"Ow, ow, ow," Chen Fan groaned, lying in bed with his left hand clutched against his forehead. Suddenly, he felt his right hand gripping something. He opened his eyes to see that it was Erza's hand. She was currently slumped against the side of his bed, her eyes tightly shut as if she were trapped in a nightmare.
Chen Fan sat up and gently stroked Erza's hair. Under his soothing touch, the tension in her face gradually began to relax.
Sensing something, Erza opened her eyes. Seeing that Chen Fan was awake, she said excitedly, "Chen Fan, you're finally awake! Do you feel alright? Is anything hurting?"
"I'm fine. I was just a little exhausted earlier, so don't worry. I am a doctor, after all," Chen Fan replied. As he spoke, he couldn't help but give Erza's hand a little squeeze, savoring the soft sensation. So soft, he thought to himself.
Erza noticed it, and her face flushed a deep crimson. She looked incredibly adorable, yet she didn't pull her hand away. Chen Fan found himself dazed by the sight.
Creak... The door swung open, and Natsu's booming voice filled the room. "Chen Fan, are you awake yet?"
Thwack! Lucy landed a punch on Natsu's head and yelled, "Don't be so loud! You're going to disturb him!"
"No, you're the one disturbing him," Gray and Happy remarked from the side, waving their hands in exasperation.
Whoosh... Erza instantly snatched her hand back from Chen Fan and spun around, the blush on her face refusing to fade.
Happy looked up and said, "Chen Fan, you really are awake!" He flew over to the side of the bed, followed by the others. Seeing Chen Fan sitting up and waving at them made everyone quite happy.
Suddenly, Happy noticed Erza's bright red face. He put his paws over his mouth with a suspicious look and stammered, "There's... there's something going on here!"
Erza whipped back around, her face even redder than before. "W-w-what do you mean 'something's going on'?" Her flustered expression was so cute that it nearly melted everyone in the room.
"It really looks like something's going on," Natsu said, his jaw dropping. The others nodded in silent agreement.
"Ah... haha, did you guys figure it out already?" Chen Fan laughed, scratching the back of his head.
Boom! Erza sent Chen Fan reeling with a single punch.
"What do you mean... figure it out... I'm not..." She couldn't even finish her sentence before she turned and bolted out of the room, followed by a wave of laughter.
After Erza's hasty retreat, Chen Fan checked in on the status of her "siblings." He learned that they had left that very night. Simon had left a note for him, which basically entrusted Erza to his carewith a stern warning that he wouldn't let Chen Fan off the hook if he ever mistreated her.
"Whoa..." Everyone stood with their mouths agape, staring at the newly completed guild hall.
"It's certainly... striking," Erza remarked.
"Is it already finished?" Lucy asked.
Just then, Chen Fan's dissenting voice rang out. "It's really lacking in artistic beauty."
Erza rolled her eyes at him and turned to the others. "Alright, let's head inside. Just ignore this guy." She walked toward the entrance, and Lucy and the rest followed quickly, as if Chen Fan were some sort of contagious disease.
"Hey... don't just leave me behind!" Chen Fan shouted, scurrying to catch up.
As soon as they entered the guild, they were greeted by an open-air cafe where many people were chatting over coffee. Beside it was a small merchandise shop.
"Something feels different," Natsu muttered, crossing his arms and frowning.
"Welcome! Oh, it's you guys. Welcome back," Max Alors said from behind the counter of the shop.
"Whoa, Max is the boss now? It's been a while," Happy said, flying up to him.
Chen Fan and the others caught up and greeted him. "Long time no see, Max."
Max scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I've been undergoing business training under the Master's orders."
Lucy suddenly piped up, "Max Alors? The one who was featured in the Weekly Sorcerer Magazine?"
"I look forward to working with you again. I've heard about you, Lucy."
"I can't imagine what you've heard, and I don't want to know," Lucy sighed, deflating.
"Yo, Max, what kind of stock do you have?" Chen Fan asked.
"Hehe, we've got T-shirts, wristbands, mugs, and towels. But our best-seller is..."
"A Lucy figure!" Happy held up a miniature version of Lucy.
"Don't just make things like that!" Lucy yelled from the side.
"Of course, the clothes are removable," Max added. As soon as he finished speaking, the clothes fell off the small Lucy, leaving only her underwear.
"Aah!" Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs.
Chen Fan's interest was instantly piqued. He snatched the Lucy figure from Happy's paws. "Oh... this isn't bad. How much?"
"Are you actually going to buy that?!" Lucy barked.
"100 Jewels."
"That's too expensive," Chen Fan countered. "Got anything special?"
"I do. The Mirajane and Erza limited editions." Max pulled his prized treasures from beneath the counter.
Snatch! Chen Fan grabbed them immediately. "How much for these?"
"100,000 Jewels."
"Wow, what a bargain! I'll take them!" Chen Fan shouted, planting kisses on the Erza and Mirajane figures. Erza's eyebrow twitched violently at the sight.
"Thank you for your business! This one is a gift," Max said, handing him the Lucy figure.
"Is the price gap really that big?!" Lucy didn't even have the strength left to complain.
"Alright, stop messing around and let's go in," Erza's authoritative voice rang out. Chen Fan stuffed the Erza and Mirajane figures into his pocketand the Lucy one, tooand followed the group into the main hall.
"It's beautiful!" Lucy and Happy exclaimed as they surveyed the new guild hall.
Erza nodded in approval. "Yes, it's quite nice." Gray nodded as well, but then he noticed that Natsu, who usually started yelling the moment he set foot in the guild, was strangely quiet. "What's wrong, Natsu?"
"It's not the same," Natsu said, burying his face in his scarf and scowling.
"Everyone, welcome back!" Levy called out to them.
Whoosh... Chen Fan appeared in front of Levy, draping an arm over her shoulder. "Yo, my little Levy, did you miss me?"
"Of course I did, big brother!" Levy said with a smile.
"Oh, that 'big brother' just made my heart melt," Chen Fan said dramatically, clutching his chest and forehead with a pained expression. Erza promptly shoved him aside.
Levy turned to Lucy and the others. "Isn't it amazing? There's even a swimming pool in the bar area."
"Why a pool?" Lucy asked.
Natsu maintained his grumpy expression. "It's just not the same."
"There's even an amusement park underground."
"They went a bit overboard, didn't they?"
"It's just not the same."
"And the biggest change is the second floor. Now, anyone is allowed up there," Levy continued.
"Yo, Boss Chen Fan! I'm on the second floor too! Sniff... I finally made it up here... I'm so moved!" Elfman Strauss greeted Chen Fan and started sobbing to himself. Chen Fan immediately looked away, pretending not to know him.
"Of course, S-Class Quests still require an S-Class Mage to accompany you," Levy added.
Suddenly, Makarov Dreyar's voice boomed through the hall. "You're back, you brats!" They turned to see someone standing beside him.
Makarov continued, "This is our guild's newest member, Juvia Lockser. Isn't she cute?"
"Please look after me," Juvia said.
Gray looked at her in surprise. "You actually came."
"Thank you for your help at the Akane Resort."
"It's all thanks to everyone. Juvia will do her best."
"Nice to meet you," Lucy said with a smile.
"When it comes to love, I will never back down," Juvia declared, staring at Lucy with a dark, resentful aura. Lucy broke into a cold sweat. "I already told you, it's a misunderstanding!"
"And now, let me introduce another new member. Hey, come over and say hello," Makarov called out.
"Another one?" Chen Fan yawned as they all turned around. Natsu and the others instantly dropped into defensive stances.
"Gajeel Redfox!" they shouted in unison.
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