Deep in the night, in the Fairy Tail Guild library, moonlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting dappled star patterns on the floor.
The crackling of the firewood in the fireplace occasionally mingled with the rustling sound of a quill moving across parchment.
Considering that writing late at night might disturb others sleeping in the dorms, Levy had recently been doing all her writing in the Guild library.
Fortunately, she had promised Natsu to write his adventure stories into a book first, so Levy had the two little cats, Yuumi and Happy, to keep her company in the empty library.
Yuumi was a bonus; she usually lived in the Guild hall. When there was nothing going on, Ezreal generally didn't bother her, and if something serious happened, she wouldn't be much help anyway. So, she was usually left at the Guild, and Mira and Natsu and Happy would look after the little one.
Mira was essentially a permanent NPC at the Guild; she handled requests, worked as a waitress, and was the cashier. She was Yuumi's longest-contact human companion.
Natsu had a successful track record of raising Happy, so taking care of Yuumi was a piece of cake for him.
As for Happy, he was already a cat, so it was perfectly reasonable for two small cats to have a common language.
In the entire Guild, the three of them had the best relationship with Yuumi.
Well, after Millianna arrived, she counted as one too.
After Levy and Happy settled into the library, the little one eagerly volunteered to accompany her.
Levy pushed up her round-rimmed glasses that had slipped to the middle of her nose, a tiny smudge of ink still clinging to her nose tip.
Spread out before her were the adventure notes Natsu had helped her organize—the edges of this notebook had noticeable coffee stains and a few places that looked like they had been singed by flames.
"Natsu bravely charged through the blizzard..." Levy murmured the sentence she had just written, frowned, and crossed out the line with her quill. "This is too ordinary."
She chewed on the pen for a moment, thinking, then rewrote: "Natsu shattered the glacier like a burning meteor, his scorching flames carving a dazzling trajectory through the extreme cold..."
"That's much better." She nodded in satisfaction, only to suddenly realize her elbow was pressing on a discarded draft.
Looking around, there were already thirty-seven crumpled paper balls scattered at her feet.
Yuumi, the blue cat, purred softly, sprawled on the manuscript paper, her tail unconsciously swishing.
Suddenly, that fluffy tail brushed against the ink bottle—
"Wait! Yuumi!"
Levy cried out, but it was too late.
The ink bottle toppled, and dark ink was about to drown her freshly completed manuscript.
She lunged to rescue it, but bumped into a towering stack of reference books nearby.
"Bang!"
The book tower crashed down, startling Happy, who was hanging upside down from the ceiling light fixture.
"Aye?! What happened?!" The little blue cat flapped his wings in a panic, only to plummet headfirst into Levy's recently organized pile of documents.
"Happy! My reference materials!"
Levy fumbled to catch the scattering papers, but accidentally stepped on Yuumi's tail.
The cat yelped and jumped, knocking over another stack of books.
When everything finally settled, the library was in utter chaos.
Levy slumped amidst a pile of books, a few quill feathers still clinging to her hair.
She checked her pocket watch—3:15 AM.
"Never mind..." She sighed, "At least the manuscript is safe."
However, just as she was about to continue writing, the library door was flung open.
"Levy! I've got a super—awesome idea!"
Natsu burst in like a whirlwind, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
He snatched the manuscript Levy had just finished, completely oblivious to the writer girl's instantly frozen smile.
"Look here!" Natsu poked the manuscript paper with a finger stained with barbecue sauce. "'Shattered the glacier like a burning meteor'? Too ordinary! It should be written as 'The Fire Dragon's wings tore through the clouds, and his scorching breath instantly vaporized the entire glacier'!"
Levy's mouth twitched: "Natsu, this is a literary work, not a battle report, and it's too exaggerated..."
"And here!" Natsu wasn't listening at all, continuing to excitedly flip through the manuscript. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art should be in bold gold! It would be even better if it could have flame patterns embossed on the pages!"
Levy watched in despair as her manuscript was flipped through by Natsu.
When she finally retrieved the manuscript, she discovered:
Page three was covered in flame doodles;
Page five had suspicious grease stains (smelling like grilled fish);
What made her completely collapse was a crooked signature on the back cover: "Strongest Dragon Slayer Mage Natsu Dragneel."
"Natsu!!!"
Her scream woke up half the Guild.
"What's wrong, what's wrong?" Jet walked in, rubbing his eyes, holding a bottle of potion with purple bubbles. "I heard a scream and... woah."
He stared dumbfounded at the chaotic library and Levy, whose hair was standing on end.
"Want to try my new invention? A refreshing and invigorating potion!" Jet tried to lighten the mood. "Though it might make your hair stand up for three hours..."
Levy grabbed the potion bottle and chugged it down.
"Uh, wait, that dosage is..."
Too late.
Levy's short blue hair exploded with a "poof," forming a perfect sphere.
She pushed up her glasses, the lenses reflecting a dangerous white light.
"Natsu Dragneel." Her voice was terrifyingly calm. "I'm giving you two choices. First, leave the library immediately; second, I'll throw you out to cool down."
Natsu swallowed: "I choose one! Leaving right now!"
Just as he turned to flee, Droy's smiling sunflower on the table suddenly bloomed from the pile of books, spraying golden-yellow pollen all over Happy's face.
"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"
Happy's 연속 sneezes stirred up a small whirlwind, and Levy's carefully organized manuscript pages once again flew everywhere.
"No—my manuscript!"
Levy desperately reached out to grab them, but only caught a page marked "Chapter Three."
She knelt on the floor, her exploded hair slowly falling, looking like a small animal drenched in rain.
Just then, the window was suddenly knocked open by something. A small frog in a postman's uniform hopped in, spitting out a letter stamped with a red "URGENT" seal from its mouth.
Levy's trembling hands tore open the letter; it was an urgent message from the editor of "Weekly Sorcerer":
"Dear Miss Levy McGarden:
Today at 12 PM is the final deadline. If the manuscript is not submitted on time, the initial print run will be halved.
—Your anxiously awaiting editor"
Levy checked her pocket watch—3:38 AM.
She let out a wail, burying her face in her manuscript.
"Need help?"
A gentle voice came from above her head.
Levy looked up to see Mira smiling at her.
"Sister Mira..." Levy's voice was tearful, "I'm finished. I definitely won't be able to finish before the deadline..."
Mira knelt down and gently patted Levy's shoulder: "Let me see?"
She took the stack of terribly abused manuscripts and quickly skimmed through them.
"Isn't this written very well?" Mira said with a smile, "It's full of the unique vitality of Fairy Tail."
"But Natsu's doodles, and the page numbers..."
"That actually makes it more authentic, you know." Mira winked, and while Levy wasn't looking, she quietly slipped the manuscript to the postman frog. "I believe readers will love it."
Before Levy could stop him, the frog had zipped out the window with a "whoosh."
"Wait! That's not the final draft!"
Mira held back Levy, who was about to chase after him: "Sometimes, perfectionism can stifle the soul of a work."
She gently smoothed Levy's messy hair, "You're too stressed, Levy. Relax, and trust yourself and your readers."
Levy opened her mouth, then finally sighed: "Alright..."
Just then, the library door was pushed open again.
Natsu poked his head in: "Levy! For the ultimate move, don't use Guren Bakuenjin! How about 'Crimson Phoenix Sword'?"
A cross mark appeared on Levy's forehead.
She suddenly stood up, a magic circle composed of ancient texts unfolding beneath her feet, and a rainbow of light abruptly flared.
"Natsu Dragneel!" Her voice held a dangerous calm. "I warned you!"
"Wait! I just... Waaah!"
The magic circle glowed intensely, white letters forming chains that wrapped around Natsu, suspending him upside down, and then he was thrown out through the third-floor window.
But he still wouldn't give up, shouting: "At least change the name of the ultimate move! 'Crimson Phoenix Sword' is really cool!"
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