Two mornings later, the arrival of one particular visitor caught the attention of the entire Fairy Tail guild.
"Coooool! Long time no see, everyone at Fairy Tail! Jason's here to visit again!"
Jason, Sorcerer Weekly's star reporter, had come by at Kabe's invitation. The guild's longtime members knew the famous reporter well by now and greeted him with smiles all around. Lucy, who hadn't quite shaken off her rookie status yet, watched him weave excitedly through the crowd, trading a few words with practically everyone, his camera never once stopping. After a while, she turned to Ultear to ask about him.
"Ultear, who's that?"
Ultear, chin propped on one hand as she read a magazine, flipped it over at the question so Lucy could see the cover.
"You've seen Sorcerer Weekly, haven't you? He's this magazine's editor and reporter, both."
"So, so, Sorcerer Weekly?! That's the best selling Mage magazine out there right now, and my favorite one too!"
Lucy was so excited she could barely get the words out straight. "What's a reporter from Sorcerer Weekly doing here at the guild? Is he here to do a feature on us?"
As she spoke, she pulled a compact mirror out of her bag and started touching up her makeup right there on the spot. Watching her preen like that left Ultear at a loss for words.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. He's here because Kabe specifically invited him to shoot a photo collection of Natsu and Gray. A total nobody like you could throw yourself right at him and he still wouldn't give you a second glance."
Click.
Lucy's fragile little heart shattered into a thousand pieces at Ultear's merciless verdict. She quietly put her mirror away, pulled her hopeful eyes back from Jason, and slumped forward, chin on the table, wallowing in self pity.
"Heh. Guess you're right. A brand new nobody with no name recognition, why would anyone bother with someone like that."
...
Just as Ultear was starting to wonder if she'd gone a little too far and whether she ought to say something to comfort her, the guild's front doors were suddenly kicked open. Kabe strode in, Natsu clamped under one arm and Gray dragged along by the other, a thoroughly dejected Happy trailing behind them. Jason, who had been in the middle of interviewing Levy, spun around at the noise and his eyes lit up at once. He abandoned his interview on the spot and hurried over to meet them.
Kabe spotted him too, and once Jason got close, he tossed Natsu and Gray aside without ceremony, dusted off his hands, and said, "Jason, these two, plus the little cat behind me, are your stars for today. Take good care of them, would you? Afterward, I'll sit for that interview of yours."
Jason got a good look at the two faces sprawled at his feet and lit up all over again. "It's Natsu and Gray, of all people! A collection with you two headlining is guaranteed to sell out completely!" He glanced up. "Of course, you too, Happy. As Fairy Tail's mascot, you've got no shortage of fans either."
Though his words were meant to affirm how popular all three of them were, none of them could bring themselves to feel happy about it. Jason called out toward the door, and five or six Sorcerer Weekly staff members filed in at once and hauled the three of them straight out of the guild without further discussion.
Grabbing Kabe's hand, Jason shook it hard, practically vibrating with excitement. "Thank you, thank you so much for handing us another hot topic for the magazine. I promise we'll put together a whole special issue just for the three of them. You won't be disappointed, I guarantee it."
"Ha, no need for pleasantries between friends. I won't keep you from your work any longer. Go ahead."
Jason nodded firmly, and before he left, he even made sure to snap a photo of Laki on his way out. Watching him bounce out of the guild in high spirits, Kabe found himself in a great mood too. Humming a little tune, he found Macao and snatched an untouched sandwich right off his table, teasing him with a laugh.
"You all heard that, right? Sorcerer Weekly's next issue is a special one. Don't any of you cheap out now, go dig into your pockets and support Natsu and the others."
"Hahaha, absolutely, I'm already counting down the days!"
"Natsu and Gray in a dress photo shoot, just thinking about it gets me going. I'm definitely buying a few extra copies to keep."
"Ha, goes without saying, their photos are gonna be legendary!"