"Good morning, Nate."
Erza responded with a warm smile, though a bit of whipped cream still lingered on her lips. Nate walked over, wiped the cream off with his finger, and gently offered it back to her.
Erza's cheeks flushed as she felt shy. This was one of the romantic gestures she'd read about in her "Girlfriend's Guide to Love." Instinctively, she held his finger in her mouth for a mont, nearly forgetting that Mavis was there.
Nate leaned in close, whispering telepathically into her ear, "That's our first guild master, Mavis Vermillion... and she has a bit of a sweet tooth."
'Who are you calling a sweet tooth? I can hear you!'
Mavis's ahoge wobbled as she floated closer like a ghost. Erza's gaze shifted to her in surprise. Still holding Nate's finger, she couldn't speak but worried she might startle him, so she responded telepathically:
'The first master?'
'She's a ghost. No one outside the guild can see her. She's just here because she was craving sweets and decided to leave Tenrou Island,' Nate explained.
Erza had, of course, heard of the first master. As an S-class mage, she was familiar with the history of Fairy Tail and had visited Tenrou Island multiple tis as an examiner. But seeing the spirit of the first master in person was a first.
'Should I... invite her to join us?' Erza asked, a bit flustered.
Before Nate could answer, a third voice echoed in both their minds.
'I can hear you!'
Erza: "!!"
Nate: "?!"
Telepathy overheard? Nate watched as Mavis took a seat at their table, looking at both of them with a mischievous smile.
"Fourth Master, telepathic magic is quite easy to intercept if you haven't mastered it," she teased.
Caught, Nate gave an embarrassed laugh. He hadn't trained much in telepathy, only enough to implent it in the Magic Net's voice chat function. For soone with Mavis's magic expertise, listening in was no big challenge.
Erza quickly pulled Nate's finger from her mouth, making sure to lick off any remaining cream. 'Fourth Master? When did Nate beco the Fourth Master?' she wondered silently.
"Mavis, I've seen you on Tenrou Island five tis, but it's your first ti seeing , isn't it, Erza?"
"Yes, Master Mavis! I didn't expect to et you... Oh, I an, it's an honor to et you—I'm Erza!"
"Don't be so nervous—I'm just a ghost." Mavis smiled before turning to Nate. "So, Fourth Master, Erza is your girlfriend?"
"Please keep that a secret!"
'Shhh~~!' Mavis's large eyes sparkled with keen interest. She had guessed their relationship from their closeness and was intrigued. Although Mavis herself had never dated, it didn't stop her from wanting to "see the show."
Hearing Nate confirm their relationship again brought a happy smile to Erza's face. She pushed an untouched strawberry cake toward Mavis, saying earnestly, "Master Mavis, if you don't mind, please enjoy it!"
"Wouldn't it be better if we headed back to Fairy Tail to eat? It's been so long since I visited," Mavis suggested, looking nostalgic. "And rember, don't reveal my identity just yet."
If she ate here, from an outsider's perspective, it would look like a cake disappearing bite by bite out of thin air.
...
Erza asked the shopkeeper to pack everything up, and after buying an additional hundred cakes, the trio—two people and one ghost—headed toward the north side of Magnolia.
Standing before the guild's grand entrance, Mavis exclaid, "Wow, Fairy Tail has beco so impressive!"
Nate noticed soone approaching from behind.
"Warren?"
"Good morning, Nate, Erza, and... this young lady..." Warren, carrying a bag over his shoulder, paused upon seeing Mavis.
Who is this? Soone's kid from the guild? A newcor?
Nate quickly changed the subject. "It's been a while, Warren. Just returned from a mission?"
"Yes, with the Harvest Festival approaching, everyone's coming back early. This ti of year always ends up being a bit of a holiday for the guild."
Distracted by the conversation, Warren seed to forget about Mavis.
"I'll head in first and give Mira the mission report."
Inside, he shouted out in surprise, "Mira? Two of you?! What's going on? Is soone using transformation magic? Reedus, did you draw another Mira?"
A round of laughter followed from the guild hall.
"Hahaha! Another one! Another one!"
"Guess, Warren! Which Mira is the real one?"
"If you guess wrong, you have to drink!" Cana called out.
Nate suddenly rembered—he had sent back Edolas's Mira and Elfman with Lisanna.
"Seems like there's sothing interesting going on in there!"
Mavis's eyes lit up, and she floated into the guild.
Nate wanted to call her out on it. 'Can't you walk? Now everyone will know you're a ghost.'
When he and Erza entered the hall, Warren was still shouting in astonishnt.
"Two Elfmans!?"
"Wait... Lisanna, is that you?!"
"What is going on? Did I walk into the wrong guild? Or am I still dreaming?"
Behind the bar, the two Miras smiled, identical down to their outfits and expressions. When they noticed Nate at the door, they greeted him in unison:
"Nate, welco back!"
Nate could tell them apart at a glance, but Erza was clearly confused.
"Two Miras, two Elfmans, and... Lisanna?"
"It's a long story," Levy said with a smirk, beginning to fill in the details for everyone.
Mavis mingled among the crowd, listening intently with curiosity. Her presence went unnoticed for a while as everyone's attention was on the new arrivals.
Nate found a quiet corner to sit in, but as soon as he did, Cana joined him with two mugs of beer. She slid one over to him, saying with a grin, "This one's on !"
"Do I have to drink it?"
"How can you celebrate without drinking?"
Isn't it six days until the festival? Nate thought but took the beer, sipping it lightly.
He suddenly thought of sothing. 'With the festival coming up, everyone's returning... I wonder if Gildarts will be here?'
"Cana, Gildarts is your father, right?"
"Pfft!"
Cana, who had just taken a sip, suddenly sprayed her drink, narrowly missing Nate, who dodged in ti.
"Sorry!" she said quickly, then leaned in, lowering her voice, "Nate, how... how did you know?"
"Take a guess."
"Mind reading? Ugh, that's creepy!"
Bit harsh, isn't it? Nate thought.
Cana sighed and shrugged it off. "I was actually just thinking about Gildarts myself. It's been three years... Who knows where he is now? Do you think he'll make it back for the festival?"
Your dad's off in another continent dragon hunting, probably about to face Acnologia and co back with a serious injury, Nate thought. But he decided to keep that part to himself to avoid worrying her.
"Maybe he's already beco one of the Four Emperors of the New World. Don't worry about him."
"Huh?"
(To Be Continued)
...
Eastern Forest
Under a tree, Gajeel handed a folded paper to Makarov.
"Master, I've managed to gather so preliminary information on Master Ivan. These are so details about Raven Tail."
"Thank you, Gajeel."
After a mont's hesitation, Gajeel added, "There's more—apparently, due to Grimoire Heart's threat posted on the forums, Ivan may also be planning sothing during the Harvest Festival with his dark guild, Raven Tail."
Makarov's brow furrowed.
Raven Tail was an independent dark guild outside the Balam Alliance. In recent years, its power had grown so much that it could rival the "Oración Seis," "Grimoire Heart," and "Tartaros," effectively becoming the fourth major dark guild.
And, crucially...
Its leader, Ivan, was his son and a forr mber of Fairy Tail.
~~~
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