Three black lines slid down Happy's forehead. "Lucy, you carry this kind of stuff around but manage to lose the most important thing a Celestial Spirit Mage needs—your keys?"
"What are you blabbering about?!" Lucy's face flushed red as she snapped back. "It's all because of that stupid fake Fire Dragon! If it wasn't for him, I never would've lost my keys!"
"Oh, right! I still need to find my keys!!"
Just then, a shimmering golden object zipped through the air and landed right in front of her. She instinctively caught it, glanced down, and gasped, "My keys!!" Her voice was pure joy. "When did you—?"
Roger, walking ahead, gave her a casual wave. "The magic signature on your keys was pretty obvious underwater. I just pulled them up with a water spell."
"Wow—!" Lucy cupped her cheeks, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "As expected of the legendary Night Prince! So kind, so powerful, so cool!!"
Happy's head sprouted three question marks. "Kind? Roger?"
"And what's this 'Night Prince' thing?"
Lucy gave him a look that screamed you wouldn't get it. "They say Roger-sama always greets his clients with a smile after finishing a job. Super gentle, right?"
Happy's little brain filled with giant question marks. He pictured Roger's creepy grin as he trapped enemies in endless nightmares, then glanced at Lucy's starry-eyed fangirl face.
Wow, rumors are so unreliable, he thought, itching to call her out. But the fear of nightmares kept his mouth shut, and he swallowed his snark.
The next day, the group brought Lucy back to the guild. Natsu, as loud as ever, charged up to the entrance and kicked the door open. "We're back!!"
Bang!
The door swung halfway open before slamming back shut.
"Huh? Broken again?" Natsu scratched his head, then put his full strength into pushing it open.
"Ow—!"
A pained yelp came from behind the door. Gray shoved his way out, clutching his red, door-smacked face, veins popping on his forehead. "You idiot! Can't you check if someone's behind the door before you barge in?!" Without waiting for a reply, he socked Natsu square in the face.
"You ice jerk! How am I supposed to see through a closed door?!" Natsu roared, swinging back just as hard. In seconds, the two were brawling at the entrance, flames and ice shards flying everywhere.
"Waaah!" Lucy ducked, clutching her head as a blazing fire pillar whizzed past her hair, the heat singeing her scalp.
Shakily standing up, she patted her hair—phew, not bald—and shouted, "What's going on?! Why are they fighting?!"
"Mrow~" Happy lazily waved a paw, totally unfazed. "They do this all the time. Just ignore them."
"Woof!" A dog's bark cut through the chaos.
Lucy turned and saw a fluffy white puppy with comically distinct black eyebrows above its eyes. It had baskets of fresh vegetables strapped to its sides and was happily nuzzling Roger's leg.
Roger chuckled, bending down to ruffle the pup's head. "Little White, out grocery shopping again? Such a hard worker."
Little White shook its head, flopped onto the ground, and gave Roger the most pitiful, watery-eyed look. It patted the spot it had been lying on, coughed twice, tapped its back with a paw, and pointed at the veggies in its baskets.
Roger nodded. "So, you're saying you didn't buy these—you charmed a kid, and their grandma gave you the vegetables as a thank-you?"
"Woof!" Little White's tongue lolled out as it nodded enthusiastically.
Lucy: "…"
She rubbed her eyes hard, then pinched her arm.
"...A dog?! A dog?!" Her voice shot up an octave. "It's—it's telling a story?!"
Her head spun. "First, a flying, talking cat! Now a dog that 'talks' with gestures?! Am I dreaming from reading too many storybooks?!"
Happy crossed his arms, giving her a you're so clueless look. "Lucy, you're making a big deal out of nothing! Little White doesn't just 'tell' stories—it helps Cana sell magic items too!"
"What?!" Lucy's brain short-circuited. She couldn't even begin to process how a dog selling magic items made any sense.
"Alright, let's head inside," Roger said, pushing open the weathered guild door. "Keep shouting like that, and you'll draw the whole of Magnolia over here."
"Huh?" Lucy glanced back and saw curious onlookers staring at them. Her face went beet red, and she hurriedly followed Roger inside, head down.
As soon as she stepped through the guild doors, Lucy froze, stunned by the sight before her.
A brown-haired woman was chugging from a massive barrel of booze, one hand clutching a manga, letting out occasional "pfft" giggles.
After everything that had just happened, a bead of sweat rolled down Lucy's forehead.
This guild is full of weirdos…
Just as the thought crossed her mind, a sweet, gentle voice chimed in. "Oh, a new face~"
Lucy turned and instantly froze. A few seconds later, her face flushed with excitement. "M-Miss Mirajane?! The real deal!!"
Oh my gosh, she's even prettier than in Sorcerer Weekly!
"Y-Yes!" Lucy stammered, nervous. "I-I'm Lucy! P-Please take care of me!"
Mirajane propped her chin on her hand, her signature sweet smile in place as she studied Lucy with interest. "Nice to meet you, Lucy~"
That expression she had at the door was adorable.
"I'll take you to get your guild mark," Mirajane said, heading to the bar.
"Huh?" Lucy blinked, hurrying after her. "Just like that? No… test or anything? This is such a famous guild!"
Mirajane glanced back with a grin. "Since Natsu and Roger brought you, no test needed~ If you came on your own, you'd have to be evaluated by the Master."
Lucy's inner fangirl did a victory dance. Yes! So lucky! That's my charm!
Looking at the pink Fairy Tail mark on her hand, Lucy's cheeks flushed with excitement. She raised her hand high. "I'm in Fairy Tail!!"
"I'm a guild mage now!!"
Mirajane clasped her hands together, her smile warm. "Congrats! You can start taking on jobs now, but I'd recommend starting with something simple."
"Got it!" Lucy chirped, beaming. As she turned to leave, she felt a curious gaze on her waist, where her keys dangled.
A blue-haired girl with curls stepped closer. "Hi, I'm Levy. Are you… a Celestial Spirit Mage?"
"Yup," Lucy nodded hesitantly. "Why?"
Levy shook her head lightly. "Just curious. Are those Zodiac keys on your waist?"
"Exactly!" Lucy said proudly, holding up her golden keys. "These are Aquarius, Taurus, and Cancer."
"Cancer!" Happy zoomed over, drooling with excitement. "Can you summon a giant crab?!"
An image of a shiny, red, steaming-hot crab floated above his head.
Lucy: "== It's already fully cooked, okay?!"
Wait, why can I see what he's imagining?!
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