Chapter 86
"You’ve got to be kidding me!"
Marshall slammed both hands against the table.
He absolutely refused to accept that the lunatic glaring out from the front page—dressed in an oversized jacket, gripping a microphone like it had personally offended him—was supposed to be this world’s version of him!
A rapper?
Him?
And not merely some street performer shouting rhymes outside a tavern, but apparently the greatest musical genius of the century?
Had this world lost its mind, or had he?
More importantly...
What the hell was Marshall Heartfilia supposed to mean?
Did his counterpart in this world actually have parents?
"Um... Excuse me..."
While Marshall was busy questioning everything he knew about reality, someone quietly crept up behind him.
Back when his Telepathy Magic worked normally, no one could have approached him unnoticed.
"Are you Marshall?"
A girl stared at him with sparkling eyes.
"Are you really Eminem—Marshall Heartfilia?! I’m a huge fan! I know every one of your songs! Could I please have your autograph?"
"Huh? You’re... Wendy?!"
"Oh my gosh! You know me?!"
The newcomer was indeed this world’s Wendy, though she appeared four or five years older than the Wendy Marshall knew and had grown into a much more mature young woman.
"Ahahaha! You’ve got the wrong person!"
Lucy hurried over, waving both hands frantically.
"This guy isn’t that rapper. They look similar, but you can tell they’re completely different at a glance, can’t you?"
Marshall gave her a flat look.
Hadn’t this woman grabbed him by the collar and accused him of being her brother less than ten minutes ago?
"Sorry, but I have no connection to that celebrity."
Marshall politely rejected Wendy’s request, folded the newspaper under one arm, then grabbed Lucy with the other and dragged her out of the guildhall.
He looked the provocatively dressed blonde up and down before getting straight to the point.
"So you’re the young lady of the Heartfilia family in this world?"
"And this Eminem—Marshall—is genuinely your younger brother?"
Marshall pointed between them.
"You two don’t even have the same hair color. How are you supposed to be siblings?"
"What do you mean, ’young lady’?"
Lucy scoffed.
"My family never had much money. Everything we have now was earned by that loudmouthed brother of mine."
"Do you have any idea how much money people will pay to hear someone insult half the kingdom in rhyme?"
Marshall stared at her.
"...Apparently, far too much."
"As for our hair, what’s strange about it? I took after our awful mother, and Marshall took after his equally awful father."
She laughed dryly.
"Neither of us exactly won the parental lottery."
"..."
What kind of tangled family history was that?
Marshall rubbed his forehead, still unwilling to give up.
"Are you absolutely certain that rapper is your biological brother?"
"And who exactly is his father?"
"Of course I’m sure! How many times do I have to say it?"
Lucy folded her arms.
"I barely remember his father. I was still young back then."
"That bastard ran off almost immediately after Marshall was born. I watched my little brother grow up with my own eyes! I changed his diapers, fed him, and survived the phase where he tried to rhyme every sentence he spoke!"
She shuddered.
"For three straight months, he refused to eat breakfast unless ’toast’ rhymed with something. Do you really think I wouldn’t know whether we’re related?"
"..."
Marshall felt slightly dizzy.
His counterpart in this world really was a child of the Heartfilia family?
Then what about Earth Land...?
No, that proved nothing.
The Heartfilias of Earth Land were among the wealthiest families in the Kingdom of Fiore.
There was no way they would casually allow a member of their bloodline to grow up abandoned somewhere else.
This was probably just another difference between parallel worlds.
He couldn’t treat it as reliable evidence.
Lucy’s expression gradually became strange.
"Why are you so interested in my brother?"
She looked Marshall over more carefully.
"Come to think of it, you two really do look almost identical."
"Could it be... Marshall is also your brother?"
"Maybe you share the same father but have different mothers?"
Lucy’s eyes lit up.
"My, my~ What would that make our relationship?"
"...You have quite an imagination, but you’re completely wrong."
Marshall sighed.
"My name is Marshall too."
"However, I’m not from this world."
"I come from a parallel world called Earth Land. Some kind of magic transported me here, and I’m currently searching for a way home."
Lucy blinked, then placed a hand against his forehead.
"Did you hit your head?"
"I’m not joking! I’m completely serious!"
Marshall pushed her hand away.
"Since this world’s version of me is your real brother, please help me, Lucy-nee."
"..."
The two stared at each other in silence.
Slowly, Lucy began to believe him.
"So you’re... Marshall from another world?"
"That’s right."
She sucked in a sharp breath.
"My little brother from another world is this handsome?!"
"That is not the important part!"
"No, I think it’s extremely important. Mine looks like he hasn’t slept since birth."
"Lucy!"
"Fine, fine."
She scratched her head.
"What exactly do you need me to do?"
"I should warn you first—I ran away from home."
"That horrible mother of mine wanted to cash in on Marshall’s fame by turning me into a pop singer. She kept talking about a Heartfilia sibling duet!"
Lucy visibly recoiled at the memory.
"Can you imagine it? Me singing some cheerful love song while that idiot stands beside me angrily rapping about taxes, deadbeat fathers, and everyone who annoyed him that morning?"
Marshall paused.
"...I admit, that sounds memorable."
"It sounds like a public execution!"
Lucy snapped.
"So I escaped. At the moment, I’m completely broke and have nothing to my name."
"I doubt I can offer much help."
"There’s no hurry."
Marshall glanced back toward the guildhall.
"I need time to study the magic of this world and develop a plan."
"Until then, I intend to remain with this guild."
"Could you help cover for me and keep my identity secret?"
"No problem!"
Lucy slapped him enthusiastically on the shoulder.
"We’re practically family, aren’t we? Leave it to me!"
Her bold, heroic confidence was surprisingly reassuring.
With help from someone native to this world, Marshall’s identity would be much less likely to attract unwanted attention.
Neither of them realized that their entire secret conversation had been overheard by a certain hidden fan.
Wendy covered her mouth, her eyes trembling with excitement.
’Oh my gosh!’
’Marshall from another world?!’
’But he’s still Marshall!’
’As a devoted fan, I see absolutely no problem with this! One Marshall writes legendary diss tracks, and the other one is shorter, prettier, and apparently knows magic!’
’Both Marshalls are equally wonderful!’
Her eyes gleamed with alarming determination.
’This matter will require careful planning.’
...
Marshall and Lisanna temporarily settled into Edolas’s Fairy Tail.
Over the next several days, Marshall devoted himself to studying the magic of this world and searching for a way home.
Lisanna spent nearly every moment with Mira and Elfman, pretending to be cheerful for their sake.
"Lisanna, we’ll eventually have to return to our own world."
Marshall watched her quietly.
"You can’t remain with them forever."
He knew that this world’s Lisanna had most likely died after falling from the cliff.
By pretending to be her counterpart, Earth Land’s Lisanna was deceiving them.
Marshall couldn’t entirely approve of what she was doing.
"I-I know."
Lisanna lowered her head.
"But they’re still Mira-nee and Elfman."
"I don’t want to see them so heartbroken."
"I just want to spend a little more time with them before we leave."
She offered an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, Marshall. I know I’m being selfish."
"It’s fine."
Marshall returned his attention to his research.
"You wouldn’t be much help here anyway, so go enjoy yourself."
"..."
Lisanna angrily knocked him on the head and stuck out her tongue behind his back.
She didn’t argue further.
After all, he wasn’t wrong.
There really wasn’t much she could contribute!
"Have you found a way for us to return yet?"
"Of course."
Marshall continued working without lifting his head.
"Since the people of this world don’t possess magic power inside their bodies, their research into magic circles and magical technology has advanced far beyond Earth Land’s."
"I’ve already learned a great deal here."
"If we weren’t in such a hurry to return, I might genuinely consider staying longer."
"As for why we were transported here in the first place... Haven’t you read the newspapers?"
Marshall handed her one.
"The answer was published for everyone to see."
The headline read:
[ROYAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE UNVEILS REVOLUTIONARY SUPER-SUBSPACE MAGIC—ANIMA! ETERNAL MAGIC POWER SHALL BE SUMMONED INTO OUR WORLD!]
"This is...?"
"The king of this country is extremely ambitious."
Marshall’s eyes narrowed.
"Because Edolas is running out of magic power, he decided to steal it from other worlds."
"And naturally, he chose Earth Land as his target."
A cold laugh escaped him.
"What a brilliant plan."
"Just wait until I return home. I’ll find a way to make him regret ever looking in our direction!"
Lisanna immediately felt a sense of impending disaster.
"Marshall... What exactly are you planning?"
"Hmm?"
He smiled innocently.
"I merely intend to send them a few local specialties from our world."
"Don’t worry. I’m hardly a monster."
"I’m not going to throw a plague, a deadly virus, an army of demons, or a furious dragon into their world."
"I’m not that cruel, am I?"
"No, no, no! You absolutely thought about doing all of those things!"
Lisanna grabbed him by the shoulders.
"You... You definitely considered every single one!"
"Calm down, Marshall! This world has a Fairy Tail too!"
"Don’t do anything stupid!"
Edolas was in danger!