"I'm so happy to see that you're all safe and sound, Millianna."
"Me too."
"Why didn't you come over sooner? Don't you know I've been thinking about you guys?" Erza spoke to Millianna with a slightly reproachful tone.
Millianna chuckled. "Heehee. I originally planned to reveal myself only when we won, as a surprise for you."
Speaking of which, Erza turned serious. "The winners will be Fairy Tail. Even if you are my former comrade, I won't back down on this."
Millianna said, "You're still the same as before, so serious whenever winning or losing is involved."
"But Kagura from your guild is indeed very powerful."
"That's for sure. If she gets serious, she might even be stronger than you, though she certainly can't compare to that monster Takeshi."
Millianna knew Takeshi was a monster. He was one seven years ago, and even after a seven-year gap, he seemed even more like one. Seeing the Susanoo he used in his fight against Jura, she really didn't know how anyone could defeat such a monster.
"Haha!"
Erza couldn't help but laugh seeing Millianna's troubled expression.
She knew Takeshi better than Millianna did. Takeshi was indeed the most headache-inducing existence. If she were his opponent, she wouldn't have any way to deal with him either.
Afterward, Erza and Millianna found a quiet park to chat.
After a while, Max shouted, "Lucy! Someone's looking for you!"
"Me?"
Lucy was stunned for a moment. She hadn't expected anyone to look for her, as she didn't have any acquaintances here.
Curious, she went to the door and saw a girl standing outside.
"Eh? It's you!"
The visitor was Yukino, who had represented Sabertooth in the Grand Magic Games today. As a fellow Celestial Spirit Mage, Lucy naturally had a deep impression of her.
"Lucy-sama, could we find a secluded place to talk?"
"In that case, come to my room." Lucy led Yukino into her room.
"What do you want to see me about?" Lucy asked point-blank.
She didn't have much of an opinion of Sabertooth, neither good nor bad. It was just that she had met Sting and Rogue on her first day in Crocus, and their disparagement of Fairy Tail had made her a bit unhappy.
"I'm sorry to intrude, but I have a request. Please accept these." Yukino said as she took out two keys and placed them on the table.
"The keys to Pisces and Libra. I hope to entrust these two keys to you."
"Eh?"
Lucy was a bit dazed. "Why? Aren't you a Celestial Spirit Mage too? I can't accept these."
Although she wanted to collect all the zodiac keys, she didn't want to acquire them through such means. A Celestial Spirit Mage signs a contract with a Celestial Spirit, which means they are partners who share life and death.
Yukino said, "I decided from the first day I saw you that I would give these keys to you when the tournament ended."
Lucy was confused. "But the tournament isn't over yet, is it? It's only the second day, there are still three days of competition left."
"My tournament is already over. Minerva-sama will most likely take my place. This way, the strongest five who changed Sabertooth will be gathered."
"Weren't you part of the strongest five?"
Yukino shook her head. "How could that be?Someone like me is just a newcomer. I was only filling in for Minerva-sama while she was away on a job."
"But even so, there's no need to entrust your Celestial Spirits to me. You're also a Celestial Spirit Mage."
"Precisely because of that. If they can fight under a more excellent Celestial Spirit Mage like Lucy-sama, it should be happier for the spirits."
Lucy quickly waved her hands. "No, no, no, I'm not that excellent."
"You already possess ten of the twelve zodiac keys. If you add these two, you will have all twelve keys and open the gate that changes the world."
"The gate that changes the world?" Lucy looked puzzled.
Yukino said, "That's a very old legend, and I don't understand its meaning either. Perhaps you've noticed that in these past few years, the number of Celestial Spirit Mages has plummeted. The Zentopia Incident happened recently as well."
"It's possible that we are the only Celestial Spirit Mages left. You are someone loved by the spirits and who cherishes them. You are the one who should hold all twelve keys and move forward with them."
After thinking for a moment, Lucy replied, "I'm sorry, but I still can't accept them."
Yukino looked at Lucy in surprise. To a Celestial Spirit Mage, the zodiac keys were a massive temptation, and gathering all twelve was a dream for every one of them. Yet Lucy had chosen to refuse such a temptation.
Lucy explained, "Celestial Spirit Magic is a magic of bonds and trust. It's not just a simple matter of changing owners. Celestial Spirits sign contracts with us because they trust us. This contract isn't one-way, it's mutual. Neither side can betray the other."
Yukino smiled and said, "Lucy-sama truly does love Celestial Spirits."
Lucy felt a bit embarrassed by Yukino's words. "It's nothing much. By the way, you don't look very well. Did something happen? If you need any help, you can tell me."
Hearing Lucy's words, tears began to fall uncontrollably from Yukino's eyes.
This immediately sent Lucy into a panic. "What... what's wrong? Why are you crying?!"
It made it look as if she were the one bullying her.
"I... I have nowhere to go anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"I had always looked up to Sabertooth and finally joined last year. But I can never go back. Just for one failure, I was kicked out. Stripped naked in front of a large crowd and forced to erase my Guild Mark with my own hands... I'm so humiliated..."
"What?!"
Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Kicked out of the guild just for one failure?! That's too much! How can a guild like that exist!"
"Aren't everyone in the guild comrades? Even if a mistake is made, some punishment should suffice. Being expelled from the guild is an option reserved for massive transgressions, like the Battle of Fairy Tail caused by Laxus."
Losing a match—what kind of mistake is that? Matches naturally have winners and losers. For them to push the blame for coming in last place onto a girl was simply too much.
***
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