As evening fell, almost everyone from Fairy Tail had mobilized to search for Loke. He had vanished without a word, leaving behind only a short note stating his intention to leave the guild. His sudden departure left everyone worried, and Chen Fan was among those who headed out to find him.
However, Chen Fan didn't search aimlessly. Instead, he kept a quiet watch outside Lucy's house. When he saw Lucy bolt out the door, he followed closely behind. They passed through a dark cave mouth, eventually reaching the grave of Karen Lilica.
The site was surrounded by massive, thundering waterfalls, and under the night sky, the stars shone with exceptional brilliance. Chen Fan stayed hidden in the shadows, watching Lucy and Loke.
Before long, the Celestial Spirit King manifested. Lucy successfully made Loke her own Celestial Spirit, but the immense strain on her Magic caused her to collapse into unconsciousness. Loke was then ushered back into the Celestial Spirit World by the King.
Suddenly, the Celestial Spirit King spoke. "Powerful existence from another world, do you have business with me?"
Realizing there was no point in hiding any longer, Chen Fan stepped out from the shadows of the cave entrance. He looked up at the Celestial Spirit King and greeted him with a grin. "Yo, hello there." His expression then turned serious. "How can you be so sure I'm from another world?"
"The aura of your soul is different," the Celestial Spirit King replied firmly. He didn't even give Chen Fan a chance to retort. Chen Fan sighed; he never understood why these old-timers loved acting so enigmatic.
"Fine, I don't really have any business," Chen Fan said, shaking his head. "But you've lived a long time. Do you know what happened on July 7, X777?"
"I do not."
"You're something else!" Chen Fan shot the King a middle finger at the blunt answer. His interest had evaporated; those secrets weren't important to him anyway, he was just asking for Natsu's sake. He walked over to Lucy, picked her up, and headed out of the cave.
Suddenly, Chen Fan stopped. Without turning around, he said, "By the way, don't tell anyone else I'm not from this world." As he spoke, he stomped his foot lightly.
"…!"
The waterfalls suddenly went silent, the rushing water freezing in place. It was as if time itself had stopped in the vicinity, leaving the area eerily empty. The only sound left was the rhythmic tap, tap of Chen Fan's footsteps.
Once Chen Fan's figure vanished into the cave tunnel, the waterfalls resumed their thundering roar. The Celestial Spirit King let out a long breath. Others might not have been able to sense Chen Fan's power,
but he could clearly feel the immense pressure radiating from the man's soul. He cast a deep, lingering look in the direction Chen Fan had gone before his own form slowly faded into the air.
Chen Fan carried Lucy through her window and gently laid her on her bed. Lucy's face was slightly flushed even in her faint, but her eyes remained tightly shut.
It was obvious she had woken up at some point, but the cliché scene from a third-rate romance novel didn't happen. Once Chen Fan set her down, he simply hopped back out the window.
Watching Chen Fan flee like a thief who had just committed a crime, Lucy sat up indignantly. She punched the edge of the bed. "Ow, that hurts!" She blew on her hand, but then a smile broke across her face. She pulled the covers over her head and drifted off to sleep.
The next day.
"You're a Celestial Spirit?" Natsu shouted in disbelief.
"Loke is?" Happy was equally shocked.
"Well, yeah, something like that," Loke said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"I knew something felt different about you," Natsu said, circling Loke and inspecting him thoroughly.
"I didn't notice a thing!" Gray remarked with a sigh.
"But you aren't a bull or a horse," Natsu said, looking confused.
Loke explained, "Natsu, you know Virgo, right? She has a human form too."
"No, that lady can turn into a giant gorilla."
"I guess that's true."
Lucy turned to Natsu and added, "Loke is the spirit of Leo."
Nearby, Chen Fan sat watching them with a smile. Mira brought over a glass of beer and set it in front of him. Chen Fan looked up, a bit surprised.
Mira leaned in and whispered into his ear, "You already knew, didn't you? About Loke being a Celestial Spirit."
Chen Fan smiled at her, leaning closer. "Don't you think this is a bit of an intimate position?"
Mira's face turned bright red. "Drop dead," she snapped, rolling her eyes at him.
"So," Mira continued, "once this mission is wrapped up, are you finally going to take a proper rest at the guild?"
"I don't know!" Chen Fan said, slumping onto the table. "I'm not the team leader. I'd love a break, though."
Suddenly, Natsu called out to him. "Chen Fan, come here! Loke got us some vouchers for Hotel Lizard! We're going to go relax!" After shouting to Chen Fan, he went back to chatting excitedly with Lucy and the others.
"Oh, alright," Chen Fan called back. He fell back into thought.
Mira poked him from the side. "See? Now you can rest there. It's not a job, so you don't even have to go if you don't want to."
"No, I have to go this time. Why don't you come along? I actually have shares in that hotel anyway," Chen Fan said.
"I can't," Mira said with a faint pout. "The guild is still under construction, and there's so much work waiting for me." Her look suggested that if he went, he'd be leaving her behind with all the chores.
"What are you all loitering for? Do you want to be left behind?" Erza's commanding voice rang out.
"That was fast!" Lucy and Gray complained in unison.
Chen Fan looked up to see Erza already dressed in a swimsuit with a lifebuoy around her waist. She was dragging a cart piled high with suitcases and bags. Chen Fan broke into a cold sweat. Even after all these years, he still wasn't used to Erza's habit of packing as if she were moving her entire house every time she went on a trip.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and follow us," Lucy said, looking back at Chen Fan, who was still in his chair.
"Yeah, coming." Chen Fan gave Mira an apologetic look before following the group. Mira stamped her foot in frustration.
"Mira-chan, can I get a beer over here?" Macao shouted.
"Get it yourself! I'm on break today!" Mira yelled back, tossing her towel onto the counter and stalking off.
Macao jumped, startled. He patted Elfman, who seemed to be dozing nearby, and whispered, "Elfman, what's up with your sister? Why is she so cranky?"
Elfman didn't even lift his head. "She probably got into a tiff with Big Bro Chen Fan. Don't worry, she'll forget about it by tomorrow."
"Oh, I see." Macao turned to Wakaba. "It's fine. Chen Fan probably got caught cheating by Mira. Let's keep drinking."
It was a good thing Chen Fan wasn't there, or Macao might have lost a few layers of skin for that comment.
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