Kaien turned toward the voice and saw a familiar figure crawling out from between a girl's legs.
With his cherry-pink hair and a dragon-scale scarf, it was unmistakably Natsu—Happy the blue cat trotting right beside him.
As soon as Natsu emerged and realized the person wasn't Igneel, cold sweat beaded down his face in embarrassment.
"Who are you?"
"I'm talking about the Salamander—you've heard of me, right?"
The man struck a pose he clearly thought was cool, but before he could even finish his sentence, Natsu and Happy had already slipped through the crowd and turned away with their heads hanging low.
"They left fast."
Seeing their idol ignored, a group of girls immediately rushed forward and grabbed Natsu's scarf, dragging him back.
"You two are so rude!"
"Yeah!! Lord Salamander is an amazing mage!"
"Apologize!"
Natsu looked bewildered. "What are you guys doing?"
The man waved magnanimously. "It's fine, it's fine. He probably didn't mean any harm."
"Ah~~~! So gentle!!"
Hearts sparkled in the eyes of all the girls.
The man pulled out a signed board, scribbled "Salamander" in bold characters, and handed it to Natsu.
"This is my autograph—go show it off to your friends."
"Ah~~~! So jealous!"
"I don't want it."
The moment Natsu said that, the idol-crazed girls hoisted him up and tossed him out.
"What's your problem?!"
"Get lost!!"
The man snapped his fingers, and a red flame rose beneath his feet, lifting him into the air.
"Thank you all for the warm welcome, but I've got things to do at the harbor up ahead, so I'll take my leave for now. I'll be hosting a party on the ship tonight—be sure to come!"
He waved and zoomed off, riding the flame.
"Aaaahhh!!"
"We'll definitely be there!!"
The girls cheered and squealed in excitement at the magical display.
"What the heck was that about?" Natsu muttered, completely baffled.
At that moment, a familiar voice called out.
"Natsu, Happy."
"That voice!"
Natsu and Happy froze, then quickly turned toward the sound—and saw Kaien standing not far away, smiling at them.
"Kaien!!"
Seeing him, both Natsu and Happy lit up with joy. Over the past half-year, Kaien had grown close with Natsu, Happy, and the rest of the guild. Ever since Kaien moved into his new house, the two would often drop by to hang out—they were really good friends.
"You're back!" Happy ran over excitedly.
"Yeah, I'm back."
Natsu scrambled over and clung to Kaien's leg. "Kaien! Help me! Feed me! I'm starving to death!"
"You again? You must've caused trouble during your job, huh?"
Seeing Natsu like this, Kaien guessed right away—this guy must've wrecked something and had to pay compensation again. Otherwise, with Natsu's strength, a 200,000 J job should've been a breeze.
"Aye~! We lost money again this time," Happy confirmed.
Kaien sighed and shook his head. "Let's go. I'm hungry too. I know a place up ahead that's cheap and tasty."
"Awesome!!"
Natsu and Happy jumped for joy.
Suddenly—
A voice rang out behind them.
"If it's okay... let me treat you guys to this meal."
The three of them turned around in surprise and saw a cute girl standing behind them.
She had radiant golden hair, with a lock tied up in a blue ribbon, giving her a playful look.
She wore a sleeveless white top with blue edges and a blue pleated skirt. Her skin was fair, her features delicate—and that stunning figure of hers made her an absolute head-turner.
Kaien blinked in surprise. Even though the real-life version looked a little different from the anime, he recognized her instantly—it was Lucy Heartfilia, the heroine from Fairy Tail.
"Thanks for earlier!" Lucy smiled and waved at them.
"Huh?"
Natsu and Happy blinked. Lucy was clearly talking to them, but they had no idea what they'd done to deserve thanks.
Lucy explained,
"That guy who called himself the Salamander used a magic called 'Charm.' It manipulates people's hearts. It was banned from sale years ago. Using something like that to seduce girls is just disgusting. Thanks to you two barging in, the magic's effect broke. So please let me treat you to a meal as thanks."
Natsu and Happy exchanged confused glances.
"I see... but no need. Kaien's treating us." Natsu grinned and clapped Kaien on the shoulder.
"Aye! Kaien's paying!"
They both knew Kaien was the biggest sugar daddy in Fairy Tail. A single job of his earned more than they did in a whole year. This time he had gone off to do an S-Class Mission—it clearly went well—so they were more than happy to mooch.
Kaien rolled his eyes. "Haven't you two freeloaded enough?"
Still, he didn't really mind. Every now and then, he'd invite close guildmates to his place for a meal or a little get-together.
"I insist!" Lucy said sincerely. "I'd feel terrible if I didn't properly thank you."
Hearing that, the three of them didn't argue anymore, and the group headed to the restaurant together.
"I'm Lucy. What are your names?"
"Kaien."
"Natsu."
"Happy."
"Kaien, Natsu, and Happy, huh... Oh! By the way, I may not look it, but I'm a mage too! I haven't joined a guild yet though."
"A guild, you see, is a group that gathers lots of mages together and acts as a broker for jobs and information. If a mage doesn't work through a guild, they're not really seen as capable of standing on their own."
"But! But! There are tons of guilds in the world—but famous ones have super strict entry requirements!"
"The one I really want to join has sooo many amazing mages!"
"Ahh... what should I do?! I want to join so bad, but I bet their standards are super high!"
"Ah! Sorry, I was rambling about mage stuff. You probably didn't understand any of that."
"But I have to join that guild! I heard they get tons of really high-level jobs there!"
Kaien, Natsu, and Happy all stared at her blankly and muttered in unison:
"You're really talkative..."
From the moment they met her, Lucy hadn't stopped talking. This was their first meeting, and she was already going on and on like a chatterbox.