Mother and Daughter Meet

"Kana, hurry, we're going to miss the train!" (Laxus)

Hearing the shouts coming from the direction of the gate, the brown-haired girl turned her worried eyes.

"Don't worry, Old Suo will be fine, let's go!" (Laxus)

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Influenced by the person opposite her, the brown-haired girl finally felt relieved.

"Alright! In that case... let's set off then! (Kana)"

"Oh~~"

"Where are you two going?" (Gray)

Seeing the naked man walking towards them, the two running forward replied, "On a mission!"

"Oh, is that so!"

"I'm not talking to you anymore, we're going to miss our train!" (Kana)

Just as the three were passing each other, the black-haired boy, as if remembering something, suddenly asked, "By the way, have you seen Erza?"

"She received a request this morning and has already gone over to handle it! (Laxus)"

Since the three were already moving apart, the one in the middle was the first to hear the long trailing sound.

"That Armor Girl actually jumped the gun! How awful!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the White-haired girl dragged two white, wavy objects out of the guild's gate.

The naked man shook his head at the two billowing clouds that had disappeared into the distance, then walked toward the bulletin board.

Ogu Town, Trading Market

"Boom!"

Affected by the flying bricks and stones, pedestrians on the street quickly moved to one side, creating a fan-shaped blank area at the scene of the accident.

"What happened now? (Passerby A)"

"Heh! To cause such a commotion, those Phantom Lord must be causing trouble again!" (Passerby B)

"I can't stand these guys!" (Passerby C)

"Alright! They've done pretty well. If they had run into Fairy Tail, this city would probably be gone by now!" (Passerby Ding)

Shh! (Passerby A)

"You don't want to live, but we don't want to die either!" (Passerby A)

"Exactly!" (Passerby B)

"Sorry, I got too excited and forgot about that!" (Passerby Ding)

"Speaking of which, how did the relationship between their two families end up like this?" (Passerby C)

"As the saying goes, rivals are enemies. They're both mage guilds, and their styles are similar, so it's normal for them to dislike each other!" (Passerby B)

"While that's part of the reason, it's not the root cause of how things turned out this way." (Passerby A)

"Not this?!" (Passerby C)

"Why is that?" (Passerby C)

"I heard..."

Just as the passerby was about to spread his gossip, footsteps sounded from the dust.

"Hmph! You even dare to delay paying the Phantom Lord's commission fee, kid? Are you tired of living?"

Seeing the blue phoenix eyes hidden in the smoke, the onlookers shuddered, and then they began to speculate about the identity of the person.

"Hey... who's this guy? (Passerby A)"

"It should be Gajeel, right!? (Passerby B)"

"Is that the guy President Jose brought back from the Sea of Trees six months ago? (Passerby C)"

"That's him! (Passerby Ding)"

"That kid is only so small..."

As he spoke, Passerby A gestured with his hand and continued, "How could someone possibly have such strength?"

"This... (everyone)"

Just as they were filled with doubt and uncertainty, the smoke and dust slowly dissipated, revealing the truth hidden within.

"Crack!"

After swallowing the iron ring from his mouth, the dark-skinned boy stopped and pointed at the person on the ground, saying, "Now I'll give you two choices. One is to pay the outstanding fees immediately, and the other... hehe! I'll loosen up your muscles first, and then I'll take it back from you myself. Of course, the latter method might be a bit stimulating, so I advise you to choose the first one!"

"Gulp"

After suppressing his fear with salivary amylase, the person on the ground said, "You... you're not afraid of the Magic Council for doing this..."

"Huh!?"

"If this matter goes to the Magic Council, whose side do you think they will take?"

"And... are you sure you can take this matter to the Magic Council?"

Seeing the other person's clasped hands together, and recalling Phantom Lord's usual behavior, the man lying on the ground instantly cowered.

"Don't... don't get agitated! I... I'll give it to you! I'll give you the money!"

"Hmph! If you had done this earlier, none of this would have happened!"

After scoffing, the black-haired kid shouted behind him, "Leos, collect the money!"

After saying that, the black boy turned and left the scene of the crime. At the same time, an even younger black-haired boy ran up.

"You can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't measure the sea with a bucket. I never expected Gajeel to be so powerful!" (Passerby A)

"Heh! I don't care how powerful Gajeel, all I want to know is what you didn't finish saying earlier! (Passerby B)"

"Me Too!" (Passersby C and D)

"Unfinished business? What unfinished business? (Passerby A)"

Seeing the bewildered look on the person involved, the passerby said speechlessly, "It's that one... that one!"

"Oh~"

"That one!!!"

Looking at the three people nodding at him, Passerby A stroked his beard and then said smugly in a low voice, "My cousin once stayed with the Grimoire Heart for a while. He said that... the reason why the two families became like this is because a few years ago, Guild Master Jose was defeated by a Fairy Tail mage and even lost the guild's treasure to him."

"No... no way!?" (Passerby B)

"Really! I'm not kidding! (Passerby A)"

"Holy crap! Doesn't that mean... the power of Fairy Tail...?" (Passerby C)

Shh! (Passerby A)

"That's enough, let's all go home and find our own mothers!"

After saying that, Passerby A turned around and left. The others exchanged glances and then followed suit.

Philiers, Council Hall

"Miss Erza, please wait here for a moment while I inform Her Highness the Empress!"

Hearing the soft, sweet voice beside her, the Crimson, who was stunned by the building in front of her, instantly snapped back to reality.

"Okay! Thank you for your help!"

After bowing respectfully to the Crimson, the green-haired masked woman walked towards the massive palace gate above.

"That's amazing!"

"I'm so excited to see what Her Highness the Empress looks like!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

After calming her excitement and nervousness by circulating her internal energy, Crimson tidied herself up. Little did she know, the Crimson inside was even more nervous than she was; otherwise, the Little Crimson wouldn't be wasting time here.

"Diphiya, do I... do I look alright now?"

Looking at the Great Crimson hands roaming all over her body, and the Her Highness the Grand Princess who was frantically gnawing on a seven-colored crystal, she said indistinctly, "Sister-in-law, you're beautiful even without makeup, let alone now!"

"Oh dear... you don't understand, this is the first time we've met, and..."

Seeing the usually dignified and aloof Her Highness the Empress become flustered, the Grand Princess reminded her, "Sister-in-law, my brother said that now is not the time to acknowledge each other. Don't... act impulsively!"

"I know... I know!"

"But..."

"Sister Irene, don't keep thinking about what will happen if you fail. Instead, think more about how to get along with her in the future. (Ace)"

"Yes, Sister Irene! (Lilia)"

"The first time isn't scary, because there are many more times waiting for you!" (Gwell)

"Really?"

"Of course! (Athena)"

Compared to Diphiya, an underage girl, the words of Ace and the other mature mothers carried much more weight, and thus the Empress's panicked mind gradually calmed down.

"Your Empress, Lord Vede and Tingmei request an audience!" (PS: Vede White is Rob's alias in Erus)

"Please let them in!"

"Yes!"

"Miss Erza, Her Highness the Empress summons you to an audience!"

"Please lead the way, Miss Gwell!"

"Please come with me!"

As they spoke, the two walked slowly upwards, one after the other.

After following the masked woman into the main hall, Erza discovered that the Empress was not the only one waiting for her.

"Your Empress, Erza has arrived!"

"You stand to the side first!"

"Yes!"

The moment the figure in front left, Little Crimson, regaining her senses, immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"Erza Sch karet, a commoner, greets Empress Irene!"

"Please rise!"

Upon hearing the order from above, Little Crimson slowly stood up.

"Ah?!"

"What? Is there something wrong with me?"

Sensing the gaze from above, Little Crimson immediately lowered her head.

"N-nothing!"

"Cough cough!"

Upon hearing a soft cough from the side, Little Crimson instantly realized her rudeness.

"I was momentarily agitated and spoke without thinking. I beg Your Empress's forgiveness!"

"Hehe!"

"It's alright... it's alright!"

The intense light that seemed to dance across every corner of her body made Little Crimson extremely uncomfortable, so she straightened up and hurriedly asked, "I wonder what Your Her Highness the Empress has summoned me for this matter?"

After Erza finished speaking, the Great Crimson above remained silent, but the purple-haired girl standing to the side spoke up.

"Miss Erza, I've called you here today because I have something I'd like to ask you to do!"

"And you are...?"

"Uh... excuse me, I forgot to introduce myself. I am the Minister of Intelligence of the Erus Empire, Tingmei Exa!"

"Hello...!"

"Haha! You don't need to be so formal, just treat this as a casual chat between friends!"

"Then... then..."

"Well, we've heard that you're an excellent knight and a superb mage, so we'd like to commission you and Vede Wade White's investigation team to investigate something."

As Tingmei spoke, the silver-armored knight standing to the side bowed to Erza. (Because the silver armor completely concealed the knight, and his appearance beneath had changed drastically, Little Crimson did not recognize his true identity.)