The sky was crystal clear, spotless and blue, while distant mountains lay shrouded in a misty green haze, and the warm breeze carried a touch of spring.
Thin fog lingered in the woods. Sunlight, like grains of golden sand, filtered through the layers of leaves, scattering across the earth in patches of light and shadow.
Huff~
A flock of birds burst into flight, startled by a shadow that swept across the sky. A blue-and-white cat unfurled its wings and glided back down, landing on the head of a pink-haired boy. Dark little stress-waves rose above its head — it was bored.
"Hey, Natsu… are you sure someone lives here?"
Behind the pink-haired boy, a beautiful blonde girl looked around at the desolate wilderness — endless mountains, no sign of human life — and couldn't help but complain.
"There is! The old man's a nice guy, so you don't need to be scared at all, aye!" The blue-and-white cat perched on Natsu's head, propping up its chin with both paws and raising one paw dramatically.
"But… if you want to back out, that's understandable. You can say so." Its large, round eyes dimmed, trembling like a rattling sieve.
"Honestly, Happy, I'm not scared! And can't you stop shaking every time before you say that?" Lucy sighed, too exasperated to keep scolding this silly cat.
Puffing her cheeks in frustration, she muttered under her breath, "And besides, this is all your fault! If you hadn't accepted that interview job from Weekly Sorcerer, I'd still be at home soaking in the bath right now."
"Don't pretend like nothing happened!!!"
"Aye, I'm a cat!"
…Critical hit. Lucy was left speechless.
A sudden chill of wind blew past them, and all three shivered at once.
Lucy, dressed the lightest, hugged herself against the cold. Spooked by Happy's behavior, she asked Natsu nervously, "Natsu, are you sure this is the place? Sure?"
"No doubt about it, Lucy. The old man lives here. Every time we come, this weird wind starts blowing."
He hesitated for a moment, then added, "But… if you do want to give up, we'll… We'll support you!"
"…Ugh."
Natsu pulled aside some brush and looked back, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying. His body quivered as if vibrating, eyes losing their shine.
Lucy lost it, yelling, "Enough already! Just how scared are you two?!"
"If you're that terrified, then why even come? He's still a member of our guild — of course, he won't hurt us! Right? He won't, right?! Say something! You two better take responsibility…"
She grabbed both Natsu and Happy by their collars. "If you didn't eat so much, I wouldn't be bankrupt! And if you, Happy, had a single responsible thought in your head, we wouldn't have taken this job in the first place! Own up to it already!"
Shaking her head, Lucy felt far too much pressure for someone her age, thanks to these unreliable companions.
"By the way, why are you two so scared of this old man? Didn't you just say he's supposed to be a nice person?"
Dragging Natsu by the back of his vest and pinching Happy by the scruff of his neck, Lucy stomped forward like she was traveling alone. Natsu struggled on the ground, leaving two long grooves in the dirt.
For Natsu — usually the boldest and loudest in the guild (besides Erza) — to be afraid of something like this? Truly unheard of.
"Because the old man is scary! Even scarier than Erza!"
"Aye! Lucy, don't go near him, or something terrible will happen!"
The boy and the cat cried out in unison.
Lucy shivered involuntarily, hugging her chest, wavering on whether to continue forward.
Whoosh!
Another gust of cold wind brushed the back of her neck. Goosebumps shot up her spine.
Lucy leapt like a startled monkey, springing ten meters in one bound. Back pressed against a tree, knees shaking, she shrieked, "Ahhh!!!"
Suddenly, she felt something heavy pressing against her back. Lucy froze, slowly reaching back with a trembling hand—
"…Eh?"
A cat's tail brushed against her fingers.
Lucy blinked, then her anger boiled over. "Happy! What are you doing?!"
"Lucy, this is scary… please don't go."
A single teardrop dangled under Happy's eye, but no matter how much he shook his head, it wouldn't fall.
"Enough, you two! If you're that scared, why even follow me here? He's still a guildmate—" Lucy suddenly paused, suspicion dawning.
"Natsu… did you keep challenging him and get beaten up, so now you've got some kind of trauma?"
"Impossible, impossible! Natsu's not scared!" Happy denied frantically.
"Y-Yeah! Why would I be scared?" Natsu echoed.
"Then you two can come with me," Lucy smirked, her tension vanishing like mist. Without giving them a chance to refuse, she declared:
"Settled. Let's go!"
She strode forward confidently. Behind her, Natsu and Happy froze like thunderstruck statues, their faces drained of color, spirits visibly leaving their bodies.
On the way, Lucy asked casually, "By the way, Natsu, what kind of magic does this old man use? I don't think I've heard of it."
[Chaos Magic.]
The wind howled, carrying a faint fragrance. An ethereal melody seemed to fill the world, resonating through heaven and earth, a harmony of thousands.
"Chaos Magic? Some kind of ancient magic?" Lucy muttered, combing through her memory. No matter how hard she searched, she couldn't recall ever hearing of such a magic.
Meanwhile, Natsu and Happy clung tightly to each other, teeth chattering.
[No. Chaos Magic isn't considered magic in the usual sense. It's more of a transcendent ability. But since the world generally classifies everything as 'magic,' the name stuck.]
The omnipresent voice answered clearly.
"I see… so there are powers beyond magic as well?" Lucy's eyes lit up with curiosity.
[Yes.]
"Um, mister… can you explain—???" Lucy froze mid-sentence. Slowly, realization dawned, and her face stiffened.
"…Mister???"
[Lucy's finished. The old man will know all of her secrets now!]
Another voice — younger, gleeful, almost gloating. Lucy knew it instantly. She turned sharply, eyes blazing.
"Happy!!!"
[Crap, I can't think—I can't think, or he'll—]
The voice cut off abruptly. From that alone, Lucy pieced it together.
[Our inner thoughts… they're being spoken aloud? Is this the effect of the old man's Chaos Magic?]
[Correct.] the voice replied.
[It can even answer questions…]
[Yes.]
"Amazing…" Lucy murmured without thinking. This time, no response came.
She almost wanted to stay longer, just to study this phenomenon. It was too fascinating.
[Wait… what did Happy mean earlier?]
[My secrets will be revealed?]
Her thoughts flashed, and the voice immediately answered:
[In this area, inner thoughts are made manifest. The longer you stay, the more secrets are exposed. For the sake of privacy, deeply personal secrets are not manifested aloud—but they are recorded.]
Lucy blinked, stunned, digesting the information.
[So even the things I least want people to know will… get out? Like how I sleep in… and how I write… those kinds of books…]
The words echoed aloud.
Lucy's face went scarlet from her heels to the tips of her ears. Steam practically poured from her head as she screamed into the sky.
"NASTSUU! HAPPYY!!!"
"Hey, Natsu, what do you think Lucy wears to bed? And what kind of books does she write?" Happy asked mischievously.
"It's gotta be… bold clothes! And bold books!" Natsu chimed in.
POW!
Out of nowhere, two fists (with Natsu's and Happy's faces stamped on them) crashed down. Both were sent flying, leaving Lucy fuming.
Social death.
Absolute social death.