Regarding the sudden disappearance and reappearance of Magnolia,
neither the Magic Council nor the kingdom paid much attention.
After all, with Fairy Tail in this town, anything could happen.
Master Makarov didn't hide much, simply giving a rough explanation of the events. Of course, he omitted Jehfrit's creation of demons and altered the ending to make it seem like they had defeated the king of the other world and that was it.
Though this journey had indeed been extraordinary,
the Magic Council wasn't particularly interested.
A world without magic? What was there to care about?
The Magic Council was an organization primarily composed of mages, not some war-crazed empire bent on expansion.
Even the Kingdom of Fiore showed little interest in the territories of another world.
Thus, aside from some murmurs of astonishment, the incident caused no major uproar.
Including the townsfolk of Magnolia, who were completely unaware of what had transpired.
When the Lacrima crystals were dismantled, only the area around Fairy Tail was affected, leaving everyone else untouched. To them, it felt as if they'd merely slept through the whole ordeal—completely oblivious to how close they had come to dying in the other world. After all, it was already in the past.
The members of Fairy Tail also took it lightly, hosting a feast and sleeping it off before moving past their complicated emotions.
"Waaaahhhhhh—"
Emily ran into the guild crying.
"What's wrong, Emily?" Everyone looked at her with concern.
"Master is such an idiot!" Emily clung to Mirajane's leg and began to sob.
"Oh my, did Jehfrit say something outrageous again?" Mirajane smiled and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe Emily's tears.
"He said something really mean to me!" Emily cried.
"Is that so? How terrible of him! Poor Emily, why would Jehfrit bully someone as adorable as you?" Mirajane comforted her.
"Emily, what exactly did he say to you?" Lisanna asked.
"Umm..." Emily suddenly hesitated, then pouted defiantly. "Well, he just said something really mean!"
"Like telling you you've gained five pounds—is that really that mean?" Jehfrit walked in through the door.
"Ugh—" Lucy's face went pale, as she had gained three pounds herself.
While Emily could justify her weight gain by being a growing child, Lucy couldn't find an excuse!
Lucy glanced around, ensuring no one was paying attention, then guiltily backed away.
"I haven't!" Emily protested.
"You have," Romeo, Macao's son, chimed in. "Your face looks rounder."
"..." Emily glared at him angrily and declared, "I'm not talking to you for a whole month!"
"..." Romeo shrugged indifferently. "Fine by me—I'm going to learn magic from Natsu-nii anyway."
"You!" Emily felt like she'd punched a pillow—it made her even angrier.
"Maa," Mirajane gently smiled and smoothed Emily's messy hair. "Emily is at an age where she's still growing. Girls naturally need some baby fat to grow into beautiful women with curves. If your body doesn't store fat, how can you grow taller or prettier?"
"Ugh—" Wendy's eyes widened. "Is that true? Were Miss Mirajane and Miss Erza both chubby when they were younger?"
"..." Mirajane suddenly looked awkward.
"Don't worry about such trivial matters," Jehfrit said. "By the way, I recently created a new magical item—a game. When you beat it, you can see your future self. Well, 'future' isn't quite accurate—it's more like..."
"Hmm, it's pretty complicated to explain, but essentially, it calculates the most likely outcome."
Jehfrit turned to Wendy and asked, "Would you like to try, Wendy?"
"See the most likely version of myself?" Wendy asked curiously.
"Yes, and it's very accurate," Jehfrit replied.
"How accurate?" Everyone grew curious.
Jehfrit pulled out two photos. "One is Ikuto's, and the other is mine."
Everyone gathered around.
In Ikuto's photo, she appeared much more mature—almost like a refined lady in her thirties. Her figure was curvier than now, clearly having given birth, and exuded a voluptuous charm in every sense.
She still wore a kimono, resembling a devoted housewife.
In her hand, she held the hand of a little girl with purple hair, who bore a striking resemblance to her.
"So beautiful..." Macao and Wakaba drooled at the sight.
"Miss Ikuto... you really suit wearing a kimono," Lucy commented. "And wow, her figure is amazing."
"Is this Ikuto's child? Such a cute girl," Levy remarked.
"Purple hair, huh?" Lisanna added.
All eyes turned to Jehfrit.
"..." Jehfrit stayed silent, unwilling to explain.
"But hey, Jehfrit, you're not even forty in your picture, and you've got so many white hairs!" Natsu teased.
In Jehfrit's photo, his appearance hadn't changed much—he looked to be in his early thirties. His expression carried a gentle smile, trading youthful energy for a more mature, composed demeanor, making him appear wiser.
What caught everyone's attention was his hair—it was nearly half white, which seemed rather unusual.
No one stood beside him in the photo.
"It's from overthinking," Jehfrit chuckled. "Better gray than bald."
"Master..." Emily suddenly squeezed into Jehfrit's arms, clutching her own hair worriedly. "Is this because of Deception Magic? My hair's already white—will I go bald?"
"No," Jehfrit laughed. "You barely use your brain as it is."
"That's rude..." Emily pouted. "I work hard, okay."
"So, anyone want to give it a try?" Jehfrit looked at the group.
"How do we try?" Everyone was curious.
Jehfrit pulled out a card and flicked it onto the ground.
*BOOM*
A mirror over two meters tall appeared.
"Just walk in," Jehfrit said.
"Walk in? It's a mirror—how do we walk into it?" Everyone was puzzled.
"It's a magical item, not an ordinary mirror," Jehfrit explained.
"I'll go!" Natsu was the first to respond, charging straight into the mirror and disappearing inside.
"What's this?"
Natsu found himself in a white void.
Suddenly, the guild members appeared before him.
A voice announced, "Choose your first adventure companion."
"Lucy!" Without hesitation, Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand.
"The first stage begins," the voice declared.
The scene shifted, and Natsu and Lucy appeared on a grassy plain.
Before them stood Erigor and hundreds of Eisenwald members.
"How are we supposed to fight all of them?" Lucy, as usual, panicked before the battle.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu charged recklessly forward.
These enemies were mere illusions and were quickly defeated by Natsu.
"Choose your reward."
Three rewards appeared—
Ten million Jewels, double your magic power, or Lucy.
"Lucy!" Natsu chose without hesitation.
Stage Two.
"Grrr—" Deliora appeared.
Natsu charged again, though this time it was slightly more challenging.
Three rewards appeared—
One hundred million Jewels, quadruple your magic power, or Lucy.
"Lucy!"
Natsu didn't hesitate for a second.
Stage Three featured Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer. Natsu struggled greatly but still chose Lucy after defeating him.
Stage Four featured Jellal. Natsu fought desperately to secure victory.
Even Natsu knew the next opponent would be stronger.
But when the rewards appeared, he once again declared, "Lucy!"
Sure enough, in Stage Five, Natsu was beaten down by Laxus.
The voice announced, "Based on your performance, I've calculated your future ten years from now."
Natsu appeared in the guild, though something was strange—the guild only had two people: him and...
Ten years older, Natsu looked much more mature and handsome, though his expression and personality remained unchanged.
"Lucy, let's go on a quest!"
Next to him was Lucy, whom he casually slung an arm around.
"Alright, alright," Lucy sighed, looking only slightly more mature compared to now.
The image froze.
*Hum*
Natsu was ejected from the mirror, holding a photograph in his hand.
"So, how was it, Natsu?" Everyone eagerly asked.
"Not much has changed," Natsu handed the photo to the group.
They all nodded upon seeing it. "Expected."
It wouldn't be surprising if these two were still together twenty years later!
"Who's next?" Jehfrit asked.
"Me!" Emily raised her hand and dashed into the mirror.
Jehfrit left behind a fake body and quietly retreated to a corner.
He sat down on a stool.
"Not working well, too many limitations," Jehfrit muttered. "Maybe I shouldn't let it evolve on its own—I should edit parts of it myself."
Miko reassured him, "No matter what, I believe in you, Jehfrit. You'll definitely create a perfect Mirror World."
"..." Jehfrit thought silently for a few seconds, then shook his head. "No, I can't interfere—it has to evolve independently."
The Mirror World—was his latest project.
Inspired by a story he'd read recently—Emily's fairy tale book *Mirror Spirits*, about small spirits living in a mirror world who befriend a human girl and embark on adventures between the two worlds.
His thoughts expanded after gaining control of Ansa's magic, no longer limited to increasing his personal magical reserves.
After all,
he had trained hard for years, yet his magic still paled in comparison to Ansa's.
Rather than striving to increase his magic, why not convert more demons like Ansa?
External sources of magic—second, third, fourth, fifth reservoirs.
Moreover, raw magic alone wasn't useful.
Deception Magic wasn't about stacking magic for explosive power. No matter how much magic he amassed, there was still a dimensional gap between him and those "inhuman" beings unless he stopped being human himself—which he didn't want.
That's where the Mirror Spirits came in.
In the story, Mirror Spirits lived in a mirror world connected to all mirrors.
Lucy's Celestial Spirit Magic housed all spirits in the Celestial Realm, requiring gates to summon them.
Mirror Spirits, however, could emerge from any mirror.
Jehfrit wondered: What if he created a Mirror World and made a King of Mirror Spirits?
This would be the creation of an entirely new type of magic!
Currently, the demons he created hid underground, emerging only when needed.
If he successfully constructed a Mirror World, demons could reside within it, emerging through mirrors whenever required.
Of course, this was just a small application.
He had a more exciting idea.
Through the Mirror World, he could spread his Deception Magic across the globe—or even cover the entire world via mirrors!
Not just this continent!
But the West Continent, Alvarez Empire, Zeref, Acnologia—all of them!
He dared not infect them directly—Acnologia was too sensitive, and Zeref occasionally lost his mind.
Instead, he could create a Mirror World and indirectly infect everyone through the omnipresent mirrors!
It was an ambitious idea.
But not impossible.
He had already found ways to drastically increase his magic reserves and created autonomous. Combine the two...
A Mirror World brimming with Deception Magic could connect to every corner of the world, infecting everyone with its magic.
*Sizzle*
Just imagining it thrilled him!
He was currently taking the first step.
Creating a "King of Mirror Spirits" to expand the Mirror World on his behalf.
He named it—Azazel.
For now, Azazel was just a small demon residing in the mirror, possessing no combat abilities. Its sole skill was evolution.
Jehfrit lied, saying it was a game that let players see their future selves upon completion.
In reality, it was to allow Azazel to simulate participants' thoughts and construct the endings they most desired.
Once enough data was collected, Azazel could create even better dreams, attracting more people to try it, forming a positive feedback loop.
Ideally, tens of millions of data samples would create a relatively complete Mirror World.
This was just the beginning.
The mirror was the first version.
The challenges Natsu faced were actually data inputs Jehfrit and Ikuto had provided earlier.
Azazel modified it to serve as Natsu's gameplay content.
For the next participant—Emily—her experience would be based on data from Jehfrit, Ikuto, and Natsu.
And so on.
Soon enough,
Emily emerged.
Holding a photo, she wore a satisfied smile.
"Master, look! I'm so beautiful ten years from now!" Emily proudly held up the photo.
"Let me see!" Wendy, more excited than anyone, snatched the photo and stared at it.
Twenty-year-old Emily was stunning, her arm linked with Jehfrit's, her figure impressive.
"I want to try!" Wendy's eyes sparkled as she rushed in.
"Emily, what did you see inside?" Lucy asked.
Emily replied, "I just followed Master and kept choosing 'study,' and then I grew up and became an S-Class mage. Master was so proud of me. Oh, and I saw Milarite too—she turned into a big dog."
After a while,
Wendy emerged.
Her face radiated satisfaction.
"Indeed, this is exactly what my future will be!"
In the photo, Wendy had grown into a mature woman, her figure surpassing even Edolas Wendy's.
"So interesting!"
Everyone took turns trying it.
Jehfrit felt Azazel rapidly evolving—from initially "simple environments" and "sparse events" to becoming increasingly rich and immersive. The duration of each experience grew longer.
"Jehfrit," Miko said, somewhat shocked, "you're creating a god!"
"Don't say that—I don't want to get targeted like you!" Jehfrit quickly responded.
Getting involved with gods brought misfortune.
He didn't want to be cursed!
He was just working on an interesting project!
Nothing more!
Really!
////////
Translator's Note:
Hello everyone!
I've started working on a Frieren fanfic "Frieren: The Painter", and I've just published the first chapter. I was kind of inspired after reading that Chinese Frieren fanfic where the demon was married to Flamme.