Where the village road was about to meet the main street of Magnolia, it felt like the border between two different worlds.
On one side, the village path was quiet and peaceful. On the other, the town's main street was bursting with life. Even before people came into view, the noise of the market swept over from beyond the bend.
"Red flame roast turkey, delicious roast turkey, fresh out of the pot, not expensive, not expensive, only five hundred J per pound!"
"Come take a look, come take a look, the kingdom's newest flying magic tool! Low consumption, long duration, one magic crystal keeps you flying for a whole day, altitude guaranteed!"
"Top quality armor here, once worn by a former Royal Knight of the kingdom. You can wear it yourself, give it as a gift, or keep it as a collectible. Only two hundred thousand J, two hundred thousand and it is yours!"
...
The cries of merchants rose and fell one after another.
"We are here already..."
Listening to the shouts drifting in from Magnolia's streets, Geno turned to look at Rufus and Yukino in the back of the carriage.
"Still asleep, huh? Since we are basically in town, I should probably wake..."
He looked at their sleeping faces, thinking he had no choice but to rouse them.
Before he could move, though, a girl's desperate voice rang out from somewhere ahead of the carriage.
And that voice... sounded very familiar.
Shii... shaa...
A girl walked with an umbrella.
Her hair was a cascade of blue curls. She wore a blue coat and blue rain boots.
In just a few heartbeats, the clear sky above began to spill raindrops.
And the rain was getting heavier.
"How... how did it suddenly start raining in this weather?"
"No, these raindrops are not natural. They are filled with traces of artificial magic."
Geno's sensitivity to magic was razor sharp. It took almost no time for him to tell whether it was natural magic or man-made.
"Who is it..."
"And this familiar voice, so full of sadness... where have I heard it..."
He did not even need to cast a barrier. Every raindrop that fell near him simply turned into magic and flowed into his body. Not a single drop managed to wet his clothes.
"Could it be her..."
A certain woman from the Fairy Tail anime suddenly came to mind. Geno could not help turning his gaze toward where the voice and rain came from.
"It really is her. Juvia. No wonder a perfectly sunny day suddenly turned into rain."
He stared intently at the blue haired girl, and memories of her scenes in the anime bubbled up in his mind.
Juvia, once one of the Element Four of Phantom Lord. During the battle with Fairy Tail, she was defeated by Gray, fell in love with him, and later joined Fairy Tail. She was active in the Tower of Heaven arc, the Grand Magic Games, and became one of the key characters in later storylines.
Geno's gaze locked on her... and as luck would have it, the dazed girl's eyes landed right back on him.
"S... so handsome... Why... why is he looking at Juvia like that... there is... there is something like... l-love... in his eyes..."
Looking at Geno's perfectly handsome face, Juvia's expression turned a little lovestruck. The sadness that had been hanging on her features a moment ago melted away, her mood visibly lifting.
And as her mood changed, the rain falling from the sky slowly began to weaken.
"Could it be... could it be he has fallen for Juvia..."
Noticing that Geno was being showered by the rain and yet his clothes were still perfectly dry, Juvia barely cared.
She just stared at his beautiful face and gradually came to a halt.
"N-no, impossible. This is Juvia's first time seeing him. That cannot be. U-unless... unless it was love at first sight for him..."
"No matter how I look at it, this man is way too handsome. Juvia cannot believe someone like him would notice her... ah... ah... oh no..."
Juvia's heart started racing wildly because of Geno's face, thudding against her ribs.
Her cheeks flushed red all at once.
She instinctively lowered her umbrella a little, tilting it down to hide part of her face.
"W-what do I do... he is still looking at Juvia. Did he really fall in love with Juvia... Is he going to suddenly confess..."
"Ah! Should... should I say yes?"
Juvia's mood brightened in an instant. The sky above cleared quickly, and the rain stopped completely.
"The rain stopped..."
Only then did Geno pull his gaze away from her face.
"Compared to how she looked in the anime, there is quite a difference. Her outfit and styling really are a bit too odd in the beginning, which is probably why she did not feel that appealing at first."
"But seeing her for real like this, it is not as exaggerated as on screen. You can tell Juvia is actually very pretty. If she changed her makeup and wore something less eccentric, she would absolutely qualify as one of Fairy Tail's beauties."
Geno also knew that, later in the story, Juvia changed her style multiple times, and each look had been great. Still, according to canon, she was paired with Gray. Geno had no intention of stirring up any ideas there.
"Gray and Juvia... they really do make a good pair. Handsome guy, beautiful girl."
Lost in his thoughts, Geno completely failed to notice how chaotic Juvia's reactions had become.
"He... he is coming. He is coming this way. He is really heading toward Juvia. He is really going to confess..."
Watching Geno's carriage roll closer, Juvia grew more and more flustered, her shy expression impossible to hide.
"W-what do I do... should Juvia say yes... no, that will not do... he is too handsome, how is Juvia supposed to say no..."
"Control. Yes, Juvia has to control herself. Juvia cannot accept right away... at least, she has to wait until he..."
...
While Juvia was still tangled up in her own thoughts, a group of girls in knight uniforms appeared on the road behind Geno's carriage, riding horses toward the village street.
A wagon loaded with goods followed behind them.
There were twelve in total. The knight girls all looked to be around eighteen or nineteen years old.
The one at the front had a curving, generous figure and a graceful, confident bearing. Her long golden hair flowed behind her in the breeze, lending her a commanding presence.
Like the others, she wore a sword at her waist, its blade sheathed in silver. But on the hilt of her weapon, there bloomed an engraved blood red flower that none of the others had.
She was every inch the cool, domineering older sister type.
"Hello, driver up ahead. Can you hear me? Please make some room. We have important cargo to deliver, and we need to avoid any collisions."
The leading girl called out toward the front.
Before Geno could answer, a curly haired girl from within the knight squad nudged her horse forward, inserting herself in front of the golden haired leader, Sylphine.
"Sylphine, look at that carriage. It is just some commoners. Why are you being so polite to people like that?"
The curly haired girl had a decent figure and a pretty enough face, but compared to Sylphine, she was clearly a step behind.
"Let me handle this."
She urged her horse into a faster trot.
"Hey, you, the one driving the carriage. Our Royal Knights are passing through. Hurry up and get out of the way. If you are even a second late, this young lady will make sure you regret it."
"Do you hear me?"