Fairy Tail: The Uncrowned King of Magic

Chapter 126: Chapter 126

Lucy arrived at the guildhall early the next morning looking thoroughly exhausted.

The night before, Marshall had informed her that the Naruto novels and manga hadn’t been created by the same person.

The idol she had worshiped for years was someone entirely different from Reedus.

Careless as ever, Lucy had somehow maintained that misunderstanding for several years without noticing.

The thought that she had proudly declared herself a devoted fan in front of the real author—only to reveal that she didn’t even know who had written the books—left her wanting to crawl into the nearest hole and disappear.

Every time she remembered it in bed, embarrassment made her curl up so hard that her toes could have carved several luxury apartments into the mattress.

She had barely slept all night.

"My, my~ Lucy, you don’t look very energetic today."

Mira leaned across the counter with a gentle smile.

"Was the women’s dormitory not to your liking?"

"Mira-san... No, the dormitory was wonderful."

Lucy collapsed over the bar.

"The problem is me..."

Then, in the most mournful voice she could manage, she quoted a line from her favorite novel.

"Slim-sensei has stolen my heart. Perhaps I shall never experience joy or sorrow again..."

Mira’s smile froze.

"?"

Wasn’t this newcomer getting a little too bold?

The glass Mira was polishing became noticeably thinner between her fingers.

At that moment, Makarov appeared at the open railing overlooking the guildhall from the second floor.

Marshall floated through the air behind him, while every ordinary member who had been lingering upstairs quietly returned to the first floor.

Lucy looked up curiously.

"What’s happening?"

"Fairy Tail occasionally holds public disciplinary meetings," Mira explained cheerfully. "It’s been quite a while since the last one."

"This probably has nothing to do with you yet, little Lucy. As a newcomer, you’ll need to work much harder before Master starts criticizing you by name~"

Then the meeting began.

"Master," Marshall read from the parchment in his hands, "Natsu destroyed the harbor and brought back a criminal who had been impersonating a Fairy Tail member."

"Where is that little bastard?!"

"He’s probably still on his way back."

"Tch. Fine."

Makarov crossed his arms.

"At least he dealt with the impostor. How much do we owe?"

Marshall named the amount.

"Pay them!"

"Next, Loki became involved with Councilor Reggie’s granddaughter. Her family has filed a complaint."

"Damn it, Loki! Clean up your own mess!"

"Elfman intimidated a client and received another complaint."

"Gray was reported for running naked through the streets again."

"Master, there’s also—"

Marshall continued reading out the guild members’ crimes one after another.

Makarov started out relatively calm, offering the occasional comment or punishment. Gradually, his patience wore away.

Then came frustration.

Then numbness.

Finally, he abandoned all hope.

"Enough! Stop reading, Marshall!"

His mustache trembled with rage.

"Can none of you troublesome brats go one month without causing a disaster?!"

"Last month’s complaints nearly filled my entire office!"

Makarov glared down at the assembled members.

"Look at yourselves! I don’t even know what to say anymore!"

"Besides causing trouble, what have any of you done for this guild?!"

BANG!

The guildhall’s front doors were kicked open.

"Zoss, you bastard!"

Natsu’s furious voice thundered through the hall.

"How dare you lie to me about Salamander?!"

Before Natsu could reach Zoss and beat him senseless, Makarov enlarged and stretched his arm across the guildhall.

His massive fist hammered Natsu straight into the floor.

"You have the nerve to shout?!"

Makarov roared.

"You destroyed half the harbor, you idiot!"

"Confiscating every Jewel you earned last month still wouldn’t cover the damage!"

"Are you trying to bankrupt the guild?!"

No one offered Natsu the slightest sympathy.

Everyone pointed at his flattened body and burst out laughing.

Natsu immediately became indignant.

"That bastard was impersonating someone from our guild!"

"I only beat him up! What did I do wrong?!"

"Couldn’t you have shown a little restraint?!"

Makarov grabbed him by the scarf.

"You demolished innocent people’s homes, then ran away without even apologizing!"

Natsu fell silent.

"Damn it... Fine. I’ll be more careful next time."

He hesitated before looking up hopefully.

"Uh, Master... could we get paid soon?"

"We’re out of money, we don’t have anything to eat, and we’re about to become unemployed—"

Makarov stared at him.

"..."

Marshall looked at the righteous, completely unapologetic Natsu, quietly rolled up the parchment, and pressed a hand to his forehead.

Their guild was beyond saving!

Makarov’s face darkened.

He set every complaint letter in his hands on fire and threw the burning pile at Natsu.

"Honestly, you troublesome little brats..."

"I’m not scolding you because I believe everything you did was wrong!"

"You are Fairy Tail! You never need to live according to how other people judge you!"

"I’ve only ever asked one thing of you—whatever you do, make certain you can face your own conscience afterward!"

His voice echoed throughout the guildhall.

"Listen carefully!"

"Every extraordinary power is born from a natural principle. Magic is not a miraculous force that appears from nowhere."

"It takes form when the flow within our bodies resonates with the currents of nature around us."

"Magic is the product of our spirit and concentration—no, it is the result of pouring our entire souls into what we believe!"

"If you spend your lives worrying about what others think, you’ll never advance along the path of magic!"

Makarov raised his fist.

"So ignore those fools on the Magic Council and walk proudly along the path you believe in!"

The guild erupted into cheers.

Lucy watched with shining eyes.

Makarov glanced toward her while stroking his beard.

[That must be the Heartfilia family’s young lady.]

[Sigh... Hopefully we can keep her happy with good food, comfortable lodging, and plenty of entertainment.]

[As long as she doesn’t start causing trouble, everything will be fine...]

Marshall stared straight ahead, his expression perfectly innocent.

’Sorry, Master. I’m afraid I can’t stand beside you on this one.’

Lucy Heartfilia had entered his territory.

As Fairy Tail’s reigning champion of newcomer hazing, Marshall had already decided her fate.

No one could stop him!

...

The disciplinary meeting ended, and everyone scattered to resume whatever nonsense they had been doing beforehand.

"Damn it. Natsu got mentioned the most again."

Gray folded his arms unhappily.

"I don’t think I can beat him. Fire Magic’s destructive power is ridiculously unfair."

"Exactly! Gray, you need to work harder!"

"Stop spending all your time stripping like a pervert and accomplish something useful for once!"

"Shut up!"

Gray glared at the speaker.

"Why wasn’t Erza’s name mentioned at all this time?"

"Because no one dares to report Erza."

"Compared to that monster, I think the rest of us are remarkably normal."

"That’s debatable. Even when Natsu is only trying to fight one person, he somehow destroys everything nearby."

Lucy listened to their conversation and gradually matched the names she had read in magazines with the faces around her.

But right now, she only wanted food.

"Mira! Flame-grilled beef and a plate of spicy skewers!"

Natsu dropped onto the stool beside Lucy.

He paused.

His nose twitched.

Then he turned and stared at her.

"You’re... the newcomer?"

"There’s something familiar about your scent, but I can’t remember what it is."

"Huh?! S-Scent?!"

Lucy immediately shifted two seats away.

Her mouth twitched.

"I don’t smell! I bathe every day!"

Wendy suddenly appeared from the side with Carla in her arms.

"Natsu-nii noticed it too?"

She looked at Lucy with open curiosity.

"I think Lucy-san smells familiar as well. It makes me feel like I want to get closer to her."

"What?!"

Lucy began to panic.

Marshall took the empty seat beside them and frowned thoughtfully.

"They’re right. Miss Lucy does possess a rather unusual scent."

"Even you, Marshall?!"

Mira blinked before covering her mouth with a laugh.

"Perhaps Lucy really does have a special scent~"

"Marshall, Wendy, and Natsu are all Dragon Slayers. Their sense of smell is unusually sensitive, so perhaps they noticed something they share with you."

Marshall neither confirmed nor denied her theory.

His Dragon Seed was still only Level One, giving him the weakest draconic transformation of the three.

Wendy’s had reached Level Two, while Natsu’s was already Level Three.

Marshall’s sense of smell was only slightly sharper than that of an ordinary person.

He had joined the conversation purely to make things more entertaining.

After hearing all three of them agree, Lucy began doubting herself.

Had she somehow forgotten to bathe yesterday?

No, that was impossible!

Then she noticed the blue cat beside Natsu, the white cat in Wendy’s arms, and the white-and-pink cat perched on Marshall’s head.

Her attention immediately shifted.

"What kind of magic is Dragon Slayer Magic?"

"Is it magic for raising cats?"

"Aye! That’s right!" Happy declared.

"Quiet, tomcat."

Carla shot him an irritated look.

"Dragon Slayer Magic is a Lost Magic created to kill dragons. We are not pets."

Lucy shrugged.

Whatever they said.

Mira smoothly rescued the conversation and began telling Lucy about various aspects of life in Fairy Tail.

Eventually, she smiled warmly.

"In our guild, having companions like Natsu—and everyone else—is enough."

"As long as we have friends who can become family, we don’t need anything more."

Not far away, Loki suddenly stiffened.

He stared uncertainly at Lucy, then gave Marshall a strange, meaningful signal before hurrying out of the guildhall.

Marshall wasn’t surprised that Lucy was a Celestial Spirit Mage.

The Heartfilia family had a long history with Celestial Spirit Magic.

Lucy’s magic power wasn’t especially overwhelming, but she possessed roughly five thousand units—about the same as Wendy.

That was more than enough to become a capable Celestial Spirit Mage.

Natsu himself had only recently surpassed ten thousand. A reserve of around five thousand already placed someone among Fairy Tail’s dependable middle ranks.

"Now that you mention it, I suppose I’m technically a Celestial Spirit Mage too."

Marshall smiled.

"The golden key I own was given to me by the head of the Heartfilia family. I really should have visited personally to thank him after all these years."

"Huh?! Mom gave—"

Lucy suddenly coughed.

"I-I mean, what an amazing coincidence! Hahaha..."

"I possess the Gate of the Maiden’s key."

Marshall looked at her.

"Which Celestial Spirit keys do you own, Lucy?"

"Me?"

Lucy immediately became enthusiastic.

"Among the Zodiac keys, I have Aquarius and Cancer. For silver keys, I have Horologium, Crux, Lyra, Pegasus, Sculptor—"

"Stop, stop. You don’t need to give me the complete list."

Marshall interrupted her.

"You shouldn’t reveal too many details about your abilities, even to guildmates."

"You truly have no sense of caution at all, Lucy."

"Ahahaha... Sorry."

Lucy scratched her cheek sheepishly.

"My other dream is to collect more Celestial Spirit keys."

"I get carried away whenever someone asks about them. Ehehe~"

As the two continued chatting pleasantly, Lucy suddenly felt as though the air around her had become strangely dry.

She turned and found Juvia staring at her with a face burning with outrage.

"J-Juvia?"

Lucy shrank back.

"Is something wrong?"

Juvia forcefully inserted herself between Lucy and Marshall, puffing out her cheeks as she glared at the newcomer.

"What exactly are the two of you doing?"

"Huh?"

Lucy had no idea what was happening.

Juvia slapped both hands against the table.

"Lucy—!"

"Newcomer, aren’t you becoming far too comfortable?"

"Making this many enemies on your first day won’t end well."

"Have you prepared yourself to stand against everyone in this guild?"

"What?!"

Before the bewildered Lucy could understand why she was being threatened, Marshall eagerly stepped forward to "help"—or rather, to make the situation worse.

He rescued Lucy from Juvia by wrapping both hands around her arm and placing himself protectively in front of her.

"Cana, Juvia, what are you doing?"

"You’ll frighten Lucy if you behave like this!"

For reasons Lucy couldn’t understand, the temperature around her seemed to drop several degrees the moment Marshall said that.

The number of hostile stares aimed in her direction also became terrifying.

"Who is that girl?"

"Why is Marshall acting so close to her?"

"I’ve never seen him acting so clingy to another girl like that!"

"Damn it! Does Marshall actually prefer blondes?"

"I need to learn magic that changes hair color!"

"Does she realize she’s doing something we absolutely won’t tolerate?"

"Oh, I see..."

Mira’s smile deepened.

"So Marshall has this side to him as well."

"How fascinating."

The next moment, Mira seized Marshall from behind and dragged him away.

Cana and Juvia immediately took his place, each wrapping an arm around one of Lucy’s before lifting her from her seat in a deadly pincer formation.

"Marshall, you should go play with Mira for a while."

Cana wore an unnaturally stiff smile.

"Juvia and I have a few private matters to discuss with Miss Lucy."

"Extremely important matters."

Marshall looked worried on the surface, but made absolutely no attempt to stop them.

"Huh? All right."

"But don’t bully Lucy."

"Why would we ever do that?"

Cana smiled sweetly.

"We’re always friendly toward newcomers. Isn’t that right, my dear Juvia?"

"Of course, my dear Cana."

Juvia’s smile was equally terrifying.

"Fairy Tail is one large, loving family."

"Huh?"

Lucy was carried toward the back of the guildhall.

"Wait, what do you need to—eep!"

To this day, no one knows precisely what Lucy experienced during her first day in Fairy Tail.

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