At dawn, as the first light broke, Roy set off toward Magnolia Station—the meeting spot he had arranged with Erza the previous day. Walking beside him was the blonde Celestial Spirit mage, Lucy.
Lucy was tagging along because, apart from being Roy's junior in the guild, she was also now his roommate. With this dual connection, Lucy had insisted on coming along, under the pretense of "assisting Roy and gaining mission experience." Though Roy knew she was just making excuses, he didn't object. After all, letting her see more of the world couldn't hurt.
So the two arrived at the station together.
Speaking of which, how had they ended up becoming roommates?
This went back two days prior. After Roy and Lucy had completed a couple of missions together, he split about half the reward with her—somewhere around 200,000 to 300,000 Jewels. With her wallet suddenly much fuller, Lucy got the idea to move out of the guild's dorms.
After scouring Magnolia for a suitable place, she settled on a charming riverside house. Beautifully decorated with an elegant environment, it offered a serene view of the sparkling river. Lucy fell in love with it at first sight.
However, the rent was steep—70,000 Jewels per month, with six months' rent required upfront. She didn't have nearly enough saved.
In her dilemma, Lucy thought of her "generous" senior, Roy. She had initially intended to borrow money, but for some reason—perhaps a whim—she decided to invite him to move in instead.
"You're my senior, after all! And we're on the same team, right? Living together will help us connect and build synergy!" Lucy had argued at the time.
Although Roy was unaware of when he and Lucy became a "team," he didn't refuse the co-living arrangement. Since he had a certain system, sharing a crowded dorm wasn't ideal, so moving out seemed a good choice.
And so, they agreed, flames ignited, sparks flew—
Ahem, nothing like that happened.
For now, they were just ordinary roommates. As for what the future held, well, who could say?
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Upon reaching the station, Roy and Lucy found Natsu and Gray locked in a childish standoff.
"Ice block idiot!"
"Flaming moron!"
They were forehead-to-forehead, glaring, exchanging insults, and looking ready to throw punches.
Nearby, the blue cat Happy was contentedly munching on a fish, ignoring the fiery rivalry between Natsu and Gray. After all, they had fought countless times, and no one ever got hurt seriously. He thought, *Let them be. Besides, I'm just a cat! What can I do?*
Walking up to them, Roy decided to mess with the two hotheads. He raised his voice and called out, "Hey, Erza, you're here already?"
In an instant, Natsu and Gray snapped together, freezing in place like twins glued at the hip, frantically nodding.
"Erza, today I got along super well with Natsu! No fighting at all!" Gray announced hastily.
Roy burst out laughing, followed by Lucy, who couldn't hold back a snicker.
These two were priceless. They were so terrified of Erza.
What kind of horrible things had Erza done to them over the years to make them fear her this much?
Hearing Roy and Lucy's laughter, Natsu and Gray snapped out of their fear and realized they'd been played.
"Damn it, Roy! You scared us on purpose!" Natsu snarled, flames flaring up around him, while frost formed beside Gray in response.
Both glared at Roy, fists clenched, determined to show him a lesson.
Just as they took a step toward Roy, they froze again at the sound of the most dreaded voice behind them.
"Natsu, Gray, what are you doing?"
Hearing Erza's voice with a hint of curiosity, Natsu and Gray instantly reverted to their fused twin posture, nodding frantically to show they were getting along and had no issues.
Once again, Roy and Lucy burst into laughter.
Amid the laughter, Lucy noticed the massive pile of luggage Erza was carrying and was shocked. "That much luggage? Is she moving? She has to be moving, right?!"
Unlike Lucy, Roy wasn't too surprised. Erza's magic, "Knight," was a type of re-equip magic, much like a certain other hero who could transform based on the situation. Erza's magic allowed her to change armor to suit different combat conditions and opponents.
To use her magic to its fullest, she had to keep multiple armors on hand at all times.
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PS: Lucy's three-stage reaction to Roy's antics is becoming a recurring trait! Hope you're noticing the character build-up. Get ready for some epic action scenes next!