Hisui secretly clenched her small fists.
They were too weak—she was weak, and the royalty was weak too...
If she could become strong enough to stand on her own, maybe Ankh would be willing to stay...
Seeing the princess fall silent, Ankh seemed to understand and smiled with satisfaction.
He knew how the princess felt about him, but someone so young was completely unsuitable for him.
When she grew up, she would understand that they lived in completely different worlds.
King Toma sighed at his daughter's disappointment but didn't say anything more.
The king walked up to Ankh, looked up at him, and said seriously.
"Thank you for your help, Ankh-kun. I'd like to give you one more thing as thanks."
Ankh shook his head. "You've already paid us. It's not necessary."
Toma smiled warmly and insisted, "This is a magic tool. It might be useful to you."
With that, Toma took a strangely shaped key from his robe and handed it to Ankh.
Ankh took it, confused.
He looked it over carefully but grew even more puzzled.
This thing... was it a Celestial Spirit key?
Celestial Spirit Magic was the special magic used by Lucy, the story's heroine.
It used keys to summon spirits who could fight or help with daily life.
There were two kinds of keys: silver and gold.
Silver keys summoned common spirits with various useful abilities.
Gold keys summoned the twelve powerful Zodiac Spirits, each with unique and strong powers.
But the key in his hand was golden, yet it was covered with dark, snake-like patterns, as if a black serpent was coiled around it.
'Was this... one of the Zodiac keys?'
Mirajane looked at the key thoughtfully and said, "This looks like a Celestial Spirit key."
Erza nodded. "And it seems to be one of the Zodiac keys."
Having become S-Class Mages, the two women's knowledge was vast, and they were naturally familiar with Celestial Spirit Magic.
Celestial Spirit Mages were highly sought after because their spirits had such diverse and useful abilities, making them popular in many professions, not just among wizards.
Ankh held up the key and muttered, "It doesn't look like a normal gold key, Your Majesty. Where did you get it?"
King Toma stroked his chin and chuckled. "We found it with the White Devil Cult."
"After you defeated their leader and we were rounding up the rest, I saw someone trying to escape with something, so I had them caught."
"When we searched them, we found treasures the cult had gathered over the years. This key was among them."
King Toma stroked his beard proudly. "I looked into this key's history. They say it's a Celestial Spirit Key even more powerful than the Zodiac keys."
"In other words, it's the key to the thirteenth constellation—Ophiuchus!"
Hearing this grand title, Ankh wasn't impressed and just said calmly.
"I see, the thirteenth constellation..."
In the original story Ankh knew, Lucy had ten Zodiac keys after the Tenrou Island arc.
She was only missing Pisces and Libra to complete the set of twelve.
He never expected a thirteenth constellation spirit to show up.
Well, he might as well take it back and see what it could do.
Satisfied, Ankh put the key in his pocket. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I really like this gift."
King Toma nodded and smiled in relief. "I'm glad you like it."
After saying their goodbyes, Ankh and the two women finally got into their carriage for the trip home.
King Toma watched his daughter, who seemed to have lost her spirit, and sighed.
"Hisui, you don't have to be like this..."
Hisui shook her head, watching the carriage disappear into the distance, and made a firm decision in her heart...
The next time they met, she would become a better version of herself!
...
This trip to the royal capital had been quick from start to finish, almost like a short outing.
When the guild members saw Ankh and the others return, they weren't very surprised.
After all, for a mission this important, if it weren't for the king's sake, why would the guild send three of its five S-Class Mages at once?
It would have been more shocking if they had failed or come back even a day late.
As soon as Erza walked through the door, she was met with Natsu's daily challenge.
But with her usual casual wave, she sent him flying across the room—the whole thing done smoothly and effortlessly.
Gray watched from the side, gritting his teeth, feeling both scared and amused.
Mirajane eagerly rushed over to her younger siblings, laughing and joking with the friends around her.
Ankh sat down at the long table in the guild hall, drank a large mug of ale in one go, and let out a satisfied sigh.
'Ah—this felt like home...'
Ankh leisurely ate his meat and drank his ale, acting like someone with no worries in the world, just enjoying life.
Clink.
Ankh's mug was lightly tapped by another.
Laxus, holding his own drink, sat down beside him without any expression.
"I heard you've put together a team and called it the 'Thunder God Tribe,'" Ankh said casually between sips, a teasing tone in his voice.
Laxus nodded, his voice low and serious.
"With them around, my missions get done easily."
Ankh chuckled with interest. "What, are you planning to form the ultimate team?"
"The ultimate team?" Laxus sneered, his voice full of arrogance. "The strongest is the strongest—and that's me! There's no such thing as a team!"
Ankh drank quietly, saying nothing.
In the future, Laxus would go too far in his quest to become Guild Master, which would lead to Makarov temporarily kicking him out of the guild.
Ankh had no idea how to handle that situation.
Letting Laxus get expelled was the last thing Ankh wanted.
But the Fairy Tail civil war was ultimately a personal matter between Laxus and Makarov.
Ankh couldn't fix their long-broken relationship, and he certainly couldn't change Laxus's stubborn personality.
He wasn't a mediator or a babysitter for Laxus and Makarov—there was only so much he could do.
Still, if he could soften Laxus's attitude a bit and keep him in the guild, that would be a good outcome.
Ankh dropped the subject and was about to get up to get more ale when he suddenly frowned.
Laxus seemed to sense it too.
After sharing a look with Ankh, he snorted coldly.
Ankh came back to his seat with a full mug and said casually.
"He's here."
Laxus's face showed clear annoyance. "That guy really knows how to make an entrance."
As the two talked, the others in the guild hall started to feel that something was wrong.
"That's strange, this feeling is..."
"Is it him again? Damn it..."
"So... sleepy..."
People muttered a few words before collapsing onto the floor one by one, soon starting to snore.
Even Erza and Mirajane couldn't hold out for long—they lasted a moment before also falling asleep on the ground.
In an instant, the only people left awake in the whole guild were Ankh and Laxus.
Right at that moment, the guild's doors swung open, and a tall, masked man walked in.
The man had seven different magic staves on his back and was wrapped up completely from head to toe, not showing a single bit of skin.
Laxus looked at the newcomer and muttered under his breath with clear disdain.
"The mage most likely to win this year's S-Class exam"
"Mystogan."
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