"Erza is really motivated, huh? And is that outfit also part of her Requip?" Lucy wiped cold sweat from her forehead as she watched Erza continuously scolding Natsu and Gray, directing the construction like a battlefield commander.
"BINGO," Raizel, who was passing by carrying a massive stack of timber, chimed in casually.
"That's quite a wild Requip outfit..." Lucy couldn't help but facepalm at Erza's construction-themed armor, then she widened her eyes as she realized what Raizel was doing.
"Wait, isn't it too extravagant to use Take Over Magic just to carry materials???"
Lucy looked at Raizel in disbelief as he lifted the heavy materials effortlessly, his arm transformed into a digital beast's limb.
"Why don't you take a look at the one using Giant Magic over there?" Raizel replied calmly. "And then check out the one swinging a hammer with the Beast Soul."
Raizel tilted his head slightly, signaling Lucy to look in that direction.
Lucy turned to see Makarov in his giant form lifting beams, and Elfman using his Beast Arm to hammer nails.
"WHAT" Lucy didn't even know where to begin with her complaints about the guild's excessive nature.
"Lucy, stop complaining and get to work," Happy, sitting comfortably on a crate, teased her while chewing on a fish.
"You, a cat sitting on a box eating fish—what right do you have to tell me that!" Lucy yelled back.
Natsu seemed to remember something and ran up to Ultear, excitedly gesturing with his hands.
"Hey, Ultear, can't you use the Arc of Time to fix the guild in a whoosh?"
Natsu suddenly recalled that Ultear often used her Arc of Time magic to repair damaged structures instantly.
Ultear's mouth twitched, and she shook her head with a sigh and said.
"No, what kind of misunderstanding do you have... I can only interfere after the guild is built..."
She explained that she truly couldn't interfere before the guild was constructed; her magic could restore objects to a previous state, but since the new guild didn't exist yet, she couldn't "restore" it.
Once it was built, she could repair it, but the materials still needed to be assembled first.
Natsu looked a bit dejected.
"Alright."
He had been hoping to see the new guild quickly—he couldn't wait a day, no, not even a minute!
"By the way... Doesn't it seem too big?"
Macao and Wakaba looked at the massive foundation being laid for the guild's tavern and felt the scale was a bit exaggerated.
When Raizel had mentioned building a bigger one before, they hadn't paid much attention, but now they realized they'd been too hasty in agreeing.
Raizel had even gone to the mayor to apply for an expansion permit, and the mayor had waved his hand and agreed without hesitation due to Fairy Tail's reputation.
"Raizel said since we're rebuilding anyway, we might as well make some improvements. This is the proposed completion diagram," Mirajane said, holding up the architectural blueprint for Macao and Wakaba to see.
Macao was intrigued. "Really? Let me see?"
Natsu suddenly popped up again, looking over their shoulders.
"I liked it the way it was before."
Gray appeared on the other side, shirtless as always. "What kind of guild will it become once it's finished?"
"Whoa~"
"This is really..." Macao and Wakaba were at a loss for words as they stared at the paper.
"I... I don't get it..." A big question mark appeared over Natsu's head.
"By the way, the drawing is pretty bad. Which idiot drew this?" Gray frowned as he looked at the incomprehensible, childish sketch that looked more like a blob than a building.
"Wahhh ┭┮﹏┭┮." Mirajane suddenly burst into tears, covering her face.
"So Mira drew it..." Gray felt instantly awkward and panicked, not knowing what to do.
"You made her cry again..." Natsu and the other two mercilessly mocked him.
...
"Indeed, Gray-sama is only gentle toward Juvia," Juvia whispered, hiding behind the corner eavesdropping, and secretly rejoiced at Gray's blunder.
While resting, Gray suddenly found a lunchbox in his hands that he didn't remember picking up, and simultaneously, Natsu was hit by a sudden, inexplicable splash of cold water.
"She's being way too obvious, isn't she?" Raizel pointed at the blue hat peeking out from the corner of the building.
"Extremely obvious," Ultear nodded in agreement.
Ultear had been the first to notice the water mage lurking, but after realizing Juvia was only watching Gray, she stopped caring and let her stay there.
Gray was startled when he opened the lunchbox—the presentation was utterly bizarre, filled with hearts and Gray's face made of rice.
"Aye! I know it! This is what they call a character bento!" Happy raised his paw.
"But is this... thing even edible? And what's this liquid leaking out... is it love potion?" Gray broke out in a cold sweat.
"Why is no one questioning where this lunchbox came from?" Raizel shook his head helplessly.
"Who said it was time to eat?!"
Erza had originally come over to demand answers about their slacking, but her attention was caught by the lunchbox in Gray's hands.
"Oh? So this is a character bento?"
Erza, never one to shy away from food, took a bite. "Hmm, it's actually pretty tasty."
"Then I'll give it a try too," Gray said.
Since Erza had effectively tested it for poison, Gray decided it was safe to eat.
Behind the corner, Juvia covered her burning cheeks, lost in wild fantasies of domestic bliss.
"She's starting to steam... Should we really ignore her?" Kagura watched the steam rising from behind the corner where Juvia was hiding.
"Never mind, just leave her be," Raizel advised.
After all, Juvia wasn't causing any trouble—she was just Gray's stalker now.
"Loke, are you okay? You look terrible," Cana looked at Loke, who had just arrived at the Guild site.
She noticed his heavy dark circles, pale skin, and overall poor condition.
Come to think of it, his state had been off since the fight with Phantom Lord, but she had assumed it was due to injury or depleted Magical Power from the war.
"I'm fine," Loke forced a weak smile, adjusting his glasses.
Loke had been absent from the Guild for several days.
He had come back to see everyone one last time and silently say goodbye.
"Right, I was wondering why I hadn't seen you lately," Gray and Natsu also approached Loke, noticing his frailty.
"Are you sure you're okay? You look really pale..." Happy asked worriedly.
"Thank you, Happy. I'm fine, really."
"If you're not feeling well, you should go rest. We'll handle the Guild building," Erza said kindly, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Alright, thank you, Erza," Loke nodded and, before leaving, glanced around the Guild one more time.
He watched the members working vigorously on the reconstruction, saw Mirajane and Lisanna handing out drinks to everyone, and felt a pang of sorrow.
'It's wonderful... but I won't be able to see it anymore...'
'Even though it was only three years, I'm proud to have been a member of Fairy Tail.'
Lost in thought, Loke slowly left the Guild site, walking away from the noise and laughter.
"Loke seems off... I've never seen him like this before," Gray remarked, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
Lucy agreed with Gray.
She had always found it strange how afraid Loke was of Celestial Spirit Mages, specifically her.
But since she wasn't very close to him yet, she didn't press further.
When she had asked Erza about it previously, Erza simply said that everyone has their own burdens and it's best not to pry.
As he walked away, Loke suddenly paused, clutching his chest.
'Karen, no need to be so impatient... I'm already...'
Raizel had also stopped working and watched Loke's retreating back.
He had noticed Loke's condition even earlier than Cana.
According to Raizel's observation, Loke's state had been abnormal for over a month, his life force steadily draining away.
It seems the time is almost up, Loke, Raizel thought.
Raizel had never discussed this matter with Loke, as there was nothing he could do to help directly given the laws of the Spirit World—unless they sought out someone like Anna Heartfilia or convinced the Spirit King.
Loke's own magical power might not sustain him much longer, at most a few days before he faded completely.
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator