Fairy Tail: I Don't Want to Be the Guild Master-Chapter 294: My Name is Lucy

Master hadn't come downstairs since going up, not even for lunch.

Mira quietly went to check and found the old man had fallen asleep at his desk while writing his self-reflection letter.

She asked Mr. Cook to prepare an extra meal and left it in a thermal box, ready for him when he woke up.

Downstairs, the guild tavern was buzzing as usual. Everyone was still talking about the recent chaos namely, how Natsu had blown up half the port. It was the hot topic of the day.

A lot of people were wondering just how badly the Master would punish him this time.

"There must've been a damage invoice tucked into that mission report, right?" Rhodes said with concern. "Do you think the guild can cover it?"

If the damage was severe, the guild might need to front the compensation, and Natsu would have to pay it back slowly. That could really hurt their little treasury. Happy and Natsu's secret stash might not be able to keep it.

"It depends on how bad the damage is," Mira replied. "From what I've heard, it's only half the port, not half the city."

She thought for a moment and added, "But still, Natsu did take down a criminal gang. That should help cover part of the fine."

"I hope so," Rhodes said. "Honestly, what he did was a good thing. I remember that guy, Bora right? He used to be just a thief, but now he's gotten into human trafficking?"

He recalled reading about Bora in a magazine he'd borrowed from Laki last year, which had an article from the year before that.

"Mira! Three beers over here!"

"And a roasted chicken too!"

"Coming right up!"

Mira and Rhodes snapped into action. Lunchtime was always the busiest at the guild tavern.

Suddenly, the guild doors burst open with a loud bang. Rhodes didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.

Sure enough, Natsu's voice echoed across the hall. "I'm back!!!"

"Back!" Happy echoed, buzzing alongside him.

"Welcome back, Natsu. You too, Happy," Mira called out, smiling.

Just then, she noticed a blonde girl standing at the entrance, dragging a suitcase and blinking in wide-eyed wonder at the chaotic scene.

Rhodes was staring at her.

Mira pouted slightly, but from Rhodes' expression, it wasn't because the girl was pretty.

She knew what Rhodes looked like when he was distracted by a cute face. This wasn't it.

She made a mental note to ask him about it later.

First, she went to greet the girl.

"Natsu! About that dragon..." Krov had tried to explain a few days ago that the damage wasn't that serious, but now he tried to reason with him before things got violent.

Too late.

Natsu's foot met his face. "You liar! It was fake intel!"

"Oh, so that's what happened." Mira laughed and stepped aside to watch the chaos unfold, momentarily forgetting about the blonde girl.

"Hey, Natsu!" Gray shouted. "You haven't paid me back for that sneak attack last week!"

The two rivals immediately locked into a brawl. Krov, still reeling from the kick, joined the fray.

"Man up! Sis is watching!" Elfman yelled, diving in like a true warrior.

Then Cana, then Loke... the whole guild descended into chaos.

The blonde girl, who had walked in with such excitement and dreams in her eyes, now sat on the floor in a daze, her expectations in ruins. freёwebnoѵel.com

She thought Fairy Tail would be full of powerful and elegant wizards.

Instead, she saw shirtless weirdos, loud drunks, hopeless flirts... and an entire mob of muscleheads in a brawl.

"Um, hello?" Mira finally remembered the girl and walked over, chuckling sheepishly.

"Ms. Mirajane! It's really you!" The blonde girl suddenly lit up, her face sparkling with admiration.

"Hi! I'm Lucy! I've heard so much about you, ah, but let's talk later. Shouldn't we stop them first?!"

"It's fine. They do this all the time," Mira said with a cheerful smile. "Fun to watch, isn't it?"

"I fail to see how this is fun!" Lucy muttered, just as a flying bottle shot toward them.

Before she could react, a figure moved in front of Mira. With one hand, Rhodes caught the bottle midair and casually tossed it aside.

He turned around with a grin. "Handsome, right?"

Mira clapped her hands lightly. "Very handsome."

Sure, she was strong enough to handle it herself—but she had grown used to Rhodes stepping in like this. It felt kind of nice, being protected by him.

Besides, it meant she could enjoy watching the chaos in peace.

"Whoa! You're Rhodes, the Fairy Strategist!" Lucy gasped, pointing. "Miss Mirajane's rumored boyfriend!"

"Let me correct that right now," Rhodes said. "The rumored part is the rumor."

"Yeah, no way would Miss Mira..."

But then she saw him slide his arm around Mira's waist, and Mira lean comfortably into him.

Mira smiled sweetly. "He's not my rumored boyfriend. He's my real boyfriend~"

Lucy's face flushed crimson. Her brain short-circuited. "H-H-HUUUUUH?!"

Before she could process it, she was suddenly swept off her feet, literally.

Loke appeared out of nowhere, holding her in his arms with a wink. "No need to be jealous, beautiful lady. I'm here for you instead."

Mira raised a brow. "Loke actually dared to approach Rhodes?"

"Blinded by love, probably," Rhodes said, eyeing the keys at Lucy's waist. "Loke, she's likely the Celestial Spirit Mage you've been trying to avoid."

Three golden keys shimmered on Lucy's keyring, three of the Twelve Zodiac Spirits.

Most mages would become local legends just for having one. Three? That was enough to make her the poster girl of any guild.

Loke froze. His smile crumbled.

He let go of Lucy and bolted ten meters away like his life depended on it. "I'm sorry, Miss! Fate clearly isn't on our side!"

Thud!

Lucy hit the wooden floor with a groan. "What's with that guy?!"

Wasn't he supposed to be one of those charming mages everyone wanted to date? Turned out, he was all looks and no backbone.

"Sorry about that. Loke has... issues with Celestial Spirit Mages," Mira said, helping her up. "You came with Natsu, right? Are you thinking of joining the guild?"

"Wait, really? I can?" Lucy blinked, surprised. She'd assumed that the number-one guild in Fiore would have strict tests or something.

"Just meet the Master later. But first..." Mira glanced at the chaos unfolding in the tavern, "it's about time he woke up."

Before Lucy could ask who, a giant loomed over the hall with an earth-shaking roar.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Everything stopped.

Natsu, still laughing with his hands on his hips, was promptly stomped into the floor by Makarov.

"You've all been up to plenty of nonsense!" Master bellowed, calling out each of the usual suspects one by one, nearly everyone who'd joined the brawl.

He was trembling with fury. A fireball flared up in his palm as he burned the mountain of complaint letters from the Magic Council and tossed the flaming remains into Natsu's mouth.

"Tell the Council to go eat dirt! If all we do is worry about the people watching from above, magic will never move forward! Forge your path with pride, that is the spirit of Fairy Tail!"

The whole guild erupted into warm laughter and wild cheers.

Lucy stood there, stunned, then slowly, a smile spread across her face.