FT: The Phantom Dragon Slayer Chapter 101: The Final Promise (1)

Chapter 101: The Final Promise (1)

The fourth day since we returned from Edolas.

Everything that happened over there is still vivid in my mind.

The guild has basically been in festival mode nonstop—the return of Lisanna, the new members, the celebrations… people have been drinking, dancing, laughing, and partying every day.

Back in Magnolia, everyone slipped right back into their daily lives, smiling like nothing had ever happened. I did too. Just like always, I started my morning with a hot shower. And honestly? That moment made me realize again—

home is the most comfortable place in the world.

The castle in Edolas was beautiful and luxurious, sure… but nothing beats the tiny apartment that smells like me, piled with my things.

“Aaaah~ This feels great♥ I really missed my own bathroom~”

“Yeah, it is a nice place~”

“Right? ………Eh?!”

“Good morning, Lucy.”

“KYAAAAAAAAAAA!! W–WALKER-SAN!? I’M TAKING A SHOWER RIGHT NOW!”

“I put up a curtain, didn’t I? Don’t worry. I just need to wash my face.”

And just like that, Edolas’s Ciel strolled in and casually washed up at the sink.

Yes. That Nightwalker.

The one who followed our Ciel here by so-called “soul sharing”…

The one who arrived and was instantly accepted by everyone in Fairy Tail…

The one who, after drinking with Master for one night, somehow became a Fairy Tail wizard despite having zero magical power.

And now…

…that same Nightwalker has been living in my house for four days.

At first, everyone suggested he stay at Ciel’s place.

Ciel immediately shot that down, practically shoving a bag of money into Nightwalker’s hands to stop it.

Nightwalker then blew through the entire bag of money in a single night.

And the next morning, he proudly announced:

“Lucy, I’ll be living with you for a while.”

And that was that.

I wanted to say no. I really did. But if I sent him to the girls’ dorm, it would turn chaotic. If he stayed with the guys, there’d be a fistfight before sunset. If he lived anywhere else, entire buildings might collapse.

So… I gave up.

“Sigh… Walker-san, even so, can you not come in when a lady is showering?”

“Sorry, sorry. I lived with Erza, remember? We bathed together every day, so I guess I forgot.”

“Y–You bathed… together!?”

“Well yeah. It was awkward to use the main castle baths, so we had a private bath in the annex. Erza was totally shameless about it. I was the only one embarrassed at first.”

“………”

This is how my mornings go now. He wanders home at dawn, barges into my bathroom, and when I scold him, he derails the conversation by casually dropping embarrassing couple stories from Edolas.

At this point, I don’t even get flustered anymore. He’s so pretty that living with him just feels like sharing a place with another girl. Even the landlady stopped protesting when he paid a full year of rent up front.

Honestly… shouldn’t he have just used that money to rent his own place?!

“Please be more careful next time.”

“Yeah, yeah. I will. Anyway, I’m going back to bed. Have a good morning, Lucy. Yaaawn~”

“You know… you’ve been doing nothing but lazing around lately.”

“Really? I’ve still been going on quests. Gotta earn pocket money somehow.”

“Then where do you spend it all!? If you’re that free with your wallet—share some with me!”

Walker-san always takes on insanely difficult quests—the kind with rewards equal to four months of my rent—and he completes three or four of those per day.

And then… he blows the entire sum partying at night. Eating. Drinking. Gambling. Who knows what else.

Of course, quests like that aren’t available every day, so honestly, it still feels like he spends more time slacking off than working…

When I scolded him for completely flipping his day-and-night schedule since coming here, he rummaged in his pocket and casually tossed a wad of cash into my hands.

“Here. I had some spare change left after last night. Go buy yourself some snacks.”

“Sp-spare change?! That’s at least 100,000 Jewels!! Are you sure I can take this?!”

“Take it, take it. The old man needs sleep now. Go hang out with Natsu or something~”

“Yes, ma’am!! I mean—yes, sir!!”

And just like that, my monthly rent problem vanished, and peace returned to my heart.

I got dressed at top speed, packed my bag, and headed toward the door. Walker-san was already back under the blanket, mumbling sleep noises.

“Ah, right! Walker-san, tonight the girls of Fairy Tail are doing a pajama party at the dorm, so I won’t be coming home. Okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Have fun~”

“Good night!”

…

That night, as usual, the female core members of Fairy Tail gathered in Erza’s room under the great banner of—

「Operation: Connect Ciel and Mirajane – Strategy Meeting, Round 2」

“The meeting is now in session!!”

“Yaaay~! I knew we’d end up doing this again!”

“This time we will succeed! After that, we can move on to Operation: Glorious Date Plan for Juvia and Gray-sama!”

“…Seriously, we’re doing this again?”

Erza’s proclamation ignited the room. Cana, Juvia, and Levy were already fired up.

Meanwhile, Mirajane shrank shyly into her soft pajamas and spoke in a tiny voice:

“Last time… Ciel just told me to wait. Maybe… maybe it’s better if I just wait for his answer quietly…”

“WHAT are you talking about?! Love is a battle! You have to attack, not defend!”

“Exactly! Juvia agrees! Waiting is suffering!”

Levy and Juvia, somehow more enthusiastic than the actual person involved, slammed their hands on the table.

But this time, I was fully on their side too.

Last time, Mira got nothing but a vague, unsatisfying non-answer.

We can’t have that again.

Not when we all want closure as much as she does.

“Mira, you keep retreating. That’s why the relationship stays stuck in this awkward ‘more-than-friends-but-not-quite-lovers’ limbo.”

“Erza… but…”

Erza folded her arms, sighed, and continued.

“For the record… Edolas-me confessed first.”

“Wait. You confessed to Walker-san? He didn’t confess to you?”

“Yes. I beat him in a duel, pinned him down, and declared—『Your name is Ciel. Blue like the sky, just like your hair. I won, so from this moment on, you are mine. You will live as Ciel Nightwalker, by my side for life.』 Then I dragged him to the castle.”

“Kyaaaaaaa♥ That version of Erza is so bold and commanding!”

“Wow… zero hesitation. That’s so Erza. In every universe.”

Everyone swooned in admiration instead of embarrassment.

Even I was stunned.

What a terrifyingly charismatic confession.

For a while, Erza continued talking about Walker-san and his Edolas married life.

Then we officially resumed Operation: Unite Ciel and Mirajane – Phase 2.

“Last time, the date spot was way too loud. So for this attempt… how about something calm and romantic?”

“Yeah. Ciel looked like he was just going along with whatever Mira wanted.”

“Ciel-san gives off a gentle vibe. I think he prefers quiet, peaceful places.”

“Right. With that in mind—this time I picked out several quieter scenic locations that don’t get crowded.”

“And I asked Cancer to put together an outfit that strikes straight at a man’s heart~! Full seduction power!”

“Girls…”

Mirajane’s voice trembled. Her cheeks turned soft pink, and she shyly twisted her fingers together.

“Thank you… really. But… do you think I can actually succeed? What if Elfman, or Lisanna… or Ciel himself still only sees me as family? What if things become awkward…?”

“Mira-nee, don’t worry about that! I’ve known for a long time that the way you look at Ciel-nii is not normal sibling affection. I’m actually happy I can finally help! If Ciel-nii becomes my brother-in-law, Elf-nii will definitely approve!”

“Lisanna… talking about this in front of my little sister is kind of embarrassing…”

And so, with Lisanna joining the team, our Operation gained even more firepower.

With support and encouragement coming from family and friends, Mirajane finally regained confidence. She leaned eagerly over the travel magazines Levy brought, asking for opinions and planning a proper date.

Seeing her like that—proactive, hopeful, and a little flustered—made all of us believe:

This time, it might actually work.

The mood was perfect.

Until—

“Well, well~ Ladies. Sounds like a pretty entertaining operation you’ve got going here?”

“W-WALKER-SAN?!!”

“W-WALKER?!”

“W-wait—this is the women’s dorm!!”

“HOW did you even get past the security patrols?!”

We all jumped up like we had seen a ghost.

There he was—Walker-san—standing right next to Erza, completely relaxed.

“How? I walked through the front door and opened the room. What else?”

“W-what…?!”

“Lucy told me about this, and I had a feeling something fun was brewing… so I came straight here right after waking up.”

Like it was the most natural thing in the world, he plopped down beside Erza, picked up one of the magazines on the floor, and started reading.

…Right. I almost forgot.

Walker-san has that unnerving ability to erase his presence and slip past people’s awareness at will.

After flipping through the pages, he reached into his sleeve, pulled out a bottle of liquor and a cup, took a casual sip, and spoke:

“Yeah. These spots might actually work. That guy definitely isn’t indifferent to you, Mira. That’s already obvious.”

“R-really?!”

“Sure. He just hasn’t realized it yet. He proved how much he cares. What’s left is simple. Either you break through his emotional walls, or you force him to face his feelings head-on. His wall is made of glass, not steel. Won’t take much to shatter it.”

As we watched, Walker-san pointed to a foggy lakeside town in the magazine… and then to a seductive, fluttery outfit on the next page.

“He likes that kind of style. Soft, mysterious, and a little provocative.”

“Are you sure…?”

“Our tastes are basically identical. So I’d say you have a 98% accuracy rate.”

“…And the other 2%?”

“That last 2%? That’s the margin of error because our personalities are total opposites. But aside from that, our tastes are basically the same. Oh, and—didn’t Wendy tell me that Ciel once got involved with a woman who fit that exact style I mentioned?”

“Ah—Sorano…”

“Lucy. Do not bring her up right now.”

“Y-Yes ma’am!!”

As I thought it over, Walker-san’s words made perfect sense. Sorano from Oración Seis was exactly the kind of woman Ciel-san might be drawn to.

The moment I clapped my hands and said her name, Mirajane’s sweet smile morphed into something terrifying, and I shrank back like a baby chick caught in a storm.

“Anyway,” Walker-san continued, “a one-day date won’t be enough. He’s thick-headed. Stay with him for two or three days at least. A long, slow approach will hit harder than a single evening.”

“Walker-san!! Thank you so much!”

“To think we’d gain such a reliable ally… I can feel the victory already.”

“Erza… if you get fired up, it won’t end well…”

“As expected—if you want to understand Ciel, you ask Ciel.”

With this unexpected reinforcement, our confidence shot through the roof.

And so, Operation: Confession – Round Two became even more serious.

....

The Next Morning

Fully prepared and full of resolve, Mirajane stepped into the sunlight.

A soft gray knit that fluttered at the shoulder, a skirt as white as snow, black stockings to contrast it, and her hair tied up in a ponytail. She looked like she had stepped straight off the cover of Sorcerer Weekly—no, she looked even better.

“Wow… you look incredible. Ilusian is definitely going to lose his mind.”

“Thank you, Walker-san. Thank you, Erza, Lucy, Levy… everyone. Truly.”

“All we did was help pick a date plan and an outfit.”

“But that alone gave me the confidence I needed. Lisanna, thank you too.”

“My wish is for Mira-nee and Ciel-nii to be happy. You have to succeed!”

“I will. This time, I’m going to get an answer from him.”

“Do it! Charge in, Mira!”

With everyone cheering, Mirajane nodded, gathered her courage, and walked through the guild doors.

The rest of us wrapped ourselves in Walker-san’s aura of AWE, using it to hide and sneak in after her. With backup this strong, we were certain—

This time, there was no way we could fail.

Hearts pounding, we watched with anticipation.

Until—

“Ciel-san!!”

“…And you are…?”

“Three years. For three whole years I’ve wanted to see you again!!”

“…Eh?”

Mirajane froze.

So did we.

Because right there, in the middle of the guild—

…was a drop-dead gorgeous, green-haired woman.

Clinging to Ciel.

Pressing her cheek to his shoulder.

And Ciel—did not push her away.

In fact, he gently held her, comforting her as she smiled in relief.

Just like that—

Our second confession mission, which we had prepared for with such passion, teamwork, and strategy…

collapsed before it even began.