Fairy Tail: Collapsing Stars

Chapter 448: Lucy: Opening a New World for My Aging Father!

"Big Sister Levy, Guild Master Mavis, we finally have a chance to escape our status as members of the flat-chest club and become women with huge boobs and confidence in the Fairy Tail Guild!"

After obtaining Brandish's agreement, Wendy gently turned around and excitedly spoke to Mavis, who was hiding near the bar counter, and Levy, who was sitting in the corner of the guild, both of whom had been secretly peeking in Wendy's direction.

"Waaah..."

As soon as Wendy finished speaking, Levy, who was sitting in the corner, suddenly burst into tears. After hearing Wendy's words, she was so happy that she cried tears of joy. Honestly, she had waited for this day for far too long, far, far too long...

Who knew how painful it was to have a pair of completely out-of-place flat breasts—ones that even looked like they belonged to a different art style—in a world filled with busty women?! Yes, if Wendy, Levy, and the others had lived in a normal world, then whether one's chest was full or not would not have mattered much.

They would never have developed such an obsession with big breasts! But the world Wendy, Mavis, and Levy lived in, called Earth-land, was one where even random women walking down the street possessed full D-cups!

It was exactly such a world, where the average woman's greatest weapon was a D-cup, where E-cups and F-cups could be found everywhere, and where even the legendary 36Z—or breasts as large as small mountains with the help of magic—actually existed...

In such a world, the fact that Wendy, Mavis, and Levy all had chests that didn't even reach a B-cup simply wasn't magical at all! As for their daily lives, they were probably something other women could never understand.

Of course, among the Fairy Tail Guild's flat-chest trio before everyone's eyes, one had been cursed so her body would never grow up, another was simply still young and might still have a chance in the future, while only Levy's case was perhaps due to a genetic mutation...

Ahem...

"I'll let Kagura, that traitor, know! Even my boobs can become bigger!"

Levy stood up from her seat, waved her tiny arms, and loudly declared.

Although Levy's voice was passionate, only she herself knew just how much oppression and how many miserable days of suffering had been required to produce such a voice.

"Levy, no matter what you look like, we'll always stay by your side!"

"After all, we are your most loyal knights..."

At Levy's side, Jet and Droy knelt on one knee before her, swearing their loyalty to the petite yet adorable girl.

"Stop simping. There's no point in the end..."

Holding a barrel of liquor, Cana looked at Jet and Droy, who were desperately fawning over Levy, and helplessly shook her head. Naturally insightful, she had already seen through everything. In fact, she could vaguely see the future awaiting Levy and the others...

What Jet and Droy, the two devoted simps, didn't realize was that their goddess Levy had already fallen in love with someone at first sight. Of course, perhaps they had noticed it but simply couldn't accept the truth, choosing instead to deceive themselves...

"What? My boobs can become bigger?! Hehehe..."

A lovely girl with bare, fair feet, wearing a white dress, long golden hair, and a white headpiece that made her look just like a fairy, had been sitting at the bar, happily observing the guild while swinging her little feet.

The moment she heard Wendy's words, however, her body trembled as though struck by lightning, and then a strange smile spread across her face...

"Guild Master Mavis? Are you alright?"

"Guild Master, pull yourself together!"

"Guild Master, nothing can happen to you!"

The Fairy Tail Guild members all froze upon seeing the girl's bizarre behavior before anxiously calling out to Mavis.

That's right. This girl was none other than Fairy Tail's First Guild Master, Mavis!

After hearing Wendy say that there was finally hope for their chests, Mavis immediately stopped everything she had been doing. Watching the guild no longer mattered in her eyes...

At this moment, nothing in Mavis's heart mattered except her own boobs!

"Bigger? Hehehe... Bigger..."

Mavis looked at her flat body, slowly stretched out her trembling, powerless little white hand, gently placed it on her completely flat chest—one that no matter how hard she squeezed refused to produce even the slightest curve—and, like a lunatic, grinned foolishly while muttering to herself...

"It's over! Another one has gone crazy..."

Seeing the scene before him, Makarov's forehead became covered in cold sweat. More and more crazy people had been appearing in Fairy Tail lately. Unfortunately, today's victim was the founder of the guild itself...

"Uh..."

Meanwhile, Brandish witnessed Wendy's, Levy's, and even Mavis's reactions upon hearing that their flat chests could finally be saved. It was precisely because she had seen everything that she began to feel a faint sense of fear. Brandish simply couldn't imagine the extent of their obsession with breast size...

"But... honestly, whether boobs are big or small doesn't really matter, does it?"

Looking at Wendy, Brandish forced a smile onto her face and softly asked.

In Brandish's opinion, whether boobs were big or small truly didn't matter...

More importantly, Brandish genuinely didn't want her magic to be used for breast enhancement...

That was the one thing she truly didn't want to do.

"Ah, there it is. The classic 'it doesn't matter whether boobs are big or small' argument that only women with huge boobs can casually make~"

After hearing Brandish's words, Wendy revealed a despairing expression.

If Brandish herself had been flat-chested, perhaps those words would have been somewhat convincing. Unfortunately, Brandish possessed huge breasts—gigantic even among busty women...

When such words came from someone like Brandish, they carried an entirely different meaning. It was like Evan saying he wasn't interested in power, Zeref saying he wasn't interested in immortality, or the Heartfilia family saying they weren't interested in money...

Though, to be fair, Zeref really wasn't interested in living forever. Still, people like him were an extreme minority no matter how you looked at it...

"Uh, that's not what I meant..."

Brandish's eyelid twitched slightly. She truly meant it. To her, being busty or flat-chested really made no difference. Besides, breasts that were too large made moving around difficult, put extra weight on the body, made daily activities inconvenient—in short, they were troublesome.

"Anyway, Big Sister Brandish, we're begging you! Please make our boobs bigger!"

Before Brandish could continue speaking, Wendy interrupted her, then bowed deeply toward Brandish.

"I... understand!"

"Although I really can make your boobs bigger, you should know that it's only an illusion created by my magic. In other words, once I stop supplying magic power—for example, when I'm asleep at night—your boobs will return to normal! If you want to have genuine fullness, you'll still have to rely on proper diet, regular sleep, and your own efforts in other areas..."

Looking at the adorable child bowing deeply before her, Brandish finally gave in. She sighed helplessly as she explained the side effects of her Shape Magic to Wendy.

"I don't need it to be permanent! Just letting me have huge boobs for a little while is enough!"

"As for real huge boobs, I'll find a way to obtain them through my own hard work!"

After hearing Brandish's explanation, Wendy nodded in understanding. She had never intended to rely on magic forever. One day, she would earn breasts that rivaled Erza's and Mirajane's through her own efforts...

Though that would certainly be difficult.

"Alright."

Brandish finally agreed. Having accepted Wendy's request, she now had no choice but to use her magic to do something unimaginably embarrassing.

Sigh...

Brandish let out a long sigh before casting her magic on Wendy, Levy, and Mavis.

"They're growing! I can feel my boobs growing!"

As Brandish activated her magic, a burst of white light appeared. Wendy's and Levy's chests visibly swelled before everyone's eyes, becoming so full that the buttons on the fronts of their clothes were stretched taut.

"My boobs finally grew!"

Levy burst into tears of joy. She could feel the weight on her chest—a heavy weight that symbolized her growth.

Gasp...

Witnessing the scene, Droy and Jet both inhaled sharply. Although flat-chested Levy had already been incredibly attractive, they had to admit...

Busty Levy was even more captivating.

"Charle, do you see it? This is what I'll look like in the future!"

After receiving the Huge Boob Buff, Wendy immediately ran over to her best friend Charle, hugged her tightly, and repeatedly rubbed Charle's face against her newly enhanced chest.

"I know, I know already..."

"Forget it. As long as you're happy, Wendy, that's all that matters~"

Looking at the overjoyed little girl, Charle sighed helplessly.

Originally, Charle had opposed the idea of someone using magic to alter Wendy's body. In fact, she had strongly objected, because she couldn't be sure whether such magic would leave hidden side effects or long-term consequences...

But after seeing Wendy's radiant smile, Charle could only compromise, just like Brandish had.

What the excited Wendy could hardly imagine was that even Charle, who was only six years old, had a fuller figure than Wendy after taking human form. Fortunately, Wendy didn't know that, or she would probably have become even more depressed...

"..."

While Wendy and Levy were happily examining their transformed bodies under Brandish's magic, Mavis, with her bare fair feet, stood frozen in place.

Her body hadn't changed at all.

"Guild Master Mavis... regarding your situation, I'm truly powerless."

"Perhaps your curse has permanently fixed your body's form, completely nullifying my Shape Magic. Or perhaps because you're currently a ghost, you don't really possess a physical form in the first place, so my magic simply can't affect you as it should. Of course, it's also possible that my magic and magical power simply aren't strong enough yet..."

"In any case, I'm truly sorry that I couldn't fulfill your dream."

Noticing Mavis's silence, Brandish proactively walked over and explained everything, afraid Mavis might misunderstand and think she had deliberately singled her out.

In truth, the one targeting Mavis wasn't Brandish...

It was the detestable God Ankhseram!

At that moment, Mavis seemed to gain yet another reason to defeat Ankhseram.

"For the sake of my boobs! It seems I'll have to find a way to defeat God Ankhseram!"

Honestly, Mavis had never intended to challenge the gods.

But at this moment, she finally shared the same determination as her husband, Zeref.

Together, they would join forces and take revenge upon the gods who toyed with life!

After all, no one in this world had stood above the heavens from the very beginning. The God of Time was like that. Ankhseram was like that as well.

Perhaps one day in the future, fairies would replace the gods and stand atop the heavens.

As for Ankhseram, he probably never imagined that the reason he would one day be defeated by the fairies was simply because he had destroyed a young girl's dream of having big boobs.

Perhaps someday in the future, this tale of the fairies slaying a god would be recorded as an epic and passed down through poems and novels under the title:

"Unable to Grow Bigger, So I Had No Choice but to Slay a God!"

"No, it's alright~"

"Thank you for becoming a member of Fairy Tail. Seeing your magic bring smiles to the guild members truly makes me happy..."

"Oh, right. I have something I need to take care of, so please excuse me."

After saying a few polite words to Brandish, Mavis immediately turned around and took out the specially modified long-distance communication lacrima Evan had given her—a lacrima that even ghosts could use.

Buzz~

As magic power flowed into the lacrima, it immediately lit up. A few seconds later, the image of a black-haired, black-eyed young man dressed in ethnic clothing appeared inside the crystal.

"What a rare occasion, Mavis~"

"What brings you to contact me today?"

Seeing the fairy-like girl inside the crystal, the black-haired young man revealed a rare smile.

"Zeref, may I ask... when are we going to kill God Ankhseram?"

Looking at the black-haired young man inside the crystal, Mavis smiled gently and asked in the tone of a newlywed wife.

"I see. So even you are preparing to join us now, Mavis?"

"I'm very pleased to hear that, but continue to wait a little longer! The time is almost here. When it comes, everything will end! In fact, I've already found the passage leading to the realm where the gods reside..."

Zeref smiled faintly at Mavis.

Indeed, after spending years traveling through countless divine ruins scattered across the world, Zeref had finally discovered a way to defeat God Ankhseram. Once the timing was right, everything would come to an end!

Whether they successfully defeated Ankhseram and broke their curses, or whether they were suppressed by the great God Ankhseram...

Everything would conclude with an ending.

"I understand~"

Hearing Zeref's words, Mavis seemed to realize something and smiled softly.

"How terrifying!"

"So this is Fairy Tail's founder and First Guild Master?"

"She actually wants to go kill a god over something like this?"

"No... I should say, as expected of Fairy Tail's Guild Master!"

"And the person talking with Mavis... could that really be His Majesty Zeref? Am I seeing things?"

After overhearing Mavis and Zeref's conversation, Brandish stood there in complete shock, feeling as though she had just stumbled upon an earth-shattering secret. Without realizing it, Brandish had already become the new Lucy, constantly providing commentary and taking over the role of Fairy Tail's official straight woman whenever Lucy wasn't around.

"I'd better keep lying around..."

Brandish shook her head, forcing herself to forget everything she had just heard. She walked over to a corner of Fairy Tail's main hall and, just as before, quietly rested herself on the table.

The moment she leaned her weight onto the table, she clearly felt the tremendous weight pressing against her spine disappear from her chest, causing Brandish to smile in satisfaction.

Of course, Brandish could always use her magic to make her own chest smaller.

Unfortunately...

She was simply too lazy.

So lazy that she couldn't even be bothered to cast magic on herself.

While Brandish lay on the table with her head resting sideways, idly counting the rotations of the ceiling fan from the corner of her eye, Wendy and Levy were doing everything they could to show off their fake yet magnificent figures throughout the Fairy Tail Guild.

Wendy even asked the guild artist, Reedus Jonah, to paint a portrait of her current appearance as a keepsake...

After all, this voluptuous form would only last for one day.

Once the day ended, her enhanced figure would disappear.

Although it was somewhat regrettable, that was reality...

Falsehoods would always shatter one day.

The only difference was whether they shattered sooner or later.

Thus, time quickly passed.

Roughly two months went by in the blink of an eye...

October of X784 quietly arrived!

October 14th, X784—the day when, in the original story, the Heartfilia family went bankrupt and Jude came to Magnolia Town to seek refuge with his daughter Lucy...

However, perhaps because Layla was still alive, every major force gave her a measure of respect, and no one dared secretly target the Heartfilia trading company!

Moreover, because both his wife and daughter were alive and well, Jude conducted business far more cautiously than he had in the original story. As a result, the Heartfilia family remained at the height of its prosperity.

However, the Heartfilia family's continued success didn't mean Jude didn't miss his daughter.

Counting the days, it had already been nearly two and a half years since Lucy had left the Heartfilia family...

After repeatedly sending letters to his foolish daughter without receiving any reply—and even Brandish, whom he had secretly dispatched under the pretense of chasing after Lucy but was actually assigned to protect her, had lost contact after her last letter informing him that Lucy had joined a Mage Guild, become a true mage, and was living a safe and happy life—

Jude finally sensed that something wasn't right.

He felt both Lucy and Brandish were behaving strangely.

So he decided to personally visit the Mage Guild where Lucy now lived.

And thus...

Accompanied by a horse-drawn carriage kicking up clouds of dust along the road, a middle-aged blond man wearing a white suit and slicked-back hair arrived at Magnolia Town.

"So this is the location of the Mage Guild called Fairy Tail—the guild Brandish mentioned, the one Lucy joined?"

Jude didn't have his subordinates drive the carriage directly into town.

Instead, he stepped down on his own, intending to walk into the town together with his bodyguards to personally see what was so special about Magnolia Town and the Fairy Tail Guild where Lucy had chosen to stay.

That's right.

Jude wanted to see exactly what kind of magic this little town possessed that could make his foolish daughter refuse to leave, so enchanted that she wouldn't even think about coming home...

"Yes, Lord Jude!"

Standing below the carriage were several bodyguards dressed in black suits.

Every one of them was a top-tier professional in the security industry. Though they weren't official mages from a Mage Guild, each possessed strength comparable to professional guild mages. In terms of protecting people, they were even better than ordinary mages.

At least, their methods of protecting others were far superior to those of Fairy Tail...

Using Evan's system levels as a reference, each of them possessed roughly Level 3 or Level 4 magical power.

It was obvious that Jude had spared no expense when it came to security.

"Mm."

Hearing his bodyguards' response, Jude nodded lightly.

Then, dressed in his white suit, he strode into Magnolia Town at the head of the group like the boss of a crime syndicate, while the bodyguards in black followed closely behind him. In an instant, the massive procession marched straight through the town's main streets.

If one didn't already know that Jude had risen into high society by marrying into Layla Heartfilia's wealthy family, eventually becoming one of the most influential figures in the Kingdom of Fiore and even across Ishgar, one might think he had clawed his way to the top through the underworld.

Well...

His life really did resemble that of Qiang Ge in some ways.

Both had humble beginnings.

Both married an influential woman and effectively became "the boss."

Both expanded the company through their own abilities until they became prominent figures in their region—and eventually throughout the entire nation...

However, what kind of people lived in Magnolia Town?

They were people who could calmly watch meteors fall, volcanoes erupt, and tsunamis approach without batting an eye.

They were people who feared neither heaven nor earth.

Why would they fear a bunch of gangsters?

After all, in Earth-land...

How could there possibly exist a criminal organization darker than Fairy Tail?

Fairy Tail was already the pinnacle of darkness in Earth-land.

Comparable to the embodiment of all evil.

Without equal.

"Old sir, could you tell me the way to Fairy Tail?"

Walking through the streets, Jude looked at the smiling townsfolk and nodded repeatedly.

He could tell this town had an exceptionally high happiness index.

The smiles on these people's faces were genuine—not fake.

Indeed, for the people of Magnolia Town, as long as there wasn't an asteroid crashing into Earth-land that day, the moon wasn't falling from the sky, or some other extinction-level catastrophe threatening the ecosystem...

Then it was a day worthy of celebration!

In fact, the townspeople had long since begun treating every single day they spent in Magnolia as if it were the last day of their lives.

Every morning, simply waking up, looking into the mirror, and realizing they were still alive was something worthy of gratitude and celebration.

How could happiness not be high in a place like that?

Those with low happiness had all...

Cough.

...moved away to live in other cities.

In other words, everyone still living in Magnolia Town genuinely enjoyed the feeling of never knowing whether today would be their last.

There were always people in this world who only truly felt alive after staring death in the face.

Living in Magnolia was far more thrilling than any Red Bull-sponsored extreme sport.

In a sense, death truly was like the wind—always by one's side.

There was even a legendary challenge circulating throughout Magnolia Town that surpassed the famous Eight Deadly Challenges.

It was called the Fairy Tail Eight Trials:

The first—headbutt a falling meteor.

The second—jump into an erupting supervolcano for a relaxing bath.

The third—surf atop an apocalyptic tsunami.

The fourth—repeatedly leap through the dimensional cracks created when two worlds overlap.

The fifth—fly into the sky and collide head-on with a falling asteroid.

The sixth—charge forward while the moon is crashing down.

The seventh—enter a space-time rift... and come back alive.

The eighth—challenge every single member of the Fairy Tail Guild... and win.

It was said that anyone who completed all eight trials would immediately ascend to godhood.

Even without going to the world where the gods reside, anyone who completed these eight trials while remaining in the human world would already be no different from a god among mortals.

So when the old man saw Jude's attire and the group of bodyguards behind him, he frowned. He assumed Jude had come looking for trouble with Fairy Tail—in other words, to attempt the most difficult of the Fairy Tail Eight Trials: challenging every member of Fairy Tail.

"You people aren't qualified! Listen to this old man—go back to wherever you came from! Fairy Tail isn't something people like you can challenge~"

The white-haired old man fixed Jude with a sharp gaze and warned him.

"What piercing eyes... This old man is no ordinary person!"

Feeling the old man's gaze upon him, cold sweat broke out across Jude's forehead. As one of the upper-class elites of the Kingdom of Fiore, he had met countless influential figures, but none of them possessed eyes as sharp as the old man's. Thus, Jude immediately concluded that the man before him was anything but ordinary.

"Take my advice, don't go~"

"But if you insist, I won't stop you. If you want to get to Fairy Tail..."

"Just keep going straight down this road, and you'll arrive."

After speaking, the old man left with his hands behind his back without waiting for Jude to respond. Before departing, he turned slightly and gave Jude a meaningful glance.

"This..."

Jude grew increasingly anxious. From the old man's words, he could infer that Fairy Tail was definitely no ordinary place. If even such a powerful-looking elder spoke of it with such caution, then it had to be a place as terrifying as a demon's lair.

The wizards inside had to be fierce-looking monsters, every one of them covered in bulging muscles, capable of crushing apples with their pectorals!

While such a place might indeed be excellent for tempering people, it wasn't where Jude wanted his daughter to be. All he wanted was to protect Lucy. It didn't matter whether she ever became successful in life—as long as she could live safely, that was enough.

"To Fairy Tail!"

With that thought, Jude quickened his pace. Leaving only a brief order to his bodyguards, he hurried in the direction the old man had pointed.

"Yes, sir!"

The bodyguards bowed respectfully before jogging after Jude toward Fairy Tail.

The direction really was exactly as the old man had indicated. Before long, Jude and his entourage arrived before Fairy Tail's ancient-looking gates.

Looking at the battered, scarred doors that seemed weathered by countless years of wind and rain, Jude frowned deeply. Gazing upon them was like looking directly at Fairy Tail's century-long history.

Of course, what Jude didn't know was that this antique-style gate had actually been custom-made by August just a few days earlier.

"Inhale... Exhale..."

Standing before Fairy Tail's gates, Jude took a deep breath. Deep inside, he held both anticipation for the guild his daughter had chosen and anxiety brought on by the old man he'd met earlier. After all, that elder had repeatedly implied that Fairy Tail was an extremely dangerous place, leaving Jude deeply worried.

Caught between these conflicting emotions, even someone as experienced as Jude felt the urge to retreat.

"Haa..."

But this was something he had to face. After all, it concerned his beloved daughter, Lucy. Thinking of that, Jude let out a long breath before pushing open Fairy Tail's massive doors.

Creeeak... Creeeak...

As the bronze doors scraped across the floor with a loud groan, an entirely new world unfolded before Jude's eyes.

"This is...?!"

The moment Jude saw Fairy Tail's interior, his perpetually narrowed eyes opened wide.

Inside the enormous guild hall, what greeted him was...

"Lucy, I've learned from Brandish how to control the size of my boobs. From today onward, I can't be considered flat-chested anymore..."

A blue-haired girl with delicate features as elegant as an orchid stood before his precious daughter. As she spoke, she casually used magic to enlarge and shrink her breasts at will.

"Young lady, although you're no longer flat-chested, you've completely destroyed your image..."

"Please continue being as elegant and graceful as your clothing suggests. Thank you~"

Watching the blue-haired girl, Jude couldn't help but complain inwardly.

His talent for complaining was almost on the same level as Lucy's.

Perhaps Lucy had inherited her incredible complaining ability from Jude after all...

"Dimaria, I know the truth. Deep down, you've always wanted to strip off your clothes and return to your natural state just like me. Your battle with Gildarts already exposed your true fetish..."

Nearby, a handsome gray-haired young man, completely naked, strolled around Fairy Tail as if he owned the place.

"Idiot! Put your clothes back on already!"

"And are you people seriously allowing such a pervert to roam around the guild freely?"

"There are minors in your guild, aren't there?"

"I'm calling the authorities..."

Looking at the gray-haired youth, Jude's eyelids twitched as he continued complaining inwardly.

"Get lost! I'd never become a pervert like you!"

Running through the guild was a beautiful blonde girl with a voluptuous figure, who wore nothing but a bikini despite being indoors.

"Young lady, while your pervert level is slightly lower than his, you're definitely showing signs of becoming one. I recommend seeing a psychiatrist as soon as possible..."

Looking at the beautiful short-haired girl in a bikini with her unbelievably curvy figure, Jude couldn't stop himself from commenting internally.

"Everyone, watch your image a little. We have guests."

Glug glug glug...

There was also a gorgeous brown-haired girl hugging a wine barrel, reeking of alcohol.

She noticed Jude's group entering and loudly reminded everyone to mind their manners... before immediately lifting the wine barrel and drinking from it with gusto. The sight left Jude and his entourage staring blankly.

"If you're telling others to watch their image, shouldn't you start with yourself first?"

"And with such a tiny body, how are you drinking that much wine? Is this magic too?"

"Is magic really such an amazing thing?"

Watching the brown-haired girl empty an entire barrel of wine in the blink of an eye, veins bulged across Jude's forehead. In the few short seconds he'd spent inside Fairy Tail, his worldview had already shattered.

But even that wasn't what shook him the most.

What truly devastated Jude was the fact that his precious daughter was mingling with this group of monsters and lunatics... and she fit in perfectly.

What did that mean?

It meant his precious daughter had already become Fairy Tail-shaped.

Instantly, Jude's mind conjured up an image so horrifying that his entire body trembled.

In his imagination, Lucy was wearing a bikini, smiling shyly at him as she said, "I'm sorry, Father... Your daughter has already become Fairy Tail-shaped~ Ehehe~"

"Absolutely not! I forbid it!"

Jude's face immediately darkened as he strode toward his daughter.

"Lucy, look! I'm finally not flat-chested anymore..."

At the same time, Levy—one of Lucy's closest friends in Fairy Tail and also half of Lucy's teacher when it came to Letter Magic—looked at Lucy with a deeply emotional expression.

At the same time, she demonstrated the transformation magic she'd learned from Brandish.

Although the transformation magic Levy had mastered was only the bare basics and could merely alter the distribution of fat within her body, it was more than enough for her purposes.

"Uh... I can see that!"

Looking at Levy, Lucy suddenly felt like crying.

She was genuinely moved.

It was obvious that Levy had endured pressures no girl her age should ever have to endure. That was why she had become so obsessed with having a large chest that she'd spent several months learning transformation magic from Brandish.

"Lucy!"

Just as Lucy gazed at Levy with sympathy and emotion, a cold, stern voice suddenly rang beside her ear.

The familiar voice caused Lucy to freeze.

"That voice is...?"

Turning around, Lucy saw a figure she never expected to appear.

"F-Father!"

Lucy exclaimed in shock as she stared at the middle-aged man before her.

"Oh, right, Lucy!"

"I forgot to tell you. Uncle Jude said he might come by sometime soon~"

Just as Lucy stared at the dark-faced man standing before her, Brandish, who had been lazily lying beside her, suddenly remembered something and casually mentioned it.

"How could you only remember something this important now?!"

Lucy immediately turned toward Brandish.

"Ah, sorry~"

"I forgot."

Brandish apologized.

"How do you just forget something like that?!"

Lucy's eyelids twitched.

"Lucy. Come with me."

Before Lucy could say anything else, Jude reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her up from her seat.

"Eh?! Father, please listen to me!"

Lucy hurriedly tried to explain.

"There's nothing to explain. If you want to explain yourself, do it after we get home in front of your mother. Withdraw from this guild immediately and come home with me."

Unfortunately, Jude gave Lucy no chance to defend herself and simply dragged her toward Fairy Tail's exit.

"Everyone! Please explain things to my father!"

"My father is forcing me to quit the guild!"

Unable to break free, Lucy had no choice but to call out to her guildmates for help. She knew perfectly well that Jude would never listen to her explanations.

"So you're Lucy's father? You really do resemble her."

"I understand you're worried about your daughter, but things aren't quite as you've imagined..."

"Why not have a proper conversation with her? Your daughter has already grown up, hasn't she? Besides, Lucy's doing very well here at the guild..."

Just as Jude and Lucy approached the exit, a black-haired young man stepped in front of them, speaking seriously.

"This kid..."

Looking at the handsome young man dressed neatly in a shirt, Jude paused.

Perhaps good looks naturally earned goodwill, because after considering the young man's words, Jude slowly nodded.

He had to admit... what the boy said made sense.

That was until Jude's eyes drifted downward.

The instant he looked below the young man's waist, his expression changed completely.

Every ounce of goodwill vanished.

"Lucy, we're leaving! Get away from this guild full of perverts..."

Jude walked straight past the black-haired youth, dragging Lucy with him.

"Huh?!"

The young man looked utterly stunned after being ignored.

He had no idea what he'd done wrong.

"Gray. Your pants."

Kanna, still hugging her wine barrel, kindly reminded him.

"What?! Crap!"

Gray immediately looked down.

Only then did he realize that somehow he'd unconsciously undone his belt again, and his pants had already slipped halfway down, revealing his colorful underwear.

By the time Gray hurriedly fastened his belt, Jude had already dragged Lucy all the way to Fairy Tail's front entrance.

"Father, I'm not leaving Fairy Tail! Let go!"

Just as Jude was about to pull Lucy outside, she planted herself firmly in place.

No matter how hard Jude pulled, she refused to move an inch.

"Come home with me."

Jude turned around and stared angrily at her.

"No! Besides, you've never once taken my wishes seriously! You never tried to understand me! All you care about is the Hartfilia family's business! But I don't want to go back to the Hartfilia family, and I don't want to inherit your business! I don't want to become a merchant—I want to become a wizard!"

Lucy stared straight into Jude's eyes as she practically shouted her true feelings.

"You don't want to become a merchant... You want to become a wizard?!"

"Lucy, you're being far too willful! Whether you want to inherit the Hartfilia family or not isn't something you get to choose!"

"The moment you were born as a child of the Hartfilia family, this became your destiny!"

"Enough. Stop being stubborn and come home."

Looking at his grown daughter, Jude frowned deeply.

Only then did he realize how little he truly understood her.

But he had been so overwhelmed by the ever-expanding Hartfilia family business that he'd barely had time to think about anything else.

"I already told you, I'm not leaving Fairy Tail! Because... I've already found a reason why I can't leave this place!"

Lucy shouted as she pulled her wrist free from Jude's grasp.

"Lucy, you unfilial child!"

Jude's temper finally flared.

Almost instinctively, he raised his right hand, just as he used to whenever Lucy misbehaved as a child, preparing to deliver the loving Iron Palm of Fatherly Discipline.

"Uu..."

Seeing Jude raise his hand, Lucy instinctively shrank back, wearing the pitiful expression of a frightened little animal.

"Uh..."

Only then did Jude realize that Lucy had already grown up.

He couldn't hit her anymore.

But at the same time, lowering his raised hand now would feel like losing a parent's dignity.

Thus, father and daughter remained frozen in an awkward standoff.

"Old man! Just let Lucy explain herself!"

At that moment, a powerful hand firmly grabbed Jude's wrist and forcibly lowered it.

"You are...?"

Turning around, Jude saw a pink-haired young man with a white dragon-scale scarf wrapped around his neck staring back at him.

"I'm Natsu, Lucy's partner!"

The pink-haired youth answered earnestly.

"Lucy's partner?"

Jude sneered.

"If you're really Lucy's partner, then let me ask you this—what does Lucy usually do every day?"

"Lucy behaves herself all the time! Don't worry, old man!"

"And honestly, I'm probably the most qualified person in Fairy Tail to answer that."

"After all, Lucy and I even sleep together at night~"

Natsu grinned brightly.

"Aye~"

"Natsu and Lucy even sleep together at night~"

Happy flapped his little wings as he echoed Natsu's words.

"Don't say such misleading things, Natsu!"

Lucy's face instantly turned bright red.

"Lucy... Is what this kid said true?"

Jude slowly turned toward his daughter.

"F-Father, please don't listen to his nonsense..."

Lucy hurriedly explained.

"Heh... Asking you was foolish of me."

"So this is the reason you can't leave this place, isn't it?"

Jude suddenly looked exhausted.

He looked at his beautiful daughter, then at the energetic pink-haired boy beside her, and his frown deepened.

"Lucy... Let me ask you one last question."

"How many months along are you?"

Bending down slightly, Jude looked at Lucy's still-flat stomach, took a deep breath, and asked the question with deadly seriousness.

As far as Jude was concerned, the only possible reason Lucy couldn't leave Fairy Tail anymore... was because she was already pregnant.