When they were finally out of the Senate Hall, Natsu stretched his arms.

"Outside at last!" he cheered. "That suffocating smell almost clogged my nostrils!"

"Whew, now that was a large dose of history and political lessons," commented Gray.

"I have learned a lot of things from this place," said Erza proudly.

"I'm glad you all enjoyed," Sialeeds told them.

The bell rang at that moment, signaling the beginning of mid-afternoon.

"Is it that time already?" Sialeeds said.

Miakis turned to her charge. "Princess, you should get back to your room. It's time for your afternoon studies."

"Yes… I guess you're right," Lym said with a sigh.

"Studies? How boring…" Natsu complained. Then he shivered uncontrollably. "I can still remember that time when Erza taught me about the alphabet… that was the most traumatizing experience of my life…!"

Gray patted him sympathetically on the shoulder. "It must have been terrible for you."

"Huh?" Very slowly, Erza turned to them with a death glare. "Did you say something, Natsu?"

"N—No…! I'm soooorryyyy!"

Knowing to ignore them whenever they got like that, Frey turned to his sister. "Why don't you take the day off?" he suggested.

"I wish she could, too, but… the Queen…" Miakis said hesitantly.

"A-ha! So even you're afraid of Arshtat the way she is now, huh, Lym?" Sialeeds said.

"I'm not afraid of her!" Lym disagreed. "Mother's strict with me. That's natural. If I don't study really, really hard, I won't ever be the Queen she is!" She turned towards her brother and tears welled up in her eyes. "Frey… I want to stay with you, but it looks like I've gotta be a Princess…" She sniffled. "Please come see me when you can. Every second you're away—"

"You'll see him at dinner," Sialeeds interjected. "Don't be such a drama queen."

The blatant shock reflecting on Lym's face amused Sialeeds, and the latter waited for the expected outburst.

"Why do you always do that, Auntie?!" Lym said angrily. "Why do you always ruin the mood?!" She then turned her back and walked away with a huff. "Come on, Miakis."

"Yes, Princess," Miakis said dutifully, following after her. "See you later, Prince."

Sialeeds let out a yawn. "I guess I'll go back, too, and get some more sleep." Then she walked back to the Sun Palace as well.

"Sweet dreams, Lady Sialeeds," Kyle called out.

"Yeah, yeah. Good night…"

Lyon turned to her charge. "Prince, what do you want to do now?"

"I don't know," Frey said. "Any ideas?"

"Hey, let's go check out that new Rune shop!" Kyle suggested. "You heard about the owner? Everybody's saying she's gorgeous! You want to check her out, too, don't you, Prince?"

Frey blinked. "Not really."

Kyle looked incredulous. "What? What about you guys?" he asked the three mages.

Natsu held up a hand, his face uninterested. "Nope."

Gray had a pokerface expression of his own. "Not interested."

"I am not interested in women," Erza said flatly.

Kyle gave up and turned to Frey. "But Prince! Your obligation as a Prince is to 'inspect' the land… and its citizens, isn't it?"

"Um… Kyle?" Lyon spoke up. "The Prince said he's not interested, so don't try to force him…"

"Lyon, this is a necessary step in the Prince's growth into manhood!" Kyle said passionately.

"Jeez, cut it out already!" Lyon said, annoyed. Then she sighed. "…I give up. Let's go and get this over with."

"All right! Now that everybody's in agreement, let's go, Prince!" Kyle said happily.

But before they could, a dark-haired woman approached them, causing Kyle to gape at her exotic beauty.

She looked like she was in her late twenties, or perhaps that was due to her makeup, especially her red lipstick. But even though that was the case, she still had that elegant aura that seemed to exude from her form at all times. She had long dark hair almost coming to her waist, and her equally dark-shaded eyes held a sort of mystery to her. She wore a simple cream-white dress, almost blending with her pale-white skin.

"Greetings, Erza Scarlet," she said softly, her lips curving into a smile. "Also to you, Fire Dragon Slayer Natsu Dragneel and Ice-Make Wizard Gray Fullbuster."

"Wh—Wha—You're from the Council, aren't you?!" Erza exclaimed in surprise. "You came to this world as well?!"

"Why, yes, Erza-san," the woman said with another smile. "Oh, forgive my manners. I am Ultear Milkovich of the Magic Council. Pleased to meet you."

"P—Pleased to meet you, too," Erza stammered, bowing. She was still reeling from the fact that they were not actually alone.

Then did that mean that there were others? Had their comrades back in the guild also traveled here?

Meanwhile, Gray was staring at Ultear in pure, utter shock. He could not believe it.

"I will save you from your darkness."

"NO! STOP, UL—!"

The ice shatters her body into pieces—

"Would it be possible to talk to you three… in private?" Ultear was saying, eyeing the Prince and the others unsurely.

"O—Oh! Don't mind us!" Kyle said, immediately leaving. "C'mon, Prince, Lyon!"

"We'll be waiting for you at the main plaza, okay?" Lyon told them before following.

"So, what's this about?" Natsu asked flatly. "And are you really a member of the Council? You look young!"

"Natsu!" Erza snapped. "Don't be rude!"

"Oh, my," Ultear said, giggling. "I'll take that as a compliment, Natsu-san." Then her expression turned solemn. "Erza-san, it is not only I who has found myself in this strange world. I have a companion, and he is from the Magic Council as well. I am sure you have already met him…"

Erza froze. "Don't tell me…"

"...Erza?" Natsu inquired, puzzled at her odd reaction.

"Hello, Erza," a smooth, velvety voice came from behind the red-haired woman, causing her eyes to widen and her posture to stiffen. "Coincidence to see you here."

"…Siegrain," Erza gritted out, turning around to face him.

The older man had a semblance of a smile on his face, though Erza somehow felt that it was malicious. Compared to the way she felt when meeting Ultear, the casualness was nothing compared to the oppressiveness she felt when facing Siegrain.

The man was attractive. He had light-blue hair that had smooth spikes, probing olive-green eyes, and a distinctive red tattoo embedded vertically by the side of his right eye. He wore an immaculately white coat, signifying his position and elegance.

Both him and Ultear looked considerably different from the three of them in terms of stature and quiet self-confidence.

"Lord Siegrain, this is now our time to reveal our plan to them," Ultear told him.

"Plan?" Erza inquired almost hesitantly.

"Plan?" Natsu said excitedly.

Gray stayed silent, still stealing glances over at Ultear.

"You three are accompanying the Prince of Falena, am I right?" Siegrain said, his expression serious.

For only this moment, Erza forced herself to become professional and calm. "Yes."

"The two of us wish to support you Fairy Tail mages in your journey," Siegrain said with a smile. "However, we cannot ensure if the Prince will trust in us, so we will work on the sidelines."

"We have detected some malicious auras here in Sol Falena," Ultear continued. "Lord Siegrain and I will investigate them and see if we can take care of them before it will cause trouble to this country. Lord Siegrain assumed that if some Fairy Tail mages and Council members have been transported to this world, then it is also likely possible for other guilds, especially Dark Guilds, to come here as well."

Natsu, Erza, and Gray froze at that.

"Fairy Tail has always been such an amusing guild," Siegrain mused. "It is sort of an honor to be helping you out."

Really? Erza thought as she stared at him. Is there really no ulterior motive?

What are you really thinking, Siegrain?

"You sure you guys can handle it?" Gray said, speaking up for the first time.

Ultear sent him a smile. "I feel I am perfectly capable enough, but with Lord Siegrain here, there will be no problem. He is one of the Ten Wizard Saints, after all."

Natsu's jaw dropped. "Whaaat?! That guy's that powerful?" he exclaimed, pointing at Siegrain's amused face. "Hey, fight me!"

"Natsu, don't," Erza told him calmly, her eyes closed. "You'll be annihilated in a span of a few seconds."

"S—SERIOUSLY?! Amazing!"

Meanwhile, Gray wasn't really listening. It can't be, he thought to himself. It can't be… that smile… She looks so much like…

Ul…

"Anyway, we'd best leave for the moment," Ultear told them, seemingly unaware of Gray's conflicted, troubled thoughts. "We are still finding the causes of the malicious intents we sensed. We will contact you when we acquire the necessary information."

"Wait," Erza called out before they left. "How can you contact us?"

"Ah, I almost forgot about that," Siegrain said softly. With small, intent steps, he went towards Erza and placed a ring on her hand.

"This will be our medium of communication," he told her. "It is similar to a communication lacrima."

"…How can I use it?" she asked quietly.

"Place it in your ring finger and channel magic into it." He gave her a knowing look before leaning towards her ear. "Oh, and by the way, Erza…"

The latter's eyes widened into saucers after Siegrain finished telling her what he wanted her to know. He looked slightly amused at her horrified expression and left with Ultear without a word.

"Erza?" Natsu asked, looking worried. "What's wrong?"

"…Nothing," Erza said, lowering her head so they wouldn't see her expression. "Let's go. We mustn't keep Prince Frey waiting."

"Erza…" This time, Gray was the one who said it.

"I said it's nothing."

"By the way, Erza…

"Jellal… is here as well."

Jellal… Erza thought, gritting her teeth. What are you going to do now that you're not in your tower anymore?

...Are you still going to kill me?

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to be continued