"What! Loki is actually a Star Spirit!"
The group returned to the guild and told everyone about Loki.
The companion they'd been goofing off with all day turned out to be the strongest Golden Star Spirit, and that news caused a huge uproar in the guild hall.
The most shocked was Gray, who had promised Loki to be partners in the upcoming guild S‑rank Mage examination.
With four months left until the exam, the comrade he swore to team up with has already become someone else's Star Spirit.
"Clearly I arrived first... 'Lord Gray, come, ah~'"
Gray opened his mouth and enjoyed the snack that Jubia had made especially for him. After getting over his initial discomfort, Gray has gradually come to accept Jubia.
Mainly because he now understands that no matter how much he struggles, he can't get rid of this love‑driven fool, so rather than resist, he'd rather lie back and enjoy... Poor Jubia still doesn't know that the dream lover she's feeding right now is actually thinking of another man... a Star Spirit.
Mira Jen sat behind the counter, listening to Hop as he recounted recent guild happenings, and couldn't help but sigh, "So many interesting things have happened these past two days. If only I'd postponed my photo shoot a few days..."
Speaking of photo shoots, Hop remembered that he had promised Taurus Taros a "top‑notch" photo book, and he immediately waved over Nazz in the hall.
"Nazz, I have a favor to ask of you."
"Another commission? Who are we supposed to spy on this time? I'm already fired up!"
Hop shook his head at the excited Nazz and said, "This time I need you to go to a nearby farm and take photos of some beautiful cows."
Nazz knew about Hop's promise to Taros and was surprised that the "top‑notch" shoot actually meant cows... Upon hearing it was a prank commission, Nazz immediately agreed.
At that moment, Lucy arrived holding Habi, and was fully on board with tricking Taros with the cows, saying, "By the way, Hop, Loki asked me to thank you for last time."
Hop nodded and then asked, "Lucy, are you okay?"
During the confrontation with the Star King, Lucy suddenly summoned all the Star Spirits. Though it lasted only an instant, it far exceeded the normal limits of a typical Star‑spirit mage.
What's stranger is that a massive surge of magic power suddenly erupted from Lucy, enabling her to summon the spirits.
Hop initially thought Lucy had activated a "second mana source" under extreme stress, but later found her magic had returned to its previous level.
In response to Hop's concern, Lucy gave a dry laugh, "I have no idea what happened. My mana was drained, and then suddenly a new surge came out of nowhere."
"Maybe it's because my family has been Star‑spirit mages for generations?"
Hop was taken aback, "All your ancestors were Star‑spirit mages?!"
Lucy nodded, "When I was little, my mother told me that our Hartphilia clan are born as Star‑spirit mages, and the spirits are happy to be our partners."
"I see," Hop understood.
The magic that let Lucy summon all the Star Spirits likely came from her bloodline, though she hasn't fully awakened it yet.
With that, the Star King's special attitude toward Lucy makes sense; perhaps he once made a pact with an ancestor of the Hartphilia family, so he treats Lucy as an "old friend."
After all, time flows differently in the Star Realm; years on Earth may be only months or a few years there.
"Lucy, I suspect there's an even stronger power hidden inside you. Keep pushing your mana to its limits; you might rekindle the force that let you summon all the spirits."
Hearing that she might have such potential, Lucy clenched her fists excitedly. She now possesses six golden keys, ready to summon six Golden Star Spirits at once... The thought was thrilling.
In her excitement, Lucy remembered something and pulled three beach‑resort vouchers from her pocket, "These were Loki's old pick‑up vouchers; now they're cheap for me."
Nazz took a voucher and, together with Habi, stared at the string of luxurious numbers, their eyes practically popping out.
"What a fancy hotel! I've never stayed anywhere like this in my life!"
"Wow! There's also the sea and the beach!"
Lucy kept one voucher for herself and gave another to Hop, "I just gave one to Elusha as well; I bet she'll pack her bags right away."
Because Nazz agreed to help Hop take "cow" photos, Lucy plans to relax at the resort after they're done; for her, vacations are best with friends.
Watching Nazz's party leave happily, Hop rubbed the voucher in his hand. One of these costs 200,000 J—so extravagant.
Even though he now has money, Hop still doesn't quite understand the mindset of high‑spending people; he'd rather spend his free time improving his strength at home.
But since it's a freebie, he shouldn't waste Lucy's kind offer.
Just then Elusha arrived, wearing a beach dress, a sun hat, and a swimming ring, "Hop, where are Lucy and the others?"
Hop smiled slightly at Elusha's eager expression, "They're out on some business. If you want to go on vacation with them, you'll have to wait a day."
Seeing the voucher in Hop's hand, Elusha suddenly had an idea, "Then maybe the two of us..."
Before she could finish, she saw Mira Jen slump over the counter, and a wave of drowsiness washed over her as well.
That feeling... is that guy back? The overwhelming sleepiness made Elusha collapse forward, landing right on top of Hop.
Hop helped Elusha lean against the counter and then turned to look at the hall, where companions were instantly falling into deep sleep, sprawled everywhere.
If the 'Dragon King' spell hadn't automatically purged that drowsiness, he might have collapsed too.
Clear footsteps approached—were they enemies? Hop gathered a dragon spear, but when the figure entered the doorway, wrapped tightly in armor, he frowned.
He recognized the figure from when he delivered herbs to Grandma Borusika.
One of the Fairy Tail S‑rank members, Mistress Gong.
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