"Why aren't you leaving yet?"
While Mirajane was still handling the registration, Ultear glanced at Raizel, who was calmly sipping his tea at the bar.
Hadn't he said he was going to chase after Natsu?
"The stuhl mountain is far. Natsu definitely hasn't arrived yet. Catching up to him will be easy for me. Lucy said she wanted to come along, and I agreed. I told her to pack up and meet at the Guild, so I'm waiting for her."
Ultear nodded thoughtfully. "Why would Lucy suddenly want to take on an S-Class Quest? She looked terrified of them yesterday."
Raizel raised an eyebrow, his tone slightly teasing. "Who knows? Maybe she's worried about Natsu?"
"I'm clearly doing it for the money, okay?!"
Lucy suddenly appeared at the entrance, her small satchel slung over her shoulder, her voice tinged with indignation.
Raizel looked slightly embarrassed. "Why is it that you always show up right when I'm saying something bad about you?"
Lucy didn't dwell on it much.
Placing her hands on her hips, she nodded and admitted, "Natsu and Happy came to see me last night. I am a bit worried about them, that's true. But mostly the money."
Mirajane finished the registration by then.
She handed two commission forms to Ultear, placed her hands in front of her, and gave a slight bow.
"All set. Be careful on your journey."
Ultear, Erza, and Kagura all nodded in response.
Then, Ultear turned to Raizel. "We were planning to stop by your place to tell you after accepting the quest, but this saves us the trouble. We'll be off now."
Erza added immediately after, "Lucy, you're taking on an S-Class Quest. You need to be careful, too."
Lucy, suddenly addressed by the S-Classes, was taken aback for a moment before responding nervously.
"Ah, right. Got it. I'll cling to Raizel for dear life."
Raizel raised his teacup in acknowledgment. "Alright, you all stay safe."
Once the others had left, Raizel stood up.
"Archive: Search."
Raizel brought two fingers to his temple and a holographic interface made of golden light manifested in the air before him.
[Search Target: Natsu Dragneel, Happy]
[Characteristics: Pink hair, Blue cat]
[Location Range: Fiore Kingdom — Stuhl Mountain]
One yellow frame after another appeared on the screen, filtering through data rapidly.
Lucy looked at the dense cluster of yellow frames, nearly getting dizzy.
Seeing how intently Raizel was focusing, she turned to Mirajane and asked.
"What kind of magic is this?"
"It's Archive Magic," Mirajane explained. "Its main function is information retrieval and storage. The more detailed the input information, the faster the search."
Lucy tilted her head, a bit confused. "I've heard of Ancient Text Magic, but never this..."
Mirajane lifted her head slightly, her index finger lightly touching her chin. "Hmm... it's similar. This is considered an advanced, high-speed version of Ancient Text. Very few people can use it effectively."
"Found them."
Raizel quickly enlarged one of the images and displayed it before the two women.
Natsu was currently on a high-speed train. He was slumped over the seat, foaming at the mouth and unconscious from motion sickness, while Happy sat beside him, nonchalantly munching on a fish.
Lucy's mouth corner twitched slightly.
She said with some exasperation, "I have to say, this scene is a classic. How does Happy manage to look so completely unbothered?"
"This is indeed the train heading toward Stuhl mountain. They haven't arrived yet, so we'll wait for them at the station."
"Alright, let's get going then."
"How are we going to catch up? Fly there?" Lucy wondered if following Natsu by train would make it difficult to catch them in time.
"Teleportation. Grab my arm and stand steady."
Raizel snapped his fingers, and a red Teleportation Magic Circle appeared beneath his feet, beginning to rotate and hum with power.
"Take care on your journey. I'll inform the Guild Master when he wakes up," Mirajane said with a gentle smile.
ZWOOP.
A flash of red light later, Raizel and Lucy vanished from the Guild.
...
"Who's there?!"
The station manager jumped in fright as a red magic circle suddenly appeared on the platform out of thin air.
People in the station turned to look, and soon a man and a woman stepped out of the light.
"Mages from Fairy Tail. Official business."
Raizel and Lucy both flashed the Guild Marks on the backs of their hands.
Raizel realized he hadn't chosen the landing coordinates well—he should have picked a more secluded spot.
Now they were surrounded by a crowd of curious onlookers.
Seeing that they were Mages from a legitimate Guild, the manager sighed in relief and paid them little further mind, dispersing the crowd.
Raizel pointed to a bench. "There's a spot over there. Let's sit and wait."
After sitting down, Raizel checked the time. "Natsu and Happy have three more stops to go. It won't be long now."
Thirty Minutes Later—
"I thought... ugh... I got off the... vehicle... Why is the ground... spinning?"
Natsu slowly crawled off the train on his hands and knees.
His face was a shade of green not found in nature. If it hadn't been for the blue cat on board repeatedly explaining that he was just motion-sick, everyone would have thought they'd encountered a zombie.
"Aye! It's Raizel and Lucy! Am I seeing things too?" Happy blinked rapidly, staring at Raizel and Lucy, who had walked up to stand before them.
"Raizel... It's Raizel!!!"
Natsu instantly forgot his nausea and hugged Happy tightly in panic.
"Raizel... Lucy... What are you doing here? Sightseeing? Buying fish?"
Raizel nearly burst out laughing at Natsu's terrible poker face.
After a chuckle, he crossed his arms and looked down at them sternly.
"Sneaking out to take on an S-Class Quest, huh? Feeling bold? Erza already knows about this. She was talking about 'execution' earlier."
"WE'VE BEEN DISCOVERED ALREADY?!!"
Natsu's eyes widened in shock.
He hadn't expected to be found out so quickly, and for Raizel—of all people—to arrive ahead of them.
'Erza knows... This is bad...'
Natsu and Happy exchanged a terrified glance, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads.
Natsu could already picture an enraged Erza kicking him into orbit.
Raizel found Natsu and Happy's reaction amusing and decided to drop the act.
"If you go back now, you might not get expelled from the Guild."
"I'M NOT GOING BACK!"
Natsu and Happy launched themselves forward, each clinging to one of Raizel's legs.
"I have to complete this S-Class Quest! I have to prove myself!" Natsu shouted with tears streaming down his face.
"I was forcibly dragged here by this clueless guy! I'm just a little cat who doesn't understand anything! Don't let Erza kill me!" Happy pleaded, selling Natsu out immediately.
"Just kidding... get off me." Raizel sighed, shaking his legs. "I've already accepted this quest officially."
He pulled the folded request form from his pocket and waved it in front of them.
"I'm the team leader. You two are my assistants. We're doing it together."
Raizel was dying of embarrassment—with so many people coming and going at the station, the two of them clinging to his legs and wailing was just too much.
"Really?!"
"Great!"
Natsu and Happy instantly stepped back, dropping to their knees in a perfect dogeza bow.
"THANK YOU, BOSS!"
Raizel and Lucy facepalmed in resignation, pretending not to know these two idiots.
Hands on her hips, Lucy scolded Natsu and Happy, though she herself had barely completed any missions.
"What were you thinking, trying to take on jobs without even bringing the quest form? The clients wouldn't have even recognized you!"
Instead of answering, Natsu just grinned, stood up, rolled up his sleeve, and pointed to the Fairy Tail emblem on his shoulder.
"Because we're Fairy Tail!"
Raizel was bursting with complaints but didn't know where to begin.
'That's not how it works, you idiot...'