While Kira was off exploring the cave, the other two teams began their own missions.
"So where exactly are we supposed to start looking?" Gray asked, trailing behind Erza.
Without turning around, Erza replied firmly, "Forget about Kira's talk of the Celestial Maiden. Our priority is finding Natsu and Lucy!"
Her tone was sharp, leaving no room for argument.
Gray scratched his head with a sigh. "Yeah, I figured you'd say that. All that talk about joining the discussion was just a front, wasn't it? Your real goal is to drag Natsu and Lucy back on Kira's airship, right?"
"Exactly. Got a problem with that?"
Erza shot a fierce glance over her shoulder, making Gray shiver. "N-no! Not at all! But if you're planning to give Natsu a piece of your mind, count me in!"
"Hmm… fine, just this once," Erza said with a nod. "But the rest of the time, you two better get along!"
Gray forced an awkward smile, sweat beading on his forehead. "Y-yeah, sure…"
The two continued forward, one leading, the other following.
---
"Ugh, we agreed to stick together before we left, but as soon as we got off the airship, Kira just ran off on his own! That guy's always so reckless!"
On a snowy path, Kana, Loki, and Elfman were casually strolling, unlike Erza's determined march. They had no intention of forcibly dragging Natsu and Lucy back.
The only reason they'd come along was a mix of whim and the chance for a free trip on Kira's airship. Otherwise, wouldn't it be better to stay back at the guild, drinking and chatting with cute girls?
"I thought Kira might try to hold a skiing competition here," Loki said. "He lost pretty badly last year, and knowing him, he'd want to get revenge. Maybe he ran off to secretly practice."
"Hahaha, you really know him well," Kana chuckled, taking a swig of her drink to ward off the cold. "That does sound like something he'd do."
Elfman laughed too. "Kira's personality is always so easy to read! A real man's gotta be straightforward like that!"
"Exactly! He's obviously worried about Natsu and Lucy but had to come up with some excuse to tag along," Loki added.
If Kira knew they were thinking this way, he'd be both shocked and touched. Shocked because they got it all wrong—he wasn't worried about Natsu at all. Touched because it showed his long-time care for the guild members hadn't gone unnoticed. In their eyes, he was the dependable big brother looking out for everyone.
---
Meanwhile, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy were fulfilling a request from the tavern owner, Puru, to hunt magical wolves in the snowy mountains.
"I'm telling you, are there really wolves out here? We've been walking forever and haven't seen a single one," Lucy said.
Happy swooped down from the sky. "I didn't spot any from up there either."
"But if the tavern guy said there are wolves, there's gotta be some, right?" Natsu replied. "Plus, I smelled something on that girl earlier that wasn't human."
"What?!" Lucy gasped, staring at Natsu. "Not human?!"
"Probably the wolves the tavern guy mentioned. There was also the scent of blood."
Lucy thought back. "But that girl, Winter, didn't seem to have any wounds. So, does that mean she's the one hunting the wolves? That's incredible!"
Natsu sniffed the air again. "It's… the same scent as that girl."
After sniffing around, he locked onto a direction and bolted.
Lucy's cheeks flushed. "Ugh, does he have to make it sound so creepy?"
"Is Lucy jealous?" Happy teased, rolling his tongue playfully.
"No way!" Lucy grabbed Happy and started ruffling him in her arms. "You dumb cat, stop picking up bad habits!"
"Wait for me, Natsu!" she called, running to catch up.
When she reached him, Natsu was standing silently at the edge of a snowy cliff.
"What's down there?" Lucy asked, stepping forward to peer over the edge. Below, a pile of wolf corpses formed a gruesome mountain, their blood staining the snow red.
"This is…" Lucy stared in shock at the carnage. "Did Winter do all this by herself?"
The melting snow mixed with the wolves' blood, painting the pristine white landscape with vivid streaks of red, like a rose drawn by an artist on a blank canvas—striking and eerie.
Before Lucy could process it, Natsu jumped down the cliff. With no other choice, she had Happy fly her down after him.
"Wow," Happy said in awe. "Who'd have thought that little girl was this strong?"
Lucy eyed the pile of wolf corpses, mentally measuring it. The heap was about three times her height, and every wolf was bigger than she was.
If Kira saw this, he'd realize these were the same snow wolves he'd been tracking, and this was where they'd fought someone.
"To take down this many wolves alone, that Winter girl's stronger than a lot of people in our guild," Lucy said. "With that kind of power, she doesn't even need our help."
"So these are the wolves the tavern guy mentioned?" Happy asked. "But they're already taken care of."
Natsu looked frustrated. "This doesn't feel like an S-Class mission at all! If there's nothing to do, we came all this way for nothing!"
"But with the wolves already defeated, what can we do now?" Lucy wondered.
"There's still the demons creating these magical wolves, right? Let's take them out for the tavern guy!" Natsu declared.
"But we don't have any leads!"
Natsu sniffed the air again. "Not true. I can smell it—some wolves got away. The scent's faint, but it's still there."
"Oh, I get it!" Happy chirped. "If we follow the remaining wolves, they'll lead us to the demons making them!"
"Hehe, exactly, Happy! Let's go after them!"
"Aye!" Happy cheered.
Just as Lucy started to follow, something unexpected happened.
Several sharp white spears shot down from the sky, carrying a deadly intent aimed straight at the unsuspecting Lucy.
"Watch out!"
Raised in the wild by Igneel, Natsu's instincts were razor-sharp. He reacted first, tackling Lucy into his arms and sliding across the snow with the momentum, dodging the attack with ease—far smoother than Kira's clumsy skiing.
"What the—?" Lucy barely registered what happened before she was pinned beneath Natsu, his warm breath hitting her face, making her blush furiously.
"Not bad reflexes! So, you must be the wizards sent for the job, huh?"
A haughty, high-pitched voice cut through Lucy's thoughts. Looking up, she saw a twin-tailed girl standing atop the pile of wolf corpses, hands on her hips, glaring down with a smug expression.
Clearly, she was the one who'd launched the attack.
"Who are you? Why'd you attack Lucy?" Natsu shouted, already protective of his new friend. Though they hadn't known each other long, Lucy was already an important teammate to him, and he wouldn't let anyone hurt her.
"Me? Hmph, listen up, foolish humans! I am Chloe, the Cloud Princess, ruler of this snowy kingdom!"
"What, just some girl with princess syndrome?" Natsu muttered, turning to Happy. He'd learned the term from Kira, who'd been his reading teacher when he first joined the guild. Kira had said it described girls who acted like they were royalty.
"No, Natsu, I think Kira called it 'chuunibyou,'" Happy corrected, clenching his little paws.
"Nope, you got it wrong. It's princess syndrome!"
"No way, it's chuunibyou! You're the one who forgot, Natsu!"
Chloe fumed at their banter. Living in the mountains, she was out of touch with modern slang and didn't know what "princess syndrome" or "chuunibyou" meant, but her gut told her they weren't compliments. Worst of all, this guy and his cat were completely ignoring her.
"You two are so annoying with your yapping!" Chloe shouted, stomping her foot in frustration.
In that instant, Natsu's fiery attack roared toward her, aimed right at her face.