Erza scanned the entire hall, taking in everyone's movements.
"Macao! Wakaba! Go to work!"
"Nab! You're by the mission board every day, yet I've never seen you take a request!"
"Gray! Clothes!"
"Cana! Do you do anything besides drink every day?"
Every person named by Erza became incredibly well-behaved; not a single soul dared to talk back to her.
Even the old-timers Macao and Wakaba didn't dare lift their heads in front of Erza. The whispering between the two old men came to an abrupt halt. They were as obedient as primary school students meeting their teacher.
Cana and Gray were even more submissive. Gray, having been disciplined by Erza since childhood, put his clothes on immediately after she spoke.
He responded weakly: "Aye!"
"He turned into Happy!" Lucy couldn't help but complain.
Although Cana was slightly older than Erza, her aura was completely crushed! Hearing Erza's words, she set down her liquor barrel and muttered with a look of impatient dissatisfaction: "Tch!"
When Erza's gaze paused on Natsu, she froze.
"Natsu! Eh? What's wrong with Natsu?"
"Aye..." A weak, powerless voice rang out from where Natsu was sprawled. He was so hungry he didn't have a shred of energy left.
"Natsu was broken by Lucy!" Happy jumped up and shouted.
Lucy shuddered—this was what she feared most! She quickly leaped up to grab Happy, one hand death-gripping his mouth shut while the other waved frantically.
"I... I... I didn't break Natsu!"
Erza nodded: "Is that so?" She then turned to Lucy. "You're new, right? Welcome to Fairy Tail!"
Lucy thought Erza understood and kept her hand over Happy's mouth: "Fairy Tail is my favorite... guild!"
Her voice grew weaker at the end as cold sweat slid down her forehead. Erza's expression had suddenly turned cold!
Lucy thought to herself: Her face changed so fast, what a terrifying expression! Her heart was racing at a hundred and twenty miles per hour. This was it! Happy's claim about her breaking Natsu was definitely being pinned on her head!
Erza suddenly turned around, scanned the guild once more, and finally stopped on Gray.
"I encountered some things on my way back that need to be handled. I need a few partners to deal with it together!"
"Gray! You're one!"
How could Gray refuse? No one dared to say no to Erza's requests; the consequences would be dire! Wanting to avoid a beating, he answered very, very weakly: "Aye!"
Lucy complained powerlessly: "He really is Happy number two!"
Having received Gray's affirmative answer, Erza nodded in satisfaction and finally fixed her eyes on Natsu.
"In Natsu's state, there's no need to ask for his opinion. Take him along. Give him something to eat on the way so he's able to fight, and that will be enough!"
"You aren't even going to ask for Natsu's opinion?" Lucy whispered.
Suddenly, Lucy felt a terrifying gaze lock onto her. A chill filled her entire body as she struggled to look up at Erza.
What a terrifying look, what should I do?
"You're Natsu's partner, so you're coming on this mission too!" Erza said softly.
"Aye!" Lucy raised a small hand weakly, her thousand words reduced to a single response.
In her heart, tears were flowing wildly: Gray is Happy Number Two, Natsu is Happy Number Three... I don't want to become Happy Number Four!
When Erza went on a mission, she gave neither the enemy nor her partners any time to react.
Seeing that Natsu was too weak to walk, she stepped forward, grabbed Natsu's scarf, and hoisted him up with one hand to hang him over her back.
"Eek!!" Seeing Natsu's face gradually turn a purplish-red, Lucy shuddered in fear.
"No wonder Natsu and Gray are so afraid. She really is terrifying!"
Gray was perfectly obedient, following behind Erza with those tiny "Happy-style" steps, not daring to say a single word. With everyone being so compliant, Lucy didn't dare linger either. She did some quick packing and chased after them.
Out on the street, a large cart of luggage was piled over two meters high. Erza threw Natsu directly onto the luggage and tied him down with ropes so he wouldn't fall off.
Looking at Natsu tied tightly to the bags, Erza nodded in satisfaction: "This is good. It won't delay my schedule!"
Lucy looked at Natsu with a face full of sympathy as he was tied up like cargo: "Poor Natsu!"
"He's already starving to death, and now with his motion sickness, he's in for a nightmare!"
She wanted to protest Erza's behavior, but she couldn't summon the courage. Whether from what she'd heard or what she saw now, Erza was simply too frightening. Erza seemed kind enough at the moment, but Lucy had a feeling that offending her would lead to a fate worse than Natsu's.
She wisely kept her mouth shut.
As soon as the luggage cart started moving, the tied-up Natsu felt his stomach turn and his head spin. Various negative statuses flooded his entire body.
Being starving was bad enough, but hitting the natural weakness of a Dragon Slayer on top of that caused Natsu's eyes to roll back: "Sa... save... save me..."
And then...
There was no "then"!