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After riding the magic-powered train for most of the day, Noah and his group arrived in full force outside Boundary Forest, disembarking at Rose Garden Station over fifty kilometers away.
Boundary Forest was an ancient and dangerous primeval forest. Its trees, some hundreds or thousands of years old, grew as thick as weeds across the landscape, and enormous creatures had made their home within it. Some adventurers had even reported sighting legendary, long-extinct dinosaurs deep within its depths.
For safety reasons, when the Heartfilia Konzern and the local government had originally laid the railway, they had given the dangerous forest a wide berth. The line terminated instead at Rose Garden, the nearest city to the forest, still over fifty kilometers from its edge.
Gray and Happy dragged Natsu out of the carriage by his feet. The moment his body left the train, he came roaring back to life.
"This city is so lively! There's magic everywhere! I love it!"
Natsu, fully recovered, walked out of the station and took in the bustling scene beyond it. Vendors lined the streets, using magic to shape food and fashion handicrafts, color and energy filling every corner. He was immediately overcome with excitement.
His companions, Erza, Mirajane, and Lucy, were considerably less overwhelmed. They had done their research on the city before setting out.
Rose Garden was the most magic-passionate city on the Ishgar continent. Magic truly reached every household here in a way that even Magnolia could not quite match, though the two towns were evenly matched in terms of lively atmosphere. Most Rose Garden residents had no interest in using magic for fighting. They preferred commerce, craft, and performance.
Erza glanced at the sky. They had departed in daylight and arrived in darkness. "Everyone," she said, "let's check into the hotel Mirajane booked first. After that, feel free to do as you like."
She turned to Natsu, who was already edging toward the nearest food stall with Happy. "We head into Boundary Forest tomorrow. Don't stay out too late."
"Got it, got it."
Natsu nodded with great sincerity, then smoothly tossed the backpack he had been carrying to Noah beside him and bolted into the crowd with Happy without looking back.
Noah watched them disappear into the street and looked down at the bag in his hands.
He did not especially mind. The only things on him that could be called luggage were Cheese and Shirayuki, both currently attached to him, so his hands had been free anyway. The problem was that Natsu's wallet was in the bag he had just thrown.
Never mind. It's not my bill when they can't pay.
The thought of Natsu and Happy frantically washing dishes somewhere across the city actually improved Noah's mood considerably. At the very least, it meant the two of them would be occupied and out of trouble for the rest of the evening.
Mirajane, map in hand, led the group to the hotel she had booked in advance. After checking in and setting down their luggage, everyone drifted out to enjoy Rose Garden's rich and colorful nightlife.
Only Lucy, Éclair, and Momon stayed behind.
Éclair had no interest in the magical city. Momon stayed because she did. Lucy stayed because Anna had asked her to look after Éclair. If Zeref had not appeared with something urgent to discuss, Anna would have joined them for the trip into Boundary Forest.
Left with nothing in particular to do, Lucy wandered the room until she found a hotel menu tucked beneath the lamp. She brightened at once and went to find Éclair and Momon, who had been about to turn in for the night.
"This hotel has room service! Momon, I'll treat you both to a proper meal."
Throughout the journey, Lucy had tried every approach she could think of to connect with Éclair. No matter what topic she raised, Éclair responded in brief, flat bursts with no change in expression.
Lucy had been at a loss.
What she had noticed, however, was that Momon was cheerful and chatty, and genuinely apologetic whenever Éclair's terseness landed too bluntly. Lucy decided to try a different approach: get closer to Momon first, and let Éclair warm up in her own time.
This was not entirely calculation. In Lucy's eyes, Éclair looked the way a fallen leaf felt in a cool autumn wind, swept along with no direction and no destination, with no way of knowing when or where she would finally come to rest. That quiet, unspoken exhaustion made Lucy want to do something, even if it was only dinner.
Momon was thrilled at the offer. But as he looked over the hotel menu and took in the dazzling selection of local delicacies at their eye-watering prices, his expression stiffened slightly.
"Lucy, why don't you just order for yourself and Éclair? I'm not hungry."
What a considerate little soul.
Lucy reached out and gave his soft head a gentle pat. "Order whatever you want. I, Lucy Heartfilia, may not have much going for me, but I've never had a problem with money."
Reassured by Lucy's easy confidence, Momon relaxed and returned to the menu with enthusiasm, pausing every so often to check Éclair's preferences as he went.
Seeing his bright expression, Éclair uncharacteristically said nothing to dampen the mood. She selected two dishes quietly and left it at that.
The Heartfilia name clearly carried weight even in Rose Garden. A large cart of dishes arrived with surprising speed, and the aroma reached them before the cart had even cleared the doorway.
Lucy noticed, as the food was spread across the table, that something in Éclair's expression had shifted. The indifference had softened by the smallest degree.
Sure enough. No one can hold out against a good smell.
They had barely settled into the meal when the lights in the room went out. A cloaked figure wearing a mask materialized from the darkness without a sound. He raised his left hand. A hidden blade extended from his wrist, and a low male voice filled the room.
"Blade, go and drink their blood."
The moment the words left his lips, the blade shot forward, stretching and accelerating with a surge of white Magic Power, aimed directly at Lucy and Éclair.
The old Lucy might have grabbed Éclair and run. But she was different now.
She pulled out Leo's Celestial Spirit key and stepped forward.
"Open! Gate of the Lion! Loke!"
A familiar chime rang out as the golden gate began to form, and then stopped. A dark, eerie light faintly edged with white swept across the entire Celestial Spirit Gate, and with a heavy bang, it slammed shut and vanished.
Lucy stood staring at the space where it had been.
"Lucy, watch out!"
Momon launched himself at her and knocked her clear of the blade's path. The attack caught him instead, tearing through his plush body and scattering white stuffing across the floor.
Lucy snapped back to her senses. The room was dark, and she had not caught what had happened to Momon in her shock. She was already reaching for another key.
Gold keys. Silver keys. One after another, every summoning attempt met the same fate as the first. The Celestial Spirit Gate would not open.
A terrible thought struck her all at once.
Something big has happened in the Celestial Spirit World.