Chapter 212

Chapter 212: Chapter 212

Lucy had been feeling pretty miserable lately.

After all, she had been the very first person to agree to cooperate with Marshall’s experiments on developing the Second Origin, yet somehow she still hadn’t gotten hers unlocked.

That day, Marshall had rushed off to help Erza and, after coming back, never mentioned making Lucy work as his maid again.

At first, Lucy had been delighted.

She assumed Marshall had simply gotten busy and forgotten about the whole thing.

And if she never reminded him, wouldn’t that mean she could escape the miserable fate of waiting on him hand and foot?

Lucy might genuinely have been raised as a wealthy young lady, but she wasn’t particularly spoiled. Even so, serving somebody else was definitely not something she was used to.

So for a while, she deliberately avoided Marshall whenever possible, terrified that seeing her might suddenly jog his memory and get her dragged back to Cake Tower for maid duty.

Unfortunately, things soon developed in a direction Lucy hadn’t expected.

Marshall began openly recruiting experimental subjects from the guild.

He hadn’t explained what the experiment was at first, but the moment Macao came back bragging about the results, Lucy immediately understood.

This was the experiment Marshall had originally planned to perform with her.

Lucy froze.

What did that mean?

Marshall didn’t need her anymore?

For a while, she couldn’t decide whether to feel relieved or strangely disappointed.

But since Marshall hadn’t called her over, then presumably... it had nothing to do with her anymore, right?

Marshall continued saying absolutely nothing about the experiment, leaving Lucy with no choice but to pretend she knew nothing.

Eventually, she began to suspect he hadn’t merely forgotten about the experiment.

He had forgotten her.

Then Marshall’s research became more and more successful, and the number of people who had undergone Origin Opening steadily increased.

Worse yet, every single person who succeeded experienced at least a twofold increase in strength!

Suddenly, Marshall’s Origin-Opening appointments became the hottest commodity in the entire guild, with everyone desperately scrambling for a chance.

That was when Lucy realized something was very wrong.

’Wait.’

’What about me?!’

’Did Marshall seriously forget me?!’

’I want more Magic Power too! Marshall, look over here!!!’

Unfortunately, Marshall no longer had time to pay attention to her.

He had become so busy that he barely even visited the guild anymore, and Lucy could go days without seeing him.

Then she heard that Marshall had recruited some thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl as his personal maid.

Lucy felt as though the sky had collapsed.

’It’s over!’

’Marshall definitely has a problem with me!’

’He’d rather find some brand-new little maid than use me anymore!’

’Nooooo!!!’

Lucy was filled with regret.

If heaven somehow gave her another chance, she would rush over and volunteer to be Marshall’s maid before he could even finish asking.

Unfortunately, there were no second chances.

Now Lucy was even more afraid of facing him.

She was thin-skinned enough to feel genuinely ashamed of herself.

She had broken their agreement first, secretly skipped out on the work, and then spent days hoping she could simply act cute and get away with it.

Now that she had discovered all the benefits were passing her by, was she seriously supposed to shamelessly crawl back and beg Marshall for help?

Her pride couldn’t take it!

And so Lucy could only silently endure the consequences of her own choices and wallow in misery.

Until...

Makarov suddenly appeared and announced enormous news to the entire guild.

"I hereby announce that, near the end of the month after next—around November 31—our guild will hold Fairy Tail’s first World’s Number One Magic Tournament!"

The guild immediately began buzzing.

"The winning team will receive the title of Fairy Tail’s Strongest Team! Each participating team must have at least three members and no more than five, but S-Class Mages may not form teams with one another."

Makarov raised a finger.

"In principle, every official guild member is allowed to enter. However... ahem. Confidence is a wonderful thing, but if you actually want a chance at placing well, I strongly recommend finding a way onto an S-Class Mage’s team."

He grinned.

"The tournament will also be broadcast throughout the city as entertainment, so this is an excellent opportunity to make a name for yourselves. Marshall has also agreed to prioritize Origin Opening for tournament participants, so everyone should sign up enthusiastically!"

That was the latest set of rules the S-Class Mages had settled on after discussing the event together.

To give the rest of the guild some sense of participation, Makarov had ultimately opened registration to everyone, even though anyone with eyes could tell that ordinary teams would have little chance against teams led by S-Class Mages.

The moment the announcement ended, the guild exploded.

"Holy crap! World’s Number One?! I’m fired up! Who wants to team with me?! I’ll carry you all!"

"Strongest Team, huh? I really want to enter, but our chances are awful. Wonder if any of the S-Class members would actually take us..."

"Don’t give up, brothers! Even if it’s only for Marshall’s Origin-Opening priority, we have to enter! Let’s goooo!"

The entire guild erupted with excitement.

Everyone began rubbing their hands together, already imagining themselves showing off at the tournament.

Lucy was just as excited as anyone.

She had been desperately searching for a reasonable excuse to apologize to Marshall.

If she told him she wanted to participate in the tournament, surely he would agree to unlock her Second Origin too!

And looking at the bright side... what if Marshall agreed to let her join his team?

Wouldn’t that basically mean a free victory?!

Lucy’s imagination immediately ran wild.

She could already see herself standing beside Marshall as a member of his team, winning the tournament, becoming famous across the country, and finally establishing herself as a renowned Mage.

Then Makarov suddenly raised his voice again.

"Oh, right! One more thing I forgot to mention."

Everyone quieted.

"This year, eligibility for the S-Class Promotion Trial will no longer be determined by how many jobs you’ve completed. Instead, candidates will be selected according to their individual performances in this tournament."

Makarov smiled broadly.

"So make sure you give it everything you’ve got~"

The guild fell silent for exactly one second.

Then the resulting roar was even louder than before.

"OOOOOOHHHH!!! NOW I’M REALLY FIRED UP!!!"

Lucy blinked and immediately turned toward Levy.

"Wait, wait! What’s the S-Class Promotion Trial?"

"It’s an exam the guild holds near the end of every year," Levy explained with a smile. "Anyone who passes becomes an S-Class Mage."

Then she tilted her head.

"Why? Interested, Lucy?"

"Eh?! S-Class?! Of course I’m interested!"

Lucy immediately deflated a little.

"Although... I’m probably nowhere near strong enough yet. What about you, Levy?"

"Me? I’ll just see how things go."

Levy giggled.

"I’m much more interested in figuring out how to win Strongest Team with Marshall~"

Lucy froze.

"Wait! Levy, you’re already teaming up with Marshall?!"

"Eh? Of course."

Levy blinked.

"Oh, right. You joined later, so you wouldn’t know. Cana, Marshall, and I have basically been on the same team since we were kids. Juvia shamelessly forced her way in later, so there are four of us now."

"WHAT?!"

Lucy stared at her.

"Hold on! Doesn’t that mean Marshall’s team only has one spot left?!"

"Hmm... probably?"

Levy thought for a moment.

"I’m not sure whether Marshall plans to bring Wendy. Although Wendy probably won’t enter... maybe? Honestly, I don’t know."

"!!?"

Alarm bells exploded inside Lucy’s head.

At this moment, she was forced to consider whether this might be the only opportunity of her entire life.

Would she become Marshall’s teammate and win everything?

Or remain some nameless nobody lost among the crowd?!

No!

Absolutely not!

’I, Lucy Heartfilia, am the woman who’s going to become the Magic Queen!’

’How could I possibly stop here?!’

Burning ambition ignited in Lucy’s eyes.

Forget dignity.

Forget embarrassment.

She would bring every ounce of sincerity she possessed.

It was time to find Marshall...and apologize!!!