Chapter 275

Chapter 275: Chapter 275

Lucy was completely baffled when Erza suddenly invited her to Marshall’s house for a tea party.

She had certainly been worried during the few days Marshall was missing, but once he finally sent word that he was safe, she stopped thinking too much about it.

After all, this was Marshall they were talking about!

What kind of trouble could possibly happen to him?

It was usually everyone else who had to worry about Marshall causing trouble for them.

Lucy had even joined Erza’s search party at first, only for everyone to turn around halfway there once Marshall finally contacted the guild.

After they returned to Magnolia, Erza invited Lucy to a small gathering the following day. Lucy initially assumed it was just a normal get-together between the girls.

Then she arrived and looked around the room.

Erza.

Cana.

Mira.

Lisanna.

Levy.

Juvia.

Older Wendy.

Lucy stared at them for a moment.

Why did this lineup feel strangely familiar?

Then it clicked.

’Oh! They’re all models!’

Every girl in the room had served as the basis for either Guga or one of Marshall’s Apostles!

No wonder the gathering gave her such a bizarre sense of déjà vu.

Once everyone had arrived, Erza stood up to address them.

"Thank you all for coming. Cana suggested this tea party, and I was the one who organized it. I believe everyone here already understands why I invited you."

Lucy blinked.

’?’

Erza continued with complete seriousness.

"That’s right. Everyone here cares deeply about Marshall, and Marshall cares deeply about all of us. We’re all older sisters who love him."

Lucy froze.

’???’

She slowly pointed at herself.

’Wait.’

’She means thatkind of love, right?’

’She definitely means that kind, doesn’t she?’

’Me?’

’In love with Marshall?’

’Since when?! Why am I the last person to hear about this?!’

But when Lucy looked around, everyone else wore perfectly natural expressions, as though Erza had said something completely obvious.

That made Lucy begin doubting herself.

’Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe she just means girls who are close to Marshall. Haha... Of course that’s what she means.’

Then another thought followed immediately.

’But I’m not even that close to Marshall...’

Lucy generated approximately ten thousand complaints inside her head in the span of several seconds, but since nobody else objected, she felt too awkward to say anything herself.

Erza had already moved on.

"First, there’s something important we need to establish. There’s no question that Marshall has encountered a problem unlike anything he’s dealt with before. His situation cannot possibly be as easy as he claims. Otherwise, he wouldn’t refuse to come home, and he certainly wouldn’t keep avoiding our questions."

Her expression grew more serious.

"We’re the people closest to him. I want everyone to share anything Marshall told you privately so we can piece the information together and determine what kind of trouble he’s actually facing."

Erza folded her arms.

"We’re his older sisters. We cannot simply sit here and do nothing."

Cana immediately nodded, unusually solemn herself.

"Erza’s right. This is definitely different from anything before. You all know how lazy Marshall is. Back when we went on jobs in the wilderness together, he hated sleeping outdoors so much that he’d teleport home every single night."

She clicked her tongue.

"But now he disappears for several days, finally confirms he’s safe, and still refuses to come back? Instead, he’s building himself a house in the middle of nowhere so he can live out there?"

Cana’s expression darkened.

"He’s obviously hiding something because he doesn’t want us worrying about him. Seriously, that stupid little brother... Does he actually think being vague like this will make us worry less?!"

"Exactly!"

Levy practically jumped into the discussion.

"I think Cana’s idea was great. If idiot Marshall refuses to tell us what happened, then we’ll work it out ourselves. Everybody share whatever useful information you have. I’ll go first!"

She raised a finger.

"When I talked to Marshall yesterday, he told me there wasn’t anyone else with him, and he plans to stay on that deserted island for quite a while. That makes me think whatever trouble he’s dealing with probably isn’t related to another person."

That opened the floodgates.

Mira spoke next.

"I paid close attention to Marshall during our call last night. He didn’t appear injured, but his clothes were a complete mess and extremely dirty. I even noticed what looked like tiny pieces of shell stuck to them."

She rested one hand against her cheek thoughtfully.

"I think he may have been somewhere deep underwater. Could that have something to do with what happened?"

"Yes, yes!" Lisanna immediately added. "Marshall also accidentally mentioned that he hadn’t eaten anything for several days! But when I questioned him about it, he changed the subject right away. I think that’s a really important clue!"

Juvia followed with her own findings.

"According to Juvia’s observations, Marshall hasn’t met anyone suspicious recently. Marshall also admitted that he isn’t hiding from anyone. That should eliminate the possibility that an enemy is threatening him..."

Older Wendy raised her hand.

"When I asked whether we were going to continue our experiment, Marshall looked completely relaxed and said it was already finished. He told me he’d made a major breakthrough, and that once he came back, he should be able to help me open my First Origin."

She hesitated.

"He also said he might be able to save Simon now. That seems suspicious too."

"..."

Lucy stared at the group as everyone enthusiastically exchanged information.

Her mind went completely blank.

’Wait.’

’You’ve all been having private conversations with Marshall?’

’I went home, saw his message saying he was fine... and went straight to sleep.’

’Should I even be here?’

’I don’t belong in this room at all!’

"Lucy, what do you think?"

Lucy nearly jumped out of her chair.

Erza had apparently mistaken her silence for difficulty finding an opening in the conversation and kindly brought her into it.

Which only made things worse.

"Huh? Me? Uh... well..."

Lucy’s thoughts raced desperately.

"I think everyone already covered everything I was going to say! Ahaha... I don’t really have anything else to add at the moment."

’I’m so cooked!’

’There’s no way I can admit now that I didn’t even call him last night!’

’Why did I come here?! This is so embarrassing!’

Erza nodded reassuringly.

"That’s fine. If you think of any observations or possibilities later, just say them."

Lucy nodded frantically, deeply relieved to have survived.

At that moment, Levy pushed up her Gale-Force Reading Glasses, her expression suddenly becoming that of a detective who had reached a breakthrough.

"Based on everything we’ve gathered, Marshall isn’t being pursued by anyone, the place he’s staying is extremely harsh, and he doesn’t have any unfinished long-term experiment forcing him to remain there."

She paused for effect.

"My conclusion is that Marshall’s problem probably doesn’t come from his surroundings at all."

Everyone looked toward her.

"The problem is with Marshall himself."

Levy’s eyes sharpened.

"He isn’t unable to come home."

"He doesn’t want to come back and see us."

The room immediately became more serious.

"That makes sense. Maybe Marshall really is injured and is hiding it because he doesn’t want us to notice?"

"Could he have caught some kind of contagious illness? Maybe he’s afraid to be around other people?"

"An illness seems unlikely, but there must be some reason Marshall doesn’t want to appear in front of us. If we approach it from that direction, we can start narrowing down the possibilities..."

Lucy quietly shrank farther into her corner.

’What the hell?’

’Are all of you famous detectives now?’

’What qualifications do I have to sit in the same room as these people?!’

These women were terrifying.

The discussion continued with increasing enthusiasm.

For once, all the little rivalries and disagreements between them seemed to have disappeared as they worked together toward the same goal.

In another context, Lucy might have found the sight strangely inspiring.

Instead, she mostly found it surreal.

’Marshall already said he’s fine, didn’t he?’

’And it’s not like any of us are stronger or more knowledgeable than he is. Even if we figure out the real reason, what exactly are we supposed to do about it?’

Lucy wasn’t trying to be defeatist.

She genuinely couldn’t think of anything useful she could contribute.

Then another possibility crept into her mind.

’Or... am I this calm because I just don’t care about Marshall as much as they do?’

She frowned.

’That brat bullies me practically every day! How am I supposed to be deeply attached to someone who keeps picking on me?’

Yet as Lucy looked at the girls gathered around the table—people who had gone so far as to organize an entire meeting simply because Marshall was obviously hiding something from them—an odd feeling gradually rose inside her.

She couldn’t quite identify what it was.

But she definitely wasn’t happy.

’Wait.’

’Don’t tell me... I actually like Marshall too?’

Lucy immediately rejected the idea.

’No, no, no. Impossible!’

’Fine, I’ll admit he’s good-looking, but he’s only tolerable as an annoying little brother. As someone I’d actually date? Absolutely not.’

She folded her arms, trying to convince herself.

’Besides... Marshall probably doesn’t like me that way either.’

’If he did, he wouldn’t spend all day bullying me.’

Lucy stared quietly at the tea in front of her, increasingly unable to make sense of her own feelings.