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Chapter 3 - Chapter 3: The Interview

Ugh!!!

The moment they arrived at their destination, Lucy didn't even take in her surroundings. She bolted to the side and retched violently.

The space shift had been far too sudden—up, down, left, right all scrambled together—and to make matters worse, multiple kinds of magic had overlapped in the process. It left Lucy completely dizzy.

For the first time, she felt she truly understood Natsu's suffering whenever he rode any form of transportation.

Just as she was about to say something—

"Ulp!"

"Natsu!?"

The pink-haired boy was in even worse shape, clutching a tree as he dropped to his knees, vomiting nonstop. The reaction was far stronger than what he usually showed on vehicles. Lucy was left speechless, and all she could do was pat his back sympathetically.

Oddly enough, the one in the best condition was Happy. Though the little cat wobbled around dizzily, at least he hadn't thrown up.

"You'll be fine. I controlled it. The most you'll feel is dizzy for a while," came a voice.

Natsu: "…"

Lucy: "…"

"You two, really now… If you wanted to see me, couldn't you just send a message? Why barge in like this?"

When he finally steadied himself, Natsu gave the massive dragon in front of them a once-over, then quickly covered his eyes and turned away with a twisted expression.

"Wait, old man—can you not use Igneel's form? I'm not used to this."

"Fine, fine. I only took this form to make it easier for you. And about sending a message—why didn't you use the communicator I left you?"

Shrinking back into his small, round form, the creature bounced up and down on Natsu's head, clearly displeased.

Lucy's expression darkened until it was almost pitch black, her fists trembling.

Natsu thought for a moment, then flicked his index finger as though he'd just remembered something.

"Oh yeah, last time when everyone forgot about you… We kinda… lost it."

Lucy: "…"

There were so many things wrong with that sentence, she didn't even know where to start.

"I see. Well, in that case, I suppose it can't be helped."

Lucy: "…"

"…Hahaha. Seriously, should I even have joined this guild?"

"Oh, and don't call me 'old man.' I'm still young." The round little ball extended a tiny arm and smacked Natsu on the head in reproach.

Lucy screamed in her heart: Is that the important part here!?

But Natsu just grinned brightly. "Old man is old man. No matter when, you'll always be that—our elder, a member of the guild."

For a moment, Lucy found herself dazed by his smile. The little round creature—Paipai—looked moved as well, though he sighed helplessly. "Call me whatever you like then."

While Paipai muttered in defeat, Lucy tugged Natsu aside and whispered:

"Wait, Natsu… how—how old is he, anyway?"

"No idea!" Natsu shook his head, then thought for a second. "But the old man's been in the guild forever. Older than Master. I think even when Master was a kid, the old man was already around."

"Eh!?"

Nearby, Paipai silently observed their sneaky little conversation. His gaze drifted, and his body dissolved into a haze of mist that blended seamlessly into the environment.

Only then did the true scenery around them reveal itself.

The lake's surface was like polished jade, smooth as a perfect mirror. A hazy light bathed the world. From every direction, green vines and grasses grew wild and free, filling this small, enclosed realm.

Scattered everywhere were tiny, milky-white spheres—each with two little bumps for ears and two black dots for eyes. Small and soft, they huddled together in clusters. One glance at them, and an indescribable peace settled over the heart.

At the lake's center, countless rings slowly revolved, forming a great sphere. Now and then, in a fleeting instant, one could glimpse the figure within—someone cloaked in radiant light, lips moving as if chanting something. Strangely, though you might see him one moment, by the next, you could no longer recall what you had seen.

After what felt like a long discussion, Lucy cautiously turned back and asked,

"Old man… are you still here?"

A small milky-white ball popped into existence, landing on Natsu's head.

"I'm here. Are we starting the interview now, Lucy?"

"Eh!? You know my name! And you even know why I came!"

Happy immediately jumped on the chance to tease.

"See, Natsu? Lucy's just like the old man—forgetful! She already blurted out all her secrets in the first trial. Of course, he knows her name."

It was as if an arrow labeled [Forgetful] had stabbed straight into Lucy's chest. And then Natsu added fuel to the fire:

"Yeah, maybe Lucy's just getting old. Old folks are always forgetful."

Another arrow pierced her heart, this one reading [Getting Old].

Lucy clenched her fists, fury blazing. "You two—!!"

Smack!

Smack!

Before she could unleash her wrath, Paipai bonked both Natsu and Happy on the head, leaving big bumps.

"Don't badmouth me right in front of my face."

They had forgotten the other subject of their teasing was standing right there—and had the power to shut them up without effort.

"Forget them. Didn't you want to get this task over with? Let's begin the interview." Paipai turned to Lucy.

"Y-Yes! Of course, old man, let's start."

Lucy quickly snapped to attention, sitting cross-legged as she pulled out paper and pen, resting them on her lap. Thinking back to the mission's instructions, she asked,

"Old man, could you tell me about your magic? Just a simple introduction."

"My magic, hm?" The little sphere bounced gently, thinking for a moment. "Chaos Magic. An ability I was born with. It lets me, to a certain extent, make my thoughts into reality. But for that, I need intense concentration."

Lucy scribbled notes quickly, surprised. "Eh? So if your focus breaks, you can't use it?"

"No."

"???"

"If I lose focus, I might end up causing catastrophic destruction to everything around me. That's why I must either stay intensely focused on a single thought—or empty my mind. The latter… is unreliable. Accidents happen often."

"???"

Paipai elaborated, "Think of human consciousness as surface thoughts and deeper subconscious. What we think in daily life is the surface, mostly controllable.

But the subconscious is different. It's beyond control. I don't always know what fleeting thoughts might surface. If, even for a moment, the idea of destroying the world crosses my mind… my magic would trigger."

He didn't finish the sentence, but the outcome was obvious.

Even if Paipai couldn't annihilate the world, the devastation he could cause nearby was undeniable.

"No wonder you live so far away, and why people constantly forget you. Even this interview mission was marked S-Class…" Lucy murmured in sudden understanding. Then, thinking quickly, she suggested:

"Have you tried finding a solution? Like using Chaos Magic to unify your consciousness—make both surface and subconscious equally controllable. Or preventing the subconscious from accessing magic at all. Or maybe installing a safety valve, so every spell requires a secondary confirmation…"

"Of course I've considered it. What I'm doing now is one such method—splitting my various thoughts and emotions into separate fragments, so my main self can stay more focused."

Then, seeing Lucy's hopeful look, Paipai shook his head.

"As for your ideas… they don't work. Surface and subconscious are just abstract terms. In reality, I cannot fully govern my thoughts.

And since all thoughts are equal—no one is stronger or weaker—the only reason one wins out is because it appears more often, continuously, without interruption.

You can't use one thought to erase another. For me, trying that would be suicide.

Usually, when we change our minds, it's not because one thought negated another, but because a new one covered it. Remember that: covered, not denied. It's a crucial difference.

So, preventative measures are useless. If I generate ten different safeguards, and then a destructive thought arises, all ten safeguards would trigger simultaneously."

Lucy clutched her head. "I don't get it!!"

"Put simply—if I think about destroying the area around me, then the area will be destroyed."

Boom!!

As if answering his words, the beautiful, idyllic scene instantly vanished. The ground cracked open, the lakebed dried up into an ugly wasteland, dust and grit filled their throats and noses, burning their eyes.

Cough, cough!

Glancing at the wheezing Lucy, Paipai went on calmly:

"And right now, a new thought has appeared before me: 'Should I undo this?' I choose yes."

The world shifted again. In less than a blink, the paradise-like scenery returned—green grass, vines, clear waters, everything as it had been.

"That's why prevention is meaningless. The event still occurs. Even if I later regret it, even if I restore it, the destruction still happened. What you saw just now was real. The only reason it reverted was because a new thought overrode the previous one."

Lucy fell silent, her heart heavy—not just with worry for Paipai's plight, but also with awe.

This… this is still magic?

She was about to ask more when Paipai suddenly cut her off.

"Hold on. We have more guests."

Huh? Oh—okay.

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