Fairy Tail: Jinchuriki

Layla is surprised when she hears Alex's explanation about their reason to ask for her help. He tells her Ultear's condition, the way to cure it, and what they need from her.

"So that's how it is. But why me? I'm not the only one who has the Gold Keys and I actually have retired. I have given all my Gold Keys to other people, so I don't have any now. Even if I have them, I only have 3 and I don't know if those 3 Spirits can bring someone to the Celestial Spirit World."

"Eh?" The 3 are surprised, especially Alex.

Alex thought that Layla had all of the 12 Gold Keys because she would open the Eclipse Gate with those Gold Keys except for Aquarius Key which then forced her to use her life force to replace it.

The problem is Alex can't remember everything from the Fairy Tail story. He forgets that Layla didn't have all the Gold Keys even when she was still active as a Mage.

When she wanted to open the Eclipse Gate at X777, she tracked down all the Gold Keys and borrowed them from their owners just to open the Eclipse Gate. She didn't own all the Gold Keys, unlike what he thought.

"B-but I heard you were a great Celestial Spirit Mage. A-and I don't know anyone else with Gold Keys." Alex says it while trembling. He can't believe he made such a big mistake.

Ur and Ultear also feel down because of it.

"I-I see, so that's how it is. I'm sorry, it seems we have disturbed you for nothing. Then, w-we will leave immediately to look for a Celestial Spirit Mage who has Gold Keys." Ur bows her head a few times to apologize.

"W-wait!" Layla gets down and grabs Ur's dropped shoulders.

"I'm sorry, it seems I made you misunderstand my words because I haven't finished it. It's true that I have given my keys to other people, but those people are my close aides. Actually, 2 of them are still working here. As I said, I don't know if those Celestial Spirits can bring someone to their world. So we need to ask first. Even if they can't, at least they should know which Spirit can help you. So how is it? Will you at least try to ask them first?" Layla explains it quickly, making Ur's expression brighten.

"R-really? W-will you really help us? Thank you, thank you so much." Ur tears up when she hears that there's hope. Alex also sighs in relief.

"It's okay. I'm also a mother, so I can understand what you feel. I will also do everything for my child." Layla smiles before telling the servant in the room to call for someone named Spetto and Zoldeo.

The servant quickly leaves to call the 2 that Layla means. Layla then tells the 3 to sit on the sofa again and she won't take a no for an answer. She even threatens to not help them if they still kneel on the floor, so they agree.

After a while, a man with curly hair and a short middle-aged woman came. Layla then asks them to call their Celestial Spirits and they do it without asking why, showing that they really trust her.

Then, a humanoid goat and a man with crab legs on his back appear. Alex doesn't even need to ask who they are. Sometimes, it's hard to recognize the characters in real life because he only knew them as pictures in the past, but these 2 Spirits are too easy to recognize.

"Capricorn and Cancer, long time no see." Layla greets them because they haven't met in a long time.

"Hello, Madam Layla." Capricorn greets politely.

"It hasn't been that long for us because time flows differently in our worlds-ebi. Do you need a haircut-ebi?" Cancer says it in a "cool" tone even if he ends his sentence strangely.

"No, I still like my current hair style, Cancer. I ask them to call you because I need to ask something."

Layla then gives them a short explanation about Ultear before asking them if it's possible to bring someone to the Celestial Spirit World. Capricorn and Cancer immediately become serious after hearing that.

Capricorn decides to answer Layla. "I'm very sorry, Madam, but humans are forbidden from entering the Celestial Spirit World. It is the rule enforced by the Celestial Spirit King and only he can lift this rule. Besides, even without that rule, it is impossible for humans to stay in the Celestial Spirit World for a long period of time because there is no air there."

This is also something that Alex doesn't remember. He only remembers that Natsu and the others entered the Celestial Spirit World and stayed there for a day. So he doesn't remember that there is a problem like this.

"I-I see, so it's impossible, huh?" Ur seems very dejected after hearing Capricorn.

"Um, is it possible to ask the Celestial Spirit King to lift this rule temporarily for someone?" Alex still doesn't want to give up.

"Asking is probably fine, but I don't think he will agree that easily. After all, you don't have any connection to the Celestial Spirit King, so I doubt he will lift a rule for you." Capricorn says it politely even though it's quite harsh.

"I see. Yeah, we aren't even Celestial Spirit Mages, so I doubt he will even help us."

"Then, can you ask him on my behalf?" Layla suddenly asks Capricorn with a firm voice.

"M-madam?" The servants and Spirits are surprised by Layla.

"The Heartfilia family has been a family of Celestial Spirit Mages for generations. We have done many things together with the Celestial Spirits. So I hope the Celestial Spirit King can help them on behalf of the Heartfilia family."

Everyone is surprised by Layla who is willing to go this far for strangers, even using her family name to help them.

"W-why are you going this far?" Ur asks with tears in her eyes.

Layla just smiles before answering. "As I said, I'm also a mother, so I know your pain."

"B-but it could be a lie. Everything we said could be a lie."

"Ms. Ur, I hope you don't look down on me too much. I am a merchant with years of experience. One thing that every merchant should have is discerning eyes. We should be able to see through people even when we have just met. If you lie to me, I would have noticed it immediately and would never help you. But I know you are honest and genuine, that's why I am willing to help you."

Ur, Alex, and Ultear are surprised once more. They never thought that this frail-looking woman would be this powerful. Alex especially would never have thought like that because of how her daughter acts in the story.

"I understand. Then I will ask the King about this. Please call me again next week because I need time to talk with the King." Capricorn agrees to ask the Celestial Spirit King on Layla's behalf.

"Thank you, Capricorn."

The Spirits then return to their world and now the humans can only wait.

"I hope you don't mind waiting for a week, Ms. Ur, Ms. Ultear, and Mr. Alex."

"N-no, it's fine. We are more grateful to you for helping us this much. We have tried to look for the cure for months, so another week is not a problem."

"Then, why don't you stay here while waiting for Capricorn? We have a lot of guest rooms."

"N-no. How could we possibly inconvenience you more than this. Besides, it's actually quite dangerous for us to stay here."

"Dangerous?"

"Yes, I've told you that Ultear's magic power isn't stable sometimes, right? It can happen anytime and whenever it happens, it can affect her surroundings. She needs to release a lot of her magic power to keep it under control by using her ice magic. But when she does that, she can freeze a very large area. If that happens here, then this whole mansion can freeze."

"It's that powerful?!" Layla is surprised to hear how big the effect of Ultear's uncontrollable magic power is.

"Yes, because she can't control her magic power output. That's why we stay away from towns as much as possible to avoid hurting people before we can find a solution. It would be really bad if her magic goes out of control when we sleep, after all. At day, we can detect the symptom immediately and get away from people to release her magic. But when she sleeps, her magic might suddenly burst without warning. I am an Ice Mage too, so I can free myself from it even if I'm frozen, but others might not, especially the normal people. Don't worry, we also live quite far from town and often played in the wild before this, so we are used to it."

Layla understands and lets them stay in the forest nearby. But she insists they need to come to the mansion during the day. Layla doesn't have many friends her age, especially a fellow mother, so she wants to talk a lot with Ur.

The same also applies to her daughter, Lucy. She wants Lucy to have more friends her age because there aren't many children nearby, so she is lonely. It's her chance to know more kids her age while Alex and Ultear are here.

Then with that, they finally receive Layla's help even though it's not guaranteed that it will work. They need to wait for a week to know the answer, but at least, they have hope now.

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Ch. 87: Final Exam