Chapter 232: Lucy Joins the Guild
"Hmm? A newbie?"
The giant figure looked down at Lucy. She tensed up, her whole body trembling as she squeaked, "Y-Yes..."
"Hrmmmmm..."
The giant figure let out a deep groan. Lucy was so scared she thought she was going to cry.
But then, the massive shadow began to shrink, and shrink, and shrink... until it was just a tiny, short old man.
"Huh?!"
Lucy stared at him, dumbfounded. The difference between the giant and this little old man was so extreme, she was at a loss for words.
"Welcome to the guild!" Makarov said with a wave. He took a stack of papers from Noah, then did a running flip and jumped toward the second-floor railing.
WHAM!
He smashed head-first into the railing. The sound alone was painful.
Makarov slowly, painfully, pulled himself up and stood on top of the railing.
"Ahem! You've all been causing trouble again, haven't you! Take a good look! This is the latest batch from the Magic Council!"
He waved the stack of papers at the now-silent guild.
"First, Gray!"
"Huh?"
"You did a fine job capturing those smugglers. But why did you then wander the streets... naked... and then steal someone's underwear that was hanging out to dry?!"
"No, wait, it's just... being naked isn't right..."
"Then don't be naked!" Noah called out from the bar. "Looks like Ultear's lessons still haven't stuck. I'll have to let her know."
Hearing Ultear's name, Gray flinched. "No, wait, you don't have to do that!"
"Too late. Even if I don't, you think they won't?" Noah said, gesturing to the other members, who were all grinning, ready to tattle. Gray's face went pale.
"Aaaand Elfman!" Makarov continued, flipping the page. "You assaulted the client you were hired to protect!"
"That's because he said 'A man is all about his education'!"
Makarov just sighed and flipped the page. "Cana! You destroyed half a street while chasing a thief!"
"He dodged my attack!"
"Mira! Sorano! One of you destroyed half a canyon, the other half a forest!"
"The magical beast was tough! I used a little too much power!"
"Mine kept running away! I had to go all-out to catch it!"
"Loke... you hit on the granddaughter of Councilman Reji... and some talent agency is demanding compensation..."
"And next... Natsu..."
Makarov's entire body seemed to deflate. He took a breath. "Wiped out the Devin thieves' gang, but destroyed seven civilian homes. You also toppled the historic clock tower in Julie Village. The church in Freesia... completely incinerated. The Rubinas castle... partially destroyed. The Nanar Observation Post... collapsed and inoperable. And... the port of Hargeon... half-destroyed."
"Wow... almost all of these are Natsu's..." Lucy whispered, completely dumbfounded.
"Alzack, Levy, Krof, Reedus, Vallen, Bisca, and everyone else! You brats! The Council is always yelling at me because of you!"
Makarov's voice got lower and darker. Lucy, terrified, watched as the guild members all lowered their heads in shame. The Master's shoulders began to tremble.
"But..."
He suddenly threw his head back, his hand erupting in flames, and burned the entire stack of complaints to ash.
"Let those Council fools go eat crap!"
"Huh?!" Lucy's jaw dropped.
Makarov threw the fireball down, and Natsu leaped up, swallowing it whole.
"Listen up, brats!" Makarov roared. "Power that surpasses reason is born from reason! Magic is not some miracle power. It is the flow of 'spirit' inside us, and the 'spirit' that flows in nature. When they connect, they manifest. It takes concentration, spirit, and... your very soul!
"You'll never advance if you're always worried about what the idiots at the top think of you! Don't fear the fools at the Council!"
He took a deep breath and shouted:
"Follow the path you believe in! That's what it means to be a Fairy Tail wizard!"
The silence in the guild exploded into a deafening roar of cheers. Everyone was smiling, laughing, and celebrating. Lucy, hearing this for the first time, felt her heart swell, her eyes shining. This was the spirit of Fairy Tail.
"So, what do you think?" Noah said, now standing beside her. "Fairy Tail is pretty great, right?"
"Mhm!" Lucy beamed, her eyes sparkling. "I'm so glad I came here! This was absolutely the right choice!"
"Glad you like it," Noah smiled. "Come on, let's get you registered. Then you can tell me how you and Natsu met."
"Okay!"
Lucy followed Noah to the bar, where Mirajane and Sorano were waiting. They helped her with the paperwork and, with a magic stamp, gave her the guild mark. She chose the back of her right hand, the same as Noah, in pink.
"Congratulations," Mirajane said with a smile. "You're officially one of us now."
"Wow... thank you!" Lucy beamed, admiring the new mark.
"Wait, there's one more thing," Noah said. He pulled a box out from under the counter and handed it to her.
"What's this?" Lucy asked, tapping the sturdy box.
"It's a welcome package for new members," Noah explained. "It's got potions I made for any situation you might run into on a job, with a full instruction guide. It also has some other useful gear. Every new member gets one. If you run out, you can buy refills from the guild at cost. Or you can bring me the raw materials, and I'll just charge you a small crafting fee."
This was a new guild perk Noah had funded and set up with Makarov.
Lucy knew this was no simple gift. Her family had partnered with Noah; she knew just how valuable his potions were.
Noah tapped her guild mark. "That mark has a lot of new functions you can explore, but for now, let's focus on the storage space. Try storing this box. I've also bound it to you, so only you can open it. You can even open it from the storage space to pull items out directly. It's much faster."
Lucy tried it, her eyes going wide with excitement. She made the box vanish and reappear, over and over, giggling.
"Alright, that's enough," Noah laughed. "Now, story time. I'm curious how you two ended up together."
Mira and Sorano sat down, ready to listen.
Lucy told them everything. After leaving home, she had traveled, returning home every month or two. After about half a year, she arrived in Hargeon and heard rumors of "Salamander" from Fairy Tail. Since she'd always wanted to join, she went to see him, only to find a sleazy man using illegal Charm magic.
Thanks to her training, she'd recognized it immediately and knew something was wrong. She knew Noah would never tolerate a member who used magic like that. She decided to investigate and pretended to be charmed, accepting an invitation to his "party" on a yacht.
Once on board, she found it was a slave ship. The man, Bora, was using Fairy Tail's name to lure and kidnap girls. As she was confronting them, Natsu, who had also heard the "Salamander" rumors, came crashing through the roof. The two of them teamed up, and with Lucy's help, they took down Bora and his crew. Then, to escape the army, Natsu had just grabbed her and run all the way back to the guild.
"What a great story," Mirajane smiled.
"Wait a minute," Sorano said, "isn't Natsu horribly motion-sick? How did he fight on a boat?"
"Well... Natsu did most of the fighting..." Lucy said, laughing nervously.
"Don't tell me," Noah said, a smile tugging at his lips. "You used your Aquarius key, didn't you? And washed the boat ashore?"
"Y-Yes..." Lucy groaned, burying her face on the counter.
"Aquarius, the Water Bearer," Noah explained to the others. "She controls water, but she's... notoriously cranky. Her attacks tend to be a little over-the-top."
"So you're saying," Sorano said, her eyes lighting up, "that when you 'washed the boat ashore,' you also washed away half the port? You're responsible for the destruction, too?"
"Yeeeees..." Lucy moaned.
"Nice!" Sorano clapped her on the back, laughing. "You've got the Fairy Tail style down already! You'll fit right in!"
"Haha..." Lucy could only laugh awkwardly.
"Well, you're all set," Noah said. "Go on, go meet the others. And find a job you're interested in. I'll let Jude and Layla know you're safe."
"Right!" Lucy's spirit returned. She hopped up and ran over to Natsu, excitedly showing him her new guild mark.
"So that's the Heartfilia heiress you were talking about?" Sorano mused, watching Lucy. "She doesn't have that stuck-up attitude of other rich girls. If you hadn't told me, I'd never have guessed."
"That's thanks to her mother, Layla," Noah said. "She was raised well. She's been traveling all on her own, and her parents told me she hasn't used a single jewel of her family's money. She's earned everything herself."
Mira and Sorano looked at Lucy's simple, but well-chosen, clothes and nodded, impressed.
"But are her parents okay with her joining a wizard guild?" Sorano asked. "It's dangerous. You'd think a rich family..."
"No," Noah said, smiling. "Her parents are very supportive."
~~~
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