The next day, Lyon jumped up from bed shouting, "Fight again!"
But when he opened his eyes and looked around, he found only himself standing alone in the room.
Lyon was stunned for a moment. Then he yanked open the heavy curtains. Sunlight poured in instantly, making him squint. This also made him realize it was already noon; the sun was high in the sky.
"What? It's already this late!"
Lyon grabbed his hair in frustration. Just as he was about to rush out of the room, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a note on the table.
He hurriedly picked up the note and saw Ur's familiar handwriting:
"Lyon, we've set off for the Tower of Heaven. You stay here to take care of Kagura and Yukino. Protect their safety and wait for our return!"
After reading the note, Lyon cursed unhappily, "Damn it! It's all that brat Tike's fault!"
He had originally intended to show off his skills and perform well in this operation, but unexpectedly he was left behind as a nanny, responsible for taking care of two little girls. This made him incredibly depressed.
After cursing, Lyon revealed an unwilling expression.
He hadn't even clearly seen how Tike made his move before he inexplicably lost consciousness. This was just too humiliating!
"No, I have to continue training hard and become stronger! One day, I will definitely surpass Tike and let him see how powerful I am!"
Lyon made up his mind. He took a deep breath to calm his agitation, then pushed open the door abruptly.
Then he was startled by something standing at the door and almost screamed.
It was a lifelike wooden puppet. It had exquisite features and a realistic expression, wearing a cute dress, standing there quietly.
The puppet—Lucia—looked at Lyon, tilted her head slightly, and said in a crisp and pleasant voice, "Good morning~ Lyon~"
---
On the deck, Tike's face was pale as he leaned weakly in Ur's arms.
Ur stroked Tike's back gently, her eyes full of worry.
Had she known Tike suffered from such severe motion sickness, she wouldn't have let him board the ship no matter what.
"Did this child have this problem before?"
While Ur was wondering inwardly, a bespectacled young man of about fifteen or sixteen walked over and handed her a vial of potion.
"This is an anti-motion sickness potion Lady Porlyusica improvised in the cabin. Taking it should relieve some symptoms."
Tike barely lifted his head, thanked him weakly, took the vial, drank it, and leaned back on Ur, trying hard to calm the churning discomfort in his body.
Ur nodded slightly to the young man to show her gratitude, then asked softly, "You are...?"
"I am Lahar, currently serving as the squad leader of the 7th Special Operations Unit under the Magic Council." The young man adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking at Ur with a trace of respect. "I've long heard of Lady Ur's great name. Seeing you today, you indeed have an extraordinary bearing."
Ur smiled gently and shook her head.
"Captain Lahar, you don't need to speak such polite words. The Council has quite a few opinions about our 'Fairy Tail' guild, doesn't it?"
Lahar paused slightly, then said frankly, "The decisions of the upper echelon have their own considerations. Personally, I have no ill will towards 'Fairy Tail.' I only hope this rescue operation can proceed smoothly and reduce casualties."
This operation concerned the black magic cult. Therefore, major guilds rarely joined forces with the Council, forming a massive punitive expedition.
According to the intelligence provided by Blake, the black magic cult had established a total of seven strongholds for the construction of the "Tower of Heaven," scattered like stars across various parts of the sea.
To destroy these strongholds in one fell swoop, seven guilds participated in this operation. They boarded ships provided by the Council separately, heading to their respective assigned targets.
The problem was—
"Asking this now might be a bit abrupt, so please forgive me. It's just... is the intelligence provided by Miss Blake truly accurate?"
Tike had recovered a bit by now and called Blake, who was on standby elsewhere, to come closer.
Blake walked quickly to Tike's side, showing obvious fear and unease: "Every word this slave said is true, absolutely no falsehood! Please see clearly, Master, don't kill me!"
Tike could smell that Blake wasn't lying. At least regarding the intelligence on the Tower of Heaven, she dared not hide anything.
"No need to be so nervous; I have no reason to act against you right now." Tike waved his hand, signaling her to relax. "By the way, why did you change your self-address again?"
"This is just this humble girl's personal habit. I hope Master forgives me."
Blake's voice was even lower, and her head hung lower, almost buried in her chest.
(Why does it feel like this isn't the first time I've met someone who likes changing self-addresses? Forget it, can't remember.)
Tike didn't want to say more and waved his hand.
"Get far away from me."
"Yes."
Blake felt as if she had been granted amnesty. She retreated hurriedly, almost fleeing to the other end of the ship.
Lahar weighed his words and asked, "Forgive my presumption, even if Miss Blake was a captive of the black magic cult before, why would she know so much internal intelligence? And what is her relationship with you? Why does she call you 'Master'?"
If not for Guild Master Chill's guarantee, the Council and the Guild Alliance wouldn't have so easily trusted a little girl of unknown origin to gather so many wizards.
Tike had specifically asked Chill to keep Blake's identity as a member of "Grimoire Heart" secret. Even Ur knew nothing about it, let alone an outsider like Lahar.
He was still counting on Blake to help find Ultear. If the Council found out her true identity, complications would likely arise, causing a lot of trouble.
So, the only thing he could explain to Lahar right now was—
"I can't say much about other things, but she is currently my slave."
Hearing this, Lahar's pupils contracted sharply behind his lenses.
"The Kingdom of Fiore abolished slavery long ago! This behavior is seriously illegal!"
"I'm a minor."
"Guardians have joint liability!"
"..." Tike fell silent for a moment, then raised his head and said seriously, "I was joking just now. She isn't my slave, but my... woman?"
Now, not only Lahar, but even Ur, who had remained silent, looked at him strangely.
"Tike, how can you..."
Some words were really hard for her to say in front of outsiders.
How old was her adopted son, and he already had a woman outside?
Lahar was completely dumbfounded.
He had grown up without even holding a girl's hand, yet this kid in front of him was already in a relationship?
Moreover, that Miss Blake looked quite pretty, which was really a bit...
Wait!
As a member of the Council, shouldn't he fulfill his duty and arrest Miss Blake?
Tike was only six years old!
Standing on the other side of the gunwale, Blake couldn't hear clearly what they were discussing. She only vaguely caught a few scattered words but inexplicably felt a chill. Crossing her arms, she wondered if her little sister was nagging her again about when she would spread branches and leaves for their family.
She wasn't at that age yet, okay!
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