Gray said, "That's only if you even get a chance to go on stage."
"And honestly, even if you do, beating just one of them would already be impressive. Thinking you can take them all? Try being a little realistic."
Hearing that, Lucy couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is Phantom Lord really that strong?"
Natsu growled, "Those guys aren't worth worrying about!!"
Mirajane explained calmly, "Phantom Lord is definitely strong. If this were a real all-out brawl, both sides would suffer heavy losses. That's why the Master chose to hold back."
"They've got someone on par with an S-Class Mage—Totomaru. And even more troublesome than him is another guy: Gajeel, the main suspect behind the sneak attack on our guild. He's also an Iron Dragon Slayer."
"A Dragon Slayer?! There's another one besides Natsu?!"
Lucy was stunned. She already knew how strong Natsu's Dragon Slayer magic was—so to hear that Phantom Lord also had one was shocking.
Erza's face turned serious. "Those five are a problem. But the real danger… is their Guildmaster—Jose, one of the Ten Wizard Saints."
"Ten Wizard Saints?"
Lucy had heard yet another unfamiliar title.
Gray explained, "They're the ten most powerful mages on the continent, recognized by the Magic Council itself. Our Master is one of them… and so is Phantom Lord's."
"Whoa—! That's amazing!!"
Lucy was stunned. She never expected the pervy old man she saw every day to be one of the continent's strongest.
"Exactly. Which means we need to send out our best lineup."
Lucy offered, "Why not just send all the S-Class Mages plus the Master? That would guarantee victory, right?"
Every S-Class Mage was a top-tier candidate. Surely they'd be more than enough.
Erza shook her head. "No. Gildarts isn't here. And Mystogan… he's too much of a lone wolf. We can't even contact him. Even if we could, he wouldn't show his face in front of the guild—let alone fight in a public arena packed with people."
"But what about Laxus?"
"Laxus… If he were willing to fight, we'd have the match in the bag. Maybe even two rounds guaranteed. But he might not agree to join."
"Why not?! He's part of Fairy Tail too, isn't he?"
Lucy looked genuinely confused. As a member of the guild, wasn't it only natural to fight for its honor?
"He… never mind. Forget about him. Worst case, only me and Kaien will fight as the S-Class representatives, with the Master as our anchor. That still leaves three open spots."
Laxus would've jumped in without hesitation in the past. But as he got older, he'd grown more extreme, and the chances of him participating were slim.
"Of course I'm going up!!" Natsu shouted.
"Natsu, huh… If he gets serious, he's a solid pick."
Natsu's Dragon Slayer magic gave him overwhelming power. Even if he'd been beaten down by Erza and Kaien before, that didn't mean he was weak.
"If Natsu's in, then I can't just sit back either."
Gray stepped forward. He and Natsu had been rivals forever—if Natsu was going up, there was no way Gray would stay behind.
Happy added, "That still leaves one more person to pick~"
"Hmm… looks like it's finally time for me to step up."
Lucy stood up, determined. As one of Fairy Tail's front-line mages, she felt it was her responsibility to rise to the occasion.
"How about Loke?" someone suggested.
"He's still a bit lacking."
"What about Cana?"
"Cana's not bad. Let's put her on the backup list."
"Hey~~~! Don't just ignore me! I'm strong too!!"
Lucy yelled, clearly irritated that no one had even considered her.
"Lucy, huh…"
"Yeah, she's just a Lucy."
"Hey hey hey! What do you mean 'just a Lucy'? What am I, chopped liver?!"
Kaien said calmly, "No need to get worked up about the lineup. This isn't best-of-three. It's a gauntlet match. As long as I'm there, we're not going to lose."
Erza frowned slightly. "But Kaien… your stamina—"
Kaien's poor stamina was already an open secret in the guild. The stronger he performed, the shorter his window to fight.
"My transformation might not last long, but I'll make sure those guys don't last even shorter."
Since he was the one who suggested the format, Kaien had already prepared himself mentally to take on five opponents solo.
"So badass!!"
Natsu and Gray lit up in awe. Kaien absolutely had the power to back up that kind of statement.
Before long, Mira finished cooking and everyone enjoyed a hearty dinner together.
"Time to sleep!!"
After eating, everyone began getting ready for bed. Fortunately, Kaien's house was spacious, with several bedrooms. The three girls shared one room, Natsu and Happy shared another, while Gray and Kaien had solo rooms—mostly to prevent them from tearing the house apart during a fight.
In the girls' room, they stayed up chatting. Naturally, the conversation soon turned to boys and love.
"Mira, do you like Kaien?" Lucy asked.
"I do~" Mira replied openly.
Her honesty immediately lit up Lucy and Erza's gossiping instincts—they were very interested.
Lucy whispered, "When? When did it happen?"
"I can't say exactly when. It wasn't love at first sight. It was something that built up over time. The little things in daily life… slowly, I started to pay more attention to him, to care more about him. And before I realized it, I liked him."
"Wait, so were you the one who pursued him, or did he chase you?"
"I think… I chased him."
"What?!"
Lucy and Erza both gasped, only to have Mira quickly cover their mouths.
"Hard to believe, huh? That I would chase a guy?"
Mira was basically a national idol. The idea of her actively chasing Kaien was mind-blowing. Honestly, it looked like Kaien was usually the one chasing.
Mira just laughed. "What's so hard to believe? When you meet a great guy, you've gotta be proactive. If I hadn't staked my claim on Kaien, I don't know how many girls in the guild would've tried to snatch him up."
Erza nodded. "She's right."
Kaien was extremely popular among the girls in the guild. If it weren't for Mira, many of them would've made a move already.
And since Mira was the competition, most of them had backed off on their own.
Even though Kaien always seemed calm and cool, sometimes the things he said could really tug at your heartstrings.
Like during the Eisenwald incident—he casually said, "If I could marry a girl like her, I'd die smiling in my sleep." It had struck Erza deeply. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. That kind of sincere affirmation… hit harder than any fancy line.
While the girls continued their pillow talk, Kaien sat in his room, waiting.
Before returning tonight, he had gone to Cana for another divination session to find out when his luck would peak.
The answer: exactly midnight.
Dong! Dong! Dong!...
As the clock struck twelve, Kaien immediately opened his system interface.
[Proceed with 10x Draw?]
"Confirm."