After finally restraining Natsu, who was itching to charge straight into Phantom Lord's headquarters, the three of them began analyzing the situation.
"Why would they capture Lucy?" Mirajane couldn't figure it out no matter how hard she thought.
Logically, if they wanted to provoke Fairy Tail, they could have captured just about anyone, and there were clearly easier targets, so why go through all the trouble to capture Lucy?
"It's probably about money," Raizel surmised, recalling that in the original, Jose had been hired by Jude to capture Lucy.
However, Raizel was certain Jude hadn't made any such request this time, as Layla had written to Raizel just last month saying she'd received a letter from Lucy and learned that she had joined Fairy Tail.
Both Layla and Jude had asked Raizel to look after her, so a kidnapping order from Jude was unlikely.
"Money?" Mirajane was puzzled, for Lucy didn't seem wealthy at all—oh, but she did possess quite a few Zodiac Celestial Spirit Keys.
"Since Lucy is still unconscious, I'll tell you both, but after I do, act like you don't know anything—especially you, Happy!" Raizel glanced at Happy, knowing the cat was a gossip at heart and terrible at keeping secrets.
After some thought, Raizel decided to tell Natsu and Mirajane, reasoning that they'd find out eventually anyway and neither of them would treat Lucy differently because of her background.
"I knew Lucy before she joined the Guild. Her surname is Heartfilia."
"Heartfilia? What's that?" Natsu asked, as he never paid attention to such things.
"Heartfilia... Could it be the Heartfilia Conglomerate?" Mirajane searched her memory and suddenly had a realization.
"Yes, that Heartfilia. Lucy is the sole heir to the Heartfilia Conglomerate."
"So she's been hiding her true self," Mirajane nodded thoughtfully, impressed that Lucy had concealed her identity so well that she hadn't noticed at all.
"I think Jose must know Lucy's true identity, and he wants to capture her to extort money from her father," Raizel let out a soft sigh before continuing. "I originally wanted to provoke him into attacking us directly, but now I don't know whether I underestimated him or overestimated him."
Raizel felt somewhat guilty since he'd nearly let Lucy get captured by Jose.
Although he couldn't be 100% certain it was Jose behind it, it didn't matter much because they'd just pin the blame on him anyway.
"It seems I was wrong, so it's time for Plan B."
"Plan B?" Mirajane tilted her head in confusion.
"We attack their branches! Phantom Lord has many branch guilds, right? We'll hit them, and hit them hard!"
As soon as Raizel finished speaking, Natsu slammed his right fist into his left palm excitedly while shouting.
"Let's go!"
"Not now! You're too impatient!" Raizel grabbed Natsu by the scarf, nearly letting him escape. "After tomorrow, I need to contact Ultear, Laxus, and Mystogan so we can all strike together."
Raizel planned to make a move that would shock everyone—either remain silent or astonish all with one brilliant stroke!
"Phantom Lord has too many branches, so it would take too long with just us, but with Laxus and the others joining in, we'll divide the targets and attack every single guild—leave none standing!"
"Alright! Count me in," Mirajane agreed, for it had been a long time since she felt this angry.
Her fury stemmed from Jose Porla's actions; as a Guild Master and one of the Ten Wizard Saints, he practically represented the face of Ishgar, and with such status, secretly capturing a novice Celestial Spirit Mage would become a laughingstock if word got out.
Mirajane felt deeply ashamed that someone like him could be among the Ten Wizard Saints.
Had he openly challenged them and initiated a Guild War, even if Fairy Tail lost, Mirajane wouldn't have been this furious.
Raizel gladly accepted, as he had originally intended to include Mirajane.
"Of course, you and Cana will participate too. It's time to teach those overconfident Phantom Lord fools a proper lesson."
Such a hidden weapon like Mirajane shouldn't be wasted.
The world thought she had lost her fighting spirit after the Beast Soul takeover incident involving Elfman and Lisanna, gradually retiring from the ranks of top Mages to focus on being a receptionist.
Outwardly, she appeared to slack off daily with regular hours, but secretly she meditated every night, rigorously training her Magic Power.
"Alright, let's take Lucy back to her place first, and whether to tell her about tonight's events is your decision," Raizel said, glancing at the still sleeping Lucy who remained unaware of the major crisis she had just experienced.
...
After using Teleportation Magic to send Natsu and Lucy back, Raizel returned to his own estate.
Mirajane hadn't left yet, sitting on the sofa with her knees drawn up, lost in thought.
"Mira, Mira, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, just thinking about strategies and how we'd explain if we storm their headquarters," Mirajane replied, snapping out of her daze only after Raizel called her name several times.
Mirajane wasn't concerned about Fairy Tail's ability to win, but rather how to handle the aftermath.
She had seen Makarov struggling to deal with the Council too many times, so she understood the consequences of initiating a Guild War better than anyone.
Mirajane's thoughts aligned perfectly with Raizel's; directly storming their headquarters would be satisfying, but with so many people involved, it would be too obvious.
If the Council investigated thoroughly, they could definitely trace it back, especially with recent disputes making Fairy Tail the prime suspect.
Raizel sat down and nodded. "I feel the same, but if I had to choose between the Council's investigation and venting our anger, I'd choose the latter. Didn't Gramps say? Magic should follow one's heart. If we don't settle this score, everyone will feel miserable."
"Don't worry too much, for if Phantom Lord attacks us first, it shouldn't be too hard to handle."
Jose wasn't the type to swallow insults easily, especially when his pride was directly challenged.
"You think Jose will attack us?" Mirajane asked, finding that Raizel seemed quite familiar with Jose's temperament.
"Yes," Raizel nodded, believing Jose would—and that he'd come driving that mobile guild of his.
Since Jose had already stooped to personally capturing Lucy, there was no turning back.
If this got out, Jose would be utterly disgraced, possibly even losing his title as one of the Ten Wizard Saints—it was simply too shameful.
Reputation was one of the criteria for being selected as a Ten Wizard Saint, so now his only option was to fight with his back against the wall—to brazenly initiate a Guild War and win it, because only victory could reverse the situation since history is written by the victors.
"I can't sleep, so come take a walk with me," Mirajane made the somewhat willful request, knowing Raizel wouldn't refuse.
"Alright."
Without even changing their clothes, the two of them ran to the lakeside in their pajamas in the middle of the night, letting the wind blow against them.
"Still haven't been able to let it go?"
"Just a little bit? A tiny bit. Feels like it's almost there—I have this premonition," Mirajane closed one eye and pinched her left thumb and index finger together to demonstrate.
Sometimes it's precisely that little bit that feels like an insurmountable gap, but it had to be said, Mirajane's gesture and expression were quite adorable.
"Is that so? I'm looking forward to that day."
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