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Early in the morning, shocking news spread across Magnolia from the Fairy Tail guild.
"I heard the Queen of Fairies is going to duel the Fire Dragon! Hurry, let's go watch; if we're late, we won't get a good spot!"
"Really? That's so exciting! Let's go together!"
The news spread like wildfire, and soon, the entrance to the Fairy Tail guild was packed with people.
Erza and Natsu stood in an open space, facing each other, while a crowd gathered around, cheering loudly.
"Go, Queen! I'm your fan! Take down that clueless guy!"
"Natsu, don't let us down!"
"Wait, are they really going to fight for real?"
Roy pushed through the crowd, with Lucy following closely behind him, incredulously asking someone nearby for confirmation.
"Of course, it's for real! How else would it be a proper duel of men?"
The one answering Lucy was the silver-haired musclehead, Elfman, who prided himself on being the epitome of manliness.
"Erza's a woman!"
Mira scolded her brother, reminding him not to be so rude.
"She's a female monster!"
The moment Elfman said that, Erza's humanity was instantly denied.
You're so brave, young man.
Noticing the sudden change in Erza's aura on the field, Roy glanced at the taller Elfman beside him and silently commented to himself.
However, Erza managed to hold back her emotions, refraining from charging out to teach Elfman a lesson.
Otherwise, the duel would have started before the audience even had a chance to settle in, leaving Fairy Tail's reputation in tatters.
"A duel between Natsu and Erza is definitely worth watching!"
"One is arguably the strongest man, and the other is the recognized strongest female wizard."
"This is going to be an epic battle!"
While waiting for the duel to begin, the guild members were buzzing with excitement.
Hearing someone call Natsu the strongest, Elfman disagreed and loudly declared, "I admit Natsu has manly guts, but calling him the strongest? I can't stay silent about that. Fairy Tail has plenty of strong guys, like me!"
No one paid attention to the fool, continuing their heated discussions instead.
"Erza is undoubtedly the strongest female wizard, but as for the strongest man... let's not forget about Gildarts. And then there's Laxus and Mystogan! Natsu's not even in the running!"
"True, they are the top contenders for strongest!"
"But now that Roy has joined the guild, I heard from Erza that he's pretty strong too. He even single-handedly took down a dark guild with an S-class mage yesterday. I wonder how he compares to those two?"
"I don't know about that, but it's probably close!"
The discussion slowly shifted from the outcome of Natsu vs. Erza to who was the strongest man in the guild.
The reason for this shift wasn't just the abundance of powerful male wizards in Fairy Tail and the fierce competition for the title.
It was also because none of the guild members believed Natsu could beat Erza.
Only the uninformed townsfolk placed their hopes on Natsu.
As expected by the guild members, the duel unfolded just as anticipated.
Though it wasn't a one-sided fight and was full of twists and turns, Natsu ultimately lost to Erza, ending up beaten into a pulp.
After the duel, it became the hottest topic in Magnolia for the day.
For the ordinary townsfolk, witnessing such a powerful battle between wizards was like a grand spectacle, making their trip worthwhile.
For the guild members, seeing Natsu get beaten up brought them immense joy.
Especially Gray, who laughed the loudest of them all.
For Lucy, however, the duel sparked her curiosity about the strongest contenders in the guild.
Fairy Tail's strongest man?
She couldn't help but wonder how her senpai compared to them.
It must be Senpai! He's so amazing.
Sneaking a glance at Roy, who stood tall and confident beside her, Lucy nodded to herself, firmly believing in her thoughts.
Senpai is the best!
Though she said nothing, Lucy's heart was filled with trust in Roy.
Roy, of course, had no idea a cute girl beside him had such faith in him. But deep down, he believed he wouldn't lose to either Laxus or Mystogan.
Moreover, with the system, he could grow stronger quickly—so strong that no one would be able to catch up to him.
He had that much confidence.