Chapter 71
"I’m sorry... Please forgive Juvia. Juvia didn’t mean to do that. Juvia will dry you immediately!"
Under the radiance of the Giant of Light, the Rain Woman finally regained control of herself.
She curled up timidly in front of Marshall and used her magic to draw every drop of water from his soaked clothes.
Manipulating water seemed as natural to her as breathing.
In theory, someone with this level of control shouldn’t have been incapable of stopping the rain.
Perhaps the problem was simply that she had grown up in an isolated village without ever studying magical theory or learning the correct way to control her power.
That wasn’t the only thing that surprised Marshall.
"Juvia, your body just now... Did it turn into water?"
"Huh? Y-Yes... Juvia’s body is made of water. Like this..."
Juvia transformed her entire arm into a flowing stream.
Even the sleeve covering it turned into water along with her body!
"That can’t be possible... Elemental transformation? Seriously?"
Marshall stared in shock.
Could Level Four elemental magic truly reach this degree?
Were high-level elemental spells really this absurd?
Or had Juvia awakened with... Water Magic LV5?
"I-I’m sorry... Juvia has always been like this. Juvia never wanted it..."
She lowered her head sadly.
"Juvia is a freak..."
Someone as unnatural as her would obviously be hated.
No, she had already done something hateful.
It didn’t matter anymore.
From now on, Juvia could simply remain in some dark, damp corner and slowly rot away—
"Why are you apologizing? your talent is incredible!"
"Huh?!"
Marshall’s face was glowing with excitement.
Juvia might be only the second person he had ever encountered whose magic had reached Level Five.
The first was Gildarts and this time, the person in question was a young girl.
Her abilities were unbelievably valuable for research!
"Do you know what a Mage is?"
Marshall leaned toward her eagerly.
"You aren’t a freak. You’re a naturally awakened Mage!"
"Your magic may already be stronger than what most people could achieve after an entire lifetime of training. All you need is to learn how to control it properly!"
"Juvia is... a Mage?"
"That’s right! You’re a Mage, just like me."
Marshall pointed outside.
"There are many people in the wider world who can use magic. You’re not alone or abnormal."
He paused.
"Well, you are a little unusual—but your talent is a gift most people could only dream of possessing."
"You’ve simply been trapped in this backward village your entire life!"
"Huh? Huh?!"
The little Rain Woman didn’t know what to do with herself, but a new light had appeared in her eyes.
Juvia’s total magic power wasn’t exceptionally high.
It might not even surpass Natsu’s or Gray’s current reserves, probably falling somewhere between four and five thousand.
But her mastery of Water Magic was clearly on an entirely different level.
Was the ability to transform one’s body and possessions into an element a defining feature of Level Five magic?
If that theory was correct, then once Marshall raised his Light Magic to Level Five...
Would he be able to become light itself?
That would be unbelievably cool!
Marshall felt as though he had grasped the edge of something important.
There had to be a true dividing line between Level Four and Level Five—a qualitative difference rather than merely an increase in power.
Gildarts’s Crush Magic was the perfect example.
His magic didn’t simply destroy things. It carried a strange conceptual property.
Marshall had once watched Gildarts crush a single puppy into a group of tiny puppies.
The sheer absurdity of that effect defied common sense, which was why Marshall believed Gildarts’s Crush Magic had reached Level Five.
And now Marshall had encountered a second Level Five Mage.
He had made his decision.
No matter what it took, he would bring this Rain Woman back to Fairy Tail and convince her to cooperate with his research.
He was far too curious about power of this level.
"So, Juvia, come with me."
Marshall extended a hand.
"This village is nothing more than a cage trapping you. The sky suited to someone like you lies in the outside world."
"If you’re willing—"
"JUVIA IS WILLING!"
Marshall hadn’t even finished extending his hand before Juvia lunged forward and seized it with both of hers.
Her eyes transformed into enormous hearts.
Something about the situation suddenly felt wrong.
"Uh... All right. But you don’t need to be that excited."
"When will we be getting married?!"
"Hah?!"
Marshall nearly choked.
"I’m inviting you to join my wizard guild! What in the world are you imagining?! Stop thinking such ridiculous things!"
He couldn’t help shouting because he could hear every wild fantasy currently racing through her mind.
Some of them were far too embarrassing to listen to.
"Huh? O-Oh... So that’s what you meant."
Juvia lowered her head shyly.
"Juvia is still willing then."
Then she glanced up at him.
"Lord Marshall, after Juvia joins the guild... may Juvia become your girlfriend?"
"?"
Marshall paused.
A mischievous smile slowly appeared on his face.
"Oh? Do you really like me that much?"
He leaned closer.
"We only met a few minutes ago."
"Yes! Juvia fell in love at first sight!"
She nodded frantically.
"Look at our hair! Juvia’s is water blue, and yours is cherry pink. We’re clearly destined for each other!"
"Hehehe. You’re young, but your imagination certainly isn’t."
Marshall’s smile became even more wicked.
"There’s something I didn’t have time to tell you."
"This isn’t my real appearance. I’m using Transformation Magic."
In the next moment, Marshall returned to the appearance of his true ten-year-old body.
Under Juvia’s dumbfounded stare, he proudly raised two fingers in a victory sign.
"Hehe. I’m actually ten years old!"
He grinned.
"Are you sure you want to date a little kid, Miss Blue-Haired onee-san?"
"Y-You... You... Huh?!"
Juvia’s mind completely overloaded.
Her eyes turned into spirals, and she temporarily lost the ability to speak.
Marshall burst into delighted laughter.
No one knew how badly he had suffered at the academy, where he couldn’t reveal his identity or freely play tricks on anyone.
This was exactly the reaction he had always wanted to see!
"Hahahaha!"
"All right, enough joking."
Marshall finally took pity on her.
"Pack whatever you want to bring, and we’ll leave."
"If you don’t feel like packing, that’s fine too. I can move your entire house for you. What do you think?"
Juvia still hadn’t fully recovered.
She stood there looking as though her soul had left her body.
Had she just been rejected?
Did that count as heartbreak?
Did it not count?
Surely it didn’t...
Once she regained her senses, Juvia shook her head.
"N-No. There’s no need to move the house."
"Juvia doesn’t own anything particularly important. Juvia can leave like this."
She looked around the cold, silent room.
"Juvia... never liked this lonely house very much."
Juvia gathered her belongings into one small bundle.
Marshall then watched her push the entire package directly into her body.
"???"
"Can you store objects inside yourself too?"
"Huh? Carrying it by hand would be inconvenient, wouldn’t it?"
Juvia tilted her head.
"Our village is very remote. Even the nearest town is half a day away..."
"...That isn’t the important part."
Marshall decided not to question it further.
"Never mind. We don’t need to walk anyway."
"Have you forgotten how I entered this room?"
"My specialty is Spatial Magic."
He held out his hand again.
"Come on. I’ll take you directly to the guild."
Marshall took Juvia’s hand.
Her entire body trembled, and an uneasy expression crossed her face.
Before she could think about it, the scenery changed.
The next moment, Juvia found herself standing inside a loud, lively building that resembled a tavern.
"Hey, Master! Look! Marshall brought another pretty girl back to the guild!"
"Is she a new member? As expected of Marshall—he certainly knows how to choose them!"
"What?! That idiot Marshall! He spends all day fooling around instead of doing anything useful! I’m going to teach him a lesson!"
While Juvia stood frozen in confusion, Marshall’s real body—now dressed in a different outfit—floated over and stopped in front of her.
He gave her a sincere, welcoming smile.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Juvia."