Chapter 359: Why Am I the Only One Without a Cat?
"Is that true? I had no idea Aunt Layla used to be that strong!"
Mirajane, along with Erza and Sorano, who had been listening in, all wore expressions of sheer astonishment. They turned their eyes toward Lucy, waiting for her to elaborate.
"I only learned about it recently from my mom myself. Apparently, when she was young, she could summon three Celestial Spirits simultaneously. She was only sixteen at the time! I've never heard of any other Celestial Spirit Mage being able to pull that off. Meanwhile, I can't even manage a simultaneous summon of two spirits yet..."
Lucy slumped back down across the table in frustration.
"There's no need to rush. As long as you keep putting in the effort, you'll be able to perform a Dual Summon or even a Triple Summon in no time," Mirajane comforted her from the side.
"Mmm, exactly what Mira said. If you keep pushing yourself, you'll master the Dual Summon soon enough. As it stands, you're already much stronger than the other Celestial Spirit Mages I've come across," Noah added.
In terms of raw magical capacity, Lucy already possessed far more than someone like Karen, Loke's former contractor.
"Big sister Lucy will definitely become incredibly powerful!" Yukino cheered, giving Lucy an encouraging boost.
"Thank you, Yukino! Let's work hard together!" Hearing everyone's supportive words, Lucy rediscovered her resolve and smiled warmly at the younger girl.
"Mm! Let's do our best together!" Yukino nodded with utmost sincerity.
"In that case, let's head over and train right now!" Spurred on by the talk of her mother, Lucy felt it would be wrong to slack off, and she immediately extended an invitation to Yukino.
"I'd love to, big sister Lucy! Let's go train!" Yukino happily agreed.
She then glanced over toward Wendy and the others. Wendy and her group instantly caught her drift, nodding their heads in unison to join the session.
"Training time!" Natsu bellowed from the adjacent table.
"Aye!" Happy chimed in right on cue.
"Good grief, you two never change. Count me in as well then," Gray said, shaking his head with a helpless sigh upon hearing Natsu's outburst.
"A proper training session is indeed in order. We've been a bit lax over the past few days because of the Harvest Festival duties," Erza noted, nodding her head in agreement.
"True, we definitely need a solid workout to shake off the rust," Ultear agreed.
"If my little sister is going, I'm going too!" Sorano wrapped her arms around Yukino, nuzzling her cheek playfully.
"Let's all head over to the training grounds together then," Noah suggested. Seeing that everyone was fired up and noticing no pressing business at hand, it was the perfect time for a group session.
"Sounds like a plan!" Mirajane smiled and agreed, and naturally, no one else objected.
The large group stood up as one, preparing to leave the guildhall. Walking at the very back of the line, Noah instinctively scanned the room, only to catch Gajeel staring in their direction with a deeply sour expression.
Noah signaled to Ultear and the girls to head out first before pivoting and walking over to Gajeel.
"What's up? What are you staring at?" Noah asked, stepping up to his side.
"N-Nothing..." Gajeel stammered, shifting uncomfortably and failing to give a straight answer.
Noah traced the line of Gajeel's previous gaze, finding the retreating backs of Natsu and Wendy.
"Are you looking at Natsu and Wendy? Because you're all First Generation Dragon Slayers?"
"No, it's nothing..." Gajeel abruptly stood up and marched straight out of the guildhall.
Noah recalled the exact angle of Gajeel's stare just now and realized his eyes hadn't actually been locked onto Natsu and Wendy's backs—his gaze had been focused a bit lower. Specifically, he had been looking right at Happy and Carla walking beside them.
Noah couldn't help but let out a silent chuckle. Gajeel had finally noticed it, hadn't he?
Out of the three First Generation Dragon Slayers raised directly by dragons within the guild, two of them had their own feline companions. He was the only one left completely empty-handed.
Amused by the realization, Noah made his way to the training grounds in high spirits, spending the rest of the day sparring and exercising with Ultear and the others until the late afternoon.
When the group finally returned to the guildhall, everyone settled down to rest or chat. Noah took a quick look around the room and spotted Gajeel sitting quietly in a far corner.
Thanks to his exceptional vision, Noah instantly caught the faint red marks across Gajeel's face. They had already faded significantly, and anyone without Noah's heightened perception would have missed them entirely. But looking closely, those lines bore an uncanny resemblance to cat scratches.
Before Gajeel could notice him looking, Noah smoothly turned his head back.
"Pfft... hehehe..." Noah couldn't hold back a quiet chuckle.
"What are you laughing about?" Sorano asked, turning around the moment she caught his snickering.
"Oh, nothing... pfft..."
"Spill it!" Sorano demanded, her curiosity thoroughly piqued by his sudden amusement. Ultear and the rest of the girls looked over with interest as well.
"Take a look at Gajeel—don't stare openly, just use your peripheral vision," Noah whispered to them.
"Hm? What's there to see?" Even as she questioned him, Sorano followed his advice, casting a subtle glance toward Gajeel's corner.
"Oh? What are those marks on his face?" Mirajane caught sight of the faint scratches first.
"You're right, there are definitely a few lines on his cheek, though they've mostly healed. From the look of it, they seem like... claw marks?" Ultear noted, voicing her own deduction.
"Noah, are you laughing just because he got hurt? Why?" Erza asked, genuinely puzzled.
"Don't you think those marks look exactly like he got scratched by a cat?" Noah revealed the answer.
"Now that you mention it, they really do," Sorano said after another quick glance, confirming that the pattern matched a cat's defensive swipe perfectly.
"But why would he get scratched by a cat? Is that really the only reason you're laughing?" Mirajane pressed on.
"Natsu and Wendy are Dragon Slayers, right?" Noah suddenly brought up an seemingly unrelated point. The girls blinked in confusion before Ultear slowly replied, "Of course they are."
"And both of them have Happy and Carla by their sides, right?" Noah grinned.
"Wait, don't tell me..." Ultear caught on instantly, and a second later, Mirajane and Sorano put the pieces together as well.
"No way! Is he seriously losing sleep over that?" A broad grin broke across Sorano's face.
"What do you think? In the exact same guild, the other two First Generation Dragon Slayers have Exceeds, and he's the odd man out. How do you think that makes him feel? He probably feels like he's missing a core requirement," Noah said, his smile bright.
"Ah, yes. One must never fall behind one's rivals," Erza noted, nodding her head in deep, solemn agreement.
"Huh? Is that what this is about?" Wendy looked completely dumbfounded from the side. She had no idea that simply by existing, she had inadvertently been drafted into a fierce rivalry by Gajeel.
"This is absolutely not your fault, Wendy," Carla said in an exasperated tone before turning her glare toward Noah's direction. "I can't believe that idiot actually went out into the streets to look for a cat just because of us. Honestly, most people would go out of their way to avoid trouble, yet he runs face-first right into it."
Seeing Carla's expression and hearing her defensive tone, Noah knew she was dwelling on her fragmented memories regarding their supposed mission again. He didn't press the matter; when the time came, she would realize all her anxieties had been for nothing.
"So Gajeel went out looking for a talking cat like Happy and Carla, only to get thoroughly mauled by normal street cats? Hahaha!!!" Sorano couldn't contain her laughter anymore. Seeing a few nearby guild members glance their way, she quickly covered her mouth to muffle the sound, though she continued to shake with silent giggles.
Ultear and the others couldn't help but smile as well. It was incredibly endearing to see that beneath Gajeel's gruff, ironclad exterior lay such a hilariously petty and competitive side.
"What should I do, Carla? Big brother Gajeel thinks of me as a rival now," Wendy said, a look of mild panic returning to her face.
"Don't let it get to you. It's not like he's trying to pick a fight with you. That's entirely his own mental hurdle, not yours," Carla lectured, trying to instill some backbone into her partner. Yukino and Meredy chimed in to comfort Wendy as well, which helped her calm down.
"Come to think of it, I've been noticing Gajeel keeping a close eye on Natsu and Wendy over the past few days. I thought it was just mutual camaraderie among fellow Dragon Slayers, but to think it was over this... You don't have to worry, Wendy. He's just trapped himself in a silly comparison game, it's perfectly harmless," Mirajane reassured her.
With everyone offering comforting words, Wendy's anxiety completely dissipated, replacing her initial panic with a soft smile.
"Speaking of which, outside of Happy and Carla, I don't think I've ever seen any other cats quite like them. Have any of you encountered any?" Ultear asked, curiosity taking over.
"Nope, never," Sorano shook her head immediately, and the rest of the girls followed suit.
Finally, the entire group turned their eyes toward Noah. Noah simply held up his hands defensively. "Don't look at me, I haven't seen any either."
"Since none of us have ever run into any, should we actively go out and look for them? It would be interesting to see if Happy and Carla have any other clan members living in this world," Sorano proposed. She was genuinely curious to know if only these two had made it over, or if there were others hidden across Earthland.
"Absolutely not!" Carla rejected the idea loudly without a second thought. Noticing the entire table staring at her outburst, she quickly lowered her voice, clearing her throat. "There's no need for that. I don't want to trouble everyone with something so pointless, and frankly, I have zero interest in finding any so-called clan members."
"Well, if you feel that strongly about it, we won't pursue the matter," Mirajane said gently, picking up on Carla's intense aversion. The rest of the group nodded in agreement, allowing Carla to let out a subtle sigh of relief.
Dropping the topic, the group comfortably settled into their seats, steering the conversation toward general guild matters.
The following morning, the official results for the Miss Fairy Tail Contest were posted right outside the guildhall doors, drawing a massive crowd of members who packed tightly around the notice board.
"First place goes to Mira!"
"Hah, I knew that was a given!"
"Erza managed to grab second place! It's definitely because the contrast between her pageant dress and her usual armor was just too stunning!"
"I demand a recount for Sorano getting third! She's clearly the undisputed number one angel in my heart!"
"Wow, look at that! The newcomer, Lucy, actually scored fourth place!"
"Well, can you blame anyone? She's incredibly cute!"
"Ultear only got fifth? That feels a bit too low, honestly."
The crowd buzzed with endless chatter and debate. With the release of the final rankings, the guildhall was instantly divided into a sea of absolute joy for some and dramatic despair for others.
~~~
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