— — — — — —
{Fairy Tail, the famous guild of the Kingdom of Fiore, was attacked by a magical beast during an outdoor group picnic!}
{No casualties were reported, but the entire guild was splashed… with shit.}
{—Sorcerer Magazine!}
"What the hell is this?! What were you people doing that day? This is worse than the whole guild running around naked while destroying cities!"
Kazuma had barely read the headline before he slammed the magazine down. That bolded, maliciously enlarged character for "shit" was just pure humiliation.
And the photo… who even took that?! Magical cameras were rare and expensive, and someone decided to waste one on this? And why did they take it so clearly?
"It's all Natsu's fault. If that idiot hadn't messed around, how could we have embarrassed ourselves this badly?"
"Haha, Mira. You're just embarrassed. I've completely lost the will to live."
"Look closely! That picture caught me at the exact moment I got splashed! Do you know how people look at me on the street now?!"
"Same here, man. Whoever took these pictures, let me find him. I'll personally feed him real shit."
The noisy guild hall fell silent for a moment… and then erupted into a storm of yelling. Clearly, everyone was furious.
"That day started out great. We were all in high spirits. We found a beautiful spot on a mountain and thought we'd finally have a peaceful picnic."
"But halfway through, Natsu and Gray ran off exploring the woods. Then they ran into a giant dung-beetle monster."
"The monster wasn't strong, but its self-destruct move was just…"
Mira covered her mouth, looking like she might vomit just from remembering it.
"You got hit too?" Kazuma looked at her strangely.
"No. I was cooking… and then it fell into—"
"Stop. Don't say it. I don't want to know. I'll have nightmares."
Kazuma cut her off instantly. Somehow that sounded even worse to him. He sighed, picked the newspaper back up, and rubbed his forehead.
"Think about it," he said. "How are we supposed to take jobs after this news gets around?"
One mage looked confused, "What do you mean, Kazuma?"
"Think about it... We walk up to the client. Then—"
Client: 'And you're from which guild?'
Us: 'Fairy Tail, Fiore's number one guild.'
Client: 'Oh, the guild that got covered in shit, right?'
Us: "..."
The whole guild was silent.
"Fuck." Kazuma cursed again.
"Just imagining it makes me want to curl up and die. I'd rather keel over right here than deal with that shame! As the future Guild Master, I'm screwed."
"The worst part is, we can't even blame anyone else. Damn it, I need to beat Natsu just to relieve the stress."
Kazuma turned to look for him, but the seat Natsu had been eating on was already empty.
That guy was dumb, not hopeless. After being kicked around by half the guild these past few days, the moment he sensed danger he bolted without even finishing his food.
Today, just as he saw Kazuma pick up the magazine, he escaped.
"Tsk... he can't hide forever. Sooner or later he's getting that beating."
Kazuma shook his head, then glanced back at the picture. After a moment he spotted a very unfortunate figure in the center.
"Wait… isn't that Lucy? She's right in the middle. They even gave her a close-up. She's done for."
"Umm... Is she still alive?"
"Barely." Mira sighed. "She's been holed up at home for days. Won't come to the guild, won't take jobs, won't even go outside."
"I checked on her before. She cried to me for an hour and begged me to bring food. She said she's not leaving her house for a year, at least not until everyone forgets."
Mira looked genuinely worried as she turned to Kazuma. "Kazuma, please go talk to her. I'm seriously afraid she might do something stupid."
"It can't be that bad. Lucy's not the fragile type. She wouldn't kill herself."
Kazuma felt like Mira was overthinking it. It was Lucy, after all. In his mind, she was basically one of the guys—if anything proved her mental toughness, that was it.
"No, I'm not worried about suicide," Mira said. "I'm worried she'll do something dangerous."
"When I visited her, I saw her notebook. She wrote up a plan. She said if she created an even bigger scandal, then everyone would forget this one."
"I'm afraid she'll actually try it."
Mira wasn't scared Lucy would end her life. She was scared Lucy would create a disaster big enough to replace the current scandal.
"That… honestly sounds like something she'd do."
"Actually the idea's not bad. Cover a scandal with an even juicier news event. Pretty solid plan."
"Why hasn't anyone tried it? Seriously, the guild should issue a job for this. I'll go make a big news event myself. Lucy is such a good mage."
Kazuma nodded in admiration. He truly thought the idea had potential.
"You think they didn't try?" Mira gave him a tired smile. "If they hadn't already done it, I wouldn't be this worried about Lucy doing it too."
Right. It was Fairy Tail. Of course they already tried. That was exactly why she was panicking.
"Yeah… this is really Fairy Tail."
"Alright, I'll go check on Lucy. Pack me some food."
"You're hungry? Want ramen or curry?"
"It's not for me. I'm bringing it to Lucy. Just pack whatever she usually orders at the guild. If she's been hiding at home this long, she probably hasn't eaten well either."
"Oh… that's really thoughtful. Wait here, I'll pack something."
Mira hurried off and came back shortly with a warm bundle of takeout.
"Okay, I'm off."
Kazuma grabbed the food and left the guild, heading toward the place Lucy had rented.
...
He wandered through the streets for a while until he finally found a small building matching her description. He checked the address.
"Yeah… this should be it."
He knocked.
No answer.
After a moment he turned to ask a nearby old man.
"Excuse me, does a girl named Lucy live here?"
"Who?"
"Lucy."
"Who again?"
"L.U.C.Y."
"I'm old, boy. Speak up. What are you saying?"
"A blonde girl. Kind of airheaded. Lives around here?"
"Oh! Why didn't you say so earlier? Yeah, her. I don't know this 'Luffy,' but the silly blonde girl? She lives right here."
The old man pointed at the door.
"Got it. Thanks, sir."
Kazuma nodded and thanked the old man, then walked up to the door.
He simply lifted his leg and kicked the door open. They were all guildmates anyway, no need for manners.
"Lucy, stop hiding in there and pretending you're not home. I know you're inside!"
"It's just a little… shit incident. And a photo. Big deal."
"Lucy? …Huh. She's not really here?"
He walked around the room and sent out a sweep of his Observation Haki, but there wasn't a trace of Lucy anywhere.
"The room's spotless. Doesn't look like anything bad happened. She must've slipped out on her own."
"She really took this to heart. She even ran away just to avoid being found."
Kazuma glanced around the tidy room, then looked down at the still-hot food in his hands. After a moment of deep reflection… he sat down and ate it.
No point letting good food go cold.
Once he'd cleared up the table, he headed back to the guild.
"Lucy wasn't home. Looks like she ran off somewhere," he said as he sat at the bar.
"That's weird. She was still there when I visited," Mira said. "And she'd need money to run away. Lucy doesn't exactly have that."
"Where would she even go? Under a bridge? Sleeping on the streets?" Mira tapped a finger against her lips, tilting her head in a very cute way. "Hmm… no idea."
"Either way," Kazuma said, "you're right about the money. She'll probably come back once she runs out. And everything in the room was neatly placed. She even took her Celestial Keys. So nothing bad happened."
"That's true. By the way… if Lucy wasn't there, who ate the food?"
"I did. I wasn't full. Give me another bowl of rice."
"You're such a glutton."
"That's only because your cooking is good. Our Mira is the best."
Mira smiled. She knew he was making excuses, but she still enjoyed the compliment.
While things were cheerful on that side, Laxus, who had just returned from a mission, stepped into a tavern outside—and instantly scowled.
"Hey, isn't that Laxus from Fairy Tail? He looks terrifying."
"He does. But do you think he's one of the people in that newspaper photo?"
"No way… if he is, that'd be hilarious."
"Please god, let him be."
Laxus heard the whispers. He walked straight toward them, his expression turning darker by the second.
The group was laughing happily until they suddenly felt a chill crawl up their backs. They looked up… right into Laxus's murderous glare.
"L-Laxus! S-sorry! We were just joking!"
"Yeah, really! Sorry!"
"We won't do it again! Never again!"
They scrambled out of the tavern faster than they'd ever run in their lives, terrified that another second would end with them getting electrocuted into oblivion.
"Tch. What the hell is Gramps doing, letting the guild get dragged through the mud like this?" Laxus muttered, glaring at the newspaper. He didn't bother reading it; as he turned, lightning sparked from him and the paper burned to ash.
Just as he reached the door, someone stepped in front of him. The man wore an amused grin.
"Well, well. The big celebrity himself. The great mage of Fiore's number one guild. Scaring people away with just a stare. Impressive."
"What was your name again? La… La… something. I can't be bothered remembering. You're the grandson of that old geezer Makarov, right?"
"You must've gotten your rank thanks to Grandpa. Actually—no, that's wrong. Right now you both are more like a big walking joke. Fairy Shit."
The man burst into loud, mocking laughter and tossed another newspaper at Laxus.
Laxus didn't say a word. Lightning crackled silently around him. The paper turned to charcoal midair.
The tavern owner stepped in quickly.
"Zatô, that's enough. Mages run into problems on missions all the time. A joke is fine, but don't go overboard. If you want trouble, take it outside. Not in my tavern."
The owner was a retired mage himself—he didn't want trouble, but he wasn't afraid of it either.
"Relax, boss. What can a loser from a washed-up guild do to me? Come on, kitty cat, hit me right here. See? He won't even talk." Zatô kept provoking Laxus.
"Hmph. Insignificant insects always think people look at them. Truth is, no one even notices you." Laxus snorted. "Zatô? Never heard of you. You're not worth my time."
He walked past without a glance.
Everyone knew: sometimes being ignored was the harshest insult.
"That's because I, a normal mage, actually work hard. Unlike you clowns who keep ending up on the front page every other day," Zatô shot back.
"Clown?"
A vein pulsed on Laxus's forehead. He turned slowly. "If you want to die so badly, I don't mind granting your wish. Outside."
"The only one going outside is you."
Zatô swung abruptly, releasing a blast of impact magic that sent Laxus flying out of the tavern.
"Haha! Fairy Tail is nothing special! Maybe I should go hunt a few more Fairies while I'm at it!"
He laughed loudly, imagining his guild rising to replace Fairy Tail.
A calm voice came from behind him. "You're already done after one cheap shot?"
Zatô whipped around and punched, but Laxus caught the strike with one hand.
"When did you—?!"
Zatô's eyes widened. He could've sworn he blasted Laxus outside. How was he behind him?
"So fast… I didn't see him move at all! And he's not even injured… none of his clothes are torn!"
The onlookers stared in shock. Not a single person had seen Laxus reappear.
"Pathetic." Laxus drove a lightning-charged fist into Zatô, turning him into a smoldering piece of charcoal.
Without a backward glance, he walked away. In his mind, though, he muttered, "Gramps, you really need to retire. It's your weakness that makes people laugh at Fairy Tail."
"But fine. I'll take the guild from you myself. I'll make Fairy Tail the strongest. No one will dare mock us again. But first, I have to gather the Thunder God Tribe and figure out how to deal with Kazuma."
He didn't care about Erza or Mystogan—but Kazuma was different. The guy's magic was bottomless, like staring into a bottomless abyss.
To Laxus, Kazuma was the biggest obstacle between him and the guild master's seat.
...
Only after he disappeared did the tavern finally erupt in whispers.
"S-so strong… he took Zatô out in one hit!"
"No wonder Fairy Tail is Fiore's top guild. They do weird stuff all the time, but their strength is no joke."
"Any Fairy Tail mage of that rank could destroy a small guild by themselves."
People stared at the charred scraps of newspaper on the floor and at that infamous photo… but none of them dared laugh anymore.
Strength was always the most convincing reason.
---
Back at the Fairy Tail guild, Virgo rushed in, tense and breathless. "Master, Lucy and Juvia are in danger!"
"Lucy's Celestial Spirit came to me asking for help. Lucy's been captured."
"Captured? Is this her plan? Getting kidnapped?"
Kazuma blinked, trying to process it.
"No," Virgo said, serious. "They were taken by Phantom Lord."
.
.
.