Lucy blinked groggily, her heart still racing from whatever nightmare she'd just escaped. When she finally dared to open one eye, she found Cana's face just inches from hers—along with a gleaming knife in her hand!
"C–Cana?!"
"Oh, you're awake?" Cana said casually, setting the knife down on the nearby table.
"The surgery was a success. Congratulations, Lucy—you're a boy now."
"Huh?!" Lucy froze, her brain going completely blank. She instinctively looked down at her chest.
That familiar curve was still there!
"But my chest—" She stopped mid-sentence, realizing what she was saying, and her face turned bright red.
"Wait, no! What surgery?! Wasn't I just trapped in Roger's horrifying illusion?! When did this happen?!"
"Pfft—HAHAHAHAHA!" Cana burst out laughing, doubling over and clutching her stomach. "Lucy, the look on your face when you checked your chest was priceless!"
Realizing she'd been tricked, Lucy puffed up her cheeks like an angry kitten. "Cana! I just barely escaped that terrifying illusion, and you're still messing with me?! I almost had a heart attack!"
Still fuming, she marched over to Roger and Mirajane, glaring at them.
"And you, Mira! You said it wasn't scary! That place had a kid with a mouth bigger than my whole head—carrying its own head! Who even thinks of that?! It was horrifying!!"
Roger just pointed toward Natsu and Happy, both sprawled on the floor, eyes spinning, foam bubbling at their mouths.
"Compared to what they saw," Roger said mildly, "yours was actually pretty mild."
"And you're still standing, so I'd say you handled it better than most."
Seeing their pitiful state, Lucy's anger fizzled out like a popped balloon. Remembering Roger and Mira's terrifying powers, she muttered weakly,
"F-fine... but at least give it a scarier name next time! It's called 'Nursery,' for crying out loud! I wasn't ready for that!"
Roger raised an eyebrow. "Lucy, you might've misunderstood."
"When I said 'Yin,' I meant darkness, and 'Yuan' meant resentment."
"I even wrote the kanji for it on the sign."
Lucy blinked, frozen. "Wait—'Yin Yuan Orphanage?!'"
"The sign?"
Then it hit her. She remembered those strange square characters above the old building's door. Her jaw dropped.
"No normal person could've read that!! How was I supposed to know?!"
But everyone in the guild turned to look at her and said in unison:
"We could all read it."
Lucy: "???"
"Wait, what? You guys could read it, right? Not couldn't?"
Macao pulled a thick dictionary and a manga off the shelf. "Most of Cana's manga are written in our world's script, but Roger's... not so much."
Wakaba shrugged. "Yeah, he somehow always gets manga and novels full of those symbols called kanji."
Macao nodded. "And since his luck is way better than Cana's, he often pulls entire series. To understand what's happening, we had no choice but to study the kanji."
"Hey!" Cana slammed her hand on the table, a vein popping on her forehead. "Explain all you want, but stop calling me unlucky, you jerks!"
Lisanna giggled behind her hand. "Cana got triggered again~."
Lisa whispered beside her, "Wasn't that nickname your idea?"
Lisanna blinked innocently, hiding her hands behind her back. "Really? You must be remembering wrong~ It spread through the guild all on its own!"
After hearing Macao's explanation, Lucy just sighed deeply, her spirit completely deflated. "I'm done... Let the world end already..."
Then her eyes drifted to the clock on the wall. Her brow furrowed.
"Wait a second—it's only been five minutes?! I swear it felt like at least forty in there!"
Erza, who was calmly finishing a slice of cake, swallowed the last bite and said, "Time doesn't flow the same in illusions. Roger can even make three days pass in there while only a minute goes by here."
"Th-that's incredible!" Lucy's worldview cracked yet again. Was magic really capable of that?
At this point, though, she'd seen so many impossible things since meeting Roger that she just shook her head and let it go. Her gaze shifted to Gray, who was standing beside Ul.
"So... you two finally reunited?"
Gray sweat-dropped. "Reunited? Lucy, she's my teacher! We've always known each other!"
"Haha—sorry," Lucy scratched her head sheepishly. "Guess I'm still a little rattled."
Then she lowered her voice. "So... you didn't cry? Seeing your teacher again after all that time?"
"Wh-who'd cry?!" Gray's ears turned pink as he looked away.
Lisanna leaned close to Lucy and "whispered"—just loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. "When Gray saw Ul, tears just poured out! He was bawling! I've never seen him like that before!"
"LISANNA!!" Gray exploded, shouting, "Don't make stuff up!!"
Lisanna stuck out her tongue playfully. "Don't worry~ I'll only tell Lucy. Not Natsu or Happy~"
Gray groaned, crossing his arms.
Listening to their usual bickering, Lucy finally felt truly back from the nightmare.
She turned to head home, planning to soak in a long, hot bath to heal her traumatized soul—
—but froze when she spotted a black-haired boy quietly standing right behind her, holding a round object in his arms.
That height... that hair... that shape. Her brain instantly overlapped it with the most terrifying scene from her illusion.
"G-GHOST!!!"
The sudden scare after relaxing hit her like a hammer. Her vision went dark, and before anyone could react— thud! She fainted dead away.
Romeo blinked in confusion, clutching his lunchbox. "Uh... Dad? That's the new guild member, Lucy, right? Why'd she faint as soon as she saw me?"
"Eh—" Macao hesitated. He couldn't exactly say she has horror-movie trauma. So he quickly changed the subject. "Why are you here, Romeo?"
Romeo lifted the round lunchbox proudly. "Mom made your favorite fried pork cutlets! She told me to bring them over."
Roger glanced at the unconscious Lucy and chuckled. "She mistook the lunchbox for that head from her illusion... Guess she won't want to see kids or round things for a while."
Sure enough, for the next half-month, Lucy was extremely jumpy.
She avoided children like the plague and stayed wary of anything round—plates, balls, even certain bald heads. She walked around with dark circles under her eyes, exhausted and twitchy.
It took two full weeks before she somewhat recovered, though rumor had it she still woke up screaming from nightmares.
A few days later, at the guild, Levy leaned close to a slumped-over Lucy and whispered, "Lu-chan~ how's your novel coming along?"
"Uuugh," Lucy groaned into the table, cheek squished flat.
"Don't ask... Ever since that punishment game, all I can think about are horror scenes. I keep accidentally writing them into my story..."
"I don't even dare look at what I've written anymore..."
Levy chuckled softly. "It's not that bad! I've read scarier ones—Cana found one once. Though, I think I'm the only one who actually read it."
Lucy looked at her in awe. "You actually read something that scary? Levy, you're amazing!"
"Of course!" Levy puffed out her tiny chest proudly. "I've collected tons of different books! Anything Roger or Cana finish—or don't want—they usually give to me. So if anyone in the guild wants to borrow something interesting, they come to me!"
Lucy perked up. "Then you must know what everyone likes to read, huh?"
Levy tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Let's see... Cana loves funny stories or ones where the main character's insanely lucky. Mira's into palace intrigue or cultivation novels. As for Erza..."
A mischievous grin spread across Levy's face as she leaned close to Lucy's ear and whispered, "Erza really likes romance novels with a little spice~"
"No way?!" Lucy's eyes widened, her expression screaming gossip jackpot.
"That Erza?! The super-serious one?! That's such a huge contrast!"
"Right?!" Levy giggled, eyes sparkling. "And get this—every time she borrows one, she hides it between three huge, serious-looking history or knight books before sneaking out!"
"Pfft—HAHAHA!" Lucy instantly pictured Erza with a stiff face, clutching big, boring tomes as camouflage, and burst out laughing, shoulders shaking.
She leaned closer, eager for more juicy details—when suddenly, a metal-clad hand rested gently, but firmly, on her shoulder.
A familiar voice, smooth but ice-cold, drifted right next to their ears.
"Oh? What are you two talking about that's so funny?"
"!!!"
Lucy and Levy froze solid. Their smiles vanished in an instant, replaced by stiff, soldier-straight posture. They stared straight ahead, barely daring to breathe.
"N-nothing!"
"We didn't say anything!"
Their voices were tight as bowstrings.
Erza leaned in between them, her crimson hair falling forward, her lips curling into a small, dangerous smile.
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Because I'm pretty sure I heard everything you said about my... little hobby."
Cold sweat drenched their backs.
Erza's voice dropped even lower. "I trust neither of you will let anyone else hear about that. Especially Mira—or Roger. Understood?"
Lucy thought despairingly, Too late, Erza—there are already three of us who know...
"But if I hear a single rumor," Erza continued, pressing just slightly harder on their shoulders, "I'll make sure you both understand what it means to keep your mouths shut. Permanently."
"Y-yes ma'am!! We won't say a word!!" they squeaked, practically crying.
"Good." Erza finally straightened, her tone softening. "I like people who keep their promises."
Then, colder again, "But if Mira dares tease me about this..." Her eyes glinted. "You'll both regret it."
The two nodded so fast their heads blurred.
Only after Erza walked off toward the bar did they collapse onto the table, utterly drained.
Lucy rubbed her numb shoulder, shivering. "S-so scary... I really thought my shoulder was going to break..."
Levy sighed. "Can you blame her? If Mira found out, she'd never let it go. And Erza really doesn't want to ruin her 'perfect' image in Roger's eyes."
"Roger, huh..." Lucy's gaze drifted toward the bar.
There sat Erza, eating cake. When she looked pleased, she casually used her own fork to pick up a small piece—and offered it to Roger.
Watching that intimate gesture, a question Lucy had been holding back for ages finally slipped out.
"Uh... Erza, you and Roger... are you two, um, dating? Like, boyfriend and girlfriend?"
The whole guild seemed to freeze. Even Mira, working behind the counter, paused for half a second, though her smile didn't falter.
As for Erza—she looked like she'd been struck by lightning. The fork in her hand clattered into the plate.
"B-b-b-boyfriend and girlfriend?!" she squeaked.
"Yeah," Lucy nodded, pointing at the cake. "You literally fed him with your fork! Isn't that, like... an indirect kiss?"
"I-I-INDIRECT KISS?!" Steam erupted from Erza's head. Images from the "romance" novels she'd read flashed uncontrollably through her mind.
A deep blush spread across her face faster than a wildfire.
"W-we're just—just normal teammates! That's all!!"