After the little incident in the shop, Lucy stepped back onto the street in high spirits.
Even though she had spent a bit too much, getting the Canis Minor key still made her very happy.
Ankh followed behind Lucy, knowing that if he stuck with her, he would run into Natsu soon.
In the original story, Lucy's character was quite interesting.
Even though she was a rich heiress, she refused to be controlled by her father and ran away from home to make her own way.
Despite her noble upbringing, she worked hard every day to pay rent and still managed to fit right in with the guild's weird and wonderful members—that in itself was pretty impressive.
Back when Ankh first joined the guild, after too many days with no one to talk to, he could barely string a sentence together.
But later... after finding a friend in Laxus, who was similar in strength and interests like him, and with Happy chattering every day, he slowly started to open up.
As for Lucy, even though she wasn't as strong as Natsu or Gray, her sincere love for the guild and her friends made her a core member in less than a year in the original story.
"I'm still a young and beautiful girl, you know!"
Lucy walked in a funny, crab-like gait, taking happy little steps down the street.
Suddenly, cheers erupted from a nearby corner.
"Look! It's Salamander!"
"Ah—Salamander-sama, he's such a handsome Mage!"
"Salamander?"
Lucy froze for a second, then her eyes lit up.
"That super famous Mage!"
"I can't believe I'd meet him here!"
Thrilled, Lucy pushed through the crowd.
Her eyes immediately locked onto the flashy man with purple hair at the center.
The man had his purple hair styled in a ridiculous way and was pretentiously holding a flower.
More noticeably, he wore two strangely designed rings on his fingers.
Lucy's eyes practically turned into heart shapes.
She was instantly captivated and joined the swarm of fans rushing toward him.
Standing outside the crowd, Ankh calmly watched the man showing off with fire magic with a smirk forming on his lips.
'Bora's here. The classic 'fake meets real' scene is about to happen.'
"Salamander! Is the Salamander here?!"
Sure enough, Natsu's familiar shouting was heard.
There was a commotion in the crowd as the pink-haired boy finally squeezed his way to the front.
"Igneel! Igne... Huh?"
Pushing through the people, Natsu stared at the unfamiliar man and blurted out.
"Who the hell are you?"
Meanwhile, disturbed by the interruption, the heart shapes in Lucy's eyes shattered as she snapped back to reality.
Bora was startled by Natsu's rudeness but quickly put on a act, pressing a hand to his forehead and striking a dramatic pose.
"I am the Salamander. You've heard of me, haven't you?"
"Pfft..."
Before Bora could finish, Ankh, watching from the back, couldn't hold back a laugh.
Salamander? Him?
Natsu, who was about to leave disappointed, suddenly perked up when he heard the laughter...
That voice!
Natsu quickly turned and saw the tall figure in a black cloak standing outside the crowd.
Happy excitedly raised both paws.
"Could it be?!"
Noticing Natsu and Happy's stares, Ankh smiled slightly and gave them a small wave.
It's really him!
The two were thrilled.
Happy shot forward like a rocket, crashing right into Ankh's arms.
Natsu also ran over happily, cheering as he circled around him.
"Great! You're finally back!"
Besides being an S-Class Mage, Ankh was like another big brother figure for the younger members in the guild.
Both Laxus and Ankh were seniors among the younger generation, but Laxus had been too hot-headed and wasn't good at showing his softer side.
As for Ankh, after a quiet phase when he first joined, the ice around his heart had melted.
His gentle nature had slowly warmed everyone around him.
To the younger Fairy Tail members, Ankh was definitely their reliable big brother.
Natsu excitedly threw an arm around Ankh's shoulder and walked away from the crowd, completely forgetting his earlier disappointment about not finding Igneel.
Left behind, Bora watched them ignore him completely.
His face turned bright red with humiliation; he wished he could just disappear.
The group of passionate fans, seeing their idol treated so coldly, couldn't take it.
Their faces red with anger, they rushed toward Ankh and Natsu, wanting to teach them a lesson.
Natsu turned around, confused by the approaching fans.
"What's going on?"
Ankh turned his head with a cold sneer.
His eyes turned icy, and a dangerous aura spread around him.
The fans froze in their tracks, not daring to come any closer than two meters.
The look in his eyes clearly said one thing.
'Take one more step, and you'll regret it.'
After practicing the powerful "Terror" magic for so long, Ankh had developed a natural intimidating presence.
Just his aura and gaze were enough to scare off anyone with a weak will.
When Bora saw the look in Ankh's eyes, he was also startled and quickly looked away.
He used his magic flames to lift himself into the air, adding as he fled.
"I must take my leave! But I'll be hosting a party tonight on the cruise ship in the harbor. Everyone is welcome to come!"
He didn't even dare strike a cool pose after saying that, just flew off amid the sad cries of his fans begging him to stay.
Ankh watched Bora flee in fear and smirked with disdain.
'What a clown.'
Ankh couldn't remember if Bora was actually a human trafficker or not, but anyone daring to impersonate a guild member was already deserving a death sentence from him—if it weren't for not wanting to cause trouble for the city guards, he would have dealt with him on the spot.
Ankh had never been patient with anyone outside the guild.
"Let's go, back to the guild," Ankh said to Natsu, already planning to deal with Bora later that night.
Natsu nodded, then asked curiously, "Ankh, weren't you on a mission with Laxus? Where is he?"
Natsu didn't even ask if they had completed the ten-year mission because, in his mind... Of course they had succeeded!
Both Ankh and Laxus were stronger than him!
"Him?" Ankh shrugged helplessly. "On the way back, he got an urgent request from the Master and went off on his own."
Natsu nodded in understanding.
As the two were chatting happily, Lucy, who had left the crowd, suddenly walked up to Natsu and Ankh.
"Thank you," she said.
Natsu tilted his head, confused. "Huh?"
"I was under the spell of that man's magic tool earlier. Thank you for breaking it for me just now."
Natsu scratched his head and waved a hand. "No, I didn't do anything."
Lucy enthusiastically invited them, "Let me treat you to a meal. I can explain it to you then."