Year 784, January, Fairy Tail Guild.
The afternoon sun streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting colorful patterns on the wooden floor of the Guild Hall, and the faint scent of ale wafted through the air.
Ezreal leaned lazily against the sofa by the window, his fingers gently scratching Yuumi's chin. The cat purred contentedly, her eyes half-closed.
"Ah~ So comfortable~" Yuumi rolled over, exposing her fluffy belly. "Scratch a little more on the left~"
"You're quite the connoisseur, cat." Cana sat opposite him, shuffling a deck of tarot cards, a smile playing on her lips.
She drew a card and looked at it, then suddenly raised an eyebrow: "Hmm? Today's fortune card is 'Partner'."
Ikaruga, who was wiping her long sword, looked up at the remark: "'Partner'? Is that a good omen?"
"Of course!" Cana turned the card to show everyone. "The card indicates an important opportunity for teamwork today~"
Marcus, who was hunched over a table, shaping a small cat out of gold sand, perked up immediately upon hearing this: "Teamwork? Are we going on a Guild Request together?"
"All you know is fighting." Yukino, holding a cup of hot tea, muttered softly.
She looked at the gold sand cat Marcus had made and couldn't help but poke it. "But… it really looks like Yuumi."
"Right, right!" Marcus proudly shook his head. "I practiced for a long time! Look at this—"
He then shaped a miniature Evil Wolf. "Ezreal's Summoned Beast!"
Ezreal couldn't help but laugh: "It's a shame your skill isn't used for street performances."
"Hey!" Marcus protested. "This is proper gold sand magic!"
Ikaruga suddenly reached out and picked up the gold sand Evil Wolf, examining it closely: "It really does look like it. Marcus, your control has improved a lot."
"Really?" Marcus's eyes lit up, then he feigned a deep cough twice. "Ahem, well, of course, after all, I'm going to be an S-Class man!"
"You?" Cana mercilessly debunked him. "Who was it last time during the assessment whose hair stood on end after Laxus zapped him with lightning?"
"Th-that was an accident!" Marcus's face flushed. "And my hair went back to normal right away, okay?!"
Yukino watched them bicker, then suddenly couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
Ezreal noticed her smile and asked gently, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing…" Yukino shook her head, her fingers unconsciously tracing the rim of her teacup. "I just feel… it's really nice when everyone is together."
Upon hearing this, Cana suddenly leaned over and slung an arm around Yukino's shoulder: "Of course it is! We're Fairy Tail!"
"Hey, hey, Cana," Marcus pointed at Yukino's teacup. "Be careful, the tea's going to spill."
"Ah! Sorry, sorry!" Cana quickly let go, but accidentally knocked over the sugar bowl on the table.
Just as the sugar bowl was about to fall, Ikaruga's long sword flashed out—
"Swish!"
With a flash of the blade, the sugar bowl rested steadily on the sword, not a single grain of sugar spilled.
"Wow!" Yukino's eyes widened. "Amazing!"
Ikaruga calmly placed the sugar bowl back on the table: "It's nothing."
Ezreal smiled as he watched the group, took a sip from his water glass, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.
Ikaruga was steady, Cana was outgoing, Marcus was enthusiastic, and Yukino was reserved.
Each of these individuals had their own characteristics, and all of them had a deep relationship with him.
Cana and Marcus went without saying; Ikaruga and Yukino had both joined the Guild at his invitation.
Among his Guild companions, besides the naturally friendly Erza, Natsu, and Gray, Ezreal was closest to these few.
As the year 784 arrived, Ezreal knew very well that Fairy Tail's main storyline was about to begin.
He had recently received a greeting letter from Lucy, in which she said she had completed the learning tasks arranged by her father and had also received her father's permission to join Fairy Tail. He estimated he would see her by spring.
According to the timeline, Lucy should have joined the Guild in June or July of 748 in the original work.
After all, not long after dealing with a few things, the S-Class assessment took place, and everyone was forced to sleep on Tenrou Island for seven years.
With his influence, Lucy's joining the Guild was brought forward, but it would only be a matter of months before they would face the Oración Seis of the Balam Alliance.
Ezreal had an idea: to take reliable people and deal with these troubles in advance.
Although in the original work, the main characters handled it with some close calls, now there was a hidden organization that worshipped the Moon Demon.
Ezreal was now unsure which parallel world he was in.
However, what he could confirm was that it was most likely not the main Fairy Tail world with a happy ending.
Since it was heading towards two different doomsday scenarios, changing everything by one person's power alone was almost a pipe dream. It would be better to combine everyone's strength and deal with what could be handled in advance.
Ezreal was very confident that the Guild's current strength, after nearly two years of internal training, was at least a significant step up from the original work.
In the Guild, there was only the old man as a visible Ten Wizard Saints.
However, Gildarts, whose strength was even above the Guild Master, was a Twelve Shields-level combatant. His strength was likely on par with, or even stronger than, the Ten Wizard Saints' leader, Selene.
After all, Selene was instantly killed by a single claw from Acnologia shortly after her appearance, while Gildarts at least survived a blow from Acnologia and escaped, albeit with a crippled body.
And Laxus, after dealing with the Newborn City incident last year, had further improved his strength. Almost no one in the Guild could force him to use his full power.
Ezreal had also fought Laxus; even with all his Summoned Beasts out and all buffs applied, he only barely managed to retreat unscathed.
With such terrifying strength, Ezreal vaguely felt that Laxus might have already reached a level close to the Guild Master's.
Erza's strength had also grown stronger, seemingly because her younger siblings were sent back by Jellal, and knowing that Jellal had reformed. Her belief in protecting her companions became purer, and her strength progressed faster and faster. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before she reached the Ten Wizard Saints level.
Mystogan's situation was self-explanatory, as he was going back to his hometown to inherit the throne.
Adding himself, Cana, and Ikaruga, all three of their strengths were approaching the Ten Wizard Saints level.
The overall strength of the Guild practically dominated the entire Fiore Kingdom.
Ezreal planned to form another team without affecting the original lineup of the main characters, and with the advantage of information, deal with the easier problems first.
And these four people in front of him were excellent candidates.
Ezreal thought, his eyes growing brighter. He put down his water glass and cleared his throat: "Speaking of which… the few of us have been going on Guild Requests together frequently lately, and we've been working quite well, haven't we?"
"Hmm?" Cana stopped bickering with Marcus and turned her head. "What, do you have an idea?"
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