After resolving the emotional turmoil at the Heartfilia estate, the members of Fairy Tail's 'Strongest Team' returned to their ordinary lives.
Of course, "ordinary" by Fairy Tail standards was a relative term.
During the guild's massive reconstruction period, the members became noticeably busier.
The usual atmosphere of drinking and brawling had faded slightly, replaced by the sounds of hammers, saws, and the shouting of orders.
The members of the Strongest Team couldn't stay idle either. They took on missions to keep the cash flow moving while the guild hall was being rebuilt.
However, their busyness seemed rather unproductive—at least, financially speaking.
When these individuals carried out missions separately, each was exceptionally capable.
Gray would freeze a bandit gang with precision; Natsu would burn a monster nest (mostly) efficiently; Erza would dismantle a dark guild.
They handled objectives firmly while keeping collateral damage within "acceptable" limits.
But when Ankh, Erza, Natsu, and Gray teamed up, the style of mission execution spiraled completely out of control.
It was a chemical reaction of catastrophe.
Poor Lucy, tagging along as the designated voice of reason, had been earning quite a substantial amount of stress these past few days, but very little money.
Yesterday, Lucy had happily sat down to calculate her earnings from their latest quest.
She pulled out her calculator, anticipating a small fortune.
Instead, she stared at the result in horror.
It was a whopping two-digit number.
"Seventy jewels..." Lucy whispered, her soul leaving her body. "That won't even buy a sandwich."
Overjoyed by her poverty, Lucy returned to the makeshift guild counter and nearly cracked her head open on the wood in despair.
Nearby, Ankh, who had once again received a stack of complaint forms and fines from the Council, was busy driving the Master to an early grave.
"Another bridge?!" Makarov screamed, clutching his chest. "Ankh! You are supposed to be the sensible one! How did you destroy a bridge while hunting a wyvern?!"
"It was gravity," Ankh explained calmly, sipping a drink. "The wyvern landed on it. I increased the gravity to pin it down. The bridge... disagreed with the physics."
Makarov nearly had a heart attack from frustration.
How did Ankh, who's originally so calm and calculating in battle, suddenly become like this? It was as if Natsu's stupidity was contagious.
However, despite the headaches, Makarov didn't hesitate in his internal planning.
Unlike in the original timeline where he struggled with succession, from the very beginning, he had already decided on the next Guild Master.
Makarov sat on a crate, watching the chaos of his children. Having watched these brats grow up, he had a precise judgment and understanding of their souls.
'The candidate for the Fourth Guild Master must be chosen from among the S-Class Mages,' Makarov mused.
'Only someone of that caliber can command the respect of people like Natsu.'
He looked at Erza, who was currently yelling at Vijstar for slacking off.
'Erza cherishes her comrades and maintains strict discipline,' Makarov analyzed.
'But she is too rigid. She is prone to impulsiveness and emotional decisions. She would break before she bent.'
His gaze shifted to Mirajane, who was smiling sweetly while wiping a table.
'Mirajane... she is currently entirely focused on her 'retirement' and romance. She appears gentle and soft on the surface. Though her true strength hasn't declined, without revealing her true nature, it would be difficult for her to manage everyone. She lacks the drive to lead right now.'
'Mystogan?' Makarov snorted. 'He can barely communicate with humans. He'd disappear for six months and just leave a note.'
'Laxus...' The old man's eyes saddened slightly.
At least under Ankh's influence, he hasn't gone astray like he almost did. But his personality is still unbearably stubborn and arrogant.
He needs to learn humility.
Makarov's eyes finally landed on Ankh, who was ignoring the fines and laughing at Natsu.
'Only Ankh is both steady and driven.'
As times progressed, the responsibilities of Fairy Tail's successive Guild Masters differed.
The First Guild Master, Mavis Vermillion, was the founder.
She established all the fundamental rules of Fairy Tail and defined the guild's operational model—a family bound by bonds of trust.
The Second Guild Master, Precht Gaebolg, ruled during an era of newfound peace.
He used his immense magical talent and leadership to accumulate the guild's profound foundation and magical library.
With the groundwork laid by the first two, Makarov, the Third Master, had nurtured the "Golden Generation"—Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Ankh—elevating the guild to its peak strength.
'So, if Ankh were to become the Fourth Guild Master,' Makarov concluded, his primary goal would be to uphold the title of "strongest," balance relationships with the Magic Council, and protect his guildmates with absolute power.
This couldn't be achieved through brute force alone.
It required cunning, charisma, and a bottomless reserve of magic.
Ankh fit the mold perfectly.
Ankh, seemingly sensing the old man's gaze, glanced over. He understood the Master's intentions perfectly—he was, after all, a master of reading people.
But Ankh wasn't the least bit anxious. In fact, he was actively plotting his escape.
'He wants me to take the hat? No way,' Ankh thought, sweating slightly.
Besides, Ankh had a backup plan.
'There was still Gildarts... If i drag that old wandering hobo back, he could hold the position for another couple of years while I enjoy my youth.'
After discussing it with Makarov privately earlier, Ankh had managed to avoid the immediate transfer of power.
Originally, after visiting the Council and hearing his old friend Yajima's advice about his health, Makarov had seriously considered stepping down immediately after the Phantom Lord war.
But Ankh's persuasion had delayed those plans.
"I'm too young, Gramps," Ankh had argued. "I need to settle down first. Maybe wait until I have a wife and kids? A Guild Master needs stability, right?"
Unaware that he was now under Makarov's intense matchmaking scrutiny because of that excuse, Ankh was currently sitting at the temporary counter with the Strongest Team, idly joking around to pass the time.
"Ugh..."
Lucy leaned her forehead against the desk and sighed miserably.
A dark cloud hung over her head.
"The landlady came to press for rent again this morning," Lucy groaned, her voice muffled by the wood. "She threatened to turn me into a constellation if I didn't pay. I'm really about to break down..."
Mirajane, looking radiant as always despite the construction dust, looked at Lucy strangely.
"Arent you taking that quest?" Mirajane asked, tilting her head. "What about the reward? It was supposed to be 500,000 jewels."
Lucy immediately burst into tears. Her sorrow flowed like a river as she slammed her hands on the table.
"Don't even mention it!" Lucy wailed. "The entire town flew away! The mayor deducted the repair costs from the reward! All our payment went down the drain to fix the mess!"
Ankh and Erza were slumped in nearby chairs, sitting in identical poses of relaxed exhaustion.
They looked at her in unison, blinking innocently.
"How did the town fly away?" Ankh asked, genuinely confused. "I just lifted a few rocks."
"And I simply cut the villain in half," Erza added. "It's not my fault the shockwave took out the town square."
Lucy looked at them with dead eyes.
'These two... How should I even begin to criticize them...'
With Ankh and Erza joining the battle, Lucy realized that the level of destruction caused by Natsu and Gray was practically child's play.
Natsu broke tables; Ankh rearranged geography.
Has anyone ever witnessed the spectacular sight of a single sword strike leveling a building, or a single gravity kick creating a massive crater that swallows a bakery?
Unfortunately, Lucy had.
Every slash and every kick struck directly at Lucy's heartstrings—and her wallet.
Seeing poor Lucy's plight, Mirajane patted her head understandingly.
"There, there."
Truth be told, for powerful Mages like Ankh and Erza, restraining their own abilities was a significant test.
It wasn't that they couldn't control their Magic Power, but rather that in their eyes, they were holding back.
Asking them to perform at a level that didn't shatter the earth felt unnatural, like asking a dragon to tiptoe.
Mirajane thought for a moment before clapping her hands cheerfully.
"That's right!" she exclaimed. "There's a job that would be perfect for you all. It pays well, and most importantly... it doesn't involve fighting."
Lucy shot up, looking at Mirajane with hopeful, sparkling eyes. "What kind of job? Is it babysitting? Cooking? I'll do anything!"
Mirajane smiled and handed a colorful flyer to her.
"It's a request from a theater owner," Mira explained. "The theater has been struggling lately. He wants to hire Mages who can use flashy Magic to perform in a play and attract audiences back to the deserted theater."
Lucy took the flyer. Her face immediately lit up with joy.
"Acting?" Lucy gasped. "Using magic for special effects? This is perfect!"
Looking at the job description over Lucy's shoulder, Natsu crossed his arms and huffed disappointedly.
"No fighting? No monsters? How boring."
Erza, however, seemed quite interested. Her eyes glimmered with a hidden passion.
"I see," Erza said, nodding solemnly. "Art is also a form of battle. To capture the audience's heart is a warrior's duty. This really is perfect for our team."
The key requirement for this job was that the Magic had to be spectacular and dazzling.
And the members of the 'strongest team' were practically synonymous with magnificent magic.
Lucy's Celestial Spirit Magic went without saying—her spirits were famously versatile and visually stunning.
A parade of the Zodiac would be enough to sell tickets.
Erza's Re-Quip magic was elegant and flashy. Besides her combat armor, she possessed many beautiful outfits and could change instantly on stage.
Gray's Ice-Make and Natsu's Fire Dragon Slayer magic—one ethereally beautiful, the other passionately intense—were both excellent visual tools for attention-grabbing effects.
As for Ankh's Magic...
Lucy looked at the dark-haired mage and scratched her head.
Gravity magic and a giant snake demon... might be a bit frightening for a family-friendly play...
"Well," Lucy reasoned, "Ankh can do the heavy lifting or stage effects. Floating props would be cool."
The payment was quite generous for simply helping attract audiences—300,000 jewels.
For a job that carried zero risk of destroying a city block, this commission was truly appealing.
Most importantly, there was no way this could involve fighting!
No fighting meant no property damage, which meant no fines!
Holding the commission sheet contentedly like a lifeline, Lucy asked, "What does everyone think?"
Erza stood up, striking a dramatic pose. "Good. Let's take it. I shall prepare my costumes."
Gray shrugged, already half-undressed. "Fine. Work is work. As long as I don't have to wear anything weird."
Natsu lay bored on the table, blowing a small puff of fire. "I'll go too then. Only because I'm hungry."
Seeing no objections from the others, Ankh also nodded. "No problem. It shouldn't require much effort from us anyway. Easy money."
"Yay! Rent money!" Lucy cheered.
Just as the team was happily discussing the mission and heading out, a deep blue head slowly rose from behind an inconspicuous rock near the construction site entrance.
Two eyes peered over the stone, locked onto a certain ice mage.
"Juvia..."
The persistently lovesick Juvia, watching Gray automatically strip his shirt off in the distance, emitted light from her eyes bright enough to blind anyone.
"Ah... Gray-sama..." she whispered, drool forming at the corner of her mouth. "His skin is so pale... his muscles are so defined... He is still as handsome as ever!"
She slithered back into the shadows, clutching a doll that looked suspiciously like Gray.
"Juvia will follow... wherever her beloved goes..."