Natsu said nonchalantly, "Why not? I like Lucy too."
"Eh?" Lucy, who was sitting on the ground comfortably, suddenly jumped up, her face turning even redder, almost steaming.
"I-Idiot! What nonsense are you spouting all of a sudden!"
She covered her face with one hand and waved the other randomly in front of her as if trying to slap Natsu, but in her fluster, she just ended up hitting the air.
"I'm not spouting nonsense, I like Lucy, and I like Hapi, the old man, Lisana..." Natsu rattled off a long list of names, "I like a lot of people except Gray."
"..." Lucy fell silent, feeling like she had been acting stupid just now.
Rhode, Wendy, and Lisana all started laughing.
"Pfft..." Hapi covered his mouth, "Lucy, pervy, not healthy."
"Not at all!!!" Lucy denied loudly, her voice echoing through the forest, even startling a flock of birds.
Carla, with arms crossed, said, "Please, we're on the run, can't you keep your voice down?"
"Sorry." Lucy felt like crying but had no tears, wondering why she ended up being the one who needed to apologize.
"Natsu seems less fun now," Lisana said, propping her chin with a smile on her lips, "Back when I told him I wanted to be his bride, he would blush."
"I was just a kid back then, that's why you fooled me!" Natsu defended his younger self, then resentfully added, "Later, I found out you could be as wicked as Mira sometimes."
Lisana thought for a moment, then laughed, "Speaking of which, didn't Sister Mira hit you once under the excuse of 'don't corrupt Lisana'?"
"That jerk..." Natsu suddenly realized, "Wait, you weren't just messing with me back then, were you?"
"Who knows?" Lisana said playfully, a mischievous smile on her lips, her demeanor faintly resembling Mira's when being naughty.
Rhode couldn't help but wonder if the two sisters were originally so alike, or if Mira unconsciously imitated Lisana after that event out of missing her.
This casual chat among childhood friends, filled with reminiscing about childhood antics, sometimes praising, sometimes complaining.
The others listened intently, occasionally chiming in, sometimes laughing with them.
As everyone got to know each other better, the tiny bit of distance Lisana had as a 'newcomer' in the group quickly vanished.
After chatting for a while, Lucy suddenly said, "By the way, I've been wanting to ask, why has Mr. Rhode's magic become so strange? That wolf looks so scary."
Natsu said, "We wanted to ask you why you can use magic?"
"Huh? You can't use magic?"
"Mr. Natsu and I, along with Hapi and Carla, can't use it at all," Wendy said, "Even Brother Rhode can't use Receiving Magic anymore."
"Hmm..." Lucy thought for a moment, somewhat vainly said, "Maybe I'm the protagonist of an adventure story, the hero who will rescue the princess?"
Natsu waved his hand dismissively, "Not possible."
"So heartless!" Lucy shouted at Natsu, then got a bit more serious, "But I really don't know why. It's so strange, why can't you use magic here?"
Lisana hesitated to speak because Rhode spoke first, "I have two guesses."
The others looked at him curiously, "What?"
"That has to start from the principle of Magic. Magic Power is a kind of 'qi' or 'wave,' when the wave of 'qi' within our bodies resonates with nature, the magic manifests.
"You should feel it, the magic power within your bodies hasn't disappeared, just unable to use magic, in other words, unable to 'resonate' with the nature here.
"I think the reason you can't use magic is that your bodies aren't adapting to this world's environment, while Lucy adapted more quickly, so she's unaffected. This is the first guess."
Wendy and Lucy looked enlightened, "So that's it..."
Natsu asked again, "Then what about you?"
"I... maybe have a slightly better adaptability than you guys, but a bit worse than Lucy?" Rhode guessed, it could also be because the pendant is somewhat special, both sides being Space Magic, so it protected him but also got somewhat affected.
Lucy smugly said again, "What is this, in the end, I'm the amazing one! Now I'm the strongest Lucy!"
Natsu turned his face away, "Not possible, Rhode must have guessed wrong. How could I be the weakest?"
"I think Brother-in-law is right, because I can use magic too." Lisana said while raising a hand, transforming into a white cat paw, with pink pads on the palm.
Natsu, in disbelief, said, "Even Lisana can!"
"Ah! It's the same Receiving Magic as Mr. Rhode, Miss Mira, and Elfman!" Lucy exclaimed, "Your family seems to have the same magic!"
"Although it's the same magic, it actually belongs to different categories, Sister Mira receives Devil Soul, Brother Elf is Beast Soul, and I'm Animal Soul."
"Is there a difference between Beast Soul and Animal Soul?"
"Beast Soul leans more towards fierce creatures and monsters, Animal Soul is just ordinary animals." Lisana looked at Rhode, "Which one are you, Brother-in-law?"
"Mine should be called Wild Beast Soul, though the name is a bit odd," Rhode said, "I've tried others out of boredom, like tigers, leopards, rabbits, but it's very difficult, probably due to poor compatibility."
"Weren't we discussing the inability to use magic?" Carla said, "If it's a matter of body adaptability, then Tomcats and I, being native to this world, shouldn't be affected."
Natsu perked up, "That's right, I said there's no way I'd be the worst, quickly tell us the second possibility?"
Rhode said, "The second possibility... I think it's less likely... Didn't the President say magic is the power of the heart, when the heart is unwavering, the magic grows strong, when the heart is uneasy, the magic weakens.
"Lucy, when she came, didn't understand the situation at all. When I arrived, I just thought I'd been ambushed, and Lisana quickly settled down when she first joined the guild, so we weren't that anxious.
"But you all watched the whole city disappear before your eyes, your companions likely already..."
At this point, Rhode patted Wendy's head. Having just gone through Cat Transformation Inn disappearing, and then Fairy Tail and the entire city disappearing...
Given this child's fragile nature, she must have been utterly despairing back then.
Just thinking about it makes one feel heartache.
Wendy felt Rhode's care, looked up, and gave him a big smile.
"..." Natsu crossed his arms, wasn't this implying he was scared? He'd rather accept the first explanation.
"Tomcat?!" Carla exclaimed.
Everyone turned their heads and saw that Hapi had grown wings and slowly started flying.
His magic—had recovered.
"Hapi!" Natsu said joyfully, "Why? How did you do it?"
"I don't know either." Hapi nonchalantly flew around in the air,
"Because Rhode said if you're not anxious in your heart, you can use magic. I felt that with everyone together, with Rhode, with Natsu, and even Lisana back, there's nothing to be afraid of, then I could fly."