The Talk

Asta POV

"So, you're from the Eastern Continent?" Lucy Heartfilia, the blonde-haired mage, asked again, clearly seeking confirmation.

"Yes..." I lied as easily as I breathed.

Not long after our arrival, we all gathered in the town square before Mercphobia led us to his underwater lair. This was where the real discussions were to take place—to exchange answers, and frankly, to get us out of the way so the Erminans could start rebuilding their town.

Alongside my own group—Noelle, Yuno, and the others—there was the full Fairy Tail squad. Mercphobia himself was here too, along with his loyal companion Karameel. As we made our way through the lair, I nudged Noelle and Yuno, giving them a silent but firm reminder to stay quiet. As a master of Ki, I had more than just the ability to sense others' emotions. I could also detect lies and truths, and perhaps most importantly, I knew how to use that knowledge to be a skilled liar myself.

Though we were open to cooperating with these Fairy Tail mages, we weren't about to spill every secret about who we were or where we came from. We'd already disclosed more than enough to Elefseria, and I wasn't keen on giving that kind of leverage to strangers. I didn't sense any malicious intent in their Ki, but that didn't mean I was going to blindly trust them. Earthland, as Elefseria made clear, had a complicated history with outsiders, and Fairy Tail had been at the heart of some of those unpleasant encounters. We weren't in a hurry to test how well our true origins would be received.

I made sure Noelle and Yuno understood—let me handle the talking. Between the three of us, I might not be the sharpest, but I was the least likely to let something slip that they shouldn't know. If Elefseria had given me access to the Spirit Library, I could have made our story so airtight even I'd start believing it.

"So, why exactly are you here?" Erza Scarlet, the crimson-haired swordswoman, asked. She was direct, her question hanging in the air.

"We're here for the same reason you are. If you can travel across continents to go after this quest, why can't we?" I retorted, watching as she fell silent, caught off guard.

"Because assigning the same quest to multiple parties is a grand breach of etiquette, young man," came an unexpectedly mature voice. I glanced down and blinked in surprise at the small, white Exceed who'd just called me 'young man.' Despite her sophisticated manner of speech, I had a strong hunch I was older than her. Still, I kept my expression neutral.

"Well, that sounds like a problem you'll have to take up with the old man. After traveling for months to fulfill his commission, it's not like he could just reject us, right?"

"Why not?" Natsu Dragneel, the other Dragon Slayer with the pink hair, asked, picking his nose casually as he stared at me.

"Aye, sir! Why not?" His blue cat chimed in with unbridled enthusiasm.

I stared at them both blankly, momentarily at a loss. How do I even respond to that? Bro, do you have any common sense?

"Because it's rude, idiot!" A voice snapped, rescuing me from having to think of a reply. I turned, ready to nod in appreciation, only to freeze. The voice had come from a man who was... completely naked.

"Eeehhh, pervert!" Noelle shrieked in embarrassment, and I immediately stepped forward to shield her view. Lucy, Wendy, and Karameel all cried out in unison, mirroring her horror.

Erza, however, was completely unfazed. With the calm precision of someone long accustomed to dealing with such antics, she stood, walked over, and smacked the naked man—Gray Fullbuster—across the head. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"Put on some clothes, Gray," she ordered in the tone of a tired single mother, and I couldn't help but sweat-drop at the surreal scene.

"Hahaha, that's what you get, stripper!" Natsu doubled over in laughter, clearly reveling in his friend's misfortune.

"Aye, sir!" The blue cat, Happy, echoed once again.

"But anyway!" Natsu suddenly straightened, his laughter replaced by a more serious expression as flames began to dance along his fingers. He pointed directly at me.

"You beat the guy..." He gestured to Leviathan, perched on Noelle's shoulder. "Who kicked his ass..." He pointed to Mercphobia, who merely watched the scene blankly as Karameel spluttered indignantly.

"How dare you insult the great Sea God, you plebeian—!"

But Natsu ignored her entirely and continued, "Who kicked our ass!" He clenched his fist, his flames flaring with intensity. "You're strong... fight me, you bastard!"

How rude. But I could sense the fierce determination in his Ki. My gut told me that this guy was way stronger than he appeared. "Okay," I replied simply.

The silence that followed was deafening. Every Fairy Tail mage stared at me in utter shock. Even Natsu seemed dumbfounded.

"S-seriously?" he stammered, as if unable to believe what he'd just heard.

"Y-yes?" I confirmed, already regretting it a little. "Why are you so surprised?"

"B-because..." Was he... crying? I watched in disbelief as tears and snot started streaming down his face. "T-this is always the part where people say no! And then I have to follow them around and annoy them until they say yes!"

So you know you're annoying?

"B-but you said yes on the first try!" He grabbed both my shoulders, his grip like iron. "Y-you're such a nice guy! Isn't he, Happy?"

"A-aye, sir!" The cat jumped onto Natsu's head, equally tearful, before they both enveloped me in a crushing bear hug. How did this guy manage to wrap his arms around my bulk like that?

"I'm sorry for calling you a bastard," Natsu blubbered. "From now on, we're friends, Asta!"

"O-okay, I get it! Let go!" I groaned, straining to break free from his ironclad grip. For all my strength, it took way more effort than I expected. No way this guy's human.

After finally managing to free myself from Natsu's bone-crushing hug, I struggled to meet Yuno's gaze. My brother stood off to the side, hands covering his face in visible secondhand embarrassment. Seriously, bro? Fuck you too.

Before I could say anything, a voice broke through the awkwardness. "So, I've been meaning to ask... what are those books?" The question came from none other than Mercphobia, who had been quietly observing until now.

I raised my head, somewhat surprised that the Sea God himself had spoken up. "They're called grimoires," I answered, keeping my tone casual. "They're standard magic tools from back home that allow mages to hone their attributes more easily." The key to a good lie is to mix in just enough truth to make it believable. I didn't specify what home was, and that omission was deliberate.

The reason we'd chosen to claim we were from the Eastern Continent in the first place was simple: it was a vague and isolated region with little information even in the Spirit Library. Few books discussed it in detail, and Elefseria's notes mentioned it only briefly—describing it as a cluster of remote island nations. If even the Dragon of Law, a being of unparalleled wisdom and knowledge, knew little about it, then the odds of someone else seeing through our story were slim to none.

And as long as Yuno was with us, the chances of us being unlucky enough to encounter someone who actually knew about the Eastern Continent were even smaller.

"I see." Mercphobia nodded, accepting my explanation without a hint of doubt. Naturally, he had no reason to question us.

I was about to add something else, but Mercphobia continued, his tone shifting. "The White Mage took 99% of my magic, but I still have enough left to sense that you have none. What's that about?" His eyes narrowed, suspicion lacing his words as he focused on me.

Suddenly, all eyes were on me, waiting for an explanation. There was a time when that level of scrutiny would've made me hesitate, but I'd prepared for this moment. Yuno and I had coordinated our response long before this situation arose, knowing full well it was only a matter of time before someone asked.

"You're right," I said calmly, meeting Mercphobia's gaze. "I can't use magic." The group stayed silent, clearly expecting more of an explanation, so I didn't keep them waiting. "I use a curse."

As I expected, Mercphobia nodded in understanding, though the rest of the Fairy Tail members tensed. I noticed even Natsu, who moments ago had been annoyingly close, took a cautious step back. Karameel, on the other hand, looked utterly bewildered, clearly out of her depth.

"Yes, the same kind of curse you're thinking about," I continued, seeing the tension rise. "Like the ones from the Book of Zeref—the demons you fought in Tartaros."

"How do you know about that?!" Several of the Fairy Tail mages echoed the same question, shock evident in their expressions.

"Elefseria told us," I replied smoothly, another lie sliding easily into place. "He wanted to make sure that if we met, we could explain things properly to avoid any misunderstandings that might lead to conflict." One lie leads to another, each one filling the gaps and keeping the story airtight.

"How does he know all that?!" Natsu demanded, suddenly up in my face again, his usual intensity flaring back to life.

"Because his dragon slayer attribute is Law," Yuno finally broke his silence, just as we'd planned. It would've been suspicious if I did all the talking, so we agreed that Yuno should handle anything that involved cold, hard truths—stuff we didn't need to hide and that the Fairies were bound to find out sooner or later.

"Law?" Lucy asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"The ability to grasp and decipher all the knowledge and wisdom the world has to offer," Noelle chimed in, her voice steady but her cheeks slowly returning to their normal color after the earlier incident with Gray. Although, she still wasn't shy about shooting invisible daggers at him with her eyes. Even though he was now fully clothed, Gray was sweating under the weight of her unspoken promise of retribution.

"So, what's your curse? You don't look like an Etherious," Erza asked, her eyes narrowing as she studied me carefully.

"Well, technically it's not my curse." I shrugged and gestured to Liebe, who was lounging on my shoulder, a mischievous grin plastered across his face. He waved at them, his devilish glee apparent. "I made a contract with Liebe here to use his curse: Antimagic. Pretty straightforward from the name, right? He's not an Etherious—he's a natural demon, not one created by Zeref."

It wasn't inaccurate to call Antimagic a curse. After all, it was born from Liebe's hatred of the world and his deep-seated resentment toward Lucifero for taking our mother's life. In a sense, Antimagic was a purer curse than Megicula's spells, which were really just powerful tortures fueled by mana.

"Antimagic? So that's how you were able to injure a dragon without dragon slayer magic!" Gray exclaimed, the realization dawning on him.

"So the strong one is actually you!" Natsu grinned, his face lighting up as he leaned in closer to Liebe. "Fight me!"

"Uh, no, I'm weak, bro," Liebe cut him off before Natsu could get the wrong idea.

Natsu blinked in confusion, staring at him like he couldn't quite process that.

"We both are," I clarified. "Alone, we're useless. I'm magicless, and Liebe's too weak to fully use his curse on his own. It's only when we work together, with him channeling his power through my body, that we can unlock the true potential of Antimagic."

"Fascinating," Carla commented thoughtfully, her feline eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"It's...cool of you to admit that," Wendy stammered shyly. Her awkwardness was endearing, and I had to resist the urge to laugh. A few hours ago, I wanted to make fun of Yuno for calling someone else socially awkward, but now? Damn, this girl makes even my stoic brother look like a social butterfly.

"So, now that you've had your share of questioning, we believe it's our turn?" Noelle asked, standing up with a determined look, her gaze shifting toward the Fairy Tail members.

They exchanged a few glances, then nodded in acceptance, clearly satisfied with the answers they had gotten so far.

Noelle took a deep breath, steadying herself before speaking again. "The first thing is... we were wondering if you'd be willing to work together on this quest?"

She was met with blank stares, which only made her fidget nervously. She gulped, then quickly elaborated. "You see, if we work together, we could cover each other's weaknesses and complete the quest faster and easier—"

"That's it?" Before she could finish, Natsu burst into laughter, cutting her off. "I thought you were gonna ask for something crazy or weird!" He pointed at Noelle, still laughing.

"Y-yeah?" Noelle replied sheepishly, clearly caught off guard by the response.

"Oh man," Gray chuckled, looking up as if relieved. "For a second, I thought this was going to get uncomfortable."

"Isn't it normal to work together on a quest?" Erza added with an encouraging smile in Noelle's direction, sensing her unease.

"Yeah! I'd love to get to know you all better—and be friends!" Lucy chimed in, her usual warmth evident in her tone.

"U-um... I-I t-think m-me and Mister Yuno would make a g-good team!" Wendy stammered out nervously, eyes squeezed shut as if too embarrassed to even look in Yuno's direction. But I could sense the amusement rolling off of Yuno in his Ki. He wasn't showing it outwardly, but I could tell her awkwardness entertained him.

"Well, it'll be nice working with you all," Carla said, trying to smooth things over as always.

"Aye, ma'am!" Happy added with his usual enthusiasm.

"So, that's it? Or do you guys have anything else to ask?" Natsu asked, throwing an arm around my shoulder as if he'd already decided we were all in this together.

I glanced at Noelle and Yuno, knowing the real reason we had brought up this conversation in the first place. This was it—the moment of truth.

"Yes," I replied, my tone more serious now. "We do have something else."

Natsu grinned, his usual carefree nature shining through. "Well, let's hear it then!"

I held his gaze for a moment before exchanging grim nods with Noelle and Yuno. Then, I stepped back, causing Natsu to look at me in confusion. Noelle and Yuno flanked my sides, and together, we fell in line.

To the shock of everyone in the room, we folded our arms behind our backs and deeply bowed, our heads down, avoiding their gazes.

"Guys, what's the meaning of this—" The words stumbled out of their mouths, a mix of confusion and concern, but I cut them off with a loud, resolute voice.

"Please!" I shouted. "Let us have the reward. Let us have the wish!" We remained bowed, heads still low despite their confused pleas. Slowly, the room fell into a heavy silence as the seriousness of the moment began to sink in.

"What do you mean? Doesn't everyone get a wish?" Lucy finally asked, her puzzlement mirrored by the rest of the Fairy Tail group.

Yuno was the first to break the silence on our side. "What we want... is something so grand, it can only be attained through this. Elefseria informed us that because of the magnitude of our wish, it's impossible for everyone to receive one."

The room was still. They didn't ask what our wish was, clearly sensing we didn't want to disclose it. Instead, they simply waited, the weight of unspoken words filling the air.

"Please," Noelle spoke up, her voice sincere. "Let us make a deal. Let us have the wish, and in exchange, whatever you all desire, we'll use our strength—our power—to achieve it for you."

The silence stretched, uncomfortable and thick with tension. Finally, Natsu's voice broke through. "Guys... raise your heads."

His tone left no room for argument. Slowly, we straightened, only to be met with their frowns and complicated expressions, causing my heart to sink.

Before I could say anything to ease the tension, Gray stepped forward, his face unusually somber. "Can any of you... heal someone so well that even their scars disappear?"

I bit my lip, the words caught in my throat, before finally muttering out in a hoarse voice, "No…"

Wendy was next, her voice soft but steady. "Can any of you restore someone's ability to use magic?"

Yuno's response was quiet, but filled with the same sorrow. "No…"

Erza then stepped forward, raising her right hand to show us her eye. Or rather, the lightless one. "Can any of you restore someone's eyesight?"

It was Noelle's turn to speak, and her voice trembled with the weight of her own disappointment. "No… we can't."

Finally, Lucy stepped forward, revealing broken golden fragments in her hands. I realized they were pieces of one of her celestial keys. If it had been something as simple as putting the pieces back together, she'd have already done it by now. Her expression told me how much the key meant to her, how much she longed for it to be whole again.

"No," I whispered, clenching my fists in frustration. "We can't fix that…"

At last, Natsu stepped forward, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. His touch wasn't harsh—it was understanding, yet resolute. "Asta, we can still work together. But... sorry, this is something we need too."

With that, they all turned and left the room, their footsteps echoing softly as they exited. Mercphobia and Karameel had already vacated the room when we bowed, sensing the gravity of the situation and knowing we needed personal space.

As I watched them leave, my chest tightened. The color drained from my friends' eyes as the weight of our failure settled on us. I knew, in that moment, that the road ahead had just gotten a lot harder.

Nothing in life ever comes easy.