's why they sign contracts with us. This contract isn't one-way; it's two-way. Neither side can betray the other."
Yukino said with a smile: "Miss Lucy truly does love spirits."
Lucy felt a bit embarrassed by Yukino's words: "It's nothing much! By the way, you don't look very well. Did something happen? If there's anything I can help with, you can tell me."
Hearing Lucy's words, tears couldn't help but fall from Yukino's eyes.
This immediately threw Lucy into a panic. What was going on? "W... What's wrong? Why are you crying?!" It made it look like she was the one bullying her.
"I... I have nowhere left to go..."
"What do you mean?"
"I've always looked up to Sabertooth and finally joined last year. But I can never go back again. Because of a single failure, I was kicked out. I was made to stand naked in front of a huge crowd and personally remove my guild mark with my own hands. I am so... so unwilling..."
"What?!"
Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief: "You were kicked out of the guild just because of one failure?! That's too much! How can there be a guild like that!"
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