"I remember this day..."
Looking at the familiar scene before her, Erza's expression softened as if recalling past events and those warm moments.
"Next, I'll say... Get up, quickly get up." Erza spoke seriously, her tone unconsciously softening like a breeze brushing across a lake.
It seemed as if the young Erza would next encourage little Natsu and little Gray, whom she had just knocked down—at least everyone thought that would be the case at that moment.
"Heh..."
Only Marco chuckled, knowing that such a thing would never happen.
This was Erza, after all, and an Erza who was currently angry!
Sure enough, little Erza furrowed her brows and abruptly lifted her leg.
With two dull thuds—"Thump! Thump!"—she mercilessly kicked the butts of little Natsu and little Gray, who were still groaning and pretending to be dead on the ground, making the two of them jump up in pain.
The words "Get up, quickly get up" were indeed spoken, but they were delivered with an expression of fury, as if she wished she could kick Natsu and Gray to death.
It was truly a moment that made everyone lose their composure.
"That is completely different!"
Natsu and Gray were dumbfounded.
They had actually been moved just moments ago, only to realize they had been completely deceived.
Thinking about it, this was Erza—how could she ever be gentle with them?!
Erza looked embarrassed.
She hadn't expected this outcome either.
Perhaps people unconsciously beautify their actions in their memories; she had genuinely believed she would encourage them back then.
Meanwhile, little Erza's anger clearly hadn't subsided.
Like an enraged little lion, she waved her small fists and furiously chased after the fleeing little Natsu and little Gray, her clear yet furious childish voice echoing.
"Tell me! Which one of you stole my little cake?!"
Little Gray and little Natsu dodged awkwardly while shouting their innocence, but little Erza didn't believe them at all.
The three of them chased and fought their way into the distance, leaving the group of "future visitors" watching with fond, amused smiles.
"You were all so adorable back then."
Lucy sighed with emotion.
She had joined the guild the following year, already twelve years old by then.
At that time, Natsu and Gray were thirteen, and Erza was fourteen—old enough to take on missions far from "Magnolia," so they didn't spend much time in the guild.
Unlike now, when Natsu and Gray had just earned the qualification to take on missions further away, they still spent most of their time loitering in the guild, like two hyperactive monkeys, constantly entangled with each other and roughhousing every day.
"Erza has been fierce since she was little and never changed."
Natsu boldly commented, and Gray nodded in agreement beside him.
"What surprises me is that the two of you actually believed what Erza said earlier. I guess you just haven't been beaten enough."
Marco shook his head.
Having been beaten up by her since childhood, the two of them still thought Erza would give them a "tender moment" at this point—they must have viewed their childhood stories through heavily rose-tinted glasses.
In reality, the two of them had always been this irritating since they were kids, and Erza had been beating them up from childhood all the way to adulthood.
"So who exactly ate Erza's cake?"
Happy fluttered his tiny wings, hovering mid-air, his feline face full of curiosity.
His focus was always so peculiar—at this point in time, Happy hadn't even been born yet.
"It was Mira who ate it."
Marco provided the answer.
"Now isn't the time to focus on such matters."
Then he shifted his tone, his smile fading as his voice turned serious.
"Shouldn't you all be thinking about how to return to our own timeline?"
Marco steered the conversation back on track, preventing them from digressing further.
These guys were far too relaxed—was it because he was here with them?
"Huh? You want us to think about it?"
Just as expected, they responded to Marco's question with nearly identical reactions.
Even Erza, upon arriving in this timeline, had immediately handed "Memory of Time" to Marco.
This showed how much they relied on and trusted him. With Marco here, none of them thought returning would be a problem.
"Marco... is there something wrong?"
Only Lucy seemed thoughtful, looking at Marco with a worried expression.
His earlier strange warning had sparked various speculations in her mind, leaving her feeling uneasy.
"Are any of you familiar with time paradoxes?"
Marco spoke with a stern face.
At his words, both Erza and Lucy grew serious—they clearly understood the concept.
"I've read about it in books. The past can influence the present and future. If we do something in the past, it might alter the future world, causing changes to occur."
Lucy spoke earnestly, a trace of fear already appearing on her face.
She clearly recognized the danger of their current situation.
"That means if we're truly in the past, we... should ideally do nothing at all! We must avoid any interaction with people or objects from this time!"
Erza added seriously. What they needed to do now was return quickly to the future—their own "present."
"Exactly, I knew you'd understand."
Marco nodded with relief.
Having two sensible people in the "group of five" was enough, and these two were primarily responsible for advancing their "mission."
"Wait a minute! Where are Natsu, Gray, and Happy?!"
Though pleased by Marco's approval, Lucy couldn't bring herself to smile—the two boys and the cat had already run off into the distance.
"We're going to look around! Remember to call us when it's time to go back!"
Natsu's voice echoed from afar, brimming with excitement.
Returning to Magnolia from six years ago filled him with joy—he wanted to see everything from that time.
The Magnolia of six years later had changed dramatically, but he still preferred how things used to be.
The boy was deeply nostalgic and disliked when things around him changed.
Every time the guild was renovated or the surroundings were developed, he would quietly complain about it.
"Those three idiots! I just finished explaining!"
The actions of the duo and the cat immediately infuriated Erza.
She was about to chase after them—she had just warned them not to interact with anything from the past, and yet they were running around everywhere!
"No need to chase them. I've already sent crows to keep an eye on them."
Marco stopped Erza. He had intentionally let Natsu, Gray, and Happy go.
Though their actions seemed unpredictable, they were actually the most controllable because their behavior always followed discernible patterns.
The two humans and one cat were simply following the direction where young Natsu and young Gray had departed.
"Are you really sure about this? Just letting them go like that?"
Both Lucy and Erza wore worried expressions.
Clearly, they had little confidence in Natsu, Gray, and Happy - especially when considering Natsu's impulsive nature and his tendency to act completely unpredictably.
If he suddenly got a wild idea and did something earth-shattering, the consequences... would be simply unimaginable.
"Actually, they've always been reliable at critical moments."
Marco's tone carried a peculiar certainty, with even a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
Though they usually acted foolishly, they had never disappointed when standing at fate's crossroads.
Besides, this time, what the plan needed was precisely that element of "unreliability" that Natsu represented.
"They all know what's important and won't deliberately cause trouble. Don't worry. Right now, the ones with heavy responsibilities are actually you two."
Marco's serious expression drew Lucy and Erza's full attention.
"The two of us?"
Lucy and Erza exchanged puzzled glances, not quite understanding Marco's meaning. Were they supposed to handle this matter by themselves?
"That's right. To be precise, it depends on me at this time - it's the me of this era who will help us return to the future world."
As Marco continued, Lucy and Erza looked completely bewildered.
After processing his words for a moment, both their mouths fell open.
"You... you... you mean..."
Erza's words became uncharacteristically stammered, her eyes wide open, her artificial eye almost popping out of its socket.
"The younger you knows we're all from the future? Knows our identities?!"
This massive amount of information instantly overloaded Erza's brain.
Just moments ago they were emphasizing the importance of avoiding contact with people and things from the past, and now they were supposed to actively seek out the younger Marco?!