Chapter 50: Lucy
Having watched the anime, Ren knew Lucy Heartfilia was a very talkative girl, but her chattiness in person still somewhat exceeded his expectations.
However, despite being quite talkative, she wasn't annoying. In fact, sitting across from her, watching her eyes sparkle as she talked about her dreams, Ren found her somewhat cute. It was surreal, like watching a beloved character step out of the screen.
At this moment, Lucy turned her head and said, "By the way, it looks like you guys are looking for someone."
Happy, his mouth full of fish, nodded and said, "That's right, we're looking for Igneel."
"We heard he came to this town," Natsu mumbled, his enthusiasm from earlier gone, "but when we arrived, we found out he didn't."
"That guy called 'Salamander' clearly isn't him."
"I was so sure Igneel was here, sigh! Another wasted trip."
Ren, sipping his water, said with a speechless expression, "You two really are idiots. How could Igneel possibly appear here, in the middle of a street? If a real dragon appeared here, the whole city would have been in chaos long ago."
Lucy was also slightly startled by this and asked, "What kind of... 'Igneel' would cause the entire city to fall into chaos? As a human..."
"Hmm? Not a human," Natsu said, as if it were obvious. "Igneel is a real dragon. A Fire Dragon."
"!!"
Lucy was immediately dumbfounded by these words. Her jaw dropped, and she stared at Natsu and Happy as if they were insane. "A real... dragon?!"
She slapped the table. "How could he possibly appear on the street?! Are you idiots?!"
"Hmph!"
Natsu and Happy, hearing their own logic thrown back at them, suddenly looked like they had just realized something profound.
"Hey!!" Lucy shouted. "Don't act like you're just figuring it out now!!"
At this moment, the group arrived at the 'fly restaurant' Ren had mentioned. The place was already quite full, a testament to its good, cheap food. They found a window seat, sat down, and the waiter took their (mostly Natsu's) order.
"Alright," Lucy said, standing up. "The meal is paid for. I should go now. You guys enjoy your meal."
After all, they were just passing acquaintances, and she only wanted to express her gratitude.
"Thank you for treating us to a meal!" Ren said politely.
"Thanks!" Natsu mumbled around a drumstick he'd already started on.
"No... no need to thank me... you guys helped me too, didn't you? It's just returning the favor. Alright, I'm off. Bye-bye."
Lucy waved her hand and then turned to leave, her blonde pigtail swishing behind her.
"What a nice person!" Natsu looked at Lucy's retreating figure and sighed. "Just because of our unconscious help, she wanted to treat us to a meal. It was the first time we've met such a kind person."
"Aye!" Happy agreed, nibbling on a fish.
Ren pouted and said, "She treats you to one meal and she's a 'nice person'? Then what about me, who treats you to so many meals?"
Natsu grinned. "Then you're a super-duper-mega nice person! Hehehe!!"
"Aye~~~!"
"Waiter! Order!" Natsu reached out and called the waiter back over. He picked up the menu and, with Happy, started ordering with a speed and ferocity that terrified the poor man.
Soon, a table full of food—mountains of food—was ordered.
"Hey!" Natsu said with a grin, tearing into a massive steak. "After all, we're not familiar with her, so eating too much wouldn't feel right. We just ordered a little something to be polite. But with you, Ren, there's no problem!"
"Aye!" Happy agreed, holding up a whole roasted chicken. "You just completed an S-Class Quest, so I'm going to feast!"
"Aye your head!" Ren lightly flicked Happy's little head, making him spin in the air.
'This guy,' Ren thought, shaking his head with a helpless smile. 'Natsu seems so carefree and thoughtless, but occasionally, he's actually quite considerate in his own, simple way.'
The three of them ate and chatted, Natsu and Happy recounting their latest disastrous quest, while Ren's thoughts were partly with them, and partly on the events of the day.
Although he couldn't recall all the specific details of the Fairy Tail plot, he still had a very clear impression of how the story began.
Ren thought of the purple-haired man, Bora, who was surrounded by those fawning girls. A hint of cold, murderous intent flashed in his eyes. Impersonating Fairy Tail.
Now, after more than half a year of being transmigrated, he truly considered Fairy Tail his other home. As he'd told Mira, it was a place of bonds. Anyone who tarnished Fairy Tail's reputation... in his mind, they deserved to die.
'But,' he thought, taking a bite of his own food, 'I know how this plays out. This is Natsu's fight.'
For now, he would let them enjoy their last moments of happiness.
Evening.
As night fell, the pure, warm moonlight shone upon the sea. Its reflection draped the entire town of Hargeon in a silver glow, making it bright even at night. Coupled with the cool sea breeze, even though it was the hot summer, it gave off a very comfortable feeling.
Many people were out for a stroll along the coast at this time, not only to enjoy the beautiful seaside night view but also to help digest their food. Ren and his companions were among them.
"Ah! That was so satisfying!" Natsu patted his round, full belly contentedly.
"Aye! It's been a long time since I've eaten so much!" Happy chirped, patting his own, equally round belly.
"You two certainly aren't shy!" Ren chuckled. "You're lucky you have a dragon's metabolism. In the future, try to cause a little less trouble. If Erza finds out you blew up another client's house..."
"Eww~~~!" Ren shivered theatrically.
Natsu's face immediately turned pale with terror. "Don't say such scary things at a time like this! I'm still full!"
"Now you're scared, hahahaha!" Teasing Natsu made Ren feel very happy.
"Oh, right," Happy said, landing on the seaside railing. "That 'Salamander' guy said he was having a party on a ship. Is that... that the ship?"
At this moment, Happy, who was walking on the railing, saw a large, garishly-lit ship sailing out into the harbor. He remembered the man called 'Fire Dragon' saying he was having a party.
"Ship... Ugh..." Natsu, upon hearing the word and seeing the boat rocking on the waves, immediately felt his dinner lurch. His face turned a sickly green. "Don't... don't say that word... I feel a little sick..."
Suddenly, a girl's voice came from nearby.
"Look! That's the ship, Lord Salamander's ship! Ah~~~! I really want to go to the party too!"
"Salamander?" The girl's best friend, who was with her, seemed unfamiliar with his name.
"Don't you know? A super powerful Mage came to our town! A Mage from the super famous... Fairy Tail!"
Natsu and Happy, who had been goofing off, immediately froze. Their eyes turned to Ren, who just shook his head, his smile gone.
Natsu's expression instantly changed. The motion sickness, the full belly, all of it vanished, replaced by a cold, building rage. Veins bulged on his forehead. He gritted his teeth and said, his voice a low growl:
"That bastard... how dare he impersonate Fairy Tail!!"
"Happy!!"
"Aye!"
Happy immediately spread his Aera wings, grabbed Natsu by the back of his shirt, and flew, fast, towards the departing ship.
"Hey! You idiot!"
Ren didn't even have time to stop them.
"This idiot... did he forget he gets seasick?!"
He sighed. He had originally planned to wait until the other party was far from the port, then catch up and secretly deal with those guys himself. Now, Natsu had just blown his cover. He had no choice but to go.
"Full Take Over - Ulquiorra Cifer!"
A cyan light emanated around Ren's body, and his appearance rapidly transformed. In the blink of an eye, he had taken on the pale, hollow form of Ulquiorra, his white Arrancar uniform replacing his casual clothes.
Ren stomped hard on the railing.
Bang!!
The stone railing shattered into dust. Using Sonído, Ren's body vanished, a black blur rapidly flying towards the ship, far faster than Happy.
At this moment, on the ship, all the girls who had been Charmed, dressed in their finest, were attending the party.
In the main cabin, Lucy sat there in a black evening gown, wearing a fake, strained smile.
She had met the man named 'Salamander' again in the park. Bora had promised he could help her join the Fairy Tail Guild, the guild she longed for, on the one condition that she attend this party. To successfully join Fairy Tail, she had agreed.
'It's fine,' she thought, trying to reassure herself. 'I'll just deal with this idiot, get his recommendation, and join Fairy Tail. Then I'll kick this annoying guy away.'
"Is your name Lucy? What a beautiful name," Bora said, sliding into the seat next to her, his smile slimy.
"Thank you."
"Let's have a toast first."
"It's not very nice to ignore the other girls, is it?" Lucy said, trying to deflect, not wanting to spend a long time with this guy.
"It's fine, it's fine. Right now, I only want to drink with you, just the two of us," Bora said, his eyes glinting.
Snap!
Bora snapped his fingers, and the wine in his glass slowly floated up, forming colorful, spinning droplets. This was his "Prominence" magic.
"Please open your mouth, and the jewel of wine will slide into your throat."
Lucy wailed inwardly: So annoying! And so tacky!
Such small, flashy tricks might work well on ordinary girls who couldn't use magic, but for her, a trained Celestial Spirit Mage, such tactics only made her feel physically uncomfortable.
But there was no choice. 'He's my ticket into Fairy Tail!' she thought. 'Now I just have to endure, endure, endure...'
Lucy, her eye twitching, closed her eyes and dutifully opened her mouth.
Swoosh! Splat!
Lucy's eyes snapped open. She suddenly stood up and waved her hand, not just hitting the wine, but blasting it away with a small flare of her own magic power, knocking all the droplets onto the floor.
She said with a disgusted expression, her fake smile completely gone:
"What are you trying to do? There's a sleeping pill in that wine."
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