Chapter 238
"Lisanna, is your sister finally coming to take you home?"
"Yeah..."
Lisanna lowered the magic terminal in her hand and turned around.
As expected, the person behind her was this world’s version of Wendy.
Edolas Wendy was actually a little older than Lisanna and had grown into a tall, mature young woman whose figure was comparable to Lucy’s.
She wasn’t merely calm and dependable either; she was also an accomplished martial artist.
Her age, height, and personality were all completely different from the tiny Wendy Lisanna remembered from Earth Land.
The only thing the two Wendys truly seemed to share was their fundamentally kind nature.
Ever since Wendy discovered Lisanna’s secret two years ago, the two had become best friends who could talk about practically anything.
Recently, however, their friendship seemed dangerously close to capsizing.
"Wendy, have you really decided?"
Lisanna rubbed her forehead.
"This isn’t something you should treat like a joke."
"Of course I’ve decided. I’m completely serious."
Wendy spoke without hesitation.
"You know I’m an orphan. I only joined Fairy Tail in the first place because I had nowhere else to go."
She smiled confidently.
"If leaving is what it takes to help my best friend achieve her happiness, then I’m already prepared."
Lisanna’s headache immediately worsened.
"...Has it occurred to you that I don’t actually need your help?"
"No."
Wendy pointed at her.
"You absolutely do!"
Edolas Wendy wanted to follow Lisanna back to Earth Land.
And her reason was simple: She intended to help Lisanna win back her happiness.
"Lisanna, it’s been two years. Have you still not figured out how bad your situation is?"
Wendy held up a finger.
"Your score with Marshall is practically negative. Negative!"
"He literally developed a spell that could shock you through a screen just so he could punish you."
She leaned closer.
"That is a serious grudge. Without my help, you don’t stand a chance!"
A large vein practically appeared on Lisanna’s forehead.
"I already gave up!"
She glared.
"Didn’t you hear what my sister said? That little flirt already secretly has several girlfriends!"
Lisanna crossed her arms.
"Why would I care about a shameless playboy like that?!"
"Heh."
Wendy gave her an utterly unconvinced smile.
"You can fool your sister with that."
She tapped Lisanna’s forehead.
"You can even try fooling me."
"But don’t fool yourself, Lisanna."
Wendy’s grin widened.
"I know you far too well~"
"You’re rebellious right down to your bones. The more your sister tells you not to do something, the more you want to do it."
She folded her arms smugly.
"There’s no way you’ve actually given up on Marshall. I saw through you ages ago."
Lisanna’s expression shifted between red and black.
"No matter what I feel, this is my problem! Why are you trying to involve yourself?!"
She jabbed a finger toward Wendy.
"You already know about the prince’s plan to eliminate Magic Power from this world. If you come to Earth Land with me, you might never be able to return!"
Lisanna often spoke with Mira through the magic terminal and had told her quite a few secrets, including the general outline of Mystogan’s current plan.
Naturally, Wendy had heard about it as well.
"That’s exactly why I decided to go with you."
Wendy shrugged.
"If this world really is about to lose Magic forever, I don’t want to stay here."
She threw an arm around Lisanna’s shoulders and grinned like they were partners in crime.
"I’d rather go with my best friend and gamble on something bigger."
Then her expression became conspiratorial.
"Trust me. With my help, I can absolutely get Marshall to finally look at you romantically."
"GET LOST!"
Lisanna shoved at her.
"You shameless shotacon! Don’t think I don’t know what you’re really after!"
Her face burned red.
"You’re interested in Marshall too!"
She pointed accusingly.
"There’s a Marshall in this world! If you’re so desperate, go after him!"
"No."
Wendy rejected the suggestion instantly.
"Didn’t Lucy already tell us about her little brother? He’s an obedient good boy and a insane rapper."
She waved dismissively.
"Completely not my type."
Wendy grinned.
"I prefer boys who are a little troublesome."
Then she added without shame, "And most importantly, the Marshall from your world is much better-looking~"
"GET OUT!"
Lisanna tried to push her away.
"Get away from me, you hopeless woman! I’m never letting you anywhere near Marshall!"
Wendy sighed as though dealing with an unreasonable child.
"My dear Lisanna, why don’t you understand?"
She adopted the patient tone of someone explaining an obvious truth.
"Right now, you have almost no competitive advantage around Marshall."
"First, your starting affection level was never high enough. Marshall didn’t even see you as a romantic option before."
She raised another finger.
"Then you disappeared into another world for two whole years and missed who knows how many opportunities."
"Meanwhile, Marshall already has several girlfriends."
Wendy looked Lisanna up and down.
"And then there’s your character archetype: white hair, attractive, little-sister type."
She gave Lisanna a pitying look.
"Among the girls surrounding Marshall, that doesn’t even make you unique."
"If you try competing entirely on your own, how exactly are you supposed to win?"
"Stop talking!"
Lisanna covered her face.
"Ugh... the more you say, the more I regret everything..."
The truth was that Lisanna had already confessed everything to her Edolas brother and sister roughly a year ago.
She had told them she wasn’t actually the Lisanna of this world.
Edolas Mira and Elfman had already vaguely suspected the truth.
They were deeply grateful that Lisanna had been willing to remain in Edolas for their sake.
But after she finally confessed... the two of them deliberately began distancing themselves from her.
Because the Edolas versions of Mira and Elfman were simply too kind.
They didn’t want Lisanna to remain torn between two worlds because of them, and they especially didn’t want her to consider staying permanently.
Doing so would be terribly unfair to her real sister and brother in Earth Land.
So they intentionally created some distance, hoping Lisanna would eventually let go of this bond and return where she belonged.
Lisanna understood their intentions.
That didn’t mean it didn’t hurt.
Because she had stubbornly chosen to stay in Edolas, her relationships with her siblings in both worlds had become more distant.
She had angered Marshall.
She had missed two years of memories with her guildmates.
Looking back now... maybe choosing to remain here really had been a mistake.
And now she had somehow attracted the enormous headache known as Wendy.
The more Lisanna thought about everything, the worse she felt.
She was starting to get genuinely depressed.
"Lisanna~"
Wendy sighed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders again.
"Why can’t you understand?"
"I’m the only one who can help you reach your real happiness."
She leaned toward Lisanna’s ear, whispering like a devil offering temptation.
"I’m your true best friend, remember?"
"Trust me."
Wendy smiled.
"A greedy boy like Marshall won’t easily turn down two girls working together."
She tightened her arm around Lisanna.
"If we cooperate, I’m completely confident I can help you get ahead of everyone else."
Her voice became even more tempting.
"Lisanna... haven’t you always wanted to beat your sister at least once?"
"This might be your only chance~"
"..."
Lisanna’s expression changed again and again.
Then she fell silent.
’Damn it!’
’This awful Wendy is making it sound way too tempting...’
Still... surely this was wrong?
Two people joining forces like that was ridiculous!
But if she didn’t do something...did she really have any chance left?
If she had to compete with her sister entirely on her own, she was almost guaranteed to lose.
...
While Lisanna remained trapped in that agonizing internal debate, the space beside them suddenly twisted.
Marshall appeared with Mira, Elfman, and Lucy.
"Marshall! Nee-san?!"
Before Lisanna could fully react, familiar arms wrapped around her.
"Lisanna~~"
Mira hugged her tightly.
"Your big sister came to bring you home."
Elfman slowly raised one hand and pointed at himself.
A giant question mark practically appeared over his head.
’And your brother? what about me?’
Marshall smiled at both girls.
"Long time no see, Lisanna."
Then he turned toward Edolas Wendy.
"And you too, Wendy."
His grin became slightly mischievous.
"Is Edolas Lucy around?"
He gestured toward the Lucy he had brought with him.
"I brought the other version of her too."
Marshall looked between them.
"This time, I think we’re going to have a lot to talk about."
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