"That's right, exactly."
Marco nodded calmly before dropping even more shocking information.
"In my childhood memories, only the five of you—Lucy, Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Happy—came this time. My future self wasn't present."
Marco's words made Lucy and Erza's minds go completely blank, their logical chains thoroughly broken.
"So I'll remain hidden behind the scenes and won't appear at all. Just act as if I don't exist throughout this entire process. Remember this—pretend I never came. I'll return with you all in the end."
Facing the silent Erza and Lucy, Marco continued explaining his plan.
"Alright..."
Erza and Lucy nodded with difficulty, both feeling immense pressure.
They had initially thought Marco would directly solve the problem, but now the burden had suddenly fallen entirely on their shoulders.
"Erza, if I hadn't been here from the beginning, how would you arrange what comes next?"
Marco continued, asking about Erza's plans while handing her "Memory of Time."
He was clearly not joking around.
Taking "Memory of Time" and considering their current situation, Erza frowned in thought before responding.
"I would stay behind to study this book myself, then have Lucy go find Natsu, Gray, and Happy."
Erza's answer reflected her consistent style—she chose to bear the heavy responsibility of "researching how to return" herself, while assigning Lucy a relatively simpler task.
This allocation also considered that Lucy hadn't joined the guild at this point.
Even if she wandered around Magnolia, her identity wouldn't be exposed.
"That arrangement is completely correct. So later, Lucy will go to the guild where she'll receive an enthusiastic welcome. I'll help her out of that situation, then she'll slip away in the chaos and return to you. After that, my younger self will help solve your problems."
Marco meticulously recalled everything he knew, roughly estimating that it wasn't yet time for Lucy to visit the guild.
"Is... is that so?"
Erza and Lucy exchanged glances.
Marco had essentially written the script for them—they just needed to follow this plotline.
"Remember what I said, Lucy. Don't call me Master, and don't act too familiar with me. Just treat me like... meeting your idol as a child. This shouldn't be difficult for you since you never called me Master anyway."
Marco reminded Lucy again.
Thinking about it, Lucy's lifelong habit of not calling him "Master" actually made this acting easier.
If she had always used that title, she might accidentally slip up now.
"No problem!"
Lucy took a deep breath.
She was naturally intelligent with strong comprehension skills, and this was essentially asking her to act naturally—Marco had always been her childhood idol anyway.
"What about me?"
Erza pointed at herself, seeking her own "character setting."
"Just act naturally." Marco replied straightforwardly.
He saw no need to adjust Erza's attitude—they were supposed to be close and familiar with each other anyway.
"Oh." Erza nodded.
Even if she were asked to act, she wouldn't be able to.
In truth, she was quite looking forward to it—to seeing Marco again as he was in their childhood.
"Alright then, let's change clothes. It's about time to set off."
Marco glanced at the sky; the timing was just right for the actors to take their positions.
"Huh? Do I need to change too?"
Lucy pointed at herself in surprise.
No one in Magnolia at this time would recognize her, so there shouldn't be any need for her to change, right?
"Yes, you do."
Marco shook his head, signaling for Erza to proceed with the change immediately.
Without hesitation, Erza promptly used Requip Magic.
"Hum!"
A ripple of magical energy later, both Erza and Lucy were clad in new outfits.
"Wait a second! What is this?!"
Lucy looked down and instantly gasped, her cheeks flushing a bright crimson.
Her ordinary clothes had been replaced by an extremely seductive, bright red bunny girl ensemble.
Black stockings tightly hugged her legs, accentuating the curves of her youthful figure.
"Sorry."
Erza's voice carried obvious embarrassment.
Two blushes spread across her cheeks as well, and her gaze grew evasive, unable to meet Marco's eyes beside her.
She was now wearing a pure white catgirl outfit, complete with a fluffy white cat tail that swayed gently behind her with her movements.
Her main source of embarrassment was that Marco was right there watching.
"Actually, I've been meaning to ask."
Sure enough, Marco spoke up right away, his tone teasing with amusement, his eyes lingering on that swaying tail.
"Why on earth do you have these two outfits...?"
"!!!"
Erza's face turned even redder, thoroughly flustered.
"I just bought them out of curiosity, that's all! Stop asking, just stop!"
Erza nearly growled the words out. Shame and irritation seemed to raise the temperature of the air around her by a few degrees.
If Marco pressed any further, there was no doubt—he'd be facing a furious magical attack.
"Can I head out now?"
Witnessing the scene, Lucy cautiously raised her hand, setting aside her own embarrassment.
She decided to make a quick escape, not wanting to be caught in the crossfire of Erza's mortified rage.
"The timing's about right. Go ahead."
Marco smiled and nodded, signaling that Lucy could leave.
As if granted a pardon, Lucy immediately broke into a light jog and scurried away, leaving only Marco and Erza behind.
With Lucy gone, the space now occupied solely by Marco and Erza, Erza actually calmed down a bit.
The ease she felt only around Marco replaced her earlier embarrassment.
"Speaking of which, this tail really is..."
Marco's curious gaze returned to the fluffy white cat tail behind Erza, still swaying gently on its own.
He instinctively reached out a hand, seemingly eager to grab it and study how such a realistic magical creation worked.
"It's magic! Just magic!"
Erza reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, spinning around sharply to evade Marco's approaching hand while clutching her tail protectively with both hands.
"Who goes around pulling someone's tail like that?!" she cried out, both embarrassed and indignant.
"Ahem, alright then."
Marco chuckled and withdrew his hand, deciding not to tease her any further.
He straightened his expression and gave his final instructions.
"You should start studying this book too. I'll go into hiding first, don't worry - I'll control the overall pace from the shadows. You just need to follow the flow with my childhood self."
After these last words, he equipped the [Aries Gold Cloth].
With a surge of magical energy, his figure vanished completely.
"Hmph!"
Erza snorted angrily toward where Marco had disappeared, her cheeks still flushed but her eyes burning with competitive fire.
"Could it be that I really can't solve it?"
Erza looked down at the heavy "Memory of Time" in her hands, murmuring to herself.
According to Marco, she definitely wouldn't be able to uncover this book's secrets, but she was determined to try.
At worst, she could just play along with young Marco later and pretend to be completely clueless.
The corners of Erza's mouth lifted in a smile.
Who knows? Maybe young Marco would be too foolish to realize she had already solved it?
---------
Read 50 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator