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High emotional intelligence: Fairy Tail is an inclusive Guild.
Low emotional intelligence: There are quite a few weirdos here.
Single-celled organisms acting on pure instinct, perverts streaking naked in broad daylight, female drunkards with more alcohol than blood in their veins, obsessed water-women, and telepaths who get so nervous during blind dates that they accidentally broadcast their thoughts to everyone around them... Among this group of unique individuals, Loki was, without a doubt, the most peculiar one.
This guy, who'd joined the Guild half a year before Noah, was a mediocre Holder-Type Mage, but he had a handsome face that captivated countless young women.
Loki even appeared in Sorcerer Magazine's "Who We Want as a Boyfriend" ranking, carving out a spot for himself despite the monopoly those pretty boys from Blue Pegasus usually held.
His outstanding looks and slightly flirtatious smile immediately marked him as a top-tier playboy.
That's right—Loki was a kept man.
After joining the Guild for over a year, Loki hadn't completed a single Job. Instead, he spent every day with women on both arms, surrounded by beauties. Most importantly, these women were all willing to pursue him, making him the object of everyone's envy.
However, Loki always kept things shallow with his female companions. No matter how strong their feelings were or how much money they offered, he had no intention of deepening the relationship.
Loki had his boundaries—he only provided emotional value, allowing physical contact but nothing more intimate. Even so, the women around Loki never decreased in number.
But today, Loki, who usually sailed through his romantic adventures without consequence, had lost his usual composure. He was hiding in a corner of the Guild hall, drowning his sorrows in alcohol.
"Now that's rare—even you've got something bothering you."
Gray, sitting across from Loki, teased him.
Although they'd only known each other for a little over a year, their relationship had grown close enough that Loki and Gray had agreed Loki would be his partner when Gray took the Guild's S-Class Mage exam in the future.
Seeing that his friend was still looking down and hadn't shot back with his usual retort, Gray finally realized something was seriously wrong. "Don't tell me... after dating so many women at once, you finally screwed up?"
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Hearing Gray's schadenfreude, Loki, who was chugging his drink, nearly choked. "You're way too naive, Gray! How dare you question my dating skills."
"I'm not like you—completely helpless after being chased by Juvia for just a few days."
"What do you mean 'just Juvia'?! That woman's a stalker!"
Gray's expression was one of utter despair. Now, whenever he went home, he had to do a full sweep of his place first to prevent another incident like Juvia hiding under his bed and watching him sleep all night.
"Hmm... sounds like a possessive woman to me."
Loki instantly categorized Juvia's behavior and looked at Gray with interest. "Isn't she actually a perfect match for a pervert like you?"
"How is she a match?! Don't say stuff like that! If Juvia hears you..."
"Gray-sama~♥ Did you call for me?"
Before Gray could finish his sentence, a girl with blue curly hair, blue eyes, and wearing a blue coat suddenly emerged from behind his chair, looking at Gray with eager eyes.
Facing the suddenly appearing Juvia, Gray realized with a jolt that he didn't feel the slightest bit surprised. In fact, he would've found it strange if Juvia hadn't appeared.
Oh no! After being stalked for so long, my sense of normalcy is completely warped!
Watching Gray suddenly spiral into panic, Loki chuckled. As someone experienced in romance, he could tell that Gray wasn't actually repulsed by Juvia's behavior—the young man and woman just didn't know how to express their feelings properly.
When it comes to romantic experience, I, Loki, am second to none in Fairy Tail!
However, Loki, who'd been laughing at Gray, immediately stopped because a pink-haired, horned girl had unknowingly approached him.
The moment Loki noticed her, his smile froze. "Aries, why are you here?!"
That's right—it was Aries, the Ram Celestial Spirit, summoned by Lucy. Why would this timid and fearful Celestial Spirit actively approach Loki?
Aries's soft voice rang out. "Leo, how... have you been...?"
Because Aries was looking down, Gray couldn't see her guilty, pained expression. As an observer, though, he immediately jumped to conclusions.
"Loki, I know you've dated a lot of women."
"But I never thought you'd even... with a Celestial Spirit..."
Gray gave a thumbs-up. When it came to picking up women, he truly had to hand it to Loki for even having something going on with a Celestial Spirit. Wait—was "Leo" Loki's alias or something?
Juvia, standing behind Gray, looked at Loki with clear dissatisfaction, her eyes filled with contempt for this "scumbag."
Contrary to Gray's imagined scenario, Juvia's mind had already constructed an entire story of a girl hurt by a scumbag but still in love with him.
What the hell are you two cooking up in your imaginations?!
Noticing the two across from him, Loki really wanted to yell those words at Gray and Juvia, but he wasn't in the mood right now, because Aries...
"Oh, Aries, looks like you're one of Lucy's new partners now."
Wiping the bitterness from his face, Loki forced a smile. "Lucy's a wonderful Celestial Spirit Mage. She won't let you suffer."
However, the sadness Loki tried to hide behind his smile couldn't fool Aries. "Leo, I'm sorry. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have ended up like this..."
"You don't need to feel guilty, Aries. I did that because I wanted to." Loki looked at the Ram Spirit. They stared at each other in silence, and the atmosphere grew heavy.
Not just Gray and Juvia, but all the Fairy Tail members who'd noticed them were now imagining the same dramatic scenario.
Oh wow!
A tragic love story between a human and a Celestial Spirit! This is like a soap opera!
As a Celestial Spirit Mage, Lucy was naturally among the onlookers. She never expected that the timid Aries would have a past with the playboy Loki.
Though she wanted to help, Lucy, being only sixteen, had no idea how to intervene in this situation. She was completely clueless about romance...
Just as Lucy was hesitating, a figure lightly weaved through the gossiping crowd, arriving on a wisp of wind at the center of everyone's attention.
Noah looked at Aries, then at Loki, and instantly understood. "Looks like I was wrong about you, Loki. If you could replenish your Magic Power, few in the Guild could match your strength."
"Am I right? Loke the Lion, the Celestial Spirit of Leo."